02 Unforgivable - Untouchable (31 page)

“
I just want to get to know her better to make sure I want her, not just to be able to finally say I got laid.”

I laughed softly, “Ryan, you just aren’t that kind of guy. Does she know why you want to take this slow? Does she know you’ve never—”

“
I’ve left a few hints, but I haven’t come right out and told her.”

“
If you don’t tell her she’s going to take this hesitation to mean something else. She’s already worried about you and I going to L.A. together.”

“
Yeah, she kind of told me that tonight.”

“
If I have to go out there anymore, I’m hiring a pilot. I don’t need to make her jealous.”

“
I think that’s ridiculous—I’m not doing anything, I’m just flying you out there and staying a few days.”

“
If she left for a few days with another guy would you be worried?”

“
That’s not the same.”

“
Oh yes it is. You need to realize she feels this way every time you and I are alone. I imagine she’s wondering what we’re doing right at this moment.”

“
So you’re saying you would have wanted me to go with her tonight?”

“
All I really want is for you to be happy and in love, because I can’t be that person for you—you deserve to be more than a Micah replacement.”

He leaned over and kissed my forehead. “I—I love you, Leese.”

I reached out my hand and rested it softly against his cheek, “More than anything, I want you to be happy.”

“
I don’t suppose you consider letting me sleep in here for old time’s sake?”

I laughed and gave him a push, “Not that kind of happy—no, and I hope the next time you are in a bed with someone she rocks your world and doesn’t tell you no.”

He rolled off the bed, his feet hitting the floor with a light thump, “Goodnight.”

“
Goodnight, Ryan.”

Monday morning, after Ryan consumed a half pot of coffee at five a.m., we flew out of Colorado Springs. We touched down at LAX, forty-five minutes before I needed to be in the studio. I considered a rental car, but opted for a taxi since I didn’t know their roads or traffic. Someone at the studio made us reservations at the closest hotel, and we would only have enough time to grab our room key and toss our bags inside before continuing our journey.

Mr. Bollson was the man to greet us as he ushered me back to the waiting stylists. There were two of them because they were going to try to speed the process from four or five hours to under two as he explained that the other contestants would be arriving at noon. Ryan was seated in a comfortable chair with a ringside view as the man and woman worked on me, but it wasn’t long before I saw his eyelids droop and he fell asleep—so much for all that coffee.

Two hours later, I gently touched his arm. Surprise was written all over his face when he saw me.

“
Leese?” His hand reached out and gently touched my long brown hair, “Wow, it feels so real?”

“
It is real—real human hair anyway. Amazing isn’t it?”

“
I didn’t realize how much I missed seeing you like this until now—yeah, pretty amazing.”

It looked like my natural hair and even the color was perfect, but it was definitely fuller.

Mr. Bollson asked us to come out to the studio and have a seat in the audience chairs as more contestants were still arriving. They filed in, several brought companions or friends with them which I know helped Ryan feel a little more at ease.

I recognized some of them; Kitkat was from a reality television modeling show; she made a name for herself by being a total witch to everyone; Shana Weaver was a women’s tennis pro; and then Carrie Wakefield showed. She’d had a short career as a television wrestler; she was loud and crass and known for starting trouble. She immediately began staring at Ryan, and I could tell it was making him uncomfortable.

Nicole Fletcher was a soap opera star and by all accounts a very nice person. The oldest contestant was Dobrey Stewart. I recognized her from all the charity work she received recognition for doing. There were a few other women; some looked familiar to me and some didn’t look familiar at all.

It did surprise me though when a pair of bouncy, blonde twins entered the room and Ryan told me they were play bunnies, Melissa and Melanie Nielsson.

“
How do you know who they are? And please don’t tell me you read Playboy.”

A grin lifted the corner of his mouth, “No, but Nate does. He brought one to school and had it in his gym locker. He’s got their centerfold taped inside.”

“
Ah! Poor Natasha, I bet she—”

“
She bought it for him,” he said with a light laugh.

“
You’re lying, Ryan Faultz. There is no way—”

“
Honest,” he raised his right hand. “He told me she gave it to him and said that better be the only way he ever sees what a white girl has under her clothes. I don’t think she had a clue he put it in his locker, but he did.”

I just shook my head and leaned back against the chair as more people entered.

I only recognized a handful of the male contestants. Rashad Smith was a professional baseball player, and Sergio Mendez was a motivational speaker, Lexington Overhill was an actor, and one other guy was really familiar, but I couldn’t quite figure out who he was until they called his first name, Sadarius.

“
Do you know who he is?” I whispered to Ryan.

“
Isn’t he the one who beat up those guys that were robbing a family?”

“
Yeah, Sadarius Collins. I think it’s pretty cool that they’ve got him on the show. I hope he can sing.”

“
You’re supposed to be here to win this thing, not rooting for the other contestants,” he whispered with a light chuckle.

“
I don’t want to win. Matter of fact, I don’t even want to be here, but between you and Don, here I sit.”

“
All right,” Don began, quieting everyone, “it’s time to lay out the ground rules and get started.”

For the next hour he covered confidentiality, how the eliminations would work, introduced the judges, and discussed some dos and don’ts on the stage. “We won’t be live for the first four shows, but we will have an audience. The live shows will air on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting the first week in November. The taped shows will be women on Wednesday and men on Friday, and you are expected to be present for the tapings even if your group isn’t performing. We’ll cut three contestants by the end of each taping. You’ll get a two week break and then, after two more tapings, another six will leave until we have twelve contestants. There is another two week break before the live shows begin.”

“
You are on camera all the time you are with us, with the exception of the changing area, so be aware that anything you do may make it on television. Keep that in mind, and yes, you will sign a waiver that you can’t sue us if you don’t like how we portray you from your extra clips.

“
Some of you will be here this week to work with your singer or group, some of you will be flying out of here to meet elsewhere to do your remake, but we’ll all be back on Wednesday and then again on Friday for our first taping. Fill out your paperwork and turn it in for today and you are free to go until eight a.m. tomorrow morning.”

Ryan read over my shoulder as I went through the contract. There were several people who brought lawyers, but I didn’t think this was horribly complicated. I finished reading and reluctantly signed my name. If it wasn’t an excellent opportunity to sing my apology to Micah, I wouldn’t be here.

“
Okay, let’s turn this in and go do a little sightseeing,” I said smiling up at Ryan as he offered me his hand.

Kitkat was standing impatiently as she waited to hand in her paperwork when she turned and looked at me and began to laugh. That was a little unsettling.

“
You must be Annalisa Winslett,” she said quite loudly, “the Runaway Princess.”

“
That would be me,” I replied as I held my head erect and stared back at her, “but don’t believe everything you hear.”

“
Shit girl, I don’t but I’m guessing this is the piece of candy you ran off with the last time—I’d run off with a guy that looks that good, too.”

Ryan was trying hard not to blush, I could tell, but he was losing the battle.

Carrie came up behind us and began openly handling him as she grabbed his jean belt loops and gave his pants a light hoist to improve her view of his backside, “Yeah, I agree, he’s got a nice ass on him.” And then she goosed him.

His face was getting dark as he tried to step away.

“
Please, don’t do that,” I asked calmly.

She was not a small woman. She was at least two inches taller than me and very muscular, but she didn’t frighten me. She may have liked wrestling, but I had sparred with some tough people in my martial arts training, and I was sure I could take her. And, with a title that included the word ‘princess’ in it, I knew she wouldn’t expect me to pack a punch.

“
I do whatever I please, little girl, and you better be happy I’m touching him and not you. Now baby,” she said, addressing Ryan. “When you want a girlfriend that knows what a man like you is for then—”

“
He has a girlfriend,” I stated, stepping between her and Ryan as we made our way closer to the table. The camera crew was focusing on the two of us, and I was beginning to grit my teeth. She liked having her ‘I’m so bad’ reputation and I’m certain she wanted to keep it up for this show, but she was picking the wrong person to mess with.

Kitkat laughed lightly as she stepped away from the table. I know she thought I was getting ready to get my butt kicked, but I was going to show Carrie that no matter what title they stuck on me, I wasn’t running away from her challenge.

Carrie appeared to be reassessing me. I stepped up and handed them my contract. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her getting ready to grab another pinch of Ryan when I startled her by turning swiftly and blocking her attempt with a sweep of my arm. As soon as we made contact, she was ready to start throwing punches. Ryan barely had time to turn around as I blocked two of her swings and the stage crew jumped in to pull us apart. She never even ruffled my hair, but I know she was dying to get at me.

“
Try something like that again and I’m gonna rearrange that pretty face for you!” she spewed after me.

The stage crew still had a hold of her as I gave a light laugh and took Ryan’s arm and walked away.

“
Yeah, you’d better run away,” she sneered.

I ignored the remark. I knew who I really was underneath the title, and I was sure she’d keep pushing my buttons and then she’d find out, too.

When we stepped outside, Ryan began the apology, big time. “I had no idea what this was going to be like, Leese. I’m so sorry I talked you into this.”

I waved down a taxi as he continued to tell me that he would fly me out of here right now. We slid into the back seat of the cab as I turned to him, “Rodeo Drive or Venice Beach?”

“
You don’t want to stay and actually do this—you want to go home, right?”

“
Venice Beach,” I decided for him, tapping on the cabbie’s glass panel. The car pulled out into traffic.

I laughed. “No, I’m fine. I overheard some of the guys saying that the bookies in Vegas have already started a pool over whether I’ll run away before the show airs. Somebody’s going to lose a lot of money, because I’m staying.”

He smiled and looked out the window as the buildings blurred past. “Thanks for the help in there,” he said sheepishly. “I have no clue what I’m supposed to do when a woman pulls something like that—I couldn’t hit her and I didn’t have any idea what to say.”

“
I could tell. Unfortunately, so could she. I’m thinking she’s going to be a thorn in our side for the next several days.”

He groaned, but she was forgotten quickly on the streets of Venice Beach.

We were at the studio right on time the next morning as Don approached and said we had a plane to catch. “You’re going to Tennessee with a film crew to shoot your practice with Rascal Flatts at 2 p.m. today. You’ll be back by about 9 p.m. and then it’s back here tomorrow at noon for the dress rehearsal. Doors open for our first taping with an audience at 6 p.m.”

“
I can fly her to—”

“
Sorry, Romeo, the flight is already scheduled,” he said dismissively.

“
His name is Ryan,” I sternly reminded Don, letting him know I didn’t like his remark.

He gave a half smile, “Sorry, Ryan—I’ll remember that next time. We have a plane and a crew ready. By the way, Annalisa, I need your song choice for next week. Have you given any thought about what you’d like to sing?”

I had actually been thinking about it ever since I agreed to do the show. If these people were going to give me an opportunity to send a message to Micah, I would make sure the message was clear, “’Everything I Do’ by Bryan Adams.”