The Tangled Series Complete Digital Boxed Set (Bad Boy Rock Star, Millionaire, and MMA Fighter Bundle) (24 page)

“Fuck, I tried calling you back but your phone must be dead or something,” replied Vance, scratching his red goatee. He stared at my head, and smirked.  “Aw… man, why in the hell did you go and do that for?”

I ran a hand through the top. “Like it?”

Kurt snorted. “You look like a fucking executive at IBM or Lockheed Martin. What, you in the market for sophisticated putang now that you’re back on Icon again?”

“Hell, Ransom, could get any putang he wanted, haircut or not,” said Vance, lowering his voice. “Wouldn’t surprise me if he’s already had every piece of ass in this place.”

“Since there are only about five broads here,” replied Kurt. “You’re probably right. But I tell you what,” he lowered his voice and looked over at Amber’s friend lecherously. “If Ransom can get me in good with that chick there, hell, I’ll shave my head, too. Fuck, I’ll shave both of them.”

“Isn’t that the girl you were dating a few months back?” asked Vance, as Amber sat back down, her eyes stabbing me viciously from across the bar.

“Yeah,” I answered, turning away.

“She looks pissed. Shelly just poured her a shot of tequila, too.” He chuckled. “You know what that means?”

My cue to leave. A pissed off woman and tequila were not a good mix.

“I’ll catch you guys later,” I said, nodding towards my security guys, who immediately stood up.

“We just got here,” replied Vance, surprised. “Come on. Have one drink with us.”

I glanced back over towards Amber who was staring at me as Shelly poured her another shot. “Sorry, next time. I’ve got something important I need to do.”

“You mean with Sonia?” asked Vance. “She called me looking for you.”

“No, and if she calls again, do me a favor and don’t tell her you saw me.”

“You can tell her yourself when you get home. She was pissed off and headed towards your place last time I talked to her. About an hour ago.”

I sighed. “Great.”

“Ransom, what’s up with all of the pissed off women?” smirked Kurt. “You need help putting a smile on their faces, I’d be happy to volunteer.”

“If it were only that easy,” I replied.

Vance chuckled. “Ransom’s always on some woman’s shit-list. Hell,” he pulled out his wallet. “I wouldn’t doubt if there was a bounty on your head with all of the girls you’ve kicked out of your bed.”

I scowled. “Fuck that. I’m not
that
bad.”

“Are you kidding me? What about last summer when three chicks were fighting over you on the bus? Two of them ended up in the E.R. One had a broken nose and the other had a concussion,” replied Vance.

“They were all crazy,” I replied, remembering that nightmare. I’d passed out with two chicks in my bed, while another girl I’d had the previous night somehow made it back onto the tour bus. She’d launched herself at the naked girls, and I’d barely made it out of bed unscathed myself.  

“So, what happened with the third one? She get
the
prize?” asked Kurt, grinning wickedly.

“What she got was kicked off of the bus,” I said.

Vance burst out laughing. “Yeah, but that was after she got down on her knees…”

“Bullshit,” I interrupted, although my mind had been pretty muddled that night. 

“You were so fucked up you don’t even remember,” replied Vance. “I walked in on her blowing you, man. Not more than fifteen minutes later.”

“Fuck, she owed me for those expensive sheets she ruined by giving one of the girls a bloody nose,” I protested as the memory came back. She’d gotten down on her knees and begged to make it up to me. It was only fair.”  

Vance took a sip of his drink. “Anyway, the point is, Kurtis, when you’re a celebrity women are
always
throwing themselves at you. Obviously you’re going to piss some of them off when they find out it’s just sex, and nothing more.”

“How come you don’t have women problems like that?” asked Kurt, staring at his brother. “Hell, you’re the drummer.”

“Have you looked at your mug in the mirror lately?” he chuckled. “We ain’t pretty. Not like Rans, here.”

“That, and Billie Jean,” I replied.

Billie Jean was his fiancée. She was also spunky, intelligent, and beautiful. Ever since Vance had met her, he’d turned down many free pieces of ass.

“Damn right,” said Vance. “I’ve had enough tail in my life to know that once you find someone with more than just a nice pair of tits and a great ass, you hold on to her. No way am I going to fuck up something special like that just to wax my dick when we’re on the road.”

“Maybe that’s what you need, Ransom,” said Kurt. “A woman to keep you out of trouble.”

“Right. Women
are
the trouble,” I replied.

“I’ll take that kind of trouble, any day,” said Kurt looking back over at Amber’s friend.

“You can have it,” I said as Amber stood up, swaying slightly. She said something to her friend, who looked at me and snorted.

“I’ll catch you later,” I said as she began staggering towards us.

“Better call security,” laughed Vance. “Before she gets her hands on you, and fucks up that pretty face.”

“Yeah, you run away again!” she called as Bowzer and Jimmy walked me outside. “You fucking asshole!”

Chapter Twelve

Tiffany

It was after seven-thirty by the time I made it back to my one-bedroom apartment in Stanton, only twenty minutes away from the shop. At the last minute, I’d stopped at a video store, and picked up a movie,
Safe Haven,
which I’d been meaning to see for several months. 

I set the movie on the coffee table, and grabbed the growing stack of bills from my counter. With a sigh, I fell into my mauve chaise, thankful I’d splurged for it the previous month. Everything else I owned was second-hand, including the eighties-style ugly, brown leather sofa sitting across from me. My next few checks would definitely go towards more new furnishings. If I was going to spend a lot of time alone in my apartment, at least I could enjoy the view.  

As I finished opening the mail, my stomach began to growl, reminding me that I’d forgotten to eat lunch. Felicia’s cookies had all but disappeared by the time the teens had left the salon, and now I was so hungry, I could barely see straight. I stood up, and went into the kitchen to heat up a frozen meal from the freezer. As I reached inside for a package of pasta, my cell phone went off. I set the box on the counter, and grabbed the phone from my purse. The number displayed wasn’t one I recognized.

“Hello?”

“Taffy?”

Oh hell.

Ransom.

“Yes.” I pulled my hair to the side and walked back over to the counter. “So, I thought we agreed to stop communicating?”

“I don’t specifically remember agreeing to that.”

“Ransom…”

“Look, I just forgot to pay you,” he said quickly. “That’s really why I’m calling.”

I picked up the fettuccini. “Don’t worry about it,” I said, opening up the cardboard box. 

“Hey, I don’t feel right about this. What’s your address? I’ll swing by and drop the money off.”

“No,” I protested. “Obviously, that’s not a good idea.”

“Still worried, huh? Look, nobody has recognized me now that my hair is different. In fact, I’ve been hanging around at Bastion’s and even the bartender didn’t recognize me.”

“You’re at a bar?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmm..,” I said, turning on the microwave. “You know, if you really feel that strongly about paying me, just mail a check directly to the shop.”

“They can be tracked. Obviously, my name would be on the check.”

“True. Just forget it then. It’s not a big deal.”

“Bullshit. You need to get paid. Let me bring it over. I promise to be a complete gentleman.”

I thought about that kiss in the shop, and it made my belly tingle. In fact, the thought of being alone with him in my apartment was already giving me some wicked ideas. I should have shut him down right there. Told him to go home and to not worry about it.

But not me.

Not the girl who would have once done anything to be alone with Ransom. Obviously, I was still
that
girl. “Okay.”

He paused. “Okay?”

“Yes, okay,” I replied, reminding myself that I needed the money anyway, especially during the competition when I wouldn’t be working. Hell, maybe I
was
being a little paranoid about him coming over. It wasn’t as if someone had my apartment bugged or monitored.

I gave him my address.

“Great, I’ll be there within the next hour. Are you hungry? I could pick up a pizza along the way.”

I stared at the microwave. I had to admit, pizza sounded a lot better than a rubbery frozen meal. “Sure, that sounds good.”

“Awesome. What do you like on your pizza?”

“Everything but –”

“Anchovies,” he finished.

“Yeah, how did you know?”

“Oh, come on… all of those sleepovers you and Remy had together?”

I laughed. “That’s right, and you used to eat all of the leftover pizza for breakfast, before we woke up. I remember how furious it made Remy.”

I also remembered how hot he looked in his flannel pajama bottoms. I pictured his broad shoulders, sculpted pecs, and sexy abs bending over the pizza box all of those Saturday mornings, and my mouth watered.

“I used to love it cold, and haven’t had any for years. We order pizzas all the time when we’re touring, but there usually aren’t any leftovers. The guys are like garbage disposals.”

“Your band members?”

“Yeah and the roadies. Those guys can eat.”

“What about the groupies?”

He chuckled. “They aren’t usually there for the pizza.”

“I imagine not.”

I wondered how friendly he was with the groupies, and felt a stab of jealously, which I
knew
was ridiculous because,
hello
, he was a celebrity. Heck, he probably had sex with a different girl every night.

And I was tripping?

Pathetic…

“You still there?”

I cleared my throat. “Okay, yeah, so I’ll see you in a little while? Just to warn you, though, you can’t stay long. I rented a chick-flick, and have to get up early tomorrow morning.”

“Hey, I’m down with chick-flicks.”

“Since when?” I snorted. “You used to tease the hell out of us when we’d rent them.”

“I just liked teasing you.”

I paused. “That hasn’t changed.”

“Nope.”

I smiled. “It’s getting late. So, I’ll see you soon I guess?”

“No backing out now.”

“Right.”

After hanging up, I threw away the frozen meal, made a dash for the bathroom, and took a quick shower. When I was finished, I slipped on a pair of white shorts and a light blue laced Jersey tank-top, pulled my hair up into a ponytail, and then applied some pink lip-gloss. When I was satisfied, I raced back into the living room, straightened up as much as possible, and lit two vanilla scented candles. As I was putting the lighter away, the envelope from American Icon caught my eye. I’d read through the most of the packet last night but not the small print, which I knew would include the rules of the contest, and probably a stringent clause about not socializing with the judges.

Sighing, I pulled out the packet, and began reviewing the pages I’d missed.

“Damn.”

Sure enough, it stated very clearly that any interaction away from the show with the judges, camera crew, or anyone else associated with American Icon was prohibited, and the penalty was exactly what I’d imagined – disqualification.

I sat back and sighed.

Disqualification.

In black and white.

Well, no questioning it now.

Grabbing my cell phone, I called Ransom back.

“You can’t come over here, Ransom.”

“Too late,” he replied. “I’m just entering your lobby. In fact, can you buzz me up?”

I closed my eyes, and groaned. “No, Ransom. Call your guys back, please. If someone sees you here, I just know that I’m going to get disqualified. Hell, I’ve probably screwed myself by cutting your hair in the shop earlier.”

“Taffy, calm down.”

I began to pace. “I can’t.”

He lowered his voice. “Do you have a roommate or nosy neighbors?”

“No.”

“Then who do you think is going to notice me?”

I stopped. “I… oh, my God! What if you were followed?”

He chuckled. “I’m not a criminal being investigated.”

“But you’re famous. Don’t you have the paparazzi following you everywhere?” I asked, looking out the window, and down below towards the street.

“They’ve never followed me.”

“You’re lying. I’ve seen you on television getting angry with them.”

“I don’t recall that.”

“Maybe you were trashed?” An image of him flipping them the bird came to mind. And another, where he was seen pushing a cameraman out of his face and telling him to ‘fuck off’.

“Maybe. My guys have already dropped me off, and I’m holding a hot pizza, and a bottle of red wine. Better let me up before someone
does
notice me hanging out here by your mailbox.”

I placed a hand on my forehead. “Fine. I’m apartment three-twenty-four. Go straight up the stairs, and it’s the first apartment on the left.”

“Top floor?”

“Yes,” I said, pushing the buzzer.

Less than a minute later, I was pulling him into my apartment. “This is such a mistake.” I said, slamming and locking the door.

His lips curled up. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard a woman say that to me before.”

“This is totally different, and you know it.” I bit my lip and looked through the peephole. “Are you sure nobody followed you?”

“Yes, I’m positive. Relax.”

I turned around. “Easy for you to say.”

“Where do you want this?” he asked, holding up the wine and pizza.

“I’ll take that,” I replied, grabbing the bottle. “Just put the pizza box on the coffee table. I’ll go and grab some plates.”

“Okay. I hope you like Dolcetto.”

My eyes widened. “Dol, what?”

“The wine. It’s a Dolcetto. I heard it goes great with pizza. I’m a beer and tequila drinker myself.”

“Oh. Well, thanks for getting it. Would you like me to pour you a glass, too?”

He sat down on the sofa. “Sure, I’ll try some.”

“Okay. I’ll be right back,” I said, walking into the kitchen with the wine. Once inside, I uncorked the wine, and filled two glasses.

“You need any help?”

I sucked in my breath, and turned to find him standing close.

Too close.

I backed up to the counter. “I didn’t even hear you walk in.”

With an amused grin, he moved closer, and grabbed the glasses. As he did, he bent close to my neck, his lips only inches away. “You smell great,” he whispered, his warm breath on my skin.

“Uh, thanks,” I replied, feeling a tingle run down my body. 

He straightened up, and turned around. “Don’t forget the plates,” he said, leaving the kitchen.

Trying to compose myself, I opened up the cupboard and grabbed a couple of my mother’s china plates, the ones with the blue flowers that she’d cherished so much. No matter how nervous I was, this night was special. Not only did I have a celebrity in my apartment, but it was
him
.

Ransom
.

I may never get this chance again.

I followed him back into the living room, and paused for a second, watching as he sat down.

Damn if he didn’t make my ugly sofa look good.

“So, um, if you aren’t feeling like a movie,” I said, sitting down next to him, “we could just have dinner?”

He opened up the box of pizza, and grabbed one of the plates. “You’re still trying to get rid of me, aren’t you?”

I smirked. “You got me.”

He flashed me a dimpled smile. “Relax, babe,” he replied, handing me a plate filled with pizza. “I’m already here, in your apartment, and nobody else knows about it.”

“Your bodyguards know.”

“Actually, to tell you the truth, they don’t know I’m visiting someone affiliated with the show. Fact is, I told them I was chilling at buddy’s place.”

“Well, when are they picking you up?”

“Whenever I tell them to.” He smiled wickedly. “So, Taffy, I guess that means I’m
yours
for the entire night.”

He may have been teasing me, but I didn’t miss the message in his eyes. He was offering more than just pizza, and watching carefully for my reaction.

Chapter Thirteen

Ransom

The blush on her cheeks was priceless, making me want her even more. I couldn’t have been stiffer if I were a corpse.

Down, boy.

“Would you just stop,” she laughed nervously.

“Now what fun would that be?” I asked, my eyes traveling to her tank top, which hugged her round breasts in a way that was making my mouth water. I found myself wondering if the rosy color of Tiffany’s cheeks matched her nipples, and was immediately sprung.  

“Excuse me, my eyes are up here,” she said, looking at me in disbelief. “I just can’t believe you.”

I reached over, and brushed a strand of blond hair from her lip. “Sorry, I was distracted for a second. Anyway, admit it. You like it when I check you out.”

Her jaw dropped. “You are
so
arrogant.”

“I have to hold on to something,” I replied with a smirk.

“Right.”

I looked around her apartment, which was small but homey, and sighed. “This is nice, isn’t it? Eating pizza, watching a rented movie, doing… normal things.”

She shrugged. “Yeah, I suppose.”

“Well, you might not appreciate it as much as I do because
norma
l isn’t a part of my life, anymore. So when random
normalness
happens, it’s… kind of, I don’t know… cool.”