One Step Beyond was at the Rose Center for Earth and Space. There was a line to get in, but Adrienne had told me to go to the bouncer and tell them I was with her. A few of the people in line had their phones out; they were taking pictures of and Melinda and me. I guess if you roll up in a big black SUV, have a driver and your own photographer, people might notice.
“We’re with Adrienne,” I said.
“Adrienne who?” he asked.
I just blinked at the guy. In what universe did he NOT know who Adrienne was?
“She’s the supermodel, Dick Chew,” my driver said.
“The hell you said?” the bouncer retorted.
I looked more closely at the bouncer and, like my security guy, he might have played for the New York Giants. I reached out and pulled Jackie and Melinda behind me. If this got ugly, I wanted room to move.
“You heard me!”
They were now nose-to-nose. People in line began to step back. Then the two assholes broke into big grins and hugged each other.
“I think your boy was ready to throw down,” the bouncer said.
“I really didn’t want to hurt you,” I said.
“Well, thank you for being so considerate. Let me get Rachel, and she’ll take you to your table.”
I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly to help calm myself; adrenaline was still coursing through my body. I put my arm around Melinda’s waist, and we followed Rachel to Adrienne’s table. When we arrived, we saw an overconfident man sitting next to Adrienne, making a play. Behind them was her security, and he didn’t seem concerned, so I just ignored the man hitting on her.
“What would you like to drink?” Rachel asked.
I needed a beer, and Melinda took my lead and ordered herself one. Jackie and her assistant were taking reference shots of the club. One Step Beyond had a DJ, and the music was loud. The dance floor was about half full, but I would bet it would be packed soon.
“Want to dance?” I asked.
Melinda just nodded. She turned out to be a terrible dancer. Maybe this was why the Seavs dumped her. Tracy told me once that you could tell if a guy was good in bed by how well he danced. She said that if a man had no rhythm on the dance floor, he had none in bed. I wondered if that held true for girls.
The next song was slow, so I pulled her into my arms to guide her. We had been on the dance floor for about a half hour when Jackie pulled us off.
“Thanks. I got what I needed. You two were great, and I’d love to work with you again. If you ever need a photographer, I hope you’ll call,” she said, ending in a sales pitch.
“Where’re you headed?” Melinda asked.
Jackie told her.
“Care to share a cab?”
“Sure. Let me say goodbye to Adrienne and Tyler, and I’ll meet you out front,” Jackie said.
Melinda got her coat and didn’t even bother to say goodbye.
“Look, Rina, a cute
Was that New York’s version of
“Do you dance?” one of them asked.
I grabbed her hand and led her onto the dance floor. It was more crowded than before, and the music took a more techno turn. Most everyone just bounced around; it was more of a mosh pit than anything else. I had fun until some guy groped the girl I was with. Cassidy had taught me about pressure points. I grabbed the man, and he was soon on his knees, begging her forgiveness. She grabbed my hand and pulled me to their table.
She was breathing hard from all the hopping around, and her sister/cousin gave her a look.
“You wanna get out of here?” my dance partner asked me.
“
“
I held up my hand to stop them.
“Hey, I need to get back to my friends. Thanks for the dance,” I said and turned to go back to our table.
They began to argue with each other in earnest, and I just shook my head.
My driver/security guard had watched the entire event.
“I think you dodged one there,” he offered.
“I think you’re right. It looked like too much drama for tonight.”
Adrienne and Tyler were dancing, and I looked around. This was getting to be a bit much.
“You want to take me home?” I asked.
“Sure. Let me tell someone we’re leaving,” he said and left to find Adrienne’s security.
When he returned, he drove me to her condo.
◊◊◊
When I got back, I found a note from Kara telling me to come down to the models’ condo when I returned. I wanted to be comfortable, so I rooted through my bags and found a pair of Hollister sweats and an A&F polo shirt. Going downstairs to where Kara lived, I knocked on her door. I heard some movement, and then everything was quiet. Then I heard a muffled, “It’s open” called out.
I opened the door and found soft music playing and the room lit by candlelight. A small smile lit up my face as I looked around for Kara. I was shocked when I saw Melinda in a sexy purple floral-lace baby doll, which I remembered her wearing in her most recent Victoria’s Secret photo shoot.
