by J. M. Nevins
She chuckled. “Am I the only one that didn’t know about the baby?”
He smiled. “Why do you think they got married so fast? Yes, Joe was head over heels in love with her and she was with him too, but he was on a mission to do things right. He had met her before, y’know. They had this on and off again thing going when he was touring in Europe but she would never take him seriously because he was high all the time. Then they reconnected in France after he got out of rehab and it worked out. I know you haven’t hung out with her much, but I think you’ll like her, Kit. She’s really grounded. She was good for Joe. And she’ll make a good mom.”
Kit nodded, feeling slightly overwhelmed by all the information coming at her. “We’ll need to do our best to support her, even though she’ll be in another state. Joe would want that.”
Sully nodded. “Absolutely.”
Kit gazed into his eyes. “Sull, Abigail mentioned that Joe left his Ferrari to you. Veronique will give us all the details when she’s here in two days.”
He immediately felt choked up. He shook his head. “I can’t, Kit. He loved that car. He called it his rock star car.”
She took his hands in hers. “And that’s exactly why you need to take it. He wanted you to have it. It’s in writing in his will.” Tears welled up in her eyes. “Abigail said I’m named as a beneficiary too, but she didn’t go into details. I’ll find out when we meet with Veronique.”
Sully stood on the balcony admiring the panoramic view of the city. He sighed and was startled when Kit’s voice rang out. “Sully? Sull, where are you?” She walked onto the balcony and forced a grin. She wrapped her arms around his arm and rested her head on his shoulder. “How are you doing?”
He glanced over at her. “Ok, I guess. Something about this doesn’t feel right, Kit and I don’t know that it ever will.”
She nodded. “I know, but it’s what they both want.”
Veronique had opted to will the condo to Sully rather than sell it off. She told him he could move his things in after he boxed up the remainder of Joe’s belongings and donated them to charity. She had the attorney draw up a contract stating she was relinquishing the property to him as executor of Joe’s will with a clause that he would become the sole owner of the luxury condo once probate was complete. Sully was stunned by the gesture and was still grappling to come to terms with it. Kit released her grasp and he turned to face her.
He forced a grin. “I guess this is what Joe and Veri want, so I’ll go along with it, but it feels weird. I don’t think I can live here yet. I’m not ready.” He left the balcony and walked into the living room. He strolled up to a blank wall and stood in front of it staring. As Kit walked in he pointed. “This was supposed to be Joe’s platinum wall. That’s what he called it. This is where he wanted to hang all his platinum records one day. Now he’ll never get that opportunity. Damn.”
Kit sighed. “No, he won’t, that’s true.” She forced a grin and squeezed his hand. “But you will.” He looked at her and felt choked up again as he nodded his head. She chuckled. “We’ll make that happen, Sully Foxx. We’ll make Joe real proud.”
Sully smiled through the tears in his eyes and hugged her tightly. “Yes, we will.”
She giggled as she remained in his embrace. “Look out world! Big star on the rise.”
CHAPTER 14
Kit opened her front door and started laughing as Sully and Jimmy stood before her each stepping one foot into the threshold, smiling, their arms wide open and hands spread, fingers wiggling. “Oh my God. We’re not even on the road yet. Is this what I have to look forward to for the next few months?”
They both laughed and ran over to her. Jimmy stood in front of her, Sully behind as they pushed toward each other with Kit in the middle. Jimmy looked down at her. “This is what you have to look forward to, a Jimmy-Sully sandwich.”
She burst out laughing. She finally managed to break free from them. “You guys are crazy!”
Sully laughed. “Where are your bags, babe?
She pointed to two small suitcases next to the front door. “That’s it.”
Jimmy pointed to them. “Only those? Wow, impressive. The girl packs light. I love it.”
She smiled. “Gotta pack light, Jim. Makes more room for guitars. I’ve toured before remember? This isn’t my first rodeo.” She winked.
Sully laughed and exchanged a knowing look with Jimmy. He held his hands to his heart. “And that’s why we love our manager so very much. We love you, Kit-Kat.”
She giggled. “I know, boys. C’mon, let’s go.”
They walked out to Bryan’s van and she smiled when she saw it. They had it professional painted with the band’s name. He was double parked, waiting for them. Remo and Tony were already inside. Sully opened the back doors and loaded Kit’s bags in as Jimmy helped her into the side of the van, then climbed in after her, shutting the large sliding door behind him. Sully jumped into the passenger seat and they were off, headed to their show in San Francisco that night.
Kit looked over at Jimmy who was sitting next to her. “Rule of thumb for the road, gentlemen.”
Bryan grinned and looked at her in his rear view mirror. “Yes, pretty Kitty?”
“Do not molest your manager in any way. Molesting your manager is strictly prohibited and legal action will be taken if you choose to violate this rule.”
They all burst out laughing. Remo threw a balled up piece of paper at her head playfully. “Aww, Kit, you take all the fun out of it. I was hoping to cop a feel at least once while we were on the road.”
She turned around and smiled at him. “Sorry, Remo. Rules are rules. And gentlemen, one more rule. Please do not, at any time, whip out your love wands to show me. I’m not interested, ok? Let’s keep this tour professional.”
Tony groaned. “Professional? Oh crap. Bryan, turn the van around. Let’s go back home. I thought we could get away with more on the road.” He joked. “You’re killing my buzz, Kit. Is there any way you can make yourself more ugly? That way we wouldn’t all want to nail you.”
She laughed. “Sorry, guys. I’m not messing with my hair and makeup to appease you. You want appeasing and stroking, find a groupie.”
Sully laughed loudly. “Whoa! And the hits just keep on coming.”
She smiled proudly. “Thank you gentlemen, I’ll be here all tour. Gratuities are welcomed and highly appreciated.”
Jimmy smiled and yelled “rock ‘n’ roll,” at the top of his lungs. “It’s gonna be one hell of a tour.”
Kit stood in a dusty, rickety phone booth outside a northern Nevada dive bar, dialing her home number in hopes of catching Alexa. She answered on the first ring. “Lex!”
“Kit! How’s the tour? Where are you?”
“We’re in Nevada. Hitting Utah next. It’s going really well. Whatever you’re doing there from home on the booking front is working. What are you doing by the way?”
“My U of C sorority sisters are very powerful.”
Kit burst out laughing. “Are you serious? This tour has Greek power behind it?”
She chuckled. “Yep. I can get you bookings in every university town across the country that has a DG chapter.”
“I guess it pays to have a best friend who was the president of her sorority.”
Alexa giggled. “Delta Gamma all the way, baby. You have all the DG girls behind you, Kit. And they’re all excited to meet the guys. I’ll get more shows booked for you as you move across the country. Max said she’ll fly out for bigger shows and take pics.
“We’ll coordinate here with Rock City News to build up local buzz. We’ll keep ‘em alive out here while you push ‘em out there. Also, I’m going to the annual Delta Gamma conference next month. It’s held every summer. I’m gonna go hang with some of my sisters. I’ll see what I can do to get the fraternities involved too. I’ll keep you posted.”
“You’re a genius, Lex, and I love you.”
“I love you too, babe. How are you holding up surrounded
by all that testosterone constantly?”
Kit chuckled. “Fine. These guys are more and more like my brothers everyday. They’re all pretty great. I better go. I’m getting the stink eye from Sull. He wants to call his girlfriend before the show. Gotta run. I’ll try to call you next week, but weeks run like days out here.”
“Got it, sweetie. Take care and give my love to the guys.”
She hung up and walked out of the booth. She presented it to Sully by holding her arm out as she smiled. “It’s all yours, sir.”
He grinned. “Thank you, Miss.” He stepped into the phone booth to make his call.
Kit strutted into the bar where the rest of the guys were shooting pool. As she walked over, Bryan meowed at her. She chuckled. “Nice, Bry.”
The club owner came over to them. “Five minutes, guys. Where’s your lead singer?”
Jimmy rolled his eyes and exchanged an annoyed look with Kit. “I’ll go get him.”
The weeks did fly by like days, or even hours out on the road. It was now the end of July and they had put thousands of miles on Bryan’s van, selling out lots of shows throughout the country. Their momentum was heavy and their popularity was gaining rapidly. Alexa’s brilliant idea of getting her old sorority involved had worked like magic.
They were headed to Athens, scheduled to play a few sold out shows at bars near the University of Georgia. Florida was next with more sold out shows on the roster. Their following was primarily female, but that didn’t seem to matter. They were loyal fans who ate up the crappy T-shirts Tony and Remo had made and bought up the autographed pictures from Maxine’s photo shoot at the tail-end of last year.
Things were on a roll, but the clock was ticking down for Kit. Once they completed their Florida shows, she would have to fly home on her own, leaving them there to drive back across the country on their own. She had to return home to start her second year of law school. She knew UCLA Law would not be accommodating to her running around the country managing a big haired rock band.
They had spent the night in the van, not finding anywhere with suitable lodging without going off their set track. When they finally got on the road in the afternoon, Kit realized she had been wearing the same clothes for two days. She didn’t want to have to change in another truck stop or gas station bathroom, plus they needed to make time so they wouldn’t be late to the show. As they got closer to their destination, Bryan pulled over as he usually did so the band could change into their clothes for the show. They had no problem quickly changing in front of her. When it came time for her to change, though, all of them stared at her with silly grins on their faces, except Sully.
He finally turned around and glared at them. “Guys, give her some privacy, c’mon. She’s outnumbered.” He shook his head and scrounged through a pile in the van until he found a blanket. He held it up, turning his back to Kit, positioning the blanket so that the rest of the guys couldn’t see anything. He stared at them. “Show’s over guys.” They walked away, wandering around the dusty road, while Sully remained, dutifully holding the blanket, staring out at the road.
Kit grinned and watched him as she zipped up the back of her skirt. She was ready to go, finally. “Ok, Sull. I’m good.”
He turned around and dropped the blanket. He grinned. “You look great, Kit-Kat.”
She smiled. “Thank you.” She leaned out of the van. “C’mon guys, let’s get back on the road. Let’s go onto the show!”
The show was fast and furious. Kit struggled to keep up with the demands of the fans at the merchandise table, glad she’d sent in an order to print more T-shirts and photographs a week prior and have them shipped out. They were selling like hot cakes.
The guys mingled with their fans and talked with local promoters, even college DJs, who were inquiring about their demo. After the fan traffic subsided for Kit, the promoter and DJ traffic ensued and she was overloaded. She did her best to accommodate them, frantically handing out her business cards like they were slices of bread to a bunch of starving men.
They finally left the venue at one a.m. Half the band was drunk, the other half tipsy. Kit was none of the above and got the delightful chore of driving the van to the local, cheap motel where they would all cram themselves into a seedy room for the night.
Kit giggled at how funny the whole scene was. She had slept in a bed with each and every member of the band at least once, if not twice, during the tour. When it came to touring, sleep deprivation, and crappy motel rooms, sex appeal and desire went out the window.
She recalled one night she ended up in a king-sized bed, sleeping between Bryan and Jimmy and feeling like a five year old sleeping in between two big brothers. Not one of them tried anything with her and she was eternally grateful. She had earned their respect.
She pulled into the motel and got the key to their room. They all trailed behind her up to the room like she was the pied piper. Sully stopped and yelled to her. “I’m gonna go make a call.”
Bryan slurred his words as he spoke, leaning on Kit as she unlocked the door. “He’s really got it bad for that girl, huh? He can’t stop calling her.”
Kit chuckled. “Looks that way. Oh, our Sully, just a little lovesick puppy. Ok, guys, two double beds. Go.” She pointed to them and they all started playing rock paper scissors to see who would get the luxury of sleeping in a bed. Kit joined in after Remo was out. He ran toward the bathroom. “I call bathtub!”
She rolled her eyes and kept playing. She was cast out quickly. Bryan and Jimmy had scored a bed and so had Tony. Now she, Sully, and Remo had to duke it out for that final slot. She thought it was too much trouble. She yelled out. “Remo!”
He came out of the bathroom with a toothbrush in his mouth. “Yeah?”
“You’ve got the bed. Sully and I will figure it out later. I’m gonna go get some candy.” She walked out and made her way down the stairs where she saw Sully talking on the phone inside the booth. He didn’t look happy.
She made her way over to the vending machine and got some Junior Mints. She opened the box, poured a few into her hand, and popped them into her mouth. As she was headed back to the stairs that led to the hotel room, she looked over at the phone booth again.
Sully’s head hung low. He shook his head, said something, and slammed down the receiver. He pounded the frame of the phone booth with his fist. He felt eyes on him and looked across the parking lot where Kit was standing. He shook his head. She felt bad for him and hoped to cheer him up. She smiled at him, held up something, and pointed.
He made his way across the parking lot. “Hey. What do you have there?”
She smiled, her mouth full, dark chocolate oozing through her teeth. She giggled. “Junior Mint?”
His anger quickly melted and he burst out laughing. “Yes, I’d love a Junior Mint. You’re such a goof.”
She poured a few into his palm. “Junior Mints make everyone happy. At least they work with me in a pinch. Either that or a good bottle of Irish whisky when I’m really pissed off.”
He laughed again. “Was I that obvious over there?”
She nodded and grinned. “Yep. Do I have to keep feeding you Junior Mints or do we need to hit the stronger stuff?”
He sighed. “The stronger stuff would be good if you’re game.”
She pointed. “As luck would have it there’s a biker bar across the highway.” She held out her arm. “Shall we?” He linked his arm in hers and grinned.
They made their way across the highway and walked in. Sully’s look wasn’t exactly embraced and they instantly felt like they were in enemy territory. They exchanged looks. The gentlemen of the bar seemed to take a liking to Kit, though, and that alone made it fairly manageable for at least one drink.
They took their seats side by side at the bar. She looked at him. “How bad is it, babe? Are we doing shots?”
He looked at her and nodded. “Do we have shots money?”
“Maybe. Let me see what I can do.” She purposely leaned on the bar, pressin
g her cleavage into it, so much that the bartender dropped a glass and broke it. Sully sat next her and snickered.
She smiled at the bartender and lured him over with her finger. He walked over, dumbstruck and smiling. She leaned over even more and whispered in his ear breathlessly. “Can you help me and my friend out? Seems I forgot my money back at the motel and you don’t want me to go all the way back there do you? We just want a few shots. Nothing fancy. Can you help us out? I love Jameson.”
He smiled at her. “I can help you out, darlin.’ Coming right up.”
She giggled. “I knew I could count on you. Thank you, sweetie.” She winked at him. Moments later, he pushed two shots each toward them.
He looked at her. “Just let me know when you need more, ok?”
She nodded. “Thank you, handsome.”
Sully knocked back his first shot, then his second quickly. He looked at her and grinned as she did the same. “That poor man. You’ve hypnotized him. He thinks he has a chance at getting down your pants, but in truth, he’s got a snowball’s chance in hell. Poor guy.”
Kit smiled. “Hey, do you want shots or what? I worked it out. Better doing that than spending our hard earned cash from your show tonight. What’s up, Foxx? What’s eatin’ you? You looked pretty pissed back there. Girl trouble?”
He kicked back two more shots, pushed to him by Kit’s new admirer. “There is no more girl and there goes my image. Fuck!”
Kit stared at him for a moment and then noticed she had two shots waiting for her. She did them quickly, feeling the rush, and realizing that she was starting to get buzzed. “Sull, you know you have a place to say. Veri said you can live in the condo before it’s legally official.”
He looked at her. “I should have this figured out by now, Kit. I should be able to navigate a relationship. And I should be making money too. If I didn’t have Joe’s condo, I’d be homeless, yet again.”
She rolled her eyes. “So what? The money thing is only temporary and so is the image thing… until you start bringing in some big cash or you find another famous girlfriend.” She tried to hold back her laughter, but it burst out, without her control.