Dance (27 page)

“What!”
he yelled once he picked up, not bothering to look at the screen.

“Jared,
it’s
Samantha.”

Great.
If his agent was
calling him so early and so insistently, the news was either fantastic or
someone had died. Jared put all his chips on the latter.

“Hey, Sam.
Sorry I
yelled. What’s up?”

“Are
you OK? You sound terrible,” his agent asked in her clipped, posh accent.

“I’m
fine. Had a rough night,” Jared replied, flopping back on the bed.

“Does
Fenix Bergman have anything to do with your rough night?” Samantha
asked,
her voice conversational.

“So
you know.” Of course she knew. Samantha knew everything the moment it happened.
That was one of the things that made her such a brilliant agent.

“My
knowing is not the problem. The press knows.”

“Fuck,”
Jared groaned. He knew they’d find out eventually – the press release for
Poison
’s return to Queen Victoria had
been issued after Simon McAllister had talked to them a week ago. They didn’t
know when the cast was going to arrive, but Jared had hoped to avoid the whole
press frenzy as long as possible.

“The
paparazzi are camping outside his hotel and you might have some in front of
your flat as well,” Samantha warned.

“What?
Why would I?” Jared huffed as he jumped off the bed, regretting it immediately
when he felt dizzy.

“Why
wouldn't you? You two were the golden couple of the musical theatre, Jared.
Remember how long it took the press to lose interest in your relationship after
Fenix left?”

“Over
three months,” Jared grumbled with a clenched jaw. The damn vultures had been
circling him for months, feeding off his misery and selling their pathetic
pictures to the tabloids, which, in turn, had bombarded him with requests for
interviews. Their relationship had always been somewhat in the spotlight, but
when they broke up so suddenly, it became an obsession for all the gossip
hungry media.

“Shit!”
Jared cursed as he looked through the blinds and saw at least five paparazzi
standing on the curb opposite his building.

“I
assume that means they’re waiting for you?” Samantha asked, unsurprised.

“Yes.
Bastards!”

“Please
tell me Fenix is not there with you.”

“What?
Of course he’s not! Why would you say that?”

“Sorry
I asked,” Samantha apologised, clearly not sorry. “Listen, Jared, we need to
decide how to play this. It’s not going to go away on its own. Think about it
and we’ll release an official statement. But don’t think too long, I’ve already
got five calls from major newspapers and entertainment channels, and my twitter
is going crazy. #
FenixAndJaredBackTogether
is
trending,” Samantha said dryly, obviously not amused.

“Fuck,”
Jared swore again. He didn't want to deal with all this again. He hated the
press and all the celebrity aspects of his job.

“I
suggest you come up with a more eloquent response. We need to address this,
Jared.
The sooner the better.”

They
said their goodbyes and Jared stared at the screen long after he hung up. It
was just after 9:00 am. He’d slept for about four hours. It wasn’t good for his
mental state, especially now after all this shit he had to deal with.
Fortunately, he didn’t need to be in the theatre before 1:00 pm. He had time to
take a long, hot shower and at least try to look and feel presentable.

He
wanted to talk to Adam, but the guy rarely woke up before noon. Jared didn’t
want to wake him up because that would be a whole new shit storm he’d have to
endure. No, he’d talk to him at the theatre later on.

The
phone started ringing again as Jared made his way round the bed and towards the
bathroom. He decided to screen the call before he answered, in case it was an
unknown number, which almost certainly meant a nosy reporter.

The
name Fenix flashed on the screen and Jared froze in place.

 
“Yes,” he said after picking up.

“You’re
awake so I assume Samantha already called you,” Fenix said as a greeting. His
voice sounded heavy and tired, like Jared’s. A sudden wave of longing spread
through Jared so violently that he had to sit down on the edge of the bed
before he lost his balance. An image of Fenix still in bed flashed through his
mind before he closed his eyes and shook his head.

“She
did. They know you’re here and they’re literally drooling over the prospect of
having something to print and talk about for the next few months.”

“Months?
I was hoping they’d
get bored in a week or so,” Fenix said. Jared could hear the rustling of sheets
as if he was moving on the bed.

“Judging
by how it took them over three months last time...” Jared said, trailing off,
not really wanting to talk about that.

“Last time?”

“Yeah.
When you left,” Jared
said. He was surprised that his voice came out soft and quiet. He heard a bit
more rustling and Fenix’s soft breathing, but he didn't say anything.

“So,”
Jared cleared his throat in an attempt to move the conversation forward – Fenix
breathing in his ear was too much to bear right now. “How many do you have
camping outside the hotel?”

“A lot.
They tried to sneak
in and bribe the staff but it didn’t work. They were escorted outside the
premises and security strongly recommended they stayed at a respectful
distance,” Fenix chuckled.
“Any at your end?”

“Yeah.
Some.
I’ll slip out from the back entrance and call a cab instead of walking today.”

Fenix
was quiet for a moment, as if deciding what to say next.

“Listen,
Jared. I had a very long conversation with Cat this morning and we’ve come up
with a plan. I really don't want to discuss it over the phone. Do you
wanna
meet me for coffee or something and we can talk?”

Jared
was shocked into silence. He didn't want to meet Fenix to discuss this because
the guy fucked up all his rational thoughts and sent his emotions into overdrive.

“We
have to talk,
ba
... Jared.
About
this and about us.
I have so much to say to you...”

“OK.
You’re right,” Jared interrupted him. “We do need to talk about everything, and
especially about how we’re going to handle the press. I’d really hate it if I
have to look over my shoulder for the damn photographers all the time,” Jared
said, summoning all his strength. He could do this. Jared had already fucked
the man, so he could talk to him. Like a normal person. It was going to be
fine.

Fenix
rattled the directions to a coffee shop where he thought they wouldn't be
bothered and they arranged to meet in an hour.

Good.

It
was all good.

Right?

Jared arrived
at the coffee shop about five minutes early. It looked like nothing special
from the outside, but when he walked in, a wonderful scent drifted to his nose
– freshly ground coffee and freshly baked... something. Jared wasn’t sure what
they baked here, but it smelled fantastic. And if Fenix frequented the place
that meant the food was organic or super healthy or sugar and fat free, or all
of the above.

The
place was small – barely three tables fit around the counter – but Jared
noticed a winding staircase leading to what he assumed was a second floor. He
ordered a soy latte and a skinny blueberry muffin, and then headed upstairs.
There, sitting at a table next to a huge window overlooking St Paul’s cathedral
was Fenix, already waiting for him. There was nobody else at the surrounding
tables and Jared released the breath he was holding. The coffee shop was nice,
but he’d been worried that, because it was so small, everyone would overhear
what they were saying. And he definitely didn't want any eavesdroppers around
when he had his first civilised conversation with Fenix.

“Hey,”
Fenix greeted him as Jared put his stuff on the table. He noticed Fenix had
ordered exactly the same as him.

“Hi.
Alright?”
Jared said and sat down opposite him.

Fenix
shrugged.
“Been better.”

Jared
nodded and wrapped his fingers around the hot mug, lifting it to his lips and
blowing gently. He met Fenix’s eyes over the cup and was once again mesmerised
by the sheer perfection of the man – high cheekbones, aristocratic nose, full
lips, and those amazing crystal clear blue eyes. Fenix Bergman was perfection –
a Nordic god in human form.

Fenix
turned his head slightly to look out the window. The bright August sun touched
his face and his blond hair shone like gold while his eyes practically lost
their colour. He looked thoughtful and Jared didn't want to interrupt his
thoughts – Fenix had a hard enough time concentrating as it was. After a while
Fenix turned back to face Jared and caught him staring. A slight blush appeared
on his pale skin and he looked down, grabbing his own coffee cup and bringing
it to his lips.

“So,”
he said. “Cat and I were talking and she came up with this brilliant idea. Or
at least, she
thinks
it’s brilliant.”

“What
do
you
think?”

“I
think it’ll solve our problems, at least for now,” Fenix said, but it was
obvious there was more to it.

“But?”

“But...
I don't think you’ll be too happy about it,” he finished, meeting Jared’s eyes
again.

“We’ll
never know unless you tell me.”

“Well...
The editor in chief of
Entertain Me
is a very close friend of Cat’s. It’s a weekly magazine that comes out every
Wednesday and Cat managed to arrange a last minute exclusive for us.”

 
“Wait.
An exclusive?
What does that mean?”

“A
photo shoot and an interview,” Fenix said, never looking away from Jared.

“Together?”
Jared asked raising an eyebrow.

“Yes.”

Jared
nodded and it was his turn to look out the window and think about all this.
What kind of a photo shoot?
And an interview?
What
would they say? Did Fenix actually think it was a good idea to say they were
back together? Was that the plan?

“Jared,”
Fenix said softly, touching his hand over the table. His warm fingers sent an
involuntary shiver through Jared’s whole body and goosebumps appeared on his
arm. Fenix noticed and slowly removed his hand, dragging the tips of his fingers
over Jared’s own fingers, reaching for his mug. “I know you have
questions,
I can see it on your face. Just ask everything
you need to know and we’ll figure it out.”

“Are
we telling the press we’re back together?” Jared blurted out, because, for him,
that was the most important question.

“Is
that what you want?” Fenix asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

“No.”

“Me
neither. Cat thought that it would be a good idea to do this magazine spread
and tell people that yes, I’m back in town, and yes, we’ll be working in close
proximity of each other, but no, we’re not back together. She thinks that if we
come out and say we’re friends and we aren’t holding any grudges, the press
will lose interest much quicker. They want scandal and gossip. If we manage to
convince them they’re not getting any of that from us and that our lives are
actually pretty boring, they’ll leave us alone.”

“That
sounds... good.
In theory.
But you know how they are –
we’ll say something and they’ll twist and shorten and edit it out until it
means something completely different...” Fenix started shaking his head even
before Jared finished his sentence.

“No,
that won't happen. I told you, this guy, the editor – Michael Jameson,
is
a very close friend of Cat’s and she says she trusts him
completely to do a spread that will be entirely in our favour. And besides, you
know how Cat gets when she’s angry – I wouldn't risk getting my balls ripped
out, and I guess he wouldn't either,” Fenix said and smirked. Jared couldn't
help but laugh – yeah, he knew Fenix’s agent was pretty fierce.

“OK
then. Let’s do it,” Jared said, the smile still lingering on his face. It might
work or it might not, they’d never be sure until they actually did it, but it
was a good plan. It was worth giving it a try if it meant they’d get rid of the
paparazzi that followed them everywhere.

“Really?
You’re game?”

“Yeah.”

Fenix’s
smile transformed his chiselled, perfect features into something prettier.
Calmer.
Much more approachable.
He
had a dimple on his left cheek that showed only when he smiled widely, and
right now it was showing. Jared wanted nothing more than to pull him into his
arms and feel him smiling against his skin.