Chapter Eight
Elly
A day and a half after Jake felt me up, we were in Denver, Colorado. We would have two shows at the outdoor arena at the Pepsi Center. The arena held up to twenty-thousand people and the stage was huge. When we first got there, the stars got dropped off at the hotel to go through their sessions with the stylists and the band and the rest of us went straight to the arena. I hadn’t slept very well on the bus the previous two nights, so I felt wiped out—and I didn’t look too great either. I sucked it up though; I was going to prove to the executive pervert that my skills at being a producer could stand apart from my sexual prowess.
I hadn’t seen him or Tristan since that night. That was a good thing on both counts. I didn’t know what the hell to say to Jake and I was actually a little bit embarrassed about how I’d attacked Tristan and all but forgot how mad I was at him. I have to say it was the best sex I’d ever had, and Tristan said so, too. In spite of that though, a cooling down period for us all would be good.
It was cold in Denver, a lot colder than it had been in Vegas. The clouds were dark as we laid out the set. This stage was round so that it could be seen from all angles. The big lights not only hung from the top of the stage but surrounded it. The night I’d sang with Tristan in L.A., I’d gotten a taste of how hot the lights felt when you were up there. I guess at least the stars didn’t have to worry about being cold. I know the girls were all freaked out about the clothes they’d chosen and their hair and make-up.
Tony was on the phone all day, checking with the weather service and talking to everyone from the executives to the arena security and ticket booths about what would happen if it rained and we had to cancel. He was such a high-strung little man. Clint hadn’t been with us in Vegas, but he’d finally shown up in Denver. I ran into him at breakfast but he didn’t make it out here in the cold with us at all. I guess that was one of the privileges of being an executive. The rest of us worked, around Tony in some cases.
As I put the props up on the stage for 80’s night, I got excited about watching Tristan. I made snide comments about him being a star when I was pissed at him, but the truth of it was, he really was a star when he was up there. I loved watching him, even when I knew every female in the audience would jump him like I did the other night if given half a chance. I also loved eighties music. My mother used to tell me I was born in the wrong era. Flashdance and Footloose were two of my favorite movies.
About three in the afternoon, it started raining. It wasn’t hail, or even big drops. It was just a light drizzle, but it sent Tony from mildly anxious into a full-blown tail-spin. While the rest of us went back to the bus to get ready for the show, I think he was consulting with the rain gods. I wouldn’t have been surprised to see him bringing in a Shaman from the reservation nearby to pray for it to stop. While I got ready, I wondered what Tristan was going to sing. He did a lot of Aerosmith when he played the bars and clubs; in my opinion, he did even better than the original. He also did a lot of Journey and REO Speedwagon songs. He always put his own spin on them and they were always fantastic. He had the perfect, raspy voice for that era of music…it was really sexy.
I’d asked him a few times during the three month hiatus between the show and the tour what kind of songs he was doing. They practiced a few times a week, all of the finalists did. But as I’ve figured out, Tristan isn’t much for small talk, and as far as I could remember, he never really told me. I knew that part of his contract was writing new songs for the record producers. I couldn’t wait to hear those. His original music was always great. I’d never asked him, but I’d read that he was the one that wrote most of the songs for the boy band. I believed it; he was so frigging talented.
Tony called us all together before the singer’s busses got there and said that the powers that be had convened and decided to go on with the show as long as there was no lightning. So far, it was still just a light rain with no lightning or thunder. I stood in a tent they had set up for the crew so we didn’t get drenched and watched the people pile in when they opened the gates. None of the concertgoers looked to be deterred by a little rain. I could see the stars tent from where I stood and I saw Tristan go inside. At fifteen minutes until seven, Tony gave us our final assignments; then at five minutes ‘til, we took our places and the show began. I realized after the Emcee did his spiel that it wasn’t just 80’s night; it was 80’s duet night. I was curious about who Tristan was singing with. I watched Ethan and Rosa who went first. Their song was We’ve Got Tonight by Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton and the level of heat between them on the stage was scorching. I started wondering about Tristan again. There were three women and seven men in the top ten. Rosa was one—that only left two women: Brooke and a girl named Shannon. That also meant that some of the guys would be doing guy/guy duets. I told myself it was stupid, but I was voting for Tristan doing a guy/guy one. I guess it would have been okay if he was singing with Shannon, but I didn’t like the thought of watching him sing with Brooke. It was still obvious when she looked at him that she wanted him. Tristan never said anything about her. He didn’t mention her at all. I wasn’t sure if that was because he really didn’t think of her at all, or because he knew it might make me jealous. He’d used her once for that before and it had backfired on us all. I told myself I had nothing to worry about. Tristan and I were past all of that. Besides, I hated feeling jealous, so I tried not to.
The more I watched the show, the more I knew he was singing with her. Shannon sang with a guy named Rob and the rest of the duets were fun, upbeat, guy/guy songs.
When Tristan and Brooke walked out together, holding hands, I felt a little twinge in my belly. She had on a flowy white dress and her blonde hair was hanging down to her waist. She had long, perfect legs and a gorgeous smile. Her boobs were all pushed up and she had a tan in the middle of fall. I hated her. Not really, but I did. It’s something only another woman could understand.
The lights were already low and they spotlighted the two of them in a white light that almost looked ethereal. The music started playing and they started singing Endless Love by Lionel Ritchie and Diana Ross. I stood there and watched Tristan look into Brooke’s eyes and her into his, and it seemed even to me that they were the only two in the room. Damn, he was good. I guess she was, too; I just wasn’t in the mood to give her that much credit. I felt that twinge in my belly turn into a knot and then move up into my chest. I was trying to talk myself down by remembering the amazing sex we’d had just a day and a half ago. If this duet had been on the first night while he was still mad at me…well then, I might have had something to worry about. For right then, I wasn’t going to worry.