Teacher: The Final Act (A Hollywood Rock n' Romance Trilogy #3)

by R. L. Merrill

“Hey, Jane! Have a good day today?”

  She nodded and immediately started texting. ”I did have a good day, and I took your advice. Sasha and I are both babies now and it’s awesome. We started our own nerd version of truth or dare on Kik and our dares are totally nerdy.”

  I laughed. Leave it to this girl to make me feel better and be nerdy at the same time.

  Jane had a lot of homework and asked if we could skip the ranch tonight. I agreed, although I was not looking forward to the reception I’d get at home. We pulled up in the driveway and Jane took off running into the house. I took my time gathering my things from the trunk, again, not in any hurry. Apparently I was taking too much time. Danny came looking for me.

  “Hey,” he said, looking irritated.

  “Hey,” I said, closing the trunk.

  He stood there with his hands on his hips. ”Why didn’t you answer me?”

  I sighed. ”And say what, Danny? That it was pretty awful walking in on you in your towel with Brooke in your bedroom? That’s not something I wanted to text.”

  He looked confused. Then pissed. ”You didn’t actually think something was going on, did you? After everything we’ve talked about? After—”

  “Danny, it was just weird seeing her in your room.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest. ”Our room, you mean.”

  I nodded, dropping my bag down. ”In our space. With you in a towel. I didn’t know what to think. I mean, I didn’t think you… I know how you feel about…I just… It was icky, okay?”

  Danny looked down at his feet. ”Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry. We had just been talking. I went for a swim and then I needed a shower. She was just sort of following me. I didn’t even think—”

  “I know. You wouldn’t. But she did. She gave me a look, Danny. She wanted me to think something was going on. I’m sorry, I know she’s in a bad way, but—”

  “No. You’re right. I should have… I just don’t think of her that way so I wasn’t thinking about it. I’m sorry. I won’t have her in our space again.” He stepped forward hesitantly, touching my waist.

  I shook my head when the gimme smile made an appearance. “You’re unbelievable,” I said against his lips as he claimed mine.

  He pressed his body against me. That tether between us pulled like crazy. I wanted him so bad! I didn’t care that the whole neighborhood could be watching.

  “Danny,” I whispered. ”As much as I’d like to continue—”

  His tongue plunged into my mouth and his hands tangled in my hair. ”Don’t talk. Don’t say anything about anything. Just fucking kiss me. Let me just pretend for thirty more seconds. Just thirty more seconds.” At the end of that thirty more seconds I was ready to divest him of his clothing and—

  “Danny! Patricia’s on the phone,” Nora called from the front door. He groaned and pulled my hips to him one last time.

  “Fuck, I want to taste you so bad right now. This fucking sucks! Coming Nora!”

  I giggled, “Or not.”

  He bent down and picked up my bags before jogging into the house. I trudged behind reluctantly.

  “Jesse, can I talk to you for a minute,” Nora said.

  I followed her out onto the back patio where Jane was playing with Legs. She turned her back to them and spoke in a low voice.

  “I can’t take it, Jesse. I’m going to stay at Connie’s until she’s gone. I’ll tell Danny when he’s off the phone with Patricia, but I wanted you to know. I cooked all day, so there’s plenty of food for you guys in the fridge and freezer. I’m sorry to leave you like this, but I’m going to sock her in her pretty little mouth if I have to spend one more minute with her.”

  I snorted out a laugh and shook my head. “I don’t blame you. We’ll be fine.”

  She hugged me and went inside to talk to Danny. I sat down next to Jane and gave Legs some ear scratching.

  “So Nora’s going,” Jane said, looking sad.

  I nodded. ”Just for a few days.” I brushed her hair back.

  Jane gazed up at me with the saddest expression on her lovely face. “You think my dad would let me go stay with Sasha? At least for the weekend?”

  I sighed, thinking that was probably a good idea. Without Danny here this weekend, Jane would only have me as a buffer between her and Brooke, who came out just then.

  “Hey, Jane! How’s school?”

  Jane immediately turned sullen teenager. Brooke sat on the lounge chair facing Jane and tried to engage her in conversation, but Jane was down to one-word answers. This was a nightmare. I didn’t want to leave Jane alone with her, but I needed to pee like mad.

  “I’ll be right back,” I said.

  Jane’s eyes shot to mine and I did a little pee pee dance to show her why I was leaving. She laughed a little and went back to petting Legs.

  Brooke wasn’t going to let things lie. ”Oh, Danny’s dressed now. You’ll find him in his office this time.”

  I raised an eyebrow at her, glanced at a surprised Jane, and hurried into the house before my bladder burst, feeling the need to take deep cleansing breaths.

  I heard shouting from down the hall. I hurried to the library door and found Danny and Nora facing off. ”I don’t give a fuck if she’s the Queen of England! I’m not waiting on her! I don’t work for her, and if you keep making a stink, Danny Black, I won’t be working for you!”

  I rushed to intervene. “Whoa, whoa, what is going on?” I could not let Danny screw things up with Nora. No way. ”Danny, I think it’s a good idea—”

  “What the fuck do you want me to do, Nora? I’m doing the best I can!”

  Nora crossed her arms. ”Enabling that wench to keep messing with your daughter and fucking up your relationship is what you’re doing. It’s up to you, but I’m not staying. Either you give me leave, or I’m quitting!”

  Danny looked like he’d been slapped in the face. “I can’t believe… Fine. You do what you have to do.” He turned on me, furious. ”You leaving, too?”

  I blanched. ”No,” I said calmly. ”I’ll stay with Jane. I can handle it. But Jane asked if she could stay at Sasha’s this weekend. I think it might be a good idea if Brooke is still going to be here.”

  He exhaled like a defeated man. ”You’re probably right. I’m sorry, Nora. Please, go stay with Connie. I’m sorry…”

  She stepped forward and hugged him briefly, uncomfortable with the whole crying thing she was trying not to do. ”I’m sorry, too. I’ll be back when she’s gone.” She turned and started for the door. ”But Danny, I meant what I said. Don’t let her ruin your life again.” He gazed at her for a long time and then nodded. She was gone. I was left with a very emotional Danny.

  “What happened with Patricia?” I asked him, praying she’d come up with a solution.

  He shook his head. ”We found a program for Brooke, but she can’t start until Monday. I’m gone until then, so Patricia said she’d take her Monday morning. I’m afraid that leaves you here with her for the weekend.”

  Great. ”Okay. We’ll make it work.”

  He pulled me into his arms and kissed me. ”Thank you,” he whispered. ”I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I promise I’ll make this up to you. Once this is all said and done, let’s start talking wedding plans.” His eyes twinkled at the thought, but the worry lines on his face told me he had way too much on his plate to be thinking about any of that.

  An hour later, Danny put dinner together for us and we had another tense meal. Nora was gone, Jane was brooding, and Brooke appeared oblivious to the commotion she was causing.

  The guys came over after dinner and they all greeted Brooke coolly, especially Bronson. The guys set up their instruments in the great room off the kitchen and practiced for their performance on the Tonight Show, opting to play their soon-to-be-released single “Teach Me.” It was a not-so-veiled reference to my relationship with Danny and I loved hearing it, usually. Not with Brooke in the room.

  When they finished, Jane and I clappe
d. Brooke laughed, “I like it! Just wait until he writes the ‘I hate you’ songs, Jesse.”

  The room went quiet and Jane stood up quickly. ”I’m going to bed,” she announced. She stopped and kissed my cheek and then walked out the door. Danny frowned at Brooke and took off after Jane. I moved to finish the dinner dishes and the guys started packing up. Except Bronson.

  “Brooke, you need to learn to quit fucking with people’s lives. You know? You are so fucking lucky Danny took you in. I would have put your ass on the street where you belong.”

  I heard Alex curse under his breath and I fought the urge to turn around.

  Brooke laughed. ”Bronson you never did have any manners. I’m bored. You guys still sound like shit.” She stood and walked out the door, smacking into Danny’s shoulder on her way by.

  “What the fuck was that about?” he asked.

  I heard Brooke call out, “Your little friends seem to think I’m causing problems.” Danny looked back to her, into the room, and then to me. I gave him a sad smile and shook my head.

  “You need to get her out of this house, Danny.” Bronson slung his guitar case over his shoulder and walked past Danny. “She’s a fucking disease.”

  Julian gave Danny a bro hug, followed by Alex, who said, “Call me if you need anything.”

  Danny looked confused, upset, frustrated, angry…I wished I could make him feel better. He stared at me from the doorway, helpless.

  “Want to join me out back?” I asked quietly.

  He followed me through the slider. We sat on the sofa in front of the fire, which he turned on. It wasn’t freezing, but it was November, and the air was quite chilly. It was close to eleven and the city lights twinkled brightly in the valley below us. Danny looked pensive. I sat with my back to the arm of the couch and pulled him back to rest his head on my chest. I cradled him with my arms and legs, knowing he needed to be grounded tonight.

  Danny started to talk a couple of times and then stopped. I grazed my nails through his super short hair and across his chest under his shirt. He gave up on trying to speak. Instead, he rolled over and pulled me under him. In seconds he had my panties off from under my skirt and his pants undone. He gazed into my eyes pleadingly. ”I need you, Jesse.”

  I smiled, knowing exactly how he felt. For a little while I did what I could to ease him, to love him. I wanted him to feel as safe as he made me feel. Well, before Brooke showed up. I tried to keep those negative thoughts out of my head and surrendered my consciousness to the passion Danny brought out of me. He made love to me slow and tender, his entire body quivering. He whispered to me the whole time how much he loved me and needed me, and begged me not to ever leave him.

  At that I stilled him with my hands on his face. “Baby! I’m not going to leave you, okay? We’re okay. I love you. We just have to get through this.”

  He pressed his forehead to mine and moved more insistently within me. ”I fucking love you, Jesse,” he cried and then groaned when he came. I held him close to me, wishing I never had to let him go.

  We stayed like that for a long time, and when it was time to go to sleep, Danny carried me to bed. He acted really cute, but I knew he was worried. I didn’t want him to be worried. Then I would worry and we certainly didn’t need that.

  Danny took Jane to school the next morning. He and Brooke were planning to take Jane to the ranch after school and then grab dinner. Danny asked me to call Ivana and ask about Jane spending the weekend with Sasha. Ivana suggested we meet for lunch and I agreed, thinking it would be a welcome change from the drama at home.

  Ivana and I had had lunch a couple of times and even gone to the movies once without the girls. It was nice to be able to talk dance with someone who could relate. She was completely understanding about the current situation, even though I didn’t tell her about Brooke’s issues, and was happy to have Jane for the weekend. I arranged for her to take Jane home with them Friday and bring her to school on Monday.

  That left me with the proposition of having a weekend alone at the house with Brooke. Ugh.

  I texted Cosmo to see what he and the boys were up to Saturday night, figuring I could escape over there for a little while. He hit me back

  Jinx’s birthday bash, baby. You should come.

  Even better. Thursday night I helped Danny pack, giddy to be seeing his performance wardrobe. Brooke and Jane watched movies in the theater, giving us a few minutes alone.

  “I wish I could pack you in my suitcase, honey,” Danny said as he closed up his bag.

  I had to admit, he was much more efficient and neat than I ever was when I packed. Then again, he had more practice.

  “I do, too. Except I have a date Saturday night. Damn. Sorry, babe. You’ll have to go without me.”

  He tackled me on the bed and attacked my neck. ”A fucking date? It better not be a hot date.”

  I moaned as his hands got busy. Then I smacked him. “Danny! We can’t! I have to go to the lady doctor tomorrow, remember? No funny business!”

  He frowned. ”Really? You can’t?”

  I shook my head. ”Nope. It’s prohibited.”

  He lifted up my shirt and pressed kisses into my belly, making it very difficult to deny him. “Damn. But honey, you’re not going to do anything, right? Just get checked? Because I’ve been thinking a lot about us and our future. I think there might be room for one more little red haired Danny? Maybe?”

  I smiled down at him and shook my head. ”You and that damn gimme smile. Let me see what the doctor says, okay? I want to give you everything you want, baby. I’m just…”

  He pushed up to kiss me and ran his hands over my hair. ”No pressure. I told you how I feel. I just had a dream the other night. You had this sexy pregnant belly and damn, I woke up so hard for you.”

  I rolled my eyes. He was so crass, but he was so mine. ”You say the sweetest things. I love you, baby. I’m sorry we can’t make love.”

  He crawled up next to me and unfastened his pants with a smirk. ”You got a dentist appointment?”

  I was sad to say goodbye to Danny Friday morning. This was the first of many times he was going to be gone. I hoped I could stand it. We hadn’t been apart much since I started working with him six months prior. Six months! Crazy! I couldn’t decide if that was a long time or a short time for all the insanity and happiness we’d experienced. I looked down at the gorgeous ring on my finger and smiled. I hoped we had many more good times to come.

  I went to my doctor’s appointment in the afternoon and luckily she was on time. Waiting at the OB-GYN is the worst kind of torture. Luckily, I really liked my doctor. She was young and blunt.

  “Bottom line, Jesse, is do you want to have kids or not? According to research I’ve read, folks with RA actually tend to have a decrease in their symptoms while pregnant and it’s not always passed along to your children. Now that you’ve gained weight, I think you’d be fine. You may have to adjust your meds, but I’d okay it if you wanted to.”

  My expression made her laugh.

  “Was that not what you wanted to hear?”

  I shook my head, waiting for the oxygen to get back into my lungs. ”I’m just surprised. I hadn’t ever thought I would find someone to marry, much less have kids with. We just got engaged and now babies? I might have a heart attack!”

  Dr. Lewis chuckled. ”No hurry. You’ve got plenty of time. You’re still a baby and he’s not over the hill or anything, is he?” I told her he was just thirty-six. She shrugged. ”Why not? With your dancing ability and his singing talent? Your kid might be a true triple threat!”

  She gave me a clean bill of health and told me to come back and see her if and when I was ready to get knocked up.

  I left the office feeling a little light-headed from lack of food and too much to think about. Danny texted me that they’d landed and were settling in at the hotel. He had the Tonight Show taping and two interviews to do in the evening. Saturday morning more interviews and a photo shoot for Rolling Stone were sc
heduled, and then they were going to be on Saturday Night Live as the musical guests. Sunday the band would be doing a live performance on satellite radio along with an interview. I was going to be sure I was in front of the radio to listen. I couldn’t believe this was their life! Patricia was travelling with them and promised to keep me posted with pictures and videos.

  When I got back to the house, Brooke was outside by the pool sleeping. I opened the slider and stepped out. Legs barked from her pen. I shushed her, but Brooke sat up.

  “Oh. Hi Jesse. I wasn’t sure if I should let the dog out or not.” Legs ran over to her patch of grass to pee and then wandered around the small lawn area. I went and sat in the chair next to Brooke’s.

  “Are you hungry? I can heat up some dinner for us.”

  She waved her hand lazily. ”You don’t have to take care of me, Jesse. I don’t want to put you out.”

  I shrugged. ”I was going to eat something myself. It’s no big deal.”

  She rolled over and looked at me. Really looked at me. ”I didn’t mean to cause trouble for you. I know it’s awkward. I didn’t have any place else to go.” Her blue eyes, so much like Jane’s, filled with tears. I felt terrible. No matter what she’d done in the past, she was hurting.

  “I understand. I just hope this program is helpful for you. Have you ever had to go before?” Awkward was me trying to talk to my fiancé’s ex-wife about her drug use!

  She shook her head. ”No. And I haven’t had anything since I’ve been here, I swear. I just need some time to, I don’t know... I’m a mess, Jesse. I thought going back to acting would help, you know? Get back to work? But I haven’t done television before and the shooting schedule was intense. I was up nights and days in a row, working eighteen-plus hours. It was crazy! I saw a doctor there who prescribed me ‘stimulants.’” She laughed humorlessly. ”Right. Just call it what it is. I was taking meth for Christ’s sake. Then I just got so tired, and then we went on hiatus… And Oliver,” she rolled her eyes. ”I don’t know what the hell I was thinking. He’s such a douche!” I laughed at her language, not expecting her to talk like that.