She clapped her hands together and said, “Wonderful!” She acted like I’d made her whole day by agreeing. That at least felt good. She tapped her podium then and said, “Take your places, people; it’s almost time to begin!”
I took my place where I was comfortable…in the middle. We were practicing for a big party in the student union the next week. Another one of our professors was retiring and we had agreed to perform. His wife had sent over several songs she wanted us to sing, and we even got one from his son, who was also a music teacher, but at a middle school. His son wanted us to perform The Cat’s in the Cradle. That song always made me cry.
I walked out of chorus that afternoon feeling better than I did walking in, as usual. Singing did something to my soul; it made me feel light and happy. On my drive home, I started thinking about Tristan again. I knew he’d been to rehab before. I didn’t know which ones he’d tried, but I did know that the one I’d gone into when I was in trouble had done wonders for me, and it also came highly recommended. I was suddenly overcome with the idea that I had to at least try and help him.
We had been talking about the civil rights movement the past week in my sociology class and we read some things that Leroy Eldridge Cleaver, a Black Panther activist, had said during the Civil Rights Movement. One of them was now an old saying that was often misquoted. Cleaver had said, “There is no more neutrality in the world. You either have to be part of the solution, or you're going to be part of the problem.” I had to try, and if it pissed Tristan off and he refused to let me help, then so be it. I would at least know then that I did all I could.
I drove out to the rehab facility I had stayed at when I was going through my problems. It was in Orange County and it was a nice place. It was expensive, too. My parent’s had paid for me to go. I didn’t have any idea what Tristan’s situation was financially, or if he had insurance or not. I picked up an application and brochure anyways. I planned to take it over and give it to him and let the chips fall where they may.
Chapter Four
Tristan
It was time to endure another results show. I wasn’t worried that week; the judges and everyone else there left no doubt in my mind that my song was as good as I thought it was. I smoked a little weed before I went down to the studio, just to take the edge off. I’d bought some new clothes; I was wearing a white open collar shirt and black jeans. I got my hair trimmed again, and I had to admit that I looked pretty damn good. I think that thought was confirmed by Brooke and her friend’s face when I walked in.
Elly was doing her best to ignore me, but that was okay. I had Brooke on the line and, good piece of ass or not, I had finally convinced myself that Elly was just too much trouble. She worried too much about everything: the show finding out we were sleeping together, finding a pipe and a bong at my place…I didn’t want trouble or drama or some chick telling me what to do. If she couldn’t chill out and lighten up, that was her problem. I wanted sex, and I was positive that as soon as she didn’t have a show to practice for the next night, Brooke intended to give me exactly what I wanted. My mouth was almost watering just thinking about it.
We all took our seats on the stage, I sat next to Brooke and that was the first time I actually saw Elly look at me. Brooke was whispering something in my ear about one of the other contestants and I could see Elly looking right at us. When she saw that I noticed, she turned her head quickly, but I knew she hated life right then. She’d screwed up and walked out. I could see in her eyes that she regretted it.
The host did his annoying thing again, as usual, and as each person was called to either stay or go, they again showed their performance from the previous night up on the big screen. I actually paid attention. We were getting closer to the end and I was finally interested in the competition. Some of my fellow contestants were decent singers, and a handful of them left me wondering how the hell they’d made it this far. Two of the seats in the bottom were already filled when the emcee called Brooke’s name. He showed a clip of her performance and two of the judges saying they loved it and the third one telling her it was ‘a little pitchy.’ Then he said, “Brooke, I’m sorry…but you’re gonna have to do this all again next week. You made it into the next round!”
She jumped up and down and I watched her tits bounce. I had no doubt that millions of men across the United States were staring at their television sets with their mouths watering. She suddenly turned around and hugged me tight, pressing her big tits into my chest. I felt my cock twitch, but willed it to stay down. It might have been just a little bit embarrassing to get caught on camera with a woody.
The emcee had me stand up next. I watched the screen as they ran part of my performance. I almost got the same rush watching it as I had living it. I fucking loved to perform. It sounded as good on tape as it had live. The video showed the judges’ reactions then and all of the things they’d said, then he turned to me and said, “Are you feeling pretty good tonight, Tristan?”
I started to say “Hell yes!” But, there was something in his voice that made me suspicious. For some reason I got a little paranoid and my stomach started churning. What if he was setting me up? What if I agreed that I’d blown it away and he sent me to the bottom three? I realized the pause was beginning to become uncomfortable and I finally said, “I’m feeling pretty good,” I thought that sounded a little less full of myself…just in case.
He let things drag out and then said, “Sorry Tristan….but we have to pause for a commercial break.”
I wanted to break the little bastard’s neck. I forced myself to smile for the camera and while they were no longer running the cameras and the make-up people were making the judges and the host pretty again, Brooke turned to me and said, “They’re not going to vote you off. They couldn’t. You’re amazing, Tristan.”
“I know,” I said, in a confident tone. Then I winked at her and smiled. She smiled back at me with a sexy, ‘I want to fuck you’ smile.
The host was getting ready to start back up. I could see Elly watching in my peripheral vision. I wish she wasn’t so damn hot, it would have been easier to forget about her. Pissed at her or not, every time I looked at her, I remembered how good she looked naked…and felt…and tasted…..
“So, Tristan,” the host was saying. “I’ll bet you’d like to know if you’re staying or going, right?”
“It would be nice to know…sometime tonight,” I told him with a smile. What I’d wanted to do is punch him in his face, but I was no rookie at this. I knew the importance of playing for the cameras and for a million dollars; I’d decided I was willing to do it, for now.
He laughed and said, “I’m sorry, I have been accused of being a drama queen a few times in my life.” Then he waited for everyone else to stop laughing and he said, “Sit down, Tristan…we’ll see you next week.” I got another big squeeze up against Brooke’s tits, which was worth it. I glanced across to where Elly stood, just briefly, but I could see her face. She actually looked happy for me.
We had to sit through the last two contestants, one of which ended up in the bottom three. Then we had to sit through two more commercial breaks and more of the host’s drama before he finally got to the point of who was leaving the show. It was a guy that I actually thought was pretty good. He was really unattractive though, and America sucked like that. I remembered them saying that he was a wedding singer. I hoped that at least the publicity he got off being on the show would help the poor guy out with that.
Brooke sidled up to me as we were breaking up and said, “How about we get a drink and celebrate?”
I slipped my arm around her shoulders and said, “That sounds great. There’s a little bar called The Glacier right around the corner here that I played at not too long ago.” We walked past Elly on our way out. She was talking to her friend and acted like she didn’t see us, but I’m pretty sure I felt her watching us as we left the building.
Brooke was bubbling with excitement and I couldn’t help think about how fun it would be to fuck her righ
t then while she was on a natural high. It was strange: a few weeks prior any warm hole would have sufficed. Since I met Elly, I realized how much I’d been missing by not having a woman who was mentally present. With Brooke, I was only hesitating because I didn’t really want to complicate things with the show. I needed to feel her out a little more and see if she’d be the type who would be alright with a casual fuck.
“I can’t believe I’m here sometimes,” she said, looking around the city as we walked down the street. I could see the wonder in her eyes. I forgot what it was like to be excited about anything like that. I hadn’t been that excited about anything for longer than I could remember.
“Where are you from again?” I asked her. I should have known. They say it over and over again on the show. The truth was I just hadn’t cared enough about any of it to pay attention.
“Ohio. I’m from a tiny little town with a census of only about twelve hundred people. L.A. is like culture shock to me,” she said.
I switched back into predator mode; I was getting too caught up in things that weren’t going to end up with a curvy blonde in my bed. “Ohio knows how to grow them, I’ll give ‘em that,” I told her with a kiss to the side of her face.
She giggled and I felt her wiggle up closer to me. Then she said, “They grow them pretty well here too,” she said with a flirty smile.
We walked into the bar and the results show was playing on two televisions over the bar. We sat down and ordered our drinks. The bartender wouldn’t take my money; he recognized us both from the show and went on about how much he loved our music and how one of us should win. It was cool, especially when Brooke went to the bathroom and he told me that he actually thought that I should win, he just didn’t want to hurt her feelings.
While he’d been going on when we first got there, Brooke giggled again and said, “Wow! We’re famous. I can’t wait for the next round. I’m a nervous wreck, but so excited.” I took a drink of my beer and she said, “You don’t ever seem nervous. I wish I could be cool and calm like you all the time.” I took another swig of beer and winked at her. If she only knew.
Chapter Five
Elly
“Hey, Elly, Keith and I are going to head over to Club Seven. My boyfriend’s going to meet us there. You want to go with?”
I couldn’t get Tristan out of my head. Watching him with Brooke killed me, no matter how hard I tried to pretend that it didn’t. I tried telling myself that he was only trying to make me jealous, but that made it seem like I was a little too full of myself. Maybe he just actually didn’t want anything to do with me anymore and he didn’t care what I thought. I knew for sure that I wasn’t in the mood to party and I wasn’t going to be good company.
“Nah, thanks, Molly. I’m not really up for a crowded, noisy club. I may just stop at The Glacier and have a quiet cocktail on my way home.” I could hear the flatness in my voice.
“Are you stressing over Tristan and that girl?” Molly was way too observant.
With as neutral an expression as I could muster I said, “What girl?”
Molly knowingly smiled and said, “Okay, girl, we don’t have to talk about it. You be safe.”
I felt relieved. “I will, Molly. Thanks.”
I quickly finished wrapping things up and then I walked over to The Glacier. It was a quiet little bar around the corner where I could get a drink and not get slobbered on or groped. I wasn’t in the mood for it that night.
I walked in and realized that the gods hated me. Tristan and Brooke were sitting at the bar. They were all cozied up to each other and she seemed to be giggling over everything he said. I should have walked back out right away, but I took too long observing them and just when I decided to leave, Tristian spotted me. Shit! If I left then, I’d just look like creepy stalker chick.
I took a deep breath and walked up to the bar. I was on Brooke’s right side and Tristan was on her left. I ordered my drink and then forced myself to look at them.
“Congratulations guys! Good job tonight.” Brooke smiled a genuine smile and thanked me. Tristan smiled too, but instead of genuine his looked smug and he said, “Thanks, but should you be fraternizing with the contestants?”
“I didn’t come here to fraternize. I came here for a drink.”
Tristan made a big play of looking around and said, “Hmm, you’re alone. That’s too bad.”
It pissed me off, so I said, “Better alone than with some creep.” I looked at him and then Brooke when I said it. Brooke looked confused. She couldn’t figure out if we were really sniping at each other or not. I felt bad; none of this was her fault. Besides, I couldn’t have her thinking there was something going on between us. Tristan still didn’t seem to understand how dangerous this was.
I was ready to back off and walk away when I heard Tristan say, “Hey Brooke, why don’t we go finish this celebration at my place?”
I knew Tristan meant sex. I should have just let it go, but I really did want to talk to him about the drugs and the rehab facility that I’d picked up the application for him from.
“Tristan, can I talk to you first…just for a minute?” I asked him.
He looked at me smugly again. He raked his eyes over me, and then with a self-satisfied smile he said, “No, I don’t think so, Elly. It’s a little too late for that.” Then he put his arm back around Brooke, kissed her on the side of the face and said, “Let’s go for a ride on my bike, baby.”
Brooke looked completely infatuated with him, but still curious about me. I watched them walk out with a sick feeling in my stomach. I didn’t want a drink any longer. I headed for the door and walked back towards the studio where my car was parked. As I walked through the parking gate I passed Tristan and Brooke leaving on his motorcycle. He smiled at me again, like he was trying to rub it in my face. Brooke’s eyes were only for him.
Chapter Six
Tristan
Brooke clutched onto me as I weaved the bike in and out of traffic. I figured she’d ever been on a bike before. Then again, being on a bike in a small town in Ohio would be a different world than being on one in L.A. on I-405. I’d found out with girls that a motorcycle ride on the freeway could go one of two ways: they hate it and never want to see you or your bike again or it turns them on and they are like sex machines afterwards. When we made it back to my place, she jumped off with a huge grin on her face. Her cheeks were flushed from the cool wind and she said, “That was amazing!” She was breathing hard. She was ready for sex.
“Yeah, it’s pretty cool,” I said. I bypassed the elevator and took the stairs two at a time up to the fourth floor. It took Brooke a minute to catch up with me and she was even more winded when she did.
“No wonder you’re in such good shape,” she said. I was surer by the minute that I was going to get to tap that ass before the night was over. I unlocked the door to the apartment and watched her look around. Unless I brought them home already high or aching for it, it was always the same. They’d look around, shocked at the way I live. The truth was I didn’t give a fuck what they thought. She could stay or go; I’d find another one in a heartbeat. While she was adjusting to her surroundings, I went over to the cabinet and took out my box of weed. I stuffed the bong and I could see her watching me out of the corner of my eye as I did.
“You smoke?” I asked her.
She hesitated, but only for a second and then she said, “Yeah, sure.” I raked the shit off the couch and said,
“Have a seat.” I lit the bong, and sucked a long hit into my lungs.
I handed it to Brooke then and held the lighter on it while she took her hit. As soon as it hit her lungs she had a coughing fit. When she finished she said, “Sorry, I’ve never used a pipe before.”
“That’s cool,” I told her.
“Can I ask you something?” she said. Fuck, here we go. I went about taking my turn with the bong and didn’t answer her. Typical fucking woman, she didn’t wait for one. She said, “What’s the deal with that girl in the ba
r? She works for the show, right? She’s one of the interns or something.”
“It’s nothing. Not even worth talking about,” I told her.
She let it go for minute and said, “Do you have your song ready for next week yet?”
I told her what I was singing and then said, “I still have some work to do to it though. I never just sing it the way it is written. What about you?”
“Yeah,” she said with a smile, “I’m doing a Tricia Yearwood song.”
“Country? Trying to get on the good side of the country star?” I kid her.
“No,” she said, “It’s more of a soft rock song. I think I might even have them pick up the tempo on it a little. I have a lot of work to do between now and then on it. I want to win this so badly that I can taste it.”
I took another hit. I did too, but I wasn’t planning on sharing that with her. I handed her the bong, but instead of putting it to her lips she said, “That girl…Elly, are you sleeping with her?”
“What difference does it make? The answer is no, but what the fuck difference does it make?”
“It would just be weird, Tristan…if we slept together and that girl really liked you and I had to see her all the time until this show was over. Besides, aren’t there rules against that? Couldn’t you both get in trouble?”
“I’m not sleeping with her, Brooke. She’s got a thing for me. She’ll get over it. Let it go!”
She didn’t let it go and it was pissing me off.
“She seemed like she really liked you,” she said. “I could see it on her face. She was hurt to see us together. You may not have slept with her, but she wants to, Tristan.”
I stood up, angry. “Fuck! Did you come over here to advocate for her or what? I don’t want to talk about Elly. I want to fuck you. Isn’t that what you came here for, Brooke?” I was staring into her eyes. I could tell that she was torn. She wanted to stay, but her conscience was tugging at her to leave. I really didn’t give a fuck either way. In about two seconds, I was going to make the choice for her and show her to door. Suddenly, she made up her mind…I guess. She leaned in and pressed her lips against mine. Before I knew it, her tongue was tangling up with mine and my hands were sliding up her sides and finally getting a hold of that amazing rack. I could feel her hard nipples pressing through her clothes into my hand. Her nipples felt big and I couldn’t wait to get my lips around them. I started working her shirt up and her hands were on my belt when my fucking phone started ringing.
Dirty Stepbrother - A Firefighter Romance (The Maxwell Family) Page 37
