Hollywood Princess (Hollywood Royalty 2)

“No,” I answer her, and the knock on the door has me looking over. The door opens on its own, and I see Cori walk in.

“What the hell are you doing?” she asks. “You were supposed to be ready ten minutes ago. I was waiting in the lobby.” Kellie flies up from the couch and runs into the bedroom. “Seriously, what the hell?”

“I wasn’t paying attention to the time,” I answer her, getting up and getting my backpack. “We were watching Shameless.”

“So you guys are late, and it’s not because of what I thought it was?” she asks, folding her arms over her chest, and I look over at her, my eyes narrowing to a glare.

“Never going to happen,” I tell her through clenched teeth, while my head asks me why.

“I think Justin Bieber said it best. Never say never.” She smiles and then her head snaps back to Kellie who is running out of the bedroom. She threw on blue jeans, a white T-shirt, and she is wearing cowboy boots.

“I was watching Shameless,” she tells Cori. “Brian is going to take me on a tour of Chicago.”

She looks over at me as we walk out of the hotel room, the door closing with a click behind us. “Is he now?” she asks with a smirk.

“He is,” Kellie answers, pressing the button to go down. “I want to go to the bean, and then I want to go to meet the Gallaghers.”

“You know that they don’t really exist, right?” I ask her and then look at Cori.

“I was hoping we could maybe swing by Firehouse 51 and see if Severide can come and light my fire.” Cori looks at me and sees the confused look on my face. “Chicago Fire.”

“Never heard of it,” I say, and Cori and Kellie both look at me in shock.

“Oh my God,” Cori says while Kellie just shakes her head.

“He used to date Lady Gaga,” Kellie informs me. “Taylor Kinney.” She looks at back at Cori. “You think he’s still single?”

I look back at her. “No dating,” I hiss out, and they both look at me. Cori’s smiling, and Kellie’s glaring. “You said you wouldn’t date till after the tour is over.” Neither of them says anything because the elevator dings, and the doors open. Kellie walks, or better yet, storms into the elevator and presses the button. I step in at the same time as Cori, who snickers under her breath.

The drive to the venue is quiet with no conversation. Once we get into the venue, she disappears and goes onto the stage where I can’t follow her. “That’s interesting, right?” Cori says from beside me, sitting in the front row. It’s where I always sit when she rehearses. “That she said she wasn’t going to date. Especially when she is usually always out with someone.”

I look over at her. “Don’t spin this into something it’s not.” I turn to look at the stage when Kellie’s soft voice comes out. “It’s easier to make sure she stays under the radar for the tour.”

“If you say so,” she singsongs, and when I finally look over at her, I see that she is up and out of her seat, walking to the side. I watch as Kellie transforms into the star on stage. Gone is the girl with no makeup, gone is the girl who just lies on her side watching television with me, and in its place is a girl who is Hollywood’s princess.

I watch her until she finally gets her sound the way she likes it and walks off the stage. I meet her at the side and walk with her to her backstage room. No matter where we go, the room always has the same white draping.

“Are you sure you don’t want to spend an extra night here and just leave in the morning?” Cori asks her, and she just nods her head.

“Yes. I’d rather just get it over with.” She grabs a bottle of water and snaps it open. “Do you not want to do that?”

“Well, if it’s okay, I don’t mind coming with the crew tomorrow,” Cori says. “It’s fine if you say no.”

Kellie shakes her head. “No, it’s good.” She turns back and looks at me. “I’m going to get some food before makeup gets here.” I get up and walk with her to the big dining area. Four tables of food are set up along two walls, and tables are everywhere. The backstage crew occupies most of the tables. I speak to Trisha and Jackie, who both wave hello. “Go grab yourself a plate,” Kellie says. “I have to go to the bathroom.” She turns and walks away with Cori, and I walk up, filling my plate with a bit of everything. I spot an empty table and walk over to sit down at it.