Page 30 of Dangerous Curves

Kenndrix

By the time we reach the after party, I could care less about it, but I refuse to let Jaxx not take advantage of all the hard work he’s put into his career. He deserves to have the spotlight and red carpet and the fans screaming his name but Jaxx has always been so incredibly humble. Jaxx goes out of his way to help others and be an all-around good guy, never expecting anything in return. For years, he tried to show me how wrong I was with the way I saw myself. He tried to fix years of damage that he never had a hand in creating. I told him multiple times that he didn’t have to, but he kept insisting he wanted to. However, Jaxx sees himself differently than the rest of us. He carries around a large amount of guilt from not taking over his father’s company and the fall out that it caused. I can still see the pain lurking in the blue of his eyes.

So, when we arrive at the after party, I climb out of the car behind Jaxx, my makeup freshly touched up. We head inside. Jaxx leads us to the bar where he orders us a drink and then we scan the area. The club has been rented out for the night so that the actors could have a night to cut free without having to worry. The only non-Hollywood people in attendance are the VIP fans that paid for a pass to be here. You can easily point them out by the look of awe on their faces. The dancing strobe lights are annoying as well as the constant thump of the techno dance music the DJ is playing. This type of thing has never been my scene but I smile up at Jaxx like I’m having the time of my life because he deserves that.

Jaxx takes my hand and leads me to a table in a darkened corner, avoiding the crowd as we go. The music isn’t as bad at the table. He sits beside me, tossing and arm around my shoulders, his fingertips tracing circles around the bare skin of my shoulders. An actor I recognize easily enough, Chester Alms approaches us. “You’re a sly one.” He points at Jaxx and winks. “Did you honestly think you could slide through here unnoticed?”

Jaxx shrugs and takes a sip of his drink. “It was worth a try.”

“Well, I hate to break it to you mate. You could have snuck by with that ugly mug but this beautiful creature next to you is another story.” My cheeks flare with heat and I quickly look away. “Aw, she’s a sweetheart, isn’t she? I love when they get shy about compliments. We don’t see that nearly enough in our line of work.”

Chester pulls at a chair and takes a seat. “Well, just have a seat, why don’t you?” Jaxx teases.

“Why, thank you. You never offered, because apparently you’ve lost your manners.” Chester extends his hand across the table towards me. “Chester Alms.”

I take his hand. It’s funny how one of the top paid actors in all of Hollywood suddenly thinks he needs to take the time to introduce himself. “Kenndrix Golden.”

“Oh…I like that name.”

“Me, too,” Jaxx says, before leaning and kissing my cheek. It’s sweet but also territorial. Chester is definitely not my type. He’s a mixture of Tom Hardy and Jason Momoa. Neither of them are really my cup of tea but Chester seems nice, but then first impressions can be deceiving.

An exotic looking girl with olive skin and raven hair in a large mess of curls approaches. “So, this is where all the cool kids are hanging out.”

Her long, slinky red dress hugs her tall, slender body as she takes a seat beside Chester. Normally, being around someone who looked like her would make all my insecurities come flying back, but for the first time I feel completely secure with where Jaxx and I are. I know I still need to handle things with Ronin, but I don’t really have to worry about how he will take it. He’ll dust it off like nothing at all happened. Ronin will move onto the next girl in a blink of an eye. “Diamonique, it’s good to see you again,” Jaxx greets her.

She smiles. “It’s good to see you, too. You’ve been working nonstop from what I hear.”

Jaxx nods. “Things have been good. Diamonique, this is Kenndrix. Kenndrix, this is Diamonique, she’s a stuntwoman and we worked together on this movie as well as a few previously.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” I reply.

Her eyes, so dark they’re almost black, study me before she smiles. “You, too, and I must say I love your name.”

“Thank you. I was just thinking the same thing about yours.”

Diamonique smiles and it’s bright this time. “All thanks to my Spaniard mother and Indian father. They like unique things.”

“Can’t blame them there.” I sit back and listen to stories about the times they’ve spent on sets together. A few stories even make me cringe. I wonder just how many scars Jaxx has these days after hearing about how some of the stunts had went wrong.

With Jaxx there was always a worry of something happening to him or worse, him getting killed. His daredevil ways were always there even before he got paid for them. However, it’s one of the things that made me fall so madly in love with him. I’ve always been overly cautious. I needed his spontaneity and risk taking to balance me out. The same way he needed my constant nagging to be safe. He pushed me to my limits, while I pulled him from the ledge.

After a couple of hours, I start to yawn. I try to hold it back but it wins in the end. Jaxx places a hand on my thigh. My stomach flip flops and the fire reignites. How can one tiny gesture cause such a whirlwind of feelings? “Are you ready to go?” he asks. His breath tickling my ear lobe where his mouth hovers.

I shake my head. “No, I’m fine. We can stay.” Jaxx has laughed and smiled so much tonight, and I’ve truly enjoyed being a part of his world and hearing about things he’s done in our time apart.

Jaxx chuckles. “I’m going to go get the car. I’ll be right back.” He stands up and shakes hands with Chester and kisses Diamonique on the cheek. “It was great catching up with the two of you.” Chester stands and walks with Jaxx.

Diamonique turns to me. I expect her demeanor to change but she just smiles. “I must say, and please don’t take it the wrong way, but I like you much better than the last girl I saw him with.”

I laugh. “Who was that?”

“That curvy Brazilian wannabe famous slut.”

My eyes widen. Diamonique has been nothing but kind since she took a seat at this table. Her words shock me. “Poppy?”

She rolls her eyes. “Yes, her. It’s so clear she’s only after one thing. She wants to ride Jaxx’s coattails into super stardom but her attitude sucks. She acts like the world owes her something.”

“I’ve never met her,” I comment.

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