Teacher: The Final Act (A Hollywood Rock n' Romance Trilogy #3) (20 page)

“Why don’t you come by tonight then?  You’re always bound to get them at their goofiest at night.  They’re so serious during the day.”  

I opened the GPS app on my phone.  ”Where should I meet them?”  

Sherry and the other women laughed.  ”Uh, they’re staying at the Los Feliz Murder Mansion.”

My phone clattered onto the table.  ”Say what?  I thought the owners wouldn’t let anyone in that place?”  The mansion had one of the creepiest histories in Hollywood history.  I was definitely intrigued.

Sherry laughed.  ”It just so happens that one of their kids is a huge fan of Maggie’s Bones and she talked her parents into letting the band use the place after they initially refused.  They cleaned it all up, only leaving a couple of the rooms untouched.  The owners hadn’t changed anything since the night in 1959 when the dude killed his wife.  Mage was all excited about it. He thought it would be an inspirational place for them to stay while they were in the studio.”  

Sherry shuddered and Mackenzie barked out a laugh.  ”That guy is obsessed, I’m tellin’ ya!  You should have seen the creepy ass house he wanted to buy in New Orleans.  He’s even convinced the guys to go ahead and purchase the St. Germaine in the French Quarter and turn it into a club!  Club Haunt, he wants to call it.”  

Jaylene swirled her straw around in her glass and smiled fondly at the mention of Mage’s name.  ”Poor guy. He swears the building was haunted, but nothing happened while I was there.”  

Sherry laughed and turned to me.  ”Jaylene stayed with the boys while they were writing for the album.  She’s a tattoo artist.”  

Jaylene raised an eyebrow in surprise.  ”It’s fine, Jay,” Sherry laughed. “The guys are going to give her complete access so she’ll find out anyway.  Don’t worry.”  Jaylene relaxed noticeably.  Her eyes darted between her two friends, then her phone started buzzing.  She picked it up and her cheeks turned rosy.  

“Is that loverboy,” Mackenzie said, peeking over her shoulder.  Both of their eyes went wide.  ”O-kay!  I didn’t need to see that…  Or maybe I did.  Bring that back up!”  Jaylene was trying to respond, her bottom lip between her teeth, while trying to block Mackenzie’s view.  ”Damn he’s got a fine-”

“Kenz!  He’ll be so embarrassed if he knows you saw that, now stop!”  

Mackenzie winked at Sherry, then frowned.  ”How come mine doesn’t send me hot pics like- WHOA!”  It was Mackenzie’s turn to blush at whatever had just buzzed her phone.  

Jaylene peeked over her shoulder and gasped.  ”He wants you to do THAT?”  Mackenzie got a dreamy look.  

“Ahhhh, I always dreamed I’d find a man brave enough.  Sherry?  When does their tour start?”  

Sherry laughed nervously.  ”Why?  You aren’t thinking of…  Let me see that picture!”  

Mackenzie held the phone to her ample bust.  ”I promise he will be okay to play!  Scouts honor!”  

Jaylene snorted.  ”Yeah, you’re just lucky he hasn’t yanked out his nipple rings while playing yet!”  

“That was so much fun,” Mackenzie sighed.  I thought I was picking up the gist of what this conversation was about.  Mackenzie showed Sherry the phone across the table and as much as the reporter in me wanted to be nosy, I really didn’t want to be tempted to print something this salacious.  

Sherry looked horrified and intrigued at the same time.  ”How do you even do that?  Can’t that cause permanent damage?”  

Mackenzie shook her head.  ”Not if you do it right, and I’ve done plenty.  Yes, ma’am, there are plenty of dudes walking around New Orleans with these babies!”  

Okay, that was too much temptation for me. “So you do body modification?”  

Mackenzie smiled wickedly. She swirled a lock of her teal hair around a manicured finger with polish in a matching shade of teal.  ”Give me a needle and I can pierce anything,” she said with a wink.  

I shivered.  I had my ears pierced three times on each side and had considered piercing my navel for about five minutes, but anything lower… “Gotcha.  Why do people want to pierce their, um, their—”

“Dicks? Adds sexual pleasure.  I have yet to actually get to experience it, though.  Sadly. I’ve provided pleasure for hundreds of other women.”  She sighed and her face relaxed into a dreamy expression.  She clasped her fingers together and rested her chin on her hands.  ”But now…  I just might—”

“Kenz,” Jaylene interrupted by throwing an elbow into Mackenzie’s boob. “You do know she’s a reporter?  You really want Star’s business about his business out there?”  Jaylene’s eyes bugged out. “Oh God.  You won’t report that, will you?”  

I laughed and shook my head.  ”I’m off the clock right now, don’t worry! I can’t say I’m not intrigued, though. So you tattoo them and Mackenzie—”

“Only Star has been brave enough to let me go to work on him.  Jaylene’s tattooed them, but for some reason they’re afraid of little ole me!”  Mackenzie tried to do her best to look demure, but she didn’t fool me.  ”If you’re ever in New Orleans, you could come see my portfolio,” Mackenzie purred, wiggling her eyebrows.  ”Maybe you might want a little something yourself.”  

I gulped.  As a reporter for Feedback, I’d worked really hard to overcome my naivete about the more worldly world of rock n’ roll, but there was still a lot out there that shocked me.  I’d had quite an education since moving to Hollywood from a bedroom community in the East Bay after attending UCLA’s school of journalism.  Luckily, I had a good poker face when faced with something a little ‘out there.’

“Then it’s settled,” Sherry said while working her phone frantically.  ”Sammara, you’ll meet the band out at the house tonight.  I’ve texted you the address.  Let me know if you need anything further.”  

Jaylene frowned as Sherry packed up her things to go.  ”But aren’t you coming, Sherry?”  

The usually poised and self-assured manager for the band looked flustered. “I’m going to pass I think.  I’m not in the mood for a certain person.  He’s been texting me all week and I just don’t want to hear it.”  

I wondered who she was talking about but didn’t want to butt in if Sherry didn’t want to share.  We’d been friends since college and had confided in each other many times. It was obvious this was a detail she’d decided to keep from me.  I wasn’t upset.  She didn’t always tell me who she was seeing.  Unfortunately, the ones she kept from me in the past were ones who hurt her really bad.  I hoped that wasn’t the case this time.

“But he really wants to fix things with you,” Jaylene pleaded gently.  ”He’s been such a good boy since New Orleans, I swear!  I’m not asking you to do anything other than talk to him.”  Jaylene seemed like such a caretaker.  She was guarded, or maybe just quiet.  I couldn’t tell for sure yet, but I could tell she didn’t know how much she could trust me no matter what Sherry said by the way her eyes darted to me with every topic of conversation.

Sherry exhaled loudly.  ”I’ll think about it.  Let’s get you two back to the house before Devon starts blowing up my phone looking for you.  I swear, it’s like you’re his security blanket or something!”  Jaylene blushed, Mackenzie laughed and Sherry winked.  

I was already thinking of questions I wanted to ask tonight. “I’m really glad I ran into you, Sherry.  I’ll see you all tonight.  About what time?”  

Sherry checked her watch.  ”Come over around 8:00.  They should be back from the studio, fed, and will have had time to snuggle up with their ladies for a bit.”  Jaylene and Mackenzie groaned and laughed.  

“No problem,” I said.  I wanted the women to feel comfortable around me.  ”And don’t worry.  I know they’ve had a rough year. I won’t push.”  

Sherry’s smile dropped.  ”Thanks, Sammara.  I reassured them that you would take good care of them.”  I was grateful for Sherry’s confidence.  It was hard to earn respect in this crazy business.

Sherry stood from the table and said, “Now, I need to get my lovely guests to the spa-”

“Oh Sherry!  Can we skip the spa and go to that Hollywood History Museum?  Devon said they are finished for the day and wants to meet up there.  He says there’s a replica of Hannibal Lecter’s cell in the basement!”  

Sherry’s expression was priceless.  ”You and your horror movie fascination! You guys are creeps!”  She shuddered and shook her hands out like she’d just seen a big hairy spider in her bathroom. Jaylene just smiled innocently and bounced on her toes.

Sherry rolled her eyes. “Fine, sure.  No problem.  Sammara we’ll see you tonight, ok?”  I waved good-bye and gathered my sweater and purse.  I had a night with Maggie’s Bones to look forward to.  Whoa.  

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