Behind Closed Doors (22 page)

It was a fitting end to a memorable weekend away. I knew there wasn’t long until I had to pack my bag and head to the airport. But as Jayce looped his arms around me, I allowed myself a few more minutes of Miami magic.

Chapter 21

“Did you hear the news?”

Marc was at my side, looking at me with a devilish grin on his lips.

“Hear what news?” I asked, my cheeks instantly turning red.

Ever since I started seeing Jayce, I felt as though people were just one split second away from discovering my secret. It would only take one slip up for my affair to be revealed to the world and for people to call me out for the deceitful person I had become.

“It’s duets week,” Marc said.

I inadvertently let out a sigh of relief. “Sounds like fun,” I smiled.

“Guess who you are paired up with?”

“I don’t know Marc, could it be you?” I mocked as I batted my eyelids.

“You’re a lucky girl,” he nodded. “Your other duet is with Yuri.”

“We have to sing twice?” I asked.

“Yep.”

That was an added pressure I didn’t need, two new songs with another contestant. I had never sung with anyone else before. What if they were better than me and totally outperformed me? That was likely given I was singing with the two best-looking and most talented guys in the competition. At least we could pick our own songs and choreograph the performance as a duo. Our coaches were present in rehearsals for guidance, but the end performance was up to us.

Marc and I chose to sing 
Hate n Love
 by Jack Savoretti. The song was relatively unknown, so it was a risk, but I was sure we would execute it well.

When we had our practice on stage, Jayce was watching, ready to give us feedback on our performance. It was incredibly awkward singing with Marc, while Jayce sat just a few feet away. I could feel Jayce’s eyes analyzing my every move.

As we sang the last line, Marc grabbed my hand and pulled me flush against his body. I completely froze and stopped singing. Marc smiled down at me, completely oblivious to the shock on my face.

I pushed away from him and stumbled backwards in the process. Marc reached for my arm and steadied me as I turned my gaze to Jayce. He looked indifferent. Cool, calm and totally unaffected by what he’d just seen. He was lounging back in his chair, one foot propped up on a chair in front of him. He ran a hand through his hair and smiled slightly.

“Great work guys,” he stood and walked toward the stage, hanging his hands in the pockets of his faded jeans.

“Might want to work on that last note, Kyla. You dropped out before Marc.”

I heard Marc chuckle next to me and I silently cursed him and his flirtatious nature. I nodded at Jayce and stepped down off the stage. Marc followed me eagerly and handed me a bottle of water from a nearby table.

“What do you think?” he asked.

“We’ll do okay,” I said. “But don’t do that thing where you grab me at the end. I can’t hit that note if you do that.”

“We can practice it again if you’d prefer?” he smirked.

“I think we’ve done enough for today,” I said, grabbing my purse and heading for the exit. I made my way to the powder room to freshen up. I sighed into the empty stall as I rested against the cubicle door. For some reason, my rehearsal had left me feeling uneasy. The way Marc touched me, left me tense and I couldn’t quite put my finger on why.

I was at the basin, washing my hands, when I heard the bathroom door swing open. I didn’t look up initially, until I heard the door click shut and the lock turned.

“Fuck!” I let out when I saw Jayce walking towards me.

“Not the hello I was hoping for,” he said as he looped his arms around my waist.

“Jayce, what are you doing here?”

“He still likes you.”

Marc?

“Who?” I asked, feigning ignorance.

“The guy who just had his hands all over you on stage.” His tone wasn’t harsh, but it wasn’t calm either.

“He’s just a friend.”

I pulled away from Jayce, upset that he’d followed me into the bathroom just to question me about Marc.

“That’s all you came here to say?” I questioned.

“I also wanted to give you a kiss.” He pulled me flush against his body and his lips grazed my cheek. I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of being wrapped up in his arms.

“You are going to get us in trouble,” I murmured.

“I locked the door,” he answered.

Jayce had an answer for everything, always one step ahead of the game.

He kissed the crown of my head before pulling away.

“I better let you go.”

I smiled, but I missed his touch already.

“Just be careful,” he warned.

I wanted to ask him what I should be careful of, but he’d already turned and walked away.

***

It was a hectic day when the final six performers took to the stage to sing our duets. The pairings had been random, or so we were told. For me, I wasn’t sure how random it was. I was paired with Yuri for my first duet and Marc for the second. The social networking sites had been abuzz with a rumored relationship between Marc and me. I had to wonder if the producers were playing on that a little. Marc seemed to be enjoying himself regardless. He was overly enthusiastic while we waited backstage for our time to sing.

“Sit still,” Emily grunted, as Marc walked around the room throwing his water bottle in the air and catching it with one hand.

“Shut up,” Marc threw over his shoulder.

“Honestly, Marc, what is with you today?” she asked.

“I just can’t wait to get out there.”

Emily’s eyes shot straight to me and she raised her eyebrows curiously. I shrugged my shoulders as I tapped my foot on the ground incessantly, a habit of mine when I was nervous.

My first duet with Yuri had gone better than I’d expected. He was fun to be on stage with and he eased my nerves without trying. We received cheers from the audience and glowing reviews from the coaches, which left me quietly confident for my final performance.

The production assistant appeared in the doorway and we all looked at her anxiously.

“Kyla and Marc, you’re up!”

I stood and straightened my clothes heading toward the door.

 ”Good luck guys,” Emily cheered from her seat.

I followed Marc to the stairs that entered the arena. We were to wait there for Nadia’s cue.

“You ready for this, babe?” Marc asked as he smiled down at me. I was accustomed to Jayce calling me babe, but the word sounded wrong coming from Marc’s lips.

“I can’t wait, 
babe
.” I responded sarcastically and Marc immediately looked embarrassed. I felt cruel for taunting him, but that was quickly forgotten once I heard Nadia announce our names.

“Give it up for Kyla and Marc!” She shouted into her microphone and the screams echoed throughout the arena. It was deafening and if I had ever questioned it before, those doubts were obliterated. Marc was 
very
 popular.

We walked to center stage and my eyes scanned the room until they found Jayce. I held his gaze briefly, before skimming the rest of the crowd, looking at the blur of faces cheering us on.

The guitar started to play the familiar tune and Marc smiled at me as he sang the first verse. His arms were moving slowly, emphasizing every word. He was looking into my eyes, so much feeling in his words and I hoped he was just a good performer and not trying to seduce me. I sang my part, looking at Marc as we rehearsed, but imagining Jayce in Marc’s place. I didn’t look to the coaches while singing, fearing Jayce would be scowling and I would lose myself on stage. As we sang the chorus Marc approached me and grabbed me by the hips, pulling me back against him as he started grinding into my ass.  His left hand remained on my hip, ensuring I didn’t move, as his body encased mine. The crowd cheered, seemingly enjoying the show that Marc had devised out of nowhere. We hadn’t done anything like that in rehearsals, but I had to play along, there was no other option. His body continued to press into mine, his touch suffocating me and exposing me at the same time. He moved, wrapping an arm around my waist as I stood in front of him. He was pushing it. Pushing our relationship on stage where he knew I wouldn’t fight it.
Couldn’t
fight it.

The song ended and the crowd erupted into a drone of wolf whistles and screams. I took a step to my left, leaving a safe distance between Marc and myself. My eyes settled on Jayce. He was frowning, a torn expression on his face. His eyes were locked on Marc… or me. I couldn’t tell. That’s when Nadia walked on stage, a wide, toothy grin on her face.

“Wow, listen to the crowd! That certainly caused the temperature to rise in the studio tonight.” Nadia pretended to fan her face with her hand.

“Dion, what did you think of your guy, Marc, in this performance?” Nadia asked.

“Well, it was obviously very hot.” The crowd erupted again. “You guys had a great connection on stage. Kyla, you certainly caught the attention of the men in this room tonight and Marc…” the girls screamed again. “You were popular as always.” Dion smiled as the girls in the audience continued pining for Marc.

“Jayce, your thoughts?” Nadia prompted.

I looked to Jayce. His jaw was stiff and his eyes were wild. I couldn’t see them clearly, but his eyes looked darker than usual.

He had a wounded expression on his face that I’d never seen before. And I never want to see again.

“Jayce?” Nadia prompted once more.

The unthinkable was happening. Jayce was saying… well, nothing!

“It was very…” he paused for a long time. “Believable,” he said, looking vaguely disappointed. The studio fell silent for a few awkward moments before Pixie intervened.

“Jay is obviously speechless and so was I during that performance,” she smiled. “Although neither of you are on my team, I thoroughly enjoyed that. Hot, hot, hot!”

“Thanks guys, you can leave the stage and make way for our last performance of the night.”

I followed Marc backstage, without uttering a word to him. We made it to the green room and he turned to look at me, a smug expression on his face.

“What the hell was that?” I said, slapping his shoulder.

“What?” he asked, feigning innocence.

“We didn’t rehearse you grabbing my hips and grinding into my ass!” I hit him again, this time the smile left his face.

“I was improvising,” he sat down on a chair, uncapping a bottle of water. “You heard it. The crowd loved it.”

I sat on the sofa, trying desperately not to lose my cool.

“Jeez Kyla, what’s the big deal?”

I didn’t respond. I didn’t trust the words that threatened to come out as I relived Jayce’s reaction over again in my head.

I waited for Nadia to wrap up the show before I walked down the hallway toward Jayce’s dressing room. There was some relief to be had that no eliminations occurred after our performances. The eliminations would take place on the following Tuesday. After that, there would be three contestants left and the public would vote for the overall winner. After my performance, I highly doubted that I would be taking part in the finale.

I looked up and down the hallway to make sure no one was around before I knocked on Jayce’s door. I waited patiently for him to answer. I could hear movement on the other side of the door, so I knew he was inside.

When he didn’t answer, I knocked again and I heard him mumble something that resembled, “go away.”

I thumped on the door, louder this time, angry that he’d just told me to go away. Whether he knew it was me or not, I was still infuriated.

He opened the door slightly, checking who had been impatiently knocking on the other side. I didn’t give him the chance to turn me away. I pushed the door open and shoved my way into the room.

“What the fuck, Jayce?”

He closed and locked the door behind me, but didn’t say anything. He slumped down onto the sofa and looked at me. My heart was thumping in my chest as I waited for his response. I wanted to know why he was acting like this. Was it jealousy? I wanted him to say it, to admit he was jealous.

“What are you doing here?”

It made me angrier that he was pretending he had no idea what I was talking about.

“What, Kyla?” he questioned. “What are you doing here?”

I couldn’t excuse his ignorance. I picked up a cushion from the sofa and threw it at his head. He caught it before it hit his face and I saw the ghost of a smile touch his lips. It was gone almost instantly.

“What happened out there tonight?” My voice was low this time and much calmer, but he still didn’t respond.

“How can you act that way after our perfect weekend together?”

Again, silence. “Are you mad at me?”

I noticed that he’d changed clothes after the show. He was wearing his gray tracksuit pants with a tee. It was my most favorite look on him, possibly because I was one of the only people to see him in that way. I almost forgot I was angry with him as he sat before me.

“You’re right,” he broke the silence. “The weekend was perfect. I thought we had something. Yet, here you are just a few days later, on stage with Marc’s hands all over you. And you just let him violate you like that… as if you’re his!”

“You cannot be serious,” I said, resting my face in my hands as I sat on the sofa across from him.

“We were performing!” I bit back. “Surely, you of all people can understand that.”

He looked hurt for a moment and I knew he understood that I was referring to his marriage. The one thing he stated himself, as an act. But his realization was short lived. He quickly put his focus back on Marc and I.

“You know he is obsessed with you and you act that way with him. No wonder he hasn’t given up on you with all these mixed signals you’re sending. Who knows how you act once you get back to the house.”

He threw the cushion back at me. I let it hit my shoulder before it fell to the floor.

“I don’t like him in that way.” I stated simply.

“I don’t think he got that memo, Kyla, because he looks at you in this way…” he stopped and raked his fingers through his hair.