by Lily Silver
Lex was a consummate actor. He’d taken to spitting on the ground and wiping his nose on the back of his shirtsleeve in an attempt to look unsophisticated. There was one place where he couldn’t cover up his cultured, well-honed social skills; in the area of romance. He bought Jessie a big bouquet of wildflowers and won her a big blue teddy bear. He kissed her at every opportunity, particularly when they were in the dark corners of the Magic Kingdom. And he held her hand with growing familiarity as they walked through the famous Main Street USA.
They had one close call. A photographer zeroed in on them with a zoom lens. Lex, ever cautious and alert to such situations, grabbed Jessie and started kissing her, really kissing her, tongue and all, as he pulled her into the shadows of a nearby tree. All it would take would be a word of recognition from the cameraman, and chaos would ensue as fans surrounded them. He watched their adversary out of the corner of his eye while kissing her. When the lens moved on the ever wandering Disney characters, Lex and Jessie made their escape. Hand in hand, they slipped into the seat of a slowly moving monorail as it pulled away from the Main Street pavilion, laughing and giggling.
One thing was certain; this was one date she would never forget.
It was almost dark by the time his El Dorado pulled out of the parking lot of Disneyland in Anaheim. Jessie yanked off the hot wig and scratched her head.
“Did you have fun?” Lex asked in his normal tone.
“Yes. That was sweet.” Jessie laughed, “Next time, I’ll skip the wig, it’s too hot.”
“Next time, you can wear the leg brace and wield the cane.”
“Deal, if you wear the maternity pillow.”
Chapter Seven
“YES.” Jack Kelly jumped out of his chair and pumped his fists toward the ceiling in a victory dance.
Jessie just gave him the news about the Fender deal. Their manager finalized negotiations and their attorney gave them the thumbs up on the contract deal. They were scheduled to begin the shoot in three weeks. They had only to sign the contracts. Jessie set up an appointment for them at the lawyer’s office in Santa Monica later today.
StarSign Records kept pushing Jack and Jessie into the media spotlight, citing that they were the biggest selling point. They were unique: red haired guitar playing twins. Or so the music execs informed them time and again. Jack and Jessie were being promoted to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone, Spin and Billboard. They were the ones being wooed into commercials like this Fender deal. They were the ones scheduled to appear on the late night talk show circuit instead of the rest of the band. It was the record label making the marketing decisions. And yet the stirrings of discontent were beginning to tear at the tightly woven fabric of their long friendship. Jessie struggled to keep things low key regarding their triumphs. She wished Jack would exercise equal caution.
“Whoa.” Jack shouted, raising his fists to the ceiling. He was dancing and laughing about the black and white contemporary kitchen in a rare display of animation. Ozzy joined his master’s glee with his own woofs of joy. “This is so cool, Jess. We made it, you and I.” He crossed the kitchen and hugged her, whirling her about in his arms.
“Yeah,” Jessie smiled into his laughing emerald eyes. “It’s awesome. But the others are going to be jealous. Please, don’t go on and on about it around them.”
“Why do we have to hide it, like we’re guilty of something? We didn’t call Fender, they called us. Steve plays keyboard and synthesizer, and Darrell’s our drummer. If a drum company called Darrell and wanted him to represent them, I doubt he’d be skiving’ around, apologizing to us for it, no--he’d be crowing about it. You know it and I know it. I refuse to feel guilty because something good happened to us!”
Jessie rolled her eyes and hissed her exasperation. Why did he have to be so touchy about it? “We need to work on including Kyra and the guys in these promo gigs. It would go a long way in soothing everyone’s egos.”
“Jess.” Jack scolded as he released her from his loose embrace. “Always business with you. Always running security software in the background to gauge everyone’s feelings. For once, could you just enjoy life? Celebrate-- don’t analyze every angle and worry about what could go wrong. God, woman, take a chill pill.”
“How dare you say that to me.” Jessie ground out, barely able to contain her rage. She stomped over to the sink and faced him with her arms crossed about her chest.
Her brother’s face paled. He looked at her as if she’d just slapped him across the face. “I didn’t mean it like that. Seriously, Jess--I’m not comparing you with Mom.”
“Really?” She stood her ground, arms crossed akimbo; ready either to cry or run, perhaps both. “’Cuz that’s what Dad said all the time when Mom started raging, ‘Marcie, take your pill’.”
“You aren’t like her, not even close.” Jack whispered, advancing to her and cupping her shoulders with affection. “I love how you’re so careful about everything related to the band. I love that. I just want you to have a little fun, that’s all. If you’re not worrying about somebody screwing us over you’re worrying about everyone’s feelings in this motley crew. Relax, go next door and jump Lex’s bones.”
Jack reached for the coffee pot and filled their cups. “Let’s go sit on the deck. I’ve missed you, Jess.” He smiled, his eyes saying it all, she was spending all her free time with Lex lately.
“I thought you wanted to get rid of me.” Jessie couldn’t help teasing. “You did push awfully hard to get me to go out with him.”
“Well, you’re so damn stubborn. You worry so much about what if you won’t go out on a date with any guy. And, Jess . . .” The aqua eyes, mirrors of her own, pierced through her soul. “You have to move on. Not every guy is like Kevin.”
The mention of his name made Jessie freeze up.
“Hey . . .” Jack’s hands captured hers. “I’m sorry, I only meant . . .” “Look at me, not the table.” His voice grew tight with emotion. “That scene will never happen again. I swear it.”
Jessie blocked the mists rising in her eyes, concentrating on her brother’s face. His copper beard was just beginning to fill in, making him look older, wiser than his twenty-four years. “Is that why you go around threatening any would be boyfriends with bodily harm?”
The arrow hit home. Guilt flooded his golden features, but only for an instant. He growled, his eyes holding only affirmation, never remorse. “I’ll be damned if I’ll ever let anyone else hurt you.”
“So much for forgetting. You tell me to forget, but you can’t. Lex told me about your threat the night of Kyra’s party.”
Confusion replaced the self-assurance in Jack’s eyes. “I don’t remember.”
“Smooth, real smooth.” Jessie chided, squeezing the powerful hands surrounding her own. “You threaten him like Don Corleone and then pass out on the bar.”
“I remember his face through a fog. I don’t recall any threat.”
“That isn’t the point. Jack, it’s really sweet the way you think you need to protect me, but, hey . . . we aren’t in high school anymore, or even downtown LA with the punkers. As for Kevin, well, I think you guys should consider yourselves fortunate he didn’t press charges for assault. You can’t just go around threatening people, especially famous people like Lex.”
Jack grimaced. “I hate when you do this to me.” He scowled. “Here I am, chewing your ass, and it always ends up with you chewing mine. Tell me about him.”
Jessie shared the details of their trip trip to Disney Land last week and their latest excursion to the LA Museum of Contemporary Art dressed as tourists. “He’s fun, he makes me laugh. He’s completely different off stage. He hardly even kissed me, not deep, passionate kissing--except at Kyra’s engagement party in front of the cameras.”
“No kissing?” Copper eyebrows rose toward the blue sky. “And how long have you been seeing him?”
“Nineteen days.”
Jack gave her an astonished look. “Oh, so we’re counting
the days, are we?”
“Yeah.”
Jack looking at his watch. “What time is our appointment?”
“One-thirty.”
“Well, if you’re done extolling the virtues of our illustrious neighbor and his odd methods of courtship, let me tell you about Lilly.” The emerald eyes grew soft as a smile broke through Jack’s coppery scruff.
“Lilly?” Jessie repeated, grinning at her twin.
“She’s a model, lives in the ‘Hills’. God--she’s hot. And just for the record, I’ve kiss her every chance I get, tongue and all.”
After their trip to Santa Monica, Jessie called Lex to let him know she was home.
“Hi, sweet thing.” His greeting kissed her ear through her cell. “Would you like to go out for dinner or order in?”
Jess leaned on the granite counter in the kitchen and scribbled on the notepad near the house phone. “I’m craving Mexican. I tried to talk Jack into stopping at La Golondrina’s on the way home but he was in hurry, he has a hot date with some model.”
“You like Mexican?” The sexy voice paused for a moment. “Let me see what I can come up with uptown. I was thinking tomorrow we could dress up again and go to Redondo Beach Pier. They have the international boardwalk, the arcade, and lots of rides. Unless, you’d rather do the Star’s Homes Tour. That’s a riot when you’re dressed in disguise. They might take us through some of my friend’s homes.”
Jessie giggled. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’d never seen these places you keep dragging me to.”
“I’ve lived in LA for almost fifteen years, since the hungry days with my band. I’ve seen everything. I like seeing it again through your eyes.” He paused, letting the compliment sink in. “So, I’m easy. Whatever you want, Babe, it’s yours.”
“Right now, I want a shrimp and avocado tostada and a margarita to wash it down.”
“Done, Schweet-heart.” Lex crooned Bogart-Style. “Anything else?”
I want you to kiss me, thoroughly, like Jack said. Delicious warmth filled her just thinking about it. “I don’t know.” She sighed, grinning into the phone. “Come over when you’re ready. Use the basement patio entrance. It’s usually unlocked. I have to go. Steve just came in. I need to talk to him.”
Steve breezed past her, whirling about on his boot heel at her last words. “Hey, hanging up on the famous Lex to talk to me?” He feigned disbelief, but seemed inwardly pleased that she noticed him.
“You’re my hero.” Jessie teased. “I guess I’ve been busy lately. Jack reminded me this morning. He actually said he misses me, can you believe it?”
Steve brushed past her to the ebony refrigerator, searching for a beer. “Hey, who drank the last Leinies? I hate that sewer water they call beer out here. Wisconsin Beer Rules.” He rummaged through the bottles, grumbling to himself, cursing Darrell and Jack for dipping into his cache. “Ah-ha.” he sighed at last, pulling the last bottle of Leinenkugel’s beer from the back of his hideaway in the vegetable compartment.
Something was eating at him. Jessie could sense the melancholy in his movements. Suggesting they sit in the minimalist grey living room, she sat next to him on the overstuffed sectional sofa and gave him the same business he always gave her through the years when she was upset about something.
“So, talk to me.”
A heavy sigh answered. Steve lifted the amber bottle, chugging desperately. He gave her a curious look and propped his booted feet upon the glass topped coffee table. “Don’t you have a date?”
“Talk to me or I’ll call and cancel it.”
“I don’t know where to begin.” He rubbed the back of his head. “Oh, shit--I left my smokes in the car.”
“Oh, no you don’t.” Jessie climbed on top of his lap, straddling him with both knees dug into the plush cushions. “You’re not running out on me. Spill it. Is it the Fender deal? Was Jack being cocky about it?”
“No.” Steve spread both arms out on the back of the couch, letting her bully him as he sat beneath her. “I can’t talk about this yet, to anyone.” He gave her a penetrating look.
“Hey, bean-pole, I’m not just anyone.” Jessie grabbed him by the collar and attempted to shake him down. It brought a smile, just as she’d hoped.
“You are so cute when you’re being a pain.” He chided. “Let me up.”
“Not until I find out why you are in such a bad mood.”
“Merciless Bitch.” Steve teased. “I’m lonely, is that a crime?”
“Around here it is.”
“Kyra’s gone. Darrell’s been out for two days and Jack’s lost in Lilly’s arms. And you, well, you’re the worst offender. Why don’t you just move in with the guy?”
Jessie fingered his gold medallions hanging from his neck, trying to read between the lines of what he just said. “You’re jealous of all of us for having someone?”
“Hardly.” Steve scoffed, dragging his legs from the coffee table abruptly, making Jessie rise up and down with his sudden movement. “I’ve been hanging around a certain club in Santa Monica lately.” His eyes studied the ceiling as if it were the most interesting work of art. “Alone. Hoping to hook up with someone.”
“I’m sorry.” Jessie could feel the melancholy in his voice. “We’ll go there tomorrow. I promise. Jack, you and me. I’ll tell Lex I’m busy--”
“No.” Steve pulled his gaze from the ceiling and shook his head, grabbing her by the upper arms. “You don’t understand, Jess. Hell, I don’t understand . . . I don’t know how to say it . . . I’ve met some guys there, guys like me.”
“Like you?” Jessie repeated, unable to fathom his meaning--until she looked long and hard into his eyes. Pulling away slightly, Jessie offered the only word she could at such a precipitous moment. “Oh.” She smoothed the cowlick in the back of his head, waiting for him to elaborate at his own pace.
“I can’t tell the others, Jess. They’ll laugh, or worse, they’ll hate me, they’ll kick me out of the band. They’ll probably kick me out of here. Jack is still upset about being mistaken for a gay dude in that article a few years back. He’ll go ballistic if he finds himself living with one. He’ll be paranoid, and then the press will make a big deal over it. I know Max says any publicity is good but . . . I don’t want that kind of attention.”
“No,” Jessie affirmed in a gentle tone. “No, Jack won’t go off on you. He wouldn’t let anyone mess with you. And as far as the band, you’re solid. No one is going to pull that on you. We’re all in this together, remember? We’re your people. We’re family.”
Steve gestured helplessly, avoiding her gaze, uncomfortable with the honesty between them. Jessie stroked his hair, trying to comfort him, trying to reach him.
“I’ll always love you. You know that.” She affirmed sternly after several moments of awkward silence.
Steve nodded, looking confused, torn, and relieved by her declaration. It took several moments for him to finally meet her steady gaze.
The patio door slammed below them, heralding the arrival of Lex. Ozzy and Duncan raced down from the bedroom above them, and down the winding stairs to the basement level, barking and snarling at the intruder until Lex greeted them.
“Hi, boys.” Jessie heard his greeting and the barking subsided. “Jessie?”
“Up here.” She pulled her left leg away from Steve, turned about quickly and sank into the corner of the sofa, several inches from him so Lex wouldn’t see them in an intimate pose and get the wrong idea.
He lingered in the basement for a few more minutes, talking and petting the boys, the affectionate term the household had dubbed their fur people.
“Don’t tell anyone, Jess.” Steve whispered. “Please.”
Jessie took his hand, squeezing it gently. “I won’t. But you already knew it, didn’t you?”
Steve nodded.
Lex rose from the floor below, slowing plodding up the iron stairs, each step heralding his arrival as his boots clanked the metal. He was dressed in black; a l
oose dress shirt opened to his chest and his trademark black leather pants. His long hair had been brushed back into a ponytail, revealing the small golden circle hanging neatly from his ear. He hadn’t shaved for a day or so. The effect was stunning, making him look dangerous and sexy.
“Ready?” His blue eyes swept over her with icy impatience as one ebony brow raised in question.
“I’m sorry, we were just talking.” She stood, feeling somehow chastised by the tone of voice and the look in his eyes. “I’ll just be a minute. And,” She turned to Steve, “You are coming with us. No arguments, right Lex? Steve’s digging a hole in the back yard. He needs to be with friends tonight.”
“It’s okay.” Steve shrugged, poking a finger in the ragged knee hole of his jeans. “I don’t wanna intrude.”
“I won’t take no for an answer. Either you come along or we’ll stay here and order a pizza.” She commanded, challenging Lex to deny her words. “Lex won’t mind sharing me with you.” Jessie jaunted up the stairs to change into something more romantic than torn jeans and a belly shirt.
“Yeah.” Lex mumbled without enthusiasm. “We’re going to the new Mexican place on Wilshire Boulevard.” He was being forced to allow his competition to join them on their dinner date. Stiff competition, from what he’d heard below stairs, this was the love of Jessie’s life.
“I’ll always love you--you know that.”
He came in unannounced, hearing just that small tidbit as he stood peering up the wrought iron winding staircase, seeing Jessie straddling her lover’s lap in an intimate embrace. He stood for a moment in shock. And then he went to the door and slammed it, pretending he’d just come in. The dogs heard the slam and came down to greet him, giving him an excuse to linger and rein in his emotions before facing her and her lover.
“Are you sure you don’t mind?” Steve queried with sorrow-filled eyes.
Yeah, I do mind. Lex thought. Instead, he waxed contemporary as he held out his hands expansively. “Why would I?”