Idol

‘Zac, wait a second,’ he shouted, a note of appeasement in his voice. ‘What do you say we take a break for a while – order some food, then work through the night to get this thing nailed?’

Zac hesitated for a moment.

‘Okay,’ he replied casually, pulling out his iPhone. ‘I’ll just call Amber, tell her I’m going to be late.’

Don looked at Zac with relief, and a grudging respect. ‘Thanks,’ he commented.

‘No problem,’ said Zac with a shrug.

An hour later, the group sat flaked out on the vast, welcoming sofas in the chill-out room adjoining the studio. The pungent smell of Nick’s spliff hung heavily in the air, and the table was littered with discarded takeaway boxes, crushed beer cans and empty bottles of champagne. The alcohol was flowing freely, but had only heightened the emotions that existed previously; Jenna and Nick were flirting like crazy, and Zac had sunk deeper into his dark mood. He sat on the floor with his back against the sofa, his taut, denim-clad legs stretched out across the carpet as he drank in silence.

Don shot a quick glance at Jenna and Nick. Noting that they were both laughing loudly, engrossed in each other, he leaned forward to talk to Zac.

‘Work with me here, man,’ pleaded Don. ‘There’s a really strange vibe, and I can’t work out what’s going on with you guys. We need it all to come right,’ he continued, as Zac remained unresponsive, looking blankly ahead. ‘Is this going to work or not? Because I’ll tell you something for nothing – at the moment, this is looking like an extremely expensive disaster.’

Zac didn’t say anything, but took a long drink of his beer.

‘I can’t work with her Don,’ he said finally.

‘I know she can be a little difficult,’ Don sympathized, ‘but surely you can cut her some slack?’

‘A little difficult?’ exploded Zac, struggling to keep his voice low. ‘She’s lazy, stubborn; she treats this whole thing as a game. She just won’t take anything seriously.’

‘Hey, she’s not that bad,’ Don laughed, surprised at the vehemence of Zac’s outburst.

Zac raised an eyebrow.

‘There’s nothing wrong with having a good time,’ Don said gently. ‘This whole process is supposed to be enjoyable, you know, not some kind of endurance test.’

‘Don’t blame me,’ retorted Zac. ‘What are you saying? That if I’d lighten up a little then everything would be okay? That I’m the one causing the problem?’

‘Hey, calm down,’ said Ryan lightly. He moved across to sit closer to them. ‘That’s not what Don was saying. Yeah, we’re having a few problems, and we gotta work through them. But you can’t blame Jenna for not being Josh.’

‘I know that. It’s just …’ Zac paused, and his brow creased as he struggled to find the right way to explain himself. ‘I accept that Josh’s gone, and it’s not going to be the same. But it shouldn’t be this difficult to work with someone new. I get the feeling that with anyone else it would have been easier, whereas with her …’ Zac trailed off, and they all glanced across to see Jenna – whether by accident or design – rearrange her endless, tanned legs so that her deliberately demure knee-length skirt rode a little higher up her thighs, the clinging fabric wrapping tightly around her shapely butt.

‘I know what you mean,’ Ryan conceded, dragging his eyes away. ‘She’s probably not the easiest person to work with – and Nick doesn’t always help the situation. But sometimes I think you don’t give Jenna enough credit. She really wants this to work.’

Zac made a noncommittal noise.

‘It’s got to be intimidating for her too,’ continued Ryan. ‘We’ve been with Josh for so long, then suddenly she has to step into his shoes and there’s no guarantee it’ll work. There’s no guarantee everyone will like her – us or the fans.’

‘She doesn’t look like the type of girl to be intimidated by anything,’ Zac muttered, darting a look across the room to where Jenna was giggling as she gulped down another mouthful of champagne.

‘Oh come on, Zac. She might act confident, but you can tell a lot of it’s just a front. I’m sure she’s nervous as hell really, so try and go easy on her, yeah?’

‘She just … gets under my skin,’ finished Zac lamely.

‘Yeah …’ nodded Don, looking thoughtfully at Zac.

‘Oh, that feels good!’ squealed Jenna from the other side of the room.

They all looked across to see Jenna’s shoes discarded on the floor, her right foot in Nick’s lap where he was drunkenly attempting to massage it.

‘Ohhhhhh, right there,’ Jenna groaned, flexing her foot in pleasure and squeezing it against Nick’s thigh.

Nick felt himself grow instantly hard and pressed his fingertips into the delicate skin of her foot, mesmerized at the way she was writhing around on the carpet, arching her back and moaning. Yeah, she’d look pretty damn good rolling around on a rug in front of a roaring fireplace, Nick thought to himself. Maybe he should buy a place in Aspen and fly her out there. He moved her foot to one side, gently opening her legs a little. If he could just get her legs a little wider, he’d be able to see right up her skirt, Nick realized. His cock was chafing against his pants so hard it hurt. Man, imagine if she wasn’t wearing panties – he’d be able to see her, ready and waiting for him. Imagine that – Jenna Jonsson lying in front of him wearing nothing but a thin scrap of fabric. He wondered if she was a natural blonde. Or maybe she was waxed, with just a little landing strip to guide him in. If they were alone, all he would have to do would be to walk over and yank up her skirt – take her right there over the sofa.

Nick knew she wanted him, and the thought made him feel uncontrollably aroused. Maybe if the other guys were engrossed in their own conversation, no one would notice if he just moved a little closer and ran his hand along those soft, yielding thighs before slipping a finger inside of her. He’d stroke her ever so gently, and feel her get wetter and wetter, until she was begging him to give it to her. Or maybe she would touch herself and he would just watch …

‘What are you boys talking about?’ Jenna demanded to know, realizing that the others were heavily involved in conversation. She jumped up, pulling her foot from Nick’s hand and leaving him flushed and alone on the floor.

‘We were, er, discussing how the record’s coming,’ replied Don uncertainly.

‘Oh fantastic,’ gushed Jenna, as she picked her way across the room, stepping delicately over the discarded pizza boxes and making no attempt to pull down her skirt which had ridden up to show acres of toned, tanned thigh, kept a beautiful shade of honey brown thanks to her regular St Tropez treatments.

‘So how do you think it’s all coming along? I’m thrilled with the way it’s turning out – I’m having an amazing time working with you all,’ Jenna told them earnestly. The champagne had gone to her head, but she meant every word she said. Squeezing herself onto the sofa in between Zac and Don, she purred, ‘You’re all so incredibly talented.’

Zac bit down hard on his lip. He’d told Ryan he’d try and go a little easier on her, but he wasn’t sure it was a promise he could keep. He swallowed, trying to prevent himself from saying something he’d regret. He could feel the warmth of her body next to his, could smell the Chanel No. 5 that she had optimistically spritzed on that morning as part of her new image.

Zac stood up suddenly, causing Jenna to lose her balance on the sofa. She burst into giggles as Don helped her upright.

‘I should get going,’ Zac announced, struggling to keep his temper. Everything Jenna did drove him crazy. ‘I told Amber I’d be back as soon as I could, and we’re obviously not going to get any more done here tonight.’

‘Maybe we could work on the track some more now?’ Jenna asked hopefully.

‘I don’t think that’s a good idea.’

‘Why not?’ shot back Jenna, her eyes flashing dangerously as she began to get defensive.

Zac paused and took a deep breath, remembering his vow not to get mad with her. ‘Well, look at Nick,’ he tried to joke. ‘He’s hardly in any fit state to play, is he?’

Nick was laid out on the floor, his blue eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. ‘Are we done here?’ he asked, struggling to sit up. ‘You want a ride home, Jenna?’ He tried to focus on her face, but he could see two of her. He liked the idea of two of her.

Jenna smiled. ‘Thanks for the offer, but I’ll just call my driver.’

‘It’s no trouble, really, it’s on my way,’ slurred Nick.

A natural-born charmer, Nick was used to getting what he wanted. From girls to money to a place in one of the world’s biggest bands, life came easy to Nick.

Zac forced a laugh, trying to make light of the situation. ‘You’re wasted, Nick – there’s no way you can drive, not even the few blocks over to Jenna’s. You’d be DUI’d the second you get behind the wheel.’

‘You live close by?’ asked Ryan, turning to Jenna. Jenna nodded, wondering how Zac knew. She was pretty sure she hadn’t mentioned it. ‘I can give you a ride if you want,’ Ryan continued.

‘Hey, I’m a proper Southern gent. I’ve gotta make sure the lady gets home safely,’ roared Nick.

‘She’ll be fine, Nick. Which is more than can be said for you,’ muttered Zac.

‘Would that be okay?’ Jenna asked Ryan uncertainly. ‘I hate to bother my driver so late, and if you’re sure it’s not out of your way …?’