High Card Bluff (House of Car...

Adrianna nearly pulled at her hair in frustration, stuck between a rock and a hard place. To get to the amazing mentorship opportunity she had to drive like six hours one way. She could drive, had the license and everything, but had never really needed to be a long distance driver on her own before. It was silly and she knew it, so she told no one how the idea of it bothered her. She'd also never been on TV like this before. Although some of the catwalks had been filmed, she'd never been featured; a pretty face anonymous in a sea of pretty faces. Adri had no idea how to be a mentor let alone one on TV, but she knew it was a smart move to use Desmond's show in the same way he was using the stir over her being Honey's lead model.

Mutually beneficial business, the behind the scenes infrastructure all the pretty show pieces hung off of. Like the ridiculous package Desmond was using to entice her out; two nights stay at a deluxe hotel, all meals included, and a paycheck bigger than her last two combined. All she had to do was act like she knew what she was doing and hope it was a skill she could teach.

As always, she took out a note book to write it out. She all but locked herself away on Tuesday to try and determine what she was doing, and had planned to use Wednesday to figure out how to get there, and that's where all her careful planning fell apart.

She didn't want to drive for 6 hours alone, but couldn't exactly ask anyone to go with her. It was last minute now, they'd get nothing out of it, and have to share a room with Adri because the hotel was closed except for those on the show. It was just a drive; she could survive it. Even if the idea of doing the drive, doing the show, and then having to drive back the next day left her feeling queasy with anxiety.

[I'm having the damn thing] her fingers texted without her brain's permission.

[wait, not working -will be there to share] It surprised Adri that Tom wasn't working, he basically always had to work.

Adri lifted her head and listened; the puppies were quiet. Training was proceeding well and her parents were both still out so it was safe enough. She was out the front door and waiting at the end of a driveway as the growl of the Supra arrived.

It felt like comfortable habit to slide into the passenger seat, feeling him take off while she pulled the joint and lighter out and dropped them in his waiting palm. And instead of asking her why she was so stressed she had been about to smoke without him, Tom instead asked, "Where'd you used to go to smoke?"

"I'd climb the roof above my room and lay flat to look at the stars." It had been calming, a sense that she could let go a little but still be safe overall.

"There's no tree outside your house," he pointed out as if she didn't know that detail and Adri laughed, relaxing into the seat as he lit the smoke.

"I lean out the window, grab the ledge and pull myself up." she didn't explain that it was probably a little more acrobatic than that, and far less graceful than it sounded. No one ever looked for her up things because no one believed she could get herself up item.

"So if you're ever spooked, look for you on the cupboards." He teased, passing the joint by resting his hand on the stick shift so it stayed out of sight, never taking his eyes off of the road. The mental image of herself on a kitchen cupboard like a pissed off cat made her smile, something she suspected he intended.

"Why aren't you at work?" she accidentally flipped them into a serious conversation judging by the scowl on his face.

She nudged Tom's thigh with the back of her hand so he could find the smoke while driving. "The owner is coming in, we don't get along, so I'm off until Monday." Adri waited, having lied the same way too many times to not read into what wasn't said. His anger indicated he didn't know this was happening, and it wasn't appreciated though she knew first hand how much he could use the sleep.

They stayed quiet for the rest of the joint, Tom once again driving more for something to do than somewhere to go. His phone gave the flat tone of a text and she spotted it in the cup holder, the name Jerred fleshing by.

"It's the creep." she warned knowing he wasn't going to check otherwise.

Tom opened the message and kept it angled so she could see it [Cash poker game, no business, Leanne wants your girl there.] with a time and location. on Saturday.

"Fuck-shit," she couldn't help swearing.

Tom just gave her a curious look, "Will you be back by then?"" he seemed frustrated that her job might ruin his.

"Yes, I'll be there," she insisted, realizing that she'd be finishing the mentoring pretty late and having to get up pretty early to be able to do it, but she wouldn't be the reason he missed the poker invite.

"Why'd you just get tenser than a hooker at confession, even with the best Indica I had?" Tom asked it so casually Adri found herself answering.

"Because I'll be getting to your place after a six hour drive one way," and she was agitated enough to keep talking once she started, "and I haven't driven six hours in my life let alone one way alone, plus mixing in the whole 'I'm going to be featured on a TV show' thing that I don't have a clue how to do correctly." She sounded calm as she spoke at least.

"I'll take you," she should have known he'd offer, but Adri still felt grateful for it; and stupid at the same time. Before she could argue him out of the idea, he stated, "Reinita, with me driving it won't take six hours, and you have someone watch your back out in no man's land."

She opened her mouth to argue, "Thank you Tomas," came out instead. There were good reasons this was a bad idea but the tension had left her spine enough she could finally take a deep breath. At least she wasn't throwing up this time; her anxiety could get the best of her occasionally.

He'd driven them back around to her street, but parked away from her house. And instead of asking him why Adri just followed Tomas to her own house, keeping quiet as the Jeep in the driveway warned her parents were home. The sun had set but it wasn't late enough that she'd be noticed with a fuss given, but Tomas didn't try to sneak in either.

Instead he stopped outside her window for moment, then jumped up and grabbed the edge in his solid grip, simply pulling himself straight up and onto the roof in utter silence. And then he reached an arm down to her and Adri felt more than a little flustered at how he was able to all but lift her up onto the roof without effort. Her heart was racing but her head was empty for a change as he just lay on the roof above her bedroom and looked at the stars. Like she'd done a dozen times on her own. So Adri carefully turned onto her back and looked up too.

A moment later him carefully leaned in to whisper, "so I've never snuck into Reaper's house but I've now snuck onto it."

Adri had to bury her laughter to make no noise; silent but not able to keep still as she twisted onto her side while laughing. She could feel him rumble with laughter too, quiet but shaking like she was. It made it harder to stop laughing and she felt immensely better after. Even if the roof wasn't all that comfortable.

When he curled close to whisper again, she ended up with her head on his shoulder, tucked close so the sound didn't carry, "How big is your bag going to be this time? The Supra's trunk only has so much room."

She carefully elbowed him, not wanting to thump about too much and give away their location. "Unlike you I can't get away with jeans and a t-shirt to all things!" It felt strange to be whisper arguing with Tomas, almost a familiar action but feeling different for the secrecy. "They have a costume's department, probably whatever brand is a sponsor since I'm independent. It's Saturday I have to pack for, I'm actually going to text Leanne and ask what to wear." To say she'd never anticipated talking tactical fashion with Tomas Guerrero while covertly cuddled on her roof was the plain truth, but Adri was once again thrilled to hear him keep up with her reasoning.

"Do it, I'll google the GPS." His shoulder was still behind her head, so he used the other to go for his phone.

[We're in for Sat, what are we wearing, Jerred only ever tells Tom when & where] she sent to Leanne, able to safely pry for information behind the protective veil of vanity.

Tom's lips brushed her ear, "I left my damn phone in the Supra," his free hand grabbed her cell to search the coordinates, apparently remembering them.

Zooming in on the satellite picture from google revealed that they were going to be in the area of downtown, but other than that it was surrounded by a busy streets , it gave them nothing. Thankfully Adri's text bore fruit.

[Glad to hear it! Casino Royale Night, money only poker in center of room, ladies dress to be a distraction, very fancy; even have actual waiters to deliver drinks. Think your New year's perfume spread] Leanne helpfully supplied.

Tom still had her phone, and he did something Adri would never do; he googled her name to find the photo Leanne mentioned. As a rule from the start, Adri did not look at her own press; job news yes but she avoided the comments sections of social media like the plague. The picture in question was for an 'ancient Beauties' Perfume Line, so Adri had been dressed like a modern day Cleopatra, heavy jewelry and slinky dress dominating the image. Thank god it wasn't any of the sexier shoots she'd done, Adri didn't think she could take that right now, as it was Tomas as giving the picture an assessing look as if trying to decipher details about the night from a reference picture.

"You get to be James Bond," she whispered to distract him . "You do realize that jeans and a t-shirt won't cut it right?"

Now he carefully jostled her head by rolling shoulder," Wouldn't that make you a Bond girl?"

"Unless I'm Moneypenny that's a dangerous role to play." She had to point out, the average femme fatale ended up just fatally sidelined in those series.

"Let's hope I'm better at keeping you safe than Bond can any of his women." Adri wished she could see his expression but they were still looking at the sky, "God knows what everyone would do to my ass otherwise, I'd have three dads out for my blood yes, but it's the mothers that terrify me."

"I expect a TV show episode, a shit ton of driving, and one dress up party are a lot less intense than anything James Bond has ever tried to do, including cutting his hair." If they kept taking so much they were going to get caught. She didn't want to get caught, she wanted to kiss Tomas. That had Adri sitting up and looking at the shadows in the yard, automatically checking to be sure the coast was clear to get down. Normally she'd simply drop into the yard but like the climb up Tomas was able to bodily lower her down.

Despite being a large man, he seemed to have no issue moving silently and staying in the shadows filling her yard. Adri wasn't surprised she could barely see him. Tom hugged her, and Adri allowed herself a moment to hug him back, feeling him whisper, "Do you even throw how to play poker?" She had to bury her laugh against his chest, the incautious sound absorbed as he held her tighter in response. "I take that as a yes Reinita." he sounded wry.

She nodded yes, still engulfed in his grip and forced herself to step back the moment she kept wanting to stay put. This already felt too much like a date to her frazzled nerves, and she was still annoyed with having a crush on him in the first place. For all that she called him a Goon, Tomas had always proven to be a good man, and was one of the few to keep up or fight with her. And his kisses ruined her thoughts but it was an unknown, so Adri acted like it hadn't occurred to her.

Tom disappeared towards his car only after Adri had actually gone in her front door; Adri realitied that she'd technically been home for a lot longer than her parents were aware of. They didn't so much give her grief for being out so late on a weekday as they kept implying they worried for her when she did it without warning.

It was loving, but also annoying enough that Adri found herself impulsively lying and telling her parents than the job had been extended and she'd be out all weekend now as well. Normally she'd try to stick traces of the truth, but at least this bought her until Monday without another guilt trip.

[You've been a bad influence on me Goon. I just told the parents I'm on a job until Sunday] she found herself texting Tomas before meaning to.

[Technically you will be, my conscience is clear.] he refused to feel guilty and then sent her a picture of the now once again food free fridge from his apartment. [Good timing, won't rush to full fridge just yet]

[Clearly a problem for you] It should bother Adri that her fighting and her flirting with Tom were hard to differentiate, but she was looking at what her closet had that would work for the party now that she had to pack that too. [You do have a suit right?] she'd had to go through his drawers for the shirt to sleep in, but had never touched his closet.

[I won't make you look bad Reinita] she could almost hear his tone.

[In that case, if you come by after 9 I'll be packed and will have food to take with us]

[Healthy shit?] She smiled, aware he had taken leftovers of that same derided item home with him.

[Wait and see] She'd already made road food, which, she knew he'd enjoy on the way, but would it last with how fast his metabolism seemed to be.

For all Tomas ate, and lacked the sharp contours of a competing body builder, she'd seen him with his shirt off enough times now to know that he was solid. He also had chest hair which was a first for her. And he always seemed warm to the touch, it was like being hugged by a furnace. Since he was doing her to favour, Adri decided to repay kindness, and left the safety of her room to add another item to her bags for the weekend.

He was going to give her hell for how much she was bringing., but Adri just kept to the necessary things. Bag for Saturday's dress and shoes, to be left at Tom's for their return, a bag she had to take with her for the three day trip, and the cooler for the car food with the healthy shit Tom couldn't stop eating.

All she had to do was try to sleep through a whole different type of anxiety, certain she'd forgotten a detail somewhere, but would have to make the best of it. She was going to film her first deliberate to appearance, she was going to attend a dress up party, and she was going to ignore the ridiculous giddiness at the whole thing.

--

Tom was having a minor crisis, and it was entirely the fault of the beautiful woman sitting next to him, though at least this time it wasn't just for the obvious reason; he was letting her drive. It'd taken driving around, and smoking some high concentration Indica before he'd been able to tease loose the knot of Dri's stress, but once he did it made a lot of sense. He hated to be watched, and she had to appear on TV, ugh.

And since Tom could do dick all to help with the filming nerves, his mouth has offered to take on the driving aspect to spare the brat. But after picking her up, and getting the different bags sorted, he drove them halfway before they took a pit stop, and then he'd tossed Dri the keys to drive the rest.

"Only way to start clocking time behind the wheel is to do it." he'd warred and had to spend a minute adjusting the passenger seat to be comfortable.

Dri driving was the issue. She wasn't a bad driver, just too damn tense, and Tom hadn't even asked if she could handle a manual. She could. She did. And Tom was quietly dying in the passenger seat because Dri was in a sweater dress and flat, thigh high boots, and every time she moved to clutch or break he couldn't help but watch her legs. And her hand on the stick shift left him uncomfortable.

He'd finally distracted himself from it by prying into the Desmond Pope model that had called Dri with this job in the first place. "What's working with Pope like?"

"I haven't actually worked with him before," she couldn't look at him while driving, and Tom took advantage to watch her focus. "Though I've seen his work, he transitioned to reality to before I got popular enough to be noticed."

That made Tom feel a little better, an older male model was far less of a potential issue to deal with. If the guy had had to be a TV host instead of model, Tom was picturing someone their fathers' ages. It did not line up with the man who called out to Adrianna when the pair of them had finally parked and been brought inside by a literal valet.

"Adrianna Vega, even better in person then the pictures reveal!" The man was early 30's, and Tomas actually recognized him from one of those mushy Hallmark holiday movies his mother loved to watch. He had a cleft fucking chin. He had not retired from modelling, the man was trying to become an actor, and Tomas stood in silence as he came up and hugged Dri like they'd met before.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Desmond," Dri's voice had gained the friendly tone Tom had learned was her model mode. "Tomas, meet the infamous Desmond Pope," she used the introduction to escape the man's friendliness, and he turned to look up at Tom's looming height

"You her man or her bodyguard?" Desmond asked with the kind of challenging tone to make Tom grin.

"Being the one automatically makes me the other." He pointed out the proper logic. What man doesn't protect his woman?

"Hmm, pity, if you'd been a free player we could have had some fun." It took Tom a second to clock that Desmond was flirting, but with him and not Dri. That was a different kind of trouble.

"Can we please get the bags to the room before the unpleasantness starts?" Dri sounded vaguely amused.

"If the rumours about you are true Adrianna, I'm surprised," Desmond was still sounding awfully flirtatious, and even if Tom was glad it wasn't aimed at him now, this wasn't better.

"Rumours?" Tom couldn't help but nearly growl at the man, seeing Dri's face go utterly unreadable.

Desmond didn't know her and couldn't read the small warning signs that this was making her uncomfortable, and Tom needed to know what people were saying about her to cause the reaction. So Tom didn't stop the man from explaining.

"The untouchable Adrianna," Pope sounded thrilled to be playing gossip, and Dri looked more like a statue by the second. "She's got a reputation about having hard boundaries and the lengths she's gone to to keep them." What the hell?

"Desmond." Dri's voice was sharp, the same tone Tom had heard her use to train the dogs. It worked now and the male model fell silent. "We'll get settled in the room and be down for the rundown on what to expect for tomorrow. Give us an hour?" Her tone once again switched to perfect business friendliness and Tom knew a fight was looming.

The Dri that had baked road cookies was long gone by the time they'd finally been led to the room by the patient valet. Tom wanted to take a second to take in what kind of suite they were in, but he needed to see what had happened that the families hadn't learned of but earned that kind of enthusiastic response. She seemed to read that determination off of him, and the brat was ready to face it.

So Tom hauled back on his curiosity, knowing that a battle of wits right now would lead to screaming, and although the brat needed stress relief, that wasn't the kind they had time for. So instead, now that she wasn't driving, Tom pulled a joint out and slapped it on the table holding a Gift Basket on it.

"We got an hour, think this place has a roof?" the look she gave him was worth holding the other questions back.

The model statue broke, and he saw Dri again as she laughed; caught off guard by his move. "There's a balcony Tom, it's a VIP suite."

Now he could take the time to look around properly, the Gift Basket had a bottle of champagne in it, and that was just one of the many luxuries this Desmond Pope had been trying to ply her with. They were in the sitting area, the table with basket in the entrance with a closet in the wall for coats. The valet had brought their bags in and placed them next to the couch and table further in, and there was even a huge TV on the wall. To see the rest of the suite, they could go out the double doors onto the balcony Dri mentioned, or in though a different set to where the bedroom and bathroom must be. Everything was clean and decadent looking, and Tom's mental calculation of the cost per night kept climbing.

"Shall we?" He walked past her to the balcony, opening the door to see an actual lounge chase out on it. No where in this suite was safe and they hadn't even seen the bedroom yet; Tom needed the smoke.

"We shall," Dri flourished his lighter at him, he'd almost felt her take it as he passed, that or it'd been wishful thinking

"Brat," he teased her with a familiar term instead of asking about what secrets Desmond had alluded to. She passed him the lighter and he eventually passed the smoke over.

If no one in the families had heard about the events that had earned Dri the blatant fascination of gossipy Desmond Pope, Tom knew it meant she'd 'handled it' on her own. And since she'd tried to do that with the buffoon that hit her, Tom was left feeling very concerned about what exactly the brat had endured alone, her pride too great to ask for help.

"I can hear you thinking Goon." Her voice wasn't sharp enough to be a real taunt, "thought the whole point of this was to stop that.'' she was leaning on the railing, waving the joint for emphasis.

Tom smiled, seeing the deflection for what it was. Dri couldn't ask for help, either pride or fear would keep her silent, and Tom was learning to look for her few tells because she'd lie to his face if asked about it. The more he let her do it though, the better at catching her he'd get. It was only fair, she saw though his big and dumb routine, so now he'd get to learn what secrets she hid with femininity.

"Just wondering what angle to take at poker on Saturday." He kept them to safer topics for now, going over to the lounge chair to sprawl at on. It was comfortable, the cushion made leaning into the back a treat after the tension of not being the driver for 2.5 hours.

"Guess that depends on if Jerred thinks he's James Bond himself," Dri sat at the edge of the lounge chair, close enough to take the smoke but still looking tense with her perfect posture. "Of course the whole thing tells you something about the man himself." He stretched his leg out behind her since she wasn't using the space any ways, and kept his other foot on the floor next to the lounge chair.

"Oh?" he prompted, seeing the brat tuck the lighter into her boot, lacking other suitable pockets currently.

"He's trying to impress someone. The parties with business, even his sister's birthday party were all moves on a chess board; Show off the right thing to the right people," she summarized it neatly, turning a little to face him more as they discussed. "But this 'Casino Royale' night feels like one big 'look at me!" She braced her arm over the leg he is extended, as turned to face him as the lounge and her dress would allow, and Tom realized to joint had gone dead without big finished.

"You think this is him trying to get someone's attention," it'd be easy to assume it was Dri he wanted but Tomas suspected the wasn't what she meant.

"It feels like a little guy trying to show the bigger guys he's worth Inviting to the table himself." That gave him pause to consider.

The job was to find out who and where Jerred's connections were, and how to track them. It would make sense that some of the randomness wasn't Jerred's doing but him responding to the powers that be. Unfortunately that indicated a much more experienced criminal or support behind him, but Tom was certain if they existed he'd eventually track the pendejo down.

"So there'll be someone bigger watching Saturday." He realized that also increased the danger they'd be in; it would be the kind of night where all newcomers to the table would be doubly scrutinized.

"There's always someone watching Tomas, that's why I fall apart once the show's over." Dri sounded like she was joking but Tom suspected it was the truth.

So he sat up, bending his extended knee and leaning closer to her, and plucked his lighter out of her boot deliberately. "Desmond Pope certainly seems to expect a show." he hated to remind her but his internal clock was saying their hour was up.

"To be fair, a few models act aggressively flirtatious as a default for networking. I'm not entirely certain any of that was genuine." she warned with the annoyance of experience as she stood to give him room.

As had become habit, Dri offered her hand to help him stand, he took it but didn't help her lift him this time, earning him a fond, annoyed look as he went nowhere despite her effort. Instead, even while sitting, he managed to pull her forwards enough to get his shoulder under her belly and he stood with Dri on his shoulder swearing at him in Spanish.

He carried her through the suite siting area and put her down at the door to the hall, having earned a couple of thumps to the back for the manhandling to go with the swearing. "Your audience awaits Reinita," he teased glad to see her laughter instead of worry.

"You're ridiculous Goon," she huffed in annoyance, straightening her hair and fixing her dress.

He let her believe that, following the brat into a hotel full of people despite it being closed for filming. Tom hadn't realized how many people were involved in celebrity TV, the judges were all apparently appropriately famous and they required actual teams of caretakers. Desmond wasn't yet pompous enough to have retainers but he still seemed to be keeping track of the brat because less than a minute after leaving their room, they'd been found by the show host.

Tom had gotten the run down on how the show worked, it was half boot camp mentorship run by agencies to sort diverse models, and half competition for the prize of a position in the Catwalk. He didn't get it, but he understood the concept, and it even made sense to have Dri involved given her Persephone thing with Honey. But Tom didn't like seeing how hands-y Desmond proved to be, the man pulling Dri around by the hand the moment he'd started talking. He wasn't pawing at the brat, Tom knew the difference well enough, but any excuse Pope had to touch her, he took it. If they were shown the hair and makeup stations, he was brushing her hair out of her face to describe a certain style for the next day's shoot. When he took them to show off wardrobe, Tom nearly said something as the host kept draping clothes against Dri to show them as potential items and his hands kept touching against her along with the fabric. It was all quick, nothing gross and lingering, and Dri didn't even seem to notice it. Which only told him how normal it was for her personal space to be filled like that, adding to his warning signs that what had been deemed inappropriate was far worse.

Tomas' anger idled as the host finally led them to the restaurant to get dinner, and it was easy enough to sit with Dri next to him in the booth while Desmond safe in a chair across from them. Tom's arm was along the back of the booth, hand dropping on the other side of her shoulder without actually touching, and the curve of the seat almost made it impossible for their knees not to touch.

"Let me guess, steak?" Dri subtly teased him, the food she'd made for the ride has been tasty, but it hadn't been beef.

"Why not, I've ordered drinks for the table," Desmond encouraged but Tom fell Dri almost sigh next to him.

She hadn't been drinking much at the family party either, and her healthy food habits continued even here. So he switched to Spanish, able to tell just by looking that Desmond didn't speak it and so felt safe smugly teasing. "It was mixing vodka and wine that made you sick Reinita, there's nothing blue here to fear."

"One glass, I'm not risking a headache for tomorrow." she didn't reply to Tom's comment at all verbally but he felt her pinch his leg where the table hid it from view.

"It's a bottle for the table, same vintage as the one left in your room." Desmond smiled at being able to remind Dri of all the wealth being splashed around.

"Lovely," she smiled as if pleased but Tom could hear the edge to her tone; the man's flirting was grating on her nerves too. "I'll have half a glass then and leave the rest to you since we have the bottle upstairs." She neatly turned things on the host, and Tom had to smother his grin.

The champagne was delivered, the food ordered and started, and thankfully Desmond seemed to mellow with application of alcohol. Tom's own mood improved with the food, a perfectly cooked filet mignon will do that though, and Dri ate her carefully selected meal like it was a chore. She wouldn't drink because she had to work in the morning, and he suspected all the 'model problems' she'd joked of were all real, so Tom made a point to once again order a dessert to tempt the brat with. Anything to help return the real Dri to her expression instead of this pleasant statue of a woman next to him.

Tom ordered a chocolate mousse, hoping it was enough of a compromise her sweet tooth could talk her into it, and slowly spooned the first bite while she tried not to look at his pudding. Desmond had had half the bottle of champagne to himself like it was tap water, Tom had most of the other hall, and Dri still dutifully ignored the dessert but watched his spoon. Tom didn't really think about it, she wasn't fooling him into believing she didn't want the pudding, so Tom decided to play dirty. He put the spoon in the mousse, turned to Dri, and kissed her so she could taste the chocolate from her lips. The wine and the company assured that Tom took his time, wanting to visually thwart the man who'd been flirting with Dri, as well as tease her with the taste of pudding. Of its own mind, Tom's arm dropped from the back of the booth to wrap around her, pulling Dri closer even as their host was clearing his throat in reminder of his presence.

So Tom stopped kissing Dri, leaving his arm curled around her but taking a drink of his wine as he smiled at Desmond. The man didn't look uncomfortable unfortunately, instead he seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed the show. "I'm guessing the untouchable part is entirely negotiable if it's him then?" Desmond asked Dri with a wink that annoyed Tom.

"Are you asking this because you want gossip, or are you trying to feel out how far you can push me before it'll cost you in pain?" She asked back, taking the padding from Tomas with the flush still in her cheeks.

"If I thought I could, I'd be trying negotiate the both of you into a fun time upstairs in your suite, especially after that sizzling little display," Tom was going to reach across the table and murder him, "But since neither one of you seems like the type to share I'll behave. As much as I can." He sat back, seeming completely relaxed as if this were a normal occurrence. "But this is reality TV Adrianna, they're going to be talking about your reputation; both the things you've done to set it in the past as well as the Catwalk to come, so you might as well get prepared to work with that."

"I'll bear that in mind," she smiled tightly, as if unbothered by Tom's interruption or the model's warning, but he noted that she'd finished the pudding. "Thank you for the walkthrough, and the dinner, but if morning call is as early as you say it is, I should probably retire for the night."

"The first hour or so is wardrobe and makeup if your man would like to sleep in and miss it," finally Desmond had something useful to say, "and he's free to join us at any time, but unless you sign a release waiver, we can't use your face on voice in any of the films."

"No," Tom didn't elaborate.

Dri was already sliding out of the booth, Tom behind her despite not being an all that booth sized man. He took the opportunity while she was standing and he was still sitting to reach down and get his lighter back from her boot, grinning when he found it tucked in there. He hadn't felt her take it, or even checked his own pocket to be sure; Tom just had faith in the brat.

He looked up at her, seeing the smirk on her face for a heartbeat before she could control her expression again. It made him want to kiss her more but he was already being dumb, no need to make it worse.

"The ladies are going to love this," Desmond seemed to be talking to himself, "First hot bodied male they'll get to be around in a month, and he's so obviously taken it hurts."

"I will hurt you.'' Tom freely stopped beating around the bush.

"Goodnight Desmond," Dri walked away from them both and it took Tom a hot second to stop staring at her ass to go after her.

He caught up quickly, not hard even with her in flats and Tom managed not to get yelled at by reminding the brat, "There's still the other half we never smoked, "and he walked faster.

He had the lighter, the half joint was on the little table out on the balcony, and Tom had the room key card in the door as she finally caught up, and he knew that somewhere between getting into the room and to the balcony; he lost the damn lighter again.

Devil Woman.

She was fast; Dri gave up dignity and ran to the balcony and Tom was laughing as he heard the lighter strike. He leaned against the door frame and saw her on the lounge chair like it was her own little throne, feet on the chair like she didn't still have boots on; her posture tall. As if she were going to finish the joint to herself and he'd do nothing about it.

Three puffs and no pass later, Tom found himself looming over her while she once again smiled in triumph. So he sat on her feet.

He was careful, didn't want to actually hurt her, but Tom had her feet pinned and he leaned forward with one hand on the back of the lounge over her shoulder. With his other hand, he took the joint from her lips and smoked it with a smug grin.

Unless she was willing to hurt him, Tom had her pinned by her feet and the lean over her shoulder effectively put some of his weight against her shins and knees. She didn't look afraid to be trapped in place and that was probably because he was very good at keeping his thoughts from showing on his face; he was not thinking playful thoughts anymore.

The last of his good sense rallied a charge and Tom put the joint to the brat's mouth instead of his lips and he pulled away to a safer distance. She pulled her feel free with him shifted back, and the danger passed as she dropped the roach in the ashtray on the table.

"I'm gonna go use the Gym, sitting all day's left me antsy," He used her trick of lying by saying what's expected. If he didn't get out of here he was going to do something wonderfully irreversible.

"Then there is a Jacuzzi in there with my name on it." Dri didn't notice Tom all but run out of the room with that, stopping only to grab some kind of sweats to workout in.

It lacked a boxing bag, but the gym had enough heavy things in it for Tom to burn some excess frustration off. And vent a little of the coiled energy driving him. He was trying to figure out exactly when he's brain had decided to stop pretending to date the brat, and really date Adrianna. Tom didn't bother asking when his body got on board the idea, that conversation with himself had already happened. And Tom was the type to go with his gut on things, and his gut was saying that this was a wonderful idea and he should've stayed for that Jacuzzi. But for once Tom couldn't just go ahead and jump in with both feet.

For one, this would not be a woman he could walk away from and never see again if this fell apart. They'd still be in each other's worlds on the peripherals, and Tom already had no idea how he'd expect to do that now if she wasn't interested. Though even Tom suspected there was some mutual attraction happening, she could lie to him with her words, less so her body. But secondly, even if things went well he'd probably be getting his ass kicked by every single member of both their immediate families for putting his hands on her. And by god did Tom want to do more than he had already. But he wasn't here to take advantage of the alone time with Dri.

The Supra was clear of trackers, the searches had proven that before madre's gear had verified it. But it was a visibly known car of his, and the man who'd found his home could be a better tail than Tom could spot. Not likely but possible. So by taking it six full hours out of the way, Tom was able to at least verify that they didn't have a constant tail on him. It cautiously let him believe that they didn't know where Dri lived, if they didn't think she lived with him at this point.

He was still trying to figure the warning. Were they telling him to try and make him jumpy, or was it just one guy try to warn Tom to be careful? He didn't really expect it to be the one, Tom didn't make friends that fast, and he didn't get the other. Unless it wasn't a warning so much as a test to see what he'd do with it once he found it.

In which case the little road trip was a good diversion, Jerred had brought him to the used car lot to test his ability to recognize a smuggler's car. Now maybe the tracker was so he could see if Tom could avoid detection himself; if he had to guess either would come a trial run to see if Tom was a reliable delivery boy, or it he were lucky maybe be asked to try and mod other cars into smugglers. That was the trick to not getting caught; constantly changing the vehicle, and keeping it from being obvious. It was easier to convince the powers that be that there was nothing worth looking for in a minivan then an Audi. Tom's Supra was a good car for it but with Jerred's interest in Dri it would be smarter to assume that Tom was being brought closer so she'd be pulled into. He'd have to wait and see what happened at the poker on Sat before he could know more.

Tom hadn't checked the time when he'd left to work out, but enough time had passed that he expected the brat to be in bed. Even she couldn't take an hour in a Jacuzzi, so he entered the sitting part of the suite to realize that someone had gone through his bag. The mystery solved itself a moment later when the door to the bedroom open, and a sleepy looking Dri stuck her head out; Tom immediately noted that she'd grabbed one of his shirts to sleep in.

"Get back to bed Reinita, I'll be there after a shower," Tom headed to the bathroom door, too close to her still but he really did need a shower.

"Good, you stink." She wrinkled her nose and wandered back into the bedroom

Tom's brain shut off in self defence, letting his body go through the motions of washing off, dealing with the tension being around the brat seemed to inevitably raise, and getting into his own sleepwear. Now sans shirt since Dri had it to sleep, he shuffled to the bedroom and climbed into bed not his own but familiar for the woman already in it. He didn't think anything of curling close to her and falling asleep.

An unreasonably short amount of time later and he woke sightly to the feel of her moving in her sleep, not yet awake. He was behind the brat in the big spoon position, his arm hugging over her ribs and her back against his sternum, and before his brain could really think anything other than how badly he wanted to wake her up, the hotel room phone gave the three rings of a wake up call. It woke his brain up before he could follow though on the thought in his head, and Tom let Dri up from the bed without manhandling.

"Get some more sleep, I have to get to wardrobe and make up." She kept her voice low as if the phone had been what woke Tom.

If he woke her up in the morning, the brat came out snarly, but if she had to set up for work, the grouchiness disappeared "Coffee?" he got out of bed, unable to stay put if she'd be wandering the hotel with Desmond.

Dri laughed as she went to her bag in the other room, "Absolutely."

The routine they'd established for Jerred's events saw them easily getting ready without being in each other's way, moving in and out of bedroom or bathroom as needed. He had nothing to get ready for and she was getting ready to go get ready which made for fast preparations. Dri was in a skirt with high socks and Tom was just grateful the garters had stayed at home, already following her with his eyes.

Coffee and food smells hit them as soon as they were out in the hallway, the kitchens going even this early in the day, and Tom was happy to eat, drink, and remain quiet while the brat worked, but lingering curiosity got the better of him. While the brat had her black coffee and a cup of parfait, he gave in and asked, "My shirt more comfy for sleep? " Tom was surprised when the brat almost dropped her spoon.

"I packed Tuesday, before I knew I'd have company." Her chin was raised in defiance and Tom realised she was embarrassed for some reason, "And even though I added the things I'd need for the weekend, I forgot to add items for while we're here. I hadn't been expecting company." She was using formal language but Tom was smart enough to read between the lines.

At least it explained a few things; Tom was pragmatic enough to admit to himself the knowledge that Dri slept in the nude was going to stick with him, "Is that another model problem thing?" he couldn't help but pry, knowing it was probably safer to let the topic go.

"Actually, yes." She still had the stiff body language of embarrassment, but Tom's lack of obvious reaction seemed to be helping. This was why those cold showers were necessary though. "I spend so much time being put into outfits that if I can only take back that one time for myself, I'm going to. Its only fair, I've been sewn into clothes, had them built around me, and I even had to go through 11 hours of latex paint for one shoot."

"So for you, taking back control means naked?" he couldn't help the smirk, "that's a hell of a statement Reinita."

"Shut up." She tossed a grape at him in emphasis. Now he had to keep giving her grief, anything to not focus on the picture of her naked in his bed from the last weekend. It seemed Hungover Adrianna had operated on her own autopilot and now Tom had to handle both knowledge and image. "I always pictured your pajamas as those flouncy shits seen in movies."'

She was giving him the amused look, "Nightgowns?"

"Yeah, those old lady things," he was leaning on the table, coffee cup in hand, fighting to keep the grin off his face.

"So when you admittedly think of me in bed at night, it's in old lady nightgowns," the brat was in fine fighting form this morning, "I'm almost disappointed Goon."

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Desmond Pope, leaving Tom to let the matter drop or air their personal matter to the show host. Tom loved to rile his girl up but the brat was here to work and so he only grinned at her instead of replying. Although Dri had admitted to being nervous for this before, Tom saw no signs of it on her now. Like the previous night, her expression was that pleasant statue look that meant she was in Adrianna the model mode.

And she held it even when the shit-stain tried to ruin her day.