“This is your dressing room.” Darius opened the door to a rectangular room with grey overstuffed furniture. An air-hockey and pinball machine were on the far end—both requests from Erik. The guy was a kid in a man’s body.
Belle dropped her things on the large desk in the corner, her gaze sweeping the rest of the room. A full-size kitchen, large, spacious bathroom, along with the biggest television set she’d ever seen attached to the far wall. “It looks more like an apartment.”
“Yes, nothing but the best for our bachelor.”
Erick opened the refrigerator and retrieved a couple of water bottles. He handed one to her, a closed expression on his face.
Accepting the bottle, she twisted the top off and sipped. The cool liquid felt good on her dry throat. Once Darius was gone, she needed to sit down with Erik and discuss the sponsors Darius referred to. For the next nine weeks, she’d be available to Erik day and night. And chances were, she’d be in Darius’s company at lot too.
“I’ve had it stocked with everything you requested.” Darius pulled out his phone from his pocket, frowned and nodded. When he looked up, his smile was stressed. “It looks like I have a fire to put out. I’m going to leave you two. I sent you a schedule for filming. Erik, I’ll see you tomorrow. It was nice meeting you, Belle. Very nice. We should have a drink. I’d love to talk to you more about the show.”
“Thank you, Darius. I’d like that.” She fingered a strand of hair that curled on her shoulder. She hated to admit to it, but she was still star struck. Coupled with the fact that he was flirting with her made it even harder to reconcile.
He winked. “I’ll send you an email with the specifics.”
Stomach aflutter, she suppressed a squeal of excitement. Wait until she told Kendra that she was having drinks with Darius Jones. Her friend would be green with envy. “Sounds great.”
“Bye.” He shut the door behind him.
“Wow, and you say I’m bad.” Erik plopped down on the sofa and the furniture piece seemed to shrink in size under his tall frame. He propped his feet on the coffee table and settled his hands on his flat belly. “That guy is downright obvious.”
“Obvious?” she cocked a brow, unwilling to give anything away. Had he sensed her attraction for the other guy? Did she care? She was an adult and able to date whomever she wished. “Can you be more specific?”
“He’s into you. And from the blush on your cheeks, you’re into him as well.”
Was it her imagination or was there a bite to his words? “He’s simply being friendly since we’ll be working together.”
“Friendly? That’s what you’re going with?” He cast an all too knowing stare. The guy might come across as devil may care but he was sharp as a tack. She had to be careful what she did and said around him.
Chapter Six
“Why does everything have to be sexual with you?” Belle stomped to the desk, stumbling slightly in a pair of sexy high heels that gave her legs for days.
Because when I’m around you, all I can think about is having sex with you. “Not everything. And I’m not wrong about Darius.”
She plopped down in the chair and slipped the shoes off. Like everything with Belle, she had beautiful feet, long, slender, with toes painted pink. “He’s being nice. That’s all,” she said, pulling her laptop out of her bag.
“Yes, he was being nice but that’s not all. Admit it. You like him.” He hefted a Rubik’s cube off the coffee table and began to twist the toy, another item he’d requested in his contract. He’d yet to master this game and it helped keep his mind occupied during troubling times. “Otherwise you wouldn’t have said yes to drinks.”
“Of course I like him. He’s, um, friendly.” Color flushed her cheeks, her eyes bright with exhilaration.
Her enthusiasm dampened his mood. He’d been looking forward to seeing her again, one on one. And now that they were alone, they were talking about some other guy. “So you’ve said. Ignore or deflect my question all you want, but I know the answer.”
“The answer to what exactly?” she asked.
Annoyed and unsure why, he continued to twist the pieces. A sunbeam from the high window cut across the room and fell on the wall near her head. The light highlighted her hair, the tawny brown curls wild about her face. “You like Darius.”
“What are we, in the sixth grade?” Rolling her eyes, she typed something into her computer.
“Eighth and you’re avoiding the question. I won’t judge. I promise.” He twisted the red squares and paused, moving them back to where they were. “Well, maybe a little. But I digress.”
After a tense moment of silence, she tapped a nail on the keyboard.
“Still waiting.”
“Still annoying.” Hissing air from between her teeth, she sighed. “Fine, I think he thinks I’m attractive.”
“You think he thinks you’re attractive.” Boy, she was stubborn to a fault and he admired her for it. It was a pleasure trading barbs with her. She was quick-witted and challenged him. “I think you think he’s attractive.”
