Lucky Break Read online

  “Really. Now go out there. I’m sure there will be tons of people lined up. I’m going to grab a cab back to the hotel. I’m really tired from all this traveling. Come get me when you get back.”

  Richard found some workers to set up a long cafeteria-style table in the lobby and grabbed the Lucky Saldano posters and CD’s from the vendors and lined them up on the table. By the time Lucky caught up with Kat at the stage doors, Dylan was already with them.

  “Paul is heading back to the hotel. He said he’s sorry. I think he smoked a little too much weed…paranoia is a bitch,” he said. “He said he’ll make it up to you and will be ready for DC.”

  “I sure hope so. Thanks Dylan,” said Lucky.

  “Hey Lucky, one quick thing.” He pulled her away from Kat. “Your friend, Jordan? Is she seeing anyone?”

  “No, she’s not. Why?”

  “No reason. Just curious.”

  Kat opened the double doors leading to the crowded lobby. Suddenly the crowd erupted into applause, startling Lucky and stopping her in her tracks. Kat put her arm around her and led her to the table where there was a long line of people waiting for them.

  Lucky hugged each person on that line as they approached. In such awe of the crowd’s reaction, she couldn’t help but feel appreciative. She signed every CD they sold, every poster or piece of paper someone put in front of her.

  Towards the end of the line was a small group of five guys in their early twenties. Lucky thought they had college frat boy written all over them. As they approached Kat leaned down to whisper into Lucky’s ear.

  “Here they come, this is how you know you’ve made it.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Shh. You’ll see.”

  A cute guy with short dark brown hair and brown eyes, wearing jeans and a dark green polo shirt moved up to the front of the group and smiled at Lucky. She felt herself blush as she met his gaze.

  “You were awesome up there. My friends and I are going to a cool party tonight, would you like to come? You can bring your band too.”

  “Yes, we’d love to,” Kat interrupted. “We’ll meet you out front when we’re done here.”

  As the guys walked away Lucky grabbed Kat’s arm. “We can’t go to a party with them. We don’t even know them.”

  “Oh please! We’ll get to know them.”

  “But anything can happen.”

  “That’s right, anything can happen. It’ll be great.” She grinned at Lucky. “Come on Lucky, it’ll be fun. You need to get out more, meet the fans.”

  “Ok, ok, fine. I’ll text Jordan and let her know we won’t be back until late.”

  It took over an hour to get through every person waiting on line for an autograph. Some people asked to take pictures with Lucky too and she obliged all of them. Her head was spinning by the time they were done but she felt like she was on top of the world. Even though the show was cut short, she was happy with what they performed and the line of people boosted her confidence even more.

  Once everything was packed and back on the bus, she and Kat went outside and saw the guys who invited them to the party. The cool night air snapped Lucky back to reality and she felt like her old self again. She hoped Paul would be able to get it together by their next show. As they approached the group, the cute one from before turned around and smiled.

  “Cool! You’re here. We were taking bets as to whether you’d show or not.”

  “We wouldn’t miss a party,” Kat said.

  “Let’s go. Its a good thing we brought two cars. Lucky can come in my car and everyone else just figure it out.”

  “Kat has to come with me,” said Lucky as she grabbed Kat’s arm as she followed him to his car. “What’s your name?”

  “Man, what was I thinking? Ross.” He unlocked the doors to an old tan Jeep and opened the passenger door for her. “Obviously I know your name. I’m so psyched you’re coming to the party!”

  Lucky exchanged a look with Kat. She thought it was odd how excited this guy was for them to go to a party, but he really was cute. She watched him walk around to the driver’s side of the car, his jeans hugged his butt perfectly and with the way his polo shirt hung, she could tell he had a nice body.

  They drove to a quiet residential neighborhood and Ross pulled into the drive way of a split level house. Cars lined the street and several people sat on the front steps despite having to regularly move whenever the storm door swung open.

  Lucky excitedly got out of the car. She heard so much about house parties when she was in high school, but her parents never allowed her to go. By the time she was in college, she obsessed so much about getting into the rehearsal room that she didn’t care to be social.

  As they walked into the noisy house, Ross guided them downstairs and handed Lucky and Kat red plastic cups with a cold red liquid inside. Kat clinked her cup against Lucky’s and took a sip. Lucky looked into her cup, her brow furrowed.

  “What is it?”

  “Hawaiian Punch and vodka, you’ll love it. We make a huge batch for every party,” Ross said.

  She took a sip and was surprised it didn’t taste bad. Other than the occasional sips of wine with her parents, she never drank.

  They followed Ross around the house as he said hello to everyone. In one room a small group of people were sitting cross legged on the floor and passing a bong around. In a room with bunk beds, a couple kissed on the top bunk while a few other people played a video game.

  Eventually they made their way through the dining room and out sliding glass doors to a large deck with lawn chairs. The smell of citronella candles filled the night air. Ross kicked a couple of people out of their seats so Kat and Lucky could sit down.

  “Oooh Lucky, check out that cutie over there,” Kat whispered before getting up.

  “No, don’t leave me alone!”

  “You’re not alone, Ross is here. I think he likes you.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  Kat sat back down and Lucky breathed a sigh of relief.

  “You’re going to be a big star Lucky Saldano,” Ross said as he slipped his arm around her shoulders.

  Lucky felt her cheeks turn hot as she shook her head. She thought he was really cute and he smelled yummy, like grape candy which she thought was odd until she saw him pop a dark, hard candy into his mouth.

  “So what do you do?” She asked.

  “Oh I’m still in school but I really haven’t thought much about what I’m going to do after college. This summer I’ve been chopping wood for this guy I know. Maybe I’ll keep doing that.”

  Chopping wood? Afraid to sound like an idiot she kept it to herself, but she wondered how that could be a real job. She smiled at him and got lost in his brown eyes for a moment. He moved closer to her and the grape scent grew stronger. Tilting his head to one side she caught her breath thinking she was about to have her first real kiss. Just as his lips almost touched hers she giggled.

  “What?” He asked.

  “No, no I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” She looked down and forced herself to stop giggling then looked back into his eyes. “Ok, I’m alright now.”

  He touched her cheek gently, stroking her skin with his thumb. Leaning in again, he almost touched her lips when she giggled again.

  “Really?”

  “I’m sorry!” She couldn’t stop the giggles this time and they turned to full blown laughter. “I can’t help it!”

  “Its ok. You probably drank too much.” He took her cup and saw it was still almost full and shrugged as he put it back on the small table beside her.

  “What time is it?”

  “I guess around 2am. I don’t wear a watch.”

  “We really should head back. We’re heading to DC in the morning.”

  “But the night is still young. Come on Lucky.”

  “No, really, we’re leaving first thing and I’m tired.”

  “Alrightie then, I’ll bring you guys to your hotel.” He sto
od up and took her hand.

  Lucky grinned as she she felt him squeeze her hand.

  “Thanks for the fun night, Ross,” Lucky said.

  “Anytime. You owe me a kiss you know, but I’m sure I’ll see you again.”

  Lucky rode the elevator up with Kat in silence. She knew she looked silly with her stupid grin but she couldn’t help it, it was nice to get that kind of attention from a guy. She wasn’t used to it. Ross was super cute, but she really didn’t care if she saw him again. Something about him seemed a little flakey and she couldn’t help but think he only cared about Lucky the singer. He never even asked about her real name.

  Chapter Four

  Jordan

  Jordan ran her fingers through her short blonde hair. She didn’t mean to sleep so long. Reaching over to the nightstand she grabbed her vibrating cell phone. 10pm and a text from Lucky saying that she and Kat were going to some house party.

  She understood all of this was huge for Lucky, but she couldn’t help feeling left out. Knowing how Lucky was, she couldn’t blame her, she had to blame Kat. Jordan was sure Kat was trouble.

  Going to a stranger’s house party didn’t sound like Lucky at all. But maybe it did. Lucky never spoke much about how she felt about her overprotective parents. Jordan often wondered if Lucky threw herself so completely into her music as an escape. Jordan wished she had that kind of escape. Any escape really.

  She came on tour with Lucky for exactly that reason–to get away. Lucky was like a sister to her and she’d do anything for her, but when she asked if she’d tag along on the tour, Jordan said yes more out of selfishness than anything.

  Teasing Lucky about how her parents constantly called her, was really her being jealous. Not that she wanted someone hovering over every moment of the day. She just wanted her parents to notice her.

  One Month Ago

  “Mom, I can’t do this anymore. I’m moving out,” Jordan sheepishly said to her mother.

  “It’s ok. I know it’s been hard on you here. I’m surprised you lasted this long. When are you going?”

  “I don’t know. I’ll start looking for a place after I get back from Lucky’s tour.”

  Hearing her mother’s words of understanding shocked Jordan, and she briefly wondered if things could change at home.

  After her parents divorced when she was five, Jordan’s mom neglected her daughter. As best as Jordan could figure, Betty was embarrassed not only because she was a divorced woman in her twenties, but also because she had a child.

  Once Betty remarried though she didn’t return to her motherly duties. She passed along all responsibility to Jordan’s new stepfather, who resented her. To call her life hard was an understatement. She wouldn’t wish her life on anyone.

  An hour later she was in her room folding her laundry when her mother entered.

  “You don’t have to leave.” Her mother’s voice was filled with venom. “You have it great here. You’ve never been anything but an irresponsible, ungrateful shit. You’ll never do anything with your life.”

  “I guess you spoke to Tim.”

  Betty didn’t respond. She turned and left Jordan’s room. Jordan wished her mother’s words surprised her, but she was used to it. They wounded her each and every time though.

  A knock on her bedroom door woke her the next morning. 7am. It was Sunday, why were they waking her so early? She heard another knock then Tim’s voice.

  “Get up. Your uncle is going to be here any minute with his truck. You’re moving out. I got boxes for you.”

  Jordan quickly packed her things. It all belonged to her. She bought her own bedroom furniture in high school. She had been supporting herself and her family while attending college and working. She didn’t know what they would do for money without her but she didn’t care.

  After finding a cheap storage unit, she realized this was probably the best thing that could happen to her. She felt free, weightless. She just needed a place to stay until Lucky’s tour started.

  “Hey when do we go on tour?” She asked Lucky on the phone.

  “I have to leave for LA tomorrow to start recording and then the tour starts around two weeks later.”

  “Want some company in LA?”

  “I’d love it! But don’t you have to work?”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll arrange for the time off. Mind if I sleep over tonight?”

  “Of course not! My parents would love to see you.”

  Present Day

  Lucky didn’t know Jordan was homeless. She knew she should open up more and tell Lucky what was going on, but she didn’t want to talk about it. Lucky wouldn’t understand, her life was different. Her parents cared and called her everyday.

  “That’s what happens when someone loves you, they make sure you’re ok,” she said to herself.

  Jordan left her mother’s house three weeks ago and still hadn’t heard from them. She considered reaching out to her father, but her mother made sure she never had a relationship with him, so she didn’t know what to expect. She felt better staying with the devil she knew than the devil she didn’t. Not that her father was bad, she just didn’t know.

  She picked up the phone and called room service.

  “Hi, how long would it take to get food delivered to my room?”

  “We’re a bit short handed right now so at least an hour. The restaurant is still open though.”

  “Ok, thanks.”

  Grabbing her room key, wallet and cell phone, she thought about texting Lucky back but didn’t see the point in it. She was glad she was getting out. Lucky deserved it after working so hard. She couldn’t help feeling neglected though, she was raised that way.

  Dressed in skinny jeans, a pair of Uggs, and an oversized dark purple tee shirt, she slipped into the elevator and hit the lobby button. As the elevator doors closed she saw Dylan, his light brown hair covering his face as he ran towards the elevator.

  “Hold the elevator!”

  She hit the open doors button. As the doors retracted, Dylan entered the elevator and leaned against the back wall as he caught his breath. Side glancing at him, Jordan reminded herself not to drool, he was that hot. He swept his shoulder length hair back from his face, revealing the light scruff of a goatee and blue tinted sunglasses.

  She appreciated the unique appearance of his black jeans, maroon striped button shirt, black vest, and the blue scarf casually draped around his neck. On anyone else the combination would have looked ridiculous, but on Dylan it made him look even more like a rock star.

  “You getting something to eat?”

  Startled by the question, Jordan didn’t reply right away. She took a moment to secretly pinch herself to make sure she really was awake.

  “Umm yes, I am. What about you?”

  “Yup. Damned room service takes too long.” He smiled at her. “Want to join me?”

  Little did she know, but Dylan asked room service to suggest she go down to the restaurant and then call him. Being on the road for as long as he had, Dylan learned that even minor stardom had its privileges and he enjoyed using those privileges to impress those he wanted to know better.

  Exiting the elevator, he put his hand on the back of her neck and walked close beside her. She felt the heat of his hand on her bare skin travel through her body and it gave her tiny chills up and down her spine.

  The restaurant was a mixture of wood molding and tall windows which reflected back the glamour of the large room. With only two tables taken the maitre d could have seated them anywhere, but chose to place them in a secluded corner.

  As they walked to their table they passed a long, glossy wooden bar with mirrors behind the bottles. Paul, the band’s drummer, sat at the end of the bar drinking with his head hung low and a cigarette burning between his fingers despite the hotel being non-smoking.

  Jordan sat back and gave Dylan a suspicious look. She eyed the wait staff who looked ready to pounce at any request, then noticed the maitre d’ slip what looked like cash
into his pocket.

  “What the hell is going on here?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Don’t give me that. Just because I’m blonde doesn’t mean I’m dumb. I wasn’t sheltered like Lucky. Now what is all this?”

  Dylan laughed. “I’ve had my eye on you since LA. I like you and wanted to get to know you better.”

  “Yeah I’ve heard about you bass players,” Jordan said playfully. “Everyone always says to watch out for the lead guitarist, but its really the bass player who needs to be watched.”

  “Ha. You caught me.” He smiled and waved over a waiter. “What would you like to drink?”

  “I’ll have a Coke.”

  “And…?”

  “And? How many drinks should I have?”

  “No, a Coke and…?”

  “Ice?”

  He laughed as he shook his head. “Amazing. I’ll have the same. Guess there goes that plan.”

  “What plan?”

  “To get you drunk and have my way with you.” He winked.

  “Well who said you had to get me drunk?”

  They spent the evening talking about whatever came to mind. Jordan counted it as the best date of her life. Time flew by and before either of them realized it, the staff was cleaning the restaurant around them.

  “I’m glad you had dinner with me. We should make this a regular thing. I meant what I said before. I want to get to know you.”

  “I’d love that.”

  As the elevator doors closed, Dylan leaned back against the elevator wall again, this time holding her hand. Jordan gave him a sly glance as she waited for him to kiss her, but then decided she shouldn’t have to wait.

  Turning towards him, he met her half way and their lips locked. He was so much taller than her that she stood on her tippy toes until he picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

  Her heart raced as he pushed her against the wall and pressed himself against her. She ran her fingers over his stubbled cheek and into his hair as he pressed her tighter against him.

  Reaching for the elevator buttons, he hoped to stop it and not interrupt their moment, but then heard a loud ding. The elevator slowed and opened its doors. He was too late, they were at their floor.