followed by the recognizable—and pissed off—voice of Brenda, Lola gave me a hard shove. I sat up enough to stare at her sobering glare. “Go talk to her. It's obviously important.”
“Alright, I'm going. Fuck.” There was no disguising my disappointment. Peeling off of Lola, I jammed my legs into my briefs and jeans. My cock argued with me the whole time, not wanting to fit into the tight confines of my clothing.
Gripping the door knob, wishing I could snap it off, I yanked it open. Brenda stood there in all her frazzled glory. Her crimson strands were knotted in a messy bun. In spite of all the signs she'd rushed over to my room, she still had thrown on some shiny black heels.
She reached out, fingers wrapping in the front of my shirt like she was some tough thug. It would have been funny if her face wasn't twisted in disgust. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
If vipers could talk. I closed my hand over hers pointedly. I was bigger, stronger, and didn't like anyone trying to man-handle me; managers not excepted. “Morning to you, too.”
“Don't 'morning' me, you giant dick-hole!” It took everything she had, but she managed to move me a foot forward out into the hall with a solid twist of her body. If being my manager didn't work out, she should consider wrestling. “Ignoring my calls? Are you fucking insane? What were you—” She never finished. I knew what she was seeing around me, or rather, who she was seeing. Lola was easy to spot in my bed.
Pushing her further into the hall, I shut the door behind me. “Yeah. She's in there.”
For uncounted seconds, Brenda just stared at me. Pulling her arm back, she wiped her palm on the front of her blouse like she'd been touching something slimy. “You aren't even ashamed about it, are you? Jesus—Drezden, what were you thinking?”
I was thinking that I wanted Lola. Nothing close to that rolled off my tongue. Instead, I squinted down at Brenda thoughtfully. This situation, it almost made me crave a smoke. Almost. With Lola in my system, I didn't want for much.
“Brenda,” I said slowly, “Sorry about ignoring your calls. I'll get our stuff and get down to the bus in five minutes, tops.”
Her laugh was crisp and cynical. “Oh no. You don't get to just walk away from this. Drezden, everyone saw you two grinding together like horny teens at the club last night! It's all over the fucking internet, my phone is blowing up, it's ridiculous! Were you drunk? Was she drunk?”
Prickles went up my neck. “We knew what we were doing.” I wouldn't allow myself to think otherwise.
“How the hell am I going to hide this?” She was watching me with... pity? Her emotions were all over the place. The lack of lipstick she wore hinted more at her distress than anything she'd said.
My arms bundled over my chest. “You aren't going to.”
“You're saying you don't think I can?” she scoffed.
“No. I'm telling you not to bother.”
With her hands falling to her sides, my manager froze. “I have to hide this. We all have to!”
The vein in her forehead is going to split wide open. There was no room for argument in my tone. “I want the whole damn world to know about Lola and me.” Let them see she's mine.
Groaning openly, Brenda rubbed at her cheeks until they went raw. “You're joking! Drezden, if I bury this now, people will forget about it in a few days. Maybe less if we give them something else to gossip over. What would make you want to risk losing fans, gaining jealous stalkers, and—and just what are you after here?”
There were a few things that floated up in my mind. I was the one who told Lola to take the risk. I was the one who wanted this.
My answer was both frightening and enticing.
“I'm after her.” Showing Brenda my back, I twisted the door knob. “We'll be down in five.” Without another word, I closed myself away from the world.
Closed myself off from everything but Lola Cooper.
- Chapter Sixteen -
Lola
The instant Drezden left, I was out of the bed. Sitting there nude was too much for me. The shock on Brenda's face when she'd spotted me left me cold with guilt. I shouldn't feel bad. I didn't do anything wrong. My confidence was shaken beyond any rationalizing.
The clothes from last night felt itchy and out of place as I slid them on.