Chapter 9
“Hey Abby”, Kelley said as she answered the call. She was in the tour bus, on her way to Boston. Hope had a show in the evening.
“Kelley – I saw you on TMZ”, Abby said, getting right to it. “You and Hope were out to dinner?”
Kelley thought for a moment and then thought, oh shit. “Oh, yeah. We were leaving this restaurant, and the paparazzi came out of nowhere.”
“What were you guys doing, going out to dinner, just the two of you, at a nice restaurant like that?” Abby asked.
“N-n-nothing. I mean, Hope wanted to go, and it’s like her favorite place in New York, and, well, Christine told me that there would be times when Hope would want to go out to eat and stuff and not always have to order room service or eat at the venue, so, I just thought-“ Kelley started rambling, but Abby cut her off.
“Is there something going on between you two?” Abby asked, getting to the point of her call.
“What?” Kelley said. “No! I mean, she’s been really cool, and we’re getting along well, and, um, well, we seem to have a good working relationship, so…but um, no, we’re not like together or anything…” Kelley drifted off. After last night’s kiss, she wasn’t sure what was happening between her and Hope, but she didn’t want to tell Abby anything.
“Okay”, Abby said. “Remember what I told you about relationships between clients and managers.”
“Right – don’t get involved with Hope”, Kelley said.
“That’s right”, Abby said and then paused for a moment to let that sink in. Then she asked, “How’s everything else going?”
“Good. Everything else is good”, Kelley said quickly, wanting to get off the phone as soon as possible.
“Okay, good. Call me if you need anything”, Abby said, then hung up.
********
“How'd I do?” Hope asked as she and then band stepped off stage. They had just finished playing to sold-out crowd at the Garden in Boston.
Kelley walked up to Hope and started to reach her arms around Hope’s neck to pull her in for a kiss, then remembered that they weren’t alone and stopped herself. She stopped six inches from Hope and smiled. “You were…amazing”, she breathed out.
Hope smiled back and started into Kelley’s eyes. She received compliments all the time, but for some reason it meant more coming from Kelley then from anyone else. “Thank you, manager”, she said flirtatiously.
“So…you need a few minutes alone in the dressing room?” Kelley asked.
“I could use a few minutes in the dressing room…but not alone”, Hope said and smiled.
Kelley smiled back. “Okay, let’s go.” She turned around and led Hope down the hallway through the mob of people waiting to talk with her. She saw Syd holding court with a bunch of people, alternating between talking and chugging a bottle of champagne. Megan, a bottle of Jameson and a tall brunette headed into Megan’s dressing room. Ali and Ashlyn ducked into Ashlyn’s dressing room. Kelley laughed and shook her head at the whole spectacle as she and Hope made their way to Hope’s dressing room. Kelley ushered Hope in and then shut the door. “So, do you want something to drink or-“ Kelley started to ask, but before she could get the full question out, Hope was on her. She grabbed Kelley’s cheeks and pulled her in for a deep kiss. Kelley wrapped her arms around Hope’s neck and opened her mouth to accept Hope’s eager tongue. They stayed locked like that for a minute, and then Hope picked Kelley up and then lowered her onto the couch, still locked in their kiss.
********
“C’mon, go fix us some drinks”, Hope said with a smile.
After their make out session in Hope’s dressing room, Hope had wanted to go straight back to the hotel. Kelley, caught up in the moment, obliged, even though they usually hung out to work the crowd and media for at least an hour after every performance. Instead, Hope had pulled Kelley out of the dressing room and to a waiting car. Now they were back at the hotel in Hope’s suite. Hope opened the doors to the balcony, then looked back suggestively at Kelley as she strode out. Kelley stared at her for a moment and then went to the wet bar to fix her and Hope a drink. She rummaged around for a moment, looking for the ingredients for a tequila sunrise, Hope’s favorite drink. She found everything and made two, then headed back to the balcony area.
“Here you go”, Kelley called out to Hope. “Your favorite. Tequila sunr-“ she said, but then looked up and froze mid-sentence.
Hope was naked. She was standing next to the hot tub on the balcony, smiling. Kelley stood still, transfixed. Sure, their make-out session in the dressing room had been hot and heavy, but this was the first time that Kelley had ever seen Hope naked. She looks like a goddess, Kelley though. Scratch that – she is a goddess, Kelley said to herself, as her throat went dry.
“So…are you coming?” Hope asked flirtatiously and then climbed into the hot tub.
Kelley stepped out of her heels and walked out onto the balcony. She set the drinks on the ledge of the hot tub and then took off her suit jacket. Then she removed the rest of her clothes and left them on the balcony floor. She sat on the edge of the hot tub, swung her legs over, then stuck her feet in the water. It was warm but not hot – perfect for an October night in Boston. Plus, Kelley had a feeling that things were going to get a whole lot hotter in the next few minutes. She lowered herself the rest of the way into the water, Hope staring at her the whole time. When Kelley was finally sitting in the hot tub, Hope closed the distance. She crawled up Kelley’s body until she was half-straddling Kelley and put her hands on the edge of the hot tub behind Kelley.
“Hi”, Hope said, as she planted a soft kiss onto Kelley’s lips.
“Hi”, Kelley breathed out. “I…brought us drinks”, Kelley said, as she started to reach for Hope’s drink.
“Later”, Hope whispered against Kelley’s lips, as her hand slipped below the water and down Kelley’s body.
********
Later that night Kelley and Hope were laying in Hope’s bed, Kelley’s back snuggled into Hope’s chest as Hope's arms curled around Kelley. They had started in the hot tub and then finished up on the bed. Now Hope’s face was tucked into the back of Kelley’s head, and Kelley could feel Hope’s rhythmic breath across the back of her head as the rock star slept. Kelley herself was exhausted, but she just couldn’t sleep. What was happening? She thought. How is this possible? I’ve kissed and made love with the world’s hottest rock singer. I’m pretty sure I’m falling for her. I mean, who wouldn’t? Kelley thought. And then, the follow-up thought. Is she falling for me, too? If so, how is that possible? She could have anyone she wanted. Why would she fall for someone like me, someone so far down the food chain? Maybe she wasn’t, Kelley continued to think. Maybe she’s done this before, with other women. Maybe I’m just a diversion to pass the time. That thought made Kelley a bit sad, but then she thought, it just doesn’t feel like that, though. The way we talk, the way we snuggle, the way we take walks and have meals together. The way we tease each other about being older and younger. The way she laughed when she pointed out that I have freckles in places other than my face. Still, I don’t know what to make of all of this, Kelley thought. Somehow, I just can’t believe this is happening to me.
As she continued to think, Kelley felt herself become sleepy. She closed her eyes and was drifting off when she heard her phone buzz a text. Without leaving Hope’s embrace, she grabbed it off the nightstand and looked at it. It was from Abby:
Abby: Did you and Hope bail on the Vanity Fair interview after the show?
Kelley looked at the text and swore. Shit, she thought. They had missed an interview. She had gotten caught up in the moment with Hope and had forgotten about it. She grabbed her phone and texted back.
Kelley: Hope felt ill, had to take her back to hotel, sorry. I will reschedule with Vanity Fair.
Kelley waited for a moment, and then her phone buzzed.
Abby: I heard you left hand in hand with Hope. Wtf Kelley!?
Kelley sighed. She should respond to Abby, but she couldn’t think of the best thing to write back, so she set her phone down and exhaled.
“Who’s that?” Hope mumbled against the hair on the back of Kelley’s head.
“No one. I mean, it’s nothing”, Kelley said, then thought, 'What am I doing?' as she closed her eyes.