The lighting in the room was dim, giving the party a hip, grown-up vibe. The event was in full swing with guests mingling, drinking and swaying to the music. The crowd was an eclectic mix of entertainment execs, entertainers, both old school and new school, a few high-profile heiresses and their entourages. Posters of Lucas’s album cover were hung on the walls, and complimentary copies of his CD were being passed out by models dressed like the dancers in his video.
“Man, this party is off da heezy fo sheezy!” Devin exclaimed as he surveyed the room with his eyes bucked wide staring at the various celebrities. “Hey, isn’t that Rihanna?” Devin asked, practically drooling.
Lucas casually scanned the crowd, and spotted the hot young singer. “Yeah, that’s her,” he said nonchalantly.
“Man, why you sounding so dry? Rihanna is PHINE!!!”
“Yeah, she is, but my girl is just as fine,” Lucas said, giving kudos to both the star and his girlfriend.
“I gotta admit Kennedy does look tight tonight. She got any friends?” Devin asked, forever the hound dog.
“Man, she doesn’t have any friends that’ll be interested in a dawg like you,” Lucas said, teasing his friend. “Come on, let’s get back to VIP. I’m sure everyone’s wondering where we’ve been.” Devin had begged Lucas to walk the party with him, so that he could get his mack on, but of course none of the A-Listers were interested in engaging a pedestrian.
“So, you singing tonight?” Devin asked, as they cut through the crowd.
“Yeah, there’s a small stage set up in one of the other rooms.”
“Are the dancers gonna be on stage with you?” Devin asked, remembering the hot girl he had lusted after at the video shoot.
“No, it’ll just be me on stage. Kevin wants to showcase another song from the album, so I won’t be singing the song from the video.”
“What song are you singing? Have I heard it before?”
“It’s a love song, and no, you’ve never heard it. We put the finishing touches on it a few weeks ago. It’s dope. I think you’ll like it.”
“I know I will.” Devin tugged Lucas’s arm to stop him from walking, and then said, “Man, I never told you this before, but you can sing your ass off! I know we boys now, but once you’re a mega-star, I hope you don’t forget your homie,” Devin said, sounding sincere.
Lucas grabbed Devin in a headlock. “Awe, man, don’t get all soft on a brother. You know we’ll always be boys, no matter how many records I sell.”
“I ain’t soft,” Devin said, squirming his way out of the headlock. “I’m a playa,” he announced, finally breaking loose.
“Come on, Playa, let’s get back to VIP.” Lucas turned to walk away, but turned back. “Devin, thanks for the compliment. I really appreciate it.”
“Now who’s getting soft?”
“Shut up!” Lucas said in jest, poking Devin in the arm.
A few minutes later, the boys were entering the private VIP area where waiters were passing out munchies, glasses of champagne, and sparkling cider for the underaged guests.
“Hey, Aunt Norelle,” Lucas said, leaning over and kissing his play-aunt on the cheek. “When did you get here?”
“A little while ago. I worked the late shift tonight. Look at you, looking all grown up,” she said, giving him an appraising once-over.
“Thanks. Did you meet Kennedy?”
“Yes, and at first I thought that she was that little brat from Barneys, but your mother filled me in about her having a wicked twin sister. All I can say is that I’m sure glad you’re not dating the bratty one,” Norelle said, totally speaking her mind.
“Naw, Aunt Norelle, you know I’m too down to be dating a snob. Now let me go see about my girl,” Lucas said, walking away to find Kennedy.
Kennedy was standing near the back of the room, bopping her head to the beat, when Lucas walked up.
“Yo, Ken, are you having a good time?” Lucas asked.
“Yeah, this is a really nice party. Thanks for inviting me.” She smiled.
“Who else would I bring?”
“I could think of about a gazillion girls, who would love to be here with you.”
“Hey, speaking of girls, guess who’s here?”
Kennedy’s heart skipped a beat. She was hoping that he wasn’t going to say Reagan. Although she knew that her sister didn’t have an invitation, Kennedy wouldn’t put it past Reagan to crash the party. Wait, wait a minute, this is a private party with a tight guest list, so there’s no way Reagan can get in, she thought, calming herself down. “Who did you see?” she finally asked.
“That redheaded chick from school!”
Kennedy’s calmness quickly disappeared. If Madison was at the party, then Reagan couldn’t be far behind. “You mean Madison?” she asked, knowing exactly who Lucas was talking about, but she asked just the same, in case there was another redheaded girl at Walburton whom she hadn’t seen before.
“I guess that’s her name. She’s always with your sister.”
“Yeah, that’s Madison alright. Was she by herself?” Kennedy asked, praying that Reagan wasn’t tagging along. Suddenly, the memory of Reagan taking her boyfriend years ago came rushing back, and Kennedy went into panic mode. She was crazy about Lucas, and didn’t want to lose him to her sister.
“No, she wasn’t by herself. She was with some old chick.”
“Really? I wonder who that is.”
“I don’t know, but whoever it was was talking to the reporters, while Madison posed for the cameras.”
“Maybe it was her agent.”
“Agent?” Lucas asked, with his nose twisted up.
“Yeah; she’s a model.”
“Oh, that’s probably why she’s here. I’m sure the PR person sent invites to the hot models around town.”
“Sooo…you think she’s hot?” Kennedy asked, with her hand on her hip.
He pulled her close to him. “Not as hot as you!”
“Hey, guys!”
They took their attention off of each other, and focused on the person in front of them. “Hi,” they both said, in a dry, deadpan tone.
“What’s up?!” she asked, flashing all of her bright-white teeth.
Lucas and Kennedy didn’t answer; they stood there on mute, and looked at her like she had just landed from Pluto.
“Lucas, congratulations on your CD. When my agent set up a personal appearance, I had no idea that it was for you! What a small world!” Madison said, talking fast, trying to get a response from Lucas.
“Perfect, just the two people I was looking for!” said a photographer walking up to them. “Come on; let me get a few shots of you two.”
Lucas grabbed Kennedy around the waist. “Sure, go ahead.”
“Uh…I was talking about you and Madison Reynolds. The singer and the supermodel,” he said, pushing them together, and nudging Kennedy to the side. “Come on, Lucas; put your arm around her,” he directed, and began snapping away.
Lucas put up his hand. “Yo, man. Stop.”
“Just a few more.” Snap. Snap. Snap.
“Yo, man. I said, stop! I’m not taking any pictures with her; now delete those pictures,” Lucas demanded.
“Come on, Lucas; let’s take some publicity shots. It’ll be good for the both of us,” Madison whispered underneath her breath so the photographer couldn’t hear.
“Girl, I ain’t trying to take no pictures with you!” Lucas said, raising his voice, and walking over to Kennedy, leaving Madison standing by herself.
As Lucas was dissing Madison, her cell phone rang. She looked at the caller ID. It was Reagan. “That’s okay about the pictures. I gotta go,” she said, and walked away.
“Can you believe her? A few weeks ago, she assumed I was a poor scholarship student, and now that she knows about my CD, she wants to cozy up to me!”
“Calm down. Don’t let her ruin your big night,” Kennedy said.
“Come on, Lucas, it’s time for you to get ready to perform,” Kevin said, walking up to them.
“Okay, I’ll be right there.” Lucas then turned to Kennedy. “Sorry about that rude photographer. He shouldn’t have pushed you aside like that.”
“Don’t worry about it, Lucas. At least you made yourself clear to Madison. I don’t think she’ll be bugging you again about any more photo-ops.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Come on. I’ll walk you over to the stage,” he said, grabbing her by the hand.
Kennedy found a spot right in the front along with Lucas’s mom, and her friend. After standing there for about five minutes, the lights in the room dimmed, and the music started playing. The stage lights turned blue, and out came Lucas. He had changed his clothes from all black into an all-white outfit.
Lucas strolled to the middle of the stage, grabbed the microphone off the stand, and started singing.
“Girl, the first time I laid eyes on you, I knew you were the one for me,” he sang, staring directly at his girlfriend.
Kennedy couldn’t believe that Lucas was actually singing to her. Even though the room was crowded with people, she felt as if it were only her and Lucas in the room.
“Girl, will you be my queen? Will you help me fulfill my dreams?” he sang.
Kennedy was all smiles as Lucas sang, and when the song was over, she fought through the crowd to make her way backstage to give him a big juicy kiss to thank him for the song.
“So, how did you like the song?” Lucas asked the moment he saw her standing near the rear of the stage.
“It was so romantic.” She walked over, wrapped her arms around his neck, and began tonguing him. She pulled him in closer and pressed her body tightly against his.
Lucas’s hormones kicked in and he totally forgot where they were. He grabbed her around the waist, and began kissing her harder.
“What the hell?!” a voice from behind yelled.
Lucas looked at Kennedy, and his mouth fell open.
“Why’d you stop?”
“Get the hell away from me, girl!” he yelled at Reagan who was dressed exactly like Kennedy. She had on the same dress, and her hair was styled identically to her sister’s.
“Come on, Lucas, I know you were feeling it,” Reagan said, ignoring Kennedy.
Kennedy walked up and pushed her sister aside. “Get lost, Reagan. Your little plan of trying to impersonate me didn’t work.”
“Oh, yes, it did. I’ll bet he’s never kissed you like he just kissed me,” Reagan said, standing there with her hand on her hip.
Lucas looked from one sister to the other. He could hardly tell them apart. The only discerning factor was Reagan’s foul attitude. “Look, girl, I only kissed you because I thought that you were Kennedy.”
“Kennedy wished that she could kiss like that. Lucas, I hate to tell you, but you picked the wrong sister. Kennedy is too much of a nerd to know what a man like you needs.”
Lucas looked at Reagan and shook his head. “You’re pathetic. How can you stand there and diss your own sister like that?” he asked, coming to Kennedy’s defense.
“It’s okay, Lucas; she can’t help herself. Reagan is all about Reagan, and only cares about someone if they can benefit her. Trust me; she wouldn’t be all about you if you were not a singer.”
“Yeah, I know. Come on, Kennedy, let’s get out of here. This place is full of pests,” he said, giving Reagan the evil eye. Lucas put his arm around Kennedy and the two of them walked away, leaving Reagan standing there looking stupid!