No Matter What (10 page)

“If Terry catches you in here ...”
India
said, a slight smile on her face.

Kenny smiled too, walking over to the sideboard and pouring them both a very small shot of tequila.
 
“What’s he gonna do?”

“Hang around much longer and you might find out.”

He leant back against the sideboard, knocking back his tequila shot, putting the glass down behind him and folding his arms.
 
“You gonna put some clothes on?”

She smiled at him. “Are you complaining?”

“Oh, absolutely not.
 
I think you look just perfect as you are.”

She walked over to the clothes that had been laid out on the bed by her stylist, looking at them closely, picking up the short black dress.

“You know, I’m still not sure about this
Hollywood
glamour thing.
 
Is it really me?
 
I’ve never felt all that comfortable in dresses and heels.”

She turned to look at him.
 
He was definitely going for the unique approach to red carpet fashion, looking very much like the rock star he portrayed in the movie, dangerously sexy in black leather pants and biker boots, a black t-shirt that clung to his amazing body, his dark hair pushed back off his handsome face.
 
He was standing there, in her hotel room, a man who’d once been her idol and was now her friend and that didn’t feel strange anymore.
 

But he was so beautiful.
 
She couldn’t ignore that any longer and all of a sudden she felt a tight sensation in her chest which, for a second, made it difficult for her to catch her breath.

“You ok?” Kenny asked.

She nodded, throwing the towel she’d just used to dry her hair onto the floor.
 
“I want to wear biker boots too.”
 

Kenny laughed.
 
“So wear them.”

“Not sure what the stylists would say about that.
 
Look at all the trouble they’ve gone to to sort all this stuff out for me.”

“Fuck the stylists!
 
You’re
you,
India
.
 
Let the world see that.”

He watched as she slipped on a pair of high-heeled shoes that had been left next to the dress they’d picked out for her.
 
In only her underwear and those heels she looked like a walking real-life fantasy and he’d never looked at her like this before. He’d never
felt
like this before, not about
India
.
 

He ran a hand along the back of his neck and turned round to pour himself another shot, knocking it back in one, turning back around to see her looking at him, standing there, all sexy-as-hell-centrefold and no idea what she was doing to him.

“What’s wrong with
you
?” she asked, cocking her head slightly.

He walked over to her and she suddenly felt her stomach jolt, like a million butterflies had just been let loose in there, and she felt absolutely powerless.
 

He was smiling at her; a knowing smile, a smile that was conveying something she knew neither of them were going to be able to stop and she felt the room start to spin, aware only of the loud rock music still coming from the CD player and the fact that Kenny Ross was beside her.
 
He was so very close beside her now.

And then it happened.
 
That line between friendship and lovers suddenly became blurred as he pushed her back against the wall, his fingers closing around hers as he stared into her blue eyes, eyes that were telling him it was ok, it was fine, they could do this.
 
They were going to do it anyway.
 
The time for turning back was long gone.

As his mouth touched hers, gently at first then harder and faster, it was like a bolt of white hot electricity had been shot right through her, his body pressed up against hers, his fingers stroking her skin.
 
It was crazy, totally unplanned and it had taken her completely by surprise, this sudden rush of feelings for him.
 
She had an ache so bad it was killing her, she wanted him so much.
 
There were no words, no-one spoke.
 
No-one needed to.
 
The message was loud and clear and the wheels were already in motion.

But even Kenny felt dizzy with the speed at which events had turned, because he wanted her so badly now, and he was almost sure he hadn’t felt this way yesterday.
 
He suddenly needed to feel every inch of her, and he had no idea where these feelings had come from, maybe they’d always been there, but he needed to become a part of her now and within seconds he was there.
 
Within seconds he’d pushed his way inside her beautiful body, feeling her hand squeeze his tight as he pushed harder, her moans turning him on even more and it was incredible, it was crazy, and he’d never experienced anything like it before.
 
Kenny Ross was lost - lost in this girl from
England
.
 

He buried his face in her damp blonde hair as he pushed into her again, holding her naked body tight against his clothed one, feeling her shudder and hearing her scream and just wanting to stay there, stay this way and never let her go, while India clung onto him, her eyes closed as his lips touched her neck, her shoulders, her mouth.
 
It was the most beautiful feeling and it was completely rocking her whole body, making her shout out loud, her nails digging into his back as he gave that last, long, rough push, his own body finally giving in to it all.
 

His breath was hot on her neck as they held onto each other, neither really wanting to let go so they stayed there, catching their breath.
 
Until Kenny knew he had look at her, to see what they’d just done, but she’d closed her eyes, an overwhelming feeling of emptiness washing over her as she felt him leave her body.
 
But she also felt calm, as if something had just happened that had needed to happen before either of them could really move forward.

He kissed her gently and she opened her eyes, looking right at him.

“Nothing has to change you know,” he whispered, his hand resting lightly on her hip.

“Still best friends then?” she smiled, gently stroking his face.

He stepped back slightly and took a long look at her tanned, toned body, naked except for those heels.
 
“With all the fucking benefits there could possibly be,” he grinned.

She grabbed the front of his t-shirt and pulled him back up against her, slowly kissing him.
 
They had no idea what they were getting themselves into here but who the hell cared?
 
It was their secret, their game.
 
This was where it was probably always going to have ended up anyway so why fight it?

“You’re going to get me into so much trouble,” she whispered, feeling one of his hands slide into the small of her back as the other gently pushed her legs apart.

“Trouble like you wouldn’t believe,” Kenny smiled, getting ready to enjoy the ride one more time before they had to re-join the real world.
 
This was definitely turning into one hell of a crazy night, and that was just the way Kenny Ross liked it.

***

Reece sat at the bar in the hotel lobby, dressed in his usual red carpet attire of black suit and open-necked white shirt.
 
He liked to keep it casual yet smart, and he’d never been one for tuxedos; they didn’t make him feel all that comfortable.
 
But tonight he looked good, as usual.
 
Reece Brogan was always well presented, always well turned out, although it hadn’t always been that way.
 
Still, the past was the past.

He checked his watch, wondering where
India
was.
 
She should be ready by now.
 
He didn’t want her being late for her first premiere.
 
He wanted to make sure she was calm and not nervous, but most of all, sober.
 
She’d been with Kenny for most of the day and that had caused him a great deal of worry, knowing what Kenny was like and knowing that
India
would do anything for him.
 
He just hoped she realised how important tonight was.
 
He wanted her to enjoy it; he wanted her to be happy and to take it all in because it might be something she was going to have to get used to, and he was determined to be there for her tonight, just like he should be.
 
Just like he’d promised himself he would be from the start.

Michael Walsh joined him at the bar and Reece threw him a smile, watching as he ordered a bourbon, knocking it back in one.
 
Understandable that he was nervous, this being his first outing as a director, but the only indication they were getting from test screenings was that this movie was going to be an out and out success.
 
India
had turned out to be more than any of them could have hoped for, especially Reece.
 
He’d known there’d been something there; he’d just never been sure how much.
 
He’d discovered more than just an actress, that was for sure.

“Any idea where
India
is?” Michael asked, leaning back against the bar and looking towards the elevators.
 
He seemed agitated.

Reece shook his head.
 
“I’m assuming she’s still getting ready.
 
Do you want me to call upstairs and see if she’s done yet?”

“No.”
 
He looked at Reece.
 
“Where’s Kenny?”

“I’m guessing he’s with
India
.”

Michael felt his stomach lurch.
 

“She’ll be ok you know.”
 
Reece sensed Michael’s nerves.
 
He’d never seen him so on edge.
 
“She won’t let us down.”

Michael looked towards the elevators again, as if willing her to appear.
 
“It’s not her I’m worried about.”

Reece caught the bar man’s attention and ordered another couple of bourbons, sliding one towards Michael.

“Come on.
 
One more for the road.
 
It’s gonna be a long night.”

***

Charley blew on her nails, waiting for the cerise polish to dry so she could finally pull on the dress of her dreams.
 
It was a very tight, quite short little pink number that left little to the imagination and showed off everything she had, including her fantastic new breasts.
 
She loved them.
 
They were something she’d always wanted and now they were also her most valuable assets.
 

Charley Miles was pursuing a new career.
 
She’d put the drudgery of ‘Wheatman & Rogers’ behind her after that trip to Merseyside to see Terry.
 
All it had taken was one night of clubbing and a morning of making him realise that he couldn’t live without her and she’d had him hooked.
 
India
’s footballer brother was now her boyfriend.
 
One small step on the ladder to recognition and she felt very, very pleased with herself.

When she’d handed in her resignation at ‘Wheatman & Rogers’ it had been the happiest day of her life.
 
She’d almost skipped out of the building with a head full of dreams and the determination that she was going to make something happen, and she had.
 
She’d bagged a first division footballer and now she was well on the way to becoming a glamour model.
 
She just needed to speed things up a bit, get her face known more.
 
Well, not just her face, really.

She smiled to herself as she remembered seeing her first set of photographs.
 
Now it wasn’t just
India
on the front of magazines, Charley could be a cover girl too, even if it
was
a completely different kind of cover girl.
 
But she had to start somewhere.
 
Not everybody could have the lucky break that
India
had had but Charley would get there.
 
She’d make it as big as
India
; she’d have everything
India
had.

Blowing on her nails one last time she thought about Kenny Ross.
 
Like she’d said - everything
India
had.

***

Terry was as nervous as hell.
 
This was a huge night for his sister and he just wanted everything to go right, which included Charley behaving herself.
 
A bit of Dutch courage she’d said when she’d opened the bottle of wine she’d ordered from room service ten minutes ago.
 
What did
she
need Dutch courage for?
 
It wasn’t
her
night; it wasn’t
her
who would have the eyes of
Hollywood
watching them.
 
She was supposed to be there to support
India
.
 
And he wasn’t sure about the dress she’d chosen either.
 
It seemed a little too obvious to him.
 
He’d preferred her before the breast implants and this obsession she had about becoming a glamour model, it was almost too predictable for the girlfriend of a footballer but he was trying to be as supportive as he possibly could.
 
She was making it hard, though, and he was trying to concentrate what little energy he had left on
India
.