Chapter 90
Liz was sitting in the living area of the bus, playing poker with a few of the crew members when Lucky returned from his last interview of the evening.
“Hi honey, I’m home,” he greeted with a chuckle as he walked up to her, leaning down briefly to kiss her. She looked up at him long enough for the kiss, then returned to her cards.
“What are you playing?” he asked, positioning himself behind her so he could see her hand.
“Poker,” she responded, throwing in her bid.
“Yeah, and she’s wiping the floor with us,” one of the guys said, frowning at his hand.
Lucky chuckled and squeezed her shoulder. “That’s my girl.” He then looked down at her. “I’m done for the night, so we’re heading to the hotel now.”
“I forgot about the hotel! You mean I won’t have to get ready for the awards in that broom closet you call a bathroom?”
“No, you’ll have a whole suite to use.” He stifled and yawn and stepped back. “I’m going to go rest until we get there.”
Liz watched as he retreated to his room, then looked back at her cards, a wide smile appearing on her face. “Full house!” she exclaimed, laying her hand in front of her. Everyone else groaned and slapped their cards down on the table. She laughed and reached over to take the rest of her winnings, then stood up.
“It’s been fun taking your money, guys, but I should probably go see my husband now.” She left the table and skipped back to the bedroom, snickering at her recent victory.
Lucky looked up as she walked into the room and laughed. “My wife, the card shark. What happened to the game?”
“Well, I figured I had taken enough of their money for the night. Besides, now that you’re back, it would have looked strange if I had stayed out there too long.” She went over to her purse and deposited the money she had won inside, then walked over to sit down on the bed.
“You know, I didn’t bring you along so you could rob my men blind.”
“Oh, they had fun. They’re actually pretty cool guys. They’ve been keeping me entertained all week, maybe you should give them a raise.”
“After the way you just cleaned them out, I’ll probably have to!” He got up and walked over to peer out one of the windows. “I think we’re almost there.”
“So, what do they have you doing tomorrow?”
He sighed and returned to the bed to sit down next to her. “I’ve got that All My Children thing in the morning, but it’s just a song, so it shouldn’t take long. After that, I was supposed to be free, but now I have to meet Mariah to rehearse for that duet. After that, I have to go to the MTV studios for TRL, and then I think I’m free until the awards.”
“I thought you didn’t do duets?” she teased.
“I usually don’t, but she’s a good friend, and she begged, so I couldn’t say no.”
“Oh,” she said, not sure what else to say, trying not to picture Mariah Carey begging Lucky to sing with her. It was bad enough that she still had the image of Buffy kissing him in her head!
Lucky grinned and shook his head. “Don’t tell me you’re jealous again.”
“What do you mean, again? If anyone here is jealous, it’s you!”
“Me? Of what? You beating my crew at poker? Trust me, they aren’t that good to begin with, it’s not a hard thing to do!” Actually, he was a little jealous that she spent so much time with them, and that they all seemed to like her so much, but he would never admit it.
“No, I was talking about earlier, with Letterman. You were so jealous that he was flirting with me, admit it!” She crossed her arms in front of her and looked at him smugly.
“Oh, and you were perfectly happy about Sarah being there?” he shot back.
“Oooh, you are so annoying!” she grumbled, standing up and walking over to her suitcase to get it ready for the hotel.
“Yeah, well, back atcha,” he grumbled. They didn’t speak for the rest of the drive to the hotel. Once they were checked in, they retreated to their room as quickly as possible. Liz gasped as she walked into the suite, looking around the large room in awe. Lucky saw her expression and smiled.
“Better than those motels in Jersey, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” she said, stepping aside so the bellhop could bring in their bags. Once he was gone, she sighed and sat down on the bed. “Now what?”
He thought for a minute, then shrugged. “I’m kind of hungry...”
“Me too. Hey, there’s this great little diner down on Broadway. I used to go there all the time when I was here for school!”
Lucky shook his head and walked over to the dresser. “I can’t go there. This isn’t Port Charles, I’ll get recognized too easily. We’ll have to get room service.” He picked up the menu and scanned it for what he wanted, them called her over to choose something for herself.
Liz sighed and walked over to him and looked at the menu, finally deciding on a chicken sandwich. He called in the order, asking them to hurry. “So, is this what it’s like?” she asked once he hung up.
“What what’s like?” he asked, putting away the menu.
“Your life. I mean, all week you’ve either been busy with interviews and stuff, or you’ve been on the bus, hiding away from everyone.”
He closed the drawer and turned to face her. “Pretty much. I kept telling you my life wasn’t as glamorous and exciting as you made it seem. Sure, I’m famous and I know other famous people, but there’s a high price for that. I have no privacy, I can’t just go take a walk outside or run down to the store for something without bringing along bodyguards. I think the most normal I’ve felt in a long time was when I was back home these past few weeks.”
“You mean, getting stuck with me at the bachelor auction, having a concert canceled because of a drive-by shooting, getting thrown in jail, staying in some roach motel in New Jersey, then getting so drunk we ended up married in Vegas?” she asked, smirking at him.
“Well, maybe not the Vegas part,” he responded with a small smile.
“Face it, Lucky, I’m probably the most normal person in your life right now. Everyone else is either a crazed fan, or someone who relies on you in one way or another for their paycheck. Every time I turn around, someone’s sucking up to you for something.”
He smiled and stepped closer to her. “I guess it’s a good thing I have you here to remind me that at least one person out there hates me.”
“Well, hate is a pretty strong word...” she muttered, suddenly realizing how close they were.
“Then what would you call it?” he asked soberly, finding himself caught in her eyes.
“I don’t know... indifference, maybe?”
“Indifference? So, you’re saying you don’t care at all?”
She swallowed nervously, not sure how to answer. “Um, maybe a little bit.”
Lucky leaned closer to her, drawn in by her steady gaze. “Just a little?”
She chewed lightly on her bottom lip in contemplation. “I guess.” Lucky reached up and brought his finger to her mouth, gently brushing it along her bottom lip, sending a shiver down her spine.
“You do that a lot,” he whispered.
“Do what?” Her voice came out raspy and she felt like her legs were going to give out on her any minute.
“Chew on your lip when you’re thinking.”
“Oh. I never realized it.”
They fell silent and Lucky took his hand away from her mouth. He leaned in, his eyes locked with hers. All he could think about all of a sudden was kissing her. It was crazy, and it would probably completely confuse things, but he couldn’t stop himself.
Liz tilted her face up to his, her pulse racing as his face neared hers. This was it. If they kissed now, there would be no turning back. Everything would change. They couldn’t blame it on alcohol or getting caught up in the heat of the moment. This time it would be real.
Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door, startling them from their mutual trance.
“Room service!” a voice boomed from the other side.
