Thrill! (35 page)

"I've got you an appointment with Mick tomorrow morning at seven,"

she announced triumphantly.

"You cannot be late."

"Seven!"

he groaned.

"That's kinda early."

She picked up the remote, clicking off the TV.

"I did as you asked, Joey,"

she said quietly.

"I compromised myself."

242

He stood up.

"How'd you do that?"

"I almost threatened Nikki I'd walk off the movie, which wasn't very nice of me."

"Well, yeah, but we've both discovered you're not as nice as everyone thinks,"

he said, putting his arms around her waist, pulling her close and running his hands over her body.

"You give out this aura of goodness, but underneath you're nothin"

but a bad little sexpot!"

"Is that what you think?"

she asked, shivering.

"C'mere, beautiful,"

he said, bending her back and kissing her passionately on the mouth.

"Gotta tell you - I missed you all day."

"You did?"

she said, luxuriating in his kisses.

"Every second."

"What did you do?"

"Worked out, swam. Mrs C. cooked me eggs, an"

I took a look at your CD collection. You do know it's in need of serious work."

"As if I have time to go to Tower and browse."

"Hey - let's go together."

"I get recognized in public places."

"How

"bout we disguise you? Like Michael Jackson."

"Michael Jackson is recognized everywhere he goes. And if I put on a white surgical mask and gloves, I'd be recognized too."

"We'll get you a short black wig an"

big shades. Or maybe we'll dress you up as a little boy."

"A little boy?"

she asked, laughing.

"Naw, a teenager. You could pass for a teenager, you're kinda flatchested."

"So now I'm flatchested, am I?"

she said, pretending to be exasperated.

"Not exactly."

He laughed, tweaking her nipples.

"They're big enough for me."

She picked up a magazine, slamming him on the head.

He held up his hands, protecting himself. They both collapsed laughing on the couch.

He enfolded her in his arms, holding her close against him. He'd never had a relationship like this with anyone, and he liked it.

243 Not only was Lara staggeringly beautiful and famous, she was genuinely nice. And warm and caring and sexy and fun. How had he finally gotten so lucky?

She snuggled into his chest, totally content.

"I usually get home from a day like this dead to the world,"

she murmured.

"Now you're bringing out somebody in me I didn't know still existed."

He looked at her with a quizzical expression.

"You tellin"

me you'd forgotten how to have fun?"

"My past relationships were very staid. Richard's much older than me."

"I noticed."

"Lee was sweet."

"Sweet don't cut it, babe,"

he said, enclosing her breasts with his hands, working on her nipples.

"I bet he couldn't excite you the way I do, huh?"

She struggled to sit up.

"Joey - this is crazy. We've been together such a short time, and yet . . . sometimes I feel I've been with you all my life."

"It's called soulmates,"

he said, suddenly serious.

She stood up.

"Oh, that's what it's called, is it?"

He got up, too.

"What did Nikki say? Yes, I'll put Joey in the movie, I'll fire Aiden Sean and give him that role."

"Oh, sure, I really want you playing the rapist."

He walked over to the bar, opened the fridge and extracted a can of beer.

"I was readin"

through the script today,"

he said, flipping open the can.

"It's pretty heavy stuff."

"I know."

"Do you trust this Mick Stefan guy? He may be a hot director, but is he for you? You're playin"

against your image bigtime."

"I know that, too."

"You gotta consider your fans,"

he said, swigging from the can.

"Why d'you think they go see you?"

"Because I'm a good actress?"

she said flippantly.

"They go see you

"cause you send out this aura, this image."

"I do?"

"You got it all, babe. You're beautiful an"

nice. You're what every guy dreams about - the sexy good girl."

244

"I'm glad you added sexy,"

she said with a soft smile.

"Let's analyse it,"

he said.

"Why was I so attracted to you?

"Cause - truth is - I've had a lot of women."

"Before you were engaged, I presume,"

she said archly.

"No question,"

he replied seriously.

"I'm a big believer in fidelity

- aren't you?"

"Yes,"

she said, equally serious.

"I absolutely believe in it, Joey. After my experience with Richard, I vowed no man will ever cheat on me again."

"What would you do,"

he asked teasingly,

"if you'd come home today and found me in bed with a girl?"

"That's not a good question."

"No, c'mon, tell me,"

he urged.

"Would you have blown my head off? Kicked me out? Screamed at me? At her>. What would you have done?"

Td have walked away,"

she said calmly.

"Simply walked away."

"Oh, no, baby,"

he said confidently.

"There's no way you could walk away from me."

For a moment her green eyes darkened.

"Don't bet on it, Joey. Don't ever bet on it. I'm stronger than you think."

if ft

By the time Nikki arrived at the Malibu house Richard was drunk again.

"This is getting to be a habit,"

she said coldly.

"I thought your drinking days were behind you."

"What's the matter?"

he asked belligerently.

"Aren't I allowed to relax?"

Oh, God! Not another fight.

"You still working on post?"

she asked, walking into the kitchen.

"Everything's done,"

he said, following her.

"Where's Summer?"

"Out,"

he replied, still bad-tempered.

"Listen, Richard,"

she said, determined to clear things up,

"it was you who encouraged me to get involved in producing. I thought you wanted me to make this film."

245 "I didn't tell you to drag Lara into it, put her together with a piece-of-shit director and ruin her career,"

he said curtly.

"You're using your connections, and I don't like it."

"Lara wants to do my film,"

she said, opening the fridge and removing two steaks neatly enclosed in Saran-wrap.

"She's only doing it because of me,"

he said, sourly.

"If that's what you think,"

she said, placing the steaks on the grill.

"You wouldn't even know Lara if it wasn't for me."

"What kind of remark is that?"

"The truth."

"I'm sorry you feel this way,"

she said flatly, not ready to get into another fight.

"Can we discuss it later? Right now I'm fixing dinner."

Later, he was too drunk, and they went to bed not speaking.

# # ft

Summer and Tina went back to Club Pot, where they danced all night, sometimes with each other, sometimes with a selection of different guys. They finally sat down, their hard tanned young bodies glistening with sweat.

"Last night Mick Stefan and Aiden Sean were at my mom's house,"

Summer confided.

"Can you imagine*. Mick almost crapped! While stupid Aiden pretended he so didn't know me."

"Thatdick!"

Tina said scornfully.

"And you know what I did?"

"What?"

"Took a cab to his stinky old apartment and told him what a phoney he was."

Tina raised an eyebrow.

"You did that?"

"Well. . ."

Summer giggled.

"Actually, I went there to get him to sleep with me. But he wouldn't do it. I think he must be gay."

"Really?"

"I don't see why else he wouldn't."

"Y'know, Summer,"

Tina said thoughtfully,

"if it's a movie star you want, /can get you plenty."

246

"No way,"

Summer said.

"Way,"

Tina boasted.

"And - here's the kicker - they'll pay you to do stuff. Big big bucks!"

"Wow!"

Summer responded, thinking that getting paid for anything at all was a really wild idea.

"If you're serious, I'll arrange it,"

Tina said casually.

"Only if I do - you can't fink out on me."

"Go ahead,"

Summer said boldly.

"I'm up for anything."

"Are you sure?"

Tina asked. "Cause I'm not playing games. This is the real thing, and if I bring you in, there's no way you can let me down."

"I wouldn't do that."

"OK. I'll set it up. Call me in the morning."

Another adventure. Summer couldn't wait.

247

^^^^Jjl UNFAIRLY INCARCERATED for stalking and ^^^PI^P^^ attacking her best friend, Alison Sewell spent most of her time in jail plotting and planning the revenge she would wreak when she got out. Her eighteen-month sentence was automatically reduced to half. Nine months inside. Pregnant with hate for the woman who'd put her there.

Lara Ivory. Bitch. Whore. She wasn't a friend after all, she was the enemy, exactly like the rest of the morons Alison had to deal with.

Lara Ivory had fooled everyone with her beautiful face. But Alison realized the face was merely a cover for the evil woman who lurked within.

As soon as she got out, Alison knew she had to do something about the bad seed that was Lara Ivory.

Yes, she'd wipe the sweet smile off Lara's ugly face for ever.

Meanwhile she had prison to deal with, and no camera to hide behind. And as each day passed, her thirst for revenge grew.

248

^^^^Jil

"WHERE'D YOU study?"

Mick asked, swinging V^^P^Bw** back in the chair behind his desk, legs splayed in front of him, beady eyes behind his heavy glasses crinkled in a deep squint.

"Does it matter?"

Joey asked, trying to figure out a way to get through to this asshole. He knew the guy hated him, had to hate him. He was too goodlooking for most men, especially someone like Mick, with his wild hair, pointed face and geeky clothes. However, Joey knew there had to be a way to connect, there always was.

"LA, New York, where?"

Mick pressed.

"I, uh ... I kinda studied around New York,"

Joey said, purposely keeping it vague.

"Actin"

class, workshops, things like that. Then I got a break in Solid.''

"Thought I'd seen you somewhere before,"

Mick said, squinting even more ferociously.

"How come nothin"

happened after that?"

"Family problems took me back home for a while,"

Joey mumbled.

"Soon as I hit New York again, I scored the role in The Dreamer.''

"An"

that's where you met Lara, huh?"

Mick said, wriggling his ankles.

"She's a real cool babe-chick. Some freakin"

looker."

"She sure is,"

Joey agreed.

Mick leered.

"Pretty nice when you get

"em great looking an"

they wanna get you a job."

All of a sudden Joey got it, he knew exactly how to bond with

249 this cretin.

"I'm fucking her, why shouldn't I be in her movie?"

he said calmly.

This was the kind of talk Mick understood.

"Got it!"

he said, a huge beam covering his pointed face.

"Hey -1 can bump somebody if I gotta. There's like this older detective with a younger partner. I was into the younger guy being black, no reason it couldn't be you."

He tossed a script across the desk, burping loudly.

"Course, I'll havta dump the black actor, which means the NAACP'll cream my ass, but who gives a shit? Page fifty-two - wanna read?"

Joey held the script.

"Who'm I readin"

with?"

"Me,"

Mick said, getting up and walking around the desk. Til play the older detective. Used t'be an actor, y'know."

"Yeah?"

"You don't have much to say, but you'll be there, keepin"

watch on your girlfriend."

He snickered.

"She's gotta be something in the sack, huh? Wild legs. Those classy ones got it all goin'."

"You could say that,"

Joey replied, searching for the right page.

Mick winked, happy with Joey's reply.