The man, Style, grinned and headed away to speak with the Hispanic woman. She looked up in surprise as Style delivered the message then looked over to their table afterwards. She nodded without smiling then shied away from La’Shia’s intense stare.
Ben could see there was an undercurrent of tension, maybe even hostility, between the mocha skinned woman across the table and the petite tattooed woman. He really didn’t want to get involved in the drama. That seemed to be something else those hungry for fame craved. Some used this drama in their art.
The waiters arrived and saved him from having to deal with it.
The meal was excellent and conversation returned to simpler, less volatile topics. Travel, family, home life, art, and musical tastes. Rochelle was quick to describe how her son was a fan of Dream’s music and her daughter was a big fan of La’Shia.
Ben saw that Rochelle and Thomas were clicking and he felt better.
They were still talking at 11:30PM and enjoying some ice cream as the dinner ran out of steam. Most of the ‘crew’ had already retired for the night, all of them leaving with one of the ladies with the exception of Night who left early and alone. He also noted that the ‘extra’ ladies with the exception of Boca had left. The woman had spent most of the night speaking with no one but with her face buried in a worn paperback. The other women seemed to be shunning her. He recalled La’Shia’s reaction to her.
Dream and his fiancé finally announced they were going up to their room so everyone stood and said their good nights. Rochelle and Thomas wandered off to the bar to continue their conversation. Ben noticed ‘Boca’ was still alone at her table still reading. He looked at Trish. They wandered over to speak with her.
“Hello,” Ben said.
Lovely brown eyes looked up at him over her book. When she folded the page corner down and closed it Ben noticed it was Vladimir Nabokov’s ‘Lolita’.
“Hello,” she responded with a surprisingly gravelly voice and he recognized a distinct Spanish accent.
“I’m Ben Shepherd and this is Trish Campbell.”
“Rain Palomo.” She held out her hand so Ben shook it and Trish did as well.
“La’Shia said your name was Boca,” Ben said curiously.
Rain looked at the table surface, sighed and nodded. “Yes. That’s the name they gave me.”
“Why would they give you a name? Are you a member of the band?” he asked.
Rain looked up at him with a tired expression.
“I’m sorry if I’ve said something wrong. I just noticed you arrived with Dream’s group but you seem to be separate from it somehow.”
She grimaced and nodded. “I guess I work… freelance for the label. His manager… hired me to come along. I’m not exactly… popular with the other women.” She stood. Ben saw her ‘dress’ was just a long sleeveless t-shirt with a belt. “I should be going. It was nice meeting you.”
They all left the restaurant and walked back to the lobby. Rain stopped to speak with the reception clerk while Trish spoke with the concierge to find out about where and when they’d join the ATV group in the morning. The clerk went into the back room and returned with a dusty green army duffle bag which had been mended multiple times. He passed it over the counter to the woman.
Ben overheard Rain asking if a room key had been left for her and the clerk said no. Rain’s shoulders slumped.
“Are there any available rooms?” he asked and Rain looked at him in surprise.
“I’m afraid not sir. The rooms of the north building are being renovated during the slow season so our available rooms are restricted to the south building and we’re booked solid.”
Trish looked at Ben with a grin. She knew Ben was in rescue mode. “The couch in our room folds out as a bed,” she suggested.
Rain looked at Trish next. “You don’t have to-”
“Are you planning on sleeping on the beach?” Ben asked. “You can crash on our fold out until we can make alternate arrangements.”
Rain was looking at him with a nervous frown.
“No strings attached.” Trish offered. “Ben just does this kind of thing.”
Looking out into the darkness of the forest outside Rain saw she really didn’t have much choice. Ben was a really big guy and his scars were a little scary but his eyes…
“Ok, sure. Thanks!” Rain said watching his reaction. Her creep radar didn’t go off at all so she felt a little better.
Ben led the way up the stairs to their hallway. He saw Susan trying desperately to get Ted up the last flight of stairs. He moved forward quickly when he saw the older man suddenly begin to wobble on the stairs. It was all Susan could do to keep them both from falling. Ben gently braced them both then took Ted from Susan’s arms and she smiled gratefully in relief.
He was about to ask if the man needed medical help when he smelled the alcohol on him. The old bastard was shit faced. Ben frowned.
“Go on ahead and get your door open and I’ll bring him inside,” he said to the woman. With a nod she climbed the last flight and moved down the hall to her room as Ben lifted the drunk man in his arms. Rain looked on in astonishment as she and Trish followed them up the stairs.
“He really does do this stuff all the time!” Rain said quietly to Trish.
“Yup,” she replied with a grin.
“He have some kind of hero complex?” she whispered and Trish stopped her in the hall to look at her seriously.
“We think it may be something like that but Ben doesn’t like to be called a hero. For him he does good things because they need to be done and he can do them. We’ve learned not to make a fuss or praise him too much as that just upsets him.” Trish explained.
“Upsets him? Is he dangerous? To women?” Rain said in a worried tone.
Trish snorted and Rain’s eyes widened. “Sorry. No, Ben would walk through a burning building before he’d hurt a woman. If someone else hurts a woman though, he’d better hope Ben doesn’t catch him. Ben can be violent but only in response to violence.”
“Still, that sounds like something he should be speaking to someone about!” Rain pushed.
Trish nodded. “He has been and will be again once we return from our trip.” She paused to look at Rain. “If you’re wondering if you’re safe with Ben I can honestly say there is no safer place to be.”
Ben carried Ted through the doorway and set him down carefully on the bed. The older man tried to punch Ben ineffectually once he was on the mattress but Ben just leaned away and the flailing limbs missed.
“Fucking bgg mther…” Ted mumbled then promptly fell asleep.
Susan stood next to Ben and looked down in disgust at her husband.
“Does he normally drink this much?” Ben asked.
“No. He lost the golf tournament against his partner. They play every year and this year, the first time ever, Ted lost. He spent the rest of the day in the bar. That’s why he was so nasty when he first met you in the hall. Truthfully though, Ted’s a fucking asshole.”
Ben looked at her in surprise.
“What? Can’t a lady swear from time to time?” Susan asked with a grin.
“I’m not judging, it just seems odd to hear those words coming from such an elegant and classy woman,” Ben admitted.