Face The Music Read online

  “I will.” I wiped my face but made no attempt to get up off the floor.

  Emily and Molly headed out, and I was grateful for the peace and quiet. I decided to take a bath to try and clear my head. The hot water was soothing, and I felt myself start to relax.

  Something startled me awake. I don’t know how long I’d been sitting in the tub, but when I opened my eyes, the water had cooled. There was a faint knock on the front door.

  “Just a minute, I’m coming,” I yelled, jumping out of the tub. I pulled on my short, fuzzy pink robe and found Jake in the hall outside my apartment.

  “Hi! What are you doing here?” I held the front of my robe shut as he followed me into the kitchen. My stomach was still churning, and I hoped a cup of hot peppermint tea would help settle it.

  “Good morning to you, too.” He shook off a charcoal colored coat and hung it over the back of a chair. “Geez, babe, you’re a mess.”

  “Em and I went out last night. We got home late.” I filled a tarnished copper kettle with water. It had belonged to my mom.

  “You went out without me? Where’d you go?”

  “Maury’s. Ever been there?”

  “Nope, but I’ve heard good things.” His eyes lingered on the bare skin of my chest. My stupid robe wouldn’t stay closed, and I felt naked. His gawking didn’t help.

  “Will you give me a minute? I’m gonna get dressed.”

  He stepped in front of me, blocking my way. “Why? I don’t mind. You look good in nothing.” His voice was suggestive.

  I ignored the comment and walked past him to my room.

  “What’s the occasion?” I shouted from down the hall as I dried off and pulled on a pair of yoga pants.

  “I was hoping we could eat hot dogs and watch a princess movie.” He laughed at his own joke. “I brought you something.”

  “What for?” I poked my head out the door and glanced at him.

  He held up a red, heart-shaped box. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

  “Oh…”

  “You forgot, didn’t you? Geez, Allie. It’s only the most romantic day of the year. Candy, flowers, love…” He drug out the syllable of the last word.

  My stomached flipped. No wonder I felt like crap. This was the most sickening day of the year. “More like cavities, allergies, and heartache,” I mumbled as I dug a t-shirt out of my drawer.

  “What?” He was standing in my doorway.

  “Hey!” I shrieked, holding the shirt against my bare chest. “A little privacy, please!”

  He didn’t go. Instead, he came into my room, wrapped his arms around my naked shoulders, and nuzzled my neck. “You smell good. Coconut?”

  I wiggled free of his grip. “Jake, this isn’t a good idea.” Aside from the fact that my stomach felt like an off-balance washing machine, I didn’t want to be with him this way. It was uncomfortable.

  He ran his fingertips up and down the bare skin of my arms. “Why not? I think it’s a great idea.”

  I turned away from him and pulled the t-shirt down over my head. I then folded my arms across my chest. “Jake,” I said, my voice stern.

  He shushed me. “Don’t say anything. I have to tell you something first.”

  Shit. Ignoring his attempts at seduction wasn’t working.

  We both jumped when the doorbell rang. I was never more grateful for an interruption in all my life.

  “You expecting someone?”

  “No.” I shook my head. “Would you mind getting it?” The kettle whistled in the background. “I should turn off the stove.”

  I listened from the kitchen as Jake opened the door, but I couldn’t tell who he was talking to.

  When I saw who followed him in, I was so surprised that I backed into the counter and almost scalded myself with my hot tea. “Chris! Um, hi.” I reached up and touched my damp hair, trying to smooth it out. I hadn’t gotten a chance to run a brush through it yet.

  Jake flashed me a wondrous look from the other side of the room. I shook my head, silently begging him not to say anything.

  Chris’s eyes darted between me and Jake. “How are you?”

  “Um, fine. You?”

  “I’m alright.” He held up a coat. My coat. “You left this in the car last night. You might need it; it’s chilly.”

  “Oh, thanks.” I glanced at Jake. He was leaning against the counter, listening to every word. “And thanks for bringing us home, by the way. I owe you one.”

  Chris smirked and handed me a small paper sack. “I thought you might need these, too.”

  Inside was a bottle of ibuprofen. A small red bow was stuck to the cap. “Ha ha,” I said, shaking the container. The pills rattled inside.

  “Like I said, we couldn’t have our little ones without a teacher tomorrow morning. Happy Valentine’s Day, by the way.”

  I tried to think of something clever to say but came up with nothing. “Yeah, you too.”

  Silence filled the room. The three of us just stood there and exchanged awkward glances. Chris was the first one to speak. “I should get going. I have to get to rehearsal. Just wanted to get your coat back to you." He looked at Jake before heading for the door. “See ya.”

  Jake remained planted against my counter, his arms folded across his chest. “Later.”

  I followed him to the front door and wasn’t sure if it was my imagination, or if Chris actually lingered a bit too long in the doorway before finally turning and walking away. I shut the door and rested my forehead against it. When I turned to go back to the kitchen, Jake was on my heels.

  “Chris Knots, huh? What exactly did you do last night?”

  “I told you, Emily and I went out. It was her birthday.”

  “With Chris Knots? That must have been some party.” One side of his mouth folded down into a frown.

  “No, not with him. He was just there. We ran into each other. Why the third degree?”

  He shrugged, but it was obvious something was bothering him. “Just curious. Why didn’t you call? I’d have come.”

  ***

  Monday morning rolled around way too soon. I got to work with no time to spare. Riley and Sabrina were sitting on the floor by my classroom door. “Morning, ladies,” I said, putting my key in the lock.

  They both giggled and followed me in. Jimmy came in behind us, wearing an uncharacteristically huge smile. “Hi, Miss Banks! Did you have a nice weekend?” He was awfully friendly for as early as it was.

  “I’m fine. How are you?” I asked, a bit skeptical.

  Before he responded, Sam came in. He took one look at me and busted up laughing. The other three followed suit.

  Melody scowled at her classmates as she strolled in and set her stuff down. “What’s so funny?” Sam handed her something, a newspaper, and her eyes grew wide as she read. “No,” she gasped and looked at me.

  “What?” I demanded. “What are you laughing at?” Giggles were all I got in response.

  Melody held out the paper, and I snatched it from her.

  Some of the Stars had made headlines. It wasn’t all that uncommon considering how popular the show was, but I froze when I saw the picture. It was Chris and me, dancing at Maury’s. My head was leaning on his shoulder, his arms wrapped around my waist.

  Chris Knots and fellow Stars were spotted hanging out at local club Maury’s on Saturday night. The Stars were greeted by many fans, including Allison Banks, as seen in the picture above. Knots refused to comment on his relationship with Banks. She is the youth teacher on the set of the show…

  The kids were silent and watched closely as I read. I only skimmed through the first paragraph before handing the article back to Sam. I’d seen enough.

  “Miss Banks, I’m your favorite, aren’t I?” Sam asked.

  Why he would choose that particular moment to ask me something like that was beyond me. I was really irritated at him, and I still hadn’t forgotten about last week when he and Chris had laughed at me. It seemed to be turning into a habit.

 
“Do you think you are?” I kept my expression blank.

  He nodded. “Yep. Sure do.”

  “Then that’s all that matters,” I replied candidly.

  The other kids laughed.

  Sam stared at me for a second, confounded, and then asked Melody if she had any ice.

  “No, why?” she asked.

  “I just got burned.”

  ***

  The snack bar was by no means the greatest place to eat, but it was conveniently located just down the hall from my classroom. Little more than a sandwich counter surrounded by a dozen or so tables, they also sold bottled water, soda, chips, and an assortment of other snacks.

  I grabbed a tuna salad on wheat and a copy of the newspaper. Wanting to study the article in private, I planned to eat alone in my classroom, but Jake caught up with me first.

  Eying my paper, he grunted. “So, you’re famous now, huh? You and the big Superstar?” A hint of condemnation touched his voice.

  “What are you talking about? I told you, he was there, so were we.”

  “But he brought you home,” he pointed out.

  I rolled my eyes. Jealousy on Jake was so unbecoming, especially when there was no reason for it. “Yes, Jake, he brought us home. He was being nice, saving us a cab fare.”

  Jake’s brow wrinkled. “A cab? Where’s your car?”

  “It died. But even if it hadn’t, Emily and I had been out drinking. Don’t you think it was best for us to not be driving?”

  He held up his hands in resignation. “Okay, okay, no need to get snippy. I believe you. Just lookin’ out for my gal.”

  “I’m not your gal, Jake.”

  He looked at me for a long second. “You could be, you know.” His voice was nothing more than a whisper.

  “Jake, don’t.” This was starting to get really old.

  He laughed. “I’m kidding! Seriously, though, what happened to the car?”

  I’d inherited my grandmother’s Toyota several years ago when Mom finally decided Grams shouldn’t be behind a wheel anymore. It was a clunker even back then.

  “It started making these weird sounds. And it smelled bad. And then it stalled one morning while I was on my way to the store. I had to have it towed.”

  “Did you take it to a shop?”

  “Sure did. Paid the guy two hundred dollars to find out it wasn’t worth fixing.”

  “Ouch!” he said.

  “Yeah. It sucks, but at least the city has public transportation.” I didn’t miss the expense of owning a car, but it sure had been convenient when I needed it.

  I took the roundabout way back to my classroom but stopped when I heard Cynthia throwing a fit. I peeked inside the rehearsal room. “What part of this is so difficult for you to understand, Riley? Step-step-turn-kick.” She demonstrated the move while poor Riley looked like she was on the verge of tears.

  It took everything I had to not march in there and tell Cynthia what part of my anatomy she could kiss. I don’t care if you’re queen of the damn universe, you don’t treat people that way. Especially children.

  Chris stepped between them. “Give the kid a break. We can’t all be perfect like you, you know.”

  Amen to that. I watched with interest as Cynthia spun around and sneered, “It’s not like this is rocket science, Chris! She keeps running into me!”

  “Like you’ve never screwed up? Remember last week?” I wondered what had happened.

  The choreographer stepped forward, reclaiming control of the group. “Okay, everyone, let’s all take a deep breath and start from the top. Remember this is a team effort, we need to work together.” He clapped his hands, marking the tempo. “Five, six, seven, eight.”

  ***

  “Allie! Did you see the paper this morning?” Emily attacked me as soon as I opened the door.

  “Yeah, I think everyone saw it,” I muttered. “The kids gave me a hard time. You know where their heads are.”

  Molly ran to me from the other room. I knelt down and held out my arms for a hug. “Hey, baby! How are you today?” I buried my nose in her blonde curls. They smelled like her strawberry shampoo.

  “Hi Aunt Allie!! Look what I made.” She held up a picture of an orange and black butterfly.

  “Wow, this is really pretty! Did you do this all by yourself?” She nodded. “Are you learning about butterflies in preschool?”

  “Uh-huh!” Molly loved to learn. She was notorious for taking off with my textbooks; she liked to flip through them and look at the pictures. I’d find them under the couch and in her toy box. “Are we gonna watch the star show tonight?” she asked, her blue eyes hopeful.

  “Do you want to?”

  “Yeah! We’ll watch Chris sing! He’s gonna win, right Aunt Allie?”

  I chuckled. Molly and I had decided early on that Chris was the clear winner. “Sure baby, whatever you say. You think about what you want for dinner tonight, okay?”

  “I’m off,” said Emily, pulling on her coat. “Don’t have too much fun tonight, you two! Bye, Molly, I love you.” She kissed us both on the cheek and left for her swing shift at the diner.

  Molly decided on fish sticks and peanut butter. This kid came up with the strangest combinations when it came to food. Luckily she was healthy and not overly picky, so Emily and I did our best to appease her.

  She drug out her little pink CD player and sang some of her nursery rhymes while I cooked. I sang along with a few, when I knew the words, and we danced around the kitchen as we waited for the oven to heat.

  My phone vibrated on the counter. A text message, but I didn’t recognize the number.

  Left ur coat in the car. Want me 2 swing by and drop it off?

  I just stared at it, not immediately understanding. It then dawned on me that it was from Chris, more than likely sent late Saturday night, or early Sunday morning. Stupid phone. I wondered how he got my number. I made a mental note to ask Emily if she gave it to him.

  Just then the show began. Molly jumped off the couch and wriggled her little hips, dancing to the theme music. “I’m gonna be a Sup-a-star!”

  I laughed and gathered her into my arms. “You do that, okay? I’ll come to all your concerts.”

  She looked at me with big blue eyes and a dimpled smile. I kissed her forehead.

  The opening act was the group performance I’d caught them practicing. Riley got all her moves right, but Cynthia stumbled and almost fell. Too bad. It would have been so much more entertaining if she had actually fallen.

  After that were the individual performances. Jimmy was first. He sang an older George Strait song. It was okay. Hard for me judge since I’ve never been much of a country fan. It all sounded like twangy, hillbilly music to me.

  Cynthia was next. She wore a black halter-top dress and belted out the song from Titanic. In the background flashed scenes from the movie, and there must have been a fog machine somewhere near the stage because her feet were covered in smoke. Her voice was powerful. She didn’t miss a single note. She certainly had talent, even if she was a bitch.

  After she was finished, Chris took the stage. He had on a pair of worn Diesel jeans and a thin, clingy grey t-shirt that emphasized his broad chest. I wondered what he looked like shirtless. He was, undeniably, a very sexy man.

  The stage went dark. Everything was pitch black except for the red strobe lights flashing in the back. When the music started I couldn’t believe my ears. He was going to sing I Dare You, by Shinedown. It was one of my favorite songs.

  Chris’s voice was the perfect match for it. Deep, rich, and slightly gritty. What started out mellow grew into something really intense. By the end, Chris was nearly screaming into the microphone. The muscles in his neck bulged as he held the last few notes. Flames danced on the big screens that surrounded the stage, and a shower of sparks burned along the front.

  The whole performance was off the top. I didn’t know how he did it, how he packed so much energy into a performance. I was exhausted just by watching, but he didn’t
even look winded.

  Eddie stood up and clapped. “Chris, Chris! Just when I think you’ve got no room to grow, you go and do something like that!” He fanned himself. “Lord, I am so hot right now, just dripping with sweat.” He surprised Lucy by grabbing her hand and wiping it across his forehead. “See?”

  She squealed. “Ewwww! Eddie! That is nasty! I cannot believe you just did that.” After making a show of wiping her hand on her pants, she calmed down and turned her attention to Chris. “You had a good time with that, didn’t you?”

  He beamed. “Yeah, I did. It was a lot of fun.”

  “It showed. That was the perfect song for you. Totally chill.”

  Stella leaned forward. “I agree. You’ve shown some real growth over this past week.”

  The audience roared.

  Bradley McKnight joined Chris on the stage. “What inspired the song choice, if I may ask?”

  Chris gazed into the camera with a smoldering look that would have made any girl’s core temperature rise. I shuddered. I sure didn’t envy the contestants who had to follow him.

  “A friend,” he said.

  Sabrina was the last to go. She did an okay job with her song, but forgot some of the words half-way through and stumbled through the rest of the performance. It ended in a complete disaster.

  The judges had harsh words for her and decided it was her week to go. I hated to see that; the kids were my only job security. Once they were all gone there would be no reason for me to stay, and then what? This job was the only thing keeping me and Emily in our apartment.

  I tucked Molly into bed and checked my email. I didn’t have much, a few questions from the students over at the university and a forward from Emily.

  I then checked out the newsfeed on Yahoo and saw pictures from tonight’s performance. I clicked on one of them and was redirected to a different page that was plastered with pictures of the Stars. It was scary, really. Most of them were candid, taken without notice during off-show hours. Jimmy’s profile, Sam sipping a drink at McDonalds, and Chris walking into the studio hotel.

  I thought it was bad enough that my picture had been published in a local newspaper; these were much more public. I wondered how they put up with it- someone always ducking around a corner, waiting to snap a picture or get a headline. It was such an invasion of privacy.