Star Maker (19 page)

They
took their seats side by side at the bar. She looked at him. “How bad is it,
babe? Are we doing shots?”

He
looked at her and nodded. “Do we have shots money?”

“Maybe.
Let me see what I can do.” She purposely leaned on the bar, pressing her
cleavage into it, so much that the bartender dropped a glass and broke it.
Sully sat next her and snickered.

She
smiled at the bartender and lured him over with her finger. He walked over,
dumbstruck and smiling. She leaned over even more and whispered in his ear
breathlessly. “Can you help me and my friend out? Seems I forgot my money
back at the motel and you don’t want me to go all the way back there do you?
We just want a few shots. Nothing fancy. Can you help us out? I love
Jameson.”

He
smiled at her. “I can help you out, darlin.’ Coming right up.”

She
giggled. “I knew I could count on you. Thank you, sweetie.” She winked at
him. Moments later, he pushed two shots each toward them.

He
looked at her. “Just let me know when you need more, ok?”

She
nodded. “Thank you, handsome.”

Sully
knocked back his first shot, then his second quickly. He looked at her and
grinned as she did the same. “That poor man. You’ve hypnotized him. He
thinks he has a chance at getting down your pants, but in truth, he’s got a
snowball’s chance in hell. Poor guy.”

Kit
smiled. “Hey, do you want shots or what? I worked it out. Better doing that
than spending our hard earned cash from your show tonight. What’s up, Foxx?
What’s eatin’ you? You looked pretty pissed back there. Girl trouble?”

He
kicked back two more shots, pushed to him by Kit’s new admirer. “There is no
more girl and there goes my image. Fuck!”

Kit
stared at him for a moment and then noticed she had two shots waiting for her.
She did them quickly, feeling the rush, and realizing that she was starting to
get buzzed. “Sull, you know you have a place to say. Veri said you can live
in the condo before it’s legally official.”

He
looked at her. “I should have this figured out by now, Kit. I should be able
to navigate a relationship. And I should be making money too. If I didn’t
have Joe’s condo, I’d be homeless, yet again.”

She
rolled her eyes. “So what? The money thing is only temporary and so is the
image thing… until you start bringing in some big cash or you find another
famous girlfriend.” She tried to hold back her laughter, but it burst out,
without her control.

He
glared at her and tried to be mad at her comment, but her laughter was
infectious and he started laughing. He finally looked at her and shook his
head, grinning. “Why is it that you’re one of the only women aside from my mom
that believes in me? Why is that?”

She
grinned. “I know talent when I see it, Foxx.” She knocked back another shot.
“And you’ve got talent in spades. C’mon, let’s get out of here before I won’t
be able to walk across that highway anymore.”

He
chuckled. “Ok.”

She
leaned over the bar again. She waved to the bartender. “Bye, sweetie. Thank
you so much for taking such good care of us. Can I give you a kiss?”

He
smiled and leaned over. She gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek and smiled at
him. “You’re a good man. Really now, how much do I owe you?”

He shook
his head, still smiling. “It’s on the house. I’ve seen lots of pretty girls
come in here and not one of them was even a fraction of as nice to me as you
were or as grateful. Just your company was enough.”

She
smiled. “Thanks, but I certainly can’t walk out of here without giving you a
proper tip.”

He
nodded. “Ok. I’ll let you do that much.

She
grinned. “Good.” She slapped down a twenty-dollar bill on the bar. “Thanks again.
Take care.” She followed Sully out.

He
grabbed her hand as they stood on the side of the highway watching a large semi
truck speed past. They saw another one in the distance. He squeezed her hand.
“Can you run it in those heels?”

She
chuckled. “You bet. Let’s go!”

They
ran across the highway laughing. He made his way toward the stairs that led to
the their motel room. She stopped him. “I don’t know if you’ll wanna do that.
It’s either the sticky floor or the dingy bathtub. I’m opting to sleep in the
van.”

He
looked at her. “I can’t let you sleep in the van by yourself. There’s enough
room for both of us in there, plus I’ll be near my guitar. That always makes
me sleep better.”

Kit
giggled and pulled the keys to the van out of her small purse. She unlocked
the side and slid open the large, heavy door. She stepped in and sat on the
first row of seats in the back. Sully climbed in and shut the door behind him,
headed to the second row of seats, where he laid down.

He
threw the blanket to her. “I’ll be ok without it.”

“Thanks,
babe.” She reclined back and lay it over her. She stared up at the roof of
the van. “Sull? You asleep yet?”

“No.”

“Why
did she dump you?”

“’Cuz
I’m out here and she’s back there. She thinks what I do is a joke. She told
me I’m not a musician, just a singer with a cute face and a nice ass. She told
me I should abandon music altogether and be a model instead because it pays
better. She doesn’t want a starving artist boyfriend.”

“Bitch!”

He
chuckled. “Maybe so, but it doesn’t make my heart hurt any less.”

“Sorry,
baby. Better you found out sooner rather than later. She doesn’t deserve you.
Onwards and upwards.”

“Kit-Kat?”

“Yes,
darlin’?”

“Can we
find some time to play guitars together tomorrow or at the very least before
you leave. Just a little jam session, you and me.”

“Absolutely.
Music’s all we got to get us through in this world, baby. And I’m all for
using it to its maximum capacity.” She cuddled into the seat and dozed off.

He
chuckled. “Me too. Hey, Kit, will you go out with me when we get back?” All
he received in response was silence. He wondered if she was thinking about it.
He sat up, peered over the seat, and noticed she was out cold. He chuckled
and laid back down, easily drifting off to sleep.

Sully
and Kit both squinted as they sat up sleepily the next morning, awakened by the
sound of the sliding door opening. Bryan and Remo pointed to them. “There they
are. Made a play for the van.”

Kit
glared at Bryan. “Better than the stinky ass floor of the roach motel room.
What time is it?”

“Ten.
Check out time in an hour. Better hop on the shower if you want it now. I
think by the time Jimmy’s done all the hot water will be used up, but you’re
free to have at it.”

“Charming.
Sounds fun. I love a good, cold shower.” Kit chimed sarcastically. She put
her hand to her head. “Ugh.”

Bryan
chuckled. “Pretty Kitty got a nasty hangover? What did you do last night? Go
party at the biker bar?”

“Yes.”

He
snickered. “Nice.”

Sully
rubbed his head and chuckled. “Dude, she got us hooked up with shots of
whisky. It was pretty cool. She used her feminine wiles on the bartender and
voila, free!”

Bryan
helped her out of the van. “I’m always so impressed with your repertoire of
skills, Kit-Kat.”

She
smirked. “Why thank you, Bryan. I can sleep better at night knowing that
now.” She walked away, headed toward the stairs to go up to the room.

He
laughed and jokingly hissed at her followed by a low growl, making a claw with
his hand. “Ooh, cranky Kitty this morning.”

Sully
hopped out of the van. “Don’t mess with her too much today, guys. She was
pretty cool last night, listening to me spouting about my chick drama.”

Remo
frowned. “Aren’t you always spouting about your chick drama?”

Sully glared. “Whatever.”

Two
nights later, they rolled into Jacksonville, Florida. Four shows in Jacksonville
were on the books, each one completely sold out courtesy of the Florida State
University Delta Gamma chapter. This was by far the biggest publicity scene
they had ever witnessed. Girls threw themselves at Sully with ten times the
determination and ferocity of his following back in Los Angeles. He loved it.
Signing female body parts was now part of his nightly duties and he relished
it. This was the stuff he had always dreamed of.

In
Jacksonville, he was a full-blown rock star. He had his fair share of fun with
the co-eds of Florida State and Kit let he and the rest of the band do whatever
they wanted, as long as they were back in time for the next show or rolling out
to the next city. And as far as Sully was concerned, Kit knew this was the
best medicine for healing his broken heart. She hoped the attention of these
girls would push Dahlia permanently out of his mind and keep him focused on his
career.

After
they wrapped Jacksonville, they headed south to tackle more shows in Florida,
stopping outside of Gainsville on their night off. They had made major
progress as far as mileage went, but they were ready to be off the highway.
They got settled into another cheap motel and found a local dive bar that was
within walking distance. They walked in and were happy to find rock music
playing instead of country for a change. AC/DC’s ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’
blared from the jukebox.

The
guys took up two out of the four pool tables in the back and Kit headed for the
bar. The road had worn on her by now and she was beyond exhausted. She hadn’t
had a decent night’s sleep in a while. She had slept on the nights when the
guys went out on their escapades in Jacksonville, but it hadn’t been enough to
make up for the serious sleep deficit that had been building up since the end
of May.

Mid-August
was approaching quickly. She was scheduled to fly out of Orlando in three
days, which left her exactly one day to recover before starting the fall
semester of her second year at UCLA Law. She had no idea how she was going to
make it through.

She
bellied up to the bar and ordered a beer. It was too hot in Florida in August
and she found that pounding beers suited her better for quenching her thirst
than sipping scotch on the rocks. The bartender pushed it toward her and she
thanked him, seizing the bottle by the neck. She chugged it back, oblivious to
what was going on around her.

A bar
fight broke out between the three guys who surrounded her. One of them threw a
punch, grazing Kit’s cheek and knocking the beer onto her. It spilled onto her
chest before it dropped to the ground and broke into pieces. She reacted
instantly and shoved the butt of her hand into one guy’s face, almost breaking
his nose. She spun around at lightening speed, knocking out the other guy with
a powerful roundhouse kick to the side of his head. She then spun around again
to the other side and knocked out the last guy with a sidekick.

The
band saw the fight break out and were headed to the bar to save Kit, but stood
there motionless along with the rest of the bar patrons, mouths gaped open in
awe. All three men that were inflicted by her powerful kicks and punches had
been knocked to the floor. One of them had a split lip, while the other guy’s
nose bled profusely.

Kit
scowled down at them angrily and pointed. “Don’t you ever treat a lady like
that,
ever
! You hear me?”

They
all nodded their heads vigorously and scurried to get away from her. She
straightened her mini-skirt and huffed. She looked at the bartender, completely
composed now. Her voice was even and melodic when she spoke. “Can I have a
beer please?”

He
pushed it to her hastily with a frightened look. “It’s on the house, Miss.”

She
looked around and noticed everyone staring at her. She yelled, “What are all of
you looking at? Haven’t you ever seen a girl defend herself before?”

Everyone
scrambled to get back to what they were doing, with the exception of the band.
She stuck a cigarette in her mouth as they approached and she struggled with
her lighter, holding her beer. Jimmy hastily lit it for her, staring at her in
amazement as he swallowed hard. She exhaled slowly and looked at all of them,
noticing their facial expressions that reflected a mixture of fear, excitement,
and wonder.

Remo’s
brown eyes lit up and he smiled. “That was so rad! You’re our very own Kung
Fu Fighter, Kit!”

She
sighed and rolled her eyes. “Jesus, Remo.”

She
walked away, disgusted. As she strolled through the bar, she felt like a
pariah. It was always the same reaction. When she had to use it, people got
scared—precisely why she never used it unless she absolutely had to. She
found a corner of the bar that was being monitored by a female waitress. She
looked at her. “Can I please hang out here and have you feed me beer after
beer after beer?”

The
server laughed. “Absofuckinglutely. And good for you, girl. That’ll show
‘em. Wish I could do something like that. You’re my new hero, Supergirl.”
She winked at her. “I’ll go get two beers for you. How’s that?”