Hidden Gem

by India Lee

  It was easier to calm herself over her slip of the tongue when she was out of Lucas’s knee-weakening presence. Plus, she had plenty of things to distract herself with.

  In their one day off between the Austin and Los Angeles concerts, Penelope had convinced Gemma and Armand to stick around so she could drive them through her home city. To get in the spirit of the trip, Gemma put on a red plaid Ralph Lauren shirt over a pair of Hudson jeans. Penelope provided her with a cowboy hat and the three drove to get some Texan barbecue.

  The Salt Lick was a restaurant somewhere in the Hill Country. Gemma found it charming, looking hand-built with its wooden walls and wooden tables. A hand-laid brick pit boasted the most fragrant barbecue brisket, ribs, and sausages.

  “Oh well, no diet for Armand today,” Armand declared as he untied the Imprimeur Fou Hermès scarf from his neck and tore through the first round of the meal. “I read this article that says men are turned on by the smell of barbecue, so before we leave, we should all rub the brisket on our necks and wrists, yes? They have done studies, ladies, so don’t look at me this way.”

  Gemma and Penelope stared for a few moments before all three burst into laughter.

  “As if our jobs would allow us to have boyfriends,” Penelope lamented.

  “In due time, ladies,” Armand said. “We will each find a man. I think the baby’s going to be first!” Armand teased, flicking a balled up paper towel at Gemma. “We didn’t see Tyler Chase in New York or Miami or Austin so I think I win our little bet, Penelope. He is going to be at the LA show, and he is going to declare his love.”

  “Not fair. I didn’t realize he was from LA until recently, okay?” Penelope licked a drop of barbecue sauce from her lips. “His Twitter said he was shopping for his mom on Rodeo yesterday. How precious is that? You guys would be so cute together.”

  “Aren’t we forgetting that he has no idea what my face actually looks like? And he’s never actually spoken a word to me? I have no idea how he developed this weird crush,” Gemma said. “It’s strange.”

  “Oh, boo hoo,” Penelope pouted dramatically. “Do you hear that, Armand? She’s so sad because that adorable famous boy is semi-stalking her. There are worse kinds of stalkers out there, Gem, you shouldn’t be upset about this one.”

  “I’m not upset,” Gemma said as she looked down at her ringing phone. “I’m just saying he doesn’t even know who I actually am, so why is he so convinced he’d like me?” The caller ID on the screen of her phone read “Leah.”

  “You should pick up,” Penelope said. “They seem like they really miss you.”

  Gemma nodded and answered. “Hello?”

  “Hey girl,” Leah yelled over the phone. “You’re on speakerphone and Kate’s here and we miss you so much!”

  “We miss you so much!” Kate repeated. Gemma laughed. “How’s London? How’s your grandma doing? Is everything okay?”

  “Things are going okay,” Gemma smiled. “How are you?”

  “The Queen Bee concert was insane. Insane!” Leah shrieked. “We kind of sort of met her. I got you an autographed CD. I wish you were there, you should see that Balenciaga gown in person.”

  “It’s a hundred times more gorgeous in real life!” Kate said. “Totally breathtaking. I read on ONTD that Balenciaga refused to make another one, even when it was Christina Aguilera requesting it for some premiere. But one of the comments said that this little shop in Nolita is making cocktail knockoffs of it so I totally put my name on the waiting list.”

  “Do you hear her? She’s so obsessed she’s not even jealous of her anymore,” Leah said. “Tyler Chase tweeted about Queen Bee again saying that he knew the stars would have them meet. Or something. So corny.” She made a retching sound.

  “I think it’s romantic!” Kate squealed.

  “Anyway Gem, you and Madison so missed out.”

  Gemma instinctively stiffened at the mention of Madison. She could tell by the silence over the phone that the girls were probably eyeing each other awkwardly.

  “I’m sure,” she finally said. “I’m sure we missed out.” She had to muster up the courage to say “we” rather than “I.” She was thankful that for the rest of the conversation, they talked about what the girls were buying in preparation of Spring Break. It was nice to hear their voices and know in her heart that they didn’t believe the rumors surrounding her and Lucas.

  Once Armand signaled to her to finish up, Gemma quickly said good-bye and added, “I miss you guys.”

  She heard a sad sigh on the other line. It was Leah’s voice. “We miss you too. All of us, okay?”

  “Okay,” Gemma said, though she knew not to believe it.

  ~

  The bright sunshine of Los Angeles felt different than the sunshine on the east coast. Gemma was convinced that it even made her hair look better, though she couldn’t enjoy it much because she spent her days almost entirely indoors.

  She couldn’t help but let her thoughts run a little wild with all the rumors of Tyler Chase attending her L.A. concert. She wondered where he might be during the concert, what he might do to get her attention. No one had thought it possible that he had gone incognito to her concert in Barcelona, yet he had. Maybe he would pull off the same thing again.

  Like the other shows, Gemma was able to forget about her nerves and let her alter ego take over. Her mind quickly forgot Gemma and took on Queen Bee upon feeling the microphone in her hand and the spotlight shining. Her skintight wardrobe was always more of a release than a constraint. The outrageous looks let her act and say whatever she wanted, without anyone questioning her. Queen Bee was provocative, alluring, sexy – all the things her fans expected.

  She and the crew had easily gotten back into the swing of things. The Queen Bee team moved swiftly through rehearsals, concerts and most importantly, the GTFO Routine. Despite all the standard procedures, Gemma was still awed by the amount of people who bought tickets to see her. Those who couldn’t get tickets waited outside the arena in hopes of hearing her through the walls and perhaps seeing her after the show.

  The meet-and-greet outside of Staples Center had by far the most security she had seen yet. It was the first one outdoors, and a part of her worried about the huge open space. Moving purple spotlights glazed over the green palm trees surrounding the arena. The crowd was vast. Gemma couldn’t see where it ended. She suddenly felt overwhelmed, a sense of danger sitting in the pit of her stomach.

  Security cautiously opened the doors and eased her onto the sidewalk. The crowd immediately roared when she stepped out in a skin-tight, lavender leather catsuit. It was a one-piece, covering every part of her body up to right under her chin. The legs ended with built-in boots and the arms ended in fingerless gloves. A silvery-green stitching ran down the sides of her body. A matching mesh veil hung loosely over her face and white-blonde bobbed wig.

  Immediately, she began the frenzy of signing CDs and taking pictures. The adrenaline of the crowd was the most intense that she had encountered yet, and she could feel security struggling to hold them back. They screamed. Some cried, and some were pushed away for grabbing at her. She looked back to see Armand and Penelope, a duffel bag in hand and ready to go for the GTFO Routine. They looked more nervous than usual, making Gemma feel all the more anxious.

  “Queen Bee, I’m your biggest fan,” a male voice said as he handed her a poster to sign. His face was hidden under a low-worn baseball cap. “If you could make it out to Tyler, that would be great.”

  Gemma froze in the middle of signing the poster. Tyler Chase looked up at her, his perfect lips breaking into an irresistible smile. For a moment, she was starstruck. She couldn’t believe that he had made it to the front of the crowd undetected. He looked adorable in his plain, light-blue t-shirt over jeans. His honey-brown eyes sparkled beneath the bill of his cap. Gemma’s lips trembled in her attempt to keep her jaw from dropping. She could finally see why Kate and even Madison were so awestruck by him. It apparently took being up close for her
to see it.

  “Oh my God!” A girl next to them shrieked. “It’s Tyler Chase!”

  Suddenly, arms were reaching for both of them. Gemma felt her hair and arms being grabbed. She could even feel hands grabbing at her legs. She whipped her head around to search for Tyler’s security, only to realize with a sudden fear that he hadn’t come with any. He’s crazy to do this, she thought. In the pure chaos of the situation, she had no time to relish the fact that he was doing something so unbelievable just for her.

  The weight of the crowd was close to toppling her over when security finally grabbed her as well as Tyler. Police began pushing fans back and the security team tried desperately to herd Gemma away, despite the crowd’s increasing force. She could only see random flashes of color as she felt herself being propelled in all directions. Within moments, the strong arms of the security team lost grip of her. She cried out as the wild crowd began to swarm her again.

  “Bee!” Gemma heard Armand yell. “This way!”

  Gemma looked up to see Armand and Penelope shielding Tyler from the crowd. She did her best to run towards them in the six-inch platform stilettos, feeling pushing and grabbing along the entire way. Penelope held open a door and pushed both Gemma and Tyler in. Armand and a security guard were already on the other side. They slammed the door shut and felt it shake from the weight of fans rushing towards it.

  “This door doesn’t have a strong lock,” the security guard called from outside the door. “Continue down this hall and make a right at the very end. There’s a room there that locks up well. Go there now.”

  Tyler and Gemma ran down the long narrow hall with Armand and Penelope behind them. As Gemma’s ankle buckled to the side in her stilettos, Tyler caught her.

  “I’m sorry I messed everything up for you,” he panted. “I’m really sorry. I knew it was a bad idea coming here alone. I just really wanted to meet you.”

  “I wanted to meet you too. Just not like this.”

  Gemma made the right turn into the room with Tyler. An automatic fluorescent light flickered on as the door shut behind them. They had somehow lost Penelope and Armand. Gemma tried opening the door to find them, but with no luck. “It’s locked from outside,” she hissed as she shook the knob. She pounded on the door with her fist. “Pen! Armand! Can you hear me? We’re in this room!” There was no answer. Gemma felt the side of her hand ache. The door was heavy and clearly somewhat soundproof.

  “There’s another door over here,” Tyler said. He looked out a small window at the top of the door. “But I think it leads outside.”

  “No, I can’t go out in this outfit. I need to wait for Pen and Armand to do my routine or I’ll blow my own cover.”

  “Why do you want to keep your identity a secret anyway? Your publicist’s idea, I’m guessing?” Tyler asked, keeping a polite distance while eyeing her curiously. He shook his hair out of his eyes, gazing at her with a sort of fascination.

  “Yes, but not for the reasons you might think,” Gemma said. She plopped herself down on a stray chair. “I won’t go into it because you wouldn’t understand. Our careers are different, so you can’t compare.”

  “I don’t want you to explain, I just want to know who you are.”

  “I’m Queen Bee. Only two people outside of my family know who I really am, so don’t take it personally,” Gemma rolled her lavender-colored eyes.

  “Will you at least tell me what your real eye color is?” Tyler smiled mischievously. He leaned back against the wall casually, dipping his head as he looked up at her. Gemma bit her lip. She had never given into the hype surrounding him, but seeing him in person was a different story. She had always found him attractive, but perhaps undeserving of all that exposure. Standing in a room with him however, made her feel entirely different. He certainly had the cockiness of a celebrity, but he was also mild-mannered and polite. On top of all that, he was desperate to meet her and it was flattering to say the least.

  “Why do you want to know about me so badly?” Gemma asked.

  “Well, everyone does.”

  “And you’re assuming that since every girl in the world wants a piece of you, Queen Bee probably does and will reveal her secret to you?”

  “No!” Tyler said emphatically as he stood up straight. He took a step towards her. “That’s not at all what I was trying to do. Listen, I’m two people right now too. I’m Tyler Chase, the musician who respects your tenacity and the way you lead a normal life outside of this. I’m jealous that you’re able to. But I’m also Tyler, who’s a big fan like everyone else and buys magazines because you’re on the cover. And who also has a Queen Bee playlist on his iPod – that includes rare covers and live performances.” He laughed. So did Gemma.

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “Believe me,” Tyler glanced towards the ground shyly and dug his hands into his hoodie pockets. “I’m kinda annoyed that everyone’s on the bandwagon now when I’ve been listening to you since your first single. I was on tour in Hong Kong when I first heard it.” He peered up at Gemma as if looking for approval. His smile was something of relief when Gemma softened. She got up from her chair and walked over to him.

  “That’s sweet,” she laughed genuinely. “Thank you to one of my earliest fans then.” She embraced him. He laughed with her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She felt his fingers interlock behind her and grip firmly. His laughter faded to a sigh.

  “I thought,” Tyler began hesitantly. “I thought that if anyone in the world might understand me, it would be you. And all I can imagine now is that we would be perfect together.”

  Gemma swallowed, suddenly feeling very conscious of what she was doing. She was almost as tall as Tyler in her heels. Their embrace immediately felt too intimate for two people who had met just moments earlier. The fresh, foresty fragrance from his neck and the touch of his hair against her cheek made her entire body buzz with restlessness. Through the soft leather of her outfit, she felt his heart beating against her collarbone and hers just below his chest.

  She suddenly felt her hands begin to tremble and dropped them quickly from Tyler’s shoulders so he wouldn’t notice. He didn’t notice, but instead took her withdrawal as a sign to back up. He took a sweeping glance at her, smiling sadly, almost as if in defeat. Gemma felt her heart pound.

  “I still can’t tell you who I am, Tyler,” she exhaled. “I’m sorry.”

  Tyler nodded. “I didn’t expect you to. I just wanted to get those words off my chest. Call it a hunch or something – I just have a feeling we were meant for each other.” This time, Tyler’s smile was brighter. His famous boyish charm shone through in an infectious way that made Gemma weak in the knees. She recovered quickly.

  “Maybe someday,” she said coyly. And suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

  “Bee, are you in there?” Penelope’s muffled voice called through the door. Gemma ran towards it.

  “Yes! Can you open the door? It’s locked from in here!”

  “I can’t, it’s jammed. Is there another way out in there? Is Tyler with you?”

  “Yes. To both questions. But the other door leads outside,” Gemma called back through the door. “How the hell could this happen? Is there someone coming to help?”

  “Bee,” Penelope said. “Even if we could get the door open, the fans are relentless. Security messed up; we need to figure out another exit route. It’s going to take a while so you guys hang tight.” Gemma turned to see Tyler with the chair up against the door, looking out the narrow rectangular window at the top of the door.

  “There’s no one out in this area,” Tyler said. “We can leave through here.”

  “I can’t leave in this outfit, someone’s bound to see and follow me back.”

  “It’s completely empty out there. It leads to a sidewalk and it’s pitch black. We can sneak out now.”

  “Tyler, I just can’t risk it in this outfit. I can’t even run in this ridiculous get-up.”

  “What’s that?” Tyler a
sked, pointing to a duffel bag in the corner. It was the duffel bag. The duffel bag required for the GTFO Routine.

  “Oh my God, how did that even get in here?”

  “I brought it in. Penelope dropped it while we were running.” Tyler said simply.

  “These are my street clothes,” Gemma breathed, kneeling next to the duffel bag. “Oh thank God. I have an idea.” She rushed to the door again. “Pen? Can you hear me? Just meet me back at the hotel, I can find a way out.”

  Gemma immediately heard Penelope and Armand scuffle about, sounding panicked. She was fairly certain she heard Armand hissing curses.

  “No, Bee,” he said sternly. “You are risking your career and your safety. I won’t allow it.”

  “No, no,” Gemma reassured them. “Tyler brought the duffel bag. I have a plan, and he’s going to help.” Gemma held the duffel to her chest. She couldn’t let Tyler see the street outfit but she was going to need his help out of the catsuit. She eyed the light switch.

  “What’s going on?” Tyler asked softly, walking towards her. Gemma kept her back towards him, looking over her shoulder.

  “Do you see the zipper pull at the base of my neck?” she asked. “Do you see where it starts?”

  “Yes,” Tyler replied, confused.

  “Come here,” Gemma commanded. She flicked the light switch off and the room went dark. They could only see each other’s silhouettes. Gemma felt Tyler approach her slowly, cautiously. “I can’t reach it myself. I need you to unzip me.”

  She heard Tyler let out a breath upon hearing her words. There was a brief silence before his voice managed to confidently say, “Okay.”

  In the darkness, she heard his soft breathing and the warmth of his torso leaning into her back. She could tell he was nervous as he ran his fingers lightly over her shoulders, searching for the zipper. Gemma unpinned the wig from her hair and tossed it to the ground, feeling Tyler’s breath on the back of her bare neck. Her own wavy hair came unwinding down her back, spilling over Tyler’s quivering hands as he carefully pulled the zipper down. A rush of cool air hit her and traveled along her skin, ending right below the small of her back. She had forgotten how far down the zipper went.