The Billionaire’s Fan (The Whispering Oaks Society)

Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Asher

I received a text a week ago. It was Jordyn from Jingle . It was a text that came out of nowhere. But I played along. Hell, I didn’t even know what Jingle was; I had to ask the guys. I downloaded the dating app right away and searched for her name. It wasn’t the easiest. She could have been anyone and anywhere. But with some backward sleuthing using the unique way her name was spelled and the area code from her phone number, I found her.

Jordyn was beautiful. She had a youthful, yet sophisticated look with a heart-shaped face and almond-shaped green eyes with an intense gaze. In her photos, she had a few different hairstyles. Long and flowing waves, to short, to relaxed updos. If I go by what I saw on her social media, she currently has longer hair. I was drawn to her and especially to the banter between us between texts.

Clearly, she thought I was someone else. Either that guy gave her the wrong number, or she wrote it down wrong. I was happy about the mix-up, regardless. I was thrilled to take his place. After all, it was his loss and my gain.

Since I narrowed down where she was, I also checked out our schedule and saw that Knights Honor would play close to Empire Bay. One of my favorite areas of the country and a place where I call home. And also the last leg of the tour for the next two months.

So, I secured her a pass and in a way, tricked her into a first date. And by the look on her face right now, as she stands in the doorway to my private dressing room, she wasn’t expecting the guy she was texting back and forth with to be me. Asher Knight.

“You’re not Jeff,” she says after a moment of shock.

“No. My name is Asher. Not Jeff.”

“Okay, but is Jeff supposed to be here?” she asks, looking around me nervously into the room.

“I’m afraid not.” I smile with a shake of my head.

“As awesome as this moment should be. And it really is. I’ll get to that in a moment. But I’m supposed to be meeting someone back here. His name is Jeff. Do you know him?”

“Jordyn, right?”

Her eyes widen and her body goes rigid when I say her name, “Um, yes?”

“Jeff won’t be coming. You’re here to meet me. I’m your date.”

“You’re. My. Date?” she asks slowly. “Wait, no you’re not. This is some kind of joke.”

“I am. I’m your date tonight.”

“And you’re not Jeff.”

“Correct.” I nod. “Last time I checked, I’m not Jeff.”

“You’re Asher Knight.”

“Nice to meet you.” I hold out my hand to her.

“I think I’m going to be sick.” She looks at my hand, then my face.

I invite her into the room and direct her to the couch. I grab water from the mini-fridge on the counter and sit beside her.

“Here.” She takes the bottle from me and untwists the top to take a large sip.

“Oh my God. I was catfished.” She mumbles. “I jinxed myself and was catfished. Not like this isn’t amazing. And oh shit, I’m acting like a blubbering idiot in front of you. Shit. I’m sorry. But I wasn’t expecting to see you. You’re not Jeff.”

“You keep mentioning that. Not Jeff. How did you get my number?” I ask.

“You, I mean, Jeff gave it to me. Oh my God. Was it you? Were you pretending to be Jeff because you know you’re you ?” she looks at me with embarrassment.

“No. The first I’ve talked to you was when you sent me a text last week.”

“This is so embarrassing.” She puts her head in her hands.

“Nah, it’s fun,” I say, standing. I walk over to the counter and grab a beer. “So, Jordyn from Jingle . Now that the initial shock has worn off, welcome to the show.”

She laughs awkwardly.

“I’m the same guy that you’ve been texting with all week. I may not be this Jeff guy, but I’m hoping that you will forgive me for that.”

“You’re Asher Knight.” She repeats. “You’re a rock God.”

“No. I mean, yes, I’m Asher Knight, but I’m just a regular guy.”

“I can’t believe this.”

“Best first date ever?”

“Is this a date?”

“I’d very much like it to be,” I tell her.

“The most shocking first date I’ve ever had. I have so many questions. But wait, you have to go on stage soon.”

“I do.” I nod.

“What am I supposed to be doing?”

“Watching the show, of course. You just get to watch from the side of the stage, that’s all.”

“This is surreal.” She shakes her head.

She relaxes, and we get some initial ‘get to know you’ questions out of the way. After a few minutes, she’s a little more at ease. But time moves too quickly and my presence is being requested. The opener for our show tonight just finished and our crews are swapping everything set for the show.

I stand and hold my hand out to her. She places hers in mine and it fits perfectly. I pull her up and we’re standing a foot away from one another.

“After the show, we usually go out to eat. I would very much like it if you would come out with us?”

She looks up at me and smiles. “I could do that.”

I squeeze her hand. “Okay, so I’ll show you where you can stand and watch the show. I know now I’m rushing you. Are you okay with all this?”

“I think so.” She nods.

“Good. Come on. I’ll introduce you to the rest of the guys. I think Tammy and Bianca will be out there too. They’re Tate and Davey’s girlfriends. They’re cool. You’ll like them.”

I turn towards the mirror and check my reflection. I push my hand through my hair and straighten my shirt, then turn around to face her.

“How do I look?”

“Serious? You look great. I mean, you look good. Yeah.”

“I’ll take that.” I wink at her, hold my hand out to her again, and then we leave my dressing room.

Jordyn’s hand stays within mine as I wind her through the backstage area. We come to a large space where the rest of the guys are standing around. Davey has his arms around his girlfriend, Tammy, who is talking to Tate’s girlfriend Bianca. Tate stands off to the side with Mike and they all look up as we approach.

“Is this her?” Tate asks.

“Jordyn, this is everyone. That’s Tate, Davey, Mike, Bianca, and Tammy. Guys, this is my date, Jordyn.”

Everyone smiles and greets her with genuineness. The girls each pull her in for a hug, and then I’m pulling her back to stand beside me, with my arm around her shoulders.

Even though I just introduced her, I can tell that she fits in with this misfit crew. Her awkwardness is gone. She’s bubbly and friendly. She’s easy-going, and she’s talking to everyone as if she’s known us forever and we’re not one of the biggest bands in the world. Each second that ticks by makes me like her more.

“Ash has been talking about you all week. It’s nice to finally meet you.” Tate says.

“He’s been talking about me?” she asks, looking at me.

“You’ve got to understand. We’ve been to two cities since you accidentally texted him. If he’s not on stage, his face is stuck in his phone. He even signed up for that dating app just to do his research on you.” Bianca says.

“Research?” She looks at us all.

“I needed to know a little something about the random chick texting me.” I shrug.

“So you knew, me texting you was an accident, and you said nothing?”

“And ruin the fun?” My arm pulls her a little closer to me. Her side is crushed against mine, and I can’t help but think of other ways our bodies can be crushed upon each other as I’ve got a quickening in my stomach at her closeness, a feeling that is new to me.

“Alright guys, are we ready to rock it tonight?” Paddy, our tour manager, asks stepping up to the group.

I turn to Jordyn and smile. “I hope you enjoy the show. Head over with Tammy and Bianca. They’ll give you the rundown.” I want to lean down and kiss her, but I think I’ve given her enough of a shock for the time being. She looks up at me, expectantly, and hesitates, then a moment later, Bianca is pulling her arm and dragging her to where they will stand and watch the show.

I turn to my bandmates and they’re all standing with their arms crossed, ready to roast me.

“She’s cool,” Davey says.

“She’s nice.” Tate chimes in.

“I can’t believe that you didn’t tell her who you were,” Mike says.

“If I would have, I’m sure she would have thought that I was lying to her.” I shrug.

“True. So, how did she take it?” Tate asks.

“I thought she was going to faint. But she warmed up to it all, pretty quick after the initial shock.”

“Is she coming out with us afterward?” Mike questions.

“Yeah, I think so. I hope so.”

“Alright, guys. You’re on in three. Places, please.” Paddy tells us.

Our hands move to the center, one hand on top of the other.

“All for one. And one for all!” We cheer in unison. A stagehand hands me my guitar and I grab the pick at the top of the neck.

The stage is dark, but my eyes find Jordyn immediately. She has her hands clasped in front of her chest, a big smile on her face, and her eyes on me.

I smile at her. Feeling like I’m on cloud nine as I walk to the center of the stage with my mic stand set up.

Tate strums on the drums. The crowd goes wild. The lights go up. And I’m still staring at the woman standing off to the side of the stage.