for long.” The reporter turned as if he’d heard someone call his name. When he swiveled back toward Eli, there was a triumphant grin on his face. “And here she is now! The beautiful and talented Miss Mila Monroe!”
The camera spun, then focused on a petite girl with an unnaturally mega-white smile and thick, honey-blond hair that tumbled around her shoulders, waving down to her very ample cleavage. She flew toward Eli like a female cyclone, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and placing an enthusiastic kiss on his cheek.
“Oh Rocky, you are just so adorable and honorable, protecting me when there’s just no reason at all to keep our feelings a secret,” she said, in a rush of sexy that reminded me of a Marilyn Monroe wannabe. If her last name was truly Monroe, I’d eat a microphone.
I could only stare — at her arm around
“The rumors are true,” she announced into the microphone. The reporter shifted eagerly to her side. “Rocky and I are going out — well, to be exact, we’re staying in a lot. We don’t get much free time with the crazy practice schedule.”
The reporter laughed. “But I’m sure you manage to sneak away … for some private time.”
“You are so bad! Rocky and I are just fine and that’s all I can say on national TV,” she said with a sly wink that clearly hinted he was right.
“What about you, Rocky?” The mic was shoved back in Eli’s face. “Care to add anything about your feelings for Miss Monroe?”
“NO!” he choked out, pushing away from Mila and looking sick enough to puke all over the reporter’s nice pressed suit and tie. “I got to go!”
Then the camera panned back to Mila, or as I shall refer to her always, The Slut Who Stole My Boyfriend. She had no shame, only smiles, for the reporter. “Don’t mind Rocky, he’s adorably shy. But I’m happy to answer any questions about the competition. I’m pretty sure who’ll be eliminated tonight … ”
I wanted to smash the TV, grab her throat, and personally eliminate her.
But I heard the musical ring and answered my cell phone.
When I read the caller ID, I felt hot, cold, and angry all at once.
“Amber, listen to me!” Eli said in a rushed whisper. “I don’t have much time but I have to tell you something important before you see it on TV.”
“What?” I glanced at the TV, where Mila was smiling like she owned the world. Grabbing the remote, I shut the TV off. I pressed my lips tightly together as I waited for Eli’s news, bracing myself for the breakup words. I couldn’t blame him, really, not after the weirdness I’d put him through. And now that he had a big chance for stardom, he could have any girl he wanted, so why put up with one who couldn’t stay in her own body?
“You’re going to hear some stuff about me and another competitor named Mila.”
“I saw Mila on TV.” I steeled my heart. “She’s really pretty.”
“Um … some people think so, I guess.”
“You don’t think she’s pretty?”
“What does that matter? She’s totally fake and …
well … she’s not you. So, if you hear anyone saying that Mila and I are having a showmance, it’s crap.”
“Why would they say that?” I asked cautiously.
“For ratings and publicity — not that I even care. When the show’s publicist asked me to say I was going out with Mila, I refused. But Mila thought it was a great idea and acted like we were together when I was being interviewed.”
I sucked in a raw breath, my insides twisting with a complicated mix of joy and jealousy. It was great to hear Eli say he preferred me but hard to get over the image of the girl hanging on him like cheap jewelry.
“I saw the interview,” I admitted.
“Oh, crap.” He groaned. “I’d hoped you weren’t watching. It’s not what you think.”
“What do you think I think?”
“That I’m a lying, cheating jerk.”
“Not even close.” I shifted the phone to my other ear as I curled up on the couch. “I think Mila is trying to use you to improve her career.”
“So you believe me?”
“You’ve believed some pretty outrageous things that I told you. Besides, that look of horror on your face when Mila wrapped around you was priceless.”
“I couldn’t get her off — she was pinching my arm.” He let out a heavy breath. “Did I ever tell you that you’re amazingly cool?”
“No, but feel free to say it often.”
“How about I ditch this freaking contest and say it to you in person? Singing is fun but not worth all the other stuff — photographers, interviews, gossip. I’d rather be there with you.”
“And I’d rather have you here.” I sent my soft words across invisible lines from my heart to his. I imagined Eli, not as I just saw him on TV with makeup and gelled hair, but the way he looked last time we were together — in casual jeans, with his unruly hair falling across his eyes as he leaned close to me.
“If I catch a flight tonight, I can be there before tomorrow. I’m not cut out for this lifestyle — hotels and interviews and wearing clothes picked out by strangers.”
“You’re not cut out to be a quitter, either. If you leave now, you’ll regret it.”
“Yeah,” he said after a long pause. “I would.”
“So do your singing thing and don’t worry about anyone else.”
“I really needed to hear that — thanks, Amber. It’s cool how you don’t freak out over dumb stuff like what happened on TV. The girl my brother was dating last year dumped him just because he gave a golf lesson to another girl.”
From what I knew about Chad, I suspected he deserved to be dumped. He had a history of cheating on his girlfriends — which I’d found out personally when I’d been in the body of one of them. But I liked Eli saying I was cool, so I pushed all negativity aside.
“Trust is really important,” I told him. “Relationships can’t survive without it.”
“Yeah. Trust is, like, huge. It’s cool we’ve got so much between us.”
I started to reply, then heard a beep. “Oh, I’ve got an incoming call … it’s Dustin! I was afraid he wouldn’t call in time.”
“In time for what?” Eli asked curiously.
“Dustin set up a date for Alyce.”
“But you’re Alyce.”
“Exactly. I’m so glad you’re not the jealous type or this could get really awkward.”
“I’m not … um … who are you going out with? You won’t actually do any—”
“I’ll tell you all about it later. I really miss you, Eli. Bye!”
I clicked off and switched over to Dustin.
Then I sucked in a nervous breath.
And asked about my date.
10
“I would have called sooner but I couldn’t get a signal inside the dumpster,” Dustin said in a distracted tone, electronic noises buzzing in the background as if he was doing at least three other things simultaneously.
“So the protest didn’t go well?” I teased.
“Au contraire, it went brilliantly! I just opted to skip the whole arrest-and-bail scene with a quick maneuver into a dumpster. Once the cops were gone, I zipped back to Headquarters and found a message from Zachary.”
“Did he back out of our date?” A girl could hope, right?
