Free Suddenly Famous by Heather Leigh

We’ll be there soon.”
    “Okay, bye.”
    “Bye.”
    I turn to Adam, scowling. “Thanks jerkoff, for making me look like a pussy.” I punch his arm, then crack up at the shocked expression he makes.
    “I guess I deserved that,” he chuckles. “Now, what do you think of this?” He strums the guitar and starts playing a simple, but layered song.
    We discuss the different music that Adam’s come up with, playing around with the melodies until Adam decides that he knows what he wants for the first three songs. We’re so into it that we don’t notice the lock disengage until Leah comes into the room, dragging an exhausted Sydney Tannen behind her.
    Leah flops down into my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck. Happy to have her back, I run my nose up and down her neck, inhaling deep. Thank God she’s back okay.
    Adam’s beautiful strumming comes to a hideous screeching halt. When I look up, I see Adam staring at Sydney. Her cheeks are flaming red and she looks away. I’m guessing from her reaction that Leah didn’t tell her Adam would be here.
    “Sydney? You’re quite possibly the last person I ever expected to see walk into this room,” Adam says. He stands up to place his guitar on the coffee table, giving her a kiss on the cheek while pulling her in for a hug. I can’t hear what he whispers in her ear, and I’m too busy with Leah to care.
    We all make awkward small talk for a while, then Leah jumps off of my lap and grabs Sydney’s hand, pulling her towards the bedroom. “Come on, Syd. Let’s go get ready. We’re going to have a hell of a lot of fun tonight!”
    “What in bloody hell does your girlfriend have planned for us?” Adam asks, looking a little wary.
    “I’m not sure, but I have an idea that it’s going to be interesting.”
     
     
     
    “Leah, this could go very badly,” I warn as the studio’s hire car pulls up to the curb of a very packed nightclub in London’s West End.
    “Ry, stop worrying. They have a VIP section. No one can get at us. I checked online, regular patrons can’t even see up into the VIP area. Prince Harry hangs out here!” Leah says, running a hand across the back of my neck in an effort to calm my nerves.
    Shit!
    “Okay, Leah. That’s the VIP entrance, right?” I point at a deserted door off to the side of the main entrance, where an abnormally long line snakes around the building.
    She looks over my shoulder so she can see. “Yes, that’s it. There’s no one there but the bouncer.”
    “I can make a run of it, or I can hide in the middle of you three.”
    How fucking humiliating is it that I can’t walk on the sidewalk alone?
    “I’ll protect you, mate,” Adam says with a giant grin.
    I snort. “Fuck off, Reynolds.”
    “Ry, lets just walk normally and hope no one see us, okay? The more of a spectacle we make, the worse it will be. It’s pretty dark out. I think we’ll be fine.” Leah takes my hand, urging me to open the door.
    I take a deep breath. There’s no steel band around my chest, so I shove open the car door, stepping out onto the sidewalk.
    Leah follows, not releasing my hand for a single second, which I’m grateful for. I don’t look to check on Adam and Sydney, hoping that they’re back there somewhere. We get to the bouncer without a single scream, squeal, or screech.
    It’s a fucking miracle.
    “Hi mate,” Adam says to the bouncer, flashing his perfect teeth.
    The bouncer’s eyes go wide for a brief second before he composes himself. “Welcome to LowRent.” He pushes open the door and steps aside to let us through, eyeing each one of us thoroughly.
    “See, piece of cake,” Leah says, squeezing my hand while leaning into my side.
    “Yeah, it was.” I know I sound surprised, but nothing ever goes smoothly for me. Not in public, anyway.
    I throw my arm around Leah’s shoulders to follow a scantily-dresses hostess up to the VIP lounge. After seating us in a very private booth, she speaks. “Your waiter will be right