Star Maker (2 page)

He
grinned. “Sounds just like her. I’ve always liked your Grandma
Tilly—the little spitfire. That’s where you get all that sassiness from,
sassy pants.” He nodded knowingly.

She
grinned. “And my musical talent for sure. Anyway, I bought all my guitars on
my own dime. I’m putting myself through law school. All I have floating me
right now is my savings that I put together on my own managing bands in Philly.
Like I said, my dad is livid. He wanted me at Harvard Law studying corporate
litigation so I could eventually be an associate, then managing partner at his
firm in Chicago. Yuck!”

He
shrugged his shoulders. “Ok. Well, if you get into a bind, you can count on
me. You know that. I can float you on one condition.”

She
giggled. She knew it had to be something precarious. Her curiosity got the
best of her. “What?”

He
stared at her and changed the tone of their conversation solely with his intent
gaze. “Promise me you won’t sell out when you get to L.A. I don’t want to see
you waste your musical talent. Develop a band or something. Do something big
with music, Kit. You’re meant to. I just know it. I think this whole lawyer
thing is your safety net and that’s ok, I get it. But you owe it to yourself.
You’re certainly brilliant, but when it comes to music you really shine. Be
the big Kitty of the Sunset Strip. Become a legend, Kit. I know you can.”

She
smiled and her eyes sparkled like emeralds. “I promise. Thank you for that.
Make me the same promise, ok? Don’t get distracted by your antics. Seriously,
I venture to say you could be the next Randy Rhoads. I know you like this over
the top, risk taking, blowing money, attention grabbing shit, but focus on your
guitar, ok? No more Smokey and the Bandit chase scene re-enactments.”

He
giggled. “Ok.”

She
laughed. “Now, pay the damn bill and we’ll hit the casino for a while before
we head back to the room. We’ll get in a guitar jam sesh before we go to
sleep. And I may have to tinkle the ivories on that baby grand in our suite
too before I hit the sheets. We have to be up early so I can go sweet talk the
judge in your favor.”

He
smiled. “Or bat your eyelashes at him. Or wear a really short skirt.” She
rolled her eyes.

Kit
awoke with a start again, this time lying in a king-sized bed with a sheet
barely covering her naked body. She shut her eyes and let out a soft groan of
remorse. She held her hand to her head. She had a nasty hangover. She opened
her eyes and glanced over at Joe who was still sleeping soundly. She shook her
head, chastising herself for going there.

She and
Joe had a long history. They had been best friends since childhood and had
been in several bands together until they went away to school when they were
eighteen—he to Berklee College of Music in Boston and she to the
University of Pennsylvania. Romance had never been a consideration. She had
never been attracted to him until recently and even that was fleeting. They
had always been more like siblings than anything else.

When he
dropped out of Berklee at the end of his junior year, he moved to Philadelphia
to be near Kit and pursue music professionally, playing out in local clubs.
She had managed his band until they broke up because of creative differences.
Joe was musically gifted, always played big, and was most definitely a loose
cannon. His personality often didn’t sit well with others when it came to
music. Either jealously or competition got in the way. Not on his end, always
on theirs.

He had
protected her after an explosive relationship with her boyfriend and fellow
bandmate that ended badly. Joe always pushed her when it came to her music and
she relished his support. Moving out to Los Angeles had been a mutual decision
for them. They were done with Philadelphia. She had graduated from Penn with
honors and they were ready to soar to a new nest that held a more vibrant
creative charge. New York wasn’t a fit, but the allure of Los Angeles and the
budding Sunset Strip hard rock music scene seemed like a perfect match.

But
now, she was gravely concerned the tables were turning. The stakes were higher
for both of them as they stood on the threshold of a new life awaiting them in
a bright, shiny new city that held big promises of stardom and notoriety. The
night before, things took a dangerous turn that neither of them had
anticipated. Too much whisky and two guitars led them to something she now
deeply regretted and suspected he would too as soon as he opened his eyes. She
hoped this wouldn’t wreck their friendship, but she somehow knew it would
forever change it. Fearfully, she got up quickly and groaned again as she
scurried to the bathroom to hop in the shower. Thinking about the potential
changes plagued her.

As the
water trickled down her body, she shook her head slowly and closed her eyes.
Details of the night before were fuzzy at best and she eased into the comfort
of denial. She secretly hoped they had innocently decided to sleep in the nude
because the suite was too stuffy. She managed to convince herself of that
blatant lie until she walked back into the room and noticed a hastily opened,
empty condom wrapper on the floor at her feet. Her heart sank and she closed
her eyes again hoping to erase the image as she held fast to the towel wrapped
around her.

“Good
morning beautiful.”

She
opened her eyes when she heard Joe’s voice and noticed him lying in bed,
propped up on his elbow, the sheet barely covering him, grinning from ear to
ear as he stared at her. She smirked uncomfortably. “Hey.”

He sat
up and ran his fingers through his hair. “Fantastic night, dontcha think? I’m
a little hungover, but I’ll live.” He smiled at her. “I really liked…”

She
stared at him with wide eyes and grappled for a distraction. She didn’t want
to discuss the details of the night before; she wanted to avoid them at all
costs. Her eyes darted to the clock radio on the nightstand. Bingo, she
thought, she had an escape for now—a good one. “Joe, get your ass out of
bed and into the shower. We’re late already. We have to be in court in an
hour and we have a thirty-minute drive ahead of us. Speeding to get there is
out of the question.”

He
glanced at the clock. “Shit! Ok, I’ll be ready in ten.”

As they
walked out of the courthouse two hours later, Joe was elated. He put his arm
around Kit and squeezed tightly. “You were awesome in there! You’re going to
make a damn good lawyer. You are the queen of negotiation. So great for
record contracts,
my
record
contracts. Oh yeah!”

She
chuckled and looked up at him. “I’m glad it all worked out. Risky strategy,
but it paid off.”

He
pulled her toward him. “I am very grateful. Let me show you how…”

She put
her hand on his chest to stop him and gazed up into his eyes. “No, Joe. Stop
while you’re ahead. Last night was a huge mistake. I think I was feeling
really vulnerable about the big move to L.A. and got caught up in the music,
the alcohol didn’t help, and I lost control.”

He
recoiled and frowned. “Huh? Kit, we’re so good together. I am not Darren,
ok? I’ll be good to you.” He stroked her cheek.

She
carefully removed his hand and shook her head. “I know that, but Joe I don’t
have those kind of feelings for you.” She looked up into his eyes and noticed
the disappointment, making her feel like the bad guy. She sighed. “I’m sorry.
I want to move to L.A. with a clean slate. And I think you should too.”

He
nervously chuckled and shifted his eyes away. He couldn’t show her that she
had just stabbed him in the heart. She had no idea that he had been in love
with her for years, ever since he moved to Philadelphia. He had planned to
tell her in hopes they could start a life together in L.A., but now all bets
were off. He had to put on a false front and muscle his way through. He
forced a smile. “You know, you’re right. Fresh start. A new city awaits me
with lots of gorgeous women.”

She
chuckled and nodded, immediately feeling confused by the slight pang of
jealously that tugged at her heart. “It certainly does. You’ll be the hottest
lead guitarist on the Sunset Strip. You’ll have girls lined up for miles.”
She forced an unconvincing smile.

He
grinned, playing along, not ready to give up hope just yet. “We’ll see about
that, sassy pants. Let’s go. Our future in Cali awaits.”

As he
made his way to the driver’s side of the car, Kit immediately had an uneasy
feeling. She hoped things wouldn’t be as awkward with them in Los Angeles as
they were in that moment. Suddenly, she was dreading the six-hour drive that
stood between them and their destiny.

CHAPTER 2

Alexa’s
violet eyes widened as she listened to Kit’s detailed recount of the events
that took place in Las Vegas with Joe. She shook her head in disbelief and
blinked. “You did what? Oh God, Kit, how could you? Have you lost your
mind?”

She
sighed and hung her head. “I know. It’s really bad. That’s why he’s not
staying here. That drive into L.A. was so awkward. He’s staying with Aaron.”

Alexa
frowned. “Who?”

She looked
up. “One of the guys in Scorcher—a band I manage that came out here from
Philly. Joe knows them really well. Don’t worry, Lex, I’m sure he’ll show up
to pay you a visit. We just got in last night.” She looked around the
apartment and smiled. “You did good, ladybug. I love the place. Thanks for
heading out here early and getting everything set up.”

Kit
took another brief glance at her surroundings and felt content. The apartment
was a vintage 1940’s Hollywood staple in a great neighborhood just a stone’s
throw from Sunset Boulevard, sitting at the mouth of Laurel Canyon—an
area legendary for musicians and artists going as far back as the 1960s. Alexa
had taken the liberty of decorating the apartment to match its vintage feel,
adding an eclectic, artistic, yet upscale vibe that Kit loved. She was
pleasantly surprised.

Alexa
rolled her eyes and reeled Kit back into the conversation. “I still cannot
understand the intrigue with driving across the country. You could have flown
here on a Learjet or first class like I did.” She grinned and fingered her
diamond tennis bracelet.

Kit
chuckled, not entirely surprised. Alexa was all about luxury. Kit was
actually surprised by the modesty of their apartment and then figured she was
surrounded by very pricey antiques that could very well pay her law school
tuition all three years.

She
grinned and pointed. “You’re wondering why I got this apartment, huh? Not
really my type? Well, you are my best friend and you told me to keep it mellow
so I did. It’s all about compromise.”

Kit
folded her arms in front of her chest, grinning. She didn’t buy Alexa’s story
for a minute. “Uh-huh. Right. What’s the real reason, Lex?”

She
sighed. “I had a hell of a time finding something decent in the price range we
agreed on. I found a great house in Laurel Canyon but you would have freaked
out about the rent, so this was plan B. Not too shabby. Ok, so let’s get back
on the subject. Why the drive cross-country? I don’t see the intrigue.” She
picked up a nail file and started shaping her perfectly manicured nails.

Kit
shrugged her shoulders. “Remember, I’m not on Daddy’s funds anymore. I’m
flying solo with a very small net. Besides, I wouldn’t waste my money on a
first class ticket and Joe wanted to drive and experience everything.” She
grinned. “And honestly, I did too. It was fun.”

Alexa
was still trapped in her rant and hadn’t heard Kit’s final statement. She
picked up where she left off in her mind. “He put thousands of miles on his
car! He could have put his car on a transport like we did and paid for two
first class tickets for both of you or commandeered one of his family’s jets.
They’ve got like a fleet, don’t they? Remember that swanky Gulfstream we went
on to the Hamptons that one summer when we were in junior high? I think that
was his dad’s right? His family is richer than yours and mine combined.”

She
chuckled. “I know and he hates it. He just wants to be a normal guitarist.”

Alexa
shook her head and giggled. “Joe Arden is anything but normal. He’s always
been supernatural. His musicianship is on a whole different level that is not
of this world. He’s a complete idiot savant. Total guitar virtuoso. I won’t
even pretend to understand it. That’s your world, not mine. Want some coffee?
You’re probably beat.”

She
nodded slowly. “Yeah. Definitely still a little sleepy.”

Alexa
had made her way into the kitchen to fetch a cup of coffee for Kit and yelled
back out to the living room. “What time did you get in last night? I got home
pretty late.”

She was
about to yell a response when Alexa returned and handed her a warm mug. She
grinned. “He dropped me off around nine. I unpacked and played my guitar for
a while. Fell asleep around eleven, I think.” She tilted her head to the
side. “Did you cut your hair?” Alexa giggled and nodded. Kit admired her new
look. Alexa’s straight-as-a-board, raven hair now barely grazed her shoulders
nicely framing her classic facial features, Roman nose, and flawless ivory
skin. She grinned. “It looks really nice. Suits you better. You look like
the PR professional you are.” She raised her mug and giggled. “It’s official,
we’re here living together in Hollywood.”

Alexa
smiled wide and clinked her mug. “That we are. I’m going to finish this
coffee and then I have to head out. I have to pick up my books on campus.
Your car is downstairs in the carport. I left out a map book for you on the
table. You going to be ok on your own or do you want to tag along with me and
check out the USC campus?”

She giggled.
“You want me to set foot on my cross town rival’s campus? How dare you!” She
gave her a devious grin. “I think not. I’m a newly minted UCLA Bruin of the
law school variety, or at least I will be in a few weeks when I officially
start classes. I’ll be ok. Go on without me.”

Alexa
nodded her head and stood up. “Ok. I better hop in the shower. Keep your
evening open so we can get into some trouble together.” She winked.

Kit
smiled. “You got it.”

Lunchtime
rolled around quickly and Kit realized she had wasted time mulling around. Her
hunger pangs were taking over now and she went in search of food. She was
happy to find some takeout menus that Alexa had collected over the course of
two weeks and pinned onto the refrigerator door with magnets. She was pleased
with her discovery and ordered a pizza.

Sated
after making a satisfactory dent in her small pizza for one, she sat in one of
the chairs at the dining room table and looked around the room. The dining
room was huge and had plenty of room to accommodate other pieces of furniture.
She grinned, loving that Alexa was thoughtful enough to clear out the entire
corner of the room to accommodate Kit’s instruments. A Roland keyboard, four
electric guitars, and two acoustic guitars sat in their stands in front of a
large Marshall stack, all waiting patiently and silently beckoning her. She giggled
and joyfully hopped up.

She
grabbed her maple, six-string, Martin acoustic and sat back down. She was
curious to venture out of the apartment and explore her new city of residence,
but the call of her guitar was too much to bear. The moment she struck the
first chord, she smiled wide like she had just found a slice of heaven.

As she
sat back and enjoyed the moment, she realized that whenever she encountered any
kind of doubt or unease in her life, playing music solved all her problems.
And right now, she was still desperate to erase what happened with Joe.

Her
torrid songwriting session was more short-lived than she would have liked. The
phone rang and disrupted her entire creative flow. To make matters worse, it
was Joe calling. Her apprehension melted into a giggle hearing his absolute
exuberance. His attitude was infectious. “Joe, what’s going on? What are you
all lit up about?”

“Kitty,
I got a place! It’s off of Laurel Canyon a little bit north of Hollywood
Boulevard. Do you know where that is?”

She
burst out laughing. “No shit, Joe. Seriously? That’s where I live. Hold
on.” She dragged the phone along into the living room and cradled the receiver
on her neck as she worked to open one of the large front windows. She yelled
out the window. “Can you hear me?”

She was
greeted with peals of laughter on the other end of the line. “I can hear you
through the phone, goober, but that’s it. Why?”

She
laughed. “I was checking to see if you lived in my building.”

He
chuckled. “Can’t hear you, babe, but it sounds like we’re close. I live on
Fareholm. Gimme your address. I’ll run it by Aaron.”

“How
long are you going to be staying with him?”

“Ends
up I have good timing. His roommate bailed on him like last week and he was
desperate. Address please.”

She
rattled off her new address and hung up the phone. She was shocked when
moments later there was a knock at her door. She flung open the door and
screamed at the top of her lungs as he did the same. They hugged each other
tightly. She pulled back and laughed. “You dropped me off here last night,
don’t you remember?”

He
shook his head. “I dropped you off in front on Laurel Canyon. That’s what Lex
told you to do. And it was dark. Hell if I can remember. I don’t know this
town yet. After I dropped you off I went to meet Aaron at the Rainbow. He
drove us to his apartment last night ‘cuz I was shit faced. I live like two
apartment buildings over. He laughed when I gave him your address. We’re
neighbors, Kit!”

She
smiled. “Howdy, neighbor!” He laughed. Her eyes twinkled as she motioned to
her guitars. “Wanna play? All the girls are here. They made it safely from
Philly.” She led him into the dining room.

He
grinned and nodded, admiring her guitars. “Yep. Actually that’s exactly what
I need right now, Kit. I have news.” He let out a long sigh.

She
chuckled. “Huh? We just got into this town last night and already you have
news? Oh, this is so like you, Joe. Does magic follow you wherever you go?”

He
smiled. “I think you’ll need to sit down for this one.” He took a seat.

She
frowned. “Uh, ok.” She took her seat across from him and kept her eyes
trained on his. “Sitting and waiting. Spit it out.”

He let
out an even breath. He was still getting in touch with the gravity of the news
himself. “I have an audition tonight.” His eyes danced, revealing the news was
good.

Kit sat
on the edge of her seat, hanging on his words, waiting in eager anticipation.
“Already? Damn that was quick! With who?”

He
gazed into her eyes knowing this was a moment that he could share with her
forever. This opportunity had him perfectly poised to step into the destiny he
had always dreamed of. He was confident she would understand the significance.
“Steel Pony.”

Her
eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. She was speechless for a full moment
and then reminded herself to breathe. Her face then melted into a wide smile.
“Oh my God, Joe! You hit the lottery! Talk about jackpot. They are one of
the hottest rock bands,
still
.
They’re legendary! I thought they were out on the road right now. Aren’t they
starting the ‘Monsters of Rock’ tour in two weeks?”

He
nodded. “I ran into Wilson Carmichael at the Rainbow last night. He’s friends
with my pal Stan from Berklee. Stan was raving about my shredding and Wilson
told me the whole scoop. Rodney Pierce, their lead guitarist, was fired.
Wilson told me he had fucked up too much, wanted more money, and they were done
with him. They have to find someone tonight or they’re screwed. They have a
show in Oakland tomorrow night. Then it’s off to England for the first show
for ‘Monsters of Rock.’ If they pick me, I’m leaving tomorrow. I’ll be back
in September for two weeks and then back out on the road to complete the North
American leg.”

He
leaned forward and stared at her. “Kit, I have never wanted something so badly
in my life. Please, help me get this. You know what I play the best. Coach
me through this. All I have is my one guitar. The rest of my equipment hasn’t
arrived yet.”

She let
out a sigh as the wheels in her head turned. She didn’t want to let him down.
Seconds later, she had a plan. “Let’s get Aaron on the phone. We need to find
local rehearsal space pronto. I can’t very well have you fire up my Marshall
stack in this apartment. That’s no way to say ‘nice to meet you’ to my new
neighbors in the apartment below us.”

He
nodded. “I’ll call him. Be right back.” He grabbed the phone and started
dialing as he walked into the kitchen dragging the cord behind him.

Hours
later, they had returned from well-spent time in a rehearsal studio in the
heart of Hollywood. Joe had decided to work on his acoustic skills as well in
case they asked. He and Kit had been playing around with options for a while
and he felt confident.

He
smiled at her and gazed into her eyes. “Thanks for helping me so much today.
Your opinion really matters to me. Damn, I do love those freckles of yours.”

She
rolled her eyes. “Stop, Joe. Stop while you’re ahead. Let’s focus on the
music, ok?”

He
grinned and gently brushed his forefinger along the bridge of her nose.
“They’re so cute!”

She
glared. “Don’t.”

He
stared into her eyes and leaned forward to kiss her. She pushed him away and
he groaned as he flopped back into his seat. “We just spent the day together,
Kit, and it was awesome. Are we going to keep running around in awkward
circles with this or are we really gonna talk about it? The drive yesterday
was murder. I don’t want to get off on the wrong foot with you in a new city.”