She’d known to be cautious of that bitch, Roxie. Having a cute little boy like Leo was even more of a draw than a puppy, although she hadn’t seen Roxie utilize that yet. To add salt to the wound, she’d seen Beckham and Roxie at the show the night before. They were like pure sex together. She’d been so angry by how turned on she got just watching them. Beckham was hers, and she didn’t share.
Roxie had some secrets. It was a good thing she was the only one who seemed to know them. She just needed to make sure it stayed that way.
The goody bird bitch Sparrow was always around Roxie now too. It was starting to seriously piss her off. One more person interfering with her target. If it became too big of a problem, Sparrow might have to get hurt just enough to go home. Ian deserved a little fun on the tour anyway. He was way too much man for that twit.
It was all a matter of spacing it out … one hit at a time.
She picked up her bow and shot a dart in the center of Roxie’s heart. It would feel good getting her out of the way.
But, first things first…
Leo.
She just had to bide her time.
The week before they left for three days at Christmastime, Anthony stepped everything up about a dozen notches. He worked them non-stop. They were ready for the tour. He gave them a list of instructions of what they could and couldn’t do while they were gone. Roxie was surprised they were even allowed to go home at all. Anthony made them swear they wouldn’t gain an ounce and to dance at least four hours every day to maintain their strength.
Being paired with Beckham so much isolated her from the rest of the group at times. It hadn’t been a problem—she got along fine with everyone, just had to work a little harder to keep it that way. She’d danced her whole life and was used to the competitiveness that drove the profession, so she wasn’t too worried about it. The only one who hadn’t warmed up to her at all was Brooke, but Roxie assumed that was just because Brooke wanted Beckham so badly she couldn’t see straight. Or Ian. Roxie wasn’t sure which man Brooke wanted the most.
She tried to not take it personally when Brooke was rude to her, which was often, but Brooke didn’t really like anyone but Beckham, Ian, and Anthony. The tour would be interesting when the six dancers were all crammed together in a bus—without anyone to soften the blow.
She’d gotten fairly close to Sparrow in a short amount of time. Sparrow was quiet at first, but once she was comfortable, the girl was hilarious. Roxie had never had so much fun with any girl, besides Chloe. They’d gone Christmas shopping a few times and hung out whenever Sparrow came to rehearsals, which was frequently once she met Roxie and Beckham’s sister, Sierra. Roxie really liked Sierra too—the three of them just clicked. Vanessa was okay, too, but it was hard to have much of a conversation with her. So Roxie was glad Sparrow and Sierra would be on the tour—friends would make the separation from Leo and Chloe a little easier.
Roxie had managed to maintain a friendly distance from Beckham, even though their bodies were in close contact all day long. He’d grown his hair out, like he said he would, and the thought that he would do that for her secretly thrilled her. She didn’t say a word about it, of course. He also mostly did what he promised, keeping everything professional, but in reality, every time he touched her it did things to her insides that got her all tangled up like old Christmas lights. Each day they were together was a steady buildup, until it was all Roxie could do to not wrap her legs around him and never let go.
The minute she would think a thought like that, she became stiff as a board and Anthony would yell at her to loosen up. She knew Beckham felt her weirdness, but he didn’t show it. It seemed as if he became even nicer and more fun to be around. He gave her space during the breaks, he was unfailingly kind and attentive, but no more so than he was with everyone. It was only when they danced that she thought he might still feel that … electricity. Everything else faded and it was just the two of them in their own little world.
The way he was being so kind to her despite her coldness made her feel like such a bitch. She’d never treated anyone the way she’d treated him. Ever. She’d be ashamed of herself if she didn’t know he deserved every bit of it. Still, it was hard when he was acting so nice. That was just it, he was probably acting. She’d never wanted to see him again, and here she was, behaving like someone she didn’t recognize. It was vital—she had to protect her heart from ever cracking even a tiny bit to Beckham Woods.
“Make it look like you want him more than life!” Anthony yelled at her.
Beckham smirked at her as she stared into his eyes.
“Do you, Roxie? Do you want me more than life?” he whispered.
He looked too serious for how playful his voice sounded. Roxie rolled her eyes at him and he gripped her tighter. Her head fell back and her mouth parted, as his hands skimmed the sides of her body, touching just the edges of where she really wanted him to touch her.
“Yes! Yes!” Anthony purred.
Of course, they were playing a part. But it took every ounce of willpower to not get caught up in the way her body reacted to his. It felt entirely too real.
She missed the beauty of San Diego. L.A. felt like a different world at times. She needed the trip home. Time to breathe. But the time away was just a tease. It went by so fast. Roxie, Leo, and Chloe spent every second with Joey, watching movies, going to the beach, and catching up on all the time they’d missed with him. Her parents walked around with pleased peacock posture, so happy to have all the littles back in the roost. Roxie ate whatever she wanted and besides going on one early morning jog, she barely moved. Anthony was going to kill her. On the drive back to L.A., she knew she’d have hell to pay the next morning. It was worth it. When they got home, she stretched out on the bed with Leo cuddled up to her, and they took a long nap together.
Roxie and Chloe brought more clothes from home this time, so it took longer to unpack than it had to pack. Leo played a video game while Roxie started a load of laundry.
The phone rang when she walked into the kitchen. She jumped and Leo, practically on her heels, jumped too. He’d had undivided attention from every adult for days and was feeling the letdown of getting back to normal.
She gave him a kiss on the forehead and answered the phone.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Rox. How was your trip? It’s Beckham…”
He had never called her before, but sounded so nonchalant, she tried to sound the same.
“Hi! Um, great. Did you go home too? Or, where did-?”
“Sierra and I went to my mom’s. Anthony came over too … and David. The Sterlings came over for dessert. My mom wants to steal Journey.”
“I bet!” Roxie laughed and then wasn’t sure what to say next.
The clock ticked loudly in the kitchen as the silence stretched out between them.
“I missed you,” he said quietly.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“You missed being abused?” she asked.
He laughed. “I guess I must have,” he admitted.
“Professional,” she reminded him.
“I missed professionally feeling your body next to mine.”
She could hear the smile in his voice—the voice that dripped with seduction, reminding her of why he made millions. She cringed at how excited it made her to hear him saying those things to her. Hated knowing that she’d missed him too.
“I’m hanging up now.” Roxie tried to sound angry, but knew she wasn’t pulling it off very well.
Rehearsals were about as hard as Roxie had imagined they would be, but Anthony seemed to be extra forgiving. His reconciliation with David must have helped because, as hard as he tried, he just couldn’t seem to get agitated at any of them. It was a huge contrast to the week before Christmas.