by Parker, Ali
"It won't. Enjoy being out with other humans that aren't on our support team." She took another bite and sucked a thick noodle into her mouth as several cameras flashed.
I cringed but ignored it. "Let's go down to the store you like in the mall with the great jewelry and get you a necklace to wear."
"I like this one." She pulled out a little heart that was almost too small to be seen.
Leaning over, I took it from her and squinted. "It's pretty. Where did you get it from?" I'd learned enough over the last few months of being next to her that being an ass about something important to her or anyone else would land me in hot water fast. It wasn't a place I enjoyed being. I had sensitive skin and shit.
"My mom wore it when I was little." She took it back from me and glanced down at it. "I was going to bury her with it, but I wanted to keep it to give to my daughter from her grandmother, you know?"
"I do. Let's get you something to go with it, or have them meld it into the center of a bigger heart. That way the center one is from your mother, and the outer one is from you." I shrugged as she glanced up. "Or us?"
"I like it. That's a great idea." She stood and picked up her bags.
I grabbed the plate of noodles and happily pitched them in the trashcan.
"Ethan! Can you sign this?" A group of girls ran toward us, and I forced a smile and took the pen. "Have you ladies met my finance? This is Riley."
"Oh my God! It's Riley Phillips." One of the girls reached out and touched Riley's arm, her smile widening as if that shit was possible. "You look so pretty in that white bikini I've seen you in on the previews for Down Low. We're so excited to see it."
"Thanks. It was a lot of fun." She beamed and glanced over at me, stealing my heart for the millionth time. "And I got to meet this guy. Best catch ever."
"I bet. You guys are so cute together. I'm glad you come out to the mall and stuff." Another girl piped in. "Some actors hide away in their homes and never come out to see their fans. You want to shake them and remind them that it's our dollars that contribute to the box office smashers, you know?"
"We sure do." I glanced up and ignored the incredulous look on Riley's pretty face. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. "That's why I force this gal here to get out every once in a while. She's a little cranky about it."
She snorted and elbowed me in the stomach as the girl's laughed. Riley rolled her eyes and turned back to our fans. "Nice meeting you girls. Hope you love the movie."
"We will!" They screamed in tandem, and for the first time ever, I sent up a prayer that our first kid would be a boy so I could get used to the little feet thing without having to hear the shrill screech of a little voice to go with it.
Though a little girl with strawberry blonde hair and big blue eyes would melt my heart. Much like her mom did.
"What are you thinking, handsome?" She handed me some of the bags and wrapped her arm around the back of my waist.
"Me?" I beamed like I'd won an award for something.
"Yeah, you." She pressed her head against my shoulder as we walked to the jewelry store.
"I was thinking about us having a little girl, and her looking just like you."
"Hmmm... sounds scary." She laughed and pulled out of my hold as she walked to the store. "And what would we name her?"
"Chloe? Elizabeth? Blueberry?"
She laughed and turned to face me. "No. We're not naming any of our kids after a fruit."
"Carrot?" I smirked as she popped me in the stomach and disappeared into the shop. It was hella crowded, so I left her to it and found a bench across from the store. I put on my sunglasses and a baseball hat before sitting down and letting out a long breath.
We'd hosted Charlotte and Jace over at the house the night before. It was a good time, and Riley’s ex-lover could play some dominoes like no one I'd ever seen, but it was fucking weird. We wouldn't be doing it again. I almost felt sorry for my girl too, because the situation was awkward around them no matter where they were or who else was involved.
What was Charlotte thinking? Dating Riley's ex? I shook the thought from my head. It was none of my business, and where we decided we weren't hosting dinner for them again, I knew there would be more times of togetherness in the future. It was inevitable.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I was grateful for something to do besides waiting for someone to see me, recognize me and blow my cover. Riley might have wanted to be normal, but I simply wanted peace.
It amazed me how much serenity she'd brought into my life since saying yes to becoming my wife. I couldn't fucking wait until the wedding, though we hadn't set a date. We still had to do the movie preview, and Eon wasn't waiting the usual year or even six months. It was set for the end of November, just four short months away.
"This is Ethan," I mumbled into the phone, trying to keep my voice down, though there was no way in hell anyone could hear me over the noise at the mall.
"Ethan Lewis?" A woman stopped in front of me.
Fuck me. I pointed to the phone and shook my head no, pulling it away and mouthing that I was a look alike.
"Oh. Never mind." She gave me a snarl and walked on.
"Deza?" I put the phone back to my ear. "I'm in the mall. Come get me before these crazy bitches tear the flesh from my bones."
Deza's laugh filled up my ear, accompanied by Frank’s. "We have you on speaker. What the fuck are you doing at the mall on a Saturday? And a public mall at that."
"Riley forced me to." I pouted and watched for signs of my girl in the windows of the store she was shopping in. "She's still wearing rose-colored glasses about this shit."
"I'm taking it she didn't see those horrible pictures the Daily Star posted about her being-" Deza started.
Frank finished it. "Pregnant with Ethan's alien twins?"
They both cracked up laughing. I rolled my eyes.
"Glad you asshats are enjoying this. I thought it was bad with when the tabloids did that full-blown report on my new fan club. You guys remember? The two-cock club that girls were joining by the groves, all of them saying they'd slept with me, and my dong was so big it could have been two of them stacked side by side." I smiled, knowing I could gross them both out.
Deza gagged. "Yep. Moving on."
"Hey, buddy. We called because we're getting tickets together for the premier in late October before opening night. Do you know how many tickets you and Riley are going to want together? We need a number pretty soon." Frank got us back on track. He was good like that.
"Let's go with twenty for us together. That should cover everyone in our families and our close friends." I stood as Riley lifted a necklace from the other side of the glass and smiled, pointing to it. "Anything else, guys?"
"No. What are your plans today? What else are you guys doing? Just hanging out at the mall?" Deza asked.
"We're getting Riley a new necklace, and then I think I'm going to talk her into trying on wedding dresses for me. I had a dream we had sex while she was in one last night. I want to live it today."
They both gagged as I smiled and walked into the shop.
"Alright. We'll talk to you later. Try not to get mauled, alright?" Frank said.
"Alright. Later." I slipped the phone in my back pocket and turned sideways to get through the hordes of people in the shop.
"Oh my God, mom. That's Ethan Lewis. He just touched me. I'm never washing this shirt again." Some girl behind me was losing her shit.
I narrowed my eyes at Riley and leaned toward her. "This is why this is a really bad idea. Hurry up. I want to go check out stuff for the wedding." I was whispering and hoping for the best.
She lifted the necklace and put it against her chest, ignoring my last comment. "You like this? I don't think they'll have to do anything. I can just wear them together."
"I love it. Get it." I handed the clerk behind her my card. "We want this necklace. Like now, please."
"Absolutely." She took it and smiled. "Nice to see you out and about, Mr.
Lewis. I don't think you've ever been in our store."
"No, but it looks like hell was offering ice water, and you guys have the wellspring in the back." I nodded toward the curtain behind her.
She laughed, as did Riley. "It's always crazy in here. We can't keep some of our stuff on the shelves."
"That's because it's all beautiful." Riley turned to face me. "Thank you for doing this. You didn't have to."
"I wanted to." I leaned down and brushed my lips against hers as the sound of cameras clicked all around us filled my ears. Really? In a fucking store?
"Thank you." Riley took the necklace back and walked through the store with me in tow. She glanced over her shoulder. "Where do you want to go for wedding stuff? Are you thinking anything in particular?"
"Dresses." I took her hand as we walked down the center of the mall. I had no doubt we would be on the front cover of every magazine by Monday, but with her next to me, holding my hand so tightly, it didn't matter. Everyone should know that we were in love. We'd be married soon just to prove the point.
"Oh." She glanced over at me. "I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to go with Deza or Charlotte to look for dresses."
"Why? I had a dream last night that we had the best sex of our lives, and you were in this sexy white wedding dress that showed the top of your tits. I want to reenact it today."
She rolled her eyes but didn't deny me my request. She never would. She loved me too much.
"Alright. Where are we going for this slutty rendezvous?"
"Vincent’s on Third Street near Rodeo." I bit my lip as deliciously naughty thoughts raced through my mind. "They have the best dresses in the city from what Google said last night."
"You Googled it?" She laughed and leaned against me. "I love you so much."
"Yep, and then I came and snuggled your hot ass. You don't remember that?" I opened the door for her and breathed in deeply as she walked by me. She was everything to me. I only hoped that I could somehow keep up.
"I do remember. You didn't just snuggle it." She licked the side of her mouth and reached for me. "It was hot."
"Wait until the dressing room, princess." I pulled her closer and kissed her hard, ignoring everyone around us. Nothing existed but her for me anyway.
I prayed it stayed that way.
Chapter 103
Riley
We walked into the wedding dress shop, and everything became real. All of the struggle and strife we'd been through to reach this point.
I turned as tears blurred my gaze and reached for Ethan.
"Baby, what's wrong?" He leaned down and pulled me against his chest as a salesman spoke up behind us.
"How can I help you, Mr. Lewis?"
"Nothing. I'm just overwhelmed. I'm sorry." I pressed my hands to my face and leaned against him.
He brushed his hair down the back of my head. "My girl and I want to see some wedding gowns. The best that you have. And I'll put down a thousand dollars to have you leave us be back in the dressing room for about an hour once we have a few of your best."
"Done, Sir. I'll gather them now."
He kissed the top of my head. "We can come back, Ri. We don't have to do this now."
"No. I want to." I forced myself to look up at him. "I just feel out of place."
"But you fit in at the mall?" He chuckled, but the sound fell flat. He got it. I was out of place there, but at the mall, I was just like everyone else. I wasn't used to living the high life. I would force myself to get acclimated to it, but I needed time. And normalcy from time to time. "Oh. I get it."
"Ignore me and let me get myself together." I brushed away my tears.
"We can go, Angel." He cupped my face and leaned down, kissing me softly and brushing my tears off my cheeks with his thumbs. "I just want to be with you."
"I want to do this, and fulfilling one of your fantasies sounds delicious." I glanced over my shoulder to make sure no one could hear me.
"Hey." I turned back to find him smiling like a tomcat. "You were crying out in ecstasy in my dream, not in tears."
"I know. I'm pulling myself together." I moved out of his arms, patted my face, straightened my shoulders and walked through the array of dresses. "These are so beautiful."
"We only have the best, and if you'd like to have something custom made, we will fly someone in from anywhere in the world for you, Miss Phillips." A tall woman with dark hair pulled back in a tight bun walked around the counter and gave us a tight smile.
"You know me?" I glanced back at Ethan. "Did you call ahead?"
"We know everyone is who is anyone." I turned back to her as she nodded at my hand. "That ring on your finger was custom made by one of my jewelers."
"Okay, so it’s the ring." I shrugged and walked into the sea of dresses. "What if I like the way something looks, but it doesn't fit."
She followed me. "We adjust it."
"And if it fits, but I don't like the particular style of the neckline?"
"We redo it." She brushed her fingers over her lips and studied me. "Turn around slowly so I can get your size and what might look really good against your skin tone."
I did as she said and found Ethan watching me with hunger in his eyes. He was looking forward to calling me his wife, and he wasn't the only one.
Where I wasn't sure I deserved such a fairytale life, I was learning to accept it more and more each day. And I would make sure that it was available to other young girls just like me. At least the chance for a real opportunity on stage.
Ethan had spent the better part of the week before with me up at UCLA, meeting with various chairs and such to set up multiple fine arts scholarships. It was fun and left me feeling like I was created to help open the door of opportunity for others.
That was much better than acting and hoarding cash. At least in my opinion. My handsome soon to be husband still needed a little convincing, but I knew the way to his heart. It was through his hormones.
"Alright. Come this way. I have a few dresses hanging in the large private room at the end of the hall. We'll slip a few more over the top of the door if we see something that might make your heart flutter." The gentleman offered me his arm, and I took it. "We have a bottle of white wine on ice and glasses in there for the two of you as well. Please let me know if you'd like something else."
"White wine is great." I walked back with him, glancing over my shoulder just to make sure Ethan was behind me. I still wasn't settled on the idea of trying on such expensive clothing, much less making love in it.
"It's perfect," Ethan said as he winked at me.
"Alright. Here we are. Please enjoy and if you need anything, do not hesitate to call out to us. We're at your beck and call." He moved back and held the door as I walked into a small room that was big enough for a bridal party or so. Four dresses hung on racks along the wall, each more beautiful than the last.
I gasped and walked toward the most simple of the four. "I love this. How beautiful and plain." I ran my hands down the beaded front of it.
"You're going to look incredible in anything we buy." He leaned down and kissed the side of my neck before sliding a hand around my waist, up to cup my breast. "Try them on for me, Ri. All of them. And take your time."
"And the sex?" I whispered and pressed against him, rolling my hips to massage his growing erection with my ass.
"I'll let you know, lover." He sucked my ear into his mouth and ran his thumb over my nipple as I moaned and pressed against him tighter. "We might fuck with you in each gown."
"I'm good with that." I reached out and gripped a chair near me as he stepped back and walked over to the wine. "Do you think the effect we have on each other will ever dull?"
"Nope. Not unless we let it." He opened the bottle and poured a glass of wine before walking it over to me. He extended the glass and gave me a cocky smile. "Let's just hope you don't go on your next set and fall in love with the classically good-looking hunk you're co-starring with."
"Oh, you're in my next film t
oo?" I took the glass and smirked before taking a quick sip. The smooth liquid rushed across my tongue and massaged a moan out of me. "Delicious."
"Yeah, you are." He sat down and adjusted his arousal as he watched me closely. "Take off your clothes. Put on a show for me, Ri."
"Like this?" I put my back to him and took my time, stripping out of my shirt and shorts. I made sure to roll my hips, squeeze my breasts, run my hands down my thighs and cup myself a few times as he watched.
"You're going to be the death of me." He stood and walked over as I stood in my panties and bra, my heart racing, my center wet from teasing him.
"I like the sound of that." I pressed on his shoulder. "You should clean up the mess I made."
He chuckled and nodded. "I couldn't agree more. Come over here, kitten."
I followed him to the wall closest to us and paused as he got on the floor and pressed his back against the wall, his ass on the floor. "Put your back against the wall and relax."
"Above you?" I whispered, feeling as if there might be a camera somewhere close.
"Yes, baby." He reached for my wrist and pulled me toward him.
"What about the dress?" I turned and pressed my back against the wall, my ass right in front of his face.
He scooted down a little and ran his fingers just under my panties. "Fuck the dress. Lift one leg and put your foot on my shoulder. And Ri?"
I did as he asked and glanced down as the room seemed darker. I was getting dizzy from all of the attention.
"Don't scream, baby, okay?" He winked and pulled me down, pressing his mouth to my center.
I moaned and pressed my hand to my mouth as his tongue brushed under my panties, flicking across my soft skin. He reached up and tugged the panties out of the way before taking his time to lick every inch of me. I shook above him, the pleasure mixed with the fear of getting caught almost too much.
"Fuck," I whined and hit my head on the wall.
"Is everything okay, Miss Phillips?" The woman from the front was at the door.