Chapter 23.

San Francisco

1 p.m.

Maria smiled as she walked into the small music shop. "Sweetie girl!" Samuel Vanetti came running at her and grabbed her. Maria had to be careful not to drop what she was carrying.

"Hi, Sam," she said. He leaned back to look at her, but still had her upper arms in a vise-like grip.

"My beautiful Maria," he said, his thick accent made thicker with emotion. "What brings you to see an old man like me?"

"Oh, you’re not old. You look great, for, what, thirty?" Maria asked with a smile.

"Stop it! Don’t kid an old man," Sam said.

"I brought you something. Consider it an early Christmas gift," Maria said. She handed him a package that was wrapped in brown paper. Sam became teary-eyed.

"For me?" he asked. Maria nodded and helped him rip off the paper. "Oh, my," Sam practically whispered. Maria had handed him an oil painting that she had done of a harp in a field of lilies.

"I remember that Sofia played the harp and that she always had a crystal vase filled with lilies on the piano in your home," Maria told him. Sofia was Sam’s deceased wife. Sam wiped his eyes.

"My dear, dear Sofie, may she rest in peace," he said softly. "This is beautiful, sweetie girl. Thank you." Maria hugged him.

"You’re welcome. I told you I’d bring you a new painting, right?" she asked. Sam smiled.

"Yes! And I’m going to put it right next to your other harp," he said, referring to the pencil sketch drawing that she had done when she was nine. He lay the painting carefully on the piano and then turned back to Maria. "Where is your young man? I have a few guitars that need re-stringing?" Maria smiled.

"He’s in Germany," she said.

"Foolish boy! If I had a princess like you, I wouldn’t let you out of my sight," Sam exclaimed.

"Yeah, well, it’s his job," Maria said. A couple of teenage girls entered the shop. They stopped when they saw Maria and started whispering to each other. One of them advanced toward Maria and Sam, the other trying to hold her back.

"Are you dating Jacob Underwood from O-Town?" the girl asked. Maria was shocked that she had been recognized…in Sam’s shop of all places.

"Um…actually, yes, I guess you can call it ‘dating,’" Maria said, smiling.

"Oh my God. Lianne, it is her," the girl said.

"I can’t believe you recognize me," Maria said.

"I’m Hannah and this is my friend, Lianne."

"I’m Maria. It’s nice to meet you. So, you’re fans of the guys?" Maria asked. She had no idea how to handle herself. She’d never had to deal with the band’s fans close-up and personal before.

"Definitely. Are they here?" Lianne asked, looking around as if the guys were hiding behind a tuba or something. Maria laughed.

"No, they’re in Germany right now," she said.

"You’re really with Jacob?" Hannah asked. Maria nodded.

"When he’s around," she said.

"That is so, like, incredible," Lianne said, barely able to control herself.

"Can I help you lovely ladies?" Sam asked.

"Well, I play the guitar and I was looking for a vintage acoustic, but I’m not sure which brand I want," Hannah said.

"Jacob plays Taylor guitars," Maria said. "But, you probably already know that."

"He used to build them before he was picked for the band," Lianne said.

"See, I knew that you knew," Maria said, smiling.

"Let me show you a few that I have," Sam said to Hannah.

"Sam, I’m leaving. I just wanted to drop off the painting…and see you, of course," Maria said. Sam suddenly hurried to the backroom and came back carrying an electric guitar.

"Give this to your young man. I don’t sell many of them. A customer traded it for an acoustic guitar a few days ago. I immediately thought of your young man when I saw it," he said. Maria smiled.

"I’m sure Jacob will love it. He’ll probably hang it on his wall," she said. Sam smiled and hugged her tightly. Hannah and Lianne were watching, not believing that they were in the same shop with Jacob’s girlfriend.

"It was nice to meet you girls," Maria said as she headed for the door.

"Wait! Can you tell Jacob that we, uh, said ‘hi?’" Hannah asked. Maria smiled.

"Sure. No problem. Bye!" Maria pushed open the door and put on her sunglasses. She sighed. For some reason, she hadn’t minded the girls’ interest in her. When Maria thought of O-Town’s fans, she thought of screaming teenyboppers who hated any girl associated with them that wasn’t part of their immediate families. Those girls were nice and respectful. Maria smiled as she walked to her rented car. ‘I guess I’m pretty important since I’m the Jacob Underwood’s girlfriend,’ she thought. She rolled her eyes and laughed out loud. She started the car, cranked up the radio and took off for the nearest shopping center.

Mechernich, Germany

11:30 p.m.

The band got back to their hotel and ordered food. It had been a good concert, with only minimal technical problems. The German fans were always crazy and had chased them a good mile in their rented van before the police had intervened.

Now, they all sat around in Ashley’s room, eating. Erik wasn’t that hungry, so he lay on Ashley’s bed, thinking about Alex.

"Man, I don’t know if I should spend Christmas with Alex. What if Carlos tries to kill me?" he asked.

"How are you gonna be with Alex if you’re, like, scared of her brother?" Ashley asked.

"I don’t know. It sucks. I like Miguel and her parents were kinda indifferent towards me, but that’s because when I saw them, their daughter was in the hospital with a stab wound. It’s Carlos. He hates me. I can tell," Erik said and sighed.

"Dude, chill. As long as Alex loves you, you’re okay. I mean, if Carlos wants his sister to be happy and if she’s happy with you, then don’t worry about it," Jacob told him.

"Yeah, Alex will protect you," Trevor added, smiling. Dan swallowed what he was eating and turned to Jacob.

"So, Maria’s decided to go with you to California for Christmas?" he asked. Jacob smiled.

"Yeah. Plus, she’s agreed to come to New York for New Years’ Eve, so that’s pretty cool," he said.

"It might be traumatic for her, though," Erik said. Jacob nodded.

"She’s ready," he said. He sighed. "It sucks being away from her," he said. The guys laughed.

"Man, we never thought we’d see you so hung up on someone after Janie," Dan told him.

"I know. I was, like, all ready to keep my distance and not have her distract me from the band when she was with us on the tour and then I end up falling for her," Jacob said, shaking his head.

"She sure got under your skin," Ashley said. "It was fun to watch, too."

"Mr. Cool, Calm Jacob walking around denying that he wanted Maria, when the whole time, he was lusting after her," Erik said.

"I still want to know what went on the last night at the cabin," Trevor said with a grin. Jacob stood up and threw his garbage away.

"No comment," he said as he headed for the door.

"Oh, come on! You know you wanna share!" Erik yelled. The door slammed behind Jacob as he left.

"I guess he doesn’t want to share," Dan commented.

"We gotta talk to Maria the next time we see her. I bet she’ll tell us," Trevor said.

"Guys, why are you so hung up on Jake’s sex life? It’s not healthy," Dan said.

"Dude, he totally blushed when we mentioned it the day we were leaving the cabin. Whatever went on, it was hot," Trevor said. "But, just look at Maria, I mean, how can sex with her not be hot?" The guys all looked at him. "Not that I’ve ever wondered about having sex with her or anything…" he muttered and shut up.

Jacob went to his own room. The rooms in the hotel that they were in were small. Each one was like a closet with a bed, a dresser, a chair and a nightstand. He calculated what time it was in California and figured his mother would be home at 2:30 on a Sunday afternoon. Jacob picked up the hotel’s phone.

"Hello?" his mother answered.

"Hi, Mom, it’s me," Jacob said. She sounded so far away…which she was of course.

"Jacob! How’s Germany?"

"It’s okay. I miss the States, though. How’re things at home. How’re Dani and Bryan?" he asked.

"They’re fine. They can’t wait until Christmas break. They really want to see you. I can’t wait as well. It’s been too long, sweetheart," Mechele said.

"I know. Actually, I wanted to ask you if I could bring Maria," he said.

"That girl you’ve been seeing? I thought that I read you had broken up with her. I don’t know. I can’t keep track anymore," Mechele told him. Jacob laughed.

"Well, we haven’t really wanted our relationship to be under public scrutiny, so we haven’t ‘come out’ so to speak, but we’re together now and I really want her to meet you guys," Jacob said.

"That would be fine. I’d love to meet her, too. She’s the one who wrote the article in the magazine?"

"Yeah. She took the pictures, too," Jacob told her.

"She’s very talented. Yes, she’s welcome here anytime," Mechele said, warmly.

"Cool. Thanks, Mom. I better go. I’ll call you when I get back to Orlando and let you know our plans," he told her.

"Okay, honey. Have a safe trip home. I love you."

"I love you, too. Bye," Jacob said and hung up. He lay back on the bed. Only a couple more days and he’d get to see Maria again. Jacob smiled. He couldn’t wait.

December 19^th

Orlando

Maria lugged her things down the hallway to her loft. It seemed like forever since she’d been there. Heathcliff meowed loudly as Maria carried his carrier in her right hand, her left holding one of her bags. The other two she had borrowed from her father, since she hadn’t taken any luggage when she had left Orlando after the disastrous party. The remaining bags were still by the elevator.

When Maria got to the door, she knocked, hoping that Emily was home. Trying to find her key would take way too long. Thankfully, the door opened and Emily smiled brightly when she saw Maria.

"Hey, cuz! It’s so good to see you," she said as Maria made her way past her and put her things down.

"It’s good to finally be home," Maria said. She put Heathcliff’s carrier down and opened it. The kitten was hesitant to leave the carrier, so Maria grabbed him gently and picked him up. "We’re home, fluffball. Go play or sleep or do whatever you do," she said as she put him down. Heathcliff ran for Maria’s bedroom and disappeared.

Emily had gone to the elevator and retrieved Maria’s remaining luggage. She shut the door and put the bags down in the sitting room. Maria sat down on the couch. She fished a Snickers bar out of her bag, ripped off the paper and bit into it. "I am so happy to be back. I could never have moved to California. What was I thinking?"

"You had issues. It’s understandable," Emily said. "I’ve talked to Sarah. She’s doing so much better. It’s amazing that in just a week, she’s, like, sounding more like her old self." Maria smiled.

"That’s good to hear. I was worried about what my mom would say to her, but she seems to really want to help Sarah, so I can’t complain," she said.

"Do you know what time the guys get home?" Emily asked, looking at her feet. Maria smirked.

"The guys or Ashley?" she asked. Emily blushed. "It’s okay, Em. I think Jacob told me, and this is a direct quote, ‘I have no idea because the damn time difference screws everything up,’" Maria said. Emily laughed.

"So, we wait for them to call," she said. Maria nodded.

"Have you figured out, you know, your feelings?" Emily asked, sitting down next to Maria on the couch. Maria sighed.

"Yes and no. I think I pretty much know how I feel, but the job thing is still a problem. One that we’ll have to eventually work out if we want to be together," she said. "What about you and Ashley? I can tell that there’s some interest there, however, his looking like Travis, was it?" Emily nodded. "Ashley’s looking like Travis might be a problem, don’t you think?"

"It could be. I don’t want to like Ashley just because he looks like Travis. I mean, I can finally look at Ashley without seeing Travis, but it’s still weird. I don’t want to be attracted to a ghost," Emily told her.

"Ashley’s a sweet guy. I’m sure he’ll understand if you tell him straight out how you feel. Like I’m really the one who should be giving advice here," Maria said, shaking her head. She stood up. "I’m gonna shower and change. If Jacob calls, see what he’s up to. I hope that we can see each other, but if not, tell him I’ll call him. We have to make arrangements for our trip," she said. Maria stopped as something occurred to her. "Hey, I can’t leave you here by yourself. Do you want me to ask Jacob if you can come, too?"

"Oh, I can’t intrude. I don’t mind staying here," Emily said.

"No way am I leaving you alone on Christmas! I’m going to ask him," Maria told her as she went to her room. Emily sighed. She hated to inconvenience anyone, but she had to admit, she didn’t really want to spend Christmas alone.

"We’re home!" Ashley announced as he ran into the house.

"Don’t get too comfortable. You’re only here until tomorrow morning," Mike M. reminded him.

The group gathered up their things and went to their respective rooms. Jacob dropped his bag and immediately dialed Maria’s number.

"Hello?"

"Emily? It’s Jacob. Is Maria there?"

"She’s in the shower. She wanted to know what you were up to if you called," Emily said.

"Tell her she can come over any time she wants," he said. "You can, too. I know for a fact that Ashley wants to see you." Emily smiled into the phone.

"Sounds good," she said.

"Bring your guitar," Jacob added before they said ‘goodbye’ and hung up.

"Was that him? Did I just miss him?" Maria asked, running out of her room wearing just a towel. Emily nodded.

"He said that we can go over any time," she said. Maria smiled and ran to get dressed.