ALMOST DOESN'T COUNT
Winn dreaded work on Friday morning. She'd hardly slept. She'd slept on the couch and completely avoided her bed. She didn't turn on her tree, or her planetarium, or anything. She was content to lay in complete darkness in complete silence and contemplate the possibility of donating her planetarium to one of the local elementary schools...
Except that her brain went a mile a minute on other subjects. Was she doing the right thing? Was she being fair to Isaac? She had to admit, her feelings for him had taken a bit of a turn lately, but she chose to chalk that up to stress. She still liked him. She still found him incredibly attractive. She just felt...different about it. But, really, she just needed to spend more time with him. All that would change. Absolutely.
Taylor continued to haunt her, even after she'd silently vowed that he could burn in hell. Hurt had given way to anger and, in a sense, she was glad that he'd said goodbye. Because if he was this much of a coward to tuck his tail and run than to stay and face the things they'd done, then he wasn't worth her time anyway. She was probably a hypocrite for thinking those things, but she didn't care. She felt used. Betrayed. Like their entire friendship had been a sham. Like it was a lie. How dare he...how--how DARE he?
So when she walked into work the next morning, she prepared for the obligatory water cooler talk and she wasn't disappointed. Keeping her mouth shut during her staff's holiday conversation had worked until Tina turned around in her seat. "Well, Winn? How was your Christmas?"
"It was, um, it was nice...my parents flew in."
Tina smiled. "Good! Oh, I'm so glad it worked out!"
Winn's eyes widened. "Excuse me?"
The blood drained from Tina's face and she looked across the office at Steph. Winn hung up her phone and looked at the two women. "Spill it."
Tina swallowed hard and Steph turned around in her chair. "Please don't be mad. If you have to write me up, I'll take it, but I swear we meant no harm."
"What did you do?"
"Taylor wanted to fly your parents in as a surprise. And we just thought it was SO romantic that we really didn't question it when he asked us to look in your employee file and get your parents' numbers from your emergency contacts."
Winn gaped at her employees. She was flabbergasted. She didn't know what to say.
"I SWEAR, we would NEVER do that if--you know, if it wasn't him."
Suddenly, without thought, Winn asked, "What if it was Isaac?"
They both shook their heads rapidly.
"WHY?" She pressed sternly.
"Well--because Taylor loves you," Steph said quietly.
"What are you talking about?"
"He didn't say it or anything. But it's so obvious." Then Steph started to get excited. "Winn, he is SO head over heels for you, it's insane. He was SO excited to fly your parents in, you should have seen the smile on his face."
Winn's heart pounded as she looked from Tina to Steph. Then her face hardened. "Well, you're wrong. Let's get back on the phones, we need a big day today."
Winn found it hard to concentrate. People were crazy lately. First her mother and now her staff? What was wrong with these people? What was...what was wrong...?
Lunch with Isaac wasn't any easier. She had 'Taylor loves you' ringing in her head all morning and it only pounded louder when Isaac kissed her outside her office and walked her to lunch. It nearly killed her when he took her by the hand and laced his fingers with hers, right there on the street, in the middle of downtown Tulsa. She felt like she might be moments away from a panic attack, the way her brain felt like it was on infinite overdrive. Oh, great. A panic attack in the street. Panic In The Streets. How ironic.
She kept trying to convince herself that Steph didn't know what she was talking about. Taylor didn't love her. He didn't, he...so what if he flew her parents in? So what if he remembered her random scrapbooking idea or called her his soul mate or invited the VPO of her company for an exclusive beer tasting? So what? Friends DID those things. And, besides, if he really loved her, he would never have left. He would have stayed. He would have TOLD her. And then maybe she would have believed the words he whispered in her ear during sex...
Isaac sat across from her at lunch and interrupted the thoughts that would never leave her. "So, New Year's Eve..."
"I work New Year's Eve," she said, cutting him off.
He smiled and he raised an eyebrow. "Well...you're not working at midnight."
"Sorry," she said sheepishly. "The office is always open, it's kinda becoming a reflex to have to say it..."
He nodded. "Trust me, I know how it is. So, listen, we're, uh, we're doing a little something we've never really done before. If it goes well, we might make it an annual thing."
Grateful for the distraction, she put her fork down and smiled across the table. "Well, now I'm intrigued."
"Well. We, um, we're throwing a party--down at the depot--and we've invited friends and community leaders and, more importantly, people we're interested in doing business with."
"Ulterior motives. I see..."
He blushed and he smiled. "Anyway. It's a black-tie event--"
"Black-tie? That doesn't seem to be the band's style at all..."
"Like I said, it's something we've never done before. Anyway, I wanted you to, you know, be my date."
"So I'd need a gown..."
"Yeah..."
Winn looked at him and she thought about it for a moment. "You know, I--I don't know..."
"Well, I mean, it doesn't HAVE to be a gown..."
She looked up into his eyes. "It's not the gown."
He looked at her for a second and then sat back in his chair. "Oh." Then he sighed. "Winn--if you're gonna be with me, he's kinda part of the package. There's--I mean, there's really no avoiding him--"
"Sure, there is. It can be done--"
"Winn. Be realistic."
"No. If I don't WANT to interact with someone, I don't HAVE to. I reserve that right."
"Yes, you do--"
"So I'm only going to support you. And that's it. And the band. Nothing else. I'm not speaking to anyone I don't have to speak to, I'm not being civil, I'm not being cordial, I'm not being nice."
"Well, don't go creating a scene..."
"Do you really think I'd create a scene at your party?"
"So, are you saying you're planning on spending all night being clingy and glued to my side and never leaving my sight?"
Her eyes darted around the table in thought.
Then he interrupted her thoughts again. "Because if you are, then I can't wait."
She looked up at him and he was grinning at her. His grin was infectious and she smiled back at him. He really was a handsome man. She would be lucky to have him.
*****************
As promised, Isaac took Winn and her parents out Saturday night. He took them to a swanky restaurant just outside the city limits, where they sat at a semi-private table and conversed over drinks. Her parents were unusually interested in hearing about Isaac's upbringing and his career, while her parents volunteered embarrassing stories of her teenage fangirl days.
Isaac and her father got lost in their own conversation not too long after their food arrived. As they shifted between basketball and restoring old cars, Winn's mother asked her about her hair and her job.
Winn was mid-sentence when her mother looked at her funny. "Winnie, is that you ringing?"
Winn looked around. "It shouldn't be. We're all here..." She felt around for her purse and made a face. "Hm, I guess it is."
Normally, she wouldn't be so rude and answer her phone while she was out at dinner. But something in her gut told her to do it. Pulling her phone out of her purse, her eyes widened and she stood up. "Excuse me, I have to take this," she said as she stepped away from the table.
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Taylor's heart pounded and his hands were sweating. He was surprised he could even hold the phone to his ear. He had turned his truck around somewhere in Alabama and found the first highway that would lead him back to Tulsa. For the past several hours, he'd been thinking. Hard. And now he was acting on it somewhere in Arkansas.
The fact that Winn had answered at all made him want to throw up from the nerves. "Winn! I'm so glad you answered. Please don't hang up."
"I should!" She hissed. "Where are you?"
He looked around in the darkness out his windshield. "I don't--that's not the point, I'm on my way home. Listen, I shouldn't have left the other night. Okay? That was stupid. I keep replaying that night over and over in my head and I just--I'm an idiot. I'm a complete moron and I am so sorry. I'll do anything. Okay? Anything, you name it and it's done."
"Um--"
"I need to talk to you. But not like this. I don't know how long it'll take me to get there, but give me until tomorrow. I need--I need to say something to you--"
"Then say it."
"Not like this. I need to see you."
"Tay," she plead quietly. "Just say it."
He was silent for a moment as his mouth hung open. He felt trapped. Put on the spot. This wasn't how he wanted to do this. He couldn't do this so many miles and so many hours away from her. But she wanted him to. She wanted him to say it and his heart nearly leapt from his chest. "Winn," he said, his breath catching in his throat. Then he swallowed. "Winn, I'm in--" And then he paused at the noise that he suddenly heard in the background on the other end of the call. "What's that sound? Where are you?"
He thought he heard her huff in annoyance. "I'm at dinner with my parents. What were you saying?"
And then he hesitated. He hesitated because he heard something else in the background that made his skin crawl. He heard the familiar voice... "Is that Ike? Is Ike there with you?"
"Uh--yeah. Yeah, he's here..."
He felt his own face redden with anger. His body temperature literally rose at a moment's notice. "You know what, never mind. It doesn't even matter."
"What doesn't matter? Tay, what is going on with you?"
"Nothing," he muttered. "I shouldn't have called you."
"What you shouldn't have done was leave me--"
"It doesn't matter, Winn! Just never mind."
"Well--what time should I expect you tomorrow?"
"Don't expect me tomorrow, I'm not coming."
"Why are you acting like this?"
"Goodbye, Winn."
"Don't hang up. You didn't even tell me where you are--"
And then he ended the call. He couldn't take it anymore. He threw his phone into the passenger seat and he gripped the steering wheel. How dare Isaac? How dare them both? Taylor was now caught in an epic battle between himself, his brother, and the woman he loved. He was pissed at himself for leaving in the first place. He knew it was his fault for leaving things wide open so that Isaac could walk right on into it. He knew he was wrong there. But how could he? And how could Winn? They both knew that he'd gone to all that work to arrange this surprise, only so that Isaac could reap the benefits? And then it was back on Taylor. He should have never left.
Taylor didn't realize how fast he was going until he found himself veering off the road and had to jerk his truck back into the lane. His heart raced at the close call he'd just encountered with the guard rail and he barely had time to recover from that when he saw the blue lights in his rearview mirror.
Great. Just fucking great.
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Winn hadn't realized that her presence had been missed until she sat back down at the table. All eyes were on her. Her eyes darted around the table. "What?"
"Is everything okay?" Isaac asked her.
"It's fine."
"Are you sure? Things sounded a little heated back there..."
"I said it was nothing."
"It didn't sound like nothing--"
"It was--it was work-related, okay? No big deal."
"On a Saturday night?" Her mother asked.
"Mom!" She said, frustrated. "Can we just eat? I'm--I'm starving, let's just--let's just eat."
Underneath the table, Winn felt a squeeze on her thigh. She looked over at Isaac and he flashed his signature million-dollar smile at her. She melted just a little bit at the sentiment but she was still bothered by the phone call. What had happened to Taylor and who was this person who had seemingly taken over his body?
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The cop shined his flashlight directly into Taylor's eyes. "Step out of the vehicle please, sir."
"Uh, don't you want to see my license and registration?"
"I'll acquire those on my own."
"What?"
"Step out of the vehicle and let me see your hands."
Taylor sighed and did as the cop said, stepping out of his truck and into the headlights of the patrol car behind him. In an instant, the cop was turning Taylor around and placing his hands behind his back. "What the hell are you doing?"
"It's just a precaution, sir."
"Precaution, my ass!" He said as he shook his wrist out of the cop's grip without thinking about it first.
"Sir, are you resisting arrest?"
"Are you arresting me?"
"I am now," the cop said as he forced Taylor's hands behind his back and proceeded to cuff them.
"Goddammit," Taylor muttered as he was then led back to the patrol car.
The cop turned him around and kicked his ankles open. Taylor huffed in response. "I could have done that myself."
The cop then proceeded to pat him down and remove all the contents of his pockets, which wasn't much. As his belongings lay on the hood of the car, the cop flipped his wallet open and took out his license. "Jordan Taylor Hanson, huh? Tulsa, Oklahoma. Hey, I know that name. You're one of those MMMBop guys, right?"
Taylor rolled his eyes and nodded. "Yeah, yeah, MMMBop."
The cop then smiled. "I thought so. I'm gonna sit you right here in the backseat while I run your record."
"Is that really necessary? I mean, you have me cuffed, it's not like I can drive off."
"It's just a precaution."
"Right. A precaution."
Taylor was humiliated and agitated and all around fuming as he sat in the back of the patrol car. It seemed to take hours for the cop to do what he had to do and when he finished, he got out of the front seat and walked to the open back door and leaned down into the car. "So I pulled you over for reckless driving, speeding, and possible DUI. I didn't smell alcohol on you, so I saved myself the trouble of issuing the breathalyzer and
searching your truck. Didn't find it necessary. However, you happen to have an unpaid traffic ticket here in this county and you've been driving with a suspended license for quite some time. Oh, and you've managed to rack yourself up a resisting arrest charge, but lucky for you, it's only a misdemeanor."
Taylor could only gape up at the cop. "You gotta be kidding me..."
"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law..."
Unbelievable. Un-fucking-believable...
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Isaac didn't know if he should be concerned for Winn or not. He couldn't decide if the way she kissed him on her couch was out of character for her. While he enjoyed it--enjoyed it immensely--she'd been acting a little strange these past few days. No doubt she was still a little wary of him after the whole mistletoe incident. And he was sure that Taylor's sudden disappearance was throwing her for a loop, as well. But it wasn't like her to not let him get a word in edgewise. The moment he broke a kiss to speak, she was back on him again. At this rate, why the hell weren't they having sex by now?
His phone vibrated in his pocket and he ignored it. Instead, he settled himself further into the couch and held her tight against him, letting his hands wander over her body. If she was getting into it, he might as well give in.
His phone vibrated again. Ignoring it again, he kissed her deeper and his hand drifted under her shirt. She giggled for a moment as he had apparently reached a ticklish spot.
He was smiling at her when his phone vibrated AGAIN. Finally, he couldn't ignore it anymore. "Goddammit," he muttered. "Winn, I gotta check my phone."
"No," she pouted.
"I have to. Someone keeps blowing it up. I'll only be a second and then I'm all yours, okay?"
She groaned as she climbed off of him and he stood up off the couch, pulling his phone from his pocket. Four missed calls from Zac, no voicemails. Seriously?
He looked at Winn, helpless, but he knew he had to call him back. Four missed calls wasn't an accident. "Zac, what the hell is going on?" He asked when he answered.
"I'm at your condo, where are you?"
"I'm at Winn's. Why are you at my place?"
"Because we gotta go. Tay's in jail. In Arkansas."
"He's WHAT?" Isaac nearly lost his mind.
"I don't know the details, he couldn't talk long. We gotta go get him out. And drive his truck back here."
"Shit," he said under his breath. "Okay. Okay, just--I'll be there in ten, don't go anywhere."
"Hurry, it's a long drive."
Isaac hung up his phone and turned around and looked at Winn, her eyes wide. "What's going on?"
He let out a breath. "Winn, I gotta go--"
"What happened to him?"
Isaac rubbed his forehead, already exhausted. "Tay's sitting in jail in Arkansas. I don't know anything else but that. He called Zac to bail him out and I'm gonna go with him."
Winn's jaw dropped open from the shock, and then she closed it and nodded. "Okay. Um, okay."
"Everything's okay," he assured her.
She could only nod. "Okay."
He hugged her tight and then he kissed her. "I'll call you. Okay? I'll keep you up to date."
"Be careful. Don't kill him till you get him home."
Isaac had to laugh. "Sure, thing. Get some sleep tonight, okay? And tell your parents bye for me. They're really great people."
She nodded and she hugged him one more time before he got in his Escalade and left her house. Kill him when they get him home? He'll be lucky to make it out of Arkansas alive...
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"Speeding," Zac recited from the passenger seat while Taylor sat prisoner in the backseat of Isaac's Escalade at sunrise the next morning. "Reckless driving...driving with a suspended license...suspicion of DUI...and MY personal favorite--misdemeanor resisting arrest. I mean, shit, Tay, you shoulda just gone for broke and hit the guy and made it a felony. Make it count, right?"
"I SHOULD have hit the asshole," Taylor muttered nearly inaudibly. "I swear, he had it out for me."
"Tay, what the hell were you thinking?" Isaac said as he glanced in his rearview mirror. "Why would you do something so stupid?"
"If I hadn't run off the road, he wouldn't have pulled me."
"Wrong," Zac said. "He woulda gotten you for speeding anyway. Which, by the way, Ike, you want a stunning mug shot to match the beauty queen's back there? Slow the fuck down."
"I just want to get his truck and get home. I am exhausted. I've had no sleep--"
"Maybe if you hadn't spent the night sucking face with Winn, you'd have gotten to bed earlier and gotten a nap in before this lovely little escapade."
"Shut the fuck up, Zac," Taylor mumbled from the backseat.
Zac turned around in his seat and looked at his older brother. "What I want to know is, how the hell did you manage to forget to pay a simple fucking traffic ticket?"
"I don't even remember DRIVING here, much less getting pulled here! This shit is apparently from last year. Do you have any idea how long my license has apparently been suspended? It's bullshit!"
"You know, the fans are gonna eat this mug shot up," Zac snickered. "It's gonna be pandemonium all over the internet--"
"Screw the fans," Isaac said suddenly. "I'm more worried about the potential business partners we've invited to the party Wednesday night. If this gets out, we're screwed. Nobody's gonna want to do business with us if one of us, our main fucking spokesperson, can't seem to keep his shit together."
The Escalade was quiet. Isaac knew he had a point and now he knew his younger brothers were chewing on it. Isaac was so pissed off, he could spit nails.
An hour later, Zac was following on the highway as Isaac and Taylor rode in silence together. Finally, Taylor mumbled, "I swear if he tears up anything in that truck..."
"I think you have bigger things to worry about," Isaac spat.
"You know what? I'm not really in the mood for you to put on the big brother act right now," Taylor sneered. "You're just pissed off because I ruined yet another opportunity for you to get your hands down Winn's pants."
"The fuck are you--? Goddammit, Tay, come off it already. Get over yourself! You know, it can't be ALL about you all the fucking time. Do you not get it? Do you not understand that every move you make is a reflection on the band? And the label?"
"Oh. Right. The band," Taylor replied sarcastically.
"It is! We have the opportunity to get a couple of really good business deals this week and, with any luck, MAYBE this little incident won't get out and we won't be shit out of our opportunities. You really gotta think sometimes."
"I'm fine, Ike. Really, I'm fantastic. Thank you for asking. You know, it's really convenient that you're giving a shit about the band NOW, when I've been the brains of this operation for years. I'VE been the brains while Zac's off getting married and having babies, or while you're out drowning yourself in whiskey and beer and whatever woman you can get your hands on for the night. While you two assholes are off getting your kicks
wherever, I'M the one putting in all the time and the effort and--"
"Right, Tay. That's right, play the victim. Do what you do best. Oh, poor Taylor, he has no life, let him use work as a crutch--you know, maybe if you'd get out and GET a life, you wouldn't have to blame Zac and I for actually HAVING one."
"Yeah. Because I totally want YOUR life."
Isaac glanced at his brother. "You DO want my life."
Taylor glared back at him. "Fuck you."
"I'd watch my language if I were you. I'm the one who posted your bail. And I'm the one who made a deal with those guys to not release your mug shot. I'm the one who got our attorney out of the bed at three in the morning and I'm the one who had to drive all the way out to bum-fucked Arkansas to get your delinquent ass out of jail. The way I see it, you owe me."
"I don't owe you shit."
"You just sit there and stew on that and keep your mouth shut."
For the rest of the long hours home, Isaac prayed. He prayed hard. The big picture was, Taylor's arrest wasn't near as serious as it could have been. But in the eyes of the media--if it got out, and chances were, it would--even the smallest things were major. And while his license could be taken care of once he got home, the court date for his charges was already scheduled for the next month and, boy, what a media shit storm to have right before a tour.
Several hours down the road, they had to stop for gas. Taylor couldn't get out of Isaac's Escalade fast enough. "I'm riding in my own truck," he muttered as he opened the door. "Thanks for bailing me out." And with that, he walked over to his truck and climbed in the passenger side.
Isaac knew that was probably all the thanks he was going to get. He didn't care, he would have done it anyway. He was glad to be alone now, though, because now he could finally call Winn. He had yet to do anything he said he was going to do and he knew she was either worried sick or pissed off. He just hoped for understanding.
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"I'm so sorry this has been such a crappy weekend," Winn said as she hugged her parents at the airport. "I didn't mean to be such a buzz kill all weekend. Things are just really weird in my personal life right now."
"I'll say," her father agreed. "I expected one brother and got the other. But I like Isaac. He's good people. You keep him around, you'll have one fine husband someday."
"George!" Her mother scolded. "They're barely in a relationship, don't go marrying her off just yet."
"I know a good thing when I see it," her father said with a smile. "Anyway, thank his brother for me when you see him."
Winn glanced at her mother guiltily. She counted on her to fill her father in at some point at the goings on that he was apparently blind to. Not that there was anything to see. Isaac did what any man would do in his situation--he wined and dined her father and charmed the pants off of him. Isaac was doing everything right. Everything. So why couldn't she just let herself fall?
Isaac had called her on her way home from the airport, apologizing profusely for not calling sooner. He recounted the trip and recited Taylor's charges and described the consequences he was facing. He talked about the band and the business and how afraid he was that Wednesday night was going to be a complete bust. "I'm gonna be home in a few hours," he said to her, finally. "And I'm exhausted. I don't know how I've managed to stay awake to make this trip. Will you--will you meet me at my apartment? I just--I need you to lay with me. I mean, I know that sounds--I dunno, sappy or whatever, but--I dunno, I just need you. Is that weird?"
Winn shook her head into the phone as she pulled in her driveway. "No," she said quietly, her mind going a mile a minute. "No, it's not weird. I'll--I'll meet you there."
"Good. Thank you. I just--god, I can't wait to come home to you."
Winn's eyes widened. And several minutes later, she hung up the phone, walked into her house, and burst into tears. As she sobbed, her mind was filled with nothing but blue eyes, metal bars, and guilt.
Winn dreaded work on Friday morning. She'd hardly slept. She'd slept on the couch and completely avoided her bed. She didn't turn on her tree, or her planetarium, or anything. She was content to lay in complete darkness in complete silence and contemplate the possibility of donating her planetarium to one of the local elementary schools...
Except that her brain went a mile a minute on other subjects. Was she doing the right thing? Was she being fair to Isaac? She had to admit, her feelings for him had taken a bit of a turn lately, but she chose to chalk that up to stress. She still liked him. She still found him incredibly attractive. She just felt...different about it. But, really, she just needed to spend more time with him. All that would change. Absolutely.
Taylor continued to haunt her, even after she'd silently vowed that he could burn in hell. Hurt had given way to anger and, in a sense, she was glad that he'd said goodbye. Because if he was this much of a coward to tuck his tail and run than to stay and face the things they'd done, then he wasn't worth her time anyway. She was probably a hypocrite for thinking those things, but she didn't care. She felt used. Betrayed. Like their entire friendship had been a sham. Like it was a lie. How dare he...how--how DARE he?
So when she walked into work the next morning, she prepared for the obligatory water cooler talk and she wasn't disappointed. Keeping her mouth shut during her staff's holiday conversation had worked until Tina turned around in her seat. "Well, Winn? How was your Christmas?"
"It was, um, it was nice...my parents flew in."
Tina smiled. "Good! Oh, I'm so glad it worked out!"
Winn's eyes widened. "Excuse me?"
The blood drained from Tina's face and she looked across the office at Steph. Winn hung up her phone and looked at the two women. "Spill it."
Tina swallowed hard and Steph turned around in her chair. "Please don't be mad. If you have to write me up, I'll take it, but I swear we meant no harm."
"What did you do?"
"Taylor wanted to fly your parents in as a surprise. And we just thought it was SO romantic that we really didn't question it when he asked us to look in your employee file and get your parents' numbers from your emergency contacts."
Winn gaped at her employees. She was flabbergasted. She didn't know what to say.
"I SWEAR, we would NEVER do that if--you know, if it wasn't him."
Suddenly, without thought, Winn asked, "What if it was Isaac?"
They both shook their heads rapidly.
"WHY?" She pressed sternly.
"Well--because Taylor loves you," Steph said quietly.
"What are you talking about?"
"He didn't say it or anything. But it's so obvious." Then Steph started to get excited. "Winn, he is SO head over heels for you, it's insane. He was SO excited to fly your parents in, you should have seen the smile on his face."
Winn's heart pounded as she looked from Tina to Steph. Then her face hardened. "Well, you're wrong. Let's get back on the phones, we need a big day today."
Winn found it hard to concentrate. People were crazy lately. First her mother and now her staff? What was wrong with these people? What was...what was wrong...?
Lunch with Isaac wasn't any easier. She had 'Taylor loves you' ringing in her head all morning and it only pounded louder when Isaac kissed her outside her office and walked her to lunch. It nearly killed her when he took her by the hand and laced his fingers with hers, right there on the street, in the middle of downtown Tulsa. She felt like she might be moments away from a panic attack, the way her brain felt like it was on infinite overdrive. Oh, great. A panic attack in the street. Panic In The Streets. How ironic.
She kept trying to convince herself that Steph didn't know what she was talking about. Taylor didn't love her. He didn't, he...so what if he flew her parents in? So what if he remembered her random scrapbooking idea or called her his soul mate or invited the VPO of her company for an exclusive beer tasting? So what? Friends DID those things. And, besides, if he really loved her, he would never have left. He would have stayed. He would have TOLD her. And then maybe she would have believed the words he whispered in her ear during sex...
Isaac sat across from her at lunch and interrupted the thoughts that would never leave her. "So, New Year's Eve..."
"I work New Year's Eve," she said, cutting him off.
He smiled and he raised an eyebrow. "Well...you're not working at midnight."
"Sorry," she said sheepishly. "The office is always open, it's kinda becoming a reflex to have to say it..."
He nodded. "Trust me, I know how it is. So, listen, we're, uh, we're doing a little something we've never really done before. If it goes well, we might make it an annual thing."
Grateful for the distraction, she put her fork down and smiled across the table. "Well, now I'm intrigued."
"Well. We, um, we're throwing a party--down at the depot--and we've invited friends and community leaders and, more importantly, people we're interested in doing business with."
"Ulterior motives. I see..."
He blushed and he smiled. "Anyway. It's a black-tie event--"
"Black-tie? That doesn't seem to be the band's style at all..."
"Like I said, it's something we've never done before. Anyway, I wanted you to, you know, be my date."
"So I'd need a gown..."
"Yeah..."
Winn looked at him and she thought about it for a moment. "You know, I--I don't know..."
"Well, I mean, it doesn't HAVE to be a gown..."
She looked up into his eyes. "It's not the gown."
He looked at her for a second and then sat back in his chair. "Oh." Then he sighed. "Winn--if you're gonna be with me, he's kinda part of the package. There's--I mean, there's really no avoiding him--"
"Sure, there is. It can be done--"
"Winn. Be realistic."
"No. If I don't WANT to interact with someone, I don't HAVE to. I reserve that right."
"Yes, you do--"
"So I'm only going to support you. And that's it. And the band. Nothing else. I'm not speaking to anyone I don't have to speak to, I'm not being civil, I'm not being cordial, I'm not being nice."
"Well, don't go creating a scene..."
"Do you really think I'd create a scene at your party?"
"So, are you saying you're planning on spending all night being clingy and glued to my side and never leaving my sight?"
Her eyes darted around the table in thought.
Then he interrupted her thoughts again. "Because if you are, then I can't wait."
She looked up at him and he was grinning at her. His grin was infectious and she smiled back at him. He really was a handsome man. She would be lucky to have him.
*****************
As promised, Isaac took Winn and her parents out Saturday night. He took them to a swanky restaurant just outside the city limits, where they sat at a semi-private table and conversed over drinks. Her parents were unusually interested in hearing about Isaac's upbringing and his career, while her parents volunteered embarrassing stories of her teenage fangirl days.
Isaac and her father got lost in their own conversation not too long after their food arrived. As they shifted between basketball and restoring old cars, Winn's mother asked her about her hair and her job.
Winn was mid-sentence when her mother looked at her funny. "Winnie, is that you ringing?"
Winn looked around. "It shouldn't be. We're all here..." She felt around for her purse and made a face. "Hm, I guess it is."
Normally, she wouldn't be so rude and answer her phone while she was out at dinner. But something in her gut told her to do it. Pulling her phone out of her purse, her eyes widened and she stood up. "Excuse me, I have to take this," she said as she stepped away from the table.
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Taylor's heart pounded and his hands were sweating. He was surprised he could even hold the phone to his ear. He had turned his truck around somewhere in Alabama and found the first highway that would lead him back to Tulsa. For the past several hours, he'd been thinking. Hard. And now he was acting on it somewhere in Arkansas.
The fact that Winn had answered at all made him want to throw up from the nerves. "Winn! I'm so glad you answered. Please don't hang up."
"I should!" She hissed. "Where are you?"
He looked around in the darkness out his windshield. "I don't--that's not the point, I'm on my way home. Listen, I shouldn't have left the other night. Okay? That was stupid. I keep replaying that night over and over in my head and I just--I'm an idiot. I'm a complete moron and I am so sorry. I'll do anything. Okay? Anything, you name it and it's done."
"Um--"
"I need to talk to you. But not like this. I don't know how long it'll take me to get there, but give me until tomorrow. I need--I need to say something to you--"
"Then say it."
"Not like this. I need to see you."
"Tay," she plead quietly. "Just say it."
He was silent for a moment as his mouth hung open. He felt trapped. Put on the spot. This wasn't how he wanted to do this. He couldn't do this so many miles and so many hours away from her. But she wanted him to. She wanted him to say it and his heart nearly leapt from his chest. "Winn," he said, his breath catching in his throat. Then he swallowed. "Winn, I'm in--" And then he paused at the noise that he suddenly heard in the background on the other end of the call. "What's that sound? Where are you?"
He thought he heard her huff in annoyance. "I'm at dinner with my parents. What were you saying?"
And then he hesitated. He hesitated because he heard something else in the background that made his skin crawl. He heard the familiar voice... "Is that Ike? Is Ike there with you?"
"Uh--yeah. Yeah, he's here..."
He felt his own face redden with anger. His body temperature literally rose at a moment's notice. "You know what, never mind. It doesn't even matter."
"What doesn't matter? Tay, what is going on with you?"
"Nothing," he muttered. "I shouldn't have called you."
"What you shouldn't have done was leave me--"
"It doesn't matter, Winn! Just never mind."
"Well--what time should I expect you tomorrow?"
"Don't expect me tomorrow, I'm not coming."
"Why are you acting like this?"
"Goodbye, Winn."
"Don't hang up. You didn't even tell me where you are--"
And then he ended the call. He couldn't take it anymore. He threw his phone into the passenger seat and he gripped the steering wheel. How dare Isaac? How dare them both? Taylor was now caught in an epic battle between himself, his brother, and the woman he loved. He was pissed at himself for leaving in the first place. He knew it was his fault for leaving things wide open so that Isaac could walk right on into it. He knew he was wrong there. But how could he? And how could Winn? They both knew that he'd gone to all that work to arrange this surprise, only so that Isaac could reap the benefits? And then it was back on Taylor. He should have never left.
Taylor didn't realize how fast he was going until he found himself veering off the road and had to jerk his truck back into the lane. His heart raced at the close call he'd just encountered with the guard rail and he barely had time to recover from that when he saw the blue lights in his rearview mirror.
Great. Just fucking great.
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Winn hadn't realized that her presence had been missed until she sat back down at the table. All eyes were on her. Her eyes darted around the table. "What?"
"Is everything okay?" Isaac asked her.
"It's fine."
"Are you sure? Things sounded a little heated back there..."
"I said it was nothing."
"It didn't sound like nothing--"
"It was--it was work-related, okay? No big deal."
"On a Saturday night?" Her mother asked.
"Mom!" She said, frustrated. "Can we just eat? I'm--I'm starving, let's just--let's just eat."
Underneath the table, Winn felt a squeeze on her thigh. She looked over at Isaac and he flashed his signature million-dollar smile at her. She melted just a little bit at the sentiment but she was still bothered by the phone call. What had happened to Taylor and who was this person who had seemingly taken over his body?
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The cop shined his flashlight directly into Taylor's eyes. "Step out of the vehicle please, sir."
"Uh, don't you want to see my license and registration?"
"I'll acquire those on my own."
"What?"
"Step out of the vehicle and let me see your hands."
Taylor sighed and did as the cop said, stepping out of his truck and into the headlights of the patrol car behind him. In an instant, the cop was turning Taylor around and placing his hands behind his back. "What the hell are you doing?"
"It's just a precaution, sir."
"Precaution, my ass!" He said as he shook his wrist out of the cop's grip without thinking about it first.
"Sir, are you resisting arrest?"
"Are you arresting me?"
"I am now," the cop said as he forced Taylor's hands behind his back and proceeded to cuff them.
"Goddammit," Taylor muttered as he was then led back to the patrol car.
The cop turned him around and kicked his ankles open. Taylor huffed in response. "I could have done that myself."
The cop then proceeded to pat him down and remove all the contents of his pockets, which wasn't much. As his belongings lay on the hood of the car, the cop flipped his wallet open and took out his license. "Jordan Taylor Hanson, huh? Tulsa, Oklahoma. Hey, I know that name. You're one of those MMMBop guys, right?"
Taylor rolled his eyes and nodded. "Yeah, yeah, MMMBop."
The cop then smiled. "I thought so. I'm gonna sit you right here in the backseat while I run your record."
"Is that really necessary? I mean, you have me cuffed, it's not like I can drive off."
"It's just a precaution."
"Right. A precaution."
Taylor was humiliated and agitated and all around fuming as he sat in the back of the patrol car. It seemed to take hours for the cop to do what he had to do and when he finished, he got out of the front seat and walked to the open back door and leaned down into the car. "So I pulled you over for reckless driving, speeding, and possible DUI. I didn't smell alcohol on you, so I saved myself the trouble of issuing the breathalyzer and
searching your truck. Didn't find it necessary. However, you happen to have an unpaid traffic ticket here in this county and you've been driving with a suspended license for quite some time. Oh, and you've managed to rack yourself up a resisting arrest charge, but lucky for you, it's only a misdemeanor."
Taylor could only gape up at the cop. "You gotta be kidding me..."
"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law..."
Unbelievable. Un-fucking-believable...
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Isaac didn't know if he should be concerned for Winn or not. He couldn't decide if the way she kissed him on her couch was out of character for her. While he enjoyed it--enjoyed it immensely--she'd been acting a little strange these past few days. No doubt she was still a little wary of him after the whole mistletoe incident. And he was sure that Taylor's sudden disappearance was throwing her for a loop, as well. But it wasn't like her to not let him get a word in edgewise. The moment he broke a kiss to speak, she was back on him again. At this rate, why the hell weren't they having sex by now?
His phone vibrated in his pocket and he ignored it. Instead, he settled himself further into the couch and held her tight against him, letting his hands wander over her body. If she was getting into it, he might as well give in.
His phone vibrated again. Ignoring it again, he kissed her deeper and his hand drifted under her shirt. She giggled for a moment as he had apparently reached a ticklish spot.
He was smiling at her when his phone vibrated AGAIN. Finally, he couldn't ignore it anymore. "Goddammit," he muttered. "Winn, I gotta check my phone."
"No," she pouted.
"I have to. Someone keeps blowing it up. I'll only be a second and then I'm all yours, okay?"
She groaned as she climbed off of him and he stood up off the couch, pulling his phone from his pocket. Four missed calls from Zac, no voicemails. Seriously?
He looked at Winn, helpless, but he knew he had to call him back. Four missed calls wasn't an accident. "Zac, what the hell is going on?" He asked when he answered.
"I'm at your condo, where are you?"
"I'm at Winn's. Why are you at my place?"
"Because we gotta go. Tay's in jail. In Arkansas."
"He's WHAT?" Isaac nearly lost his mind.
"I don't know the details, he couldn't talk long. We gotta go get him out. And drive his truck back here."
"Shit," he said under his breath. "Okay. Okay, just--I'll be there in ten, don't go anywhere."
"Hurry, it's a long drive."
Isaac hung up his phone and turned around and looked at Winn, her eyes wide. "What's going on?"
He let out a breath. "Winn, I gotta go--"
"What happened to him?"
Isaac rubbed his forehead, already exhausted. "Tay's sitting in jail in Arkansas. I don't know anything else but that. He called Zac to bail him out and I'm gonna go with him."
Winn's jaw dropped open from the shock, and then she closed it and nodded. "Okay. Um, okay."
"Everything's okay," he assured her.
She could only nod. "Okay."
He hugged her tight and then he kissed her. "I'll call you. Okay? I'll keep you up to date."
"Be careful. Don't kill him till you get him home."
Isaac had to laugh. "Sure, thing. Get some sleep tonight, okay? And tell your parents bye for me. They're really great people."
She nodded and she hugged him one more time before he got in his Escalade and left her house. Kill him when they get him home? He'll be lucky to make it out of Arkansas alive...
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"Speeding," Zac recited from the passenger seat while Taylor sat prisoner in the backseat of Isaac's Escalade at sunrise the next morning. "Reckless driving...driving with a suspended license...suspicion of DUI...and MY personal favorite--misdemeanor resisting arrest. I mean, shit, Tay, you shoulda just gone for broke and hit the guy and made it a felony. Make it count, right?"
"I SHOULD have hit the asshole," Taylor muttered nearly inaudibly. "I swear, he had it out for me."
"Tay, what the hell were you thinking?" Isaac said as he glanced in his rearview mirror. "Why would you do something so stupid?"
"If I hadn't run off the road, he wouldn't have pulled me."
"Wrong," Zac said. "He woulda gotten you for speeding anyway. Which, by the way, Ike, you want a stunning mug shot to match the beauty queen's back there? Slow the fuck down."
"I just want to get his truck and get home. I am exhausted. I've had no sleep--"
"Maybe if you hadn't spent the night sucking face with Winn, you'd have gotten to bed earlier and gotten a nap in before this lovely little escapade."
"Shut the fuck up, Zac," Taylor mumbled from the backseat.
Zac turned around in his seat and looked at his older brother. "What I want to know is, how the hell did you manage to forget to pay a simple fucking traffic ticket?"
"I don't even remember DRIVING here, much less getting pulled here! This shit is apparently from last year. Do you have any idea how long my license has apparently been suspended? It's bullshit!"
"You know, the fans are gonna eat this mug shot up," Zac snickered. "It's gonna be pandemonium all over the internet--"
"Screw the fans," Isaac said suddenly. "I'm more worried about the potential business partners we've invited to the party Wednesday night. If this gets out, we're screwed. Nobody's gonna want to do business with us if one of us, our main fucking spokesperson, can't seem to keep his shit together."
The Escalade was quiet. Isaac knew he had a point and now he knew his younger brothers were chewing on it. Isaac was so pissed off, he could spit nails.
An hour later, Zac was following on the highway as Isaac and Taylor rode in silence together. Finally, Taylor mumbled, "I swear if he tears up anything in that truck..."
"I think you have bigger things to worry about," Isaac spat.
"You know what? I'm not really in the mood for you to put on the big brother act right now," Taylor sneered. "You're just pissed off because I ruined yet another opportunity for you to get your hands down Winn's pants."
"The fuck are you--? Goddammit, Tay, come off it already. Get over yourself! You know, it can't be ALL about you all the fucking time. Do you not get it? Do you not understand that every move you make is a reflection on the band? And the label?"
"Oh. Right. The band," Taylor replied sarcastically.
"It is! We have the opportunity to get a couple of really good business deals this week and, with any luck, MAYBE this little incident won't get out and we won't be shit out of our opportunities. You really gotta think sometimes."
"I'm fine, Ike. Really, I'm fantastic. Thank you for asking. You know, it's really convenient that you're giving a shit about the band NOW, when I've been the brains of this operation for years. I'VE been the brains while Zac's off getting married and having babies, or while you're out drowning yourself in whiskey and beer and whatever woman you can get your hands on for the night. While you two assholes are off getting your kicks
wherever, I'M the one putting in all the time and the effort and--"
"Right, Tay. That's right, play the victim. Do what you do best. Oh, poor Taylor, he has no life, let him use work as a crutch--you know, maybe if you'd get out and GET a life, you wouldn't have to blame Zac and I for actually HAVING one."
"Yeah. Because I totally want YOUR life."
Isaac glanced at his brother. "You DO want my life."
Taylor glared back at him. "Fuck you."
"I'd watch my language if I were you. I'm the one who posted your bail. And I'm the one who made a deal with those guys to not release your mug shot. I'm the one who got our attorney out of the bed at three in the morning and I'm the one who had to drive all the way out to bum-fucked Arkansas to get your delinquent ass out of jail. The way I see it, you owe me."
"I don't owe you shit."
"You just sit there and stew on that and keep your mouth shut."
For the rest of the long hours home, Isaac prayed. He prayed hard. The big picture was, Taylor's arrest wasn't near as serious as it could have been. But in the eyes of the media--if it got out, and chances were, it would--even the smallest things were major. And while his license could be taken care of once he got home, the court date for his charges was already scheduled for the next month and, boy, what a media shit storm to have right before a tour.
Several hours down the road, they had to stop for gas. Taylor couldn't get out of Isaac's Escalade fast enough. "I'm riding in my own truck," he muttered as he opened the door. "Thanks for bailing me out." And with that, he walked over to his truck and climbed in the passenger side.
Isaac knew that was probably all the thanks he was going to get. He didn't care, he would have done it anyway. He was glad to be alone now, though, because now he could finally call Winn. He had yet to do anything he said he was going to do and he knew she was either worried sick or pissed off. He just hoped for understanding.
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"I'm so sorry this has been such a crappy weekend," Winn said as she hugged her parents at the airport. "I didn't mean to be such a buzz kill all weekend. Things are just really weird in my personal life right now."
"I'll say," her father agreed. "I expected one brother and got the other. But I like Isaac. He's good people. You keep him around, you'll have one fine husband someday."
"George!" Her mother scolded. "They're barely in a relationship, don't go marrying her off just yet."
"I know a good thing when I see it," her father said with a smile. "Anyway, thank his brother for me when you see him."
Winn glanced at her mother guiltily. She counted on her to fill her father in at some point at the goings on that he was apparently blind to. Not that there was anything to see. Isaac did what any man would do in his situation--he wined and dined her father and charmed the pants off of him. Isaac was doing everything right. Everything. So why couldn't she just let herself fall?
Isaac had called her on her way home from the airport, apologizing profusely for not calling sooner. He recounted the trip and recited Taylor's charges and described the consequences he was facing. He talked about the band and the business and how afraid he was that Wednesday night was going to be a complete bust. "I'm gonna be home in a few hours," he said to her, finally. "And I'm exhausted. I don't know how I've managed to stay awake to make this trip. Will you--will you meet me at my apartment? I just--I need you to lay with me. I mean, I know that sounds--I dunno, sappy or whatever, but--I dunno, I just need you. Is that weird?"
Winn shook her head into the phone as she pulled in her driveway. "No," she said quietly, her mind going a mile a minute. "No, it's not weird. I'll--I'll meet you there."
"Good. Thank you. I just--god, I can't wait to come home to you."
Winn's eyes widened. And several minutes later, she hung up the phone, walked into her house, and burst into tears. As she sobbed, her mind was filled with nothing but blue eyes, metal bars, and guilt.