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

Teacher: The Final Act

By

R.L. Merrill

Teacher: The Final Act

Copyright © 2015, Celie Bay Publications, LLC

All rights reserved.

No part of this book shall be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any mean, electronic, mechanical, magnetic, photographic including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without prior written permission of the publisher. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.  

This work is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Published By: Celie Bay Publications, LLC

Cover design by: Ellay Branton

Edited by: LTE Editing

Formatting by: Bob Houston eBook Formatting  

To Jennifer

How you continue to soldier on, despite your debilitating condition, by educating our children, I’ll never comprehend. Thank you for inspiring my Teacher, Jesse, and for always supporting me in my endeavors. You are my hero!

Teacher: The Final Act

A Hollywood Rock ‘n’ Romance Trilogy

Book Three

November 2013

“This shit is itchy as fuck! God damn! How much longer, Nikki?”

Danny was trying desperately not to scratch, but the black body paint was getting to both of us. I was just not about to complain.  Not in front of Nikki Sixx.  I was having a hard enough time focusing on what he was telling us to do. The music playing, “A Touch of Evil” by Judas Priest, was blaring, making it hard to hear anything. Except when Danny sang along in my ear. I could listen to his voice all the time and it would never stop giving me chills.

“I think I’m getting a fucking rash,” he grumbled.

Nikki laughed and said, “Nah, dude, it’s probably just your hair growing back  already. You sure are a hairy bastard for a red head.”

Danny told him off in such a creative diatribe, he had us all in stitches.

I moved just a little to ease his weight off my thigh. We were lying on a padded platform draped with white, gauzy fabric, and surrounded by crows. Trained crows, apparently. They had a handler and everything.

Nikki directed Danny to move around behind me as I rested on my side. Danny pulled my top leg back over his hip, once again delighting in my flexibility. I pressed my hips back against Danny’s and he made a strangled sound.

“God, you feel so fucking good,” he whispered, his breath giving me goosebumps.

“Jesse you are amazing! Now can you reach back over your head and grab his head? Yeah, like that, and arch your back as much as you can. Danny, I want your cheek against her shoulder, and close your eyes. Fuck, that’s hot!”

Now before you assume our relationship has progressed to pornographic filmmaking, let me explain.  Way back when, the night Danny and I went to the Roxy, Nikki told him he wanted to use Danny in a photo shoot at his studio sometime. He had some ideas he wanted to play with and thought Danny would be a good subject. Nikki had spent the last few years really exploring photography and loved to play with the borderline between beautiful and profane. After that night, Danny and Nikki talked a few times about Nikki shooting the cover for the next Blackened album, which Danny and ‘the guys’ wrapped up recording just a week ago. Nikki agreed, but after Danny called him about something totally unrelated, he asked a favor in return. Danny and I were now covered in splashes of black body paint and black feathers, returning the favor.

Nikki asked us to pose nude for him, a request that had me cringing, but he promised our intimate bits would be covered.  I agreed after some lengthy discussions with Danny as well as my mother and my boss.  I didn’t want anything to jeopardize my career and certainly didn’t want to disappoint my folks. I’d seen Nikki’s photography and found it very tasteful, dramatic, and sometimes, quite disturbing. My mom thought it sounded exciting. My boss, Gloria, made me promise to show her the results.

Danny’s major concern, other than my bits being on display to anyone other than him, was the fact that he’d have to have a full body wax. Nikki explained that his red and blonde curls would interfere with the body paint that would cover large swaths of our bodies. He’d had it done the day before, and he assured me it was far worse than the scene from “40-year-old Virgin.” I promised to kiss it and make it better, which made it worthwhile to him. I promised to be very thorough.

“Now let’s get some standing shots.” Danny helped me up from the draped platform we’d been on. I think the only thing keeping him from an aroused state was the itchiness he was experiencing, and the small, but very present, audience of Nikki, his girlfriend, the crow handler, and two assistants.

Danny looked demonic and angelic all at once. He had black paint across his eyes, his chest, and patches on his ass and legs. He had large wings made of black feathers attached to his shoulders, and more feathers covering his groin. My breasts and parts further south were covered in black feathers, and I, too, had the black paint across parts of my body. Nikki’s makeup artist had done elaborate eye makeup, including thick, black, sparkly lashes that extended about an inch on top and bottom. My hair had black feathers woven into it. Danny recently shaved his hair off again, but his goatee was the longest I’d ever seen it at around three inches. He’d started back at the gym about a month or so ago to get ready for being on tour. He was already looking much more toned, even though he was perfectly fit before. Now, his muscles were well defined and his stamina, well, I never thought that could get any better, but then I should really cease to be amazed by him.

I’d followed the doctor’s orders and gained 15lbs since my flare up of Rheumatoid Arthritis this summer. I was definitely at my curviest. I’d even gone up a bra cup size from a barely B to a sure thing C. A change Danny could not stop admiring. My bruises and cuts were all healed as well, thankfully.

I had to pull myself away from admiring Danny’s mouthwatering physique to follow Nikki’s directions. He tried a few poses, but wasn’t getting what he wanted. Danny got an evil grin and I knew I was in for it.

“Hey honey, how about you do that thing where...”  

He whispered the rest to me and I blushed.

“Okay, hold me tight,” I said, a little embarrassed to do this trick in front of our audience. Nikki took pictures the whole time. I was facing Danny, and he must have sensed my nerves. He leaned in to kiss me so deeply, my knees got weak.

“Relax, babe. Pretend like it’s just the two of us and we’re not in some demented Mapplethorpe photo session.”

That got a chuckle from Nikki. He winked at me and I took a deep breath.  I held on to Danny’s shoulders and brought my right leg out to the side and into a full extension. I rolled my hip and placed my heel on his shoulder.

“You ready,” I whispered with a giggle, and his eyes rolled back in his head.

“I don’t know. I’m not sure I can stay in control with you like this,” he said in a gravelly voice.

Nikki stepped in close and said quietly, “You two are fucking beautiful. Just a few more, then we’ll leave you alone. Show me what you’ve got, Jesse.”

I nodded at Danny and then I raised my hands over my head and continued leaning back, arching, until I was in a full extension and my fingertips brushed the floor. I heard Danny groan, heard the two assistants gasp, and Nikki cursed.

“Jesus, woman! This is fucking perfect! Babe,” he called over his shoulder, “I hope you don’t have plans this afternoon.” His girlfriend giggled and gave a sigh.

“You two are incredibly sensual. Danny, lean back a little and roll your hips forward. Close your eyes. That’s it. That’s so fucking it!” He made appreciative sounds as he took a few more shots, making sure to get additional angles.

“I’m going to bring you back up now,” Danny whispered and he pulled me back to standing. My hair spilled across both of us and he took advantage of our position to kiss me again. I slid my leg down to around his waist, pulling him close, but then he lifted me and I brought the other leg around him. I held on to his shoulders and squeezed with my thighs as he kissed my neck, missing the body paint. My head fell back and I closed my eyes, completely forgetting we weren’t alone. I felt Danny start walking and next thing I knew, my back was against a wall. I vaguely heard Nikki snap a few more pictures and then put down his camera. He called to Danny to take his time, and I felt Danny growl.

He frantically pulled at the feathers that had been attached to bra cups and stuck to my skin with adhesive. I smiled down at him and helped him peel the cups off. His hands and mouth replaced the feathers and I started to squirm in his arms. He tried to pull off the rest of our feather coverings and still hold me up.  

“Put me down, baby, and I’ll help you,” I murmured.

He just growled and kept at it. He kissed my breasts hard, which would probably leave marks, and finally got his covering off, shortly followed by mine.  Once it was off, his fingers found my center.  He pushed in and out, my cries getting louder and more insistent.

“Danny, please, I need you,” I groaned against him. He grabbed my hips hard, hoisted me up, and carried me over to the platform. I slid down his body and laughed when I looked down. “Look at the mess we’ve made.”

He looked down at our bodies and chuckled. The black body paint was smeared everywhere and there were fingerprints all over where we’d touched each other.  My eyelashes were even stuck to his head and his chest! We playfully made an even bigger mess, and soon we were covered from head to toe with smudges.

“Nikki would probably like us like this,” Danny said, pulling on his goatee. He grabbed the camera and took a few shots of me, during which I covered myself. Then I took the camera from him and took several shots from different angles, making sure to keep my favorite part out of view!

He was so beautiful, even covered in black smudges! I couldn’t wait to see the prints. I did some close-ups of his face with different expressions, and one of his back and his profile.

Danny set the camera on the tripod and started a timer. He trotted over to me and wrapped me in his arms. The camera flashed several times over the next few minutes while Danny kissed me, and then we just looked into the camera together, Danny blocking my body with his shoulder.

“I’m going to want copies of these,” he said, kissing my neck. Then he started itching again.

“You poor thing! Why don’t we finish this at home, after we’ve had a shower? Then I can rub you down with some lotion to help with the itching,” I suggested.

He smirked down at me. “A rub down sounds like a great idea, honey.”

Two months prior...

End of August 2013

“I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me! Where’s the strong, confident Jesse, who stood up to Her Hungarian Highness that day on Melrose? Where’s the assertive Jesse, who told off Danny’s ex-wife when she insulted him about not having a diploma?”
This Jesse was currently cowering in the bathroom in Danny’s room, feeling unworthy and considering giving up on a nearly perfect love with a complicated man.

After a tumultuous week where we travelled back to our homes to meet each other’s parents, things were fantastic between Danny and me.  He made it clear to both sets of parents that he planned on marrying me and had even shared the news with his amazing daughter Jane.  We’d gone to a wedding today for the daughter of Danny’s producer and it should have been another of our best days.  Instead, I’d stupidly gone without food all day and only picked at my dinner because I was hot and feeling a little off.  

Unfortunately, Danny’s ex, former A-list actress Brooke Jones, took this moment to make a grand entrance. The stress of her reaction to seeing Danny and me together and not just as a student-teacher, and the reaction of the Mannings’ mother, Grace, to seeing Brooke brought my happiness crashing down. I’d begged Alex’s sister to drive me home and then arrived to find myself locked out of the house and physically a disaster.  Danny had come home to find me passed out on the porch. Now, after purging what little had actually made it into my stomach, I was shaking and angry with my behavior.

“Snap the fuck out of it,” I shouted at the sniveling woman in the mirror. “Who the hell is Brooke Jones or Grace Manning to tell you whether you are worthy of Danny?! One thing’s for sure, if you run away, you’re going to lose the best thing that ever happened to you.” I turned and threw up in the toilet one more time. I was washing my face when I heard Danny clear his throat.

Embarrassed, I turned to him, wiping the last of my tears away. I threw back my shoulders and faced him.  ”How much of that, did you hear?”

He uncrossed his arms and stepped over to the counter, leaning his hips against it and looking at me, curiously. “All of it.” I dropped my head and he took a deep breath. “Were you really going to run away? Are you leaving me,” he asked in a cracked voice.

I touched his hand that rested on the counter and then pulled back. “No. Not really. I just panicked, Danny! When I got back here and I couldn’t get in, I felt lost. It was one more reminder that I’m an outsider in your life, and as much as we love each other, there’s always going to be someone or something trying to keep us apart. I didn’t feel strong enough to fight anymore. I never told you this, but there’s this cop that patrols around here that’s stopped me a couple of times and given me a hard time for being here. It always seems to happen when I’m feeling a little nervous about moving things forward with you. And every time I have let him know I belonged here, with you, and he let me go. I don’t know what happened today, but the more upset I got, the more physically sick I became.  I felt like me being there was making it worse for you, like if Brooke hadn’t seen me, you wouldn’t have had a fight with her.”

I took a deep breath and slid down the wall to sit on the floor, no longer able to stand. Danny watched me, then slid down next to me.  He still didn’t speak, just stared at me.   I took another deep breath and continued.

“A major difference between you and me is that I’ve never had to deal with anyone’s obstacles other than my own. I’ve always fought for everything I had. I don’t know why I thought our relationship was going to be any different from the challenges I’ve faced before. So as soon as I can quit throwing up, I intend to fight for you.  For Jane. For us. That is, if you still want me to.”

And with that, the digestive pyrotechnics continued. I heaved so hard I was afraid to open my eyes because I just knew some internal organs had to be sitting in the bottom of the toilet. So not a dignified way to end such a statement.

I felt his strong arms come around me, supporting me and holding my hair. When I finally stopped, he started the tub.  He waited until the water was warm enough before he pulled my dress off over my head, took off my undergarments, and helped me up.

“Brush teeth first,” I whispered.

He handed me my toothbrush and pasted it for me. I brushed until I thought my gums had probably been scraped off. I just wanted to scrub this whole horrid experience away. I rinsed and let Danny help me into the tub.

“I’ll be right back,” he said quietly, and stood to leave.

I heaved a big sigh, too tired to cry anymore. I felt like every nerve in my body was exposed, completely raw. I started to reach for the soap and Danny beat me to it. He’d gone to change out of his suit and was now just in his black boxer briefs. He took the bottle of body wash and squirted some on his hands, urging me to kneel just for a moment so he could wash all of me. He worked his way down to my toes, massaging my legs and feet. When he was finished, he grabbed the shampoo from the shower, used the hand held nozzle, and washed and conditioned my hair. When it was done, he towel dried the mass and wrapped it up. I rested my head back and closed my eyes. I sensed him moving and opened one eye to find him sitting on the edge of the tub, gazing down at me.

“I would have understood if you left. I kept getting angry and frustrated with you when it felt like you weren’t moving at the pace I thought we should. I felt like you were holding back, like you didn’t care enough. And the whole time you kept worrying you were going to be a problem for me, I would get mad and tell you to stop worrying. What I didn’t see was what all you were taking on by getting involved with me. I have a fucked up ex-wife. I have a beautiful, but troubled daughter. I’m surrounded by people who expect a lot of shit from me. You are the first person in so long that didn’t expect something from me, and I took it for granted. I thought if I just didn’t worry about the other shit, and if you didn’t worry about it, it would just go away. But it’s not going to go away.” His shoulders bunched up and he pulled at his lip.

“Brooke was there tonight to stir up shit. She’s definitely using, and when I confronted her about it, she got really fucking nasty. She started screaming at me. Her fiancé, Oliver, or whatever the fuck his name is, had to carry her out. She made a huge scene. Grace came running up, apologizing, said she didn’t know Brooke was in such bad shape, blah blah blah. I feel awful for Trina and Elliot, but Ron assured me they were fine. They wanted to leave early for their honeymoon anyway, but I still feel terrible. Then I got to thinking about how much shit you’ve had to deal with because of me, and I just wanted to fucking hit something! I looked all over for you until Alex told me Rebecca had taken you home. I was relieved momentarily, thinking at least you hadn’t seen all that. Then I saw your purse with your wrap and I...”

He put his head in his hands and took a couple of shaky breaths. He sat like that for a long time. When he finally spoke, he said, “I was so afraid you wouldn’t be here when I got back, and I wouldn’t have blamed you if you weren’t.”

I unplugged the drain and got to my feet, not without some effort. I stood before Danny and said, “Will you get me a towel?”

He looked up at me with tears in his eyes and nodded. He dried me off, wrapped the towel around me, and led me to his bed, where he hesitated.

“Will you sleep with me, Jesse? You don’t have to tell me if we’re ok—”

I grabbed his face and kissed him firmly. “I’m going to operate under the assumption that what you said to me when I moved in here, that you were ‘never fucking letting me go,’ is still in effect. You’ll need to correct me if I’m mistaken.”

He blinked once and fell to his knees, his arms around my waist. “I don’t want to lose you, Jesse. Please tell me you’ll stay.”

I gently pulled his arms away from me and let the towel fall to the floor. I grabbed his t-shirt he’d worn earlier, slipping it over my head. I lifted the covers and crawled into bed, holding my arms out for him to join me. Which he did. And he held me all night.

We spent the next week, starting Sunday, with him in the studio all day. He’d have breakfast with Jane, leave until ten or eleven at night, and then we’d talk and hold each other. We both needed this time to work out some things alone and together. Some nights our discussions got heated, and we never really resolved anything, but we still held each other every night.

The Friday after the wedding, Danny and Brooke had a court date to finalize custody and some other issues. I met his attorney, Jordan Simmons, Thursday morning when she came to the house for a breakfast meeting. She was smartly dressed in a plum colored suit that contrasted nicely with her dark chocolate skin. She wore her hair smoothed back into a bun and wore her makeup to highlight her features. She had a tough-as-nails attitude. She had a similar way of dealing with Danny as Nora did.

Danny had Jane sit with us to hear what he was going to say to Brooke. He hadn’t told her about the blow up over the weekend and he didn’t mention his concerns about her drug use, although I knew he’d told Jordan everything. After breakfast, I took Jane out for some school supply shopping so he and Jordan could work out the uglier stuff. I liked her. She was confident in Danny’s ability to get everything he wanted and she’d heard from Brooke’s attorney that she wasn’t going to contest anything.

Thursday night he was unsettled about meeting with her, but glad that everything was finally going to be decided. We sat outside by the fire until two in the morning talking. He was just so relieved that Brooke was moving away and wasn’t going to be able to cause him and Jane so much grief. Again, we held each other all night, but we hadn’t made love since before the disastrous wedding. I told myself it was only because Danny had so much on his mind. It made me a little nervous.

Friday I got Jane up just after Danny left so that I could take her to meet Ivana and Sasha at Universal Studios. We both needed a break from the stress in the house. Danny texted me when the meeting was over:

Leaving court now. Very weird. Full custody granted with supervised visitation. Will tell all later. My love to my girls. Going to the studio, probably be home late. Going to get Jane’s shit tomorrow and spend time with my family. IFLY

“I fucking love you, too,” I whispered with a relieved sigh.

“What was that,” Ivana asked me and I blushed, not realizing she’d heard me.

“Sorry. Danny was just texting me to say that court was finished. He met with Brooke this morning.” She nodded seriously.

While the girls were on the Jurassic Park ride for the fourth time, I told her a very sanitized version of the previous weekend’s blow up.

“I hope she doesn’t involve Jane in her drama. I hate that you and Danny are having to deal with it, but I sure hate to see Jane getting dragged into it.”

I assured her that while Danny was keeping Jane informed, he wanted to protect her as well.

Danny came home after two in the morning and it was obvious he’d had several beers. He kissed me good night and crashed hard. Alex had driven him home, so I knew he was safe.  I gave him his space, although I had hoped we would talk.  Saturday he was up before me and in the pool. He didn’t say much, so I did my own workout and dressed in sweats and sneakers so I could help at Brooke’s.  She told him she would be gone until Tuesday, when she was overseeing the moving company that was going to pack and store her things for the time being. She’d already found a buyer, and since Danny bought the place for her, he would be receiving half of the proceeds, a quarter would go into Jane’s trust, and Danny generously let Brooke keep a quarter. The townhouse sold for over 1.75 million dollars so this was pretty big money.

It took us several hours to pack up her room. I had asked Jinx to bring the van over in case the Range Rover wasn’t big enough. He and Cosmo came and helped Danny carry out all of the boxes so Jane and I could pack and sort. Jane said she preferred her furniture at Danny’s, so we left it behind for Brooke to deal with. Jane donated several garment bags and boxes full of clothes and shoes she never wore or that were too small. It made her feel good and made Danny and I proud of her.

When it was over and everything was moved out, we drove back to the house in silence. Jane seemed overwhelmed, Danny was pensive, and I was exhausted. Nora had dinner waiting for us and we wolfed down our food. Danny explained that we forgot to eat lunch when Nora looked worried. My appetite had been off for most of the week, I’d even had a few more meetings with the porcelain boss, but tonight I ate like I hadn’t had a meal in weeks. I hadn’t told Danny, but I was losing weight again. I decided I’d go see the doctor this week if it continued.

After dinner, Danny and Jane went to watch a movie in the theater and I went to the library to read. I just needed to stop thinking for a little while.

“Hey, sugar. You okay?” Nora must have been tidying up the various rooms when she found me a couple hours later.

“Yeah,” I answered. “It’s just been a weird week and I’m a little tired.”

She put a hand to my forehead. “No fever, but you don’t look well.”

I confessed about the nausea and she thought it might be some combination of the medicines.

“You’re not pregnant, are you,” she asked and I shook my head.

“I took a test, so no. I haven’t missed any pills or anything either. I might talk to the doctor about another form of birth control, though. Maybe even something permanent.”

Nora brushed my hair back and smiled sadly. “I know you said you’re okay with that, but you’re so young to do something so permanent.  Maybe there’s another way.”

I shrugged. “I don’t think it matters. I want to live the life I have. If I were to get pregnant, I’m worried it would cripple me and as underweight as I am, the baby might not make it.”

She sat next to me and took my hand. “And as crazy as life can be around here, it’s going to take a lot out of you to keep up.”

I smiled weakly at her, figuring she just might know what’s been going on.  Even though we were close, there was a chasm between Danny and I, and I had no idea how to get across it. She pulled me into one of her awesome hugs, and I let myself relax there for a moment.