Page 2 of Legendary Rock Star
As I opened the bottle of water, the door to the lounge flew open.
I stood as the pretty blonde came toward me, until she pivoted toward the refrigerator and took out a bottle of water.
Of course. I should have known.
She gulped down a whole bottle and tossed the empty into the recycle bin. I followed her lead and tossed my own in after it. I moved closer to her and my hair stood on its ends as I said, “Congrats.”
“You’re Phoenix Steel?” she said, as she grabbed my hand and shook it, sending a shockwave through me.
In the next show she’d wear jeans that fit, I thought, and the show after that, a form-fitting dress. She’d slowly come out of her shell like she was growing for the cameras.
And the audience would love her.
My own body was hard, like I wanted her, which was strange. Virginal types weren’t my norm. But no woman gave me trembling skin like this. It was probably still just the adrenaline, I thought, as I simply answered, “Yes.”
I’d heard the announcer say her name, but it wasn’t on the tip of my tongue. I coughed, about to ask, but she just beamed a lightness that came from her soul and I lost the ability to speak for a second, until she said, “Good to meet the competition. You were good tonight.”
Score one for her. Clearly. I took my hand back, but instantly missed the fire that I’d just touched. I shoved my hand in my pocket so I wouldn’t seem like a twelve-year-old boy meeting a girl he liked and hoping he’d get a kiss. I said, “You were better.”
She gulped a second water like she’d been parched. Once she finished, she took a deep breath and I noticed that, underneath the all-black-to-her-toes outfit, her figure might just be curvy.
And I loved curves. The more a girl had, the better I liked her. And a nice backside.
If she had that, I was a complete sucker. But I wasn’t twelve anymore and she wasn’t the first girl I’d ever noticed, so I widened my stance.
She again commanded the room when she said, “Now that’s good to hear. And true.”
“Confident.” I straightened my shoulders, half wondering what she’d do or say next. She was like some sort of goddess right now.
And then she placed her hand on her hip and stuck it out a little as she adjusted her pose.
“Unlike you, I’m not here for a second chance,” she said. “I’m here for my first one, and I’m not going to lose that.”
Direct wasn’t something I was used to anymore. So the challenge was on the table. But I had always found that I had the ability to charm people and make them laugh as a means to get what I wanted. And I might just want this woman.
My skin still had goosebumps from that contact, and I reveled in sensations I’d not had in years. I said, “I get it. I screwed up my life and lost everything once, but I don’t intend to do that again. And I’m not the one looking to break the chains of parental oppression.”
“Your choice of words is extreme.”
“It’s better to live dangerously than to die without ever following your own desires.”
She pivoted on her shoes and her long, dowdy dress swooshed with her as she said, “Well, it was nice talking to you.”
I’d been rude. She clearly had different parents than my own. I probably should apologize. Then, like the sun coming out of the sky on a cloudy day, I remembered and called out, “Carrigan?”
“Yes?” she asked, and moved a little closer. I could smell her perfume that reminded me of early morning dew on roses.
And that smile of hers was brilliant. Seriously. She could melt hearts over her cereal, including mine at the moment. Though mine was broken and still on ice.
I just wanted a few more minutes with her as this was probably our only chance to talk as friends.
Once the competition started, I had to find her weakness, expose it and make myself seem like a good guy in the process.
But that was how reality TV was played. And we’d both agreed to the game. For now, though, it was just us. So I pointed to the door and asked, “Want to get something to eat?”
Her gaze narrowed as she asked, “With you?”
Fair. I wouldn’t trust me either. But I stood in front of the door and said, “Why not? You just told the televised world that you’re single, and you didn’t join your parents at your hotel.”
