Something more Hollywood Heights
Rick James Chapter 20
He stops and looks at Loren. "May I have this dance?"
Loren smiles, she's not sure what to say, she looks at him and quickly responds. "Yes, I'd love too." Rick steps aside, he looks at Loren. "I'll wait for the next dance."
"They're serving dessert Rick; we'll be there shortly." Eddie tells him before Loren can respond. Rick returns to the table. Eddie looks at Loren. His heart's racing, he's upset, he tries hard to hide how he feels at this precise moment. "Looks like you're very popular tonight?" He pulls her closer to him.
"Rick's the only one I've danced with."
Eddie laughs. "I noticed, three dances, aren't you tired yet?"
"Believe it or not, I feel energized, my adrenaline is still going strong, I still can't believe I won."
"I get that, just wondering if you're going to dance with Rick all night long?"
"I don't know Eddie, he was the only that asked, until you stepped in."
"You won one Grammy, you're on the dance floor non-stop."
"Is there protocol to follow after winning a Grammy? Please enlighten me."
"I'm sure you'd love that." Eddie mutters.
Mel and Ian are dancing; Mel's watching Eddie and Loren. "Have you noticed they're arguing?"
"I really don't care; my mate is full of it, he likes her, he should tell her and stop this crap."
Mel laughs. "You're kidding? He has a weird way of showing it, Rick is gorgeous; love his blue eyes, and his wavy blonde hair."
"Hey, I'm standing right here." Ian scolds.
"Aww are you jealous? You know you're my favorite guy."
"You're practically drooling over Blondie." Ian says.
"Tell me who is Rick James? How does he know Eddie?"
"They met when they were kids, they auditioned for a part on a play, Rick got the part, that's why he does theatre."
"I don't remember seeing him; how can I? I don't follow theatre."
"He's very good, he's won several Tony Awards, he's made a career of the theatre, he played the phantom last year."
"Really, I'd love to see him fall for Loren."
"I thought we were on the same team?"
She rolls her eyes. "Eddie's taking too long to decide, by the time he makes up his mind, Loren will be taken, I wish she'd see that."
"I doubt it love, she's really into Eddie."
The music stops. Mel holds Ian's arm and they walk back to the table. "I'll tell him myself if I have too."
Loren and Eddie return to the table, Rick sits next to her. "Would you ever consider a career in theatre?"
"No, I haven't." Loren responds.
"You have an amazing voice; I know you'd succeed."
Eddie interrupts. "She's a Pop star Rick, she's not theatre material."
"I think she'd be amazing; the phantom of the opera might return in a few months; you could audition Loren."
"I don't know." She feels uncomfortable; Rick's talking too much, Eddie seems upset about who knows what, this isn't fun.
Max and Katy listen to their conversation, they look at each other, Eddie's tapping his fingers on the glass he's holding, Katy knows he's upset, Nora's talking to Max's friend, Kelly and Jake are on the dance floor.
Mel can't help it; she has to ask. "Rick, what play are you working on right now?"
"We're about to finish Good Ole Ginny."
"I heard about it, I bet it's a lot of fun."
"It's too much fun, I enjoy it."
"I'd love to see one; your voice must be amazing?"
He smiles feeling confident. "I'm not bragging, but, I'm very good; I think Loren could do theatre, her voice is beautiful."
Rick notices Loren's talking to Katy and Max. He can tell Eddie isn't happy, he turns his attention to Mel once more. "Are you Loren's friend?"
"We're best friends, nice to meet you, you can call me Mel."
"Nice to meet you Mel." He smiles.
Rick has to know. "Is Loren seeing anyone?"
Ian's taking a sip of his drink and almost spills it, he looks at Mel wondering what she'll say to Rick. "No, she's not seeing anyone, she's free as a bird." Mel leans on her hands. "Why? You interested?"
Rick laughs. "Am I that obvious?"
"You haven't left her side; can't say I blame you."
He lets out a quiet laugh; Mel knows he's up to something. "I guess; I can ask for a number."
"Go for it!" Mel says while moving her eye brows up and down. Max gets up and asks Loren to dance, she agrees, she holds his hand, they head to the dance floor. Ian turns to Mel and whispers. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing, he likes Loren, what's wrong with that?"
Ian shakes his head and finishes his drink. Katy's had enough; she looks at Eddie who's sitting with the worse look on his face. "Can we talk son?" He gets up, they take a few steps away. "What's with you tonight, you're going to give the gossip magazines a lot to talk about!"
"Why?" He furrows his eyes, and Katy continues. "They're going to assume you're still hurting for Chloe!"
"Their attention is on Loren tonight, I'm sure they noticed that Rick James is all over her, that's going to make the headlines!"
Katy nods. "That's it, I told your dad someone is going to snatch her away from you, you're very nonchalant when you're around Loren, you give the impression that you don't have any interest in her, you're not very happy right now, make up your mind about Loren."
"I don't know what you mean?"
"I'm your mom, I know you very well, I know you're into Loren, why can't you see that and do something about it, you're not very good at hiding how you feel, especially right now."
"I think she's amazing, beautiful, that's it."
Katy holds his hand. "What are you afraid off?"
"Nothing! I don't know what you mean?"
Katy shakes her head in disbelief. "You know what? I hope Rick or Danny or whoever comes along will give Loren what she deserves, she's a beautiful young lady, I hate to tell you but you're going to regret what you're doing."
Katy gets up and walks towards Max. "Loren, may I steal my husband from you?"
She smiles. "Of course." She looks at Max. "Thank you for the dance." There's sadness in her eyes.
Before Loren can take a step, Rick stops in front of her. "Can we take a walk?"
She pulls her hair to the side. "Sure." He offers his hand and they walk towards the terrace. A photographer stops them. "Any comments?"
He smiles. "Enjoying the evening with Loren Tate; she won a Grammy tonight."
Several shots are taken of the two holding hands. Loren can tell Eddie's looking their way.
Eddie walks to the bar; Ian catches up to him. "Mate you're gonna let him win?"
"What do you mean?"
"Come on, you've been sulking all evening."
"Nah I'm fine." Ian shakes his head. "Why do you keep looking at Loren? You've been doing it all night."
"I can't believe Rick and I were friends, look at him!"
"Isn't Loren your date for the evening?"
"She's not obligated to stay with me."
"You don't seem to care, do you?"
Eddie doesn't say a word; he takes a sip from his drink. "Be careful mate, you drank too much in Vegas and you told her you loved her, who knows what you might do tonight if you're not careful."
He looks at Ian, he doesn't say a word, he focuses on Loren with Rick, the night comes to an end at 2 a.m. Loren heads towards the Limo's with Katy, Max and Eddie. Mel and Ian left.
Rick's in his car and stops by Loren. "I can drive you home?"
"No thanks, I have my ride."
He winks at her. "I'll see you soon beautiful." He drives off. Katy smiles and hugs her. "You made a huge impression on him."
"He's very sweet."
"I think he likes what he saw."
Loren blushes, she hugs her Grammy. "It was an amazing night; I'm so proud of this award, thank you for your help."
"You're welcome, you earned it Loren, you've worked so hard in such a short time."
"It's was unforgettable night." The limo driver steps out and opens the door; a car comes to a sudden stop. "Guess who?"
Leah sticks her head out of the car window, there's another redhead in the car. Eddie smiles. "Hey, what are you doing here?"
"Saw the Grammy's tonight, congrats on your win."
Eddie leans in towards the car. "Thanks babe." They kiss. "Where are we off tonight?"
Loren looks at Katy, her eyes say so much at that moment, Eddie doesn't care for her, he never will. She gets into the limo followed by Katy and Max, Eddie jumps in the car with Leah and her friend, they drive off.
The following day, Loren stops to see Kelly and Jake. "Close your eyes."
She does, Kelly holds her hand and walks her to the side of the office by the huge picture window. "Open your eyes."
Loren's eyes widen when she sees the room filled with a huge variety of Roses. "For me?"
Kelly smiles. "You made a huge impression on Rick James, he sent the majority, other artist sent a few, the label sent the big bouquet by the window."
She smiles. "These are from Rick?"
"Yes, they've been arriving since 8 this morning."
"They're beautiful. I'm going to need help taking them home."
Jake smiles. "I'll get them to your place Loren; we need to review your concert to Hawaii."
"Hawaii?"
"The label wants you there, a new music lounge has a grand opening in the area, they want you there for the weekend, you'll perform a few songs each night."
"Sounds great."
"Let's get this paper work ready. " Loren sits to review the information on her iPad. The twins walk into the room with the nanny, they're off to the park, they heard Loren's in the office, they want to say hello. She smiles when she sees them run towards her.
"Hey guys, I miss you so much."
"We miss you too Loren."
She kneels to their eye level and hugs them. They spend a few minutes with Loren, then they leave for the park, Loren turns to Kelly. "Is there anything else?"
"Yes, Kelly and Michael called, they want you on the show, The View is very interested."
"This is really happening?" Loren says.
"Yes, you'll have a free give away for your fans, you won a Grammy and now everyone wants you Loren."
She smiles. "I'm nonstop today."
"You're going to be performing a lot more, the label wants you to start a few tours with your album, we'll get that going soon, there's no looking back."
Loren sighs. "Don't I know it!? I'm ready Kelly."
"Katy wasn't kidding when she said you're going to be a huge Pop Artist."
"It's happening so fast." Loren sighs.
"We know you're excited and happy?" Kelly adds, Loren smiles, everything seemed clear last night, she's crushed, last night Eddie took off with those two girls, she's convinced he'll never have any feelings for her, she loves him, she there's no other choice, she has to move on, thanks to Chloe, he's damaged goods.
She signs several pictures for Kelly, many fans will win these, she had to go over several information from the label, it's noon and she's done for now.
"They're delivering a new wardrobe for your Hawaiian tour." Kelly adds.
"New clothes?"
"Chris Blaine is interested in designing some gowns with accessories for your future concerts, you have to look the part, the fans will watch you for the latest trends."
Loren sighs. "I have a lot to get used too."
"Here's a book with different styles for your hair, I've selected two make-up artists to travel with you along with two stylists."
"I'm tired already, what else?"
"We're looking into tour buses, Jake will select several for you to look at, you'll need them for touring."
She looks at them. "Anything else?"
"By the way, there's a silver car in the lot."
Loren furrows her look towards Kelly. "There's a lot of cars outside."
"They're delivering a Lexus for you."
"What? A car?"
"Yes Loren, that Grammy opened many doors for you, go check it out."
Loren takes the elevator to the ground floor. She walks to where her new car is parked.
"Hey beautiful." She turns to find Rick standing a few feet away. "Thanks for the Roses, they're beautiful."
"You can't imagine that impact you had in my life."
She looks at him in awe, she's touched by his words. "You're very sweet."
He makes eye contact with her. Loren tries to look away, he leans in placing his hands on her waist, he brings her closer to him, he places a soft kiss on her lips. Eddie arrives at that precise moment.
Now what? Has Eddie lost Loren? R & R guys! Be patient! I don't know when this story will end, so many ideas!
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