"Joel Young." He shakes my hand. "You really Mal's fuck buddy? He doesn't have hometown fuck buddies."
"Baby, she's right there." A pretty brunette slides her arm around Joel. She adjusts her dark frames. "Sorry, my husband doesn't know how to stop himself." She offers her hand. "Bella Chase."
I shake. "Nice to meet you." Though honestly, I recognize her. I know too much about her, really. Joel and Bella made tabloid headlines when they got married in Vegas last December. People were taking bets on how long their quickie marriage would last.
It's been eight months now.
They seem happy.
Really happy.
That really is a fairytale. A one-night stand turned Vegas wedding turned Happily Ever After.
"Actually, I'm here to talk to all four of you." I try to put some distance between me and Mal. Even though it's sticky hot backstage, I feel cold without his arm around me.
"Sorry, you're cute, but I don't do threesomes anymore." Joel pulls Bella into a tight embrace. "And I don't share, either. Well, maybe you can watch." He stares into his wife's eyes. His voice drops to something equal parts teasing and seductive. "You want them to watch, angel?"
"I'm not asking to watch," I jump in.
Bella and Joel are already off in their own little world. She twirls a strand of his wavy hair with her finger.
Her eyes get dreamy. Her smile too. "I'm not turning it down."
"Fuck, angel…" He brings his hands to her ass and pulls her body into his. He kisses her, hard. Really hard. They're still kissing. He sighs as he pulls back. "Fuck, I need to stop wearing skinny jeans around you, angel."
"Over my dead body." She smiles.
He leans in to whisper something in her ear.
She blushes.
"Yeah, you're adorable." Ethan waves them away. "Guy's never been in a relationship before. Feels the need to mark his territory every time he can."
"Cause you and Vi never make out in front of us." Joel shakes his head with mock incredulity. "Or have sex in the other room. With the door open. And you certainly never get her screaming loud enough to burst eardrums on the tour bus at three in the morning."
Ethan shrugs, but the pride on his face is obvious. "Where is Kit?"
"Don't make me imply he's fucking your sister," Joel says.
Bella laughs. "Baby, you really are incorrigible."
"Fuck, I love when you say smart shit." Joel pulls her into another deep kiss.
They're both moaning loud enough to drown out the speakers.
"Why don't you tie him up and read off SAT words," Mal suggests, half-joking.
I think. He's hard to read.
"I hope it's not a quiz. Joel wouldn't get any." Ethan laughs. He pulls out his cell. "I'll find Kit."
"Where's Vi?" Mal asks.
"She's in the VIP section." Ethan smiles, this mischievous twinkle in his eyes. He looks to his phone. "With Piper. Kit's heading over here."
"I should get out of your way." Bella pulls from Joel's arms. "You have business."
"You're industry. Stay." He squeezes her hand.
"I'm distracting." She turns to me. "What do you need to talk to them about?" There's no jealousy in her expression. It's simple curiosity.
"I'm going to direct the next Dangerous Noise video." I swallow hard. "If you're all on board."
Ethan looks to Mal. Really, sleeping with the talent?
Joel shoots him a similar look.
"You guys haven't seen the Hurt Me, Baby video?" Mal offers. "Lacey cut it together."
"You know I don't read your emails." Joel pulls out his cell and he taps the screen a few times. His eyes go wide. He looks up at me then down at his cell. "That's you."
"It is," I say.
"Shit, angel, look at this." He directs his wife's attention to the cell screen. "And you were complaining all day about having to shoot the video solo."
"All day?" Mal cocks a brow really?
"For you." Joel stares at the screen.
Ethan crowds behind it too.
We stand there for the three-and-a-half-minute video, getting jostled by musicians and roadies every ten to twenty seconds.
When the video ends, Ethan and Joel are staring at me with this strange look. It's equal parts damn that was hot and you seem to have a lot of talent with editing.
"Fuck, you're actually dating the video girl." The voice is deep. Steady.
It's Kit, the band's bassist.
Damn, he's even hotter in person, with the mass of curly dark hair, the soulful dark eyes, and the eyebrow piercing.
He's without his trademark leather jacket, but he is in his usual black jeans, motorcycle boots, black v-neck combo.
"Does anybody read the fucking text of their emails?" Mal asks.
"Not when there are two hot chicks half naked in bed. I mean, it's pretty distracting how you're there, but…" Joel laughs.
"I'm leaving now." Bella kisses him goodbye.
He mimes being stabbed in the gut as she leaves, but they're both laughing.
"I, um, I edited the video." My heart is pounding and my breath is far from steady. This is a huge opportunity. I can't fuck it up. "I'm directing the next video. I have three concepts to pitch. We need to pick one today so we can secure locations. Mal tells me you need that video finished by the end of September."
"Sooner is better," Mal says.
Ethan looks to Joel and Kit. "Is that right?"
Kit nods.
Joel shrugs. "Fuck if I know."
"We should go over it now. Someplace quiet." I turn back to Mal. "Is there someplace quiet?"
"We can borrow the Wicked Beat tour bus," he says.
Okay. I can do that. I can pitch this video in a mega-band's tour bus.
With all these guys looking at me like I'm a video vixen.
I've got this.
14
Lacey
The parking lot behind the club is sectioned off with those little metal dividers. But this place isn't a venue. This isn't even the club's parking lot. It's one of the city lots where each space costs eight billion dollars a minute.
There are less than a dozen feet between the railing and a line of eager fans. It's past sunset now and the lights are on that side of the sidewalk. I can't pick out any particular faces, but I have a sense of the crowd. There must be a hundred people lined up around this railing. They're screaming all the names of the Wicked Beat guys.
Then they notice the details and they switch to screaming for Dangerous Noise.
All the guys get some attention, but there's no denying that Mal gets the most.
Mal, Mal, Mal!!!!
I LOVE YOU MAL!!!!
I want to be Tied Up with You Mal!
WHEEE! Mal! I want you to Hurt Me, Baby!!!
My legs turn to spaghetti again. I have to slide my arm around Mal's waist for balance. The hard, strong muscles of his abdomen are incredibly distracting. They're right there under his thin t-shirt. They can be mine again soon.
Fuck, my legs really are jelly.
I squeeze him tighter. He pulls me close. Like it's a reflex. Like I'm the girl he wants to protect. Not like we're colleagues or friends or even friends who fuck.
The screaming gets louder. It's more shrieking. I focus on putting one foot in front of the other for the dozen steps to the tour bus. It's huge and purple and incredibly showy.
And it's air conditioned.
Fuck, that feels good.
Slowly, my eyes adjust to the lighting. We're in the front of the bus, two couches set up around a TV. Further back, there's a kitchenette, a bathroom, and a handful of bunks.
One of the Wicked Beat guys is sitting in one of the bunks. His vibrant green eyes pass over us as we file into the bus and cram onto the couches. I take the middle seat of the couch on the left. Mal sits to my right. Joel sits on the other side.
Ethan and Kit are across from me.
I'm surrounded by rock stars on a tour bus.
Either I'
m having some orgy sex dream or I really am directing the next Dangerous Noise video. It doesn't feel real.
Will it ever feel real?
Right now, that seems impossible. I'm floating through a dream of a life—sleeping with the celebrity playboy at his beautiful beach mansion, hanging out with his famous friends, rocking out at shows backstage…
The Wicked Beat guy shakes his head fuck this distraction and pulls the curtain to his bunk closed.
I hike my dress an inch and dig my nails into my skin. Just enough to hurt. Just enough to be sure I'm wide awake.
Something in Mal's posture changes. He's next to me, his deep blue eyes on me. He has some feelings about my is this real coping mechanism. From the furrow in his brow, I'm guessing he doesn't approve.
That's a matter for later.
This is happening.
I need to bring it. Now.
I look around at my audience. Eye contact. Shoulders back. Head straight. Slight I mean business, fun business smile. "This is cozy, so I'll try to make it fast. Mal tells me you guys have a policy of democracy. You vote on everything."
Ethan nods. "Mal still tends to get his way."
"Well, I don't want this video to be Mal's way." I press my palms into my thighs so I won't play with my dress. "I want it to be my way."
Ethan laughs.
Joel too.
Even Kit lets out a chuckle. He pushes a mass of dark hair from his eyes. "No surprise why Mal likes you."
"Well, I think it was more that I told him the concept Danielle was shooting was garbage." I take a deep breath and exhale slowly. Nerves are rising up in my stomach. I need to defuse the tension. "He didn't realize it was all a ruse to get my face in that video. I'm really an actress."
"Always fun to tell a bossy person to fuck off." Joel winks at Mal.
Mal flips him off.
He laughs and looks to Kit. "You have any thoughts, Rhythmic One?"
"We suddenly making videos that feature the bassist?" Kit half shrugs.
He's nearly as stoic as Mal is. And nearly as hot.
No one can top Mal, but he comes damn close.
Ahem. This is a work meeting. I need to file these dirty thoughts in my spank bank. "I have three concepts outlined. I have a favorite—one I think best fits your album and especially Tangled. It's not quite like other songs. It has a playfulness that keeps it from being melancholy. But now I'm showing my hand."
They're all focused on me, listening intently. These guys really do take their careers seriously, even if they like to cause mayhem most of the time.
I can do this. I pretend as if I'm pitching an idea in class, as if this video isn't career defining. "Why don't I go through them one by one? Then you can vote or decide however you want."
Everyone nods.
I take a deep breath, and I launch into an explanation of the first concept—the angry breakup in an apartment. It's easy to shoot and it leaves a lot of room for us to play. We can make it silly or serious or even heartbreaking.
Everyone nods along, but they're without that fire in their eyes. It's not clicking with them.
They don't hate it.
But they don't love it either.
I'm in way over my head here. How am I going to convince millionaire rock stars of anything, much less my creative vision?
My breath gets shaky. My voice wavers. I pinch myself again. This isn't a dream. Or a nightmare. It's happening and I'm going to nail it.
Period.
"What do you think?" I exhale slowly. The guys look around at each other, trying to gauge everyone else's reactions. "Why don't I finish? That will make it easier to compare."
Ethan smiles a sweet, boyish smile. "I like it. But it's not… it's not perfect."
"Nothing is perfect, Strong," Joel says.
"Vi's perfect." Ethan smiles a dreamy smile.
"She's with you, so that's some seriously impaired judgment." Joel mock kicks Ethan. "Other than that, she's great. She's no Bella, but…"
Kit shoots Joel a really? look.
Joel nods, really. "You should chime in about how Piper is perfect. You really think her older brothers are going to disagree?"
Mal clears his throat. He shoots the other guys a stern look. That's enough to get them to shift back into their seats.
They look to me.
"Go on, Lacey," Mal says.
I do. I explain the second concept—Mal chasing a woman through a series of to be determined locations, then finding out she's a ghost, then realizing he's a ghost too. The guys like the idea. Well, they like that they don't necessarily have to participate. But they're still lacking that fire in their eyes.
Okay.
Concept three is the best one by far.
They need to love this.
I need to convince them.
I don't wait for any more commentary. I launch into an explanation of the idea—the guys coming out of the ocean as sea monsters, terrifying the crowd until they get close enough to the Dangerous Noise concert that everyone can happily party together.
This time, their eyes light up.
Joel starts bouncing with the frantic energy I often see in drummers.
Ethan too.
Kit's dark eyes get brighter. He half-smiles.
They like it.
No, they love it.
I tap my fingers against my thighs. "What do you think?" My heart pounds against my chest. It's loud, my heart. It's loud enough to drown out my thoughts.
"We should be naked for real," Joel says.
Ethan shoots him an incredulous look. "You really need more people to see your cock? You've been through what, two thousand women?"
"Still less than you," Joel says. "I want my wife to have something fun to watch."
Ethan teases back. "We know her name is Bella. You don't always have to call her your wife every time you bring her up."
"Nobody is stopping you from marrying Valentine if you're jealous." Joel shrugs with a take that.
"I'm not in a rush," Ethan says.
"Or you can't commit. It's been four years of dating now," Joel says.
"Five," Ethan says.
"With a two year break in the middle," Mal adds.
"His fault," Joel says.
Mal nods probably but there's concern in his eyes.
"I don't want my decision to get married fueled by beer," Ethan says.
"It was Scotch," Joel says.
Ethan laughs. "Of course it was Scotch. I'm already… I've got plans already and I don't need you fucking them up." He turns to me. "Sorry. He's like a puppy."
"I do have a greedy tongue," Joel says.
"See?" Ethan raises a brow.
"You two are equally obnoxious," Kit deadpans.
"Read: I feel guilty I don't go down on my woman enough." Joel laughs as Ethan and Mal cringe. Kit is engaged to their sister.
I met these guys an hour ago, but I already feel like I know them.
And I can tell they aren't going to get themselves on track.
Mal or I have to do it.
I clear my throat. "We could shoot a version where you're naked, but we won't be able to get it on many sites. American puritanical values are very anti-cock."
The guys laugh.
"It will be easier to put you in flesh-tone swimsuits and cover you with seaweed." They're all into the idea. It's time to deal with the practicalities, so there are no obstacles between us and agreeing. "This concept is going to be the biggest pain in the ass. It's August. We won't get a quiet day at the beach until November unless we go way into Malibu."
"We can arrange that," Mal says.
"We'll need permits if we want nice equipment. If we want to do it guerrilla style—"
"What's that?" Ethan asks.
"Guerrilla warfare. Or did you miss that when you dropped out?" Joel teases.
Ethan's eyes narrow. He pretends to laugh it off, but his brow stays furrowed. "I know guerrilla warfare."
"It's the same idea,"
I jump in. "We'll show up early, keep all our shots low setup, leave if there's trouble. It will work fine for the monster stuff and the crowd stuff. But there's no way we're shooting a big concert scene without a bunch of permits and equipment."
Mal's eyes meet mine. He raises a brow you trust me?
I nod. I do trust him. It's scary how much I trust him, considering…
"You guys want to vote?" Mal asks.
"She made that third one sound way better." Joel's green eyes fix on mine. "You talking it up because your boy toy likes that one the best?"
"I don't care what Mal wants." I clear my throat. "I care what's best for the final music video." It's true. As much as I want Mal's body again, I'm loyal to filmmaking first. If anything, I'm her bitch.
Joel smiles. He and Kit share a knowing look. It rivals Ethan and Mal's brotherly stare. They must be old friends.
"I like three," Ethan says.
"Me too," Kit nods.
"Fuck, I'm agreeing with you assholes?" Joel shakes his head. "Three is just better."
I laugh. "It's the most fun." I rack my brain for solutions to our it will take months to get a concert scene put together problem. "What if Dangerous Noise was playing at a wedding? That would be a fun contrast between the gross sea monsters—"
"Who you calling gross, Waltz?" Joel teases.
"Not you, but I'm going to make sure Mal is disgusting. I know a makeup girl who will deliver," I say.
Everyone laughs. Even Mal.
I can do this. I can make this happen. "We'll need some set up—an altar and chairs. And guests will have to come in formal wear." An idea hits me like a bolt of lightning. It's perfect. "I bet we can get in touch with wedding planners who will let us use what's left over for a ceremony as long as we return all their equipment."
The guys nod.
"I'll make some calls," I say.
Mal pulls out his cell. "I'll put you in touch with our last producer. He can take care of this shit, so you can just show up with a vision."
I nod. I like vision.
Mal leans in to whisper, but before he can say anything, Joel jumps in.
"Listen, Waltz. We have to get back to the fucking venue cause we're on in ten minutes. But we're having an after-party tonight. You and Mal can dirty talk all you want there." He blows Mal a kiss.
Mal catches it and mimes putting it in his pocket. "Young, you know I'd never try to out dirty talk you."
Dangerous Fling: A Rock Star Romance (Dangerous Noise Book 4) Page 12