The Rock Star Next Door, a Modern Fairytale (6 page)

Chapter Four

Kyra and Mike’s engagement party was held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.

Jessie was led about the magnificent staterooms on the a
rm of Lex
. She felt like Cinderella
and feared the prince
beside her would find tattered
rags beneath her dazzling gown.

True legends, the real r
ock stars smiled
at her
as he introduced Jessie to the
m
.
Many were
longtime friends of Lex and Mike. Jessie was breathless, unable to bring for
th words in the presence of the immortal ones. She smiled,
nodde
d politely
and
focused on breathing
while they talked about their go
lf swings
,
their
yoga instructors
and the upcoming Grammy Awards Gala
.

Jessie couldn’t have been more uncomfortable if she were attending her high school prom without a d
ate. She
really
was
Cinderella, a phony among
r
ock royalty. She’d been cleverl
y disguised
in a designer gown--her first one
.
Kyra had an excel
lent eye for fashion.
She claimed
the
sleek gold
silk
complimented Jessie’s
flame red
hair to per
fection and brought a natural glow to her complexion.
Kyra, being the dedicated fashionista,
even provided
Jessie with
one of those push up bra numb
ers that made her breasts
look about two sizes bigger than reality.
Her diamond necklace and earrings were rented for the evening by a jeweler in Beverly Hills. Professional stylists
descended upon their Malibu home earli
er in the day
.
Jessie’s long
hair had been swept up into a seductive tangle. Perfect copper corkscrew curls tickled her neck and shoulders as she moved her head. As the photographers’ constant flashes blinded her, she was grateful for her prince’s steadying arm.

Kyra was luminescent
in a dusty rose silk gown. The natural blonde exuded a
seductive, giggly persona rivaling the legendary Marilyn
Monroe. At least, that was Jessie’s impression
. Kyra was glowing from within, whether it was from Mike’s love or the adoration of the photographers and journalists was anyone’s guess. It didn’t matter. This was her moment, Jessie realized, watching as Mike placed a cautious kiss on her ivory cheek as the crowd applauded.

“
Lex
.
” Ruby Star, the famous cross-dressing diva
of tabloid
gossip rounded on the pair, his/her
cameramen bringing up the ranks as she shoved a microphone at him. “You’ve been hiding from us for
so long
. . .” The glam queen drawled out the last two words with a gleam of amusement in her garishly pa
inted eyes. “And look
,
Jessica Kelly on your arm. I see your drummer is not the only one smitten by the women of
Heartless.”

The reporter tur
ned to the cameras,
“
Ou La La
, a double wedding I see in the offing
.
Tell
me;
was it love at first sight?”
He
shoved a microphone into Lex’s
face again without batting an
eyebrow at the
rude interrogation. Such was the species of news hawkers who followed the luminaries of tinsel town, pushy and ruthless in their quest for scandal.

“Yes.” L
ex gave Ruby Star a sexy smile
. “From the moment I saw her, I said to myself,
‘
this is the girl I’m going to marry
.’
”

Jessie’s jaw went slack as she gave Lex an astonished look.

Ruby Star didn’t hesitate, obviously not expecting a profuse denial from Jessi
e for the quick words from the r
ock legend.
“Well, there you have it
; Lex h
as found the girl of his dreams.
And you heard it first
from Ruby Star
--cut.” The drag queen
turned quickly
and spoke to cameraman about the
exclusive
and took out his cell phone and started pushing buttons furiously as he broadcast the news via social media
.

Jessie was speech
less. The instant Ruby Star’s
back was
turned;
Lex propelled her away
from the ravenous cameras
and into the shadows of a portico.

“Why did you . . . how could you--” Her protest was cut short as his lips captured hers in a hungry embrace. Startled, she surrendered to the warmth of his caress. Liquid fire enveloped her with the devastation of a
lightning
bolt.  A hunger grew deep inside as Lex lingered, brushing frenzied kisses over her mouth like a lover who had just been reunited with his lady after a long, tortuous separation. 

“Jess,”  Steve loomed behind them. “They’re asking for you.”

Breathless, Jessie edged away fr
om Lex, unable to speak
about what just happened between them as she brushed the moisture from her swollen, tingling lips.

Steve took her arm, leading Jessie to the platform where Kyra, Jack,
and Darrell had assembled for
group publicity shots arranged by their manager and StarSign Records. “Are you all right?” He stopped at the foot of the platform. “You look upset.”

“Y
eah.
” Jessie breathed, looking past him to the corner of the room where Lex leaned against a
white
marble colonnad
e, his arms crossed. He was a dark silhouette against the pale marble
. He was watching
her
. S
he could feel the blaze of desire i
n those sultry
blue eyes.

She didn’t know if she should be happy . . . or afraid.  

Jessie clung to Steve’s arm after the cameras were sated from their frenzied feeding of star flesh. She tugged at him, urging him behind the platform where they would be undetected.

“What’s up?”  His intuitive sienna eyes scanned her face with worry. She wanted to hug this man for his instinctive protectiveness of her. Without hesitation, she flew into his arms. “Hey . . . Jess . . . Jess, that dude didn’t do anything I need to go over and bust his nose for, did he? Darrell’s right over there, let me get him--”

“No, Steve.
Please, just hold me, talk to me. G
od, I can't believe he did
that
.
”

“What?” Steve drew her from his slender frame, his eyes traveling up and down her body w
ith worry. “I’ll kill him, Jess.
This time,
I swear
I will
.
Kevin was
lucky.
I was stoned that night
, but this time--” 

“No. Steve, listen to me.
It’s not like that. He told
that
obnoxious Ruby Star
I was the girl he was going to marry
.
On camera
. And now Star is
tweeting
it to his followers
. . . Oh, God, this is crazy . . . what do I do? Steve, tell me what to do.
”

“
What?
”

“
It’ll be all over L
.
A
.
tomorrow
.
” Jessie went over the scene again, quoting his exact words
for Steve
, and
then related the effects of his
scorching kiss afterward.

Steve grew somber. His arm was about her waist as he scanned the crowd for a sign of the peculiar Rock legend.

Jack stumbled toward them. “Hey guys, why you hiding in there? A love tryst,
Steve! Hey dude,
I didn’
t know you had it in you
.
”  His speech was slow, lazy, and languid. Jessie knew he’d found the magic white powder again.

“Keep your voice down.
” She command
ed. “We’re just talking.”

“Lex is looking for you. I don’t know, man, he’s getting most of the media attention. I thought it was supposed to be our party.”

“No, it’s Kyra and Mike’s party, Jack. We’re here
for her, remember?
” Jessie
wanted to shake him senseless and scream at him. Why
did he always do this to her? Jack
was
infatuated
with the glitz of
Hollywood,
the heady sound of camera shutters snapping as their light
flashed across
his face. A
nd worst of all---Jack
was becoming a slave
to the magic powder flowing
freely in the City of Angels.

“W
hy don’t you go find Lex for us?
” Steve told him patiently, as if spea
king to a dull child. “Find Lex and bring him here, okay?
Think you can remember that, Jack?”

Jack nodded and shuffled off into the crowd.

“Don’t worry. H
e’ll forget as soo
n as he’s ten feet away.”

Jessie was sick inside. What could she do? How could she face that man now, or worse,
the crowded thong and all
the cameras?  “This is crazy. W
hy would he do this?”

“Attention. Media hype. People in this town do it all the time.”

“He could have asked me first, or told me after it was all a big me
dia joke. Instead, he kissed me--
really kissed me, Steve, like he meant it
.
”

“Want me to talk to him?”

“No . . .
I don’t know . . .” Jessie buried her face in his tuxedo.

“Maybe the guy’s fallen for you. I knew I would, if . . .” His sienna gaze
was tinged with sadness
. “This is a
party, Jess, a celebration not a funeral.
So
let’s
celebrate.”  Steve pulled her out onto the dance floor.

As they stepped together, parted
and came to
gether
again to the techno
beat, Jessie looked up into Steve’s handsome, narrow face, framed by a stylish mustache and goatee that made it seem even more attractive. They’d been best friends since 7th grade, soul mates, sharing every secret, their
deepest loves
and their deepest
hurts. At times, she felt like
Steve was her
true
twin, not Jack. 

Steve offered her a smile. She relaxed, letting him guide her about the dance floor as
the mu
sicians played a swing song. As he moved them about the dance floor in practiced moves he knew by heart,
Jessie worked through the
confusion Lex’s peculiar
behav
ior
wrought in her
.

“What should I do?”
She said when Steve pulled her close.

“Act like it never happened. Or better yet, laugh at it, as if it were the most ridiculous thing in the world, turn it on him.”
Steve replied and shoved her away. 

Jessie gazed across their extended arms at
her partner with awe.
That was a good idea. A very good idea.

When Steve pulled her back into his arms, she said,
“You’re probably right. He’s been out of cir
culation for a long time. Maybe he’s just playing
Ruby
Star, trying to get exposure, weird, huh?
”

Steve’s brows rose with surprise.
“This is L.A., Jess.
”

When the dance ended, applause rose about them as all admired Steve’s secret passion of dancing
. Patrick Swayze was his idol. He knew every line from
Dirty Dancing
and every song
and dance move from the movie
by heart.

Jessie stayed with Steve for the rest of the evening, hoping Lex wouldn’t find her and drag her away, hoping the vultures wouldn’t descend to interrogate her regarding their supposed be
trothal. Relief came when
the media
were shuffle
d out of the party a short time later
,
prohibited from watching the stars priva
te revels after being given a short time to mingle and interview the famous guests
.