Superstar (13 page)

“I won’t be for long if I start spending
thousands of dollars on my hair,” Sioux said sucking her teeth.

“Cheap heffa.”

“Damn right.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t save your weave
hair,” Kwai said glancing at the wastebasket filled with hair that
sat in front of the sofa.

“This is synthetic. I save it when it’s
human. That crap costs more than gold.”

Kwai shook her head, then took the rattail
comb Sioux held out to her. She walked around to the back of the
sofa and began unbraiding the hair while Sioux worked on another
braid.

“You know your mama is going to give you
hell for leaving. She never wanted you to go on this tour in the
first place and now that you’re sick...”

“I know how to handle my mother.”

“I wish the hell I knew how to handle
mine!”

Kwai sighed heavily, and Sioux glanced up
noticing for the first time the dark circles that showed almost
blue through the skin under her friend’s eyes. Kwai’s complexion,
which was very light brown usually glowed with rich ochre
undertones. Today though she looked wan and gray. Getting ready for
a new show was obviously wearing on her, but maybe there was
something more.

Sioux probed gently. “What do you mean? Your
mama’s a doll.”

Kwai paused in her ministrations. “She and
dad are getting back together!”

“What? They’ve been divorced for twenty
years.”

“Yanno? They did that damned reunion show
together and I think they’ve been sneaking around behind my back
ever since.”

Sioux frowned. “Behind your back...”

“Yes. Apparently Pen knew all about it. For
some reason it was perfectly okay to tell my brother, but nobody
bothered to tell me. I had to find out the old-fashioned way.”

“The old...” Sioux began not really wanting
to know the answer, but, of course, Kwai filled her in anyway.

“Yes! I walked in on them fucking. On the
floor. At Dad’s house.”

“Wow. But aren’t you supposed to be happy? I
mean, you were little when they divorced, but I remember you took
it hard.”

“What? I’m a grown woman now and this isn’t
The Parent Trap
. It’s a disaster. Don’t you remember how
much they hated each other?”

“But they’ve been getting on for years now,”
Sioux tried to insert some reason.

“Yeah, they worked it out, but they’ll be
fighting like crazy again. They can’t get along on a day-to-day
basis. That’s why they divorced in the first place. I think they’ve
both gone fucking senile.”

Seeing as how Kwai’s parents were barely in
their fifties Sioux doubted they were going senile, but that was
beside the point.

“I’m sorry Kwai. Maybe it’s just a fling.
You know, a sex thing.”

“Ewww.”

“For God’s sake you of all people are
supposed to have an open mind.”

“Ewww. I need brain bleach. You have no idea
how awful it was.”

Sioux winced in sympathy. “Yeah, I don’t
think anybody ever wants to see their parents doing it.”

Kwai made a gagging sound. “You have no
idea. Let’s talk about something pleasant. Why didn’t you tell me
you finally nailed Thad?”

“What? I told you, he turned me down. We’re
just friends.”

“Yeah? So he makes a habit of beating up the
paparazzi for his friends?”

Sioux turned all the way around on the sofa
to stare at her friend. “Kwai, what the hell are you talking
about?”

“You haven’t seen the video? It’s all over
YouTube. Folks starting blowing up my phone about it first thing
this morning.”

“What video?” Sioux asked, using every ounce
of will she possessed to keep from screaming as her heart filled
with dread.

Kwai pulled her phone out of her pocket.
After scrolling through some menus, she handed the device to Sioux.
Sioux watched the video in ever increasing horror as Thad grabbed
the photographer’s camera then slammed it into the other man’s
face. That was followed by a very effective punch. Even on the poor
quality video the blood splatter was evident. The video went on for
nearly a minute only ending after Twist managed to hustle his
friend away.

“I can’t believe it, but why do you think it
had anything to do with me? Paparazzi are always a pain in the ass.
Is there anyone who doesn’t want to punch one? Maybe Thad had just
had enough,” Sioux said. Even as she asked the question she knew
better. The paparazzi rarely bothered Thad so he’d never had any
reason to punch one before.

“Oh, wait a minute,” Kwai said as she
adjusted the sound.

Sioux listened. The hateful words were
nothing new to her, but Thad was clearly responding to their
provocation. Part of her felt a little thrill that he stood up for
her, but she didn’t want him getting into trouble because of her
problems.

“I still can’t believe it,” Sioux said as
she resumed unbraiding her hair. “I haven’t slept with the guy. I
don’t know why he’d beat up a photographer for saying nasty things
about me.”

“Wish I’d been there, I would have kicked
him in the fucking balls. You don’t deserve that bullshit.”

“Comes with the territory,” Sioux said with
a shrug. “But why would Thad hit that guy?”

“You know why he did it. For one thing he
needed hitting. Had I been there...”

“Right. It makes sense that
you
would
respond that way. You love me. What’s the deal with Thad though?
Dude won’t even have sex with me.”

“Well a lot of people are going to be
disappointed. They’re calling the two of you
Thioux
. Isn’t
that too cute?”

“Wait, isn’t that what they called me and
Trig?” Sioux asked, fascinated by the vagaries of fandom despite
herself.

“Nope, that was
Trioux
.”

Sioux rolled her eyes. “It’s all a bunch of
nonsense. There is nothing between us. I swear, in a town full of
celebrities screwing up, I have no idea why they’re so fixated on
me. You’d think I’d be old news by now.”

Kwai just shook her head and put the phone
back in her pocket. Without another word she resumed her work on
Sioux’s hair.

Sioux did the same and they worked for a
long while with the soft music from Sioux’s stereo the only sound
in the room.

“How are you feeling?” Kwai finally
asked.

“Well it’s been a week. I feel much better.
Breathing is easier.”

“Have you tried singing yet?”

“Just a little bit. I don’t have much range
and my breath control is shot to hell, but according to my
respiratory therapist that’s to be expected. The doctor might
release me by the end of the month.”

“That’s less than a week from now. Where’s
the band? Are you going to rejoin the tour?”

“No. They’re headed down to Australia after
a few weeks here in L.A. My part is over.”

“Well, you certainly made the most of
it.”

“What are you talking about? I got sick and
missed more dates than I played,” Sioux said.

“Yeah, but you’re all anyone can talk
about.”

“People have been talking about me for
years. I don’t want to fill tabloids with stories about my personal
life. I want people to listen to my goddamned music!”

“Yeah, but they
are
talking about
your music for a change,” Kwai said, emphasizing each syllable as
though talking to someone who was slow-witted. “When your CD drops
next year it’ll be hotter than fish grease.”

Sioux smiled and picked up another braid. “I
hope so.”

“You know so.”

Sioux looked up when the doorbell rang. “I
wonder who that is. I’m not expecting anyone.” She rose from the
sofa and walked over to the security screen built into the wall of
her den. Thad looked up at the camera, an oversized bouquet of
mixed flowers practically covered his entire chest.

“It’s Thad,” she said and her breathlessness
had nothing to do with any chest ailment. For a moment she
considered not answering the door, but couldn’t come up with a
rational reason not to. Sure he’d acted like an ass, but he was
being sweet now. And beating up that photographer…

“Is this a private party or can anyone join
in?” he asked after giving her a brief hug. Sioux took the enormous
bouquet and placed it on the coffee table.

Kwai gave him a hug. “Oh God, we were just
talking about you.”

He looked wary now. “Oh? What did I do? I’ve
already blown my flower budget for the month.”

“I know when to get out of a situation,”
Kwai said heading toward the door. “I’ll see you later. Sioux, come
by the rehearsals, okay. I want to see what you think about what
we’re doing. We don’t want to do a Honeychile show, but we don’t
want too much of a departure. You know what I mean?”

“Sure thing. How about day after tomorrow?”
She waited until her friend left before she turned on Thad. “Have
you ever done braids before?”

“Uh, no.”

“Time for you to learn.” She resumed her
seat and handed him a comb. After explaining the process to him,
she returned to unbraiding her hair. Thad started working as well,
and when he didn’t pull her hair or start swearing she assumed he
knew what he was doing.

“Why did you do it, Thad?”

He didn’t pretend not to know what she was
talking about. Instead he walked around her and squatted until
their eyes were level. “You’re kidding, right? You did see the
video?”

“Of course I saw it. Apparently there are
Inuits in the Artic Circle who’ve seen the damned thing. I expect
text messages from Borneo at any moment.”

“You heard what they said. Did you really
expect me to let them talk about you that way?”

Sioux closed her eyes in frustration. “Thad,
my Dad had to put a million dollar bounty on my head. Do you really
think coke whore is the worst thing I’ve been called?”

Thad joined her on the sofa. “Damn, I’d
forgotten about that.”

“Well, trust me, no one else has.”

“What the hell did you do?”

“Ran away from rehab. They couldn’t find me.
So he called a press conference and offered a million dollars to
bring me in.”

Thad let out a short whistle. “Wow. Where
were you?

“Belgium. I thought I could go to ground
there. But they turned me in in less than twelve hours.”

“Amazing.”

“Yeah, my dad also called out my judge for
going too easy on me. And warned the world’s drug dealers that
selling to me meant they had a death wish.”

“Damn, how did you feel about that?” Thad
asked.

“At the time? Mad as hell. It’s amazing how
fast people will sell you out for a million dollars. I was so high
I don’t even know who did it. Now I’m just so grateful I want to
thank him every time I see him. Compared to being a hunted woman,
the paparazzi are no big deal.”

Thad rose to his feet and began working on
her hair again. “They were a big enough deal you went onstage when
you had no business performing just to keep them quiet.”

“That was because of the band. I didn’t want
to bring any grief to you guys.”

“Either way. Anyone calling you a bitch or a
whore in front of me will get dealt with, period.”

“That’s going to get expensive.”

“I couldn’t give one. They called you a
crack whore.”

“I could have been one. Well not crack. Even
at my worst, I didn’t want to hurt my voice. But when I ran, my
folks cut off my credit cards. I figured they would do that and got
all the cash I could before I ran, but if I had run out I was
desperate enough to go there.”

“Well thank God for your dad.”

“Yeah.”

Thad ran his fingers through her hair and
gave her a bemused look. “What is up with your hair?”

“It’s time to get it braided again, but I
have to take it down first.”

“I had no idea you had so much hair. I
always assumed it was all add-in.” He said, fluffing the cottony
mass, which reached well past her shoulders.

“I like weaves, especially for braids, it’s
easier, but I like to mix up my styles, so I wear my own hair quite
a bit, too.”

“Isn’t this a bad time to be doing this? You
were so sick...”

“I’m almost done. My mama did most of
it.

Without invitation he began massaging her
scalp once the last braid was released. It was all she could do not
to purr under the magic that was his hands.

“Did you miss me?” she asked, though at
first she thought it was just for something to say, but once the
words were out she realized she really wanted to know.

“What?”

“Did. You. Miss. Me?” she asked again,
carefully enunciating the words.

“It’s only been a week,” he said with a
dismissive grunt. He was still massaging her scalp or she would’ve
smacked him for that remark. Before she could reconsider he
continued. “Yeah, I missed you.”

Much as it pained her to do so she stopped
the massage so she could put her hair up before it became
irredeemably tangled. He watched with a wonder usually reserved for
double rainbows or some other act of nature.

“What?” she asked. He’d better not say
anything stupid about her hair.

“It’s just amazing to me the way you can put
all that hair into four little braids.”

“Well, I’ve had decades of experience.”

“I suppose so.”

She finished and smiled up at him. “Thought
you would miss me. Now kiss me.”

He chuckled low in his throat. “I thought
you’d never ask.”

He sought her lips like a man trying to
Braille their curves with his own. He smoothed his mouth over hers
again and then again as though he needed to relearn the familiar
territory.

Sioux gasped when his lips finally parted
over hers, the sweet glide of his tongue met hers. At first
hesitantly as though unsure of its welcome. Though how that could
be she had no idea. Then more forcefully as though compelled, he
opened his mouth wider as she did the same. His guttural groan
against her mouth matched the one working its way up from the very
depths of her. Somehow, and she would never recall how, they were
lying side by side on the sofa. The crisp texture of the linen only
added an extra dimension of sensuality to the kiss that went on
endlessly. Lying there with only their lips touching she watched as
his pupils dilated, the deep brown obliterating the golds and
greens always intrigued her. Now they smoldered, burning with an
intensity she’d never seen before.