Stripped (6 page)

Emily smiled.  “Nope.  Someone else came...”

“Are you serious?  Did you get a number or a date or something?  Am I in the way right now?  Shit.  Emily... you have to tell me...”

“Stop it,” Emily said.  “Listen.  There was this guy.  He was honestly the hottest guy I ever met in my life.  He had the most perfect face.  And his eyes... he had sunglasses on at first...”

The crowd grew louder as four figures took the stage.  Emily recognized them all.  Rex took the mic and gave an attempted rock n’ roll scream but it sounded like a washed up cry.  Regardless, it did the trick for the audience, and thus began the set.

As the song kicked in, Ann looked at Emily with her eyes super wide and face confused.

Emily didn’t understand it.

Ann hurried and took out her cell phone and began to type.  Emily assumed it was work related until she felt her purse vibrate.

Had Ann just texted her?

Yup.

Emily read it.

I have to take some pictures real quick.  Might hang out with the guys to see what else I can get.  ;)  Are you okay getting home?

Emily read the message a couple more times, battling her care for Ann.  She understood it.  Ann wanted to become Annie Crossfire.  She wanted the bands, the stories, the nightlife.  She wanted the loud music, fast shows, backstage doings.  Her mind and memory were built for it and her body complemented it.  Emily didn’t fear Ann getting hurt in the sense of someone physically hurting her... or sexually forcing themselves... Ann was a tough girl for her size.  Emily just feared losing Ann to the indulging side of it.  When things went too far and never came back.

But it was Ann’s dream.

Her chance.

Her break.

Emily took a deep breath and looked to Ann, smiling.  She nodded, telling Ann to go.  Ann came at Emily again and kissed her cheek.

She then screamed,
“Thank you!  Have fun!”
and disappeared but not before taking the bottle with her.

Yeah, it was going to be a wild night for Ann.

And for the first time in a long time, Emily didn’t care.  Not an ounce of regret or jealousy ran through her curvy body.  After all, Bryce had shown her what pain and pleasure could feel like. 

And he would do it again, tomorrow night.

5.

Emily woke to the feel of her bed shaking.  It felt like a gentle vibration at first but then turned violent.  When she thought the word ‘violent’ she thought of Bryce.  Had he found the apartment and was going to offer his sexy services?

She rolled to her side and then back, opening her eyes, only to see a haggard looking Ann hovering over the bed.

Emily quickly jumped up, reaching for the clock first, and then looking at Ann again.

“You look like hell,” Emily said.  “And it’s seven in the morning.”

“Just walked in,” Ann said and smiled.

“Are you kidding me?  What were you doing all night?”

“Ask me who?”  She winked.

“You look like a mess,” Emily said.  “Why didn’t you call me?  I would have picked you up in the car or something.  Ann...”

“Annie Crossfire,” Ann replied.  She stood tall, put her hands on her hips, and bent one of her legs, looking confident and sexy.

“Is that your pose?”

“It will be for my next story.  I’m getting the cover story.”

“The what?”

“The cover story.  The main story for the magazine!”

“Are you serious?  Ann... Annie Crossfire... that’s amazing.  Congrats.”

“I know, right?  I drove my editor nuts all night last night.”

“Wait.  Did you sleep with him?”

Ann sighed.  “No.  I thought about it a few times but that would only create a mess.  But I started emailing him some pictures of Dying Desires and snippets of the interview.  I spun the angle on how a band who never really made it into a worldwide mega success could still rock.  Could still care.  Could still party.  And could still take care of themselves.”

“Sounds intriguing,” Emily said.

Ann snapped her fingers and shook her hips.  “That’s what my editor said.”

“So are they making Dying Desires the cover story?”

“Oh my gosh, never.  They’re so washed up, those wrinkles are just from age.”

Emily laughed.

“I’m serious.  They’re nice guys I guess, but they’re too old.  They have nothing original.  I get to go after the biggest of the big.  The hottest band right now anywhere.”

“Oh yeah?”

Ann nodded.  She then drew lines with her pointer fingers as her eyes glazed over.  “
Down Silent
.”

She was star struck just saying the name.

“Down Silent,” Emily said.  “I think I’ve heard that name.”

“Everyone has.  They’re seriously the most amazing band in the world right now.  And they refuse to play big shows.  That’s what makes them so damn cool.  They like the smaller venues.  They want to make sure that when it comes time to go big and worldwide, they will pack stadiums like something nobody has ever seen.”

“Ann, I’m really happy for you.”

“I know.  It came out of nowhere.  I was on my ride home about an hour ago and my editor called me.  He sleeps as little as I do.  I think that’s why we get along.  We understand the world of less sleep, more coffee...
and stuff
...”

Emily looked to Ann’s bag, wondering what kind of ‘stuff’ was in there. 

“He said he loved the way I came up with an idea for the article on Dying Desires.  He felt bad that it was going to be a one page write up.  He got the okay to make it two pages so I could include a couple of the pictures I took - score for me!  But he still felt bad.  Then he mentioned that he had been tossing around taking one of their writers - some guy named Chaz - off the next cover story.  I swear, Emily, I pulled the car over and sold myself like I never have.  And it was over the phone, so I couldn’t, you know, really sell anything...”  Ann cupped her breasts and giggled. 

“You’re insane,” Emily said.  “You need a shower and a bed.”

“Hold on a second.  So when he tells me he’ll give it to me, he wants me to get a one on one interview with the lead singer of Down Silent.  The only interview that has ever been done with the band.  But there’s such a mystery around the lead singer that he wants to know what it is and why it’s there.”

“When do you get to start?” Emily asked.

“Tonight.  Down Silent is playing at D.”

Emily’s eyes lit up.

“What’s wrong?” Ann asked.

“What?  Nothing.”

“No.  Your eyes just went wild.  Like a little girl looking at her crush.”

Emily felt her cheeks turning red.  She felt between her legs starting to warm.

“Tell me,” Ann insisted.  “Right now.”

“Remember last night... I met someone?”

“Yes,” Ann said. 

Emily looked down and Ann grabbed her arms.  Emily winced when Ann touched her wrists and Ann let out a small cry.  That’s when Emily saw the marks from Bryce had turned into small bruises.  That was okay... it was sort of hot.

“What happened?” Ann asked.

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you,” Emily said.  “I met him and we had a little fun, in the club.”

Ann’s mouth fell open.  “You... slut...”

“Whatever.”

“I can’t believe that.  My little Emily... growing up...”

“He held my wrists so tight as things happened.”

“That’s so hot,” Ann said.  “You submitted to him.”

“I didn’t have a choice.”

“That’s the only way to have it.”

“But there’s more,” Emily said.

“Okay.”

“He told me I better be there tonight.”

“Tonight.  At D?”

Emily nodded.

“That’s perfect!” Ann cried out.  “I’m so freaking nervous about meeting Down Silent.  They are touring the area for the next couple weeks, staying local, playing all the small clubs.  It’s going to take me a while to get the lead singer alone.  I need you with me tonight.  We can help each other.  So we’re not nervous.”

Emily twisted her arms free.  “I’m not nervous.”

“Look at you, all confident now.”

Was she confident?

Emily thought about it and it felt good.  It felt good to think about Bryce and what he had done.  And what he could do.

“I just had fun,” Emily said.  “He was dark, secretive, and sexy.  And like I said last night... his eyes...”

“Okay, enough talking for now,” Ann said.  “I need a shower and a nap.  I’ll be up by noon and then we start the day off right.  I need to go to the gym for a little bit and then get ready.”

“Okay,” Emily said.

Ann started to leave the room and a wild thought came to Emily.  Was it just coincidence that Emily was supposed to meet a sexy, mysterious man on the same night Ann was supposed to interview a sexy, mysterious man?

“Hey, Ann?”

Ann stopped.  “Yeah?”

“What’s the lead singer’s name...?”

“Of Down Silent?”

Emily nodded.

“Gunnar.”

“Gunnar?”

“Gunnar.  Super hot too.  Oh, I hope I get more than an interview.”

Emily laughed and shook her head. 

It was fun to have the ultimate fantasy, wasn’t it?  Even if Bryce wasn’t a lead singer in a band, he was still deadly sexy and sensually powerful. 

Emily opted to hit the pillow, hoping to dream about the night before.

6.

She didn’t dream and she didn’t really fall back asleep.  Instead, Emily climbed from bed a little after nine and spent the morning and early afternoon trying to relax.  That was more impossible than she ever thought it would be because each time she saw her wrists, she thought of Bryce.  Even when she plopped herself in front of her computer and tried to work on her book, she saw her wrists and gushed.  Her wrists started to ache, from trying to type and from Bryce’s strong sexual hold. 

Right on cue, Ann started floating through the apartment at noon, ready to start the day and ready to lose herself in another rock n’ roll fantasy.

Seeing Ann running up and down the hall - at first wearing clothes, second time naked, holding her breasts, third time wearing a towel - Emily could actually feed off her energy.  And it amazed Emily.  She really believed everything her mind said and ran with it.  Even the times when Ann would hit a brick wall, she never quit.  She never gave up.  Nothing else mattered to her than the current story.