Rocked in the Dark (8 page)

“So, we put the work in. But honestly, a lot of it is luck. We released our albums at the right time with the right people and the right songs. And it struck a chord with the fans and the industry. There’s no magic equation to success. All you can do is work your ass off and hope you get lucky.” He shrugged. “Sorry if that’s not the answer you were looking for, it’s the only one I got.”

Boston thanked him and asked a couple of final questions, but I didn’t hear them. My attention was all on Rick.

I’d seen, known his fierce protectiveness about his band. But I’d never heard or even imagined there was this wisdom and humility in him. I was floored. He was an asshole, no doubt about that. A sexy asshole who was amazing kisser. But maybe he was something else, too.

After the interview we finally did get to rehearse. I warmed up in the back while the band ran through a couple of songs and then went out to work on my stuff. The guys hung out for a bit, but didn’t bother me. I was in the zone, completely focused. Well, mostly focused. Every now and then Rick’s face or his voice or his touch flitted into a corner of my mind. I shoved each thought away, but they kept coming back.

I’d had a lifetime of practice ignoring things that bothered me, and it served me well. I got through two songs, figured out some new blocking for my opening number and chatted with our stage manager, Adam, about some things I’d need to go over with the backing band and lighting guys later. It was a bit of a challenge to plan things for a huge stage and a band I hadn’t met yet, but I wasn’t planning any elaborate choreography, so things were ironed out generally and would be adjusted for each city as we went.

By the time I finished, I was tired and hungry, but in a much better mood. I was even able to have a five minute conversation with my mother without yelling or swearing.

“I’d like to have a working dinner tonight, Julia,” she said with her nose buried in her phone.

“Fine. But I need to go upstairs first. Relax for a bit.”

“Of course.” She sighed deeply, as if allowing me an hour of time alone was some great altruistic sacrifice. “I’ll go with you. We can discuss some promotional plans. Remember, it’s going to be your job to make yourself the story of this tour. Don’t let these boys outshine you.”

“Mom-
Laura
, please. I know all this. I promise if you just give me a little time I’ll happily listen to the eight million schemes you’re concocting, okay?”

She smiled thinly. “All right. Let’s head upstairs.”

It was my turn to sigh. “You go ahead. I need to grab something backstage and then I’ll call you in a bit for dinner. We can go wherever you want.”

“Excellent.” She wandered off, already calling some expensive place we couldn’t really afford and probably wouldn’t even like. She’d always been good at spending the money I made before we actually got it. It seemed this time would be no different.

I hadn’t actually left anything backstage, so I just hung around for five minutes watching the crew guys stowing equipment for the night before heading out through the casino.

As I wound my way through the early-evening crowds, I caught snippets of conversations. One couple was celebrating their fifth anniversary. A family had been stuck in the parking garage for half an hour because of the continuing power outages. A couple of guys around my age had won a couple grand and couldn’t decide how many hookers to buy with it.

I smiled and kept walking until I reached the bank of elevators that went up to my room. There were four, but two were roped off and had “Out of Service” signs in front of them. That meant I had to wait a long time.

Finally, a car arrived and I climbed in. I pushed the button for my floor and the doors started to close, but then stopped halfway open.
Weird
. I hit the “Door Close” button a couple of times, but nothing happened.

A thick, muscular arm appeared the gap of the doors, then another, and it opened.

Great. Rick.

He looked at me and smirked. “Holding the elevator for me?”

“Not in your dreams.”

“Sweetheart, in my dreams the last thing you’re holding for me is a door, I promise you that.”

I sneered right back. “Am I supposed to be flattered?”

“Don’t care.”

“Ugh, whatever. Can you move out the doorway so I can go upstairs?”

He did move, but slowly, making sure to brush my arm with his before retreating to the other corner of the car.

Did he know the effect that brief touch had on me? Probably. And I hated that.

The doors did finally close this time, and I said silent thanks for that. I didn’t want to spend a single second more than necessary alone with him.

Once the elevator started moving I closed my eyes and sighed, relaxing. In under a minute I’d be away from the confusion of sharing space with him. The attraction and irritation were dizzying and I didn’t have time for that. For anything that might keep me from being my best. No matter how much I could still feel the press of his fingers on my skin, the sharp pleasure of his kiss.

Mid reverie, we stopped. I looked up at the display panel, but it was blank. We hadn’t stopped at a floor. Then the lights flickered a few times.

“Oh no.”

Rick glanced at me and then went over to push a button. Nothing happened.

For a second I thought my throat was closing up. I couldn’t breathe. I scraped my hands through my hair a dozen times, trying to calm down, center myself. It was just a blip. We’d be moving any second. I just had to keep it together. Not let him see.

“You okay?”

I shook my head, but didn’t look at him. “Leave me alone.”

He chuckled. “Sweetheart, we’re trapped in an elevator together. That’s not really possible.”

“Shut up!” I said a little too loud. “We’re not trapped. It’s going to move. It has to move.”

I looked at the doors as if they would help with my panic. Then over at Rick, figuring he’d be laughing at me and I could get mad at him to distract myself. But he was just standing there, looking more concerned by the moment. “What? Why are you staring at me?”

“Are you…are you afraid?”

“Obviously, you fucking moron.”

He smiled, but not cruelly. “I forgot. You said in the theater, you don’t like being trapped. Claustrophobia?”

“Just a little. It’s fine most of the time. When it’s okay. When the elevator is working or a door isn’t locked. I just…oh god.” My hands were clammy as I clasped them together in front of me.

“Julia, relax. I’m sure it’ll only be a minute. Look, I’ll find out what’s happening.” He pushed the emergency call thingy and bent down in front of the little speaker. Nothing happened.

“Shit.”

“It’s okay. We just have to wait a minute.”

“What are you, an elevator expert?”

“No. I’m an everything expert.”

I went to snap at him, but looked at his face first. “Another joke? You tell jokes?”

“Doesn’t everyone?”

“Not you. Ask anyone on the planet. You’re a surly bastard who hates everything and everyone except your band.”

He shrugged. “That’s not far off, but I do have a sense of humor, too.” He considered for a moment. “Sometimes.”

I smiled weakly.

The lights in the elevator flickered again, and then went out. Thin emergency lights offered the only illumination. I pressed my back hard against the wall and started shaking.

“Hey! Hey,” Rick said, coming over to stand in front of me. “Look at me. This is fine. No big deal. Do you have your phone?”

I nodded.

“Hand it over. There’s a number on the wall, I’ll call it.”

I reached into my pocket and gave him my phone. I was trying so hard not to freak out. Even if he was capable of acting like something resembling a human being, I didn’t want him to see terror or weakness in me. Because he could use it, and because…I wanted him to think good things about me, not bad. Rick was definitely the kind of guy who wouldn’t be attracted to a scared girl. Which meant I wanted him to be attracted to me. Another thought I didn’t have the energy to deal with at the moment.

He was on the phone for a few minutes. Time I used to settle myself down a little, on all fronts. When he hung up, Rick handed my phone back and smiled.

“See? No big deal. Some bullshit about the power outages. Elevator is stopped for our protection. They’ll fix the juice and have us moving again in like ten minutes.”

“Yeah?”

“Yup.”

“Okay,” I said, looking away from him. “Is it warm in here? I feel warm.”

“Air conditioning is off.”

“Right.” This terse little conversation was making me more nervous, not less. “You know what, let’s just have quiet time, okay?”

“You’re kidding, right?”

I shook my head. “No. Why?”

“You want to just stand here silently for ten minutes?”

“No. I want to be up in my room taking a shower. But if we’re stuck here together, I don’t want to argue the whole time.”

“Why would we?”

“Hello? Where have you been the last few days. You and I can’t go five minutes together without bitching. Well, you bitch. I defend myself.”

“Well,” he said slowly, getting my attention as he stepped in closer. “We did manage to avoid arguing for longer than that, actually.”

“Stop right there. That was a bout of insanity on my part. One I have no plans to repeat. And even if I did, it wouldn’t be here and now.”

His lip curled in a sexy smile. “Why not? You said you don’t want to talk, I’m offering a much better option. Don’t pretend you’re not interested.”

“I’m not.”

Rick put one finger on my shoulder and it took every ounce of strength in me to keep from moaning. “You are. Every inch of you wants me. I can tell.”

“You can’t tell anything,” I said lamely. “Now please go over there and keep away from me.”

He looked intently into my eyes for a long moment and then backed away. “Fine. Tell me why not. Tell me what’s so repulsive about the idea of me kissing you again. Was it my breath?”

I snorted. “No.” I cocked my head to the side and looked at him. “You really don’t know. Jesus, Rick. You’re an asshole. You’ve been rude to me since the second we met. And from what I’ve heard, every girl who comes near your band for more than a day gets treated like total shit. Except for the groupies, of course. I’m not some desperate loser. I don’t need the validation of your dick one minute when you’ll be insulting me the next.”

He barked out a laugh, but then frowned. “I haven’t insulted you or anyone else.”

“Is that right? I bet Becca would tell a different story.”

“I haven’t done anything to that uptight chick.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, fine. Maybe we’ve gotten into it a few times. But she almost ruined everything.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I saw what happened to Dex when he started getting into her. Drinking even more, fucking up worse. And then he was going to quit the tour for her. That’s bullshit. Pussy is great and all, but not worth ruining all of our careers for.”

I nodded. “I get it. You were jealous.”

“What? Of course not.” He crossed his arms and glared. “She’s not bad-looking if you go for the librarian type, but I didn’t want her.”

“Ugh. First of all, that’s not what I meant. You were jealous that she might be more important to Dex than the band. And you had the same problem with Joe’s girl too, I bet.”

“Whatever. You don’t know shit about me, sweetheart.”

“Oh I do now. And hell, I kind of understand. We’re doing what most people wouldn’t dare dream of. It’s so fleeting and we have to fight to keep it. I respect that, really. But it doesn’t mean you need to be a total fucking asshole to everyone.”