Hunter: Rockstar Romance (The ProVokaTiv Series Book 2) (10 page)

From there, we went through the motions, looking at each other, our lips pressing together softly as we looked at each other, and it all went great. It was acting, I supposed, but inside I was thinking about how easy it had been to have those types of moments with Trinity, when the cameras weren’t rolling and she wasn’t getting paid to be there.

Much to both Trin and my delight, cut was not called until all the footage had been taken. It was a huge success!

“And we’re done shooting. Monday will be the wrap-up and review. I want everyone here—just in case,” Dara said.

“This isn’t going to mess up your next job back in Minneapolis, is it?” I asked.

“No, because they called last night. It fell through, got delayed until the spring, some crap like that.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. What are you going to do?”

“What I always do, I guess,” Trinity said. “I’ll figure it out.”

“Maybe I can help you find something out here, or Chaz can.”

“I don’t want you to go out of your way to help me out,” she said.

“I’m sure you don’t, but it’s not really out of my way. Chaz is about thirty feet away from us, and we’re in the same building,” I said.

Trinity held back a smile and said, “I’m not even sure I can keep staying with Brynn, although she’s not there all that much.”

“We can figure something out. If there is anything I know about LA, it’s that there are a bunch of people who are always willing to have a roommate to cut down on expenses, and help keep their dream alive for another day,” I said.

“Keep the dream alive for another day, huh?” Trinity replied. “I guess that’s how you have to think about it when you work from job to job. Kind of a pisser, though.”

“You think? Don’t you have a back-up plan?”

“No,” she said, looking at me oddly. “You do?”

“Kind of,” I said. “I’m no Simon, plans for the rest of my life in place, but I’m pretty sure that I could find something to do that I loved if music was no longer an option.”

“You’re lucky. I’ve never been able to figure that out,” Trinity replied.

“Why?”

“Well, Hunter, probably because I haven’t put much thought into it,” she said. She started to laugh, and I laughed, too. I liked how normal and easy this unexpected conversation felt.

Then I looked over to Chaz, and called out for him. He came walking over, kind of reminding me of a faithful Golden Retriever, which was crazy. I owed him, he didn’t owe me—not yet, anyway.

“What’s up?”

“Trin lost her next job because this is taking too long. Is there anything you can find her this upcoming week in LA? She’s talented at a great many things,” I said. I smiled at him, and then turned to Trin.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want, no big deal,” she said to Chaz.

“Oh, he doesn’t mind, do you, Chaz?”

“I, uh, no. Let me look. I’ll give you a call later, Trin, okay?”

“Thanks. I appreciate it,” Trinity said.

Then Chaz looked at me and stuck out his finger, waving it up and down a slight bit. “I almost forgot, what happened at the coffee house this morning?”

How would he know about that?  “The guy, you mean?”

“Yes, brilliant PR, my man,” Chaz said, wagging his head eagerly.

“PR?  That wasn’t PR.  It was helping a guy down on his luck,” I said.  His lighthearted tone about it was unnerving to me and I felt instantly compelled to relay the serious nature of it all.

“Okay, chill,” Chaz said.

“How did you know about that?”

“I follow my clients’ Google trends. Have to stay in the loop, and in the recent, in this business.”

“Google?” I asked him.

“Well, someone captured the footage on their smartphone.  They got the entire thing.  I poignant moment in the life of Hunter Martinez.”

“Or an invasion of privacy for a guy down on his luck,” I retaliated.

“Look at it however you want, but it’s good for you,” Chaz said.  “Well, I’ve got to fly.  Call you later, Trin.”

He left and I turned to Trin, who had a peculiar expression on her face.  “You always get attention, even when you don’t want it, don’t you?” she asked me, shaking her head.

“As do you,” I said.

“Touché,” she said softly.

“Well, any special plans this weekend?” I asked. I knew Trin would think I was hinting to her and if her past behavior was like her present that would freak her out.

“Jessie is coming to town. Girls’ weekend. I’m so excited, can’t wait to chill with my ladies.”

“Great, have fun. I guess I won’t see you until Monday, then.” I walked away because it was the only way to hide my smile, my nervous smile.  I was not used to putting my intimate thoughts out there on display, especially for a girl who I’d known for such a short time. She’d was the kind of person who made an impression, and I’d definitely been impressed.

Going out with Brynn and Jessie was just what I needed. A fun night with the people who kept me grounded. All the problems I’d been having processing the entire Hunter situation would be cleared up after a night out with them. And it was to be just us girls, no one else. Ideal!

“I cannot believe you’re here, Jess,” I said. “That was so awesome. What a great last minute surprise!”

“Yeah, just some good fortune,” Jessie said. I looked at her, sensing a slightly guilty look. What was that about? Then I saw Brynn look at her, with her “watch it” eyes.

“Something going on?” I asked, staring right at Jessie. If anyone was going to break, it would be her.

“Just having fun,” Jessie said, lifting up her Mojito glass for a toast. I didn’t buy it, but I figured the two of them just had a little something special up their sleeve. Like a surprise visit from Jessie wasn’t enough.

“Good. I’m so excited that it’s just us for dinner tonight,” I said. “This week has been crazier than I could have ever imagined.”

“Your weeks are always crazy, Trin, that just goes with the territory for you,” Brynn said.

“This one is crazier, trust me,” I said.

“Why?” Jessie asked.

“This entire video shoot with Hunter. It’s just gotten to me.” I went on to explain Dara, the retakes, almost losing my job, then losing the one in Minneapolis, and Chaz getting me some catalog work for next week. Of course, I didn’t want to elaborate because I wanted to have fun, not be a dud. So I wrapped it up. “Enough of that, it’s over and done with. Can’t wait to have fun.”

“What’s good here, Brynn?” Jessie asked.

“Well, I like the shrimp Alfredo myself,” Brynn said.

“Mm, that sounds good. Maybe I’ll try that, too,.” Jessie said.

“Come on. We each have to get something different so we can try each others,” I said. “Has it really been that long that you two have forgotten that?”

Brynn and Jessie looked at each other, and I saw their smirky smiles. So, okay, the sharing and sampling was my thing, not theirs. What could I say? I loved variety. Having the same old, same old made for a dull Trinity. Sex popped into my mind, along with an unwelcomed thought: nothing was the same old, same old from day to day in the sexual arena with Hunter. I shook my head.

“What’s wrong?” Jessie asked, looking at me with concern.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“You’re twitching your head and frowning, but kind of smiling, too,” she said to me.

“She’s been doing that a lot lately,” Brynn commented. “You might as well confess it. You have a case of Hunter on the brain. I can tell.”

“Boy, when these ProVokaTiv guys get to you, they really get to you, don’t they?” Jessie commented. “They’re like a disease.”

“Well, consider yourself fortunate that you don’t have it,” I said with a laugh. I meant it seriously. “Thankfully, for me, it’s nothing that a fun night with you ladies can’t cure. I cannot wait to go dancing, have some fun, and circumvent a hangover so we can enjoy our day at Catalina tomorrow.”

“It’s going to be awesome. Supposed to be a perfect day,” Brynn said.

“Can’t count on the weather here not to change last minute,” I said.

“Well, not up there, but here in LA, it’s pretty consistent, easy to monitor,” Brynn replied. “Since when are you so opposed to unexpected happenings? I thought you were a live life by no rules type of woman, the kind who went with the flow and accepted things for what they are.”

“I am,” I said defiantly. Another sip of Mojito covered my eye roll. I knew what Brynn was doing, and I wasn’t going to let her. “Let’s hurry and eat so we can get dancing.” That was my best line of defense because the talking and questions had to stop once our bodies started moving on the dance floor.

I was trying to outwit my pesky thoughts about Hunter by being a diva, indulging in flirting and enjoying some drinks.  Thank goodness for high metabolism because I did love to party, a lot. Well, I’d cut down when I got older and had to get serious. But screw that!  I needed to let loose, and dance those thoughts of Hunter out of my mind. If only those sexy video scenes didn’t keep popping into my head, or the wild encounters that we seemed to be able to conjure up anywhere, any place. And oddly enough, I kept thinking about the bungee jumping, and how Hunter helped to calm my nerves, how he’d helped me enjoy the adventure. Out of the great qualities he had, helping me push my limits was one of the best. STOP! I screamed in my head, and then I turned to the girls. “Ready to dance the night away, and do a little twerkin’?”

“When I twerk I look more like an ostrich with a dislocated hip,” Brynn said.

“Do ostriches have hips?” I asked.

“Of course they do,” Jessie said.

“Okay brainiac,” I taunted. “Well, we’ll just save the twerking for Jessie and me. Let’s go,” I pleaded.

Jessie and Brynn exchanged a glance. Jessie’s expression, the way she kept shifting around and looking away, made her seem uncomfortable. “What’s the guilty expression for?” I asked.

“Huh?” Jessie said, all too quickly.

“You look guilty. Why?” I pressed.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Let’s go dance,” she said.

I didn’t know what was going on, but I wasn’t going to argue.

We were at Playhouse, a seemingly cool dance bar, and it was huge, three floors with various tables and bars, a few private rooms off to the corner. I really loved the lights that were hanging over one of the bars. From a distance they looked like paper lanterns floating to the sky—or in this case, the ceiling of the bar area.

The DJ was playing a remix of Ibiza, which was pretty cool, and we went out to the dance floor and started to move around. Drawing attention from guys around us wasn’t particularly a problem for Brynn, Jessie, and me when we were out, and this night proved to be no different.

Some guy, who I’d call an oily beau-hunk—tributes to 16 Candles—a classic favorite of mine, came up behind me and started to grind up against me. I couldn’t help but giggle; he didn’t fit into the club scene at all, and we just ignored him until he got the hint.

Afterward, three really good looking guys segued in, and we had fun dancing. I noticed that Brynn looked a bit reluctant. Hmm…  Was it because she was in a relationship with Gauge? If that meant that you couldn’t dance with others, I’d take a pass on relationships. Really, who cared? Dancing was expressive, and fun. If relationships were as fun as dancing, I’d be more open to it.
It was fun with Hunter,
I thought. “Let’s do shots!” I yelled.

“I’ll go get them,” Jessie said. “You keep dancing.”

“Sounds good,” I replied. No complaints about that.

“This is so great. I love having us all together again,” I shouted out.

Brynn said yes, but I couldn’t hear it because the bass on the music went up crazy loud at that exact moment.

We just kept dancing and the one guy wrapped his arm around my waist and began to gyrate away, moving his pelvis with an Elvis type swag that was pretty damn hot. Again, I couldn’t help but notice that Brynn was acting a bit peculiar. She was looking around, maybe for Jessie? No clue. She hadn’t been gone that long.

I was starting to feel paranoid, and I could usually rely on those instincts to be accurate. Now I was looking around, too, and one floor up, near the railing, I saw Jessie talking to someone. It was Simon. Alert!

“Is that Simon?” I asked Brynn. I leaned in so she could hear me, and then I pointed to the place where I’d seen her.

“I’m not certain. Maybe we should go check it out,” Brynn said. “Say hi.”

“Did you know he’d be here?” I challenged.

She didn’t answer my question. Instead she said, “I wonder why Simon would be here. Weird, huh?”

“Yeah, weird,” I mocked, rolling my eyes, remembering all those uneasy looks Jessie had been throwing around. Suddenly my wild party mood had been replaced with curiosity, a smidgeon of annoyance, and a stomach that was doing nervous flips.

Brynn and I navigated up one floor and walked over to the direction of where Jessie was. It was definitely Simon, too. Feeling anxious, I looked around and was relieved that Hunter wasn’t anywhere. Please, may he not be there. I wasn’t particularly the praying kind, but I’d owe the universe one if it granted my wishes at that moment.

“Hey Simon, imagine seeing you here,” I said, smiling and leaning in to give him a brief hug.

“Imagine that,” he said.

“Who are you here with?” I asked.

“I’m standing here, talking to Jessie,” he said to me. His voice was kind of telling me not to challenge him, and I really wanted to, but what was the point? I was being weird, and paranoid. Simon could be anywhere he damn well pleased. “Could you give us a minute, Trinity. I was just in the middle of telling Jessie something private?”

“Uh, sure,” I said.

Brynn took my arm. “Let’s go over here, Trin,” Brynn had to practically yell just to be heard.

We walked over toward an open door.

“It’s quieter over here,” Brynn said. “So we can talk.”

She walked into the room and I followed her, only at the last second, she dodged out, closing the door with her, and leaving me in the room.

“What the…” I said, feeling instantly pissed off.

“Hey,” someone said. I whipped my head to the side. Hunter!

“What the fuck is going on?” I asked.

“Well, I had to get creative in finding a way to get you to talk to me, Trin.”

“This is bullshit. Were Jessie and Brynn in on this?”

“They assisted me, but don’t be mad at them. I was very persuasive,” Hunter said to me.

“Why? Why would you do that, and why can’t you just leave me alone? Your big, fat ego must not be able to handle someone not fawning over you, and wanting you,” I spat. I folded my arms and felt so mad. I wanted to kick something, but there was nothing for me to kick aside from Hunter, and I wasn’t about to kick him—yet, anyway!

“Can we just get real for a bit?” Hunter said, taking my arm, trying to pull me over to the couch that lined the wall, a coffee table in front of it, lit with candles and set with two cocktail glasses. What the hell was going on?  “I just want to have a conversation with you, one with a few honest answers. The sooner we have it, the sooner you can go,” Hunter said.

“Well, I can go now, and in fact, I’m going to,” I replied. I jerked at the door knob and tried to open the door, but Hunter was too fast. He slapped his hands against the door, slamming it shut, caging me. I was trapped, and I don’t know if it scared me more to imagine having a “real” conversation, as Hunter put it, or to acknowledge how close I was to breaking down and having sex with him right there on that couch. The Playhouse. Hmph…aptly named.