Lost Innocence

Chapter Twenty Seven

POV Christine

When Joe and Samantha walked off I looked at Paul with a soft smile.
"Samantha already adores him." I said as I hugged Paul. 
"I've missed you, I always do when we are apart." I said.
"I missed you too, to much." Paul said returning the smile. I blushed. Paul always made it so easy for me to blush. 
"He's so different." Emily said resting her head on John's shoulder. 
"He's been through a lot." Paul said.

Much later, the boys announced that they had booked concert all over New York. After years, people loved them and remembered them. They would have to leave that night. A couple minutes into the conversation there was a ring at the doorbell and I walked over to answer the door. There stood two familiar men and one woman I did not know. 
"Ah, Christine Smith. I remember you. You knew me as Coach Taylor but please call me Zach, this is one of your former classmates Ian Miller, and my girlfriend Mary Davis." 
"Hi, I don't mean to sound rude but what exactly are you doing and how did you find me?" I asked.
"We are here in search of The Runaways, I recently founded a new record company and was wondering if The Runaways were in search of a new manager." Zach said. 
"Well, come in, they are in the foyer." I said opening the door and allowing them into my home. I lead them to the boys who were in the foyer with the rest of us. Joe had been talking with Samantha on his lap. I quickly walked over and picked her up, holding her as Zach spoke. 
"Hello boys." 
"Ian!" The boys yelled as the all pilled over to him hugging him. The girls greeted him and then they looked at Zach. 
"Coach Taylor, what brings you here?" Steven asked. 
"Boys, we are past high school, call me Zach or Zachary." He said. 
"Aren't you dating Janet?" I asked Ian. 
"Yeah, she's stayed behind because her mother is very ill, I plan on going home to see her soon." Ian replied. I nodded and continued to listen to Zach.
"I've watched you boys grow in popularity ever since you were in high school, and now in New York you've been generating an even bigger fan base, I have an office back in New York and if you guy are interesting in having a manager, I love to have a chat." Zach said giving them each a business card. 
"We're free now." Paul said looking at him. 
"Well, alright then. Ian, is my business partner. He will be present and helping with booking of gigs and helping you when you are in the recording studio." Zach said. I smiled at Mary. 
"Would you like to join me and the girl in the backyard for some tea?" I offered.
"That would be very nice." Mary responded. I put Samantha down and held her hand as Mary walked with me and the girls to the yard. Recently, we had hired some workers. We had a butler, maids, cooks, and a nanny whenever I got busy. The butler poured us all some tea and walked back into the house. 
"It's very nice to meet you Mary. I'm Christine, this is Emily, Sophie, Sherrie, and that is John." I said as he walked out and sat beside Emily. 
"I'm not a part of the band, I'm just this beautiful woman's boyfriend." John said kissing Emily's cheek. 
"We've been together for five years." Emily said. 
"I'm David's girlfriend, he's the guitar player. Sophie here is dating the drummer, Steven." Sherrie said. 
"What about you?" Mary asked looking at me. 
"I'm seeing Joe, this is our daughter Samantha." I said tickling her as she giggled. 
"Hi Samantha." Mary said with a smile. 
Samantha smiled and waved. 
"How did you meet Zach?" Sophie asked. 
"It's a funny story actually. I had booked a couple of gigs at Serpent Cove to fill in for The Runaways while Joe was gone but he never came back and I became a permanent act for two years and Zach met me at my first gig and then I met Ian and Janet. Very nice people." Mary said sipping her tea. 
"Janet and I don't have the best history but that's all in the past. As long as I don't have to speak or interact with her anymore I'm fine." I said. 
"I'm sorry to hear." Mary said. 
"It's fine, like I said it's in the past." I replied. 
I studied Mary's physical features. She was beautiful. Tall and thin like me with long brunette hair. Mary had nice curves that made outlined her body very beautifully. Mary's long hair was straight and she rocked her bangs. 
"If Zach and the band goes into business together, you'll be seeing a lot of us." Emily said. 
"I'm looking forward to it, I've never had many girl friends before." 
"Consider all of us your friends." Sherrie said with a sincere smile. Mary smiled back and Samantha clapped and giggled. We all laughed at how cute it was. 
"Yay, I have a new friend too!" Samantha yelled. 
"Yes you do honey." Mary said sweetly. When it came to Samantha I was very protective but I had a good feeling about Mary and could tell she had a good heart. 
"Where are you from?" Sophie asked.
"L.A." Mary replied. 
"That's awesome." 
"I have a large beach home much like this one in Malibu, maybe one day we can plan a trip and maybe invite the boys."
"That sounds like a good idea, I would love to see Samantha experience something as fun as that." I said. We continue to talk as we drank our tea. 

POV Paul 

Zach sat down with us and discussed what he wanted to do with us and how he would go about managing us. This opened a door for stardom. The guy knew what he was talking about and who be able to produce our songs into albums. Back in high school he always seemed like a good guy, he was a good coach and was always cracking jokes with us. It helped that he wasn't that much older than us. Zach discussed marketing techniques and how he would help us rise to fame and become a household name. The butler came over with a tray of champagne and glasses and when I looked to the side Christine winked and gave me two thumbs up. I chuckled and grabbed a glass. We continued to speak to him about albums, gigs, and tours. The boys and I looked at each other and we decided to make this deal with him. By the time, we had made the deal it was time for us to head back to New York. Mary hugged the girls good bye and then Joe walked over to Christine. Joe gave her a hug and kissed on the cheeks and then picked up Samantha and started to give her kisses all over her cheek as she giggled. 
"Daddy will come see you soon." Joe said as he hugged her when he put her down. 
If I couldn't have Christine I was happy she would be with someone I knew had a good heart like Joe. My best friend. When Joe walked out with Steven and David I walked over to Christine with my hands in my pocket. 
"Bye, Uncle Paul, I'll miss you." Samantha said. 
I knelt down in front of her and hugged her. 
"I'll miss you too angel." I said. I got back up and looked at Christine. We both hated good byes. We always knew it wouldn't be the last time we would ever see each other but we always knew it would be a long time till we could see each other again. As the sun set the light hit Christine and her beauty glowed. 
We hugged each other and it lingered for a moment. We both looked at each other after we embrace and gave each other faint smiles as I walked to the car. 

I sat in the back with Joe and saw his smile.
"Samantha is definitely a mini version of you." I said.
"Dude, I can see it one day, Christine and I sitting in the backyard sharing a bottle of wine with you and your wife." 
"I don't know about that, I might just opt out a be the only member of The Runaways to be a bachelor." 
"You deserve to be happy Paul." 
I sighed and nodded as I looked out the window.