Trapped Under Ice (25 page)

He complied, though his face was tense with the ache to have her. She retrieved her jacket from on top of the dresser and slid it over her shoulders. He was at the door and had it opened a little. “Let me walk you out.”

She hesitated. “Okay,” she finally breathed. She bit her lower lip. This was going to take every ounce of restraint she had.

They meandered down the hall together hand in hand. They entered the elevator and Chad stared straight ahead until the doors closed. Then, he whipped around, pressing her against the back wall, kissing her with mind-numbing intensity. When the elevator came to a stop, he pulled away, leaving her breathless and wanting more. He smiled, knowing he affected her the same way she affected him.

When they got to the car, she leaned against her door for a minute with her head down. She was searching for words. “It was really nice having you here…getting to have the girls meet you…”

“Getting in a bar brawl.”

“
That
I could have done without, but it’s behind us.” She peered up at him as if to memorize his face until the next time. “Thank you for coming. And thank you for surprising me.”

Her smile cracked, lips showing an almost imperceptible quiver, and he could see tears in her eyes.

She swallowed. “These goodbyes get harder every time.”

“I know, but we’ll be together in less than a week in New York City.”

Beth’s eyes brightened. “That’s right. I’d almost forgotten.” They sat for a while without saying anything. She sighed. “Well, I guess I better go. If Cali catches me yawning tomorrow, I’ll never hear the end of it. She already thinks all we do is have sex.”

“Well, that’s not true. We played cards once.”

She swatted him on the arm. “Very funny.” She got into the car. “See you in New York.”

“See
ya.”

He watched her drive away, thinking it was far too often he sat watching her taillights fading into the distance.

***
         

Beth came off the flight still flying high. A whole weekend together. She searched the crowd for his face, her heart already beating wildly in anticipation. She scanned the faces; there were so many people. Maybe he was late. She heard a big, bass voice calling out her name. She turned to see a heavy-set, African-American man holding a sign with her name on it. He wore a suit and tie, and a little black hat over his graying hair. She couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed; Chad said he would see her at the airport.
It’ll be just a little while longer, that’s all.

Beth crossed to the man, saying as cheerfully as she could, “Hi. I’m Beth Donovan.”

The chauffeur took her bag out of her hand, bowed slightly, and extended his arm. “Right this way, Ms. Donovan.”

She followed him as he weaved through the crowd and headed toward a pair of sliding glass doors leading to the outside, where a shiny, black limo awaited. The man passed through the doors and set the suitcase down on the sidewalk for a moment to open the door for her, tipping his hat as he did so.

“Thank you.” She bent to get in. Suddenly, hands were around her hips, dragging her into the car. She laughed delightedly, “Hey,” was all she got in before her mouth was covered with Chad’s. He held her on his lap, kissing her, while the limo driver threw the bag into the back.

“It’s so good to see you. I’m sorry I didn’t come in. I just didn’t want to deal with people when…I knew…I’d…be wanting…to kiss you this way.” He punctuated each part of his sentence with a kiss.

“Ummm, this
is
better,” she agreed, smiling and kissing him back. Finally, she pulled away. “What are you wearing?” He had on a black button-down shirt with a wide collar and a handsomely tailored black suit.

“We’ve got a club opening tonight. Do you think you could find a dress in an hour?”

***
              

Chad sat uneasily in a chair outside the dressing room of a high-class shop in the middle of downtown Manhattan. He nodded to an older lady who smiled at him as she returned a dress to a rack nearby, straightening out imagined wrinkles with her hand. He was the only male in the shop and he was keenly aware of it. He leaned forward, arms resting on his knees, hands between his legs where he twiddled his thumbs. He glanced up at the sound of heels approaching. Beth was gliding toward him wearing an electric-blue strapless number that clung in all the right places.

He rose to his feet, laughing. “Holy shit!” She did a little spin for him. “Check, please?” he joked, his voice squeaking.

She laughed. “I take it you approve?”

“Oh, I
more
than approve.”

“I don’t know.” She rotated again in front of a set of triple mirrors. “I’d definitely get sent home from school for wearing this,” she murmured.

“And that’s a bad thing?” he questioned with a growl, pulling her into his arms.

She slapped at his hands. “Hands off. We’ve got to get going, remember?”

“How mad do you think Roger would be if we, say, just didn’t show up?”

“Furious, you little reprobate.” She laughed, again disengaging herself from his arms.

“We’ll take it.” He handed the saleslady a card. “Do you need anything else?”

“Well, she picked out jewelry and shoes and a purse, so I think I’m good. I’m going to pay you back for this with my next check.”

“Absolutely not. You wouldn’t even need this if you weren’t going to the opening with me.”

A second saleslady was circling Beth, removing all of the tags with a small, sharp pair of scissors. “I think you’re all ready, dear.”

Fifteen minutes later, the limo pulled up outside of a new night club. “Just stay there,” Chad said. “I’ll get your door.”

Beth’s mouth dropped when she peered out of her window. People were crowded behind roped-off lines and a red carpet led to the club’s entrance. Photographers held their cameras poised, ready to snap celebrities’ pictures. Before she had time to even take it all in, the door opened and he offered his hand, smiling as he helped her out of the limo. Immediately,
lightbulbs began flashing like fireflies on both sides of the carpet.

A reporter shoved a microphone in his face. “Chad, who’s your lady friend?”

“This is my girlfriend, Beth Donovan. You may have heard her sing with Roger and me in Kansas City.”

For a moment the concentration was taken off Chad as all heads turned to the newcomer. “Ms. Donovan. What’s it like dating a rock star?”

“Oh”—she shot Chad a look—“it’s full of surprises.” His hand on her back, he rushed her down the rest of the carpet without having to field any more questions. They got inside a set of double doors. “Why didn’t you tell me this was a red carpet affair?”

He paused with his hand on the inner door. “Because I thought you might freak out like you’re doing now. Believe me, this is the less painful method.”

“Just remember, Evans, paybacks are hell.” Under her breath, she muttered, “I need a drink.”

He simply smiled and opened the next door. “I think I can accommodate you.”

The lighting was low, but she could tell the club was already full of people who were milling around with drinks. Chad led her to the bar and found an empty stool for her while he ordered. The rocker handed her a glass of wine and held up his bottle of beer tentatively. “Are you really mad at me?”

She eyed him for a minute, giving him a chance to sweat a little, and then clinked her wine glass with his bottle. “I guess I forgive you.”

“Good.”

Before he could say anything else, a familiar face appeared out of the crowd. “Chad.” Stan
Mikas clapped him on the shoulder with enthusiasm. “Hi. Beth, isn’t it? Nice to see you again.” He shook her hand amiably. “Chad, can I steal you away from this lovely lady for just five minutes? There is someone I promised to introduce you to.”

“Stan, can’t it wait until Michelle and Roger get here? I don’t want Beth to have to sit here alone.”

“I’m fine, Chad. Go on.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’ll just sit here and sip my wine, and try to catch my breath. We’ve been running since I got off the plane. I’ll be here when you get back.”

He bent to kiss her. “I’ll be
right
back.”

The two men moved off through the crowd, Stan saying, “I don’t blame you for not wanting to leave her. She’s a knockout.”

Chad glanced over his shoulder to where Beth sat alone. She was perched on a high stool, with one foot on the crossbar beneath. The other leg was crossed over the first, that foot bouncing to the beat of the music. With her heels on, her legs looked incredible. She somehow managed to get her short hair up (he would never understand how women did that), and a few wispy tendrils lay invitingly along her neck. No, he wouldn’t be leaving her for long.

He did his duty and chatted for a few minutes with some execs from the record label and their wives. After exchanging pleasantries and answering a few questions, he excused himself to return to Beth. He could see her from across the room, sitting in the same position, foot still bouncing. He smiled and watched her as he weaved through the crowd, though his view was cut off from time to time by people crossing in front of him. That was why he didn’t notice the woman approaching until the very last second.

“Julie.” Her name sounded like a death knell as it came out of his mouth. He paled. He hadn’t been expecting to see her here. His eyes shot to Beth at the bar. “What are you doing here?” he inquired darkly.

“Well, last time I looked, this place didn’t say ‘Chad’s’ outside,” she huffed, her face a mask of haughtiness.

Chad studied her. Julie was even more emaciated than when they went out, and she was little more than a pencil then. She was nearly as tall as he was with her stilettos on, and she still wore her dark hair straight, cut above her shoulders. Her forehead looked even wider now that her face had thinned into nearly a point at her chin. She was still pretty, he guessed, in that she had high cheekbones and perfectly arched eyebrows over her wide hazel eyes, but somehow he couldn’t help thinking of an alien when he looked at her.

“I guess you heard.” Julie shoved a gargantuan diamond ring in his face. “I’m getting married to Edward
Julien.”

Julien
was a prominent New York City politician. Chad hadn’t heard and he didn’t care. Though, it amused him that soon her name would be Julie Julien.

“You look good,” she continued appraisingly when he had nothing to say. “And I can see you’ve moved on with your life, too.” She waved a hand in Beth’s direction. “She’s pretty.” The model paused, running a finger around the rim of her glass while Chad stared at her coldly. Without prefix, she threw her arms around his neck, purring in his ear as she did so. “When she finally wises up and discovers what an ass you are, give me a call. I cheat on Edward all the time, and you were always good in bed.” She gave him a squeeze and a kiss on the cheek, and then strutted away in the opposite direction. He watched her leave, wondering at how ballsy she could be for a woman.

When he turned his attention back to Beth, Chad saw a dark-haired man was leaning on the empty stool next to her and talking to her, his foot resting on the rung of the stool casually. As Chad got closer, he saw her laugh about something the stranger said, and he could feel the anger beginning to boil inside of him.

“I leave for a few minutes and you just hit on my girl?” he snarled.

The guy threw up his hands in a gesture of innocence. Dwarfed by Chad, he sputtered, trying to convince him of his blamelessness.

“Chad,” Beth cut in, “we were just trying to figure out how to get the bartender’s attention.”

The blood in his veins seemed to burn him from the inside out. “No offense, Beth, but you wouldn’t know a guy was coming on to you if he came up to you and licked your palms.”

The smaller man finally found his voice, “Dude, I was
not
hitting on your girlfriend, I swear.”

The bartender appeared from out of the blue, saying, “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to ignore you, it’s just so busy. What can I get for you?”

Chad felt foolish. “I guess I’m sorry then. Your drinks are on me.”

“Hey, man, no problem.” As he passed Chad, he acknowledged in a low voice, “If I had a girl as hot as that, I’d run off any guys I could, too. But I wasn’t hitting on her. She’s
way
out of my league.” The man left them in an uncomfortable silence. Chad leaned with his back against the bar, chugging his beer.

Beth tried to figure out what had just happened. Chad seemed fine when he left. She saw a woman approach him, and a strange expression crossed his face.

“Who was the girl you were talking to?”

Chad seemed surprised by her question, perhaps relieved she wasn’t reaming him out for his actions. “Julie.” He took another hit from his bottle. “We dated.”

“You dated her?” Beth asked in surprise. The girl was gorgeous. She thought she recognized her. A model? A light dawned. “Wasn’t she the model in that perfume ad?”