"Bennett, Cherie - Sunset Island 011 - Sunset Paradise" - читать интересную книгу автора (Bennett Cherie)

Sam and Diana were backstage in one of the small dressing rooms at the Play Cafe, getting ready to go on with the Flirts. Emma was late, and Sam was trying to decide if she should start worrying. And now Diana was criticizing Sam's stage outfit.
Sam surveyed her image in the mirror and sighed. She, Diana, and Emma had picked out four different stage outfits together, and this was her least favorite. It featured a red see-through shirt with a red bra under-
neath, worn with black leather hot pants and red cowboy boots.
The cowboy bootsЧwhich Sam lived in, anywayЧwere the only part of the outfit she liked. While Diana's full bust and slender torso looked sexy in the see-through shirt, Sam thought she herself just looked skinny and flat-chested. Also, red was definitely not her best color. She began to wonder why she had ever agreed to this outfit.
"Sorry I'm late," Emma called, bursting through the door. "Dog got lost and I had to help find him."
Sam looked at Emma enviously. Although her friend was petite and small-busted, in Sam's opinion Emma looked much better in this outfit than she did.
"Whew, it's still pouring out," Emma said, closing her dripping umbrella and propping it up in a corner.
"I'm just glad you're here," Sam said. "Spending time alone with Diana is not my idea of a good time," she added under her breath to Emma.
"I heard that!" Diana called out from her spot in front of the mirror, where she was expertly applying some lip gloss. "All I did was give you a little constructive criticism for the good of the band."
"Oh, please, someone get me a barf bag," Sam snorted.
"Good idea," Diana snapped maliciously. "Why don't you wear it over your head? Then no one will know who those itty-bitty titties belong to."
"Curl up and die," Sam spat at Diana, seething with anger.
"Hey, you two, come on," Emma chided. "We're about to go onstage together. This is a waste of time!"
"Your hair looks awfully flat," Diana told Emma, glancing at her distastefully.
"It's raining out there, Diana," Emma said coolly. "Water does that."
"Well, it looks dirty," Diana said.
"I just washed it!" Emma protested.
"And you need a touch-up," Diana added.
"I don't even color my hair and you know it!" Emma flared.
"Emma, really," Diana chided. "We went to boarding school together. I know for a fact that your hair was a dull sort of brown back then."
"That is a total lie, you rotten littleЧ"
Sam put her hand on Emma's arm. "You're falling for it," she pointed out to Emma, "just like I did."
Emma took a deep breath. If anything, she loathed Diana even more than Sam did.
After all, she'd known her longer. But as often as she vowed not to let Diana get under her skin, it happened time and time again. "You're right," Emma told Sam in a controlled voice. "Neither of us will sink to her level."
Emma and Sam both settled down to making their final preparations before going onstage and pointedly ignored Diana, who smiled a self-satisfied grin into the mirror.
"It's showtime," Carrie said, sticking her head into the dressing room. "You guys look great."
"Thanks," Sam said gratefully.
"Hey, guess what? Graham is going to introduce you. He's just about to go up onstage!"
"I'm really looking forward to meeting himЧup close and personal, you might say," Diana purred insinuatingly. "He's very, very hot."
"He's also very, very married," Emma pointed out.
"And about twice your age," Sam added.
"Two minor and boring details," Diana said nonchalantly, licking her lips.
Sam and Emma shared a look. Diana had gone after both of their boyfriends in the past. Was she really about to try to sink her claws into Graham Perry?
Then Sam realized she was getting too caught up in Diana's hype. After all, Graham Perry had been having world-class beauties throwing themselves at him for years, and he was still with his wife, Claudia.
"I would love to see you make a play for Graham Perry," Sam told Diana, "just so I can watch you get shot down."
"Don't be so sure," Diana said, cocking her head to one side. "His little wifey is getting old and boring, you know."
"She's twenty-six!" Carrie protested.
"Exactly," Diana said smugly.
"Hey, time to rock and roll!" Pres said, coming to stand in the doorway next to Carrie. He gave Sam a slow, sexy grin. "You look mighty fine," he added in his soft Tennessee drawl.
"Right back at ya," Sam told Pres. As she crossed the room to kiss him lightly, she shot Diana a triumphant look and tossed her curls confidently. Take that, you she-devil from hell, she thought.
The four girls and Pres crowded into the wings along with the other band members. Graham was already onstage, speaking into the microphone to the packed crowd. "These guys have always been great," Graham continued, "but I can't say they've ever been as hot-looking as they are nowЧalthough some
of you ladies might disagree with that." The crowd laughed and Graham smiled over at the band. "But more important than that, they're really great musicians and fine song-writers. Please welcome to the Play Cafe . . . Flirting with Danger!"
The Flirts ran onstage, and the girls took their places behind their mikes. Si, their drummer, counted off, and they launched into "Jailhouse Rock," the old Elvis Presley hit.
Everything seemed to go right. The band was onr and they knew it. Since the band had brought in the girls to sing backup, Flirting with Danger had already gigged at the Play Cafe twice, but just knowing that Graham was watching them for the first time gave them all a super surge of adrenaline. The tune ended to applause and whistles. One song followed another, each seemingly more successful than the last. After two encores, they ran off the stage feeling completely high.
"That was the coolest thing ever!" Sam exulted, hugging Emma.
"That was the most fun I've ever had," Emma laughed.
"You guys were unbelievable!" Carrie cried, running over to them. "I was sitting right by Graham, and he loved it!"
"Really?" Sam asked, grabbing Carrie's arm.
"Really!" Carrie assured them. "He also said that adding you guys was a brilliant
move."