Music Management 101

By Sailorjj07

12. Dangerous

A/n: I knowwwwww, I know. Please don't kill me, lol. Have some plot instead!

Disclaimer: I do not own!

"Talking"

'Thinking'

Actions

(Me!)

Lacey knew for sure that she was going to pass out. She was getting much too hot, too quickly. Danny traced his tongue against her earlobe and she couldn't contain the moan that escaped her swollen lips.

"Lace," Danny murmured against her skin, trailing hot kisses down her neck and to her collar bone. He could feel Lacey's pulse thrumming underneath his lips. It made him want her in a whole new way.

He wanted to devour her.

She had performed as if she were born to dance with him. He had never felt such a surge of pride as the thunderous applause erupted from the audience the moment the music had ended. He was in awe of the beautiful goddess before him and he could not *wait* to get off of that stage and put his hands all over her.

They had crashed into his dressing room with no words spoken between them. Danny had lifted her up off the ground, Lacey's legs winding around his waist as he used the door behind her to press their bodies closer together. Their kiss had been explosive and Danny hadn't even wanted to pull away for air. He wanted her, so much. He didn't care that they were sweaty or that he had smudged her perfect makeup. He wanted to feel her body without thousands of eyes on them.

Thus, they had ended up on the only couch in the room, Lacey's body straddled underneath his. Danny unzipped the skin-tight leotard smoothly as he continued his trek down her body. He peeled the thing off, Lacey's delicate fingers brushing his lower back as she attempted to get his own shirt off of him. The garment was tossed carelessly to the floor and he closed the gap between their bodies instantly, enticed by her beautiful body. Her ample cleavage was showcased before him and his kisses went ever lower, Lacey gasping his name as his hands explored her newly revealed skin.

His touch set her on fire.

Reaching towards her back, Danny redirected his attention to Lacey's full, pouty lips. He nipped at them lovingly, silencing her moan with a caress of his tongue. His fingers found purchase on her back, and with a snap that seemed to ring in his ears; Danny unhooked Lacey's bra.

Pulling back a bit, Danny's long fingers trailed her shoulders, to her bra straps. He slid his fingers underneath each strap, slowing to catch his breath.

"You used to call me on my cell phone~!"

At the sound of the Drake song, both Lacey and Danny froze. Lacey groaned audibly, glancing in the direction of her cell, which sat vibrating so loudly that it almost shook itself off of the vanity near the wall.

"Seriously? Right now?!" Lacey sighed again, sitting up suddenly. She leaned her forehead against Danny's, who looked stuck between being confused and being very upset at the interruption. Lacey pouted and pressed a kiss to his lips, reaching behind her back to clasp her bra again, "It's my baby sister, Danny."

Danny nodded, biting his lip to keep himself from pulling her back towards him. He instantly felt the loss of her warmth as Lacey untangled herself from him, and moved to grab her phone. The stupid thing stopped ringing as soon as she reached it. Mouthing an apology to Danny, Lacey dialed her sister back immediately.

"LACE-FACE OMG. OMG! OMG! YOU KILLED IT ON TV! OMG! GIRLLLL, THAT WAS HOOOOOOOT! H-A-W-T!" Clara was screaming so loudly Lacey had to move the phone away from her ear. She giggled at her sister's antics.

"So… you saw Danny and I perform his song?"

"OH MY GOOOSSHH! You looked so amazing! I can't believe how great you looked! You two were wonderful! LACEEEEEEEE!"

Even though he was a bit peeved at being interrupted, Danny chuckled from his position on the couch. Lacey laughed again, watching as Danny picked up his shirt off of the floor and walked towards the hanging rack of clothes.

"Little sis, I can't talk long, but I'm so glad you watched me." Lacey replied warmly, watching Danny grab a new pair of pants and contemplating shirts on the rack.

"Ok, girl~! I just wanted to say congrats on being a badass! Kiss my future-brother-in-law for me! Love you both!" Clara said cheekily, hanging up before her sister could respond.

Lacey blinked, watching as Danny turned towards her with a curious glance, clothes in hand.

"Did she just-?" Danny questioned, a positively goofy and ridiculous grin covering his face.

"No! No no no. She just said congrats. That's it!" Lacey said, chuckling nervously. She set her clothing to rights and snatched her things from the corner, suddenly in a rush.

"Lace, I'm sure I heard your sister say-"

"Nothing! Absolutely nothing at all!" Lacey was already heading towards the door, "Anyways Danny, we both need to shower and change. The after party starts in an hour!"

Deciding to ease up from his teasing for just a little bit, Danny let Lacey go, "Come find me when you're ready to head over."

Nodding, Lacey was set to rights and out of the room in mere seconds. Danny laughed as he picked out his clothes for the after party.

"'Future brother-in-law', huh?"

At the After Party

Regina stood next to Archie in a skintight mini dress that left no room for the imagination. She watched the door from the second floor bar like a hawk.

"I am going to be PISSED if those two don't show up. They better be here!" Regina hissed into Archie's ear. The taller man just shrugged, taking another sip of his drink. He bobbed his head to the music, oblivious to Regina's discomfort.

"Asshole, I didn't bring you here to play around and drink! Fucking pay attention!" Regina cried, reaching up to grab for his drink. Archie held the beverage up above Regina's reach, tsking at her.

"Seriously, you're going to give yourself a heart attack if you keep acting like that."

"Well if I do, it's because-!"

Archie held a finger to the woman's lips, motioning his head towards the club's entrance, "It seems you summoned the devil… and his beautiful, sexy, drop dead gorgeous angel."

On the floor below them, Danny and Lacey walked into the club together, arm and arm. Lacey looked dressed to kill in a pristine white dress with a deep, plunging neckline and a sexy sash across the shoulders that added an elegant, classy flair to the midi length dress. Even in the darkness, her beautiful necklace from Danny sparkled in the strobe lights.

Danny was flawless too - sporting black everything from head to toe. His fantastic hair flowed loosely in waves to his shoulders.

They stepped into the venue like the ultimate power couple. All eyes were on them and their friends crowded in behind them, barely able to keep up with the confidence and sexiness that the couple exuded into the room.

Regina rolled her eyes, watching them enviously. That was supposed to be her. She had worked so hard to get where Lacey was, only to be right back at square one!

Glaring at them both, Regina turned her back on them and their friends, "Come on, Archie. We need to get that necklace."

With Danny and Lacey

Danny couldn't keep his hands off of Lacey. The second she had appeared in front of him, in that amazing white dress, he almost hadn't let her out of the car. He decided, instead, to kiss her absolutely senseless on the car ride over to the club. Lacey was flushed and breathing heavily by the time they pulled up, a beautiful bite mark strategically hidden above her right breast.

"Lace, I don't want to stay here long," Danny whispered in her ear, brushing his lips against her ear as he spoke. He kissed her softly behind her ear, then pressed a kiss against the pulse in her neck. Lacey's head was swimming from Danny's closeness. She had been trying to pay attention to what Phoebe had been saying to her and lost all sense of everything. Phoebe just smiled in amusement, and turned to talk to her brother instead.

"Danny, we're here with our friends. We can't go just yet." Lacey told him, a warming smile gracing her features. Danny frowned, not wanting to hear that answer. Instead, he wrapped his arm around Lacey's shoulder and pulled her body closer to his, if that was possible.

"I want to get you home as soon as possible." Danny's seductive voice vibrated huskily in her ear, sending a tremor through her body from head to toe. "I can't wait to see what's under it.."

He smirked at her when she licked her lips, almost giving in to his persuasive methods.

"Dannnnnnyy," Lacey murmured, dropping her head against his shoulder, leaning into him, "I need you to stop that right now. I can't… It's hard to focus."

"That's the point, of course." He didn't even bother to hide the triumph in his voice.

"Ugh, you two are so gross! Break it up, break it up!" Jo hollered at the both of them as she and Cole strode over to Danny's private booth with drinks in their hands. Cole was walking over to the group with one shot in each hand, and so was Jo. She eyed Phoebe and Tyler, sitting down beside Danny and away from them both. Lacey watched the exchange curiously, but Danny had taken to tracing an indiscernible pattern on her thigh and she got distracted all over again.

"Have a shot of tequila, Lace!" Cole said cheerfully, handing shots to both Lacey and Phoebe. Cole was completely oblivious to the tension between Jo and Phoebe. Tyler glared at him, but Cole couldn't see that either.

"Thanks Cole." Lacey said, politely. She bit into the tangy lime and took the shot straight back. Danny hummed appreciatively beside her, making her hot all over again. In an effort to take her mind off of him, she turned to Jo, who sat on Danny's left side, "Jo, what took you so long?"

Jo quickly downed her shot of tequila, then snatched the one she had handed to Danny, downing that too. "Oh, just traffic or something." She muttered, not really answering the question. She shot up and came around the table, pretending that Cole and Tyler weren't watching her every move, "Lace! Pheebs! Let's dance!"

Jo grabbed the girls' hands, yanking them both up and leading them to the dance floor. She could not sit at that table any longer. Not with Tyler glaring at Cole like he had stolen his favorite toy.

While the girls headed off to the dance floor, Danny looked between his two friends skeptically. Cole seemed perfectly calm, pouring himself a glass from the top shelf liquor on ice at their table. Tyler just kept glaring at him.

"Anyone care to tell me just what the hell is going on?" Danny questioned, looking between the two of them.

Cole just shrugged, sipping from his glass and keeping an eye on the girls.

"You want to know what happened? I'll tell you what happened, Danny," Tyler spat out angrily, "That *bastard* over there is in love with Jo. MY Jo."

"Your ex Jo," Cole corrected, still sipping his drink like her was totally unbothered by Tyler's anger.

"Wait wait wait. Tyler, you and Jo broke up?" Danny's eyes cut over to Tyler and it appeared his anger was cooled a bit and replaced by a bit of sadness.

"Yes, because THIS ASSHOLE told her he was in love with her!" Tyler jerked his thumb in Cole's direction, who finally turned to face him.

Danny rolled his eyes, "Ok, but if Jo loves you, I don't see the issue. Cole's been in love with Jo forever, so him telling her is just supposed to be closure for him. No one's stealing your girl, Tyler."

"Can't steal what doesn't belong to you." Cole stated in a nonchalant tone of voice.

"Damn it, Cole. You're not helping." Danny said, cutting his eyes at his best friend. Cole shrugged.

"I'm just saying. He was the one who broke up with Jo first. Probably because of that model right? The one you've been sleeping with behind her back? Did you tell Danny about that Brazilian model, Tyler? What about that singer from Paris?"

Tyler blanched, his features growing pale. Danny's eyes glowed with slowly growing anger at both his friends.

"Cole, stop starting shit-" Danny began, only to get cut off by the fierce look of determination in Cole's eyes.

"No, I didn't start anything. Tyler was the one who came in here with his self-righteous attitude about their failed relationship. Why are you acting so innocent, Tyler? Jo knows you were cheating on her." Cole leaned in closer to the other two men, the anger in his voice spilling out as he glared directly at Tyler, "She told me everything, you piece of shit. That's why you're angry with me, isn't it, Tyler? I love Jo and Jo knows that I would never, ever do anything to hurt her. She and Danny have been my best friends forever. I ought to beat your ass for how you treated her."

Danny stood up at this point, feeling Cole's agitation wash over him and multiply, "You cheated on her, Tyler? Seriously, dude?!"

"O-Once or twice, but it was never-! I love Jo! I love her more than him!"

Cole stood up then too, flipping Tyler off, "Fuck you, man. If you loved her, you wouldn't have stepped out on her. At least have the decency to break up with her, you asshole. I don't have time for this shit." Cole ran his fingers through his hair in irritation, slamming his empty glass down on the table. He got up and stormed off, towards the dance floor where the girls were, completely unaware of the situation.

Danny shook his head in disappointment, "Tyler, that's really fucked up. Jo's a good girl. She doesn't deserve that at all. If you weren't my labelmate, I'd beat your ass. Instead, I'm going to go find my girlfriend. If I stand here any longer, I might end up killing you."

Tyler opened his mouth to speak, but closed it shut at the dangerous look in Danny's eyes. Though Tyler knew he could probably take on Cole in a battle of strength, Danny knew how to take down dudes twice his size.

Tyler put his head in his hands. He knew he had messed up badly.

On the Dance Floor

As Jo pulled Lacey and Phoebe into the throng of bodies out on the floor, Lacey began swaying her hips to the beat. She held her friends' hands and shook her ass, feeling even more sexy and confident than usual.

Jo was dancing too, but Phoebe barely moved, looking sullenly at the floor.

"Come on, Pheebs. Don't be like that!" Lacey told her, wrapping her arms around the other girl's neck and swaying with her. Phoebe tried to keep her face neutral, but when Lacey turned around and wiggled her butt on her, she bust out laughing.

"Lacey, get your booty off me, haha!"

"Not till you dance with us!" Lacey cried, placing her hand on Phoebe's hips and forcing the girl to move her body.

Jo moved closer to them, taking both their hands in hers. She got in their personal space, her big eyes expressive and full of emotion, "Pheebs, I'm sorry about the other day. I'm so sorry to get you mixed up in all the craziness. I loved your brother, and I really like Cole, but I love you more than either of them."

They were gathered in a huddle now, barely moving. It didn't matter though - the people around them were still grooving to the rhythm.

"You… like Cole?" Phoebe asked Jo, dropping her hand immediately. But Jo refused to let go of her dearest friend and grabbed at Phoebe again.

"Yes, I like Cole. He told me he loved me about two weeks ago. But he only told me because… well, because I was telling him about your brother."

"My brother?"

Lacey watched on, trying not to freak out. The middle of a dance floor was not the place to have this conversation!

"He cheated on me. Twice. Maybe more." Jo said softly, but somehow, the other two girls heard her over the loudness of the club.

Lacey was the first to react, "What. The. Hell?! Are you serious?!"

"That's what the fight was about! The fight you and my brother had!"

Jo didn't say anything, only nodded. Then she covered her face in a huge smile and practically screamed, "HI COLE! HI DANNY!" She went back to being her bouncy self, dancing to the song as if she hadn't just dropped the bomb of the century on her friends.

Lacey wrapped her arms around both her friends necks and yanked them into her closely, "We *will* finish this conversation later, ladies." She released them both, turning to sashay seductively over to Danny. She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him boldly in front of everyone on the dance floor.

"Baby, it's time for payback." Lacey whispered, before she turned and moved her ass in a hypnotic rhythm on Danny's crotch.

If Danny had been angry when he came out on the dance floor, he certainly wasn't anymore.

With Regina

"Damn it, don't they ever get tired? I just need her to step away from the group! Ugh. Archie! Help! Me!" Regina sipped her 4th drink that night, watching the group from her perch on the second floor.

"Regina, this is such a waste of time."

"No it isn't! My plan is going to work!" Regina watched as Lacey and Jo excused themselves from the table, and her eyes widened. "Now, now! Remember, you're supposed to bump into her!"

"Whatever, whatever. Just don't forget what you owe me for this."

"Ugh, it's just going to be more boring vanilla sex anyway. Whatever," Regina rolled her eyes and strode off, hoping she didn't ruin her timing. She *had* to get this right. It was her only opportunity.

She followed the girls to the restroom, motioning for the attendant to not say anything as she perused the stalls for Lacey's high heels. After spotting them, she waited by the sink patiently, pretending to fix her hair, her make-up; anything to kill time.

Only moments later, Lacey emerged from the bathroom. She only had a few minutes before Jo emerged from her stall.

"Oh my gosh, Lacey Porter! I can't believe we've bumped into each other again!" Regina cried, looking in the mirror and seeing Lacey's face watching her curiously.

"Regina." Lacey said, with a cool indifference.

"Oh Lacey, don't be like that. I promise that whatever Danny and his little friends said about me, it's a lie."

Jo came out of her stall at that. She was adjusting her dress as she glared at Regina, not trusting a word she said, "I assure you, Lace, whatever we say about this bitch is true."

"Awwww, those are such unkind words, Jo Marie Masterson. Would you Daddy approve, I wonder?"

"Kick rocks, Regina."

"Take a long walk off a short pier, reject." Regina replied, without skipping a beat. She turned her back to Jo, who was washing her hands at the sink, "Lacey, honey, I actually wanted to talk to you about something. Do you mind if we step outside?"

"What about?" Lacey asked, not really trusting Regina either.

"Oh nothing really! Just stuff about home."

Jo dried her hands, "Lace, I'm heading back to the table. I can't listen to her annoying voice any longer."

And Jo left the bathroom without a backwards glance.

Lacey tried not to worry about this situation - she could handle Regina perfectly fine on her own.

"Sure, Regina, let's talk in a place that isn't the bathroom."

No matter what, Lacey wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe Regina had actually matured; who knew?

The two women stepped out into the hall to talk, like they had done before. But before Regina launched into her tale of their home, she got distracted, "Oh my goodness! That necklace is so cute! Where'd you get it from?"

"Oh it was a… a gift from a friend."

"Oh seriously!" Regina stepped closer to look at the necklace, touching it with her index finger. "Oh! But it looks like it's tangled in your hair back there! Man, you must have been killing it on the dance floor, girl!"

Lacey laughed, feeling around the back of her head for the necklace clasp, "Hmmm, it doesn't feel tangled?"

"Weird. Your hair is all caught up in this thing. I can fix it for you! You know, since you can't see it or feel it."

"Ah, could you? That'd be great," Lacey smiled kindly at her, glad that Regina was so far being much nicer than she used to be.

"Sure thing! Hold on a sec." Regina turned and stood behind her, fiddling with Lacey's hair with both hands. She located the clasp on the back of the necklace, and flipped it open, while still moving Lacey's hair around.

"Uh, Lacey I think I got it!" Regina told her, happily. It was a lie, of course.

But Lacey didn't know that.

"Thanks so much, Regina. I really appreciate it."

"No problem. I think I kept you long enough - you should get back to the others. See you later."

And it seemed like Regina was gone in the blink of an eye. Lacey stared after her as she walked back into the bathroom, saying something about need some hairspray.

"Weird…" Lacey said outside, heading back towards the VIP area. On her way down the hall, a man in a gray suit bumped into her. She felt the metal chain of her necklace slide forward and fall to the floor.

"OH SHIT! My necklace!" Lacey cried, dropping to the ground almost immediately. The hallway was really dim and made it hard to see.

The man who had bumped into her also dropped to the ground, muttering an apology. Lacey heard the clink of metal sliding against the ground, and the man stood up to hand her back the trinket.

"Lacey Porter? Is that you?"

Lacey froze at the sound of Archie's voice. She did not have time for him. Not tonight.

She took the necklace from his hands quickly, barely looking at his face, "Hey Archie, good to see you. Sorry, I can't talk right now, I'm in a hurry."

"Oh, then don't let me keep you. It was great to see your beautiful face again, though."

"T-Thanks Archie. See you later!" Instead of putting the necklace back on, Lacey dropped it back in her clutch, before scurrying off. She could put it back on later.

As she strode away Archie grinned, swinging the USB necklace around his finger. He was thankful for the dark lights in the nightclub. It had made the switch that much easier.

"See you later, Lacey~" Archie sang to himself, putting the necklace in his pocket. He needed to find Regina to give her the necklace and get his payment.

End Chapter 12