Page 16 of Rock Hard
“It’s going to be okay, kiddo,” Alice told her with a final hug.
“Yeah, I know.”
Alice watched Carly get safely into the elevator, chuckling when she saw the attendant’s wide-eyed, terrified expression when he realized who she was. Clearly, Carly wouldn’t have to worry about him telling on her for sneaking out. Rex Løve had been known to maim a few messengers who had brought him unwelcomed news.
Alice waited in her car until she received the text a few minutes later from Carly, saying that she was safely in her suite. She drove back to her hotel, where she immediately took a hot shower and changed into her pajamas. Then she flipped on the television to catch the end of the late news.
No sooner had she settled into bed than a soft knock sounded on her door. “You decent?”
She smiled at the familiar greeting. “No, but I am dressed. Come on in, Johnny.”
He looked freshly showered, too, and good enough to eat with a pair of black silk, Japanese style pants slung low on his lean hips. She could probably make decent bank snapping a picture of him and selling it to the highest bidder. Candids of the enigmatic, reclusive rock star were rare.
With the grace of his kind, he leaped onto her bed and settled atop the covers beside her. “So, did you have a good day?”
“The best,” she told him. “Thanks for letting me do that. Today must have been crazy.”
He shrugged elegantly. “You left nothing to chance. All I had to do was show up.”
“Surely something unexpected must have happened. It always does.”
“Nature of the beast.”
On the screen, a news reporter was broadcasting live from the concert. Crowds of hyped-up fans were cheering in the background.
Alice turned up the volume to hear what she was saying.
“A record crowd here tonight at the Animals of Rock Tour. The musical performances might be over, but here in front of Rex Løve’s tour bus, things show no sign of slowing down anytime soon.”
The camera panned up to show Rex on top of the tour bus, guitar in one hand, bottle in the other, while being swarmed by adoring female fans climbing on top of one another to reach him. Much of the scene was blurred out, due to the rampant nudity of not just the fans, but of Rex as well.
Johnny reached over, took the remote out of her hand, and changed the channel, settling on aLord of the Ringsmarathon, one of his favorites.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, of course,” she said, summoning a weak smile. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Johnny put his arm around her and pulled her close. She rested her head on his shoulder.
“Why couldn’t I have fallen in love with you?”
He chuckled softly and kissed her forehead. “Because that would be way, way too easy.”
