The Complete Groupie Trilogy (5 page)

The longer I thought about it the more steamed I got. Boy, did he have some nerve! Was he romancing me just to get some free press? Or was it funny to watch the little groupie get her hopes up only to laugh about it later with his superstar model girlfriend?

My phone buzzed and I saw it was Vanni finally checking in. It was all I could do not to chuck the phone out the window. I silenced it and didn’t give him another (kind) thought all the way back to the hotel.

As much as I wanted to avoid doing so I inhaled that manila folder with all the press clippings of Vanni and Lourdes within the first 30 minutes I was back in my room. Each word stabbed me in the gut. They met at Jasper’s and Athena’s Labor Day extravaganza and had been inseparable ever since. Movie premieres, art shows, even the Christmas tree being lit at Rockefeller Center – all of these events had proven prime publicity opportunities for the new (gorgeous) couple.

In fact they were so stunning side by side it was hard to look directly at the photo. He looked so far different from the man who had gyrated against me in a near-drunken haze at
a nondescript Philadelphia bar.

What kinds of dirty thoughts might he be whispering in Lourdes’s ear? Or more importantly, what kinds of things would she be whispering back?

I threw the folder back down onto the table in disgust. Did I really harbor some romantic notion that he and I would have had a hot, steamy week amidst all the glamor and glitz of the rock and roll life?

I couldn’t believe what a twit I’d been. I was half-tempted to check out of the hotel, go back to the airport and return on an earlier flight. But I couldn’t do that to Iris, especially since she had warned me ahead of time what kind of man Vanni truly was. I had just preferred not to listen, all the while denying what I had really wa
nted to come to New York to do.

Getting my foot in the door was only part of the reason I booked the flight nearl
y two weeks after Philadelphia.

I wanted Giovanni, in large part due to the fact he wanted me too. It made me feel special, wanted, sexy, desirable.

All those feelings dissipated the moment I saw Lourdes in Vanni’s arms, his large hands encircling her teeny waist as he smiled big for every camera.

He really had hit the big time.

My phone buzzed again but this time I didn’t even check to see who it was. I left it vibrating on the table while I went to find sanctuary and self-satisfaction in the whirlpool tub.

I was roused the next morning by incessant knocking on my hotel door. I trudged to the door, peaked through the peep hole and then opened t
he door to a near-frantic Iris.

“Where have you been?”

“Asleep,” I informed her as I wiped my eyes. “And I’d like to return to it, if you don’t mind.”

“As a matter of fact, I do,” she said as she burst through the door like a force of nature. We have a busy schedule today. Rehearsals. Radio. Jasper’s party tonight. You got the itinerary, didn’t you?”

I nodded but couldn’t muster even a tenth of her enthusiasm. She was all over it. “So what’s wrong? Why aren’t you ready?”

I hesitated. It would be hard to explain. The entertainment industry didn’t stop for bruised egos; if it did nothing would ever get done. “Jet lag?” I offered.

She crossed her arms and pursed her lips. “C’mon, Andy. What’s up? You were so excited the last time I talked to you. This is your big break.”

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. Yes, indeed. A huge break to work essentially for free and have my newfound romantic dreams crushed underfoot in the process. But as soon as the sigh escaped my lips I immediately regretted it. It wasn’t fair to Iris to flake out now, especially after all she did for me to help me with something I said I wanted.

All the Vanni stuff was just a fantasy, one that I hadn’t even shared with her, so it was pointless to sit in my hotel and pout over something that was so clearly a non-issue.

“I’m sorry, Iris. I really didn’t feel well last night and went straight to bed.”

Iris switched into caregiver mode and ran over to me, cupping her hand against my forehead. “You’re not getting sick, are you?”

I shook my head. “Migraine mostly.” It was a cheap excuse but generally effective given my propensity for crippling headaches. Plus it wasn’t really technically a lie considering I gave myself a headache the night before as I tried to piece together Vanni’s new ro
mance.

It was especially tough not sharing that with her. As one of my dearest friends she usually heard about anything that happened in my nearly non-existent love life anyway. She was the one who put things in perspective, and now I felt as though I had to hide things from her. With Vanni the rules had suddenly, though subtly, changed.

“You’re in the fast lane now, sweetie. No one has time for migraines. Take an aspirin and let’s get going.”

Within about twenty minutes Iris got me showered, dressed, groomed and out the door. It was a good thing I wasn’t one to spend a half an hour in front of a mirror getting my makeup just so, or else we’d have been screwed.

Instead I applied my eyeliner, powdered my face and obscured myself behind heavy, black-framed glasses and followed Iris as she hailed a cab.

I wanted to ask her if Vanni had asked about me but I knew that was pointless. Why would he ask her about me? No one knew that he had invited me to come and made exciting innuendo of what would happen if I did. Instead he was publicly dating a South American Amazon. We were so far apart on the female spectrum it was like comparing apples to oboes. How could I compete with that? I’m not the kind of girl who would ever try.

“So I hear that Vanni is dating,” I mentioned as casually as possible.

Iris gave me a knowing smile. “You know our Vanni. So many women. So little time.”

Indeed.

Her noncommittal answer didn’t help my mood much. I was left to fill in the blanks and they were all bad. The closer we got to the studio the more my stomach tied itself into a knot. I wanted to see him as much as I wanted to run away. I had indulged a hot and heavy fantasy or two about those hands… that mouth… that hard body pressed against mine. I shivered just thinking about it. To see it all again in one sexy package and know it was now out of my reach
was a KO punch to the old ego.

The only upside was maybe during rehearsal he’d have a shirt on.

I trotted to keep up with Iris once the cab dropped us off at our destination. She flashed her badge and had an easy smile for each and every person that stood between us and the band. Though I had credentials clutched in my sweaty palm I didn’t need to identify myself. Apparently being with Iris was good enough.

Just like high school.

She led me down a dark hallway and finally we entered a room behind a huge glass window. Engineers sat working a soundboard with all the knobs and buttons and switches that were as alien to me as a space ship dashboard. The band performed on the other side of the window, something heavy, raw and familiar. It was my favorite song from the demo tracks he had sent me.

He had a shirt on, but he was still just as dangerously sexy with the long, wild hair and snug jeans. He had his eyes closed as he sang, so I allowed myself a moment just to soak him in. It was a painful moment – like looking at the last slice of cheesecake on someone else’s plate.

When he opened his eyes he caught sight of me where I stood just behind Iris. He smiled wide and if I didn’t know better he looked extremely happy to see me.

I tried my best not to let it go to my head, but I couldn’t help but give him a big smile in return. It was almost as if I had forgotten, at least momentarily, that he lied to me about having a girlfriend.

Like he owed me anything.

The band took a break after the song and Vanni quickly made his way into the sound booth to give me a big hug that lifted me right off my feet. “He
y you,” he whispered in my ear.

I didn’t say anything as I pulled away, and before I knew it I was whisked into Iain’s arms for a friendly, brotherly hug and big kiss on the cheek. Yael and Felix were a little more reserved, speaking mostly to the engineer.

Vanni turned to me. “You didn’t answer my calls. I thought maybe you didn’t make it to town.”

“I made it,” I stated unnecessarily. “I was just busy. I had to meet with Jasper yesterday.”

He nodded as if he accepted the excuse, but didn’t totally buy it.

“She had a migraine,” Iris filled in. “She gets monster headaches periodically.”

“Aw,” he said as he put his arm around me. “If I had known that I would have come over and given you a massage.”

Iris giggled and then turned back to
the other members of the band.

Vanni bent closer. “You know, I have the perfect cure for a headache.”

My eyebrow rose. “What’s that? A girlfriend?”

My words hit him like I had hoped, but he didn’t look half as contrite as I wanted him to.  He just grinned at me and pulled me into another hug. “Don’t believe everything you hear,” he whispered near my ear, with hot breath that nearly had me buckle at the knees.

What was he saying?

He released me and went back to complete another track. It was his ode to sex, and memories of his first time with an older woman who took him in hand and showed him the ropes. I had only heard the song before, seeing
it was an entirely new experience altogether. The way he moved his body, the come hither expression on his face, all of it was designed for the maximum effect: total sexual annihilation. Somewhere Jim Morrison would be so proud.

I shifted in my seat whenever he stole a glance in my direction. The hooded look in his eyes reminded me all too well of how his mouth felt against my skin or his arms felt circling my body. I kept hearing him say, “Don’t believe everything you hear,” with such sincerity it resurrected my lascivious dreams for the week.

It suddenly became a top priority to hear his part of the interview, if only our afternoon would allow time for it.

One more song and we were off, heading toward a radio station in a company car. Vanni poured champagne for Iris and I, who shared the ride. Apparently the band had decided that he would be their representative for media interviews initially, and everyone else opted to stay behind at the studio.

I almost wished that Iris had felt the same, but this was her baby. She ran his PR campaign like a well-oiled machine, which required micromanaging like only Iris could provide.

Instead I had to settle for the feeling of his arm along the back of the seat, where I sat wedged between them. I tried not to think about how the line of his body was flush against mine, or the deep look he’d send my way periodically with that smirk that indicated a juicy secret just between the two of us.

I tried also not to think about the heat of his body or the smell of his skin. Instead I threw back two glasses of champagne just to give my mouth something to do.

By the time the car pulled to a stop I was already feeling the inebriating effects of the effervescent wine. Vanni helped me out of the car and I had to hang onto his arm to avoid stumbling and embarrassing myself. Iris was either blissfully oblivious or she was mercifully using discretion, but she paid me little to no mind as she led our little parade into the radio station’s lobby.

As she went to check us in, Vanni pulled me back by the hand and whispered, “I’m glad you’re here.”

I tipped my head back up to look him in the eye. “Are you?” I said just as softly.

“Give me a chance and I’ll show you,” he said, as he twirled a fingertip just inside my palm.

Funny. I never knew that was an erogenous zone before that exact moment. You learn something new every day.

“Come on, guys,” Iris called from across the room, and we followed behind her like obedient children.

There was a flurry of activity once we got into the studio. Iris and I sat off to the side while Vanni put on his headphones and got situated in front of the microphone. I opened up my notepad and took shorthand notes of the interview as it progressed, even though I basically knew the answers to all the fa
irly pedestrian questions.

All except for one:

“So Vanni, will you be spending your holiday birthday with your girlfriend, Lourdes?”

Vanni noticeably didn’t look my direction as he laughed at the question. “I’m not the kind of guy to kiss and tell, man,” he sidestepped. “But it wouldn’t be a birthday without beautiful women to share it with, would it?”

“Come on, dude,” the radio host cajoled. “Give us the exclusive. All of New York wants to know if you and Lourdes are as hot and heavy as you appear in the tabloids.”

For that, Vanni looked over at me. He didn’t wink, but I somehow sensed he wanted to. “New York will have its answer soon enough, Mike. Stay tuned.”

Always leave them wanting more
.

Iris nudged me with a smile. “That’s your exclusive,” she said, brimming with confidence.

Yay, me.

As we were leaving Vanni tried to steal me away by saying we could share a cab up to the hotel, for that all-important interview that needed to be done. Iris wasn’t having it. She insisted that we needed to go shopping for something to wear at Jasper’s big party that night, and tha
t he’d just have to be patient.