“Don’t you dare turn this around on me.”
“I flew my girlfriend here today and I had another girl here yesterday. Why would I do that?”
“I don’t know why men do the stupid shit you do.”
“Just because your ex-husband cheated on you, it doesn’t mean I have or will. I’m not Erik.”
“I never said you were Erik.”
“I’m trying to have a baby with you. Why would I do this? This was completely set up by Winston. Tara, she’s been passed around.”
“Did you sleep with her?”
“Yes, when I was doing coke, and smack, and molly. That was before I met you.”
None of what he said made me feel better. It made sense and seemed to be the truth but he had lied to me before.
“I didn’t know what to believe.”
“I’m trying to have a family with you. I love you. Why do you find my intentions so hard to trust and believe.”
“I don’t know.” My voice quivered.
“What do I have to do to make you a believer?”
“Jagger, I don’t know.”
“If you left me over this ludicrous rubbish I would be fucking ill, like bloody gutted.”
“I’m not trying to bloody gut you.”
He rolled his eyes at me. It made me feel like I was the young one and he was old wise Obi-Wan Kenobi.
“Do you think I’m— you have no faith in me, in us?”
“Jagger, I’m really tired. You’re probably tired. You were running all around New York today. Let’s just get in bed and go to sleep.”
His hands rested at his waist as he gave me an unsympathetic look. “Fine.”
He took my suitcase and rolled it away from the bed. He took my bag and placed it in the chair. I removed the top blanket were that nasty ass crackhead had her bare ass and replaced it with a thinner blanket I found in the closet. I tossed the pillows I knew she touched on the floor in the closet. I didn’t want to see that shit. I didn’t want to be reminded of Tara Snow.
Chapter 30
JAGGER
Life was moving about according to God’s plan. At the very least rapper, Drake thought so. He was on the remix of our single Jumping Into Something. Archie, Colin, Winston and I were all back in London filming the video for that second single on the album. The video shoot would be easy enough. I’d done too many to count. Drake had flown in from Canada just to make a guest appearance in the video. He was a cool bloke but he was a real Casanova. He had a reputation with the ladies. I was going to make sure he never crossed paths with my girl. I designed it that way in purpose.
Kat was flying into my home country. We had a lot to talk about. I’d spent Christmas in Naperville and finally got a chance to meet her daughter Kennedy. It wasn’t odd. She literally looked like Kat’s sister. Absolutely no one would think they were mother and daughter.
It was important that I didn’t buy very expensive gifts for Aaron and Kennedy. But of course, I wanted Kat’s kids to like me. Christmas with Kat was something special to me. Being with a family even if everyone was doing their own thing was a gift. I wanted to be apart of that a family and not a guest. Winston, Archie, and Colin had families they spent the holidays with. I tagged along sometimes but I felt like a reject. They took pity on me and invited me. It felt strange because they were the celebrities in their families. Me being there made two famous people and it didn’t seem fair to my bandmates.
We finished the video after two days. Drake did his part. He added a little swag to an already swagged out dance track. Toxic Shock took him out to dinner to celebrate.
Tomorrow I would take Kat to my aunt’s place not too far from the hotel. I wanted to formally introduce my true love to my aunt Linda and my little cousin Mandy. My aunt had to raise me after my mum was killed. My father didn’t have the proper skill to take care of me after mum died. I wished I’d spent more time with him but I was just a boy trying to adjust to a tragic situation the best I could. I used work to soothe me. Even as a child I was a workaholic.
I missed my father. He was a quiet man and I never knew much about him because I was too young to make a proper inquiry.
Kat’s flight arrived around midday. She was a vision of loveliness. Her hair was straight and bouncy. She was wrapped in a wool tan coat. Her Louis Vuitton luggage matched her coat and boots.
I assured her that I would have adequate security at the hotel. I didn’t want a repeat of what happened with the New York City incident. The Tara Snow situation wasn’t my bloody fault. It was Winston’s fault and I dealt with him soon after. He owed my Kat an apology and he promised to give it to her the next time he saw her.
“How was your flight?” I removed her coat and placed it in the closet by the entryway.
“Long but worth it.” She greeted me with a passionate kiss. I touched her hair. It was straight and shiny. I liked the look. It was different.
“You have to come back in March for the beginning of the tour. You’re my good luck charm.”
“It starts here in London?” Kat wiped my lips clean of her tinted lip-gloss.
“Yes, at the O2 Arena. Then we’re going to Manchester, Birmingham, New Castle, and Sheffield. Then we’re done with England. Our next stop is Scotland, two nights. Then we have three nights in Dublin Ireland, and then three more nights up in Northern Ireland, and Belfast. After that, we are going to the states. Whereabouts,
