Once I was full, I was able to process all that just took place. It wasn't long before my walk from the kitchen to some hallway that I'd never been in before that I realized I was lost. With all the gadgets I'd seen around here, you'd think they'd have a panic button. Instead of panicking, I was glad I had my phone on me. I decided to call my cousin Monica.
"Well, if it isn't my cousin who said she would call me back, but... it's been a whole day later."
I smirked, "Good morning, Monica."
"Uh-huh. So, what happened? Have you started recording music?"
I took a deep breath as I walked to the end of the hall which turned into a living room that had a view of the garden. How did I end up on this side of the house?
"Hello? Can you hear me?" Monica asked me.
I took a seat on one of the leather sofas. "What I'm about to tell you is classified information."
"Who do I have hurt?" She inquired.
I reclined onto the couch as I looked up at the beautiful, crystal chandelier that hung from the tall ceiling. "Cousin, after we came back from the beach yesterday, we're in the car and Zeke finds out that his dad is home. Rewind, before we even go to the beach, I meet his mom and she asks where did we meet. Zeke tells her we met at the beach."
Monica laughed, "Girl, you ain't never been to the beach in your life."
"Exactly!"
"You wouldn't even know what a beach looks like if you saw it," Monica joked.
I wasn't laughing.
She continued, "Like if you were standing on the beach, you'd probably think you were standing on a bunch of salt, and the water was the edge of the earth."
"Monica, I will hang up on you." I warned her.
She cleared her throat. "As you were saying."
I rolled my eyes as I exhaled. "So, when we were alone, I asked him why did he tell his mom that we met at the beach. That's when he gives me this story or plan for me while I'm here. Zeke said that his brother and his dad are very controlling when it comes to music. If they knew that he was helping me, they would take over. In order to keep that from happening, Zeke wants them to believe that we are together."
Silence.
"Monica?"
"I'm here. I'm just trying to process what you just said. What do you mean by y'all being together?"
I stood up. "He wants them to think that I'm his girlfriend even though I'm not."
Monica asked, "Okay. Umm... No. That is not going to work unless he secretly wants to date you, and this is his way of getting close to you."
I disagreed, "He can have any girl he wants. He's Zeke Rivers. I just wish we didn't have to pretend to be a couple." I walked over to one of the three ceiling-to-floor windows. The garden seemed to go out farther than I expected. How much land is this mansion sitting on?
Monica asked, "Do you want my advice?"
Not really, but I I know she'll tell me anyway. "Go on."
"You need to hurry up and make music so that this fake relationship doesn't go public. Zeke is a celebrity. His ex-fiance is a singer, and they just broke up like last year. The blogs and social media would be all up in your business. Trust me. I react to those kind of videos all the time. You want to be known for your music career not for dating a celebrity." She was telling the truth.
I closed my eyes. "Well, he has a busy schedule today, and he won't be back until 6 p.m."
"Jamie, I don't know much about the music industry, but if Beyonce can make B-Day in three weeks, then you can make an album in four days. Not to be harsh, but this Diddy. You in Bad Boy land, now."
I chuckled, "Monica, what are you talking about?"
"I don't know what else to say, but send me some more videos and pictures, I need ideas for when I re-decorate my apartment," Monica told me.
"Speaking of apartments, could you check my mail like twice a week? I don't want it to pile up."
"With what mailbox key?" She asked me.
"Oh, my mom has my car keys. My mailbox key is on there. It's small and has my apartment number on it." I explained as I slowly walked from corner to corner of the living room.
Monica sneezed.
"Bless you," I told her.
"Thank you," she sniffed. "That kinda hurt. It felt like my heart just ruptured."
I lightly laughed as I stepped into the hall to see a man walking towards me. "Monica, I gotta go. Call you back." I quickly hung up.
As he got closer, I instantly recognized his face. I'm not sure of his exact age, but if he was 18 in the late 90s, he has to be between 35 and 40. Fortunately, he looked as if age never plagued him. His hair was cut low and curled at the top of his head. Just looking at his eyes, he and Zeke looked more alike today than they did in the past. Zeke was shorter and more toned than his brother. Rival aka Zachary Rivers was taller and had a basketball player's physique. When the light hit his eyes, they seemed to glow or become a lighter brown.
He squinted his eyes and stopped a few feet away from me. "Have we met before?"
I shook my head, "Oh, no. I'm not anyone you'd know."
"Who you related to?" He asked me.
"I'm not famous at all. I'm with... I'm, umm... I'm Zeke's girlfriend." Why was that so hard to say?
He arched a brow. "My brother can never stay single for long, but it's not your fault. You're a pretty lady. What's your name?"
"Jae," I continued to hold my hand out.
He shook it. "Nice to meet you, Jae. I'm Zack."
"I know. I'm a big fan of your music," I admitted.
Zack crossed his arms. "That so? What's your favorite song?"
"That's kinda hard. I like your first song 'Afterparty,' and your number one single 'Lengendary.'"
Zack took a step back. "Oh, you for real? That's hard. Okay. Well, since you a fan, I'll autograph anything you want."
"Really?"
"Yeah!"
"Could you sign my notebook?"
He nodded his head.
I started to walk past him, but I slowly turned around. "Funny thing is... I'm a little lost."
Zack chuckled, "Zeke didn't give you the tour, yet?"
"Yes... and no. I only know the kitchen and my bedroom... somewhat," I told him.
He asked, "What view does your room have?"
"The pool. I'm upstairs."
Zack clasped his hands together. "I know exactly where that's at. It used to be my escape room, because it's the only room with that view of the pool."
What kind of room isolation did Zeke put me in?
Zack led the way. "I promise it's safe. There's just a lot of entrances and exists to that room. Did he show you the pool sticks on the wall?"
I smiled, "Yeah. It's really cool. I heard that you live here, too."
"Yes and no. Zeke and I don't have to live here, but our parents had us when they were older. We want to be around them as much as we can. I try to stay here atleast a few days a month before going back to my condo."
I should've been paying attention to the navigation, but I was only listening to Zack. Somehow, we ended up in front of my bedroom door.
"Now, I've traveled to a lot of places to know that you're not from Cali. I hear a southern accent."
I nodded my head, "Yes. I'm from the south."
Zack crossed his arms. "Not just the south. You sound like a woman from a particular area that grew up watching movies in black and white."
Okay, now. He was the second person to point that out. No one back home talks about my voice.
"Did I offend you?" Zack asked.
"No."
"You got real quiet when I said that, but I meant it as a compliment." Zack leaned against the frame of the door.
I shook my head, "No. Zeke mentioned the way I talked, too. I just always thought I sounded normal."
Zack smiled at me. "How old are you?"
"Twenty-nine."
Zack frowned, "You look younger. You and Zeke must be really serious. He normally dates older women."
Why is he bringing this up? I turned the door knob. "Let me get that notebook." I walked inside my room and headed for the bed. Where is that notebook? Then, I saw it lying in the purple velvet love seat in the corner of the room.
"All purple? That your favorite color?"
I grabbed the notebook and turned around. "Y-yeah."
Zack was walking around my room. "I've only seen this room in white, gold, and when it was mine - black and red."
I opened the notebook to the first page. I picked up my ink pen and my eyes bucked when I saw the lyrics to a song I was writing. I tried to flip through a few pages, but there were too many lyrics. I flipped the cover over, exposing the other side of it, and the pages in the notebook were flipped behind it, face down. "Here you go."
Zack walked over to me and took the notebook. He placed it on the bed and used my ink pen to sign it. "J-A-Y?"
"J-A-M-I-E," I spelled my name out. "Umm, that's my middle name." The lies!
Zack chuckled, "J-A-M-I-E. Here you go." He gave the notebook and ink pen back to me.
"Thank you," I quickly closed the notebook. "How long will you be staying?"
"I just got here," Zack rubbed his chin. "How long are you staying?"
I shrugged, "Not really sure, but Zeke is helping me with my career."
"Really? What's that?"
I looked down before rubbing my right arm with my left hand. "Movies."
"Acting?"
I shook my head before looking at him. "No. I would like to work on movie sets, you know, be a part of the film crew. I'm a big movie critic."
"Girl, you can start your on YouTube channel and make more money faster." He sat on my bed.
"I know. My cousin is a big YouTuber."
Zack raised his brows. "Really? What's her channel?"
"I mean, we're not really close. She told me about it a long time ago, but I don't go on YouTube a lot to like, know exactly what she does on there." I thought Zeke said his dad would be grilling me not his brother.
Zack shrugged, "Well, I wish you luck with your dream career."
"Thanks."
"It was nice getting to know you, Jamie."
"You can call me Jae," I told him.
He stretched his long legs and arms. "I like Jamie, but I'll call you whatever you want."
I walked over to my bedroom door.
Zack got up from my bed. He pulled me into a side hug. "I'll be around the house if you ever get lost, again."
I lightly laughed as he walked out my room. I closed the door.
What was that? Zeke needs to come get his brother.