Rock Idol (Reality With a Twist Series) (11 page)

“Oh,
come on,” Ember said. “Mitch isn’t
that
bad. I admit that I don’t want
to go out with him, but there is a good sense of humor hiding beneath all that
nasty wit.”

Hans
picked up his brush and went to work on Ember’s hair. He wasn’t really styling
it yet, just occupying his hands while he reminded her that he could tease her
right back. “Defending him, I see. Perhaps there is more to this horrible rumor
than you want us to believe, hmmm?”

“Fox
thought that since we were laughing together it meant I was interested in him,”
Ember explained. She still felt more than a little insulted by the observation.

Hans
stopped brushing. “Now that’s funny. I thought it was that delicious Rick
Rogers you were interested in for exactly the same reason.”

Ember
twisted around in the chair to stare at him. “You did not!”

“Yes,
dear, I did, but of course, I already had reason to wonder about the two of
you.
 
After all, it wasn’t that many
weeks ago that I had to repair your lipstick after the two of you shared a
little kiss.”

Heat
burned in Ember’s cheeks as she remembered—in her cheeks, and quite
surprisingly, other places as well.

Hans
started brushing her hair again. “I see you remember that kiss as well. He’s
quite a cutie, isn’t he? Especially that tight ass. And now that you have him
dressing so much more scrumptiously, well, you wouldn’t be a woman if you
weren’t tempted.”

“I’m
not tempted,” Ember protested weakly.

But
in her mind she’d couldn’t help but follow Hans brief description of Rick’s
body. He did have a great ass! And the chest beneath his shirt was smooth and
fit. It would be fun to trace the contours of his pectorals or kiss her way
down the six-pack that formed his abs.

She
shuddered.
Get control of yourself, girl!
Rick Rogers is
not
boyfriend material—even if Fox hadn’t made it clear you have to keep your hands
off.

She
replayed Rick’s kiss in her mind. He’d surprised her, so he she hadn’t been at
her best. But it seemed to her that the young heartthrob was the perfect height
for kissing. She’d just had to lift her face and he’d ducked his head and…

She
shook her herself again, trying to shake the image.

Behind
her, Hans laughed quietly. “Of course you’re not tempted.”

“Perfection!”
Hans declared as he stepped back to admire his work.

Ember
got up and through an act of iron willpower, kept herself from looking in the
mirror.

“What?”
Hans asked. “You’re not going to admire my art?”

She
gave her stylist a little hug. “Your work is always perfect, Hans. It’s the
woman underneath who has the flaws. I’m not seventeen anymore.”

“And
glad you should be that you’re not!” Hans told her. “As a child, you were only
fresh and maybe trendy. That sort of beauty never lasts. Today you are
sophisticated, sensuous, even mysterious—far more enticing than that little
girl who won the Grammys.”

Someone
knocked on the door, saving Ember from the need to respond. She didn’t really
believe what Hans was telling her. Like most women in her profession, Ember
would kill to have her seventeen-year-old body back. At least she’d finally
gotten over the wish to go back and do it over again. She’d finally reached a
point in her life where she mostly liked the woman she’d become.

Hans
crossed the small dressing room and opened the door, revealing Rick Roger,
dressed for the stage, getting ready to knock a second time. “Oh, hi, Hans, is
Ember still here? I had a question for her.”

“No
rose this time?” Hans teased the young man. “Mitch will be relieved, I’m sure.”

Rick
blushed, which made Hans laugh with delight and brought a smile to Ember’s face
as well. She lost the smile when Hans stepped out of the room and closed the
door behind him with a final warning about the time.

Rick
looked startled for a moment as well. “Oh, um, that was nice of him, but I
didn’t mean to kick him out.”

Ember
hadn’t intended for Hans to leave either—especially not after Hans had just
made her painfully aware again of how attractive this young man was. The last
thing she needed to do was give into her impulses and make a move on him. “What
can I do for you, Rick? I’ve only got a few minutes before I have to go out and
judge tonight’s show.”

Rick
took a deep breath and joined her where she stood by her styling chair. “Look,
this is really none of my business, but the internet has exploded with this
story about you secretly dating Mitch and well…I just wanted to know if it was
true.”

He
really looked uncomfortable to Ember as he tried to justify his interest
without crossing the line she’d drawn all those weeks ago.
 
“I…like you, Ember, and I think…I mean…all
those times you’ve coached me over the phone…I thought we were becoming friends
but you didn’t mention this. How could you not tell me that you’re dating
Mitch?”

For
a moment she considered teasing Rick a little, but she just couldn’t bring
herself to play with him like that. “There’s no truth to the rumor. I’d never
date him!”

“Oh,
thank God!” Rick exclaimed, spontaneously hugging her.

He
backed off immediately as if he weren’t certain if he’d just unintentionally
crossed that professional line she’d placed between them. “I’m sorry about
that. It’s just, when I heard about you and Mitch—
Mitch!—
everything I
thought I’d learned about you in the past seven weeks went flying out the
window. I mean, I just couldn’t picture the two of you…”

He
trailed off as if he feared he’d said too much again.

Ember
patted Rick’s arm, acutely aware of how her flesh tingled when she touched him.
“It’s okay, sweetie. Honestly, I can’t picture myself with Mitch either. I
mean, we have gotten closer this year. There’s a fun side to him that I didn’t
see at first. But that’s a long way from wanting to go out with him. He’s just
not y—”

Ember
glanced away, mortified by her near indiscretion.

Rick
stepped nearer—almost brush-against-her close. “Mitch isn’t who?”

Ember
couldn’t make herself look at him, so he lifted his hand and gently guided her
cheek around so she couldn’t avoid his gaze.

“Mitch
isn’t who, Ember?”

She
wanted to kiss him so badly! She wanted to step up on the tips of her toes and
let her lips meet his. Their tongues would entwine and his arms would circle
around her, crushing her tight against his hard body. She wanted desperately to
kiss him but she just couldn’t take the risk.

After
a few hours that probably only actually lasted a couple of seconds, Rick broke
their seeming paralysis and did the right thing—he turned away and started
towards the door. “The show’s going to start in a couple of minutes. We should—”

“Rick?”

Ember
could hear her voice speaking as if she were listening to another person.

Rick
turned back to her, internal conflict obvious on his face. “Yes, Ember.”

“Would
it have been so terrible if Mitch and I were having a secret relationship?”

In
three quick strides, Rick was standing in front of her again. His hands came up
and hovered near her shoulders as if he wanted to take hold, but was struggling
with his conscience. “Yes, yes it would.”

Ember
moved ever so slightly closer to Rick as well. They still weren’t touching, but
it would be impossible to get any closer without doing so. “Why would that be
so bad?” she whispered.

Rick
tilted his face down toward hers. She could feel the feather caress of his
breath on her lips. “Because if you were getting serious with Mitch, we
wouldn’t be free to do this again.”

His
lips touched hers and fireworks exploded. One of Rick’s hands slid to the nape
of her neck, holding her mouth tight against his. His other found the small of
her back while their tongues met at the entrance to each other’s mouths.

Ember’s
head grew lighter until she thought she might fall if Rick weren’t supporting
her. The sound of her beating heart filled her ears, drowning out the rest of
the world. She could taste his tongue as it thrust against hers; smell the
brute of his aftershave; feel his hand slip down to her butt and pull her
firmly against him.

He
was stiff and hard against her stomach—the final proof that he wanted her just
as powerfully as she needed him.

Ever
so slowly, Rick’s lips released her. “Wow!” he whispered. “You’re…wow!”

Impulsively,
Ember pulled his face down to hers again and stood up on the tips of her toes
to kiss him harder. Her tongue met his and pushed deeper into his mouth. His
hand left her ass to slide up her waist, hesitating oh so close to her breast.

Ember
couldn’t wait any longer. She grabbed hold of his hand, encouraging him to cup
her when Rick suddenly pushed her away. His eyes were wide; his face flushed;
his breathing obviously labored as he tried to step back away from her.

Ember
didn’t let him go, but neither did she force herself on him again. “What’s
wrong?” she asked. She’d just felt the passion bursting within him. She
knew
he was interested. Why the hell was he pushing her away from him?

“Ember,
I hope you understand what I’m going to say here. There is
nothing
I
want more than to keep kissing you for the next twenty-four hours.”

His
face scrunched up in pain as he gently pried her fingers from around his neck.
“I…please believe me. I think I’d walk off
Rock Idol
right now if you
asked me to.”

He
evidently didn’t like what he saw in her eyes because he tried to justify
himself one more time. “
Please
believe I’m not rejecting you. I’d do
anything
to stay with you right now. But…you’re due on stage in about three minutes and
I can’t be responsible for getting you fired.”

Ember’s
shock that Rick had pulled away from her transformed instantly into near panic.
“Oh, my God, the time!”

She
whirled around to face the mirror. Her lipstick was smeared and even though she
was late, she took the time to reapply it. Then she was pushing Rick ahead of
her out the dressing room door only to find Mitch and Fawn hurrying up the
hallway directly across from them.

Mitch’s
face broke into a good-natured grin even as he adopted a very severe tone. “Mr.
Rogers, what exactly were you doing in there with my girlfriend?”

Mitch
started laughing before either of them could answer, but Fawn’s expression
remained far more serious.

Week Eight

“You’re
here early,” Fawn said. “Have you got a moment?”

Without
waiting for a reply, she closed the door behind her and propped herself up
against Ember’s dressing table.

Ember
looked her friend over carefully. Rather than cut back on the cocaine, she was
willing to bet that Fawn had increased her usage. There was something about her
eyes and the way they darted back and forth which just wasn’t normal, and her
fingers twitched as they rested on her thighs.

“Come
in and make yourself at home,” she said. Somehow she doubted that Fawn would
pick up on the sarcasm. “Tell me what’s on your mind.”

“We’re
going to send him home,” Fawn announced. She seemed to notice the twitching in
her fingers and stifled it by pressing her palm down on her leg.

In
addition to the twitchiness, Ember noted, Fawn was wearing her makeup more
heavily—another sign of her growing insecurity. “I take it you’re talking about
Rick?” she asked.

Fawn
nodded. “Mitch and I are going to send him home.”

That
was definitely interesting, Ember thought. What she couldn’t figure out was
why. “Mitch has it in for Rick because he’s convinced he has no talent. Why do
you want him out?”