Cruel Summer
Page 20
Okay, now that was demented logic, but who was I to argue?
JT pulled himself up to sit on one of the long tables grouped together in the center of the room. “I told you, Rico. You’re going to have to shove clothes in her arms.”
“I just—” I tried to explain before Rico cut me off.
“Chey, this part of what the ‘Face’ does. You need to be seen out in my clothes.”
“Out where?” The words slipped out before I could stop them. I mean, I doubted anyone was going to photograph plain old me walking down the streets of L.A. All right, correction, if I was with JT, then I was guaranteed to have a few shots taken. Hmm. Was JT just a publicity vehicle? I looked at him again, but he wasn’t wearing anything Vanetti.
Rico smiled. “I thought you’d never ask.”
Ah ha! Now we were getting somewhere.
“There’s a brand new club opening up next week, and both of you are on the VIP list.”
JT and I exchanged looks. “What?”
Evidently, this was the first he’d heard of it, too.
“I thought you two were getting along so well last night that you wouldn’t mind.” Rico looked at the two of us. “Unless the mystery girl thing this morning scared you off?”
I wasn’t sure who he meant with that comment.
“It’s okay.” I moved around the racks and pulled myself up on the table beside JT. “I guess I should get used to it.”
After all, it was something my dad dealt with for years. If he could handle it, so could I.
“Good. It must have been a slow night in L.A. for that to make news. I apologize for not warning you earlier about the overzealousness of the press.”
Rico smiled as his assistant, Todd, came in.
“I confirmed the booking with the photographer for Saturday. Does that work for you, Chey?” Todd asked.
“Absolutely.” I nodded, a tingle of excitement washing over me. My first shoot.
“So don’t stay out too late Friday night. We need you here bright and early,” Rico added.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be sound asleep by midnight.”
When the clothing rack was deemed full enough, we headed across the street to a little Italian place on the corner to grab a late lunch. As soon as we walked in, the most amazing smell of pasta and pizza hit us, and I swore my stomach almost rumbled in response.
A waitress came over and seated us near the back. We’d apparently missed the rush, and most of the circular tables with bright red table cloths were open. She handed us our menus, took a quick drink order, and disappeared from our view.
JT sat across from me at the small circular table and Rico to my right. After we’d gone through the menu a couple of times, Rico sharing what was good, what was even better. We decided to go with the pasta. Almost as soon as Rico had closed the menu, the waitress appeared with our drinks and took the menus, promising the food wouldn’t take long.
I sank back into the cushioned seat and took a sip of my lemonade before pulling out my cell phone to check for messages. Nothing. Blissfully quiet. I’d been slightly worried Mom would have somehow caught sight of that picture of JT and immediately with her spidey sense recognized me from the back.
I turned my phone over and set it on the table beside me.
Soon, we got to talking, and Rico told me how he’d gotten interested in fashion as a kid and how he’d gotten started going to one of the best fashion schools in California.
The food arrived, and we kept talking, and I learned that JT’s parents had helped by investing here and there while Rico and Lorna put things together to create a small design house.
JT kept watching me as I twirled the pasta around my fork, and I tried my best to ignore him, until Rico got a text he was needed back at the offices. He picked up the check and headed off.
We finished our meals a few minutes later and followed suit outside.
“What?” I asked finally as we left the table and headed back into the sunshine. I thought about calling Sorche to see if she could pick me up, but she was probably busy with auditions. She’d had a few booked this week.
“I’m just wondering if you remember we have a date on Saturday, or do you want to cancel now that you’ve got your photo shoot.”
“Can’t I do both?”
He smiled as we headed to where he’d left his car. “I’m holding you to that, Daniels. Mind if I crash the shoot?”
I shrugged as I slipped into the passenger seat. “He’s your cousin. Do what you want.”
***
“You were on three entertainment shows.”
Sor sounded proud, like the poor, misguided teen she’d taken under her wing was finally showing off the lessons she’d learned.
I shut the door to the theater room and kicked off my flip flops.
“No. The mystery girl was,” I countered as I flopped on one of the leather chairs beside her.
I’d caught the end of one of the shows when I came home, where whoever had filmed the footage had been behind us. All you could see was the back of my hair under my new black and silver baseball cap. I’d thought that little pic online was going to be the end of it. Apparently, I was oh so wrong. This afternoon’s rumors ranged from ‘some A-lister in a wig’—uh, was my hair really that bad?—to some unknown girl he’d picked up at a club, the unknown being the only right thing in the entire story.
“Well, the mystery girl was—is—you. Just have to wait for the mystery to be solved.”
“Maybe there’s nothing to solve.”
Sor’s mouth fell open in disbelief. “What?”
“You know there’s nothing really going on between me and JT.” Nothing but one kiss, anyway. “Any female photographed near him is the next potential girlfriend.”
See, I knew I’d been right all along. Stay clear of one JT. You know, the more I thought about it, the more JT could stand for Just Trouble instead of Justin Thomas.
“And how are you going to go about that?”
“L.A.’s a big place.” I shrugged. “Besides, I’m only here for a couple more months. We couldn’t be that serious.”
I couldn’t be that serious. We hadn’t even had a first official date yet.
Yet? Oh, man, I was in so much trouble.
I could tell by the look on Sor’s face she didn’t believe a word I said, either.
“Fine. But you are Sean Morrow’s daughter. You are going to be photographed, you know. And don’t forget about that little deal you just signed with Rico.”
“That’s different.”
“That’s what is going to get you splashed across pages around here. Rico is hot, hot, and hot.”
I slid down in my seat, reaching for the bowl of popcorn on the table wedged between our chairs. “Still, different.”
The knock on the theatre door interrupted our convo.
“What?” I called, certain it was Dad or probably Trish wanting to see what we were watching.
The door slid open, and there stood Milo. “Hey, your dad’s sending me out for pizza.”
I caught the smile on Sor’s face the second she laid eyes on him.
“That’s nice,” I drawled.
He let out a dramatic sigh. “I’m assuming you want some.”
“Whatever Dad ordered is fine with me. Sor?”
“Pepperoni. Anything but anchovies.”
“Got it.” He smiled, and I noticed it was totally directed at Sor. “You find all the controls?”
I held up the remote. “Think I can handle it.”
“Cool. Nice seeing you, Sorche,” he said before he slid the door shut.
I twisted to look at my best friend. “Spill.”
It wasn’t quite a question; more so a demand.
She took a sip of her iced tea, trying to look so innocent, I was sure she could sprout wings at any second.
“Spill what? I don’t think your dad would want iced tea all over his carpet.”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about.
I saw that look between you and Milo, not to mention that goofy expression on your face right now.”
“Does it mirror yours when you talk about JT?”
I did my best to look indignant. “We’re done talking about me and JT. Answer the question. What’s going on with you and Milo?”
She sighed as she set her drink down on the table. “He was outside one day when I was heading to my car. We started talking, and I…” She glanced at me somewhat sheepishly. “I asked him to grab something to eat sometime.”
I blinked. How could I have missed something so major? “Okay, so…”
“So we had dinner. Then he took me to the movies the other night.”
“You’re dating Milo?”
Her gaze darted away from mine up to the dark screen. “We’re not exactly dating. More like hanging out. And besides, he’s not that bad. You just don’t know him.”
“I didn’t say he was that bad. I just think it’s…”
“It’s?”
“Interesting. You and Milo.”
“Yeah. Me and Milo,” she repeated, sliding down in her seat. “No biggie. So start the movie already,” she demanded as she stole the bowl of popcorn out of my hand.
15
Music filled the stairwell.
“Where are we?” I asked, Sor close beside me as we took the steep stairs down hesitantly.
She’d barely said anything when she’d shown up at my door two hours ago in an Uber other than she was taking me out for the night. I wasn’t sure I really wanted to—it was the night before my shoot, after all—but Dad was out at some charity thing, and she’d had a point. What was I going to do? Panic and make myself sick? Or go out and think about something else for a while?
“Forgotten.”
Hmmm. It felt like we’d been forgotten as we headed down the narrow stairs. The hallway had a Goth feel to it. Shimmering, blackish-red fabric covered the walls, and the small, flickering lights barely lit the hallway.
“Are you sure this is a music club?” Because at this very moment, I totally doubted it.
Black velvet curtains covered the entrance into the actual club.
“Name?” the beefy bouncer in head-to-toe black and who had blended into the background ’til that moment asked.
For a moment, I’d wondered if he’d stepped out from behind the curtains when I wasn’t looking.
“Sorche Maxwell and Chey Morrow,” Sor replied casually.
The curtains tugged back, obviously meaning we proved worthy of admittance. I stepped down the last two black carpeted steps into another world where we were met by another beefy bouncer who quickly wrapped hot pink wristbands around our wrists before we could take another step deeper into the crowd.
“Where are we going?” I looked at the large group of people. There didn’t look to be a lot of tables, just people milling about on the edges while others danced.
“We’re going to have a good time.” She spun and tapped my nose. “Come on, relax. This is the night before your big day, and we should have fun.”
She was right; I needed some time away from home. I was learning to give up on the vision I had for my summer and just go with what was happening. And what was happening right now spelled out that Sorche wanted me to go out and have fun.
“Besides, wait ’til you see why I brought you here.” Sor headed to the bar along the back and jostled our way to the front, ordering two plain sodas and setting her cash on the counter.
A pushy guy in a too-tight black shirt forced his way into the line-up, knocking me into my best friend. “Why?”
I turned to give him a dirty look but he didn’t even look my way.
“You’ll see. But JT should be here soon. I told him I was taking you out for the night, and he said he’d swing by.”
She grabbed our drinks, and we headed towards the front where a new band was taking the stage. I took a sip of my cold drink as we weaved through the growing crowd around us, and I did my best to stick close to her.
“Aren’t you going to tell me anything?”
“Have fun!” she shouted over her shoulder and laughed.
The band started to play as we made our way to towards the stage. I didn’t understand why she was so determined to be front and center until we got there. I stood against the worn black metal barricade, its paint scraped off in places no doubt by overzealous fans, amazed when I saw who played lead guitar. Our eyes locked, and that knowing smirk of his crossed his face, the one I always thought had been a little smug. Then, he turned to his fellow guitarist, sharing a microphone stand.
Sorche squealed and elbowed me. “Doesn’t Milo look hot?”
“Doesn’t he?” I repeated, still surprised by what I was seeing, when the guy beside me raised his beer in the air, sloshing it all over.
I stood there stunned as the cold liquid hit my bare arm, frozen in place, but the guy didn’t pay me any attention at all.
I took a step to the side and Sor grabbed my hand, helping to pull me away and tighter up against the barricade.
“What a jerk,” she shouted as if he could hear her above the music.
She shot him a deadly look as she started digging through her bag. She handed me a plastic pack of tissues to try and dry off although I wondered what good it would do me since I could feel the fabric of my shirt on my arm starting to stick to my skin in spots.
“Thanks.” I handed her my drink and did my best to rid myself of the beer that still trickled down my arm, leaving an icky, sticky coldness in its wake. Finally dry or as much as I could reasonably get, I unfortunately still reeked of the guy’s cheap draft.
Sor shot me an apologetic look as she handed back my plastic cup and turned her attention to her boyfriend on stage. I finished off my drink, hoping to cool my nerves, before I pulled my cell out of my wristlet, amazed I was getting full bars inside.
‘Where are you?’ I texted JT and hit send. He should have shown up by now, shouldn’t he?
Sor said he knew where the place was. I tucked the phone into my hip pocket, hoping to feel it vibrate as I watched my possibly someday step-brother rock out on stage.
It seemed like an hour later when the guys finally stopped playing, and I turned to see Sor beside me, a huge smile on her flushed face.
“Well?” she asked, her eyes almost twinkling in the stage lights as she glanced over my shoulder where Milo was no doubt lingering still.
“They’re great. Shouldn’t they have played longer?” I asked as they all disappeared out of view behind another curtain. I watched as a few other guys popped up on stage, taking away instruments and moving things around.
“Set break,” she informed me. “C’mon, let’s grab another drink then get back up here before they start up again.”
“Right. Because you’re the typical rock-star girlfriend.”
She grinned. “Hardly. But he does look damn hot up there.”
We got back in the line-up for the bar, this time with me digging through my wallet for the twenty I knew I’d thrown in before we left when I heard Sorche’s gasp beside me, which was surprising given how loud it was in the club. “What?”
“You aren’t going to believe this…”
And suddenly, I knew exactly what she meant when I saw who was coming towards us, entourage firmly in place.
Adriana.
My stomach dropped at the mere sight of her. Based on my unfortunate past experiences, all I knew was the best thing to do would be to avoid her at all costs.
I totally recognized what she was, and that was trouble.
With a capital T.
“Funny seeing you here,” I said as she stopped in front of us.
Her lips curled into a smile that seemed as fake as her hair color. “Isn’t it? I don’t usually go ‘slumming’, but I guess this must be the big new place to be if you and Sorche are here.”
Sor moved closer. “Amazed they let you out of your cage before midnight. Thought most reptiles were night creatures.”
A couple of the entourage giggled.
I licked my dry lips. “You know something, Adriana? Why don’t we call a truce—I won’t have a single thing to do with you, and you don’t have a single thing to do with me. Deal?”