Stuarts snorts his drink up his nose, and starts choking.

I feel Jake tense beside me. I can’t even look at him.

“A python if I remember right,” Tom grins, obviously enjoying winding him up.

“More like a fuckin’ cobra from what I hear!” Denny chips in.

Smith starts laughing too, obviously in on this whole Jake the snake joke.

“Hey, I can’t help it if I was blessed with a big dick, unlike you douchebags,” Jake says, picking his beer up, quickly getting back in the game.

“Fuck off!” Tom says grabbing his crotch. “I’m well packed here, primed and ready to go.”

It’s a good job I’m not prudish in any way sitting here with these lot. Though talking about Jake and his snake is making me feel a little lightheaded. I wonder how big it actually is? I’m tempted to cast my gaze downwards at his crotch, but I hold of the urge, pinning my eyes up front and ahead.

“Hey, thinking about this,” Toms adds, leaning his groin up against our table. “I’m feeling a theme coming on here, we’ve got, of course, me - hunky fuckin’ Tom cat, Jake the snake there … now we just need to figure something up for you three fuckers.” He gestures to Denny, Stuart and Smith.

Denny lifts his head. “No fuckin’ way man, leave me out of your weird animal fantasies.”

“Ah shut up you miserable fucker! Denny? What rhymes with Denny?” he muses. “Ah man your name is shit! Nothing rhymes with it. We’re gonna have to change it.”

Denny climbs up over Stuart, then Smith, and jumps lithely to the floor. “Remind me why I’m friends with you again?” he asks Tom, patting his shoulder.

“Because I’m fuckin’ awesome and I can get chicks to play with your dick.”

I can’t help but snort a laugh out at that one.

Jake slides me an amused glance. But all it manages to do is tighten my stomach into knots, and then I have the sudden urge to want to touch him.

“I’m off to piss,” Denny laughs, shaking his head at Tom, he wanders off in the direction of the men’s room

“You coming to pick up some skirts, dickhead?” Tom says directing a look at Jake, already sounding like it’s a given he’ll go.

I instantly tense. I don’t want Jake going to pick girls up. The thought is curdling my insides.

Jake shakes his head, taking a drink of his beer. “No, I’m good here.”

Tom looks at him like he’s grown another head. Even Stuart gives him a surprised stare.

I relax in my seat.

“Did they amputate your dick while you were in rehab? Or has Stuart finally managed to turn you?” Tom asks, laughing.

Turn him? Is Stuart gay?

It must be the expression on my face which causes Stuart to lean over to me and say, “I’m gay, honey.”

“Ah right,” I nod.

Makes sense. He’s ridiculously beautiful and has the best taste in clothes.

Jake laughs, reaching forward he puts his beer down. “No, and no,” he says answering Tom. “I’ve told you, I don’t fuck the staff.”

I’m ‘the staff’. So he won’t be fucking me then.

Thank God of course that he won’t be trying it on with me. I know he wouldn’t anyway because he doesn’t see me that way, but it’s just good to know Jake doesn’t have sex with the few women who work for him. Just everyone else of course.

Stuart snorts loudly.

Jake leans forward, looking at him with interest.

“Chloe?” Stuart raises his eyebrow.

Jake screws his face up in thought, quickly shifting to remembrance. “Ah yeah, okay … so I don’t fuck the staff anymore.”

Okay, so he did used to screw the staff.

I suddenly feel uncomfortable and a little sick listening to this conversation.

This is the Jake I read about in the papers. I don’t want to hear about this Jake.

“Can you let me out?” I say to him.

“Sure. Where you off to?” he asks, sliding out of the booth, letting me out onto my wobbly legs.

“Bathroom,” I answer, keeping my tone even.

I walk away heading for the ladies, trying to ignore the stares from his waiting groupies, and from Jake himself.

Chapter Eleven

We’re in Barcelona. The show is tomorrow night at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys stadium.

My folks are arriving first thing in the morning. I’m so excited to see them.

Jake was all for it when I mentioned about getting them tickets for coming over here to see the show. I think he’s looking forward to seeing my dad again.

I’ve been touring with TMS for almost two weeks now, and the time has just absolutely flown by. I’ve barely had time to think let alone miss anyone, I’m with Jake pretty much all the time, but it will be so good to see my folks tomorrow.

And I’m looking forward to seeing Will in a week. I’ve spent time away from him before of course, but I think with my folks coming tomorrow it’s made me a little sick for home. For him.

I lift my bracelet up looking at it, dangling it in the light.

Picking my phone up, I decide to call him.

“Hey, gorgeous,” he murmurs down the phone.

“What you up too?” I ask.

“Working.”

“At this time? It’s… eight forty five there, baby.”

“I know. It’s that big acquisition I told you about, well some shit kicked off with it, and there’s an emergency meeting first thing in the morning, so I have to prepare a load of stuff for it. Good thing is it’s keeping me busy, stopping me dwelling on how much I’m missing you.”

“I miss you too,” I murmur.

“You do?”

“Of course I do silly.”

“So you’re at work…” I say putting a sultry tone on.

“Hmm.”

“And you’re in your suit?” I love Will in his suits. He looks really hot wearing them.

“I am.”

“Are you in the office alone?”

“No, Mark’s working late too.”

“Oh,” I say, feeling a little deflated. I was up for some dirty phone talk. Not like me at all, but I’m feeling pretty horny at the moment.

“Where are you?” he asks.

“Lying on my bed.”

“Really?”

“Yep. Shame you’re not alone, I was gonna … maybe … uh, talk dirty things with you.”

“I’ll call you when I’m home.” His breathing suddenly sounds short.

“How long?”

“Couple of hours.”

“I’ll be waiting … and naked,” I add, grinning to myself, feeling all confident.

“Two hours,” he confirms, voice husky.

“Not a minute more. I love you,” I add.

“You too.”

I hang the phone up with Will feeling restless and now have two hours to kill before I can talk dirty with my boyfriend.

Not exactly sex, but the closest thing I’m going to get to it with him for another week.

Realising I haven’t eaten dinner yet, I decide to go see Jake, see if he wants to have dinner with me. I hope he hasn’t already eaten. I hate eating alone.

I knock at his suite door, and Stuart answers a few moments later.

He looks all dressed up to the nines. Stuart always looks smart, but tonight, he’s looks foxy. Like he’s dressed for a date.

“Well look at you,” I say suggestively. “Someone got a date by any chance?”

“Dinner with an old friend, chica,” he winks. “Jake’s in the living room.” He passes me heading out the door.

“Have a good night,” I grin.

“Oh, I will,” he says, walking backwards, grinning, he turns and strides off down the hall.

Looks like someone’s getting laid tonight.

I sigh.

Closing the door behind me, into the silence of the suite, I hear Jake strumming lightly on his guitar.

The sound makes the hairs on my arms prickle. I stand for a moment listening as Jake starts to sing, Chris Isaak’s, ‘Wicked Game’.

He sounds stunning.

On quiet feet, I walk down the hall. Rounding the corner, I pause, leaning against it, watching him.

His eyes are closed. He’s lost in the song. And he looks beautiful.

My hands are suddenly desperate to touch him. I want to smooth my fingers over his lips, his face, up into his hair.

I want to kiss him so very badly in this moment.

I have a flashback to young Jake, sat in my parent’s living room playing the guitar for me. I remember how my tummy used to feel funny when I would listen to him play, even back then. I had no concept of those feelings, what they meant.

Love. It was love for him.

And I’m getting that very same feeling in my stomach again. But more intense now.

Jake’s eyes open, meeting straight with mine. His gaze burns into me and I feel naked to him. Like he can read my thoughts in this moment.

He doesn’t break from a note singing.

Keeping my eyes locked on his I walk toward him, my body erupting with trembles, ricocheting from the inside out, as Jake sings to me.

Sitting down on the edge of the coffee table just across from him, I’m entranced.

And in this moment I want him.

I know it’s just because I haven’t had sex for a while, and talking to Will on the phone just got me all horny.

And I know this is what Jake does. He has this amazing ability to draw you into him the instant he opens his mouth and starts to sing. His voice is so insanely beautiful. It’s all just so natural to him.

That’s why he’s so adored, loved by the world. And why women want him.

This song is stunning, and not easy to sing at all, but Jake does, and effortlessly.

In this moment I realise how lucky I am to be sitting here with him, listening to him sing like this. Most people would sell their soul to be where I am right now.

Finishing the last note, Jake smiles at me.

I feel like my whole body is on fire, and my brain too.

“That was amazing,” I say, feeling a little out of breath.

He shrugs lightly, and puts his guitar down. I hate it when he dismisses himself like that.

“So your folks get here in the morning?” he asks.

“They do,” I beam.

“What time does their flight land?”

“Eight am.”

“You want me to get Dave to pick them up?”

“No,” I shake my head. “I want to meet them at the airport.”

“Do you want me to drive you?”

“Can you do that?”

“Drive a car? Surprisingly, yes,” he chuckles.

“Shut up, idiot,” I giggle. “You know what I mean.”

“I do, and of course I can.” He gives me an earnest look. “I’ll have to stay in the car while you go into the airport though.”

“Of course.” I run my fingertip over the table. “And, yes, I would love you to drive me to the airport. Thank you.”

Looking up, I meet his eye. We stare at one another for a long moment. My mouth dries.

Running my tongue around my mouth, I say, “So I, uh, came to see if you haven’t had dinner already, did you want to eat with me?”