“You okay?”
Jolting on the seat, she threw out her hands, palms flat on the walls either side of her and was thankful her naked ass didn’t end up on the floor.
Karina Black wanted to know if she was okay? Had it been Karina she’d almost bowled over coming in here?
“Are you sick? Do you need help?” Karina asked.
“N-no. I’m fine.” What was with all these women asking her if she needed help to pee? Okay, fine, two women, but still, did she look as out of control as she felt?
Covington waited for the sound of footsteps or a door opening but heard nothing except her own harsh breathing. Why was she freaking out? Sure she’d idolized Karina Black for years, tried twice to get on the troop of dancers who toured with the singer and had dreamed about meeting her in Hope Falls with the purpose of getting some work but it wasn’t like she was auditioningnow.
Except first impressions and all that…
She sighed.
She’d be forever known as the crazy pregnant woman in Karina’s grandmother-in-law’s café restroom.
Necessities taken care of, Covington tugged up her pants and thanked the cold weather for requiring bulky sweaters. The one she’d borrowed from Tris came to mid-thigh and hid the fact the pants she had on no longer reached around her middle and therefore sat precariously low on her hips. Good thing she’d grown an ass as well as a belly. That extra booty gave her pants something to hang on to.
“Going to have to bite the bullet and buy new clothes,” she muttered as she opened the stall door.
“What was that?”
“Argh!” Covington stumbled backwards, lost her footing and landed on the toilet. Thank god she’d closed the lid.
“Sorry.” Karina reached out a hand. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Oh, you didn’t…” She smiled. “Okay, you did.”
Taking the offered hand, Covington got to her feet and tried to pretend it wasn’ttheKarina Black helping her up.
“Thanks.” Letting go of the singer’s hand, she moved past her to the basin and cringed at the thought of having touched Karina Black without washing her hands first. Did she point that out? Apologize? Suggest she wash her hands too?
“Blaine Cormack’sWhite Lace.”
“What?” Covington’s gaze met Karina’s in the mirror.
“You were the lead dancer in the video.”
“Oh. Yes. That was me.”
“I knew it! I never forget a face. I might not have known your name but I definitely remember your moves,” Karina explained.
Covington frowned. She’d worked on that clip the week before she’d found Dirk in bed with another woman.
It was her best work, even if she said so herself, and that lying cheating jerk had ruined it for her by being a douche. They’d wrapped early and she’d headed to Dirk’s to tell him about the bonus she’d gotten only to find him in bed with Steffii—double f, double i—the bulimic chick she’d beaten for the lead part in the video.
She still couldn’t understand why she hadn’t seen Dirk’s true colors before that day. When she looked back now it was like red flashing lights going off the whole time. God. She’d even let him talk her out of suspecting him of anything when she’d found a pair of panties in the wash that weren’t hers. Somehow he’d convinced her she must have scooped them up with her gear at the club she danced at two nights a week.
Can you say gullible? How about stupid?
“Hey. You okay?” Karina moved in beside her, placed a hand on her shoulder. “You’ve gone a little pale.”
“Hmm… Oh, sorry. Bad memories.” At the look of horror on Karina’s face Covington rushed to explain. “Not of Blaine or the video. Other stuff—personal stuff—I’d rather forget about that happened during the shoot.”
“Oh. Sorry I brought it up then.”
“No. No, it’s all right.” She shrugged. “I shouldn’t connect one with the other. It really was a great video and Blaine is a sweetheart.” Not to mention hotter than hot and the country’s latest pin-up hunk.
