Rock My World (17 page)

“That’s what I just said. Actually, Erica invited me. Any idea what that’s about?”

Adam shook his head. “She asked me to meet her there, too. At seven-thirty. But she wouldn’t say what it was about. She said I had to trust her.”

“Same here.” Carl clapped Adam on the back. “Guess we’d better get over there and find out what’s going on.”

“T
HERE’S
B
ONNIE
.” Tanisha jabbed her elbow into Erica’s ribs and nodded across the parking lot.

“I see her.” She rubbed the sore spot on her ribs and watched Bonnie stalk across the parking lot. The two friends were sitting in Tanisha’s Mustang, scoping out the deli before they made their move. “She looks like Catwoman in that outfit.”

“What does that make Doug? He looks like the Terminator.”

Dressed in fatigue pants and a tight black T-shirt, Doug did look ready to do battle. “I think Bonnie brought him along as a bodyguard,” Erica said. “Maybe she’s afraid of us.”

“She ought to be afraid of what we have that could ruin her career.”

“Yeah, except we don’t have anything.” Their plan was to have Tanisha say she’d seen Bonnie make the recording and put it in the computer. “Now that we’re here, I’m not sure she’s going to be worried about your word against hers.”

Tanisha checked her look in the visor mirror and fluffed her hair. “I can plant doubts in people’s minds. That should be enough to worry her.”

“But will it be enough to get her to admit she did it? Assuming she really did it.”

Tanisha gave her a sharp look. “I thought you said you were sure she did it.”

“Pretty sure.” Erica squirmed. “I mean, who else could have done it?”

Tanisha reached for the door handle. “Come on, let’s go.”

Once through the deli’s front door, they stopped to check things out. Erica spotted Adam and Carl right away, together in a booth near the back. Her heart hammered against her ribs. All of a sudden, this crazy plan seemed too real. What if she failed and made a fool of herself in front of him? The two men were deep in conversation and didn’t see her. She grabbed Tanisha and pulled her over until they were half-hidden by a display case filled with bowling and soccer trophies won by teams sponsored by the restaurant. “I don’t want Adam and Carl to see us yet,” she whispered.

“Gotcha.” Tanisha nodded to a table near the kitchen doors. “There’s Bonnie and Doug.” She looked at Erica. “What do we do now?”

“We have to get everybody together, so Adam and Carl hear Bonnie’s confession.”

“There’s a table near them. If we can get Bonnie to sit there, with her back to Adam and Carl, then they can hear what she says.”

“How are we going to do that?”

“I’ll go in first. She won’t notice me. I’ll go tell Adam and Carl that they need to watch and listen and not say anything. Then I’ll tell Bonnie that I need to talk to her privately at the table. You come up and join us when everything’s in place.”

“All right.” She stepped farther back into the shadows, hoping Tanisha didn’t notice how badly she was shaking. “Go for it.”

Tanisha crossed the restaurant, making a wide path
around Bonnie’s table and ending up at Carl and Adam’s booth. The two men acted surprised to see her. She bent low, talking with them, then headed for Bonnie and Doug.

Bonnie didn’t look pleased to see Tanisha. She appeared to be arguing with her, but finally stood and followed her to the table near the booth.

Unfortunately, a young man and woman arrived at the table the same time Tanisha and Bonnie did. Tanisha scowled and said something to them. They looked Bonnie up and down and apparently thought better of arguing.

When both women were settled, Erica took a deep breath and stepped out of the shadows.
Here goes nothing,
she thought.

“What are you doing here?” Bonnie snapped, before Erica was even halfway across the room.

“I came to talk to you.” She slipped into the chair across from Bonnie. She didn’t waste any time with small talk. “I know you made that recording of me and Adam. And I know you’re the one who put it in the computer and set it up to get us in trouble.”

Bonnie looked unmoved. She arched one painted-on eyebrow. “And you know this how?”

Erica looked at Tanisha, who shifted in her chair. “I—I saw you,” Tanisha said. She nodded. “I was there that night.”

Bonnie continued in ice queen mode. “What were you doing there? I didn’t see you.”

“I didn’t want you to see me,” Tanisha said. “I was waiting to meet Erica and Adam.”

“Why? So you could have a threesome?”

Tanisha’s cheeks darkened. “We were going to go out to dinner.”

Bonnie looked at Erica. “And you and the Hawk decided to have a little quickie while waiting for your friend? Weren’t you worried she’d walk in on you?” She smirked. “Or maybe that was the plan.”

Erica dug her fingernails into her palm, determined to hide her frustration, to remain as cool as her opponent. “Not everyone thinks like you do. The point is, we know you did it, and we’re prepared to go to Carl and tell him.”

Bonnie crossed her arms and sat back. “Getting your little friend to lie for you doesn’t amount to proof.”

Tanisha and Erica exchanged glances. This is what she’d been afraid of. She should have known Bonnie would be harder to break.

“That may not be proof, but this is.”

A brown padded envelope landed on the table between them. Adam stood beside the table, Carl next to him.

Bonnie stared at the envelope as if it was a live scorpion. “What is it?”

“It’s a videotape.” Adam picked up the envelope and shook out the contents. “The security tape from Friday night.”

“Planning to sell your exploits on the Internet?” Bonnie regained some of her composure.

“The library doesn’t have a security camera. But the sound booths do.”

“Corporate had them installed after your big bust-up,” Carl said. “They hoped it would help them defend charges of improper conduct by on-air personalities.”

“So Big Brother is watching while we work.” She made a face. “How disgusting.”

“Not just while we work,” Adam said. “All the time. The cameras were on while you recorded me and Erica and loaded the recording into the computer.”

Her makeup stood out harshly against her paper-white skin as Bonnie stared at them. “You’re lying.”

Adam tapped the tape case against his hand and shook his head. “I’m not.”

Carl took the case from him. “I’m sure corporate will be interested in seeing this.”

Bonnie slumped in her chair. Erica thought she might even faint. Doug rushed to her side. He put his arm around her and glared at them. “What have you done to her?”

“Relax.” Carl took command of the situation. “I’m going to go back to the office and take a look at this video. You’ll all be hearing from me.”

“I want to speak to my lawyer.” Bonnie straightened, but Doug’s arms stayed around her.

“Good idea,” Carl said. “I’ll have our lawyers call your lawyer.” He turned to leave.

“Carl?” Erica called. “What about the afternoon show? Who’s going to do it?”

“I’ll move Audra into that slot and put Davie on nights.”

“Oh.” She’d half hoped he’d say everything was all right now, that she and Adam could return to the air.

“The two of you aren’t out of hot water yet,” Carl said. “Not making the tape yourselves doesn’t negate the fact that there is a tape, and it was played on your show.”

“But we didn’t know—”

Adam’s hand on her shoulder interrupted her. “It’s okay,” he said. “Let everyone look at the evidence and sort things out. We can wait a little longer.”

She realized this was the first time he’d touched her since this all happened. His hand felt good. Warm and comforting. She reached up to lace her fingers with his. “All right,” she said. “I’ll wait.” Patience was a new virtue to her, but she was learning some things were worth waiting for. “We’ll wait. Together.”

T
HOUGH
the confrontation with Bonnie had brought Adam and Erica together again, the renewed closeness she’d envisioned didn’t materialize.

Her first clue came when she followed him to his house after they left the deli. She jumped out of her car and threw her arms around him, anticipating setting a new speed record for undressing and jumping into his bed. Instead his kiss was less than sizzling.

She drew her head back and looked into his eyes. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “That video proves I had nothing to do with that recording of us. That everything Bonnie said about me was a lie.”

“I know that.” He patted her shoulder and eased out of her arms. “I apologize. I never should have doubted you.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

“I
did
doubt you.” He took a step back and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Even when I knew I shouldn’t—that you’ve never given me a reason to—I doubted you.”

“We’ve established that. You said you’re sorry, I forgive you. Now why can’t we kiss and make up?”

He shook his head. “How can I say I love you, then
doubt you? Maybe I’m not cut out for this serious relationship stuff.”

He looked so miserable, she probably should have been sympathetic. Instead her main emotion was one of annoyance. “I can’t believe you’re doing this,” she said.

“Doing what?”

Being an idiot.
“Being so hard on yourself.” She put her hand on his shoulder. “You made a mistake. So what?”

His eyes met hers, the sadness in them heartbreaking. “I don’t want
us
to be a mistake.”

His words chilled her. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying I need some more time to think. That we should cool things off a little.”

She took her hand from him and stepped back, somehow keeping her voice steady. “You want me to wait while you make up your mind how you
really
feel about me?”

“Yeah.”

He made it sound so reasonable. But there was nothing reasonable about the anger surging through her now. So much for her vows of patience. Why did he have to make this so
difficult?
“You said you loved me. I thought you meant it.”

“I did mean it. I
do
love you. But—”

“No buts. No more excuses. First you couldn’t pursue our relationship because of our jobs. Then we couldn’t tell anyone, because of our jobs. Now you’re not sure about us because of some doubts that crossed your mind about this whole sex tape thing. I’m tired of you second-guessing everything. Love doesn’t work that way.”

He frowned. “Then how does it work, if you’re such an expert?”

“I’m not an expert. But I know how I feel, which is more than you can say, apparently. I know that love isn’t practical or rational or…or necessarily safe. Love involves risk. It means showing a side of yourself to your lover no one else sees—whether that’s in bed or out. It means gambling that the feelings you have now will last and grow stronger. It means taking a chance that the other person will find out some not-so-attractive things about you, and you’ll find out unattractive things about them—and either those things will matter, or they won’t.”

She clenched her fists at her sides, fighting the tears that threatened, forcing words past the knot in her throat. “But first you have to be willing to take those chances. And apparently, you aren’t.”

He stared at her, as if this onslaught of words had dazed him. “I don’t know what to say.”

How about
I love you?
Or
You’re right?
Or even
Give me another chance?
Instead he only stared at her in silence.

She turned and ran to the car. Tears pouring from her eyes, she jabbed the key into the ignition and shifted into Reverse. She only hoped she didn’t run over something as she backed out of his driveway.

When she glanced in the rearview mirror, Adam was still standing there, unmoving. Unmoved. She scrubbed tears from her cheeks and sniffed, fighting the urge to howl with rage and pain. He hadn’t tried to stop her from leaving. He hadn’t even bothered to say goodbye.

A
DAM FELT SICK
to his stomach. Any minute now he expected to start shaking. Like the worst withdrawal symptoms he’d ever experienced. How could he have stood there like a dummy and let her leave? Why did his mouth refuse to translate what his heart was saying?

He did love Erica. Why wasn’t that enough? Maybe she was right. He was a coward, afraid to risk. But with his record, who could blame him?

A distant ringing distracted him. He realized it was his phone, and went to answer it. Maybe it was Erica, calling from her cell to give him another chance.

“Adam Hawkins?”

“Yes?” He answered cautiously, prepared to hang up if this was another reporter.

“Stan DeWitter. Air Stream Broadcasting. I’ve been trying to reach you and Erica Gibson all evening.”

What did the program manager for KMJC want with him and Erica? “What can I do for you, Mr. DeWitter?”

“I heard about the bust-up over at KROK. Sorry to hear it.”

He didn’t sound the least bit sorry. “And?”

“And I want to talk to the two of you about coming to work for me.”

He blinked. “You’re offering us a job?”

“Sure, provided we can work out all the terms.” He laughed. “It would be the biggest coup of my career to hire you after KROK was dumb enough to drop you.”

Adam took a deep breath. “You do know what happened? The trouble we got into with the FCC?”

“Yeah, and I don’t want anything like that happen
ing at my station. But the publicity is great. Everybody in town is talking about you guys.”

“Right. We’re notorious.”

“Notorious is good. It gets people tuning in. So what do you think? Are you interested?”

“Maybe. But there’s something about me you should know.”

“What’s that? Don’t tell me you’re one of those prima donnas who has to have a certain brand of bottled water in the booth, an ergonomic chair and you won’t work on Friday the thirteenth. Or do tell me. We’ll work around it.”

He almost smiled. Welcome to the wonderful world of radio personalities. “I have a record. A criminal one. I was in prison for three years a while back.”

Silence. He could feel DeWitter’s shock through the phone line. “What were you in for?”

“Cocaine.”

“You’re not doing drugs now, are you?”

“No. I’ve been clean since they arrested me.”

“We’ll make you take a drug test to prove it.”

“I can pass your drug test. Don’t worry.”

“Then I don’t care about your past, as long as it doesn’t affect your future.”

He hadn’t even realized he’d been holding his breath until it rushed out of him. He managed to collect himself enough to talk again. “Then I’d be interested in talking to you.”

“Great. Bring Erica, too. Say, tomorrow about one o’clock?”

“I’ll have to talk to Erica and get back to you.”

He hung up the phone, and stood, staring vacantly
at it, DeWitter’s words repeating in his brain like the tune to a particularly annoying song.
I don’t care about your past, as long as it doesn’t affect your future.

Adam had thought he was being smart, learning from the mistakes he’d made. Instead he had been letting those mistakes dictate how he lived his life. They’d weighed him down like boulders tied to his ankles, holding him back from moving forward with his life—with his job, and with Erica.

He
did
love her. The realization of how much stole his breath. He sat, one hand to his chest, mind racing. He had to find a way to show her that love, to prove that, for her, he was willing to risk everything.

E
RICA TOLD HERSELF
if Adam couldn’t handle all the highs and lows of being in love than he didn’t deserve her. But her anger at him couldn’t numb the pain of losing him. What had started as a fun fling had been so much more from practically their first night together. She’d felt a connection with Adam she hadn’t known with any other man.

She’d thought he’d felt it, too.

For the past day and a half she’d moped around the house, alternately crying and raving, eating too much chocolate and sleeping. She’d made a lame attempt to work on her résumé. Though she’d proved Bonnie was responsible for the tape being aired, there was no denying that was her and Adam having sex on the tape. That might take a while to live down.

Still, she had talent. Listeners liked her. She’d do her best to convince another station to take a chance on her.

Maybe in another city, where she wouldn’t risk run
ning into Adam, or turning on the radio and hearing his voice.

The phone rang and she reluctantly answered it. “Hello?”

“Hey, girl, you need to turn on your radio right now.” Tanisha’s voice was urgent. “To KROK.”

She glanced at the clock. Eight-twenty. The last hour of Nick’s show. “Why?”

“Just do it, okay? Please? Now.”

“All right.” She leaned over and turned on the stereo, the dial already tuned to KROK. Avril Lavigne crooned through the speakers. She picked up the phone again. “It’s on. Now will you tell me what’s going on?”

But the dial tone sounded in her ear. Tanisha had hung up on her!

“It’s Freaky Friday here on KROK with Naughty Nick. The rap this morning is about how you know when you’re in love. I’m talking the real deal here, peeps. Those feelings that scare the you-know-what out of Naughty Nick. Right now we have a caller on the line who thinks he knows the answer to my question. W’as up?”

“Hey, Nick. This is the Hawk.”

“Hey, Hawk! How’s it hangin’? Made any recordings lately?”

“You’re so lame, Nick.”

“I’m wounded! Wounded I tell you! So, big guy, you here to give us the skinny on true love?”

“I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, but the biggest one was letting my true love, Erica, get away. I hope she’s listening now, because I want her and all our listeners, too, to know how special she really is to me.”

“That’s great, dude. Very moving. But you still haven’t answered my question. How do you know this is true love?”

“I guess you know when the thought of living without that person in your life scares you more than promising to be with them forever. Or when the whole city hears a broadcast of you making love, and it doesn’t take away from the specialness of what you have together.”

Nick was silent for once, letting Adam’s words speak for themselves. Erica sank to her knees beside the radio and stared at the lighted dial.
Oh, Adam!

“I just wanted to say I’m sorry, Erica. You were right—I was scared of all the feelings you stirred up in me. I was afraid of making a mistake, but I know being with you could never be a mistake. You bring out the best in me, always. I love you. And I hope you’ll give me a second chance.”

“Women all over the city are sighing right now and wiping their eyes.” Nick sniffed. “You’ve got me a little teary-eyed myself, big guy. Good luck to you.”

“Thanks.”

“Erica, if you’re listening, give the man another chance. This song’s for the two of you.”

“In Your Eyes” began to play. Erica switched off the radio and reached for the phone. Adam’s number was still on speed dial. He answered on the second ring. “Hello?”

“I love you, too, you big dummy. Why couldn’t you say all those things to me the other night?”

“Give me a break. I’m way out of practice on this expressing my feelings thing.” His voice softened. “But I meant every word of what I said just now.”

“I know. How soon can you get over here?” She couldn’t wait to put her arms around him and show him how much his words had meant to her.

“Look outside.”

She stood and went to the window and parted the blinds. Adam’s car was parked in her driveway, and he was standing beside it, cell phone to his ear.

Laughing, she tossed the phone aside and ran to him. “You big goof. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Erica. I’m not afraid to say it, or to feel it, anymore. I—”

“Hush.” She smothered his words with a kiss.

“But I’m not finished.” He pulled away slightly and smoothed back her hair, which she’d gone back to wearing down, straight and unadorned.

“Yes, you are.” She kissed him again. “There’s a time for talk, but there’s also a time to let actions speak louder than words.” She took his hand and tugged him toward the house. “Let’s go inside.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He followed her to her front door. “I’m still rusty with the words, but the action part I’ve got down cold.”

“Or hot.” She shimmied against him and smiled.

He swept her into his arms and shoved open the door with one foot. “Definitely hot. And getting hotter.”

“Y
OU’RE LISTENING
to the new, improved Hawk and Honey Show. We’re here to make your drive home a little smoother.”

Erica finished her introduction and smiled at Adam across the booth, amazed at the way things had worked out. They’d met with Stan DeWitter and he’d made
them a generous offer to do the drive-time show at KMJC. It was a terrific opportunity.

But when they’d shown up at Carl’s office and tried to hand in their resignations, he’d surprised them both by making a counteroffer. He’d sat them down in his office and lectured them like a father lecturing his wayward children—lots of words about “learning from your mistakes” and “paying your dues,” in this case a hefty fine from the FCC.

“I’ve got a lot invested in both of you,” he’d said, scowling and pacing back and forth in front of his desk. “If DeWitter thinks he can waltz in here and snatch you away from me, he’s got another think coming.” Then Carl had named a salary figure that more than topped DeWitter’s offer.

“What about your no-dating policy?” Erica had teased.

“The policy’s been changed.” He stopped and stabbed a finger at her. “But no more screwups. The cost of my ulcer medication keeps going up. You two are going to put me in the poorhouse.”

So here they were, back in their familiar chairs in the production booth, and back in each other’s arms when the show was over.

“Coming up later this hour, we’ll have our trivia challenge, as well as a look at the upcoming concert schedule.” Adam smiled at her across the console. He smiled a lot more these days.