Fox still hadn’t given up on his theory. “Stranger things have happened. How else do you explain the signs?”
“You mean the laughter?”
Fox began ticking his observations off on his fingers. “The laughter, the way you were hanging on each other and leaning in close to share private comments.”
Ember leaned forward as she tried to convince Fox that he was wrong. “It was Rick’s jokes during the photo shoot, Fox. You saw all that, and it wasn’t only me laughing. Mitch made some follow up comments right after Hillary Tempest left the stage.”
She could almost see the light of understanding ignite in Fox’s eyes. “You’re serious, aren’t you? You’re not just saying this because of my new rule against dating? That only applies to the contestants. I have no problem with you and Mitch having a little romance.”
Ember finally lost her temper. “Fox! We’re not dating! I would never date Mitch! He’s just—” She broke off and shuddered. “Ewwww!”
Fox’s shoulders sagged. “Well that’s just great. We leaked the story this morning.”
A wave of apprehension swept through Ember. She remembered he’d said that he’d given Max the go ahead. She could already see the headlines in her mind. “Oh, no, Fox, you didn’t!”
“I’m afraid I did,” Fox confessed. “It’s why I invited you to lunch here today. I know you value that part of your privacy and I wanted you to hear it from me. I really thought it was for the good of the show.”
Ember still couldn’t quite believe this had happened to her. She’d been so careful since coming back on the show and Fox may have just undone all of that work for a one or two week spike in the ratings. “Oh, Fox, the tabloids are going to eat me alive! They are always looking to link me to some horrible guy!”
“Mitch isn’t that terrible,” Fox told her. He obviously didn’t think this was as big a deal as Ember did.
“Of course, he is!” Ember snapped. “Why do you think it titillates the press so much? I’d have been better off if you’d linked me to Rick Rogers! At least he’s likeable!”
She realized what she’d said a second after the words were out of her mouth. Where the hell did that name come from?
Fox, despite his fear of scandal, didn’t waste a second worrying about Ember and Rick. “So I suppose it’s out of the question for you to pretend there’s something between you and Mitch for the rest of the season.
“Fox!”
Evidently, Fox Atwood understood the anger flashing in Ember’s eyes because he held up his hands in joking surrender. “All right, all right, I won’t ask you to do that. I suppose it doesn’t really matter if the rumor is true or not. We’ll still get a couple weeks of free press out of it while the public tries to figure it out.”
Unfortunately, with the lie already out in the press, there was nothing Ember could do but fume about it.
“Tell me it’s not true, dear. Tell me it’s not true!”
Hans was all a flutter when Ember entered her dressing room, so agitated he was unable to stand still.
“It’s not true, Hans,” she assured him.
“Oh thank, God!” Hans exclaimed with a dramatic look toward the heavens. “All of my respect for you would have flown right out the door. Mitch Daniels is not the man for you.”
Ember took her seat in the styling chair. The story had just broken on the entertainment websites and everyone was looking for the inside scoop. Ember decided to maintain her brave front and tease Hans a little. “I suppose that’s because you want a crack at him.”
Hans shuddered theatrically. “Never have I been more happy that a man was straight.”
“Oh, come on,” Ember said. “Mitch isn’t that bad. I admit that I don’t want to go out with him, but there is a good sense of humor hiding beneath all that nasty wit.”
Hans picked up his brush and went to work on Ember’s hair. He wasn’t really styling it yet, just occupying his hands while he reminded her that he could tease her right back. “Defending him, I see. Perhaps there is more to this horrible rumor than you want us to believe, hmmm?”
“Fox thought that since we were laughing together it meant I was interested in him,” Ember explained. She still felt more than a little insulted by the observation.
Hans stopped brushing. “Now that’s funny. I thought it was that delicious Rick Rogers you were interested in for exactly the same reason.”
Ember twisted around in the chair to stare at him. “You did not!”
“Yes, dear, I did, but of course, I already had reason to wonder about the two of you. After all, it wasn’t that many weeks ago that I had to repair your lipstick after the two of you shared a little kiss.”
Heat burned in Ember’s cheeks as she remembered—in her cheeks, and quite surprisingly, other places as well.
Hans started brushing her hair again. “I see you remember that kiss as well. He’s quite a cutie, isn’t he? Especially that tight ass. And now that you have him dressing so much more scrumptiously, well, you wouldn’t be a woman if you weren’t tempted.”
“I’m not tempted,” Ember protested weakly.
But in her mind she’d couldn’t help but follow Hans brief description of Rick’s body. He did have a great ass! And the chest beneath his shirt was smooth and fit. It would be fun to trace the contours of his pectorals or kiss her way down the six-pack that formed his abs.
She shuddered. Get control of yourself, girl! Rick Rogers is not boyfriend material—even if Fox hadn’t made it clear you have to keep your hands off.
She replayed Rick’s kiss in her mind. He’d surprised her, so he she hadn’t been at her best. But it seemed to her that the young heartthrob was the perfect height for kissing. She’d just had to lift her face and he’d ducked his head and…
She shook her herself again, trying to shake the image.
Behind her, Hans laughed quietly. “Of course you’re not tempted.”
“Perfection!” Hans declared as he stepped back to admire his work.
Ember got up and through an act of iron willpower, kept herself from looking in the mirror.
“What?” Hans asked. “You’re not going to admire my art?”
She gave her stylist a little hug. “Your work is always perfect, Hans. It’s the woman underneath who has the flaws. I’m not seventeen anymore.”
“And glad you should be that you’re not!” Hans told her. “As a child, you were only fresh and maybe trendy. That sort of beauty never lasts. Today you are sophisticated, sensuous, even mysterious—far more enticing than that little girl who won the Grammys.”
Someone knocked on the door, saving Ember from the need to respond. She didn’t really believe what Hans was telling her. Like most women in her profession, Ember would kill to have her seventeen-year-old body back. At least she’d finally gotten over the wish to go back and do it over again. She’d finally reached a point in her life where she mostly liked the woman she’d become.
Hans crossed the small dressing room and opened the door, revealing Rick Roger, dressed for the stage, getting ready to knock a second time. “Oh, hi, Hans, is Ember still here? I had a question for her.”
“No rose this time?” Hans teased the young man. “Mitch will be relieved, I’m sure.”
Rick blushed, which made Hans laugh with delight and brought a smile to Ember’s face as well. She lost the smile when Hans stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him with a final warning about the time.
Rick looked startled for a moment as well. “Oh, um, that was nice of him, but I didn’t mean to kick him out.”
Ember hadn’t intended for Hans to leave either—especially not after Hans had just made her painfully aware again of how attractive this young man was. The last thing she needed to do was give into her impulses and make a move on him. “What can I do for you, Rick? I’ve only got a few minutes before I have to go out and judge tonight’s show.”
Rick took a deep breath and joined her where she stood by her styling chair
. “Look, this is really none of my business, but the internet has exploded with this story about you secretly dating Mitch and well…I just wanted to know if it was true.”
He really looked uncomfortable to Ember as he tried to justify his interest without crossing the line she’d drawn all those weeks ago. “I…like you, Ember, and I think…I mean…all those times you’ve coached me over the phone…I thought we were becoming friends but you didn’t mention this. How could you not tell me that you’re dating Mitch?”
For a moment she considered teasing Rick a little, but she just couldn’t bring herself to play with him like that. “There’s no truth to the rumor. I’d never date him!”
“Oh, thank God!” Rick exclaimed, spontaneously hugging her.
He backed off immediately as if he weren’t certain if he’d just unintentionally crossed that professional line she’d placed between them. “I’m sorry about that. It’s just, when I heard about you and Mitch—Mitch!—everything I thought I’d learned about you in the past seven weeks went flying out the window. I mean, I just couldn’t picture the two of you…”
He trailed off as if he feared he’d said too much again.
Ember patted Rick’s arm, acutely aware of how her flesh tingled when she touched him. “It’s okay, sweetie. Honestly, I can’t picture myself with Mitch either. I mean, we have gotten closer this year. There’s a fun side to him that I didn’t see at first. But that’s a long way from wanting to go out with him. He’s just not y—”
Ember glanced away, mortified by her near indiscretion.
Rick stepped nearer—almost brush-against-her close. “Mitch isn’t who?”
Ember couldn’t make herself look at him, so he lifted his hand and gently guided her cheek around so she couldn’t avoid his gaze.
“Mitch isn’t who, Ember?”
She wanted to kiss him so badly! She wanted to step up on the tips of her toes and let her lips meet his. Their tongues would entwine and his arms would circle around her, crushing her tight against his hard body. She wanted desperately to kiss him but she just couldn’t take the risk.
After a few hours that probably only actually lasted a couple of seconds, Rick broke their seeming paralysis and did the right thing—he turned away and started towards the door. “The show’s going to start in a couple of minutes. We should—”
“Rick?”
Ember could hear her voice speaking as if she were listening to another person.
Rick turned back to her, internal conflict obvious on his face. “Yes, Ember.”
“Would it have been so terrible if Mitch and I were having a secret relationship?”
In three quick strides, Rick was standing in front of her again. His hands came up and hovered near her shoulders as if he wanted to take hold, but was struggling with his conscience. “Yes, yes it would.”
Ember moved ever so slightly closer to Rick as well. They still weren’t touching, but it would be impossible to get any closer without doing so. “Why would that be so bad?” she whispered.
Rick tilted his face down toward hers. She could feel the feather caress of his breath on her lips. “Because if you were getting serious with Mitch, we wouldn’t be free to do this again.”
His lips touched hers and fireworks exploded. One of Rick’s hands slid to the nape of her neck, holding her mouth tight against his. His other found the small of her back while their tongues met at the entrance to each other’s mouths.
Ember’s head grew lighter until she thought she might fall if Rick weren’t supporting her. The sound of her beating heart filled her ears, drowning out the rest of the world. She could taste his tongue as it thrust against hers; smell the brute of his aftershave; feel his hand slip down to her butt and pull her firmly against him.
He was stiff and hard against her stomach—the final proof that he wanted her just as powerfully as she needed him.
Ever so slowly, Rick’s lips released her. “Wow!” he whispered. “You’re…wow!”
Impulsively, Ember pulled his face down to hers again and stood up on the tips of her toes to kiss him harder. Her tongue met his and pushed deeper into his mouth. His hand left her ass to slide up her waist, hesitating oh so close to her breast.
Ember couldn’t wait any longer. She grabbed hold of his hand, encouraging him to cup her when Rick suddenly pushed her away. His eyes were wide; his face flushed; his breathing obviously labored as he tried to step back away from her.
Ember didn’t let him go, but neither did she force herself on him again. “What’s wrong?” she asked. She’d just felt the passion bursting within him. She knew he was interested. Why the hell was he pushing her away from him?
“Ember, I hope you understand what I’m going to say here. There is nothing I want more than to keep kissing you for the next twenty-four hours.”
His face scrunched up in pain as he gently pried her fingers from around his neck. “I…please believe me. I think I’d walk off Rock Idol right now if you asked me to.”
He evidently didn’t like what he saw in her eyes because he tried to justify himself one more time. “Please believe I’m not rejecting you. I’d do anything to stay with you right now. But…you’re due on stage in about three minutes and I can’t be responsible for getting you fired.”
Ember’s shock that Rick had pulled away from her transformed instantly into near panic. “Oh, my God, the time!”
She whirled around to face the mirror. Her lipstick was smeared and even though she was late, she took the time to reapply it. Then she was pushing Rick ahead of her out the dressing room door only to find Mitch and Fawn hurrying up the hallway directly across from them.
Mitch’s face broke into a good-natured grin even as he adopted a very severe tone. “Mr. Rogers, what exactly were you doing in there with my girlfriend?”
Mitch started laughing before either of them could answer, but Fawn’s expression remained far more serious.
Week Eight
“You’re here early,” Fawn said. “Have you got a moment?”
Without waiting for a reply, she closed the door behind her and propped herself up against Ember’s dressing table.
Ember looked her friend over carefully. Rather than cut back on the cocaine, she was willing to bet that Fawn had increased her usage. There was something about her eyes and the way they darted back and forth which just wasn’t normal, and her fingers twitched as they rested on her thighs.
“Come in and make yourself at home,” she said. Somehow she doubted that Fawn would pick up on the sarcasm. “Tell me what’s on your mind.”
“We’re going to send him home,” Fawn announced. She seemed to notice the twitching in her fingers and stifled it by pressing her palm down on her leg.
In addition to the twitchiness, Ember noted, Fawn was wearing her makeup more heavily—another sign of her growing insecurity. “I take it you’re talking about Rick?” she asked.
Fawn nodded. “Mitch and I are going to send him home.”
That was definitely interesting, Ember thought. What she couldn’t figure out was why. “Mitch has it in for Rick because he’s convinced he has no talent. Why do you want him out?”
Fawn opened her purse and began to fumble inside it. The distraction prevented her from having to meet Ember’s gaze. “To punish you, of course.”
A chill worked its way up Ember’s spine. “How would that punish me? And what do I need punishing for, anyway?”
“I’m going to punish you because you ratted me out to Fox,” Fawn said.
“I did not rat you out!” Ember automatically defended herself. “And why are you still worried about that? If he hasn’t followed through on his threat to start drug testing, he probably isn’t going to.”
“What you should have said,” Fawn continued in the most placid of tones, completely ignoring Ember’s question as if she were following her own script and wasn’t going to be drawn into deviating from it. “What a friend would have said was: No, Fox, I don’t think Fawn
’s doing drugs again. She’s got her act together. Why are you worried about her?”
The random drug test may not have come up yet, but Fawn was obviously obsessing over it. Ember supposed she would be too if she’d been snorting cocaine every week.
“Fawn, sweetie,” Ember said. “This is Hollywood. Everyone’s done some drugs at one time or another. This is not a big deal. Fox will get over this. He’s—”
“He’s not going to get over it!” Fawn interrupted. “He’s had another scandal on his Wife Hunt show. His latest bachelor got caught by the staff shooting heroin—heroin—the idiot. It hasn’t broken yet, but it will. Fox is really, really angry. He’s not going to let this go!”
“I hadn’t heard that,” Ember said. She considered suggesting that Fawn just stop using for the rest of the season but drug addiction was rarely that simple.
She shifted the conversation back to where it started. “So why Rick?”
“Because he makes you feel good,” Fawn said.
“He what?” Ember asked, wondering if Fawn could possibly know what she and Rick had been doing last week before they ran into Fawn and Mitch in the hall.
“You like the way he smiles at you. And the way he seeks you out for advice on his performance. And the way he gives you those long soulful stares. Oh, and the way he fucks you!”
Fawn had finally said something that really worried Ember. “The way he fucks me? That’s crazy!”
“No, it isn’t,” Fawn insisted. “I saw you together last week and Rick had a smudge of your lipstick on his mouth.” She smiled—the most truly wicked expression that Ember had ever seen on the woman. “You really shouldn’t rat someone out when your secrets are so much worse.”
Ember struggled to keep control of her temper. “I am not sleeping with Rick!”
Fawn shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. He makes you feel young again and well, that’s enough. You see, that’s how the drugs make me feel and since you tried to keep me from them, I’m going to keep you from Rick.” She snapped her purse closed. “I just thought you should know.”
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