A Beautiful Rock

by Lilliana Anderson

  I just stand there and blink for a few moments, trying to give my brain enough time to actually hear what was said.

  “Ok…” I say, drawing out the sound as I’m still feeling completely lost.

  She closes her eyes as if it annoys her that she needs to repeat herself. For some reason, I find it adorable. “Sandra took me as a surprise. And I was an idiot to stay there. I should have left the moment I realised where we were going. But I thought that maybe enough time had passed, and if I kept my head down, no one would recognise me. I mean, my hair is dark now and I went and interviewed you with no drama, plus, I got through the whole dinner service without being called out. But Sandra needed to interview the singer and while I was waiting, stupid Colin Lucas caught me looking at a photo on the wall of my father and put two and two together.”

  “Colin Lucas? God, I hate that guy.”

  “I know, right? Doesn’t everyone. I mean, how is he still invited anywhere, he’s always been such a douchebag…”

  We lock eyes for a moment and share a laugh. Suddenly, everything between us seems just that bit easier. She gets it. I’ve actually found a woman who really gets it. Being famous and in the public eye, isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be. People see the money and the bright lights, but they don’t see the downside – they don’t see the shit part. But Lisa does. Shit… what name do I call her now?

  “So um… what do I call you?”

  “I’m still Lisa. You can call me that, or you can call me ‘Leis’ that’s always been my nickname.”

  “Ok. You can still call me ‘dude’ if you want.”

  She laughs, looking at her beer bottle on the counter as she turns it around by the base. “Ok dude. I’ll do that.”

  When she looks up, our eyes lock, and something passes in the air between us. I reach up and gently brush the backs of my fingers down the side of her face. Her eyes close and her breathing deepens.

  “I’d like to kiss you again,” I whisper, leaning in a little closer, watching as her eyes move between my lips and my eyes. Her tongue darts out to wet her lips as she parts them on an inhale.

  “I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” she whispers. But she’s not pulling away. In fact, she’s moving closer too.

  “Why isn’t it a good idea?” I whisper in return, pausing mere millimetres away from her.

  All I can hear is the sound of her thickened breathing in the quiet of the room before she replies. “Because I’m a jealous person.”

  “So am I.”

  “I won’t tolerate any other women.”

  “I don’t want any other women.”

  “I could ruin your career.”

  “I don’t give a shit about my career.”

  “I – ” I press my lips against hers to shut her up, inhaling deeply as I hold her mouth in mine, just enjoying the dizzying sensation of our connection.

  “Stop making excuses,” I say when I come up for air. “You’re not going to chase me off.”

  As I close my mouth over hers again, she lets out this beautiful little whimper and I swear my cock goes instantly and painfully hard.

  Her lips part and I slide my tongue in just a touch, teasing her mouth as her whimpers increase.

  Oh god, she’s going to have to stop those noises or I’m not going to be satisfied with just a kiss. By body wants her, and I would like nothing more to see what those whimpers turn into when she’s really turned on. But I need to take things slow. Rushing will just ruin it… right?

  As if reading my mind, she drops her head and breaks the kiss, pressing her forehead up against mine as she breathes heavily. “We need to stop.”

  “Sure,” I say hoarsely. “Of course we do.”

  “I think I’d better go home.”

  “You could always stay…”

  She presses her lips together. I can tell by her expression that she’s at war with her feelings over this. “I need to feed Perry and work out what I’m going to do now… I just… I worked so hard to disappear and now…” she closes her eyes and shakes her head before sliding off the stool and reaching for her bag. “It’s all going to happen again isn’t it? They’re going to make me look like some psycho bitch who doesn’t have a clue. There’s going to be meme’s of me as a spider and you caught in my web. Comedians are going to be cracking jokes about me and that fan club at the women’s prison is going to contact me… oh my god. I don’t want to go through this again.”

  By the time she’s finished her rant, I’ve managed to move around the bench so I’m standing in front of her. I put my arms around her and hug her too my chest, although I’m struggling not to laugh. “You have a fan club?” I ask.

  “Yes. And don’t laugh. It’s not funny,” she pouts, her voice muffled as she buries her face in my shirt.

  “I’m not laughing,” I tell her, although it’s a huge lie because I am, and the more I try to stop myself, the more the laughter escapes.

  She lifts her head and meets my eyes. “I’d hate to see what real laughter is if this is no laughter,” she deadpans.

  “I’m sorry. I’m trying not to laugh. It’s just… do you seriously have a fan club?”

  Her mouth quirks with a grin. “Yes,” she laughs a little. It isn’t happy, it’s more of an exasperated sound. “It’s full of women who are in there for revenge crimes. You should have seen the letters they used to send me.” She shudders at the memory and places her hands on her face. “God,” she groans. “I have to go. I can’t think about this anymore.”

  She walks to the front door and steps into the lift foyer. On this floor, there’s only my apartment and one other, so there’s little risk of running into anyone we’re not expecting.

  “Let me drive you home,” I offer.

  She shakes her head and pulls out her phone. “I’d really rather take a cab.”

  “Well then, I’ll come down and wait with you.”

  “Fine,” she concedes, pressing the button to call the lift. Almost immediately, it pings open revealing a very unimpressed looking Craig.

  “Jesus fucking Christ. You two are all over fucking twitter and Facebook right now, and it’s not good. People don’t seem to like you very much,” he says to Lisa, stepping out with his phone in his hand.

  “Oh god. What are they saying this time?”

  He hands his phone over to me and points out the enormous amount of posts on my Facebook page that are outraged at the image of me kissing Lisa. They’re even going as far as calling her a honey badger.

  “A honey badger?” she says from beside me. “Wow. I used to be named after venomous snakes and spiders. Now I’m as cantankerous as a fucking honey badger? Fuck me,” she groans, peering at the phone from beside me.

  I shut the screen off. “We don’t need to look at this. It’s none of their business.”

  “Excuse me? They’re your fans. Everything you do is their business.”

  Lisa holds her hands up and shakes her head. “I’m going downstairs to wait for my cab. I really don’t want to be a part of this. You two obviously have a lot to talk about, and I’ve caused enough problems for one night.”

  Craig reaches out and takes a hold of her arm. “No you don’t, sweetheart. There are camera’s downstairs and I’m sure they’re out the front of your house by now too. You’ve already fucked with his career enough for one night with your spiteful mind games. What is this - some sick way of getting the limelight back on you? Daddy doesn’t want you, so you’re going for Marcus. What are you going to do when he cheats on you - cut his dick off?”

  “No. I never…”

  “Shut your fucking mouth Craig,” I jump in, pointing my finger directly at his face and blocking Lisa from his view. “You need to take that back. I pursued her.”

  “Oh come on, Marcus. You can’t possibly be that dumb. She’s been playing you the whole time. As if she didn’t know who you were. Everyone knows who you are. As if she didn’t know she’d get recognised and that you’d be at that club.
She’s played you like a fiddle and you’re so cock obsessed with her that you can’t even see it.”

  My hands ball into fists as I struggle to keep myself from punching his lights out. “Get out. You’re done. You’re fired, Craig. Turn around and get out of my face before I do something really dumb.”

  “You did the moment you let that skank’s lips lock with yours in public.”

  Lisa

  My mouth drops open in a gasp as Marcus’s arm cocks back and his fist slams into Craig’s face with a bone cracking crunch. The force causes Craig to stumble back inside the lift cabin, blood streaming down his face as he groans and spits on the floor.

  “You’re going to regret this Marcus. I’m going to make sure no one wants to work with you ever again. Don’t think you’re irreplaceable. Everyone in this world is. You just signed your death warrant in this industry.”

  Marcus leans into the lift and smacks his hand against the keypad on the wall then steps back into the foyer. “Do your worst. I don’t give a fucking shit.”

  As the elevator doors close, Craig continues to curse Marcus and me to an eternity of damnation. It’s nothing I haven’t heard before, but I have a sudden urge to punch him in his self-righteous face myself.

  “Are you ok?” I ask Marcus as he continues to face away from me, slowly blowing out his breath.

  “Yeah,” he replies, turning his sorry eyes to mine. “How about you?”

  I shrug. “Nothing I haven’t gone through before.”

  He laughs a little through his nose and turns to face me fully, leaning up against the doors of the elevator.

  “Honey badger is a new name though. I haven’t been called that before.”

  He smiles a touch. “You’re the most beautiful honey badger I’ve ever seen,” he says, his voice smooth as silk as it filters through my ears.

  “You aren’t worried I’m going to smash your house to pieces?” I probe, taking a step toward him. I want nothing more than to be back in his arms right now.

  He reaches out and tugs me toward him and I stumble a little and land against his chest, in his arms – right where I wanted to be…

  “You’d need a helicopter,” he whispers, bringing his mouth closer to mine.

  I place my hand against his chest and pull back a little. “Marcus. About what Craig said… besides not telling you my real name, I’ve been completely honest with you. I had no idea who you were when I met you.”

  “I don’t doubt you. His logic was flawed. There’s no way you could have known I’d be there tonight – he didn’t even know. Besides, I know you. You’re not that kind of person.”

  I inch closer to him, my lips craving the touch of his. “How do you know that?”

  “Every time I look at you, my soul speaks to yours.”

  With that, I melt. Every ounce of resolve I had. Every reason I had to fight being with him. It all melts away.

  His soul speaks to mine…

  I think that’s the most beautiful thing someone has ever said to me.

  “Kiss me, Marcus,” I whisper.

  “Gladly,” he murmurs, pulling my body against his as his mouth closes over mine.

  Slowly, he tastes me, his tongue entering my mouth and sliding against mine, exploring, teasing. My breathing increases and I can’t help the whimper that escapes my throat as I somehow try to press myself closer to him.

  From the moment I met Marcus, I’ve been trying to convince myself that I didn’t want him. That I didn’t feel anything for him. I wasn’t fooling anyone for a second – least of all him.

  And now, I’m admitting it to myself. I want Marcus Bailey. I want him for however long I can have him, and I no longer care about the repercussions on my life. Being with him, makes me feel… how do I explain this? As he kisses me, it’s as if I’m drunk. My head is swimming and my body is singing and I don’t want the feeling to end.

  Marcus’s hands slide up my back, and clutch the back of my head as his mouth moves on mine. He hums pleasurably as he inhales. It’s as if he’s breathing in my scent and loving everything about it.

  “Stay with me tonight,” he murmurs as his kisses move from my mouth and down my neck, just before we’re jerked out of our moment by the pinging sound of the elevator arriving on this floor.

  Immediately, he pushes away from the doors and guides me away. I’m expecting that his neighbour is about to step out, but instead, the lift doors open to reveal two police officers in uniform.

  “Marcus Bailey?” one of them says boldly, as soon as their eyes land on us. Asking his name is obviously a formality. I can tell by their discomfort that they know exactly who he is.

  “Yes?” he answers carefully.

  “I’m sorry Mr Bailey, but we’re going to have to ask you to come to the station to answer a few questions.”

  “About what?”

  “About the assault on a Mr Craig Stevens. He’s pressing charges.”

  “What the hell? How did you get here so fast? He bloody provoked him – this looks like some sort of setup,” I exclaim immediately, my face burning with rage as I realise that that little weasel must have had cops waiting for him downstairs.

  “I’m sorry, Ma’am. We were here for the protestors. We’re just doing our job right now. Now if you can come willingly we won’t need to make a big deal out of this,” one of the officers says to Marcus.

  Marcus releases me and places his hands on his hips. “Protestors?”

  “Yes. We’re very sorry about this. The whole front of the building is crowded with Press and protestors.”

  It’s at this point, I start to feel very sorry for the police officers, and they are obviously in a very uncomfortable position right now.

  “You can’t go out there, Marcus. They could riot and a photo of you being arrested will be everywhere. This is exactly what Craig wanted,” I say, trying to figure out a way to get the press to move on. I turn to the police officers. “Can he drive himself?”

  The taller of the two shakes his head. “I’m sorry. We’ve been sent to arrest him.”

  Marcus smooths his hand down the centre of my back. “It wouldn’t matter. My car is back at the club anyway.”

  “Well then, I’m going to go and get it. The press can follow me and then you can hide your face and sneak out quietly.”

  Turning to face me, his hands move up to cup my face on either side. “You don’t have to do that.”

  I grip his wrists. “I want to. Give me ten minutes and then you can go. Is that ok?” I ask the cops.

  Nodding their acquiescence, they step away from us for a moment as Marcus gives me his keys and tells me where to find it. I call a cab to meet me downstairs and then hit the button to call the lift.

  “Are you sure about this?” he asks.

  I nod. “I’ll come and bail you out as soon as I can.”

  Leaning in, I press my lips against his as we part. He whispers, “We’ll finish this later.”

  “I hope so.”

  Then I get in the lift and ride down to the ground floor with my heart lodged firmly in my throat as I prepare myself to meet the wolves…

  Chapter 11

  Marcus

  The cops walk me discretely out of an emergency exit while the press is busy taking photos and yelling questions at Lisa. My chest becomes tight and my stomach lurches as I hear the ruckus echoing through the night – I just want to go and help her. I want to keep her safe and out of the limelight, like she wanted. Now she’s put herself, smack in the middle of it all, and she’s done it to protect me. I don’t think I’ve ever had someone put themselves out like this before. It makes me care for her even more.

  "Listen, this is probably a really bad time to say this. But, if I don't get the chance, I just wanted to say that I'm a really big fan, and I'm sorry that I had to be the one to arrest you," one of the cops tells me as he opens the back door of the squad car and gestures for me to get in.

  “Don't sweat it mate,” I say, giving him a reassurin
g pat on the shoulder. “We all have our jobs to do.”

  Taking one last look over my shoulder in the direction of the noise, I hope Lisa is ok as I slide into the back seat to be driven to the police station for processing.

  ***

  I guess the good thing about being a celebrity, is that you get pushed through very quickly at a police station. They don't want you out where anyone can see you because they don't want to be doing crowd control in their own workspace.

  I'm taken to a room, questioned and booked before I know it. The only thing they haven't done yet is give me my phone call.

  "You've got five minutes," an officer says, as he hands me a phone. I’m about to call Lisa to see how she is, but she said she’d get here as soon as she could. So I take the opportunity to do something I should have done years ago. I call my brother…

  ***

  Lisa

  “Lisa! Oh my god. What the hell happened tonight?” Sandra blurts the moment our call connects.

  “Oh Sandra. I’ve fucked up big time, and I’m so sorry. I just need you to trust that I’ll tell you everything soon. But right now, I need your help.”

  “Girl, you will be spilling your guts like you’ve been disembowelled. I want to know everything and since I’m your best friend and all, I think it’s only fair that I get the exclusive interview.”

  I chuckle a little in response. She’s always thinking of her career. “Of course. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

  “Great. Now what do you need?”

  “Can you please take care of Perry for me. I don’t know when I’m going to be able to go home and he’s probably freaked out and hungry by now,” I plead with her as I take the corner without using a blinker.

  They follow me anyway and all of a sudden, there’s a loud thumping noise coming from above me. “Of course. I’ll go there now to get him.”

  “Thank you Sandra. You’re saving my arse right now.”

  “Just one question though. Is that a helicopter I can hear?”