Never Say Never (9 page)

            Nobody
else seemed to notice the distraction, however. As soon as Danny got up to
speak – lecturing about the relationship of goth rock to post-punk in Northern
England – the entire class was lapping out of the palm of his hand. Even the
stoners and the jocks taking this course for an easy A were leaning in, excited
by his words – his fluid, smooth delivery. He didn't just lecture; he told
stories
– talking to us about Ian Curtis and Joy Division and New Order, about the
clubs of Manchester and Siouxsie Sioux's first performance that were so full of
detail and color that it almost seemed as if he had been there.

            Of
course, his looks would have more than sufficed even if his teaching style
hadn't been up to snuff. The other girls were giggling and staring at him; one
girl, raising her arm in a pointed way designed to thrust forth her bosom, asked
a question about Ian Curtis' sex life clearly designed to get him to notice
her. And when Danny smiled at her, charmingly answering her question while
deflecting any talk about sex, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy.

            It
was a relief to get out when class ended.  

            “Neve!”
Danny called, using the formal professor-voice that still managed to send
tingles up and down my side. “May I see you for a moment?”

            “Of
course, sir!” I called out cheerily, feeling a frisson of excitement at this
game we were playing – the teacher-student relationship hiding our closer
intimacy.

            “I'll
see you tonight,” he said quietly, so that Professor Poe wouldn't hear. “I've
got a lot of meetings and classes to teach, so I won't be there early, but I
will be there.” He touched my shoulder slightly so that I shivered. “If I'm a
bit late, don't worry. I will be there no matter what – I won't let you down.”

            “Thanks,”
I said, smiling at him. “We'll be great, I know it. You'll be great. I'll see
you tonight.” I instinctively leaned in, my arms tensed to hug him – an
automatic response I'd learned after several experiences with Luc, Kyle, Steve,
and Geoff – but I stopped myself at once, my body remembering the feeling of
his body against mine, of his arms twined with my own, of his muscular chest
tight against my back. I couldn't touch him without becoming overwhelmed with
feelings of how much I wanted him, wanted to be close to him, wanted his body
so close against mine. I had to watch myself, to keep my feelings – not to
mention my hormones – under control.

            “Bye,”
I said awkwardly, all but rushing out of the classroom.

            That
afternoon I ran into Kyle after our shared Calculus requirement. He was
strangely cold to me during class – but it was only after the bell rang that I
found out why.

            “Knocked
on your door,” he said curtly. “Way to stand me up this morning.”

           
What
?
And then I remembered. My standing Friday morning breakfast date with Kyle. I'd
completely forgotten.

            “Nobody
was in – your roommate said you hadn't come back last night.” Kyle frowned.
“Really, you could have called if you weren't going to come back – not to
mention...did you spend the night at Danny's? Really, Neve, after everything
you said about Geoff, I can't believe you'd...”

            “I
got a flat!” I blurted, hoping Kyle wouldn't see my red face. “Nothing
happened. I couldn't get home so I slept on the couch because I was so
exhausted. Danny offered to drive me home but it was too late, so he just drove
me in this morning.”

            Kyle
looked relieved – a little
too
relieved, I thought. “Good,” he said –
before turning slightly crimson. “Because you know, uh, I promised your mom I'd
look out for you. There's no way she'd let you live in the dorms instead of at
home if she didn't think I'd keep you out of any trouble.” He coughed slightly.

            I
patted his hands. “Don't worry, Kyle,” I said. “I'd never screw with the band
dynamic like that – you know that. You can trust me. Nothing happened. You know
as well as I do that I'd never date anyone in the band.”

            “I
know that,” Kyle said. “And you know that. All too well. But does Danny know
that?”

           
Does
he?
I looked hurriedly at the floor so that Kyle wouldn't be able to see my
face.
And for that matter – do I?

           
That
night, the boys and I drove together to the night club, planning to meet Danny
there. I was expecting him to turn up in his typical rock star regalia – but
when Danny showed up, it was all I could do not to melt into a puddle on the
floor then and there. He was wearing skin-tight leather trousers and a black
silk button-down shirt that opened all the way to his navel, revealing his
toned chest and killer abs. The blue stud in his ear matched the piercing color
of his icy eyes; his hair was slicked back to his shoulders.

            I
shuddered with desire.

            But
none of that – nothing about his looks – could compare to his playing. The
second Danny's lithe fingers touched the guitar strings, he was making love not
only to me, but to every single woman in the room. His desire, his longing, his
sexy cocksure style – all these seemed to echo through the room with his
playing, making the walls shake. I sang along with his melody, our voices and
instruments blending into one another, melding together to create a lush wall
of sound, overwhelming and gorgeous. I couldn't breathe; somehow, I could sing
anyway, energy coursing through us both. Normally, the adrenaline sent me
spinning – but tonight was something different, something profound. The normal
energy of performance mingled with my desire for Danny – a desire that caused
my whole body to shudder like a guitar string. We weren't just giving a great
performance tonight – we were giving a performance that was out of this world!
I could feel it – Danny could feel it – Luc and Steve and Kyle could feel it.
We had our audience by the throats and we weren't going to let them go. We'd
drawn them in; we'd seduced them. We were going to make love to them and bring
them back wanting more.

            Between
my desire and Danny's talent – his presence had brought the Never Knights to a
whole new level.

            I
couldn't focus with him near me. But as we finished the set, the audience
exploding with applause, I knew the band couldn't function with us apart,
either.

Chapter
10

           
B
y the time we played our last song of the
night, I was absolutely exhausted – my mind and body alike completely
shattered. But as the music died down, I spied something out of the corner of
my eye that made my heart start to race anew: Mr. Slayton was sitting at one of
the corner tables, a curious expression on his face. So, Slayton was serious
after all, I thought, my face turning red with excitement. Apparently he
thought our band had potential after all. Well, if he'd seen us tonight, then
he'd seen exactly how much energy Danny Blue had injected into our proceedings.
He didn't just have the raw talent of a Geoff – he had technique as well, skill
and dedication. Exactly what Slayton was looking for. My face was flushed with
pleasure – I was so glad he'd seen us tonight, of all nights. I cleared my
throat and started announcing the band members.

            “We're
the Never Knights. I'm Neve Knight...”

            “Hold
on!” I heard some shouting and turned around. “Hey, you, stand back!” Luc was
growling as Kyle and Steve tried to hold off a young, gawky guy holding a cell
phone camera.

            “Hey,
what are you...”

            But
before I could respond, the young man leaped onto the stage, grabbed me, and
forced a kiss on me, shoving his tongue down my throat before I even knew what
was happening. I heard a cold “
click
” - the sound of his cell phone
camera recording the moment.

            Instinctively,
I shoved him away, horror spreading over my face.
Quick, Neve, play it cool
,
I told myself, but my whole body was recoiling in disgust. I felt sick,
violated – that this guy could run onstage and assault me like that. But I
couldn't let the crowd see me upset. “Looks like we've got some dedicated fans,
huh?” I forced myself to say, and the crowd laughed.

            But
the guy who had kissed me – currently being held by Steve and Kyle, who looked
ready to pummel him at any moment – didn't seem too bothered. “Keith Knight's
daughter!” he was shouting, completely drunk, “I kissed Keith Knight's
daughter! Whoo!”

            I
heard several more
clicks
from the crowd, as one by one, people took
photos with their phones. My stomach plummeted. I'd tried to keep my identity –
if not an outright secret – then pretty damn quiet. I didn't play the Keith
Knight's daughter card – if anything, I wanted my dad to know nothing of my
dreams to follow in his footsteps. But I knew what came next – I'd seen it
happen to plenty of my friends, other celebrities' kids. First the camera-phone
shot, then the feature on TMZ or Perez Hilton – by tomorrow, the entire
Internet would be seeing and laughing at my embarrassing moment, caught on
film. Not to mention my dad. And once he found out about the band, I knew, he'd
freak out. It was what I was most afraid of. The fame I wanted – the way I
didn't want it to happen. I'd be a laughingstock, a celebutante. Not the
serious artist I wanted to be.

            “Hey...”
Kyle handed me a bottle of ice-cold water as we left the stage. “Are you okay?”
He put his arm around me.

            “It's
just a kiss, Kyle,” I said with more bravado than I felt. “No big deal, believe
me.”

            “No
big deal?” Kyle's mouth opened into a wide-O. “That guy just sexually assaulted
you – I'm pretty sure you could press charges if you wanted to.”

            “This
crapola happens.”

            “Crapola?
Shit, Neve, why don’t you let it all out? It's got no right to happen. It
doesn't matter that you're in a band, that you're Keith Knight's daughter –
nobody should have to be groped by complete strangers. He had no right to kiss
you like that – no right at all.” Kyle's face was redder than mine.

            “It's
not that he kissed me...” I admitted. “That's not what freaks me out. It's just
that – if he could get that close, if he could get close enough to shove his
tongue down my throat – what else could he have done...?” Images shot through
my mind of famous rock stars and their kids who'd been killed or threatened by
psychos off the street – John Lennon, shot down in front of the Dakota....

            “Look,
Neve,” said Kyle. “I promised your mom I'd look after you. I know that people
want something from you – that when you're a rock star's kid you get special
kind of surveillance. But don't worry.” He set his jaw. “There won't be a next
time for a case like that. I won't let it happen again.”

            “Hey,
Neve,” Steve came over. “I just had a few...uh...choice words with security.
They're pretty sorry – they apologize profusely and say that it won't happen again.
It's bad publicity for them – worse than for us. This isn't supposed to be some
frat-bar – this is one of the hottest, most elegant clubs in town.
Unfortunately, that guy already emailed the video clip of himself kissing you
to TMZ...”

            My
heart almost skipped a beat.
Here it is
, I thought.
The fame and
fortune you never wanted.
The fame and fortune I'd always known, deep down,
I could never avoid. Not as Keith Knight's daughter – who, incidentally, still
wasn't even old enough to technically be in this nightclub.

            “He's
bound to find out, then,” I sighed. “My dad. I just hoped he wouldn't find out
until we're already signed...”

            Luc
rushed over to me, his arms around me, holding me tight. “Oh, babe, I'm so
sorry,” he said. “How are you doing?”

            “Fine...”
I didn't want to go over this again. “It was just a kiss – nothing else.”

            “Please...”
Luc pressed his lips to my forehead. “This is just a kiss – this right here. A
normal thing that happens between friends. What that guy did to you wasn't a
kiss – it was assault. A complete stranger who thinks he has the right to...”

            I
smiled into Luc's warm, protective eyes. “You're more worried than I am,” I
said. “Believe me, I can handle myself. But I think one kiss cancels out the
other. You made me feel a lot better, thanks.”

            He
put on a pretend falsetto voice. “Kissing away the boo-boo?” he laughed,
thrusting out his bosom in a failed attempt to look maternal. “Like when we
were playing house as kids?”

            “I
wish
Neve's mom would ‘kiss away the boo boo’,” Kyle laughed. “I'd get
injured a lot more if she were the one doing the bandaging.”

            “You
guys...” I laughed too. “I think we're a little too old for 'a kiss will make
it better.'”

            Luc
chuckled. “You never know,” he said. “A kiss can cure a lot of ills. It's true.
Great for the common cold...” He fixed his gaze on me – warm and loving.

            “Luc...”
His face was so kind, so familiar – yet there was something about it that was
foreign to me, even strange. Somehow Luc had grown up right under my nose, from
a great childhood friend to a wonderful, caring man – from a gawky boy to a
handsome adult. How had I never noticed this change before?

            “Don't
worry about me, Luc,” I said. “I bet a bunch of those girls out there on the
dance floor would be happy to have a guy like you go kiss away all
their
injuries.”