The Bad Boys of Summer Anthology(155)
I stop by the restroom to make sure I don’t resemble an adolescent girl who just came out of the closet after seven minutes in heaven. The inability to stop smiling makes the job of reapplying my lipstick much more difficult, but eventually I get it right before venturing back out.
Regina is sitting with Marcus when I return, while the rest of Trace’s crew is a table away. I don’t see Trace anywhere and I briefly wonder if he’s made it back from the storage room. Marcus gives me a quick ‘hello’ and kiss on my cheek, telling me that the video turned out great and he’s never been able to pull one together so fast. I joke with him that Trace and I are just that good when I hear a chuckle behind me belonging to the one and only.
“There you are,” Trace says so everyone can hear. He kisses me on the cheek, not unlike the way Marcus just did, but the difference in my body’s reaction to those innocent kisses are night and day. “You ready for this?” He moves two steps away, drink in hand, and I already miss his close contact. As he brings the glass to the same lips that just consumed mine moments ago, I see him smirk through the clear liquid as he gives me a knowing look.
“Taryn!” Regina says, snapping her fingers. Trace chuckles again before placing his drink on the table.
“Say what?” I ask her dazedly and her smile grows wide.
“Marcus tells me things got a little hot on set,” she teases, nudging her shoulder with mine. She has no idea how hot they were…or are.
“You’ll see, G. They’re getting ready to show it now,” Trace says, pointing to the large screen that is slowly descending from the ceiling. The desire I just felt quickly becomes apprehension and I begin to fidget in my seat. I jump slightly when I unexpectedly feel a warm hand on my knee and glance over to find that Trace has taken the seat next to me. When I look into the soothing calm of his blue eyes, my body stills almost immediately.
I’m thankful no one can see his hand on my leg under the large wooden high-top table, but I’m even more thankful that he has it there. Especially since his thumb is now rubbing slow circles on my knee, while he somehow manages to carry on a conversation with Marcus and Regina. The only thing I can focus on is the way those soft fingertips graze against my skin.
Earl, the head of the record label, steps up to the microphone right as I’m contemplating a return trip to the storage room. After introducing Marcus, he calls Trace and I up to the stage. Trace holds his hand out for me and I accept it, allowing him to help me up. He then drops my hand and follows me up to the stage, and I’m grateful once again for his presence. Earl’s cigarette and scotch-scented breath invades my nostrils when he hugs me and kisses each cheek. After a firm handshake between him and Trace, we join him and the other Backlash executives at a table on a raised platform in the front of the room.
The lights dim even further and the video begins to play. Images taken of Trace and I separately are spliced together, and I’m impressed by his ability to lip-sync the words, considering his verses are much faster than mine. Then again, it’s not like he hasn’t done this many times before. When his deep voice booms out of the speakers with the next verse, he turns his head my way and winks.
It’s always been about me and where I’m goin’
But I can’t ignore the way the winds are blowin’
I can feel the power
It’s like a hurricane
The forces too strong
Gonna drive me insane
That’s it, he has completely unglued me. And if I wasn’t before, the images of us in bed together put me over the edge. I feel my panties get wet—again—as I watch us essentially simulate having sex. It ends at the moment where Marcus first yelled “Action!” when Trace encircled my head with his strong arms, giving me a look that said that everything was going to be okay. I feel that same sense of peace now as the lights come back on and everyone in the club begins applauding loudly. Earl resumes his position on the stage and makes a toast to the “next #1 hit on the charts.”
Trace places his hand on the lower part of my back, and we make our way back to the table where we started the evening. Before we get there, however, I feel a tug on my arm and feel myself being pulled out of the room by Regina. As soon as we reach the hallway near the restroom, she spins around to face me. “What the hell was that? Seriously, Taryn, that was fucking hot. What is going on with you guys?”
Her voice is almost pleading with me so I pull her arm and we head into the ladies’ room. After ensuring that there is no one else is in here except us, I tell her about everything...the texts, phone calls, video shoot, our date, and even the brief storage-room rendezvous. I also tell her that I honestly have no idea what I’m doing but I love it anyway.
“I knew something was going on, but I definitely didn’t know that.” Placing her hand in mine, she squeezes it tight. “I’m happy for you, T, you deserve it. And Trace is a good guy… just be careful, alright?”
I pull away to stare into the mirror. With both my hands on the edge of the sink, I let my eyes stare at my reflection. I’ve fallen and although I’m not quite sure how far, I have to be honest with myself. I like him…a lot. But I’m not sure exactly where he wants this to go, if anywhere, so I know I need to heed her advice and be cautious. “I will. Thanks, Gina. And it’s not like anything’s really happened, not yet anyway.”
“Well, we’re gonna have to change that, and there’s no time like the present,” she says, her chocolate-colored eyes staring at me in the mirror with amusement.
“Yeah, I’m sure the ‘Wicked Witch’ will love that,” I say, turning to face her.
“Girl, you just let me handle your mom and you concentrate on lover-boy,” she says, giving me a hug.
When we retreat from our sanctuary a few minutes later, however, it’s obvious that her priorities have shifted. I am instantly surrounded by a number of people, all congratulating me on the collaboration. After I finally come up for air, I look across the room just in time to see Gina poke Trace in the chest before getting in his face. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out the content of that conversation.
After a few more pokes and some narrowed eyes, they both begin to laugh and I take a deep breath. Trace wraps his arms around her shoulders and winks my way, all while whispering in her ear. She releases him, giving me a small wave before heading off in another direction.
I give Trace a smile and venture back to the bar, where I order myself a San Pellegrino with lime—I’ve had enough alcohol. If something does happen with Trace tonight, I want to remember every second of it.
A few of the execs and others I recognize from the video shoot join me and we make small talk while we drink. After a bit, I hear my phone buzz in my purse and I’m curious who it might be since just about everyone I know is here. Except Ryder, who is noticeably absent from the party. I check to see if it might be him but I’m surprised to find it’s my dad, telling me he needs to talk. I’m about to hit ‘reply’ when my thumb accidently presses the wrong button and my message log appears. Damn, I’d forgotten about the text that Weston sent the other night when Trace and I were on our date. Not that I would have answered him anyway—just seeing the bastard’s name makes me want to throw up. Or cry.
I sincerely hope that these two texts aren’t related to one another, but something in my gut tells me they are. Before I can find out, I feel a strong hand on my shoulder. A smile creeps across my face and I quickly toss my phone in my purse before whirling around, surprised to find Dre standing there, looking at me curiously. “Make your way to the parking garage—second floor. There’ll be a black Benz waiting,” he says quietly, leaning in close. “Oh, and don’t fuck around with my boy.” He winks before turning around and walking back to the others.
I stand up and straighten out my dress, toss a few bills on the bar, and scan the room. Gina waves to get my attention and I walk toward where she’s talking with my mom, who is slouching a little and seems like she’s enjoying Gina’s company for the first time ever.
“Oh Taryn, you’re mom says she’s going to head home. She’s suddenly not feeling well,” Regina says when I approach, sounding unnaturally concerned and giving me a thumbs-up behind my mom’s head.
“Yesss…Taarryyn. I…” She stops mid-sentence as though she forgot what she was saying.
I look over at Regina and she giggles. “I’m going to make sure she gets home okay.”
“Great job on the video, sweetie. It looked so….real.” The fact that my mother is complimenting me confirms that she is indeed drunk. “Aren’t you glad we fixed that little prob—“
“Mom!” I interrupt her. Regina looks at me curiously so I quickly quiet my voice. “Just go with Regina, okay?”
Regina holds my mom out on one side of her before leaning over to me. “I believe your black knight is waiting for you,” she whispers. When I give her a quizzical look, she says, “She’ll be fine. Who knew your mom liked all the different-flavored vodkas.” She shrugs her shoulders and grins before escorting my mom through the side door.