by J. M. Nevins
She looked at him. “Torts.”
He chuckled and grinned. He then frowned and joked with her. “Is that like an old moldy tart? A tort?”
She burst out laughing, having to take an extra moment to compose herself. “Oh Sull, you always know how to make me laugh. That’s a good one. I’m gonna tell my law school buddies that one tonight. Tort law deals with situations where a person's behavior has unfairly caused someone else to suffer loss or harm.”
He linked his arm in hers and looked straight ahead at the path in front of them. “I like my definition better.” He smiled and she giggled.
They were in the middle of Kit’s study session and she was feeling more solid about her upcoming final. Sully’s quizzing her was definitely helping. His lack of knowledge on the subject was even better. He was naturally inquisitive and this was no different. She found that his rapid fire questioning style, trying to understand the subject matter and cases, actually helped her to know her material more extensively. She found the entire process endearing.
The phone rang and Kit didn’t miss a beat, answering Sully’s question and then answering the phone. She frowned. “No, I’m sorry. There’s no one named Patrick here.”
Sully’s eyes widened. “Kit, wait, that’s for me.”
She frowned and handed over the phone, eyeing him closely. He held the receiver and said hello. Seconds later she heard him retort. “Hi, Mom.” Kit’s eyes widened and she smiled. She wondered if she was about to learn something new that she didn’t know. Her mind reeled with questions. Why was his mother calling him Patrick? Was his last name really Foxx or something else? She sat and wondered. The suspense was killing her.
He stayed on the phone for a few moments, telling his mother he would call her back after he was done quizzing Kit on torts. He then offered an explanation of what tort law was like an expert. Kit chuckled. He had nailed it.
He hung up the phone. “Sorry about that. Ok, where were we?”
Kit shook her head and smiled. “Oh no you don’t. We’re taking a study break effective now, Patrick. What’s that all about? Is that your real name?”
He got up. “I think I’m gonna get a drink in the kitchen. Do you want anything?”
She followed him. “Tell me. I wanna know. Tell me.”
He shook his head. “No.”
She started tickling him. “Tell me!”
He laughed and tried to free himself. “No!”
She boldly reached into his back pocket for his wallet while she continued to tickle him. He tried to stop her, but was unsuccessful. She held up his wallet victoriously. “Ha!” She ran off toward the table, thinking she had escaped unscathed, until he came up from behind and started tickling her. She screamed out laughing.
He reached, but it was still slightly out of his grasp. “Give me that back. Give it back now!” He tried again to get the wallet, but she kept her grip tight.
She broke free from him, opened it up hastily, pulled out his driver’s license and then threw his wallet back to him, still laughing as she tried to catch her breath. “I don’t need your wallet anymore.” He stood before her with an annoyed look on his face while she stared at his driver’s license, smiling from ear to ear.
She giggled. “Patrick Seamus O’Sullivan? Seriously?” She looked up at him, wide-eyed and smiling.
He leaned forward and plucked it from her fingers. He stared at her, not amused. “Yes. Ok? Sully Foxx is a stage name. My friends and some of my family have called me Sully since I was a kid. You can’t tell anyone. Only Jimmy and Bryan know my real name and that’s ‘cuz I grew up with those guys. Most of my family back home still calls me Patrick or Pat.”
She was unable to wipe the smile off of her face. “Ok, Patrick. Or can I call you Patty Cake?”
He sighed and gave her a look of warning. “Kit.”
She could tell he was sensitive about it and decided to drop it. “Ok, Sull, your secret is safe with me. But if you ever get out of line, I’m gonna call you Patrick and if you’re really naughty I’m pulling out Patty Cake complete with the song. Got it?”
He nodded. “Fair enough.”
She grinned. “Although it is tempting…”
“Kit, please.” His steel blue eyes pleaded with her.
She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. “Relax. I’m joking. Practically every performer here in Hollywood hates their real name. Joe’s real name is not Joe.”
Sully’s eyes widened. “What? What’s his real name?”
She mimicked a stuffy, pretentious voice. “William Joseph Arden Valois.” She giggled. “Oh yeah. Now that’s a name for ya. He legally changed it to Joe Arden before he started at Berklee.”
Her sharing had broken his mounting tension and he laughed. “Really? I know he said he had a privileged upbringing, but I don’t know the details. He wasn’t exactly forthcoming.”
“Yeah, that’s an understatement. You have no idea what that boy is really made of. Let’s just say even before his Steel Pony days, he alone was worth eight figures, his family combined is worth a whole lot more. He’s a direct descendent of French nobility.”
Sully’s mouth dropped open. “Shit! He doesn’t like to talk about his upbringing. He keeps that close to the vest just like you do, Lake Forest girl.”
She squirmed in her seat and kept the focus on Joe. “Yep, he does. Don’t worry, Sull. I won’t let the cat out of the bag about your name. Consider it officially on the down low, babe.”
He grinned. “Thank you. Now, you need to get back to studying. Break’s over.”
She frowned. “Jeez, whip cracker. Are you enjoying this foray into the depths of sadism? You’re worse than my study partners at school.”
He chuckled. “You want an A don’t you? You wanna be the best, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then let’s hit it.”
Kit walked over to Sully, who was still sleeping on the sofa, lightly snoring. She opened the curtains, letting in bright sunshine. He rolled over and put his back to the large windows in the living room in an attempt to shield the light that was streaming in. She walked over, grabbed his arm, and dragged him off the sofa to the floor slowly and carefully with a thud.
He finally opened his eyes and stared at her. “What the hell are you doing?”
She stood above him, one foot planted on each side of his body. “Good morning was more the greeting I was looking for.”
He glared. “Good fucking morning.”
She nudged him with her foot. “Get up, bum. We had a deal. Get your ass up.”
He groaned and sat up, yawning. “Ok. Give me five minutes and I’ll be ready to go.”
Kit headed to the kitchen and quickly downed a cup of coffee. She was on Christmas break now, after acing her finals thanks to Sully’s help. Now, it was time to maximize her break and get to work shaping and training Sully. Once January hit, she knew things would heat up on all fronts and she wanted to prepare them all.
Sully emerged in track pants, running shoes, a T-shirt, and a baseball cap ten minutes later. He looked at Kit who was wearing grey leggings, a navy blue Penn sweatshirt, and running shoes. She had her hair tied back in a ponytail with not a trace of makeup on. He scanned her from head to toe. “You look very sporty this morning.”
She grinned. “Is that the best you could come up with?”
He nodded, expressionless. “At eight in the morning yes, Miss Perky Pants, that is the best I can come up with.”
She pulled her car over and parked at the top of Vista Street five minutes later. She glanced over at Sully. “C’mon, Mr. McCranker. I can’t believe how cranky you are this morning. Let’s go. Some endorphins will do you good.”
As they headed toward the entrance for the trails at Runyon Canyon he looked over at her. “We’re hiking?”
She shook her head. “No. We’re running. You said you were in shape, right?”
He stared at her. “I was joking. Are you?”
“No.�
� She started on the trail and motioned him to follow her.
She kept at a steady jog the entire time while he trailed her. He finally stopped and bent over to catch his breath, resting his hands on his knees. She stopped and turned around to face him, jogging in place. He looked up at her, still breathing hard while sweat rolled down the sides of his face. His hair was drenched. “Are you trying to turn me into a jock or something?”
She stared at him, visibly annoyed. “No. I’m trying to turn you into a good showman who has the stamina to do a three-hour gig on a big arena stage six nights a week, globally. You wanna be that, don’t you?”
He stood up, finally breathing normally. “Yes.”
“You wanna be the best, right?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
“Then let’s hit it.” She giggled and ran off.
He glared as he ran past her, yelling over his shoulder. “I hate when you use my own words against me.” She chuckled and quickened her pace to catch up with him.
Alexa leaned against the bar, next to Kit, watching Sully work the room. She smiled. “What have you done to him? I know we revamped his look together, I’m loving the blond highlights on him, but there’s something else.”
Kit knocked back the last of her drink and ordered another. She followed Alexa’s violet eyes to where Sully was, surrounded by doting females, looking like king of the manor. “I’ve been kicking his ass for the last week. He’s been running the star trail at Runyon with me every morning and then I make him do sets of weight training at the gym plus one hundred push-ups, pull-ups, squats, and crunches. He goes from his workouts to the rehearsal studio where he stays for the remainder of the day singing, playing guitar, and writing.”
Alexa giggled. “You certainly know what you’re doing. He actually looks like a rock star. It’s like his charisma has been kicked up a notch and his sex appeal is off the charts.”
She giggled. “That’s exactly what I was looking to do. I’m going for rock god.”
Alexa nodded. “Looks like you’re succeeding.”
Bryan came up behind Kit and put his hands over her eyes as he grinned at Alexa. “Guess who, beautiful.”
She grinned. “Is that one of my favorite boys?”
Bryan laughed and removed his hands. “It is!” He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “Can I get you a drink?”
“Yes, please.” He walked away to fetch her drink.
Alexa watched him. “He’s a good guy too. Is he the shyest one?”
Kit shook her head. “No, that’s Tony. Bryan plays shy, but he isn’t, that’s just his game.”
Sully walked up to the table. “Ladies, what can I get you?”
Kit grinned. “Bryan’s already on it.”
As she finished her sentence, he walked up, balancing all the drinks and setting them on the table. He looked at Sully. “Hey, Sull.”
“Hey, let me get a drink and I’ll join you guys.” He went over to the bar and ordered his drink. He was about to head back when an attractive brunette stopped him. He smiled and started talking to her.
Kit glanced over and noticed him. She chuckled. “We’ve lost him. Sully’s not coming back. It’s just us three. Cheers to Gypsy Tango.”
Bryan and Alexa held their up glasses and yelled, “Cheers,” as they clinked glasses with her.
CHAPTER 10
Kit did the budget and was not pleased with her findings. She was relieved that she and Sully had decided against exchanging Christmas presents. She barely had enough to squeak by. She and Alexa started promoting a big show for Gypsy Tango that was coming up in mid-January. They had taken out plenty of ads in Rock City News and the hype was building, but it was a pay to play show.
Tony fronted a good deal of the money since he was the only band member that had a regular, decent paycheck. The money that Sully and Remo were making at a Christmas tree lot in the Valley was barely enough to cover food and gas. Bryan giving piano lessons didn’t amount to much and Jimmy was still struggling to find session work.
She wracked her brain on how to come up with the extra money. She didn’t want to bring Joe into the picture. Her student loans did help out to an extent, but she couldn’t leverage them any further. She sold her prized Porsche, opting for a used economy car to get her around town. She didn’t want to admit that starting her own management company plus expenses for Gypsy Tango and her other bands were putting her in a serious amount of debt the likes she had never seen in her life. It proved alarming as the five figures of debt continued to climb and were now dangling over her head, robbing her of sleep at night and increasing her stress levels.
She knew the Scorcher deal was right around the corner about to close. She just needed a thousand dollars. She rifled through her things and found one of her handbags. It was a vintage, red, Chanel handbag she received from her grandmother as a gift on her sixteenth birthday. It was one of her most treasured possessions, but it was either this or hawking one of her guitars and that wasn’t an option.
She sadly grabbed the handbag and started to make her way to the front door. Sully was on the sofa with his guitar, a pad of paper in front of him and a pencil in his hand, writing a song.
He looked up. “Hey, babe, why the long face?”
She shook her head. “I’m maxed out, Sull. I need to go pawn this.”
He frowned. “What is that?”
“It’s an expensive handbag. It was given to me by my grandmother.” She shook her head as tears welled up in her eyes. “We’re not gonna make it to January unless I sell this thing.”
He saw the pained expression on her face and immediately became worried. “No, you can’t. It obviously means a lot to you. You’ll regret it. Kit, you already gave up your car and despite what you tell me, I know it just about killed you. That came from your grandmother too. You were heartbroken for weeks. Don’t do this.”
“Sull, I made you guys a promise and I’m gonna keep my word. Quitting is not an option. This will get us through. There’s a consignment shop on Wilshire that wants it. I’ll be back.”
He sighed as the door shut behind her. He had to do something to fix this. He jumped up and frantically searched for his other notebook. He found it and flipped to one of the pages, finding the phone number he was looking for. He hastily ran to the phone and dialed. When he heard a voice answer, he abruptly asked for Alexa. She surfaced on the line seconds later. “Sully, hey. Happy Christmas Eve. What’s up? Is everything ok?”
“No, it’s not. Kit just left to go pawn some purse of hers that she loves. She said she thinks she can get the money she needs for it.”
Alexa sighed. “Is it red?”
“Yes.”
“Shit! Sull, you have to stop her. That bag is worth good money and it has big time sentimental value. It was passed down to her from her grandma.”
“I can’t stop her Lex, she already left. I can find the shop, but I don’t have the cash to buy it back.”
“Yes you will. Give me your bank account number.”
“Bank account? Huh?
She growled, annoyed. “Nevermind. I’m going to wire five thousand dollars to Western Union in Hollywood. Go pick it up and buy that bag back.”
“Lex…”
“Do it, Sully. Five thousand should cover it. Do it now.”
“I can’t afford this, Lex.”
“You can pay me back when you’re a big rock star. Go! And not a word to Kit on how you pulled this off. It’s our secret.”
Sully hung up and looked at the clock. He had just enough time to swing by Western Union and the consignment shop before heading out to the Valley to work his shift at the Christmas tree lot.
Thirty minutes later, he pulled up in front of the consignment shop. He walked in, feeling awkward. Rockers weren’t exactly welcome in Beverly Hills. The woman behind the counter glared at him. He didn’t care. He was on a mission and no one would stop him. He noticed the bag sitting on a table behind the counter. He walked up to her and point
ed. “I wanna buy that bag.”
She scowled this time. “You can’t afford that bag. It’s a vintage Chanel.”
He chuckled, leaned his elbows on the glass display counter, and flashed his most charming smile. “Oh really? Are you sure about that?” He pulled a wad of hundred dollar bills from the inside pocket of his leather jacket. He set it down neatly on the counter in front of her. “Looks like I can. What do you think?”
She stared at the money, her facial expression a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance. “You probably don’t have enough. It’s three-thousand, two hundred dollars.”
He shrugged his shoulders and smiled again. “Ok.” He picked up the wad and counted it out. “Here you go.”
“Plus tax.”
He giggled. He knew he would get nowhere throwing mean jabs back at her, so he decided to take the high road and kill her with kindness. “Could you do me the honor of officially ringing me up? And then gift wrapping it for me too? It’s a Christmas present for someone very special to me.”
Her face finally melted into a grin. Something about him was irresistible. She rang him up and gave him the total. She then tilted her head to the side. “Are you one of those Hollywood rock stars?” She started wrapping the purse for him.
He smiled and nodded. “Something like that.”
She handed him a bag that now contained the purse, wrapped beautifully. “One more thing.”
He took the bag from her. “It looks beautiful. You did a great job. She’ll love it. What is it?”
She smiled sheepishly. “Since you are a rock star, can I have your autograph?”
He nodded. “Absolutely. What’s your name, honey?”
“Maryann.”
He wrote out a personal message on the notepad that she pushed to him. He signed his name with a flourish and handed it back to her. “There you go, Maryann. Merry Christmas. Thanks for all your help.” He winked.
She smiled and waved. “Thank you, Sully Foxx. I’m going to tell all my friends I met you!”
He nodded, grinned, and waved as he walked out, giggling to himself.
Sully walked through the door that night, hoisting a Christmas tree on his shoulder. Kit looked over and laughed. “Wow! You weren’t kidding!”