Rock Idol (Reality With a Twist Series) (12 page)

Fawn
opened her purse and began to fumble inside it. The distraction prevented her
from having to meet Ember’s gaze. “To punish you, of course.”

A
chill worked its way up Ember’s spine. “How would that punish me? And what do I
need punishing for, anyway?”

“I’m
going to punish you because you ratted me out to Fox,” Fawn said.

“I
did not rat you out!” Ember automatically defended herself. “And why are you
still worried about that? If he hasn’t followed through on his threat to start
drug testing, he probably isn’t going to.”

“What
you should have said,” Fawn continued in the most placid of tones, completely
ignoring Ember’s question as if she were following her own script and wasn’t
going to be drawn into deviating from it. “What a
friend
would have said
was:
No, Fox, I don’t think Fawn’s doing drugs again. She’s got her act
together. Why are you worried about her?
”

The
random
drug test may not have come up yet, but Fawn was obviously
obsessing over it. Ember supposed she would be too if she’d been snorting
cocaine every week.

“Fawn,
sweetie,” Ember said. “This is Hollywood.
Everyone’s done some drugs at one time or another. This is not a big deal. Fox
will get over this. He’s—”

“He’s
not going to get over it!” Fawn interrupted. “He’s had another scandal on his
Wife
Hunt
show. His latest bachelor got caught by the staff shooting heroin—
heroin
—the
idiot. It hasn’t broken yet, but it will. Fox is really, really angry. He’s not
going to let this go!”

“I
hadn’t heard that,” Ember said. She considered suggesting that Fawn just stop
using for the rest of the season but drug addiction was rarely that simple.

She
shifted the conversation back to where it started. “So why Rick?”

“Because
he makes you feel good,” Fawn said.

“He
what?” Ember asked, wondering if Fawn could possibly know what she and Rick had
been doing last week before they ran into Fawn and Mitch in the hall.

“You
like the way he smiles at you. And the way he seeks you out for advice on his
performance. And the way he gives you those long soulful stares. Oh, and the
way he fucks you!”

Fawn
had finally said something that really worried Ember. “The way he fucks me?
That’s crazy!”

“No,
it isn’t,” Fawn insisted. “I saw you together last week and Rick had a smudge
of your lipstick on his mouth.” She smiled—the most truly wicked expression
that Ember had ever seen on the woman. “You really shouldn’t rat someone out
when your secrets are so much worse.”

Ember
struggled to keep control of her temper. “I am not sleeping with Rick!”

Fawn
shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. He makes you feel young again and well, that’s
enough. You see, that’s how the drugs make me feel and since you tried to keep
me from them, I’m going to keep you from Rick.” She snapped her purse closed.
“I just thought you should know.”

Someone
chose that moment to knock on the dressing room door. Given the way Ember’s
luck had been going, it would be Rick with a cocky smile on his face and a huge
bulge in his blue jeans.

As
if to prove the accuracy of Ember’s foresight, Rick opened the door without
waiting for her to answer it and ducked inside. “Hey Ember, I thought I saw
your light on under the door.” He pulled up short when he saw she had company.
His gaze flashed warily back and forth between the two women before finally
settling on Ember. “Is everything all right?”

To
Ember’s eye, Rick’s question might as well have been a confession of guilt—not
that they had been doing what Fawn accused them of.

Fawn
obviously thought the same thing. She turned to look at her and smirk. “He’s
gone!” she mouthed at Ember. “And then, so are you!” She got up and tucked her
purse under her arm. “Everything’s just fine,” she told Rick. “Are you here for
some private coaching?”

Rick
swallowed hard. “No, I just wanted to ask Ember a few questions, but really, it
can wait. I don’t want to rush you out.”

“No,
that’s okay, Ember and I were finished.”

She
opened the door and stepped out into the hall. “Let me just leave you two
alone.”

The
moment she closed the door, Rick turned to Ember. “What was that all about?”

Ember
assessed the situation as coldly as possible and decided that she had to accept
the most pessimistic analysis, but she also didn’t want to make Rick too angry
before the show. “Fawn’s gone crazy. She’s mad at me over a ridiculous
misunderstanding and she’s decided to try and get me kicked off the show.”

“No
way! That is crazy!” He wasn’t disagreeing with her. He just obviously couldn’t
wrap his mind around the vindictiveness of the woman known as
Rock Idol
’s
sweet judge. “What did you do to her, anyway?”

“Nothing!” Ember protested.

Rick
convincingly backpedaled away from the accusation. “I didn’t phrase that right.
This just came out of leftfield and I’m talking too fast. What does she
think
you did to her?”

“She
thinks I ratted her out on a personal matter,” Ember said.

Rick
shook his head. “The damn drugs! Why do users always think it’s not obvious to
everyone else?”

Ember
wasn’t sure why, but it surprised her that Rick knew about Fawn’s drug use. “I
won’t confirm or deny the subject she’s upset about. I don’t rat out friends,
even when they start acting like Fawn is.”

Rick
touched Ember’s chin so he could make certain she was looking right at him. It
was a very tender gesture and it made her heart beat faster. “That’s one of the
things I love about you. Somehow you made it to the top without compromising
yourself. How many people in Hollywood
wouldn’t sell out a friend if they thought it might help them get ahead?”

Ember
pulled his hand away from her face and somehow ended up holding it. “Is that
what you think? My whole first career was about
compromising who I am.
How else do you think I got hooked on drugs—my Mama didn’t raise me to smoke
crack or snort cocaine.”

Her
protestations appeared to have no impact on Rick’s opinion of her. He squeezed
her hand a little tighter. “But you still won’t confirm something everyone
knows is true because a woman who’s now trying to destroy you was your friend
when you learned it.”

He
stepped closer to her and cupped her cheek with his free hand. “That’s what I
mean about you still being you.”

His
face dropped to kiss her and Ember began to stretch up to meet him. Then she
remembered that Fawn would be looking for evidence of her fictitious affair
with Rick and Ember couldn’t afford to provide it for her. The dressing room
door was unlocked and the damn woman knew Rick was in here with her. There was
no way Ember could kiss Rick tonight.

She
pulled back. “We can’t do this. It’s not safe.”

Rick
closed his eyes a moment while his chest rose and fell, then he took a step
backward and released Ember’s hand. “You’re right. I should have more
self-control.”

He
didn’t look contrite to Ember. He looked angry at himself—as if he knew he’d
almost let her down by giving into his desires.

Ember
stepped up beside him where she could place her hand lightly on the small of
his back. “Thanks for understanding, Rick. It makes me think very highly of
you.”

Emotion
still boiled beneath Rick’s skin. “It’s just that, whew! I have thought of
nothing but kissing you all week now. I know it shouldn’t have happened last
week and I know I can’t have any more. But Ember, I used to think I came to
life when I’m singing. Now I know I only start living when I’m with you.”

When
did the room become so hot?
Ember wondered as she looked up into Rick’s baby blue eyes.
And when did
Rick become a poet? He should be writing music and lyrics—not just singing them
.

Rick
bent down to kiss her again, but caught himself before his lips touched hers.
More frustrated than ever, he strode across the small dressing room to put as
much space as possible between them.

“Whew!”
Rick breathed letting the sigh stretch out as only a singer could. “When you’re
next to me, my brain stops controlling what my body wants to do.”

“Mine
too,” Ember confessed.

She
retreated to the stylist chair and sat facing Rick, careful to keep her legs
crossed so she wouldn’t unintentionally encourage him.

“Maybe
I should go,” Rick suggested without actually moving.

That
would be a good idea, Ember knew. What she actually said was, “I wish you
wouldn’t.”

He
smiled. It was obvious he couldn’t help himself. She made him feel that good.
“Okay, I’ll stay a while. But let’s find something safe to talk about while we
wait for the air conditioning to cool down this room.”

That
was a sentiment Ember had no trouble agreeing with. She couldn’t really believe
how turned on she was. Admittedly, she’d spent a lot of time in the past week
thinking about Rick and his wonderful kisses, but she was a seasoned
professional and she hadn’t expected him to affect her so powerfully in person.
Now, looking at him leaning against the wall in his tight blue jeans and
tighter shirt, she found it hard to think of anything but what it would feel
like for him to walk back over here and take her into his arms. “What do you
have in mind?”

“Well,
we know why Fawn is mad at you,” Rick said. “But why is she out to get me?”

Rick’s
question startled Ember. She hadn’t intended for him to learn about that. She
didn’t want to worry him before his performance. “Why do you think she’s out to
get you?”

“Ember,
I’m the first contestant in the history of
Rock Idol
that Fawn’s made a
negative comment about. Everyone wants to know why she’s out to get me.”

When
he said it like that, it was obvious, so Ember decided to tell Rick the truth
even though it might make him mad and turn him against her. “Fawn says she has
to send you home because it makes me happy to have you around.”

Contrary
to her fears, Rick’s face lit up with joy as he listened to her explanation.
“Really? She said that?”

“Yes,”
Ember confirmed.

Rick
was no longer leaning against the wall but was unconsciously closing the
distance to her. “And is it true? Do you get happy just because I’m in the
room?”

That
seemed to be an unfair question to Ember, but she told him what he wanted to
hear anyway. After all, it was the simple truth. “Yes.”

Rick
pulled her up out of the chair and into his arms. “Oh Lord, Ember, I thought
your kisses made me happy but they’ve got nothing on what you just said.”

She
hesitated a moment before hugging him back. It was so risky. The door wasn’t
even locked. But if they did lock it, wouldn’t that look suspicious too?

She
could feel the heat of his body radiating through her silk blouse. Her breasts
pressed flat against his chest. His cheek rested against the top of her head.
It just felt so damn nice to have him holding her. “Are we crazy?” she
whispered. “It only takes one person walking through that door. How would we
explain what we’re doing?”

Rick
kissed the top of her head. “We tell them the truth. You’re upset because Fawn
is harassing you and trying to push you off the show and I’m comforting you.”

Ember
shook her head and pushed away from Rick. “That line of argument would probably
result in Fox letting all of us go.”

She
sat down in her chair again feeling miserable. “I’m sorry, Rick. I really like
you, but I’ve got to think about my job. I can’t afford to…” she let the
thought die away without completing it. Rick would understand. She couldn’t let
herself become a laughing stock again. Fox linking her to Mitch was bad enough,
but if Fawn convinced Fox to fire her over Rick she couldn’t bear it. She’d
survived it once, but life doesn’t give third chances.

Rick
managed to look disappointed without appearing hurt. “You don’t have to
apologize. I’m the one who keeps pushing against the rules. It’s just…Ember, I
feel like we almost have something very precious and beautiful here, and I’m so
afraid of letting it slip through our fingers. So please, promise me, the night
after the season is done, let me take you out somewhere. Give us the chance to
see if we’re as right for each other as we think we are right now.”

Ember
didn’t answer him directly. “If you win this contest, you’re not going to have
any free nights for a long time to come.”

Rick
shook his head. “I’m not going to win
Rock Idol
. I’ve already come
further than anyone ever thought I could. Top seven! Who would have believed
it? No, Hillary Tempest or Kim Ryan’s going to win—”

Ember
was on her feet and poking her finger into Rick’s chest before he could finish
talking. “Don’t you ever say that! You can win this contest! You’re the
complete package, Rick! Yes, Hillary’s voice is stronger and Kim’s got a
sweeter tone. But this is
rock
music! And
you
are the complete
package!”