Incidental Happenstance (23 page)

            She laughed. “Oh no, not the mullet again!” she exclaimed. “Don’t you have something a little less 80’s Bono, Billy Ray Cyrus?”

            “I do have other looks, you know,” he smirked. I save the mullet for special occasions.”

            “Well if that’s the case, I might be afraid to see the other ones. Let me guess. Homeless guy? Transvestite?” she giggled at the thought.

            “They’re all designed to be people repellant, I’ll give you that. But,” his eyes sparkled, “you’ve just given me some new ideas. Transvestite, eh? That might be fun.” He looked her up and down appraisingly. “What size do you wear?” She slapped him playfully on the arm.

            “You could never be repellant to me,” she said.

            “No?” he said, cradling her face in his hands. “Then that’s all that matters, isn’t it?” He brushed a soft kiss against her lips. “Seriously though,” he continued. “How do you feel about dating a punk rocker tomorrow?” She raised her eyebrows at him and he raised just one back. “Nothing too obnoxious—spiky dark hair, faded Sex Pistols t-shirt, torn jeans, maybe a little eyeliner.”

            She pondered openly. “Eyeliner, huh? Sounds kind of sexy, actually.”

            “Yeah, you like that one?”

            “It’s definitely better than the mullet! Of course, that means I’ll have to do something to match up with you so we look like a couple.” She raised her eyes in thought. “Yeah, I think I could put something together for that.”

            He squeezed her against him. “OK, now you’re getting me all excited! This is going to be really fun!” He added, “Would you come to the show again tomorrow too? Just you?”

            “I was hoping you’d ask,” she answered as he leaned down and kissed her.

            “Were you?” he murmured between kisses, smiling down at her. “Were you really?”

            “Yeah I was really,” she answered, kissing him back.

            Tia and Dylan knew the instant the rest of the band arrived. Bo, loving the attention of the adoring public, opted to enter through the front door and make his way ceremoniously to the VIP staircase. The music stopped and a voice came over the speakers, anuncing the arrival of members of InHap, while cheers sounded throughout the place. They could hear Bo greeting the guests and slipped out of the booth to watch their grand entrance from a vantage point just out of view from the crowd on the main floor. Lexi held Bo’s arm, strutting alongside him, looking as if she belonged there. She was just loving this, Tia thought, and was glad to see that the star struck look had finally left her eyes. The boys had had the same effect on Lexi that they’d had on her, then, and she was finally realizing that they were just a bunch of good guys. They heard a couple of people shout, “Where’s Dylan?” and Bo told them that he’d probably be along later, but that he was shy, and avoided the limelight; to the obvious delight of the patrons.

            By the time the group made it up the stairs, a table had been set for them, partially in and partially out of the view of the main room, and several bottles of champagne had been popped and poured.

            Lexi rushed over to Tia. “Oh my God, these guys are so great!” she exclaimed. “They’re just so nice, and fun, and Bo is so charming!”

            “Yeah, he could charm the scales off a cobra,” Dylan teased. “But he’s basically pretty harmless.”

            Lexi turned back to Bo. “Oh, you have to tell them your Penelope Valentine story!”

            They sat at the table—Dylan and Tia opting for seats on the private side—and Bo recounted the story, complete with vivid descriptions of the look on Penelope’s face when she found herself standing in front of a 300 pound naked black man instead of ‘heartthrob Dylan Miller,’ as Bo put it. He was quite the storyteller, and by the time he finished, they were all laughing hysterically. Then Dylan raised his champagne glass, and proposed a toast.

            “I say it pretty much every birthday, every celebration that we have to have far from home. We chose this life of vagrancy, and we revel in it. But all of it would mean nothing if I didn’t have you bunch of ass holes to share it with.” They all raised their glasses toward him as he continued. “Seriously though Bo, you are without a doubt one of the best friends I’ve ever had, and I couldn’t have survived this crazy ride without you, mate. Happy birthday!”

            “Happy birthday!” they all joined in, clinking glasses and taking turns hugging Bo.

            A cake loaded with sparklers was carried to their table and they sang the requisite birthday song, with the patrons below joining in. Bo grinned from ear to ear, savoring every moment.

            After they’d done their thing with the group, Dylan and Tia slid back into their private booth. Lexi was doing fine on her own, dancing with the guys in turn and stopping to flirt with the Bears’ quarterback. She was a natural, Tia thought, wondering what her life would be like in a couple days with Dylan gone. She really felt like she didn’t have to act with him, didn’t have to try to flirt, and she hadn’t been able to even imagine that she could feel so comfortable with another guy. She hadn’t believed that could happen for a long time, anyway.

They hadn’t been sitting alone for ten minutes when the music stopped again, and the crowd began cheering. They heard a voice announce, “Good evening Icon patrons! Looks like we have another special guest joining us this evening! Help m welcome Penelope Valentine, star of stage and screen, Oscar nominee, and very classy lady!” The cheers continued as Penelope obviously made her way to the VIP staircase.

            “Damn it,” Dylan said dejectedly, “looks like she found me. I guess there’s no avoiding her now.”

            “Guess not,” Tia agreed. “Any hope that she’s given up on finding you and just showed up accidentally?”

            “Hope so, but I doubt it,” Dylan answered. “She seemed pretty determined that she had to talk to me about something. Might as well let her say her peace, and then get rid of her.”

            He’d no sooner gotten the words out of his mouth then she appeared at the end of their booth. “Well, well. Dylan Miller. You certainly are a hard man to track down,” she said with honey in her voice.

            “I heard you were looking for me,” he answered politely. “Sorry I missed you at the arena, but I must have had my phone off, or something, and then I was anxious to get to Bo’s party. I guess you found me now, though.”

            “It wasn’t easy,” she smiled, “believe me. I had to get a whole team working to track you down to find out where you went after the show!”

            She extended her hand to Dylan and he shook it courteously. “So, what can I do for you Miss Valentine?”

            “Oh please, just Penelope is fine,” she smiled sweetly. “I have the most exciting news, and I was in town anyway, visiting a friend, and I wanted to tell you myself, in person.” She turned to Tia and motioned with her head toward the main VIP room. “Would you excuse us, please?” she asked politely. “This is personal business.”

            “We don’t have any personal business, Miss Valentine,” Dylan replied. “She can stay right here,” Penelope looked shaken for a moment, but maintained her flashing smile.

            “Well alright, then,” she said, sliding into the booth and sidling up to Dylan. “If you insist. Like I said, I have exciting news.”

            “Yes?” Dylan said, impatiently.

            Tia could see that Penelope was working hard to hold her little ‘nice girl’ act together. She smiled sweetly at Tia, but it was easy to read the scowl in her eyes.

            “I’d hoped we could have this conversation privately, but….” She looked around as if she was about to share a huge secret, then leaned into Dylan suggestively. “It’s not going public until tomorrow, but guess who your costar for
Ambient Rain
is going to be?”

            Dylan looked bored. “Let me guess. You?”

            “Yes!” she sang, her face lighting up. “I’m so excited to be working with you! I love your music of course, and I’ve seen your films, and can’t wait to bring the story to life with you!” She clapped her hands under her chin in a display of pure excitement. It was obvious to Tia that it was all an act, and not even a very good one at that. One look at Dylan told her that he wasn’t buying it, either. “It was a great show tonight, actually,” she addedas an afterthought. “Thanks for fitting me in.” Inside she seethed that she’d been given only fourth row, but she forced her smile and batted her eyelashes at him without any regard for the fact that he sat with a date at his other side.

            Tia’s stomach sank a bit at the news, but she wasn’t really surprised. She’d heard Jessa tell Dylan that they’d be announcing his costar within the next couple days, and she’d guessed that might be why Penelope was so adamant about seeing him. It meant that she and Dylan would be filming and pretty much living together in New Zealand, on the other side of the world, for months. And she’d be sitting back in her fifth grade classroom, hanging out at the country club with Lexi and Ryan, and still trying to get her life back on track. It pulled something inside her out of whack, and she suddenly felt very dejected as the reality of the situation sunk in. She couldn’t help the fact that some of the happiness she’d been feeling lurched out of her, and jealousy, sadness, and emptiness crept in. Dylan sensed it, and put his arm around her, pulling her closer to him.

            “Well, that’s great, Miss Valentine,” he said, purposely ignoring her invitation to be on a first-name basis. “I look forward to working with you. I’ve seen some of your work, too. I’m sure it’ll be fun.” He kept his hand protectively around Tia as he said it, as if to reassure her of her own place. “Thanks for coming to tell me, I appreciate it, but we’re sort of in the middle a celebration here…” His voice trailed off and his eyes wandered toward the main room. The meaning was obvious—he was inviting her to leave.

            “Oh,” she said, her eyes dropping just for a moment. “I was actually hoping that we could get to know each other a little, spend some time together. I think that we could have great chemistry, you and me, and thought maybe we could explore that a little bit, see where it takes us…” She put on her sexiest pout, hoping to drop the hint a little deeper.

            Dylan responded by squeezing Tia even tighter and looking at Penelope with that one eyebrow raised.  “Well, that’s…interesting,” he stumbled, unable to come up with a better word, “but that’s why they call it acting,” he said. “There doesn’t have to be any chemistry. I think we’ve both done enough of it to make it work when it needs to.”

            “But why waste the opportunity?” she soothed. “I’m here, and you’re here, and we have some pretty hot love scenes in the film, you know—I just finished reading the script.” Actually, she’d skimmed it, looking specifically for those scenes. She looked at Tia with contempt. “Look,” she pouted, “I didn’t want to say this except in private, but if you’re looking for some fun tonight, why waste your time with some groupie? Why not take your chances with someone who’s more at your level?” She dropped her voice to a seductive whisper and looked at Dylan through drooped lids. “I think you’d find we have a lot in common.” She tried her best to sound sexy, but to Dylan, she just sounded desperate.

            Dylan physically felt Tia stiffen beside him, and when he looked at her, he could see the hurt in her eyes. Although he tried to contain his anger, his eyes and his words were full of venom. He flashed a sardonic smile and shook his head. “You’ve really got some balls, lady,” he said. “Look, Miss Valentine. I appreciate that you came all the way out here to tell me the news in person, but you’ve just insulted my date, someone I care about, and I’m going to have to ask you to lea.” Penelope started to speak, but Dylan continued firmly. “I’m going to ask you to leave
now
. I will see you in New Zealand, and we’ll do a movie together, with lots of
acting
, and that’ll be the end of it.” Penelope was backpedaling, trying to save face, but Dylan wouldn’t give her an opportunity to speak again. “Goodbye, Miss Valentine. Please don’t expect any tickets for tomorrow’s show or any other.”

            Bo chose that exact moment to sidle into the booth next to Penelope. Her eyes widened when she saw him and all the cool she was trying to portray slipped off her face.

            “Well helooo, Miss Valentine,” he said in a low, slow, and smooth voice. “I was hoping you’d come to my party. You left so suddenly before…”

            “That was just a mistake,” she stammered. “I was looking for Dylan—it was his name on the door! You were in his dressing room…”

            “Now see, I don’t believe in accidents,” he said, his voice dripping with obvious undertones. “I think that things happen for a reason. Incidental Happenstance, and all that.” He looked directly into her face, dropping his eyelids in a suggestive gesture. “And I can’t help but wonder what that reason might be.”

            Penelope tried to maintain her composure, but her voice faltered when she spoke. “I don’t… I think I just need to go now.”

            “Now come on, sugar,” he whispered, laying it on thick. “It’s my birthday. You’ve already seen me naked, so the least you can do is give me a dance,” he put his arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze.

            Penelope pressed herself even more against Dylan, but Bo just slid in closer, and twirled a lock of Penelope’s hair around his finger. She was really looking desperate now, like a caged animal seeking an escape, and despite her mixed emotions, Tia almost laughed.