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Zacky and the Lawyer

Raising Suspicion


I woke up the next morning with an unpleasant start to what sounded like a jackhammer going off. With a scowl coming over my face, I threw the bed covers aside and tramped over to the window, pulling the curtains back. I looked down. Sure enough, there was a crowd of people with construction equipment right next to our hotel. I sighed, my expression turning from one of anger to jaded disappointment. Why did there always seem to be construction going on near the hotels we were staying in? And why did it have to start so early in the morning?

I turned and walked back over to the bed, shaking my head and muttering to myself about noisy jackhammers, and checked the time on my phone. It was 9:04 AM, so it was probably just as good that I was awake, if I was being honest. Checkout was at ten, so this gave me an hour to get ready. Rolling my shoulders back, and resigning myself to the fact that I wouldn’t be getting any more sleep, I walked over to my suitcase to find some clothes for the day.

I finished making myself presentable with a couple of minutes to spare, and quickly repacked my suitcase with the few items I’d bothered to take out. Just as I was zipping it up, I heard a knock at the door. I stood to my full height, set my suitcase upright, and opened the door to see Matt.

“Hey Christa, you just about ready to go? I think everyone else is already downstairs. Well, except for Brian…” his voice trailed off, eyes sliding to the side.

I laughed. Brian was always the hardest one to get out of his hotel room. Probably because he was the most resistant to waking up in the first place, and also because he took the longest to get ready. “Yeah, I’m ready.” I grabbed the handle of my suitcase and pulled it up beside me, showing him it was packed. I took one last look around the room to make sure I hadn’t left anything, and stepped out into the hall with the singer.

“So, are we going to fetch Brian?” I asked. Matt chuckled, hands sliding into his pockets as he started off down the hall. “Well, if you don’t mind coming with me, it might make things easier.” I nodded my head and followed him. Brian had no problem telling his bandmates to fuck off and throw a pillow at them, but I was still new enough to the group that he was a bit more inclined to go along with what I asked.

…Well, at least sometimes.

We stopped in front of a door at the opposite end of the hall, Matt rapping against it with his fist. “Brian, we need to go! It’s already ten!” His voice was firm and left no room for argument.

A distinct grumbling could be heard from the other side of the door. It cracked open to reveal half of the guitarist’s face, one visible eyebrow drawn down into a frown.“I need, like, five more minutes.”

“Dude, no you don’t. We’ll have a stylist to fix your fuckin’ hair before the show tonight, no one cares what it looks like right now.” Matt’s voice was exasperated, and I giggled at the two of them. It would be so easy to just listen to their conversation and pretend I wasn’t here, but I was supposed to be helping Matt.

“C’mon, Brian, we need to go. They stop serving breakfast at ten, so if we wanna grab anything we need to get it now.” I added. The door opened the rest of the way suddenly, revealing an incredulous-looking Brian.

“What the hell? Who eats breakfast that early?” Matt and I looked at each other, but didn’t bother to answer the guitarist’s question. Brian sighed. “Fine, I’m coming, I’m coming.”

We followed Brian into the hotel room and watched him gather up a surprising number of hair care products. Matt snorted. “Shut up!” Brian said, grabbing a final can of hairspray off his bathroom counter and chucking it into his duffel bag. When everything was packed up, he walked back out the door with us and pulled it closed behind him.

We got to the lobby at 10:15, and found everyone else already waiting there. A few rolled their eyes jokingly; they knew it wasn’t Matt or I who’d held things up. Once Matt had managed to check us out at the reception counter, he turned to address everyone else. “Have you guys eaten?” They nodded. The three of us who’d shown up late walked to the other side of the lobby to the breakfast room. All the hot food had been cleared away at this point, but I did manage to grab a muffin to go. Matt and Brian grabbed bagels, and once the three of us had breakfast in hand, we all left the hotel.

After dropping our suitcases off in the bays underneath the tour buses, Val spoke. “So, you guys don’t need to be at the venue for soundcheck until three, right? I guess we could wander around the city until then, if we want.”

Zack nodded in confirmation. “Yeah, we’ve got a few hours to kill. But, I think someone had wanted to go shopping for a new outfit before tonight’s show.” One side of his mouth curved up into a smirk, and he crossed his arms smugly as he turned to face Johnny.

Brooks let out a short sigh through his nose as everyone else’s focus shifted to the bassist. “Again, dude?”

Johnny put up his hands defensively. “You guys know I tore my studded jacket during the last show! I need a new one. Besides, the rest of you could use a serious wardrobe update, too.”

The band grumbled a bit, looking at one another. The clothes they’d packed at the beginning of the tour had gotten pretty beaten up at this point. They tilted their heads from side to side at first, contemplating, and then finally started to nod in agreement with Johnny.

“Alright, then, I guess the five of us are going shopping,” Zack said with a chuckle, turning back to look at Val and me.

“I’ll take all the kids and we’ll do our own thing for a while, then. Give you guys some space,” Val said. The guys nodded to her in thanks. Shopping for clothes would be much easier without them there. “I can come with you, Val, if you want a hand,” I offered. She smiled at me, and with that, our plans were settled.

Zack kneeled down to get eye-level with his son, who was standing beside him. “Hey, Tennessee, do you wanna hang out with Chrissie and Aunt Val for the day?”

The little boy nodded, apparently feeling agreeable today. Sometimes, it was hard to get him to leave Zack’s side. “Okay!” he said, giving his dad a thumbs up. Zack returned the gesture, grinning at him, and stood back up.

“Alright, then. Meet back here at 2:30?” he questioned, looking around at our group. Everyone agreed. The guys were dressed mostly in sweats and sunglasses for now—Matt had swapped out his usual aviators for his “disguise” Ray-Bans—so hopefully they wouldn’t be recognized during the day. Considering that the five of them were tough enough to handle themselves, they preferred to not have a bodyguard on days they could get away with it.

The band hailed a large cab from the edge of the parking lot and all clambered in, waving to Val and I as Johnny started giving directions to the driver from the passenger’s seat. After they’d driven off, Val turned to look at me. She shrugged her shoulders. “I guess we could go to the park?”

I laughed softly. “That’s probably a good idea. I’m sure these guys would like to have a place to run around for a while, after being cooped up in the bus,” I said. I took hold of Tennessee’s hand in mine. We were still in the parking lot, but it never hurt to be safe.

The five of us walked to where the guys had just been standing and also called a cab, asking to go to the nearest park. When we’d arrived at the playground area, Val and I sat down on a bench at the edge of the sand lot and let the kids go free. There were already several other families there, with moms and dads watching their children play from the benches on either side of us.

We chatted about nothing in particular as we watched the kids climbing on the jungle gym and slides. I could tell that Val was making sure to keep a close eye on Cash, since he was the youngest, but all three of them seemed to be having a good time together. The conversation lulled after a while, and we sat in silent companionship as we watched the boys play.

After spending a few hours at the playground, during which I had to resist falling asleep in the warm sun, the kids seemed to have tired themselves out. Most of the people around us had left by now, replaced by the next shift of parents and their children. Judging by their slow movements, it looked like our kids were just about ready to leave, too.

“Should we call them back, you think?” I asked Val. She nodded, and we got up to walk over to the boys. “Hey there, are you guys ready to head back to the bus?” she asked them. They stopped in their path of moving up the spiral staircase to the tallest slide. “We don’t wanna go back yet!” River announced, speaking for the other two.

“Well, you look really tired,” Val said, trying to reason with him. “I think it’s time to leave the park.”

“Mooooom!” he said dramatically. Should have known there was no reasoning with a five-year-old.

“You guys have been playing really hard,” Val said, trying a different approach. “I think it’s time for a treat. What if we go get some ice cream to cool off, instead?”

I could see the kids’ eyes light up, and they spoke in unison. “Yeah!”

We gathered the three of them off the steps to the slide and, once Cash was safely back in Val’s arms, walked to the edge of the park to get another cab. With the help of the internet, I managed to find a nearby ice cream parlor on my phone, and asked the driver to take us there.

“Hear anything from the guys?” I asked Val, turning to look at her in the back seat. She nodded, looking like she was trying to hold in a smile. “Johnny already found a new jacket, apparently. Now he’s trying to convince the rest of them to buy their own flashy clothes.”

I laughed, turning back to face the front windshield. “That sounds about right.”

We arrived at the ice cream shop soon after, each of the kids picking up a paper bowl from a stack in the back of the room. The shop was set up so that you could choose your own soft-serve ice cream and toppings, and then pay based on the weight of your cup. The were a dozen self-serve stations with different flavors along the back wall. Val helped her two boys get the flavors they wanted, and I got Tennessee the strawberry he’d requested.

We were on to the toppings bar next, which contained everything from cookie dough bits to gummy worms. After getting about five different toppings for Tennessee, I decided I might need to cut him off. I was no expert on kids’ nutrition, but I was pretty sure giving them a boatload of sugar wasn’t recommended by anyone. “I think that’s probably enough, buddy,” I said as I put a small spoonful of rainbow sprinkles into his cup. I held it down to show him. “Look, you can’t even see the ice cream anymore!”

He paused for a moment in contemplation, examining the cup’s contents, and eventually nodded. “Okay. But I still need chocolate sauce!”

I glanced up to see that the last station was for various syrups. Damn, I hadn’t noticed those before. “Well okay, we can get some chocolate sauce, but that’s the last thing!”

I heard someone giggle behind me, and turned around to see an older woman in line behind us. She smiled at me. “Sorry, I just couldn’t help but notice that your son is adorable.”

I smiled back at her, opening my mouth and closing it again as her words sunk in. “Oh, thank you, but he’s not actually my son. I’m… looking after him for a friend.”

She smiled again. “Well, either way, he’s very cute.”

I thanked her again, and turned back to Tennessee as I felt him tugging on the bottom of my shirt. “I need chocolate sauce!” he whined.

“Don’t worry, buddy, I’m about to get you some.” I set his cup down beneath the dispenser and pushed the lever, chocolate goo adding to the sugary concoction already in his cup.

Once we’d paid for the kids’ ice creams and grabbed three plastic spoons, we all sat down at a table outside the shop. Val and I ended up on one side, with the three kids sitting on the other side. “What did that lady say to you, Christa?” Val asked me curiously as the kids started eating.

“Oh,” I said, moving my eyes away from Tennessee to look at her. “She was saying my son was cute,” I said, gesturing to the boy seated across from me. “I told her he wasn’t mine, but a friend’s.”

Val nodded, a smile growing on her face. She spoke quietly when she responded. “Maybe he’s not yours, but the two of you are cute together. He obviously likes you a lot, I can see why she thought you were his mom.”

I could feel my face heating up a bit at her comment, but tried to wave it off. “Nah, I think I’m just one of his friends who happens to be an adult. I don’t think I’m cut out for being a parent, I don’t know how you guys do it.” I gave a short, awkward laugh. When I looked back at Val, I noticed one of her eyebrows was raised, and her expression had shifted to mischievous. Oh, shit.

“You’d be a great mom, Christa. Zack’s already a great dad. The two of you would make a good team.” She was speaking very quietly at the end, making sure none of the kids could hear her. Though, quite frankly, they were so immersed in their ice cream at the moment that we probably could’ve been shouting and they wouldn’t have heard it.

I looked at her with barely-restrained shock now. Did she know? Was she onto me? The smirk growing on her face told me she was. “How did you…?” I left the question hanging in the air, unable to finish it.

She gave a small shrug. “I dunno. I guess I just know the signs of being in love with a member of this band. From personal experience and all.” I opened my mouth to correct her statement, but she continued before I got the chance. “It doesn’t seem like any of them have noticed, though. Don’t worry, you haven’t been too obvious.”

I felt a tiny bit of relief at that, but still stuttered out my next words. “I-I’m not in love with Zack.” My voice was quiet, and I kept stealing glances at the kids to make sure they were still distracted. They were, so I decided to explain. “I just, I used to have a crush on him back before we met, and I’m still trying to get over it, but it’s hard when we’re all together like this—” I cut myself off before I could do any more damage. Dear Jesus, could I sound any more unprofessional if I tried?

Val laughed softly. “It’s okay, Christa. You haven’t done anything wrong. And you don’t have to be so stiff, it’s okay! I won’t tell anyone. I promise.” I looked at her face, and could tell she was being honest. I let out a slow sigh of relief, trying to steady myself.

“Thank you, Val. I’m sorry. I’m just… trying not to cross any boundaries, you know? I’m here to do a job, and I don’t want anyone to get the idea that I have… ulterior motives.” I shifted in my seat, a bit uncomfortable.

She nodded, smiling sympathetically now. “I understand, Christa. But, even so, there’s nothing wrong with you spending time with Tennessee if you want to. It helps him out, and it helps Zack out. So just don’t overthink it, okay? Just do what you want to do.” She paused for a moment, as if considering her next words. Then she smirked again, adding, “And let me know if you decide you want help snagging Zack. I think we might be able to make it happen. You fit in well around here, Christa, and we don’t find people we can say that about too often.”

I was having mixed feelings about everything she said, but settled for smiling gratefully at her. “Thanks, Val. I really like hanging out with all of you, and Tennessee, too. But, I think it’d be best if I just stay in the role I was hired for…” Maybe? I didn’t quite sound convinced, even to myself.

“Whatever you wanna do, Christa. But the offer stands.” She winked at me and turned back to the kids, finally raising her voice back to a normal volume. “Hey, are you guys gonna share any of that ice cream?”

The boys finished eating a few minutes later, and we hailed another cab to go back to the buses. It was only one o’clock, but it was almost time for Cash’s nap, and the kids didn’t seem to care about going anywhere else, anyways.

Once we were back at the bus and I’d grabbed my laptop, I excused myself from Val and the kids. I needed to go spend some time working on the guys’ bus, and even more than that, I needed to be alone with my thoughts. I sat down on the couch in the main living area, and let my shoulders slump.

I loved Val, but she must have been crazy. There was no way in hell that I’d ever be like a mom to Tennessee. I was just trying to be a friend, a companion when Zack couldn’t be there. And Zack...

I felt my face flush again at just the thought of him. Val thought the two of us could be together? There was no way. No way he’d ever be interested in me. And their band family was happy, and I was happy being their lawyer. There was no way I wanted to mess up the relationship we had. They were my favorite clients, and I couldn’t go ruining that by making a move on their guitarist and getting fired—

But if you married Zack, I mean, you could still be their lawyer. And then you’d be Tennessee’s stepmom, too, which is kind of like being his mom—

The thought had come unbidden, and I shut it down as soon as I could, putting my face into my hands with a groan. No. No, no, no! That was ridiculous. It wasn’t going to happen. I was going to do my job, and I was going to spend time with Tennessee when Zack couldn’t, and things were going to continue on as they were. I opened up my laptop, hoping to distract myself with work, and was confronted by the picture of everyone backstage with my arms wrapped around Zack’s neck again.

“Not helping,” I muttered, opening an internet browser window with a forceful click. With the picture successfully hidden, I did my best to throw my mind back into work.

It took a few minutes, but I did finally manage to get myself into a decent groove. I was researching other cases where musicians had walked away from their recording contracts early, and examining the results and the judges’ rulings. I was making notes of anything remotely similar to our case, typing away contentedly for quite some time.

Eventually, I was drawn out of my focused state when I heard the door to the bus open. I looked up from my laptop to see the band quickly enter as a group. They were each carrying at least one shopping bag from what I could see, and they were talking to each other in hurried voices. I looked back to my computer to see that it was already 2:47 PM. That would explain it.

“Is everything okay, you guys?” I asked them. I knew they were probably stressed because we were leaving seventeen minutes later than intended, but figured I should at least make my presence known.

Five pairs of eyes shifted to me, seeing me for the first time. “Oh, hey, Christa. Everything’s fine, we just need to leave for the venue, like, now if we’re going to be able to do our full soundcheck.” Johnny explained.

Matt nodded in agreement. “Yeah, but our driver’s here and ready to go. If we leave now, we should be fine.” He set his shopping bag down on the seat across from me, and looked expectantly towards the front of the bus in the direction of the driver’s cabin. “Aaaaany minute now…”

As if on cue, the rumble of the engine starting could be heard a moment later. The bus was backing up, then pulling forward, and we were soon leaving the hotel parking lot to get back on the road.

The guys seemed to relax then, realizing we were officially on the way to the venue. They grabbed drinks from the fridge and settled down into the couches. I scooted over to accommodate Johnny and Brian next to me, shutting my laptop as I did so. I could pick back up where I left off later. “So, what’d you guys all buy today?”

The band humored me with a tour of their shopping bags, holding up items in turn for my inspection. They ranged from new black jeans for Brian to a skull t-shirt for Matt to Johnny’s leather jacket. It was covered in shiny, silver spikes that must have each been an inch long, and actually looked kind of dangerous. I laughed at the sight. “What the hell, Johnny? You’re gonna hurt someone with that thing.”

“Exactly!” he said, seeming far too satisfied with my reaction. “It might finally keep these assholes from messing with me on stage!”

That gave everyone a good laugh, though we all knew it wouldn’t be nearly enough to keep the rest of the guys from picking on him. We spent the rest of the drive talking about the band’s plan for the show that night, and ultimately arrived at the venue only ten minutes late.

The guys hopped up and headed for the door as soon as the bus stopped. We said our goodbyes, and Zack, being the last one out, turned around to address me. “You coming to the show tonight, Christa?”

I thought about it for a second, then smiled and nodded at him. “Yeah, I’ll be there!”

He grinned back at me. “Awesome! We’ll see you backstage, then.” With that, he turned and followed his bandmates out the door, closing it behind him.

I smiled contentedly to myself. Getting to see the show was always a good time. Plus, having something to look forward to actually gave me motivation to work for the next few hours. I opened my computer up again, and got back at it.

Notes

Comments

NESS FOR THE WIN

BeccaBearSc BeccaBearSc
1/29/19

@violetshade

Thank you so much! I know I teased it for a long time, but they finally got that kiss, lol! And I had so much fun writing this story around Tennessee!

rizanicole rizanicole
1/29/19

@rockstarsNredpants
@Nicole

Thank you both!! I don't have any plans to continue it at the moment, but I also didn't want to stop writing it when I got to the end, lol. I may well end up adding to it in the future! :)

rizanicole rizanicole
1/29/19

@BeccaBearSc

Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked the ending :)

rizanicole rizanicole
1/29/19

I loved it!! Nice to see them finally hook up! And way to,go Ness for playing matchmaker :)

violetvictoria violetvictoria
1/27/19