Starburst (35 page)

The
headline read, ‘Power of Publicity’ and not only were there pictures of Alley
and Trevas there were also some pretty explicit pictures of her rival, Hailey
Arlington with her costar, and boyfriend, of singer Lexis Diamond. Kevin sat
beside her as they looked at the pictures and they both read the article.

It
talked about whose controversy would get the most publicity and the affairs of
both girls. It speculated that Alley was cheating on Jerrod Jackson with older
bodyguard Trevas Evans, and also talked about Hailey Arlington’s affair with the
pop singers boyfriend Bo Slater.

“You
don’t mind if I call my ex-husband do you?” she asked Kevin, and then asked
herself why she just asked his permission.

“Of
course not,” he replied, and she dialed his number.

“Hey
beautiful,” Fletcher answered.

“Fletch
the pictures were released.”

“What?
I thought they weren’t going to release them until tomorrow evening.”

“LA
Trickle got them somehow, but it might not be as bad as we expected. Hailey
Arlington is pictured right beside of her with an even worse controversy
because hers are with Bo Slater, and he is dating Lexis Diamond.”

“I
don’t wish that on anyone but thank you Hailey Arlington,” he praised.

“Have
you seen the photos?” she wanted to know.

“No,
but I guess I should go check them out how bad are they?”

“They
are practically doing it, and you’re not going to want to see your daughter
like this,” she added clicking next on each of the explicit photos.

“She
has the Vivian Walsh show in the morning. Does Alley know about this?”

“No,
I will call her now. I will see you later Fletcher.”

Peyton
turned to see the reaction on Kevin’s face about all of this, and he slowly
moved his eyes to hers. She was unable to read him, and instead for some God
awful reason, she moved her lips toward his and he met her in the middle, and
she kissed him.

“Your
daughter definitely takes after you,” he said, returning to his elbow.

“Are
you checking out my daughter?” she teased.

“It’s
kind of hard not to. I didn’t know Trevas had it in him.”

“Oh,
yeah I forgot, you know Trevas,” she remembered.

“Yup,
since he was about fifteen I guess.”

Peyton
had tried to call Alley over the last twenty minutes and finally she called
back.

“Jesus
mom, why are you blowing up my phone? I was going to call you back,” Alley
exclaimed before she even had time to say hello.

“Why
aren’t you answering your phone?”

“Because
I was in the middle of having sex.”

“Really
Alley? I don’t need the details.”

“Believe
me you didn’t get any details. What do you want?”

“The
pictures were published to LA Trickle. They are up now.”

“That’s
just great, lying slime ball. They could have at least waited until after this
stupid show.”

“That
could be why they did it but go look at them. I don’t think it’s going to be as
bad as we thought, Hailey Arlington is right beside you.”

“The
girl playing ‘Bitten’?”

“Yes,
her photos are just as bad, and she is with Bo Slater.”

“Hmm,
okay, I’m going to go check it out. Talk to you tomorrow, love you, bye.”

Peyton
closed the laptop and Kevin set it aside. He lay down and reached for her with
his opened arm, and she lay down with him. He kissed the top of her head. She
wondered once again what the hell she was doing. She didn’t do the whole
intimacy thing, and she didn’t like the unfamiliar feelings of how good it felt
to be in his arms. He traced her forearm with his finger and kissed her head
again.

“I
want to take you somewhere tomorrow evening,” Kevin told her.

“Kevin
no, we had sex, let’s leave it at that,” she protested, not taking her head
from his chest to look at him.

“What
are you afraid of Peyton?”

“I
am not afraid of anything. I just don’t do this.”

“Do
what?” he asked, exasperated with her.

“This,”
she replied, moving away from him, sitting up and waving her arms. “Lying in
your arms, sleeping in your bed, and letting you touch me without a condom.”

“What
are you so freaked out about Peyton? You live in California. We both know that
this is nothing more than a fling. Is that what has you so distraught?” he
asked as it dawned on him. “Are you afraid of falling in love with me?” he
asked boldly.

She
snorted. “No, I’m not afraid of falling in love with you.”

“Because
you don’t do that either, right?”

“Exactly,”
she said with a point, a wink and a click of her mouth.

Kevin
sat up and pushed her back to the bed and took her mouth with his. He pinned
her hands above her head, and even though they had just had sex a little more
than an hour before, her body responded in the exact same way as the last time,
and she unthinkingly parted her legs and twisted into him begging for him to
take her again. Kevin did take her again and stared so deep into her eyes. She
thought for sure that he could search her soul, and see everything about her
that she kept locked away. 

“It’s
just sex Peyton,” Kevin said between heavy breaths as they both came down from
their highs.

Peyton
fell asleep wondering why he had such an effect on her and why she couldn’t
control him like she did with every other man in her life. She fell asleep but
distanced herself from him, not wanting to be in his arms.  When she woke that
was exactly where she was, nestled up to his front with her back, and his arm
held her to him.

Kay
woke to banging pots and pans from the kitchen. She walked out, squinting her sleepy
eyes at the light and found Peyton.

“What
are you doing?” she asked puzzled.

“I
have to cook something.”

“Why?
It’s six o’clock in the morning, and what are you wearing she asked, looking at
the way too big sweats tied tightly around her waist and baggy t-shirt.

“My
mind needs to cook something, and these are Kevin’s clothes.”

“Okay,
well I am going back to bed Trevas,” she said, mocking her for being so much
like her son.

Kay
lay in bed for all of twenty minutes before feeling guilty, sensing that Peyton
needed to talk and between the smell of the homemade muffins and the coffee,
she got up.

“How
was your night?” Kay asked, pouring a cup of coffee and joining her at the
table.

“It
was weird,” she said puzzled.

“Weird?”

“Yeah,
I don’t know Kay, just weird,” she answered still puzzled.

“How
was the sex?” Kay asked, but hoped she didn’t get any details because there was
no way that she would be able to go to work and not laugh at him or at least
say something.

“Hot
as hell,” she replied, sipping her coffee and looking up to her from the cup.
“He wants me to go somewhere with him tonight, but he didn’t say where.”

“Really?
Hmm, it’s Friday. He usually opens up the gym for the kids in town or Friday.”

“What
do you mean he opens the gym?”

“The
old middle school, he has a key to the gym and always opens it up for the kids
around town to go in and play ball. He thinks it keeps them off the street and
out of trouble.”

“Damn
it Kay, stop telling me how nice this guy is.”

“Peyton?”
Kay asked without a question.

“Kay
I need to go back to California and get away from Kevin.”

“Oh
no… you are starting to have feelings for him, aren’t you?”

“How
can that be? I have known him for less than a week.”

Kay
shrugged her shoulders. “Trevas tells me that he fell in love with Alley in a
week.”

“You’re
not helping.”

“Sorry
but I don’t think you have a choice of who or when you fall in love.”

“Kay,
stop it. I am not in love with him. I don’t even know the guy.”

Kay
groaned when she saw Kevin’s name on her ringing cellphone.

“I
am not coming in there,” she answered. “I am on vacation, and I have been in
there every day.”

“Okay,
but your signed contract is here just waiting for your signature.”

Kay
groaned again. She knew that she had to go in and sign it and get it faxed to
corporate. “I will be in before too long,” she reluctantly agreed.

“Where
is Peyton?” he wanted to know.

“In
the shower,” she lied, wanting to see if he would say anything as she winked at
Peyton.

“Did
she say anything?”

“She
said the sex sucked.”

Kevin
laughed. “Sure she did.”

“Why
would she say anything?”

“I
don’t know, just wondering if she had anything to say.”

“No,
not really,” she replied, staying far, far out of the middle, she decided.

“Bring
her with you.”

“Why?”

“Because
I want to see her.”

“What
if she doesn’t want to come?”

“I
am being paged. I have to go, see you when you get here.”

“He
was asking about me, wasn’t he?” Peyton asked.

“Yup
and I think he has it just as bad as you do.”

“I
am not going with you,” Peyton decided.

“Yes
you are, and you know you are so, let’s get ready.”

*****

“Could
you call Pete and Manny and have them meet me in my office,” Kay asked Jess as
they walked in.

“Do
you want Kevin too?” she asked.

“Yes
but I will grab him on my way by,” she replied, without stopping.

She
stopped two doors down from hers and smiled at Kay. “Do you want to get Kevin?”

“No,”
she said, but shook her head yes with a smile.

Peyton
went into her office, and Kay knocked on Kevin’s door.

He
opened the door and was on the phone talking about the dimensions of some kind
of cylinder, and he smiled at her.

“Hey,
I’m going to have to call you back Mark. I just had a very important client
walk in.”

“Hi,”
Peyton said.

“How
are you?” he replied.

“I’m
okay, how are you?” she asked, and knew they were just making conversation
because neither of them knew what to say.

Kevin
leaned against his desk, crossing his ankles and willed her to him with his
eyes. She slowly walked toward him, and he uncrossed his ankles and she moved
into him.

“Very
important client uh?” she teased, and he put his hands on both of her sides and
smiled up at her. “Aren’t you going to kiss me?” she asked, and didn’t know
what or who was taking over her body.

“I
was waiting for you to kiss me,” he teased, and she placed her hand on the side
of his face, gazing down at him. She ran her thumb softly over his bottom lip
and then moved her lips closer to his. He stood from his perched position and
was now looking down at her, and kissed her with so much passion, she felt
faint. His hands wandering on her sides made her gasp for air, and she could
feel his bulge on her stomach. Their make out session was abruptly interrupted
by Kay when his phone rang on his desk. He pushed the button and said, “Yeah.”

“Get
in here. I don’t want to be here all day.”

“I
need five,” he replied, and hung up on her.

“Is
five enough?” Peyton asked, and rubbed the reason he needed five with her hand.

“Don’t
touch it,” he said, backing away from her.

She
laughed and kissed him one quick time. “I am going to get away from you now.”

“I
think that is a great idea,” he agreed, knowing that Kay was going to be
calling again.

He
ran his hands through his hair once she left, willing himself to get it
together. He picked up the catalogue of office supplies on his desk and flipped
through it, trying to get his mind off of Peyton.

*****

Kay
gave Peyton a pair of shorts and a Logan County Bulldogs t-shirt, and they met
Kevin at the middle school where he was on the court playing ball with some
teenage boys.

“Holly
shit Kay,” Peyton remarked as soon as she saw him in his cut off shirt,
basketball shorts and muscles in places she didn’t think were possible. Kay
laughed, and shook her head, not seeing in Kevin what she did. The six boys
that were on the floor stopped playing snappishly when they saw Peyton Paxton.
She spent the next twenty minutes taking pictures with them and talking to the
youngsters about her latest movie, and she didn’t mind a bit.

Kevin
and Peyton shot hoops while the boys gawked at her.

“What
the hell do you think you are doing Kevin?” Kay asked while they waited for the
boy’s fascination with Peyton to be over.

Kevin
went in for a layup and then tossed her the ball. “What are you talking about?”

“You
know exactly what I am talking about,” she replied, taking a shot and missing.

“Not
really. I’m not doing anything. Peyton is a grown adult if she doesn’t want to
see me, nobody is forcing her.”

“You
are really getting under her skin Kevin, and I think you should back off before
somebody gets hurt.”

Kevin
snorted and shot again, making a three pointer. “I’m getting under her skin?
What the hell does that mean?”

“It
means she is thinking about you, more than she should be. She is going back to
California in a few days, and I promise you her lifestyle and yours would never
work.”

“She
is thinking about me?”

“You’re
helpless,” Kay told him, making a three point shot herself, and not believing that
was the only thing he had gotten out of their whole conversation.

They
messed around with the teen boys until eight o’clock and Peyton invited him
over to watch Alley on the Vivian show, after okaying it with Kay first.

He
went home and showered, and brought pizza and beer with him and they sat around
in the living room, waiting for the ten o’clock show.

Kay
and Peyton both had on warm flannel pajamas with animal characters all over
them, and he made fun of them, telling them both how sexy they were. Peyton sat
on the sofa with him, and Kay reclined in the recliner. Kevin wanted to pull
her close to him as much as she wanted to move close to him, but neither of
them did, feeling uncomfortable around Kay.

Kay
went to the bathroom five minutes before the show was getting ready to start,
and as soon as she was out of sight, Peyton turned to him, and leaned into him
as he leaned into her and they kissed, and then pulled away as soon as they
heard the toilet flush.

Peyton
was nervous and sat on the edge of the sofa. She hadn’t been able to get a hold
of Alley or Trevas all day to find out how it had gone, and Fletcher hadn’t
heard from them either. She was left worrying and wondering if Alley slipped.

The
show started, and Alley was seated on a round Florissant green sofa. Vivian was
on the same color stool, towering over her. Because this was an unscripted show
and only aired on the higher pay channels, Alley didn’t dress up, and Peyton
was a little disappointed. Alley had on a pair of holy jeans, sneakers with no
socks, and a red Dr. Pepper t-shirt. Her hair was down, and she had on just a
touch of makeup.

Vivian
explained to her that the show was open table, and Alley along with her could
throw out anything that they wanted. She went on to explain that they would
pick two lucky Twitter fans that would be asking her questions.

A
screen popped up in front of them and went through a bunch of names making an
electronic sound and the first name popped up.

“And
the lucky winner is…. ‘Alley Fletcher Stalker’, from Burswood Alabama,” she
called, and Alley had a repulsive look on her face.

“What
the fuck?” she mouthed, and you could definitely tell what she had just said
even without the sound, and Peyton said, “Oh God,” sensing the attitude.

The
names started to scramble again on the screen, and the next name was revealed.

‘I
heart Alley Fletcher,’ From Carole Pennsylvania, she called when the next name
popped.

“Okay
Alley Fletcher Stalker, you’re up,” Vivian announced.

They
waited for the question to be typed, and Alley’s crossed knee bounced either
irritated or nervously, Peyton wasn’t sure which.

“Do
you think you will ever date Jerrod Jackson? I think you two would make an
awesome couple.”

“Unscripted,
right?” Alley asked Vivian.

“Yes
ma’am, say what’s on your mind.”

“Can
I ask questions too?”

“Yup,”
she replied, hoping to get her going and boost her ratings.

“What
the fuck?” she asked. “Alley Fletcher Stalker?” she added, asking not liking
the sound of his name, and they waited for him to type.

“I
am infatuated with you, and the latest pictures of you with your bodyguard are
freaking hot as hell.”

Alley
shook her head and tightened her lips as she twisted her mouth to the side.

“I
don’t think Jerrod, and I will be dating. I don’t mix business with pleasure,”
she answered the question, and her knee now bounced a hundred miles an hour.

“Get
it together Alley,” Peyton said out loud, looking just as nervous as Alley.

The
next question was from the other winner and was a normal fan, and she was asked
if she had a new sense of respect for our military after playing the part.

“I’ve
always had the upmost respect for our service men, so I would have to say no. I
didn’t gain a different view from playing the part.”

Her
stalker fan asked, “I also saw a picture of you smoking a bowl. Do you still
like to get stoned?”

Alley
laughed. “How do you think I make it through questions like this,” she replied,
and left it at that, but was certainly not lying, her and Trevas had just
gotten into an argument because she was bending over in the car going through
the city, lighting a bowl before they had gotten there.

She
was asked about her future movie plans by the more normal Twitter fan, and she
answered how she was coached to answer.

“If
the right part came along, I would consider doing another movie, but as of
right now, I have no plans in doing anything further.”

“Are
you ever going to reveal the secret tattoo?” was Alley’s next question by her weirdo
fan.

“No,”
she answered. “Okay that was his three questions, get rid of him,” she
demanded.

After
the last question, Vivian took over and asked the questions.

“Alley,
you know that I have to ask about the bodyguard,” Vivian said.

“Ask
away, that didn’t really sound like a question to me.”

“Is
there something between you two or was this just a mishap.”

Alley
laughed, “Oh he’s undeniably a mishap,” she replied.

“A
mishap that we will be seeing more of with you?” she continued to probe,
wanting to be the first to report on the new controversy.

“I
am going to be judged, whether I say yes that we are together, or I say that we
are not, and it was just a one-time recklessness on my part, I would be able to
Google myself tomorrow and people are going to tell their story and not mine
anyway.”

Alley
handled the probing questions a lot better than anyone thought she would, and
it wasn’t as bad as they thought it was going to be, not yet anyway, she still
had almost two months of promoting left, and would be interviewed by the more
prominent host as she got closer to the release date.

“I
am very proud of her,” Kay said, getting up and taking the empty beer cans and
pizza box to the kitchen.