Teacher: The Final Act (A Hollywood Rock n' Romance Trilogy #3) (6 page)

“The same. I’m like Danny. I don’t sleep much.” He gestured for me to sit across from him.

“I can’t sleep. I can’t sit still.  I’m tired, but I don’t want to go back to bed right now.”  

Bronson strummed a few more chords, and then spoke without looking up.  ”Shortly after Julian and I met Danny, I dated a girl who was a bartender at the Roxy.  She was drop dead gorgeous and would never go out with anyone.  When I say I dated her, she went out to dinner with me once, and I went back to her apartment after.  She was a spitfire, you know?  Full of spirit.  I totally thought sex with her was going to be phenomenal and I was so ready to get it on.  When I was ready to make my move, she freaked out.  She started screaming and beating the shit out of me. I just held onto her and tried to get her to calm down.”

He cleared his throat and played a few more bars before he spoke again.  ”When she looked up at me, she was absolutely terrified.  I thought I had done something, but she was finally able to get a hold of herself and tell me that it wasn’t me. Some jackass had attacked her in the parking lot after work one night and raped her.  I never would have known. I never guessed.  Anyway, we spent the rest of the night talking about it. She said she’d never told anyone and hadn’t been with anyone since.  She hadn’t even called the fucking police, which pissed me off.  It had been about six months and she thought she was over it.”

I took a deep breath and asked, “Did she ever move on?  I mean, did she get better?”  

He laughed.  ”Yeah, she did. Unfortunately, not with me. She ended up falling for the owner of the bar, who was like twenty something years older than her, and they got married.  She’s had babies, the whole thing.  I see her around every once in a while and I know she’s happy now.”  He stopped and finally looked at me.  ”I don’t know why I’m telling you this other than I know you’re strong and you’re going to get over it.  But it’s not going to just go away.  So don’t beat yourself up, you know?  Try to just allow yourself to feel what you’re feeling?”  

I smiled at him and laughed.  ”Who’d have thought you’d be the one giving me sage advice?”  He blushed a little and looked down at his guitar.  ”No!  I’m serious, Bronson.  Of all of you, I feel like I’ve probably talked to you the least. I’m seeing a whole other side of you tonight.”  

He smiled, strumming softly.  ”I know.  Danny and I don’t have the best track records when it comes to each other’s ladies. You know what I mean?  So I stayed away a little, probably.  I respect the hell out of you, Jesse, and I love Danny like a brother.  I’m just really sorry that this happened at all.”  

“Thank you, Bronson. But I mean it when I said it’s done.  Although…”

I paused.  Thoughts of Stacey’s shooting had been what woke me up.  I wanted to talk about it, but I didn’t want to tell Danny.   ”I don’t know how to handle knowing he’s dead, you know?  That was my first time seeing a dead person, especially someone that I kind of knew?  It was weird. Very unsettling.”  

He looked up at me and his blue eyes were darker than usual. “The way I look at it?  It’s better all around.  He’s not suffering anymore. You and Danny don’t have to deal with a trial or anything.  It’s over. There’s closure.”

I nodded, relieved I had said something.  ”I am happy there will be no trial.  I’d hate to have Jane go through all that.  This is going to be bad enough.  I’m so afraid for her to see me like this.”

He nodded.  ”That’s why I thought it would be good for you guys to stay here.  Although, no offense, but it’s going to take longer than a few days for those bruises to fade.”  

I rolled my eyes.  ”I know. I look terrible!  How the hell am I going to go to work on Monday?  My students are going to freak out and I really don’t want to tell them everything.”  

“Do you have sick leave?  Can you be out?  I’m sure your boss will understand.”  

“I’ll call her tomorrow.  I don’t want to think about anything else tonight.”  I pulled my knees up to my chest and exhaled loudly.  

Bronson laughed.  ”I think we need to do something to take your mind off things.”  

I raised an eyebrow at him and he shook his head.  ”I don’t mean anything that will get us in trouble. Well, not you anyway.”  He set his guitar aside and stood up, stretching his back.  He was in a t-shirt and sweats. I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing.  He so didn’t look the rock star when he was rockin’ the sweat pants.  He looked like a second string basketball player.  Ok, maybe with long hair not quite a basketball player.  Maybe a coffee house poet guy.  

Bronson walked over to the far wall, which was covered with shelves holding pictures, knickknacks and books.  Looking around the room, I noticed some tour posters, a couple of platinum album plaques, and pictures of his family.  Holy shit!  He even had his Grammy on the shelf!  There were five or six guitars on stands in the corner and two couches in the middle of the room, facing each other.  

“Aha!  Just the one I was looking for.”  He pulled a large photo album off the shelf and brought it over to me.  ”Damning evidence from Blackened’s early days.  He’ll be pissed at me for showing you this.  I’m not even sure he knows I have it.  I’m a total geek when it comes to saving pictures and memorabilia.”  He sat down at the far end of the couch, giving me space, and probably trying to be appropriate in case we were discovered.

I took the album from him, excited at what I might see.  When I opened it I had to clap a hand over my mouth.  It was a scrapbook, in essence, of Blackened’s beginnings.  The cover page had a publicity photo of the band, probably from when they first started in 1997 or ‘98.  They were all posed together in leather and denim.  Bronson and Julian still looked the same. They were even dressed similar to how they dressed now, in black jeans, thick, studded belts with large buckles, cowboy boots, sleeveless shirts.  Alex had longer hair and had no shirt on in the picture and was holding his drumsticks in one hand.  Other than looking younger, they looked how I’d expect.  

I could not, however, get over Danny!  He wasn’t kidding when he told me his hair was down to his ass.  His red hair had waves and curls and so much blonde in it, it almost looked highlighted if I didn’t know better.  He was wearing black leather pants and a leather vest.  No shirt. He was much thinner. His arms were really cut and tattoo-free.  He looked dangerous in a way, but he also looked like such a baby. He had a long goatee and heavy silver rings on all of his fingers.  My snickers increased as I turned the pages.  There were shots of the guys recording in the studio with Ron, who looked much younger and thinner, not to mention he actually had hair back then as opposed to the dome look he sported now.  But the shots on the tour buses and backstage really made me laugh. There was so much alcohol and so many girls all over them. It was comical.  

“So now I have actual proof of the debauchery!  You better hide these when Jane comes over.  I’m not sure Danny’s ready for her to see this stuff yet.”  There were pictures of Danny taking body shots off a scantily clad woman, the guys at a strip club posing with dancers, and Danny passed out in a bar somewhere with panties on his head.  

Bronson chuckled.  ”Yeah, some would say ‘those were the days.’  We did have fun, but when we got serious about our music, we didn’t have time for that insanity anymore.”  

I noticed as I got further into the album, about two years later by the dates on the pictures and other items stuck in there, there were no more half-naked women.  I saw other changes as well.  Danny with a couple of tattoos, Brooke on his arm at an award show, and a very pregnant Brooke posing with Danny and Alex, who both had their hands on her belly.  The caption of that one said, “Countdown to ‘Who is the Father?’”  It was kind of not funny knowing the truth about Brooke.

“I think I like the earlier pics better,” I grumbled and Bronson laughed.  

“Yeah, me too.  Brooke really put a damper on things.  Poor Danny.  He really tried to make her happy.  The bitch.”  His angry tone surprised me.

“I’ve heard you and she were not huge fans of each other.  Care to tell me why?”  

He scoffed.  ”Let’s just say that she tried to get between us.  Before they were exclusive, she showed up at my house a couple of times.  I wasn’t really that interested in her, wasn’t interested in Danny’s leftovers, and she didn’t like being told no.  She turned around and told Danny I’d been stalking her, basically, which led to him and me getting into a huge brawl.  It was almost the end of the band.  He totally kicked my ass. But I think she realized her meal ticket was going to be gone if we didn’t continue as a band.  By then her career was stagnating.  She’s three years older than Danny, did you know that?”  

I shook my head, a little shocked.

“She kind of lies about it.  Not many people know.  We were a huge success from the start. As soon as our album came out and went platinum, and the tours and shit...  Danny came into a lot of money fast and she was close to broke.  She did a few more decent films in the meantime, don’t get me wrong.  But if it wasn’t for him, she’d have been a nonentity.”

Another piece fell into place.  I wondered about something. ”Bronson?  Danny said he thinks she’s using.  Is that something that was an issue before?”  

He frowned.  ”I don’t know.  We were gone a lot and Danny didn’t always share what was going on with us when we were off the road.  It wouldn’t surprise me.  Nothing about her would surprise me.”  

I tried not to fuss at my lip with my tongue.  My forehead was itchy from the stitches and my eyes were getting heavy.  And all this talk about Brooke had me a little unsettled.  I was nearing the point of finding out more than I really wanted to know, even though my curiosity wouldn’t let me shut up.

“Jesse, can I say something?”  

I frowned at him.  ”Of course you can.”  

He pulled his hair back and re-wrapped a hair tie around it.  ”I just hope you don’t let Brooke get between you two.  I know they’ve been divorced for a long time, but she still has a hold over him sometimes.  About Jane.  I just see how happy the three of you are together, and I know she’s gone off to New York, or whatever, and is supposed to be getting married.  Just don’t turn your back on her, you know?  She’s manipulative.”

I really appreciated him for saying that.  It was nice to know that my hunches about her were correct. “I can see that.  You’re right, thank you.  He and I have been through a lot and I don’t intend to let anything else get between us.”

He smiled slyly.  ”That’s my girl.  Now why don’t you go back to bed?  I can see you trying not to yawn over there.”  

I laughed.  ”I think you’re right.  Thanks, Bronson.  For everything.” He nodded and I stood.  ”Can I borrow some of these pictures sometime?  I owe him a really good payback in the near future.  I’m hoping he’s forgotten and I really want to make it a good one.”  

He barked out a laugh and stretched his back. “Absolutely.  There’s plenty more where that stuff came from, too.  Anything to make that dickhead squirm.”

I said goodnight again and crept quietly down the hall.  When I entered the room we were staying in, Danny was frowning in his sleep.  I tried to slide in without waking him, but he grabbed for me, pulling me close.

“Jesse,” he muttered.  

I kissed him and he opened an eye.  ”Oh good.  I was dreaming you weren’t here.”  

I snuggled closer and sighed.  ”I was up for a little while.  I’m sorry I disturbed you.  Go back to sleep.”  

He mumbled some more about loving me and keeping me safe.  Poor guy.  I knew he would do everything in his power to make that happen.  I just hoped I didn’t have to strangle Mr. Bossypants in the meantime!

Saturday morning Bronson suggested we all stay with them until the work on the house was done.  Nora came over and cooked us all breakfast, and then the three of us sat down and talked over plans.  Nora and I overruled Danny’s plan to turn the whole living room into a home gym.  

“Seriously, Danny.  It’s a huge room.  What if you moved your office into the library and turn your office into an exercise room if you’re so concerned? It’s big enough.”  

He shrugged.  ”What do you think, Nora?”  

She laughed.  ”Sounds a hell of a lot better than you turning that huge room into a sweaty, gross mess!  I’m with Jesse on that one, and I think it would be good for her to have some room to work in the library, too.”  

Danny smiled at me, kissing me on my unaffected cheek.  

Nora had cringed and gotten teary when she saw me.  I assured her I was fine, a word Danny rolled his eyes at every time I said it.  

“I know you’ll be fine, sugar, but I hate what he did to you.”  She held me for a long time before Danny started whining that he and the boys were hungry.  She grumbled at him, cussing under her breath. I knew he’d done it to save me from further inquisition when he winked at me behind her back.  I so loved this man and was grateful for him.

Thankfully Nora had brought over the rest of my new clothes and a few more pairs of yoga pants.  She brought Danny jeans and t-shirts, his usual wardrobe, and extra boxers because she knew I liked to steal them.  This woman had to have been sent from heaven.

“Hey Danny?  What about that collection of horror memorabilia you have in storage?  That would be so cool if you turned your living room into a room like in the Munsters house or something.”  Julian was really excited and I could see a twinkle in Danny’s eye.  

He ran his hands through his hair and said, “I don’t know, this is our house, now, and I don’t know what Jane—”

“Jane will think it’s cool, dude.  You know that. She can scare the shit out of her friends. It’ll be great!  Remember when we took her to the Hollywood History Museum for that Halloween gig?  She loved that.”  Julian obviously was partial to this idea.  

Danny looked at me like he was afraid to ask what I thought. “Jesse?”

I laughed.  ”Sounds cool to me!  Frankenstein is one of my favorite novels and one of the best films ever made.”  

Danny’s eyes rolled back.  ”God, you are so the perfect woman for me.”  He leaned over and kissed me until Nora started to clear her throat.  

Danny blushed.  ”I’m sorry.  Nora, what do you think?”

She raised an eyebrow and squinted at Danny.  ”As long as none of that crap migrates into my kitchen I’ll live with it.  I don’t have to go in there.”  

I laughed and Danny jumped up to kiss her.  ”Thank you, ladies.  I’ve kind of missed my stuff.  I had it in a rehearsal space we rented for a long time, but some of the other spaces got broken into and I didn’t want to lose any of it.  Maybe I’ll call Nikki.  He decorated Funny Farm like that.  I know he did a lot of it himself, but I bet he knows people.”  

I gulped at his mention of Nikki’s name.

“Maybe he’ll even come over, Jesse.  Will you be able to control yourself?” Such a joker. It was definitely payback time.  

I narrowed my eyes at him and jumped up to chase him.  He easily evaded me until he made the mistake of hiding behind Bronson.  I hit the icemaker on the fridge on my way to him. Bronson moved aside, and I shoved the ice forcefully down the front of Danny’s pants before he could get away.

“Ahhh FUCK!  That’s cold, honey!  C’mon!  You don’t want shrinkage, do you?”  

We all cracked up as he danced around, trying to keep the ice out of contact with his ‘boys.’   

“I guess you better not mess with her,” Bronson said, giving me a wink.  

I giggled conspiratorially.  

Danny looked between us and frowned.  ”What the fuck does that mean?”

I rolled my eyes.  ”Nothing.  I told him I owed you payback from the moustache episode.”  

Danny’s eyes got wide. “Shit!  I forgot about that.”  He sat back down at the table, cautiously, and looked at me with a frightened expression.  

Nora rapped her knuckles on the table. “Now, back to what we were discussing.  We’ll need to have them empty the office, make space in the library, and basically you want them to rip up the entire living room, is that correct?”   

Danny pulled on his goatee and started drawing on a piece of paper.  ”Yeah, and if we set up the library like this, Jesse and I can both have office space in there. And—”

“But Danny,” I interrupted. “You need your privacy.  I don’t need to have any office space.  I can just keep my things in a bin or a box or something...Why are you laughing?”

“Jesse, you’re not going to live like a fucking hobo with your office stuff in a box.  This is your house now, too!”  

Everyone got quiet.  They all looked to me for my reaction.  I was speechless.  

I exhaled and said quietly, “Danny?  Can I talk to you for a minute?”  

He seemed to get that I was serious.  He looked around at the others and Nora said, “We’ll just give you guys a minute.”  She led the brothers out of the kitchen and I put my head down on my arms on the table.

“I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean…”

I held up a hand and he was quiet.   We sat there like that for a long time.  I finally lifted my head and reached for his hand on the table.  I picked it up in mine and turned it over looking at his skin, his tattoos, his calluses, his scars.  These hands had held me when I needed him, had made me feel tremendous passion, and were capable of making the most beautiful music.  I was safe in these hands. I knew that.  Why couldn’t I just relax and let him take care of me?  Because it was his hands that had worked so hard to earn all of what he had, not mine.

“I’m having a hard time,” I started, and then I paused.  I didn’t know how to say what I needed to say.  ”I don’t understand how you can just...Why, Danny?  How can you just rearrange everything?  Why would you just move me in and—”  

“Because I love you.  I want you to be my partner, Jesse.  In everything.  I don’t need privacy from you. I need it with you, not from you,” he said in a softer voice.  

I cracked a bit of a smile and blew out a breath.  ”I just don’t understand how it can be so easy for you to just do this.  To take me in, move me in alongside you.”  

He shrugged and smiled. “Remember the first time I fucked up so badly with you?  When we were sitting in the library and I freaked out about Jane?”  I nodded, hating to remember that day.  ”The same could be asked of you.  Why did you come back?  Why did you stick with me all of those times I was such a jackass?”

“That was easy, Danny.  Because I love you.  Because even though you were being stubborn, I had to out-stubborn you.”

He took both of my hands in his and rubbed his thumbs across my knuckles.  ”This is me out-stubborning you.  Please?  Don’t say no?”

“Do I have a choice?”  I laughed and stood so I could sit on his lap.  ”I hate being out-stubborned,” I said, curling into his body with an exaggerated pouty face.  

He sighed happily.  ”I’m so glad you’ve admitted it.”  I tickled him and he wiggled to get away.  We toppled off the chair and I landed on top of him, tickling until he was howling.  He wasn’t trying to fight me off too hard. He let me have the upper hand easily.  

When he was breathless, he finally called, “Mercy!  Mercy, honey!  God, I’m going to puke.”  

I pinned his arms out to the side and leaned down, nose-to-nose with him.  ”Promise you’ll never call me a hobo again?”  

He nodded.  ”Yes, just please, no more!”  

I figured I’d take advantage of this opportunity.  ”Promise no more blaming?”  

His smile was gone and he nodded, a determined look on his face.  ”I promise.”  

I brought my hands to his face and searched his eyes.  ”Promise you’ll be patient with me?  Never let me go?”

He smiled, his eyes full of love.  ”I’ll never fucking let you go.  Come here.”  

He kissed me deeply, being careful with my lip, which was much better today.  I stretched out on top of him, enjoying his touch.  We rolled over and he continued to caress me and kiss my neck.  His hands roamed gently, careful of my sore parts. I craved his touch so much. I was desperate for him.  He ran his fingers up my leg, sliding my skirt up as he did.  I groaned as he found my core, found me wanting him.  He touched me so slowly, so reverently, it took mere moments for him to bring me to my peak.  

“Danny!  Oh, baby, I love you,” I sighed, my whole body a pool of desire for him.  I couldn’t believe I’d been able to reach orgasm just like that. Danny sure seemed to believe it.  

He kissed me gently and whispered. “I guess it just took a sneak attack for you to relax.  I’ll have to remember this move for those nights when you are stressed.”  He kissed my neck and jaw until I was a quivering mess.  

“There!  Now, will you accept the alterations to the house that include taking care of your needs?”  

“So not fair.  But yes.”  

He smiled that devastating smile.  ”I fucking love you, honey.”  

“I fucking love you, too, you manipulative orgasm-giver!”  

He barked out a laugh as he stood up, helping me to my feet, and we went back to our seats.  He started drawing plans on some scratch paper, asking me questions as he went. The others slowly filtered back into the room.

“So it’s settled,” Nora asked.  

Danny grinned triumphantly.  ”Yes, ma’am!  I’m going to call Nikki and then I’ll let you get to work making arrangements.  Thanks, Nora.”  He kissed her on the cheek and she rolled her eyes.  

“Yeah, yeah.  I’m just glad we’re getting rid of that ugly ass furniture in there.  I mean really, who here liked all that metal and sticky leather?”  I swear I heard crickets chirping.  

“I guess that’s your answer, Nora.”  

We all laughed.  Danny pulled out his phone to call Nikki and I used this opportunity to call Gloria.  Nora left to go pick up some clothes for Jane and bring her back here.  

Gloria told me to absolutely take the week. “The kids will likely have heard about it and may ask you questions, but a week from now it’ll be a little easier. I just want you well, sweetie. It’ll all be here when you’re ready.”

I thanked her and told her I’d email lesson plans and request a sub. Before I hung up, she asked, “So what did Danny say about his test results? You both must be so excited!”

My eyes shot to Danny, who was still deep in discussion on his phone. “I haven’t even told him,” I whispered. “With everything that happened…I can’t believe I forgot.” I’d have to rectify that. I needed a plan. How could I break the news to him and make it special considering my damn face right now?

After hanging up with job number one, it was time to call job number two. The dance studio understood as well. My new classes had been going really well, especially with Jane there.  She was having a blast learning a new form of dance. She thought it was way more fun than ballet. Danny made a point of picking her up so he could watch for a while.

The guys were getting close to wrapping up the first part of recording. Julian told me all the tracks were done and now it was time for mixing. This was apparently an arduous process, a time when tempers were often set off over which was the best take or mix. I still hadn’t been over there. I thought since I was going to be off this week, perhaps I could finagle an invitation.

Danny came walking back in with a peculiar look on his face.  ”I just talked to Nikki,” he said with a strange smile.  

I frowned.  ”And what did he say?”  

He laughed and sat down next to me, taking my hands in his.  ”He gave me the number of the decorator he worked with.  He also said he’ll shoot the album cover for us.”  

“That’s great!  I know you really wanted that.”  But Danny was looking at me funny and stroking his goatee.  ”What else?” I started to get nervous.

“Well, he actually asked if you and I would pose for him for one of his other projects.”  He raised his eyebrows and I really got concerned.  

“You and I?  What kind of project?”  

He laughed and tugged at his goatee.  ”Um, how do you feel about posing nude, for him, with me?”  

My face must have said it all because he squeezed my hands and laughed loudly.  ”I say nude, but we’ll be sort of covered, or so he told me.  Our private parts will be covered.  What do you think?”  

I was thinking all kinds of things, but none of them would form into a coherent response. “You and I, naked, in front of Nikki Sixx?”  He nodded, looking hopeful.  ”I don’t know what to say.  What do you think?”  

He shrugged.  ”I told him no fucking way was I putting your body on display for anyone.  He promised we’d be covered.  Frankly, I didn’t really want my junk out there either, but that’s not my main concern.  He actually mentioned it the night we saw him at the Roxy, that he wanted to photograph me.  But then he got a good look at you.  He said he’s been thinking of us since that night for this project.”  

My face felt hot. This was way too much to have to think about, especially right now. “Are these going to be public?  I’d need to talk to my parents.  And my job!  Teachers get fired for this kind of thing.  When does he need to know?  I don’t know, Danny.”  

He laughed and leaned over to kiss me. “I told him we’d need some time.  I told him what happened, and he said he’s so glad you’re okay.  He offered his bodyguard, his house, whatever we needed.”  There were so many people offering to help us, it made me feel cared about for sure.

“Let me talk to my folks and to Gloria.  But what do you think?”  

He shook his head.  ”I don’t know.  I told him he was crazy when he asked me.  You, I totally get.  You’re more gorgeous than any model I’ve ever seen.  But he said this project is kind of a fallen angel kind of thing and that I have the right look.”  

I giggled, covering my mouth with my hand.  ”He’s kind of right about you.  I can see that.”  

He laughed and then he winced.  ”He said I’d need to get a body wax.  Can you believe that shit?”  

Now I was cracking up.  ”Oh no!  Not your gorgeous hair!  I love running my fingers through your hair.”