Crescendo

Chapter 20

DANTE

Golden Moon's Jewels.

Who the hell names their store Golden Moon's Jewels?

Christian tries to hide his boredom, holding back a scowl, as Natasha guides him through the jewelry shop. How did he end up here? Somehow "hanging out with the Trainwreck crew" had turned into him and Natasha walking around the streets of Santa Fe. "Walking" means being dragged through every small boutique the girl can find. Christian does like to shop. But not here. In some Native American-based trinket gallery. If they're going to go window shopping, they should be looking at designer brands, high-class shit. Not cheap knockoffs of an ethnic group's culture.

"Dear God, this is heaven." Natasha gushes.

"Uh huh." Christian hopes he sounds mildly convincing.

"Look." Natasha holds up a bracelet, interwoven with turquoise beads and black stones. "It matches your eyes."

"Oh yeah, cool."

His tone might have passed this time.

"Your mom must have great eyes too."

"Um, actually my dad's the one with the baby blues."

"Oh! You've never told me anything about your dad before."       

Because there's not much to tell.

Christian bites back the urge to say these very words. Instead, he utilizes his standard evasion technique: flattery.

"Forget my eyes. You would look stunning with this bling around your neck." He randomly picks out a simple braided necklace a golden moon shaped medallion (how ironic) hangs from its center. Natasha gasps, buying into his decoy.

There's no way he's going into his fucked up history with her. No one needs to know about how his good old dad bailed on him back when he was ten. The bastard up and left, abandoning Christian's mom who then struggled to pay rent and feed him and his three sisters. Since Christian made it big, he's made a point to give back to his family. His mom is a damn saint and he loves his sisters more than anything. However, if that asshole shows up, the only thing he's getting from Christian is a beat down.

"Still, you never tell me anything about yourself," Natasha starts up. Damn. The necklace hadn't held her fascination for long. Stupid, crappy store.

Before he can answer, his ringing phone saves him.

"Scuse me." Christian dazzles her with his trademark grin before picking up.

"Hey bigshot," the lively voice reverberates through the connection. Christian glances at the caller ID, something he'd forgotten to do earlier.

"Sandy?" he says, surprised. Christian hasn't talked to Sandy in quite some time. They're cool and all, but it's been awhile.

"Yeah. It's me. How's it going, kid?"

"Pretty awesome. We're on tour right now."

"Yeah, I'm going to catch your show when you get back to LA."

"We can't wait to hang out with you then."

"Actually, there's something I wanted to ask you."

Yes. Everyone in this business wants something. Everyone.

"Anything, man. What's up?"

"I have a few young ladies who want to attend your gig in Austin. You think you can spare three tickets? Backstage access, if you can. FYI, they're cute. I'm pretty sure one of them would be up your alley."