Lovers and Gamblers (57 page)

‘Like it?’ she asked. ‘I designed the whole house myself.’

‘Nice.’

‘Nice! It cost me a goddamn fortune! Listen, Al. We can lock ourselves away from the party. We can party on our own – just the two of us. You want to snort a little coke? I’ve got the best stuff – or is grass your treat? Whatever. Name it.’

‘Hey,’ he objected, ‘thanks for the offer, but I came here with someone.’

‘So? Who is she? Some nothing chick you can hump any day of the week. I’m offering you
me
– Karmen Rush.’ With a gesture she undid a clip, and the black halter-neck dress she was wearing slid to the floor.

Her body was so thin that her ribs were visible, and her hip bones jutted out, emphasizing the fact that she had shaved off every inch of pubic hair. Her nipples were black flowers –painstakingly designed. A black heart was tattooed on her waist.

She stared at him. ‘Don’t tell me you’re not king. Don’t tell me all I saw up there on that stage was a pair of old socks.’ She turned her back on him and walked contemptuously over to the black fur bed. She flopped onto it, opening her legs.

He could see everything. There was no black bush impairing his vision. He had not had a woman for over four weeks. Besides which, this was Karmen Rush – the superstar lady – asking him – begging him…

He wanted to get back to Dallas. He wanted to…

He unzipped his trousers. One quick fuck wasn’t going to make any difference.

* * *

Twice Linda nearly dialled the number. Twice she copped out at the last minute. What was it about California? She felt so horny. Was it something they put in the water? Or was it just her way of getting Paul out of her system?

The parking boy had been fun, a laugh, a one-night stand. But a hooker – wasn’t that taking things a bit too far?

Men had been using hookers forever. Yeah – but probably men who couldn’t get it on for free elsewhere. Either that or they wanted to do things they didn’t want to do with their wives.

But what the hell. She wanted something different. She wanted a man who was dedicated to pleasing her. Dedicated. Not some dude who expected as good as he gave.

Determined, she picked up the phone again. But just as she was dialling, the doorbell rang.

She slammed the phone down and went to the door. It was Cody Hills. He looked distraught. ‘Where is Dallas?’ he demanded.

‘She went to the Al King concert at the Bowl. You want to come in? You look like you could do with a drink.’

Morosely he followed her inside. She fixed him a vodka on the rocks and he gulped it down.

‘So what’s up?’ she asked. ‘You look in a state.’

‘Yes,’ he agreed. ‘I have to get hold of Dallas. I’ve got bad news – really bad news.’

* * *

Dallas sat on the beach for a while, and the while grew into a long time. So she went back inside, and found Kiki and Chuck. There was no sign of Al. No sign of Karmen. ‘I’ll be back in a minute’ indeed. What bullshit!

‘I’m going to leave,’ she said, trying to keep the hurt out of her voice.

‘But what about Al?’ Kiki asked.

‘He’s a free agent. There’s nothing between us, you know.’

‘Sure,’ agreed Kiki, ‘just an electric charge you could cut with a knife.’

‘Yeah – so electric he’s run off to screw rent-a-witch.’

‘Who?’

‘Do I have to draw you a picture? Our lovely hostess. Listen, Kiki – I don’t give a shit, I’m splitting.’

‘Wait until we finish eating and we’ll come with you,’ Chuck joined in. ‘After all – it’s up early again tomorrow – back to the grind.’

Dallas nodded. She was tired. She only had to hear the words ‘up early’ and it was instant yawn time. She would go home, get into bed, and forget about Al King.

If she had been smart she would have forgotten about him in the first place.

* * *

Edna rose at seven. There was so much to do, and with Evan away visiting friends she planned to spring-clean his room.

The house was looking wonderful, sparkling clean, the way it had never looked before. She had been horrified at the filth she had found. You pay people to look after your home, and what did you get? You got dust swept under couches, cobwebs in the hall light fixtures, thick grease in the oven, a permanent rim around the bath, unpolished silver, unmoved furniture.

Edna had soon taken care of all that. She had personally scrubbed the house from top to bottom. Now all she had to do was maintain it.

She made herself a cup of tea. Oh, the luxury of an empty kitchen! Then she strolled round the front of the house and picked up the newspapers from the mailbox. On the front page of one of them, there was a large picture of Al and Dallas. They were laughing, looking at each other. Al’s expression was of rapt interest.

Calmly Edna read the blurb.

‘Al King Meets his Queen Again’. That was on top.

Underneath the story read:
Los Angeles, Saturday, Superstar Al King (38) and Ex ‘Miss Coast to Coast’ Dallas (20) seemed to find plenty to laugh about at a party in his honour given by Doris Andrews (43). Earlier in the year Al’s name was romantically linked with Dallas. The claim then was ‘just good friends’. Isn’t it wonderful how friendships last?
Edna folded the paper carefully and returned to the house.

She couldn’t make up her mind what to do first. Wax the kitchen floor or start on Evan’s room. She decided on the kitchen floor. Humming softly to herself she switched on the radio.

How nice to no longer have Melanie coming around to try and rub her nose in it. Because, quite frankly, she couldn’t care less.

* * *

‘I’m sorry,’ said Karmen blankly, ‘I must have given you too much.’

Al, struggling his way to consciousness through a throbbing headache, muttered, ‘Too much what?’

‘Ether,’ replied Karmen matter of factly. ‘I put a pad over your face when you were coming – it usually produces the most hallucinatory effects. I guess you must have breathed too deeply or something. You’ve been asleep for hours, the doctor was quite worried.’

Al did not believe what he was hearing. Ether! She could have
killed
him. The woman was totally insane.

He wanted to throw up. He felt terrible. ‘You stupid bitch!’ he slurred. ‘You’re mad, fucking mad.’

She pinched the bridge of her nose with dangerously taloned black-painted nails. ‘I tried to wake you. I did everything to wake you.’

Al focused on her boyfriend standing behind her. He looked very spaced-out and very nervous.

Al tried to stand. ‘I want to get out of here,’ he said. ‘I don’t need fucking maniacs in my life. Where is the doctor anyway?’

‘When he saw you were coming to he left. He doesn’t like to get involved.’

‘Jesus!’ Al spat in disgust. ‘Get me my driver – Luke. I want out.’

‘Sure, man,’ Keeley said, ‘I’ll arrange everything. Don’t you worry about a thing.’ He unlocked the bedroom door and exited.

Al staggered to his feet. He noticed he was fully dressed. The last thing he could remember was giving this ugly bitch a good hammering. Then – pow – nothing until now. Ether! Christ Almighty!

‘Who dressed me?’ he demanded.

‘Keeley,’ replied Karmen. ‘You could have just slipped quietly away. I didn’t think you would want to go with your pants off.’

Al glared at her. What could you say to a psycho screwball? She was nuts.

She stared impassively at him, unruffled by the whole event.

Keeley came bouncing back in the room followed by a concerned Luke.

‘Where the fuck were
you
?’ Al demanded, not waiting for a reply. ‘Get me to the car.’

Karmen fluttered her hands vaguely in the air. ‘It could’ve been a beautiful experience,’ she murmured. ‘You could’ve
thanked
me.’

‘Sod off, you dumb bitch.’ He followed Luke through a side door and out to the car. He still felt weak. ‘How long was I in there?’

‘Nearly three hours,’ replied Luke. He didn’t dare to ask what had happened.

‘Where’s Paul?’

‘He came and left.’

‘Dallas?’

‘She left hours ago.’

‘Figures,’ said Al glumly. Nobody had been concerned. Nobody had been worried. They had all thought he was having the hump of a lifetime – why disturb him?

Fuck it. He deserved it. He had been so hung up with Dallas… Then the first superstar that had exposed her skinny body had pulled him. Terrific. What will-power. What strength of character. What a pile of shit.

He was disgusted with himself.

‘Stop off at the first liquor store we pass and buy a couple of bottles of Jack Daniels,’ he instructed Luke.

What the hell… Dallas wouldn’t want to know about him now. She wouldn’t believe him whatever story he told her. He had blown her out in front of her friends, humiliated her. He didn’t even have the courage to call her. For one lousy star fuck he had crapped on the first relationship he might have had in years.

The concert had been such a triumph. He had been riding on a natural high. Was his ego so insecure that he’d felt obligated to screw Karmen Rush? Or was it just that he was plain horny after being without a woman for so long, and when she had taken off her clothes… When she had opened those white thin superstar legs…

Luke stopped the car at a liquor mart and ran inside.

Al slumped back in the car. A few shots of Jack Daniels would soon get him together again.

* * *

Kiki and Chuck were very kind. Too kind. They chatted about all sorts of unimportant subjects as they drove back to Beverly Hills.

Dallas wanted to scream, ‘I don’t care! I don’t mind! Al can have who he wants, it doesn’t bother me!’ But she knew they were only trying to pretend they hadn’t noticed the fact that Mr. King had done the fastest walk-out on her on record.

‘That Rush woman is really creepy-looking,’ Kiki gushed. ‘Did you
see
the make-up?
Three
inches of white base.’

‘To cover her famous spots,’ Chuck joined in.

‘Yeah,’ Kiki continued. ‘Do you know she never even appears at the studio without her make-up – I swear to God – six a.m. she marches in
fully made-up
– then she throws out the makeup guy – locks herself in his room – takes off all her “going to the studio” make-up – and does a whole new job on herself! Martha Scott told me – she did her hair on her last picture. Now the hair is another story…’

Dallas tuned out whilst Kiki droned on. She couldn’t care less about Karmen Rush. It could have been anyone. She had known about Al’s reputation up front – that’s why she had held back. And thank God she had. At least this way she could walk away from it feeling no pain. If she had slept with him… If she had liked it…

Well, she hadn’t. It had taken extreme self-control, but she hadn’t.

What a laugh that a man like Al King could turn her on where all others had failed. A superstud. A type of sexist pig that she should really loathe. Maybe he would have struck out too. Maybe if she
had
gone to bed with him it would have been as distasteful as it was with everyone else.

Oh, well… No use wondering about
that.
Forget him. Concentrate on work. Concentrate on becoming a star. Concentrate on
herself
.

‘Isn’t that Cody’s car?’ Kiki was saying.

Dallas glanced out of the window. It was indeed Cody’s Mustang parked neatly beside Linda’s rented Mercury. What was he doing there? Fortunately she couldn’t spot a white Ferrari, so Linda must have changed her mind about Julio. ‘Coming in for a drink?’

‘Sure…’ began Chuck.

‘No,’ interrupted Kiki hurriedly. ‘I’m beat, I really am. We’ll see you tomorrow.’

Dallas knew what
she
wanted. She wanted to see her back together with Cody.

They said their goodbyes and Dallas walked into the house.

Cody jumped up when he saw her. His face was white.

‘What happened between you and Lew Margolis?’ he snapped. ‘Because whatever it was Lew wants you
out
– off the series. What was it, Dallas? For Christ’s sake, what was it?’

‘I can’t,’ insisted Cristina.

‘Why not?’ replied Nino, lazily.

They lay on the beach, hands entwined.

‘I keep on explaining to you why not.’

‘Because it’s
your
house. Because it’s
your
mother’s jewels. If you really think about it, then you would say – yes, Nino, I’ll tell you when it is a good time, Nino – I’ll tell you where the safe is… how to open it.’

Cristina pulled her hand away and sighed. ‘You ask me too much. First the Von Cougats, then the Bogatos – now you want to rob
my
house – my parents’ house.’

Teasingly Nino threw sand over her stomach. ‘So. It is fine to rob
other
people’s houses. But when it comes to you…’

Cristina blushed. ‘It’s not just that. You stole from the Von Cougats – the money your organization gets for the jewellery goes to help the poor. No one was hurt. They are insured. As you said, no one will even miss it.’

‘Yes.’ His hand massaged the sand lightly into her stomach.

‘So I told you about the Bogatos.
I
made it possible for you to rob them.’

‘You were very helpful.’

‘Yes, Nino,’ her eyes filled with tears, ‘but you didn’t tell me that you and your friends would have to kill the dog…’

‘It attacked us…’

‘And wreck the house. Cover the walls with slogans, rip up priceless paintings.’ She started to cry. ‘I wasn’t going to mention it – I felt too sick to mention it. But now – what you are asking me… it’s impossible.’

His hand moved slowly down her stomach, his fingers hooked into the thin knot of cord holding the bottom half of her tanga together. ‘I think we should go home,’ he whispered.

She stopped crying and shivered slightly. He had her under some kind of unbreakable spell. ‘It’s early,’ she protested weakly. ‘I thought we were going to surf.’

He laughed. ‘Who wants to surf when we have better things to do?’ He stood up and offered his hands to pull her off the sand.

They walked slowly back to his apartment. Her body was tingling with the anticipation of what he would do to her.