| "C, look at this gorgeous room," Rachel was awestruckat the lavishness. "It's huge. Look...there's a bar and...a huge TV ...God! This is cool." Kelci laughed at her friend and was a little taken back by the exquisite suite. Rachel went from one feature to the next, just gushing with excitement, as the others watched on. "We get this bedroom," Rachel stated loudly from the first door. "It has the bathroom." "Sorry to disappoint you, Rach, but this room has a bathroom, too," JC stated from the other room. "Really? Wow! How cool." "So....I guess I'm in here with JC," Lance stated then turned back to the girls, his eyes burning through Rachel. "Unless.." Kelci saw Rachel's tongue flick out across her lips and knew what she wanted. "Well...I want to be with Josh, so you two are on your own," Kelci stated and pushed past a grinning Lance. "There is always the couch." "Oh, no. I wouldn't feel right about Lance sleeping on the couch with me all alone in that HUGE bed. I'm sure we can share," Rachel smiled and winked at the blonde. "How kind of you. Shall we unpack?" Lance asked as he stepped very close to Rachel. "Yes...let's undre...unpack." Kelci giggled into JC's chest as the other couple slipped into their room. Both laughed hysterically once the door was close. Finally they collected themselves and headed to unpack their stuff. "So, what exactly did Mary say?" JC asked as he hung up his dress shirts in the closet. "Just that I should be all up on you...stakin' my claim....and that I probably won't be able to keep you anyway," she replied before her phone rang and she answered. "Hello?" "Kelci, hi. It's Mary. I hope you've had a chance to review my earlier message." "Yes, I have, but I won't be following your advice. It's not me and it's not how I want to be seen." "I think you should at least be tons more affectionate otherwise it'll look even more like a set-up." "I don't think it looks like a set-up at all." "Anyway, I was calling to tell you that you are booked on TRL today. Be there by 2:30." "What?!" Kelci shrieked and looked at her watch. "It's 5 minutes to 2. How am I supposed to pull this off with no time?" "I'm sure you'll be fine. They are expecting you. Tata!" Mary chirped before hanging up. "GGGRRRR!! God, I hate her," Kelci yelled and JC chuckled at her expression. "Will you go ask Rock to come here while I change?" "Sure." He left and she slid into a dressier pair of jeans then a tank top that fit. She couldn't find the button down she wanted, but found a great blue one on JC's side of the closet. She slipped it on and rolled the sleeves up before tying the bottom just as Rock, JC and Gina returned. "What's up?" Rock asked as she moved to pull her black chunky clogs on. "TRL. Mary just informed me. Can I borrow you, please?" "Sure. Lemme go call a cab." "Thanks, Rock and you are welcome to join us, Gina." "Thank you, but I need a nap. Have fun and you look cute." "Thanks." Gina followed Rock out and JC took in Kelci's appearance, loving how comfortable she looked."C?" "Hmm?" she asked as she fixed her hair in the mirror and flipped her eyes up to his through the mirror. "Oh,...uh...can I borrow this shirt?" "Sure. May I join you?" "Sure, if you want. I think it'd be nice to have a friendly face around. Thank you." "I'll call and see if Lonnie is available." "Good. Does this look OK?" "Beautiful and relaxed," he answered before getting Lonnie on the phone and convincing the large man to join them. "All set. He's heading downstairs." "OK. Lemme tell Rach," Kelci smiled and knocked on the other bedroom door. "Rach, I'm leaving. Watch TRL." "OK," was the muffled reply. Kelci shook her head as they laughed and headed downstairs where Rock and Lonnie escorted them through the lobby to the taxi. Rock sat in the front and the drive to Times Square went quickly. Tons of teens were already outside the studio and screamed when Kelci and JC came into view. Quickly both signed a few autographs then headed inside and upstairs to be briefed on the show. JC seemed to know just about everyone, but never neglected Kelci for a second, knowing she was nervous. Having been to the studio thousands of times, Lonnie and JC led the way to make-up with Kelci's hand tightly in JC's, and they found Carson prepping his question cards. "Hey man," JC greeted. "What's up?" Carson smiled and they did the handshake-hug thing before he turned to greet his guest. "Hello, Ms. Andrews. It's nice to meet you." "Hello, Carson. Please call me Kelci. Ms. Andrews makes me feel old." "Very cool. What the HELL is a gorgeous actress doing with him?" "Haha. That seems to be the big question, but, honestly, I'm just enjoying getting to know him. Do we look THAT odd together?" she joked while being guided to the make-up chair. "No, he just doesn't seem worthy of someone like you." Kelci chuckled then turned her attention to the stylist at her side. Finally they talked her into loosing the dress shirt. She and Carson discussed the show for a few minutes before she was ushered to the celebrity photo booth. She smiled for the first one, pretended to pick her nose for the second one then pulled JC in with her. The third picture snapped just as he fell onto her lap and the fourth captured them laughing. The TRL camera caught it, too and it played during the opening. One of the staff directed them to the green room where Rock and Lonnie were waiting. "So...I hope the crowd is supportive." "I'm sure you'll be fine," JC stated and sat next to her, draping her legs over his. "Think the other two are naked yet?" "Probably," she laughed. "How many condiments do you think they could lick off of one another before we get back?" "God only knows." "I don't get that." "Get what?" he asked as she played with his fingers. "Casual sex....even protected casual sex." "It's nothing big." "Nothing big?!" she was shocked at his cavalier attitude. "Sometimes you just NEED that release." "But...what about love?" "Ms. Andrews, Carson will invite you out as soon as we come back from commercial," the stage manager said as he handed her the mic. "Please follow me." JC squeezed her hand reassuringly as he winked at her. She stood and followed the man to the curtain then waited for Carson. "Welcome back. We are only part way through you're top 10, but I think it's time to bring out our guest. We fell in love with her in American Romeo, now her new movie Love Her opens tomorrow around the country. She's dropped by to say hello. Please welcome Kelci Andrews," Carson barely got out before the crowd went crazy and Kelci stepped through the curtain. She smiled brightly as she shook hands on her way to Carson. Everyone seemed to want a piece of her and she tried to acknowledge as many people as possible, but it was overwhelming. Finally she made it to the stage and Carson hugged her briefly. "Welcome." "Thanks for having me and thank you," she smiled as she acknowledged the audience. "Damn! Y'all are loud." The crowd finally settled down a bit and Carson asked about her movie. She gave the basic plot and set up the clip. They came back from the clip and headed into the number 5 video. She relaxed a little and signed a few autographs before being placed in the center of the audience so she could answer some of their questions. "That was Blink 182 at number 5. Kelci has happily agreed to answer some of your questions and she has snuggled into a prime spot smack dab in the middle of the action. Kelci, who have you got with you?" Carson asked. "Hi. What's your name?" Kelci asked then pointed her mic at the handsome, well-built blonde man to her left. "Brian." "Hello, Brian. What's your question?" "I want to know the official word on your love life," Brian stated and the crowd cheered. "OK. OK. Settle down," Carson laughed as Kelci shook her head. "OK. The official word...well...I'm enjoyin' gettin' to know someone special, but there's no marriage plans. We're just...hanging out and casually datin'. Thank you for the question, Brian," she smiled and turned to the girl to her right. "What's your name and question?" "Hi. I'm Brooke and I was wondering how it feels to be the new Hollywood IT girl." "Well, I don't know that I'm an ‘IT' girl.." "In Style magazine said you were," Brook informed. "Oh...well...this is the first I've heard of it...um...I'm flattered even though I don't quite understand." "We have time for one more," Carson coached and Kelci nodded. "Hi. What's your name?" "I'm Anna," the blonde girl in front of her answered. "Hello, Anna. What's your question?" "What actor would you most want to star opposite in a romantic film?" "Well...I respect tons of actors for their ability but....I'd have to limit my absolute favorites to kiss to....um...Brad Pitt.. Paul Walker...and um...Joshua Jackson, but I wouldn't deny Robert Redford or Heath Leger either," Kelci laughed. "Interesting picks, Kelci. We're gonna head to commercial then be back with more questions for Kelci," Carson spoke to the camera. Kelci dislodged herself from the crowd and saw JC peek through the curtain with a thumbs up. She waved him out and he rushed out to her. The crowd went crazy and Carson grimaced as he took out his in-ear monitor. "You wanna stay, man?" Carson asked JC. "Sure, if C's OK with it." "Sure." JC smiled and hooked her pinkie as Carson brought them back. The camera angle widened to show JC and Kelci and the crowd outside went crazy. "Damn," Kelci laughed. "What kind of music do you listen to Kelci?" "Um..a lil' of everything. I like Limp Bizkit to Eric Clapton....uh...Ella Fitzgerald to Garth Brooks....to NSYNC." "Is that a requirement to date you, JC?" "Um...no, but you at least have to tolerate our music," JC smiled and bumped into Kelci slyly. "Whatever," she laughed and Carson took them to another video. They stuck around to dance to We Fit Together by O-Town and JC introduced Gone at #1. They hugged Carson good-bye then signed a few autographs as they headed out. They collected the body guards and climbed into the awaiting limo. "Damn! This is cool," Kelci gushed as she ran her small hand over the smooth leather seat. "That crowd was crazy, C. Maybe we should call for back-up," Rock suggested. "I think we'll be OK, but it's up to you. You are the expert," Kelci said. The two guards discussed the security and Kelci relaxed into the expensive seats. That evening and the next day zoomed by. The two couples along with the three guards, Gina and a borrowed extra guard named Chuck piled into the stretch limo. The ride to the premiere didn't take long, but Kelci kept fiddling with her outfit. The tight black leather pants were OK, but the small half shirt kept riding up. At a stroke of luck, she and Rachel had stumbled across a long leather jacket that matched the pants perfectly and Kelci had buttoned the third button just below her breasts. It made her feel more comfortable. The evening was a complete success and all were full of smiles. |