Thrill

  Ignoring Mick, Summer spotted Lara and ran over. “Lara!” she squealed.

  “You’ve certainly grown up,” Lara said, hugging her. “And so pretty. Say hi to Joey Lorenzo.”

  “Hello, Joey,” Summer said, checking him out.

  “Hello,” he replied, staring jailbait in the face. If Nikki was smart she’d lock this one up and swallow the key until she was eighteen.

  Summer edged her way over to Aiden Sean. He looked at her blankly. “I’m a major fan,” she said, determined to get his attention. “Seen all your movies like, ten times! You’re way way the most genius actor around.”

  No reaction from Aiden, who seemed more interested in nursing his glass of Jack Daniel’s.

  “Don’t you remember me?” Summer demanded, lowering her voice so nobody else could hear.

  He barely moved his head. “Nope.”

  “The Viper Room.”

  “Sorry, kid,” he said, yawning in her face.

  She glared at him. He’d pay for calling her kid.

  • •

  Across the deck, Joey didn’t miss a thing. “How old’s the nymphet?” he whispered to Lara.

  “Fifteen. Frightening, isn’t it?”

  “She’s sure made Mick’s evening. Take a look—his eyes are buggin’ out.”

  “Don’t be disgusting, she’s a child.”

  “This one grew up a long time ago.”

  “What makes you think that?”

  “I can tell.”

  • •

  Mick grabbed Summer’s attention on the way in to dinner.

  “Whyn’t you tell me who your mother was?” he demanded, mouth twitching.

  “You didn’t ask,” she retorted flippantly.

  “And how come you didn’t call me?”

  “ ’Cause I knew you’d be mad when you found out my mom was Nikki Barry.”

  He looked perplexed. This little Lolita was confusing him.

  Before he could say anything else, she’d moved away, and he found himself seated between Lara Ivory and Aiden.

  • •

  The conversation around the dinner table was dominated by Mick. “We gotta bring back public hangin’,” he said, distractedly circling Marilyn’s left tit with his index finger, while managing to keep a keen watch on Summer, who so far had refused to look at him. “Hang ’em up by the balls an’ watch ’em squirm. I’d pay.”

  “That’s obscene,” Richard said, his face clouding over. “We may as well all run around in loincloths, carrying spears.”

  “The law of the jungle—fuck ’em before they fuck you,” Mick said, winking at Summer, who immediately looked away.

  Joey observed the scene. Someone should tell the kid that directors were the ones with all the power, not actors. The little tease hadn’t taken her baby blues off Aiden all night. He placed his hand on Lara’s leg under the table, slowly moving it up her thigh.

  “Are you aware of how many people are executed in error?” Richard demanded, banging his fist on the table.

  “Hardly any,” Mick responded. “An’ y’know why? ’Cause bleedin’-heart liberals like you wanna end the death penalty altogether.”

  “The death penalty is not a deterrent,” Richard announced sternly, wishing everyone would get the hell out of his house.

  “Bullshit!” shouted Mick, turning to Lara. “What do you think?”

  “It depends on the crime,” she said, determined not to get trapped in the middle of their fight.

  Aiden stood up from the table. He had not removed his dark glasses all night and had barely spoken a word. “Where’s the head?” he muttered.

  “Off the front hall,” Nikki replied.

  “I’ll show you,” Summer said, leaping to her feet and accompanying him from the room.

  She led him all the way to the guest bathroom, and when they arrived she attempted to enter with him.

  “What the fuck are you playing at?” he asked, blocking her at the door.

  “Nothing,” she answered innocently. “I had no idea you were in my mom’s movie.”

  “And I suppose you didn’t know Mick was her director,” he said, as if he didn’t believe her.

  Ah, so he did remember her. “Honestly, I didn’t,” she said, trying to edge into the bathroom with him, aware that if she wrapped her long, blond hair around it, and enclosed it with her sweet young lips, she could send a man to heaven. Mick had been susceptible, but it was Aiden she really wanted.

  “Go away, little girl,” he said, slamming the door in her face.

  Reluctantly she returned to the dinner table. Aiden Sean hadn’t heard the last of her; she’d show him.

  • •

  Lara and Joey left shortly before eleven.

  “Some night!” Lara exclaimed in the car going home. “I must say—Mick’s quite a character. And as for Aiden Sean . . .”

  “Your ex has a major crush on you,” Joey remarked.

  “Not really,” she said quickly.

  “How come he let you get away?”

  “I told you, he was unfaithful,” she said with a deep sigh. “I finally realized I’d had enough.”

  “Bet he regrets it now.”

  “He and Nikki are very happy.”

  “Don’t be so sure.”

  “They are,” she insisted.

  “C’mon, honey,” Joey teased. “You don’t think he doesn’t dream about you in bed? Your incredible skin? Your soft arms? Your long legs wrapped around his neck . . .” He took one hand off the steering wheel, and cupped her left breast. “Take off your bra,” he ordered.

  “What?” she replied breathlessly.

  “You heard. Slip it out from under your top.”

  “Joey . . .” She laughed nervously. “Can’t you wait until we get home?”

  “No,” he said insistently. “I’ve been wantin’ to touch you all night. Now do it.”

  Her throat was suddenly dry with anticipation. Reaching under her blouse, she unclipped her bra and slipped it off.

  Immediately he snaked his hand under her blouse, pressing her nipple roughly between his fingers.

  She moaned, flooded with desire. He had such an amazing effect on her, she couldn’t think straight when he touched her.

  “Unzip my pants,” he instructed, staring at the road ahead. “Take it out.”

  “Joey,” she objected. “We’re on a public highway. People will see . . .”

  “What people? We’re in a moving vehicle. Do it!”

  “Joey . . .” But in spite of her protests she found herself obeying. It was almost as if he had her under a spell and she was powerless to say no. The truth was she had no desire to refuse him anything. Releasing him from his pants, she caressed him, wishing they were home so he could make love to her properly.

  “Suck it!” he commanded, pushing his hand firmly against the back of her head.

  Oh God! All he had to do was ask . . .

  She bent her head, tasting him, enclosing him. And when he came, they were racing along the Pacific Coast Highway at seventy miles an hour, and the kick was so potent that she felt herself climaxing too.

  “You belong to me, baby,” he said, his eyes fixed on the road. “Don’t ever forget it. You’re mine, all mine. Right, baby. Right?”

  And she nodded dreamily and leaned back in the seat and couldn’t wait until they were home in bed together.

  • •

  As soon as Aiden Sean and Mick Stefan left her mother’s stupid dinner party, Summer called a cab. Aiden wasn’t treating her nicely, even though he now knew who she was.

  God! Mick’s face when she’d walked in and Nikki had announced she was her daughter. Talk about sudden panic! She’d almost laughed out loud. Mick had taken her for some little nymphet fan the night she’d met him at the Viper Room—nothing more than a teenage blow job. Big shock for him!

  She didn’t care about him anyway, he was too geeky. It was Aiden Sean she liked, and when Summer wanted something she was determined to ge
t it.

  Before the party she’d called the production office and told them her mother needed Aiden’s home address. Smart thinking, because as soon as he left, she’d informed Nikki she had a party to go to, and now she was sitting in a cab on her way to his place.

  He lived in a ratty little apartment in North Hollywood, on a narrow, dusty street. She paid off the cab and rang the doorbell.

  Aiden came to the door stark naked, except for the dark shades covering his eyes, and a pair of knitted slippers on his long, callused feet. “Aw, Jesus!” he groaned. “You followed me home.”

  “You’re not very nice to me,” she said, pushing past him into his apartment. The television was blaring, and there was a half-empty bottle of Jack Daniel’s on the table. She remembered all the things she’d read about him in the tabloids and shivered with excitement. “Are you really a drug addict?” she asked, wide-eyed.

  “Are you really a fucking moron?” he responded, quickly pulling on a pair of pants. “Where does Mommy think you are now?”

  “Told her I had to go to a party. She doesn’t care, she’s too busy with her movie and Richard.”

  “That old fart,” Aiden growled, taking a gulp of booze from the bottle.

  “Richard’s okay,” Summer said. “I can get anything I want out of him, and he’s like, an amazing director—better than your friend Mick.”

  Aiden lowered his shades and regarded her for a moment. “What are you after, kid?” he asked, flopping down on a worn-out couch. “ ’Cause whatever it is, you’re not getting it from me.”

  “I’m into experiencing life,” she said ingeniously.

  “You’re treading a dangerous line. Fortunately for you, I’m not a bastard.”

  She giggled disbelievingly. “You’re not?”

  “Some people would’ve screwed the ass off you an’ not given a shit. But I got principles.”

  “Anyway, that’s why I’m here,” she said matter-of-factly. “I want you to . . . uh . . . do it to me.”

  “Not me, kid. I got enough problems.”

  “If you won’t, I’ll tell my dad you did, and the police’ll arrest you ’cause I’m underage.”

  He stared at her for a long, silent moment. “You’d do that, wouldn’t you?”

  “My dad’s a big-time shrink in Chicago,” she boasted. “He’s got real pull. He knows the mayor.”

  Aiden shook his head in disbelief. “Get the fuck outta here or your mom’s gonna hear about this.”

  “She won’t believe you, and you’ll like, get dumped from her movie.”

  “You think I give a fast shit?” he said, hustling her to the door. “Go home, little girl, an’ don’t come back.”

  “You’ll be sorry,” she said, shocked that he was rejecting her.

  “So I’ll be sorry. Big fucking deal.”

  CHAPTER

  35

  LARA AND NIKKI SAT IN the Chinese restaurant across the street from the production offices, enjoying a sumptuous feast of wild rice, sweet-and-sour shrimp, egg rolls and wontons.

  “I’ve never seen you like this, you’re positively glowing,” Nikki said, reaching for an egg roll. “And if you don’t wipe that annoying smile off your face, I’ll be forced to smack it off!”

  “Isn’t he great?” Lara said dreamily. “And it’s not only his looks—God knows I’ve passed up dozens of handsome guys.”

  “Silly you,” Nikki murmured.

  “You’ve got to understand,” Lara said, her green eyes burning bright. “Joey is different. He’s gentle and strong, smart and undemanding . . . and sooo sexy.”

  “Oh,” Nikki said, nodding wisely. “Now I get it.’ It’s a sex thing.”

  “No,” Lara objected quickly. “Honestly, Nikki, it’s not just sex.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Nikki said disbelievingly. “He’s got you hooked sexually. And how is he in that department?”

  Ignoring her friend, Lara continued, “It’s as if we belong together. Like we were out there alone and . . . somehow . . . we found each other.”

  Nikki plucked a wonton off her plate and popped it in her mouth. “Does he have money?”

  Lara frowned. “What does money have to do with anything?”

  “Don’t be so naive. Let us not forget you’re a rich woman.”

  “He’s not asking for anything.”

  “He doesn’t have to. Not yet, anyway.”

  Lara took a sip of black tea, attempting to remain calm. “Why are you being so nasty?” she asked at last. “You’re the one who kept begging me to sleep with someone.”

  Nikki ran a hand through her short, dark hair. “I’m merely playing devil’s advocate. A great fuck is one thing, but if you’re falling in love, you need to know more about him. Like who he is would be a good start.”

  “I know plenty.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like right now he’s the perfect man for me.”

  “I give up!” Nikki said, throwing her hands in the air. “This is exactly what happens after a long dry spell.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Getting laid again. Messes up your head quicker than anything.”

  “Can’t you be happy for me?”

  “I am. It’s just that this guy came out of nowhere. Dumped his fiancée and moved in on you big time.”

  “He didn’t move in on me. I invited him to stay.”

  “Okay, okay, as long as you know what you’re doing.”

  They ate in silence for a few minutes, both busy with their own thoughts. Sometimes Lara resented Nikki’s way of saying exactly what was on her mind. It was none of her business what she did or who she did it with.

  “By the way, I need a favor,” she said, breaking the silence.

  “Speak now.”

  “I want Joey in the movie.”

  Nikki groaned and stopped eating. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

  “We talked about it before.”

  “That was weeks ago. Every role is cast.”

  “You’re the producer,” she said sharply. “Find him something. He’s an excellent actor.”

  “I’m sure he is. But the truth is, you’ve left it too late.”

  “Too late for what?”

  “Mick’s meticulous about his casting. Every character’s set.”

  “You know,” Lara said, speaking in measured tones to be sure Nikki got the message. “I’m doing this movie as a favor to you. A big favor.”

  Nikki was shocked, this was not the Lara she knew and loved. “So?” she said belligerently.

  “So,” Lara responded, allowing the word to hang in the air. “I’m requesting something back.”

  “You’re asking for something I can’t do anything about,” Nikki said, furious at being put in such an awkward position.

  “Yes you can,” Lara countered. “Be realistic.”

  “I’ll talk to Mick,” Nikki said resentfully.

  “I’d appreciate it.”

  They finished lunch barely speaking.

  • •

  Summer awoke in her own bed, late. She yawned and stretched, allowing her mind to wander over the events of the previous night. First the dinner party. Boring. Then her nocturnal visit to Aiden Sean. What a big, fat disappointment he’d turned out to be. Just because her mother was Nikki Barry he hadn’t wanted anything to do with her, he’d practically thrown her out—which really sucked.

  Still . . . Aiden Sean was a movie star, and that had to count for something—especially in Chicago, where she could impress everyone, including her dad’s new wife, who thought she was such a hot number. Well, not hot enough, because Rachel hadn’t almost made out with a movie star.

  What would happen if she told Rachel the truth about the man she was married to?

  The Monster Man.

  My Daddy.

  Suddenly, Summer’s eyes filled with tears as the truth came crashing back. She could never tell anyone. She was too ashamed.

  Get over it, her inner voice screamed i
nside her head. GET OVER IT!

  But it wasn’t that easy.

  • •

  Back at the production offices, Mick stopped by to say hello to Lara, staring at her through his strange, oversized glasses. “Lookin’ forward to tomorrow,” he said, rubbing the tips of his long bony fingers together. “The read-through’s gonna be a happenin’.”

  “I’m looking forward to it, too,” she replied, wondering what working with him would be like.

  Later, after Lara had gone off to meet with the wardrobe people, Nikki cornered Mick in his office. He was on the phone, having a conversation in which he appeared to be begging some woman to forgive him for a past indiscretion. “C’mon, sweetie baby-love,” he wheedled. “We’ll have dinner, sex, a few laughs. You know you get off on me.”

  Apparently she didn’t, because Nikki could hear the loud dial tone as the woman hung up on him.

  Mick pretended she was still on the line, mumbled a phony “Good-bye,” put the phone down and turned to Nikki. “What’s up?” he asked, slumping back in his chair.

  She began pacing up and down in front of his desk, apprehensive about broaching such a delicate subject. “Uh . . . this is the deal, Mick,” she said, dreading his reaction.

  “Yeah?” he mumbled, checking out her legs.

  “The truth is we’re lucky to have Lara in our movie, on account of her being such a big star and all.”

  “What’re you telling me?” Mick asked irritably. “She met me, doesn’t like me an’ wants to walk? Is that it?”

  “No, she thought you were charming,” Nikki said. Actually they’d been so busy discussing Joey, they’d barely mentioned Mick.

  “Bull’s-eye,” Mick sneered. “I score charming award of the year.” He snickered wildly. “That’s before she’s worked with me, right?”

  Nikki sighed. “She wants us to give her boyfriend a part.”

  “Aw, shit!” he said, sitting up straight.

  “I told her everything was cast.”

  “You mean that creep she was with last night?”

  “He’s not a creep,” Nikki said patiently. “He’s her current boyfriend, and she wants him in the movie.”

  “Who does she expect him to play? One of the freakin’ rapists for crissakes?”