your hand, idiot.” Jenny interrupted.
She couldn’t very well fix the stupid dress when she was trying to keep the man out of the hospital, could she? No, Grant chuckled. Let him have the freebie. For a very brief moment, he felt a twinge of envy. He’d appreciate it later when he realized it kept him from a mass of broken bones.
Stevie-boy scraped his fingers across her hand wildly a couple of times, before she was able to get a good grip. With one hand in hers, she scooped her other hand under his belt and heaved backward. The skinny little fart came over the rail, tumbling on top of her and knocking the three of them down four stairs before they settled in a pile halfway down. His sweat-covered, smelly, hairless chest smashed into Jenny’s face. Grant’s palm had wedged between them and planted firmly in the bodice of her dress.
Go figure.
He flexed his fingers to try to wiggle them out from between them. She’ll never believe
that
was an accident.
She sat up to see whom the hand belonged to, adjusting the bodice to its appropriate place. Grant jerked away, his face completely hot, and held both hands up in a convenient shit-eating grin.
“Oops,” was all he had to say.
“Yeah, right. For a guy with an attitude, you sure have a lot of conveniently
accidental
moves.”
“Seriously. I didn’t intend that to happen. Jenny, this is Daniel Ray.” Grant motioned to the bare-chested bandie.
She acknowledged the man as she pulled down on the skirt and moved backward to the safety of the stair rail.
“Thanks for the save there, girlie.” Daniel smiled. “Never thought they’d launch me over like that. Nice dress. Nice eyes. Nice you, too.” He gave her the once over. “How do you know Grant?”
“I don’t really. We just keep running into each other.”
“So, you’re not in the biz?”
“Nope. I’m just a chauffeur,” Jenny answered.
“Cool. Maybe you could run into me sometime then? Not as a chauffeur or in a car of course.”
Jenny eyed him suspiciously.
“Not likely,” Grant said. “She’s already involved. Right, Jen?”
“Uh, well I thought I was when I showed up. Not so sure now. You know David Keith?”
“Guitarist for Blind Optimism. I think he’s been talking to Hodge about signing up with these guys.” Daniel gestured toward Grant. “Yeah, I saw him down in the den a couple of hours ago with Quonna Lynnaid. She was — ”
Grant elbowed Daniel. “Who cares? Jen, let’s go get a drink, then I want to show you something.” Grant slid an arm around her and pulled her with him down the stairs. “I’d recommend you be careful around some of these guys. Daniel’s pretty harmless but not exactly smart. We have a hell of a time keeping him in one piece.”
“Really? How so?”
“Thrill seeker. Which, if you ask me, isn’t all that bad compared to some of the things these other people do for recreation. Daniel likes to rock climb, hang glide, sky dive, bungee jump, and just about anything else that will get the adrenaline pumping. He’s working on a pilot’s license right now and that scares the hell out of me.”
“What’s wrong with being a pilot? I think that’d be great for an entertainer. Make it easier to get them to their next performance.”
“He won’t settle for that. More than likely we’ll see his name in the paper someday because he tried to do some stupid trick in the damn thing and crashed it.”
• • •
At the bottom of the stairs, Grant retrieved a key from his pocket. He opened a door, and then slipped through and pulled Jenny by the hand. The room was pitch black. He pressed a switch and blue lights came on around the perimeter of the room. A floor to ceiling fish tank with clear blue water was set into the wall. The tank rounded the corner of the room and came back toward them, two full walls of large and small aquatic creatures of all shapes and sizes. It was a screening room with leather plush chairs lined up facing another wall
She couldn’t very well fix the stupid dress when she was trying to keep the man out of the hospital, could she? No, Grant chuckled. Let him have the freebie. For a very brief moment, he felt a twinge of envy. He’d appreciate it later when he realized it kept him from a mass of broken bones.
Stevie-boy scraped his fingers across her hand wildly a couple of times, before she was able to get a good grip. With one hand in hers, she scooped her other hand under his belt and heaved backward. The skinny little fart came over the rail, tumbling on top of her and knocking the three of them down four stairs before they settled in a pile halfway down. His sweat-covered, smelly, hairless chest smashed into Jenny’s face. Grant’s palm had wedged between them and planted firmly in the bodice of her dress.
Go figure.
He flexed his fingers to try to wiggle them out from between them. She’ll never believe
that
was an accident.
She sat up to see whom the hand belonged to, adjusting the bodice to its appropriate place. Grant jerked away, his face completely hot, and held both hands up in a convenient shit-eating grin.
“Oops,” was all he had to say.
“Yeah, right. For a guy with an attitude, you sure have a lot of conveniently
accidental
moves.”
“Seriously. I didn’t intend that to happen. Jenny, this is Daniel Ray.” Grant motioned to the bare-chested bandie.
She acknowledged the man as she pulled down on the skirt and moved backward to the safety of the stair rail.
“Thanks for the save there, girlie.” Daniel smiled. “Never thought they’d launch me over like that. Nice dress. Nice eyes. Nice you, too.” He gave her the once over. “How do you know Grant?”
“I don’t really. We just keep running into each other.”
“So, you’re not in the biz?”
“Nope. I’m just a chauffeur,” Jenny answered.
“Cool. Maybe you could run into me sometime then? Not as a chauffeur or in a car of course.”
Jenny eyed him suspiciously.
“Not likely,” Grant said. “She’s already involved. Right, Jen?”
“Uh, well I thought I was when I showed up. Not so sure now. You know David Keith?”
“Guitarist for Blind Optimism. I think he’s been talking to Hodge about signing up with these guys.” Daniel gestured toward Grant. “Yeah, I saw him down in the den a couple of hours ago with Quonna Lynnaid. She was — ”
Grant elbowed Daniel. “Who cares? Jen, let’s go get a drink, then I want to show you something.” Grant slid an arm around her and pulled her with him down the stairs. “I’d recommend you be careful around some of these guys. Daniel’s pretty harmless but not exactly smart. We have a hell of a time keeping him in one piece.”
“Really? How so?”
“Thrill seeker. Which, if you ask me, isn’t all that bad compared to some of the things these other people do for recreation. Daniel likes to rock climb, hang glide, sky dive, bungee jump, and just about anything else that will get the adrenaline pumping. He’s working on a pilot’s license right now and that scares the hell out of me.”
“What’s wrong with being a pilot? I think that’d be great for an entertainer. Make it easier to get them to their next performance.”
“He won’t settle for that. More than likely we’ll see his name in the paper someday because he tried to do some stupid trick in the damn thing and crashed it.”
• • •
At the bottom of the stairs, Grant retrieved a key from his pocket. He opened a door, and then slipped through and pulled Jenny by the hand. The room was pitch black. He pressed a switch and blue lights came on around the perimeter of the room. A floor to ceiling fish tank with clear blue water was set into the wall. The tank rounded the corner of the room and came back toward them, two full walls of large and small aquatic creatures of all shapes and sizes. It was a screening room with leather plush chairs lined up facing another wall
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