by L. L Hunter
* * *
CHARLES: So, you’re saying Miss Vanderbilt was lying? That she made this whole thing up? Or were you lying?
* * *
ALEXA: (Hesitates and glances around nervously) Um… that’s not what I was saying. Okay?
* * *
PENNY: Then, what were you saying, Miss Long?
* * *
ALEXA: (lets out a long breath) I’m saying that I staged the first photo, but Jack’s wasn’t set up. His was real. And then Chloe came along and revealed the truth. I was jealous, okay?
* * *
(Camera cuts to Penny and Charles quickly.)
* * *
PENNY: Thank you, Alexa. That’s all we have time for today.
* * *
(ad break)
Six Months Later
I looked up from my phone and at the faces that sat before me.
“Chloe, thanks for coming in today. We just wanted to let you know how excited we are to publish this book. The buzz around Man Amongst the Stars has been amazing so far. The reviews have exceeded our expectations. Everyone loves it.”
I smiled and set my phone down on the table face down. Then I sat back in my chair and folded my hands in my lap. Yep. This was my life.
One month after beginning book two of the story of my life, I completed it. And here we were five months later, on the eve of publication. Book one was expected to warrant more print runs in Australia and overseas and more international rights to be sold, which meant more money for me and everyone involved. Speaking of the money, I received the first lot of money in my bank account a few months ago, with more promised on publication and when the film went into production. But the first sum was more than enough for me to finally do a few things I’d always dreamed of doing. One being to buy my first house.
I bought acreage in the wine region of New South Wales and designed my dream house. I always knew I wanted to live in the country and have an abundance of animals roaming the property. I’d dreamed of having a separate library with a big writing desk and built-in bookshelves, and a big wrap around porch and large shady trees surrounding the house. My dream house was a week from completion, and I was due to move in a month’s time.
There was only one thing missing from my life, though.
In the few months that had passed since I left Jack in L.A., there have been many developments. Alexa Long came out as the pathetic bitch she is, on national TV. Thanks to my books, no one believes Alexa.
Jack and I have been in constant communication as promised.
He has been working hard on his TV show, which has now been picked up for a second season. In the summer break, while the show was on hiatus, he’d picked up another film project and was asked to direct an episode of a popular teen drama. So we were both busy, which left little time for our hearts to get lonely.
39
One Month Later
While my dream house was being built, I had slowly begun to ship my belongings over to it and buying things online. And now the day was finally here. It was the day I officially moved into my dream house. It was a dream made of dreams, and I still couldn’t believe it had happened.
I pushed the key in the lock. With my laptop bag on my shoulder and a box of personal keepsakes that I didn’t want to be broken on the move in my arms, I pushed the door open with my boot. The removalists had already come and gone this morning and placed everything where I’d wanted per my instructions. The wooden floorboards were stained dark, the walls painted an off-white, so the house felt spacious and homey, and that was in the foyer.
I walked down the hall and into the kitchen, and what I saw there almost made me drop my box. The alluring food smells I had detected when I walked through the front door were made evident by the man standing in my kitchen. He had his back to me, so he hadn’t seen me yet. I walked as quietly as I could and placed my box on the counter with an audible thump, hoping to catch his attention. Jack froze and spun around, spatula in hand. He grinned wildly, showing off his sexy dimples.
“You’re here.” He set down the spatula. “Welcome home, honey.”
I laughed. “What is this? What are you doing here? This is an awesome surprise.”
He walked over to me and wrapped his arms around my waist, looking down at me.
“Your old roommate told me you bought a house. She gave me the address and the spare key and told me when you were due to move in. She also told me you would be running errands this morning. So, I thought I might come surprise you.”
“Well, I am definitely surprised.” I reached up and threaded my arms around his neck. Then I kissed him for the first time in seven months. It felt like a lifetime. Our kisses grew more desperate by the minute, and I couldn’t get enough of him.
Neither could he. He picked me up, and I threw my legs around his waist. He then walked us to the kitchen and placed me down on the island bench. He pushed me back, and I lay down. I felt his fingers at my most sensitive area and gasped. He popped open the buttons on my jeans and tugged them down, undies and all. I tried to sit up, to kiss him, or help him, but he pushed me down again.
“No. Let me.”
“Bossy.”
“I haven’t seen you in seven months. I need you right now. I can’t wait a minute longer.”
He pulled down his pants and his underwear, and his manhood sprang free. My eyes grew wide. He definitely wanted me. I wanted him too.
He took me on my new island bench, in the middle of my brand new house. What a way to christen it.
A little while later, we moved to my bedroom, and Jack threw me on the new bed. I had always wanted a king-sized bed, so had bought myself one before I moved and it was delivered yesterday. It had a sheet on it, but otherwise, it was unmade. That didn’t matter. All I was worried about right now was Jack. We christened my brand new bed that day. Several times.
Afterwards, we lay in each other’s arms with the sheet around us eating the spring rolls Jack had made for us.
“So, how long are you here for? Are you on break now?”
“I have to go back tomorrow, unfortunately.” Upon seeing my face drop, he lifted my chin and kissed my mouth. “But it’s only temporary.”
“What? What do you mean?” My heart skipped a beat. “Don’t tell me your show got cancelled or something?”
“No. It wasn’t cancelled. I left.”
My heart skipped another beat, and a piece of spring roll lodged itself in my throat. I choked. Jack patted my back as I coughed and spluttered. When I could breathe once more, I still couldn’t speak due to the shock.
“You left? What do you mean you left?”
“I mean, I left.” He leaned in close and took my hands in his. “Chloe, I was miserable over there without you. I couldn’t do it anymore. I missed you too much. I love you and want to be with you. And I know you don’t want to be in L.A. You’re a small-town Aussie girl and always will be. So, when I heard you bought a house in the country, I knew what I had to do.”
“So, what? You’re just gonna leave your life and career in L.A. and come live with me in the country?”
“Long term, yes. I’ll keep my place in L.A. and move between the two. I’m only gonna choose projects that have short shoots for large sums of money. But I don’t care about the money, Chloe. All I care about is you.”
I let out a long breath and flopped back on the bed. “Holy shit. I can’t believe this is happening.”
“So what do you say?”
“Honestly, I don’t know what to say. You’ve stolen my words again, Mr Dean.”
“How about you just answer me one small thing. A one- word answer is all I need.”
I looked at him, searching his face, but he wasn’t giving anything away.
And then he leaned over the bed and pulled something out of his jeans pocket.
“Will you marry me, Chloe Vanderbilt? Will you be my forever?”
Oh. My. God.
Was he really asking me to marry him? Was this real
ly happening? Luckily, I wasn’t speechless this time. I knew what my answer would be.
“Yes.”
Epilogue
My name is Chloe Vanderbilt, and a few months ago, my life changed forever.
And it’s all due to one single photograph.
Or so I thought.
But it wasn’t the photograph that changed it all. My life changed the minute I decided to take the leap of faith and stop being scared. My life changed the moment I let go of the woman I used to be and became the woman I am now.
I am the woman in that photograph, the one you see plastered all over billboards and magazines and the internet, but I am also the woman you see walking down the street, buying her own groceries and living her own damn life.
We can choose the path our lives take. We can let one image control how we think, how we do things. We can choose to let rumours or lies define us. We can go with it, or we can reveal the truth and move on with our lives. And I chose to do just that.
But I wasn’t alone.
I had found my life partner, the one who I wanted alongside me for the rest of my life.
Who he was didn’t matter. All that mattered was that he loved me. Everything else that came our way, we would deal with when it happened.
And a couple of years later, our life changed again.
On the night of the premiere of the film adaption of my book, we found out we were expecting our first child. We were hesitant to share our news with the world until the time was right. On the red carpet, in front of the media, we held each other’s hands, met each other’s gaze amongst the flash of cameras, and shared a secret smile. This was one secret moment we weren’t going to share with anyone else.
* * *
The End
Man Amongst the Stars
Jack’s Story
“Acting is not about being famous, It’s about exploring the human soul”
—Annette Benning
* * *
“The only failure is not to try” —George Clooney
Prologue
“And… cut! That’s a wrap, guys. Thank you.”
I let out a long breath and stepped off my mark. But just as I was about to head to my trailer, someone grabbed my arm. I looked down to see manicured fingernails on my forearm.
“Jack. Wait.” I sighed. When was I ever going to be alone? This film set was going to be the death of me. And so was she.
“What is it, Alexa?”
Alexa flicked her bleached blonde wig over one shoulder and straightened it out by pulling tight, then twirling it around her finger. I knew this move. This was her flirtatious move. And I so wasn’t in the mood.
“I was wondering… What are you doing tonight?”
“Going home to sleep. It’s eight in the morning. We’ve just had an all-night shoot. I’m exhausted.” I began to walk away, but the sound of heels on concrete followed me all the way out of the soundstage. As I turned the corner into the street between sound stages, a golf cart filled with tourists drove by. By the time I heard the screams and camera clicks, it was too late.
And I was still in costume. Shit. Why hadn’t I thought to bring a hat to set or my sunglasses?
“On the left here, we have soundstage seven,” said the tour guide. “At the moment, the action blockbuster Traitor Born is being filmed on this stage. Oh, what a surprise I have for you today, ladies and gentlemen. It looks like two of the stars have made a rare appearance.”
“It’s Jack Dean and Alexa Long!” screamed one of the tourists.
Click. Click. Click.
I smiled to be polite, but really, I just wanted to get back to my trailer, get changed, and get home.
But Alexa and the tourists had other ideas. Speaking of Alexa, she loved the attention. She bathed in the spotlight. Me? I only did it because it was part of the job. I only did it because I had to.
“Thank you, guys. Have a nice day.” I gave them a small smile and tried to sneak away, but Alexa grabbed me and laid one on me.
The camera flashes and clicks went crazy, and a few of the young girls in the cart screamed. Me? I was slowly dying inside.
I’d had to kiss Alexa on screen as she was my co-star, but that was the extent of our relationship. She’d tried asking me out numerous times, but I always declined. I knew Alexa’s kind. She only got this role because she’d hooked up with the director and the casting agent and because she’d been named sexiest woman of the year by the press. She thrived on attention like I said. She craved it and would do anything for it. And that I didn’t find attractive one bit. I pushed Alexa off after the tour moved away and glared at her.
“What the hell, Alexa?”
“What?” She smirked, flicking hair and touching her swollen lips. “You loved it, Jacky.”
“Don’t call me that. I told you before. I’m not interested.” I began to walk away, but still, she followed.
“Ugh. Why don’t you get it?” I turned on her, raising my voice. “Leave me alone.”
“This will be good for the both of us, Jacky. Don’t you see? You and me? We’ll be great together.”
I sighed heavily. “Fine. What will it take to make you stop?”
“Six months. That’s all I ask. I’ll set up a meeting. You’ll see. Everyone’s gonna eat this up, and the buzz for the film is going to be out of this world.”
What more could I say? Six months, and she’d be out of my hair and out of my life. Six months. I could do this. Think of it as work, I reminded myself.
But, somehow, deep inside, I knew this was going to come back and bite me on the ass.
1
I stared at Alexa from across the large table, and her glare was icy enough to pierce my soul.
A moment later, we were saved from killing each other when the meeting room doors opened and in walked our people. I knew my manager wasn’t happy just by the way he walked. And the way he threw his papers onto the desk.
Fuck.
This wasn’t good.
I wondered just how screwed we were.
“Jack. Alexa. Thanks for coming in. There are just a few things we’d like to discuss with you two.”
Alexa’s agent was a muscular man whose eyeballs looked about ready to pop out of his head. He was all fake tan, veneers, and steroids. He also wore expensive cologne that could be smelt two blocks away. It overpowered the small meeting room. I had to resist from coughing. He sat at the table on his phone while Kyle did all the talking.
I glanced at Alexa, and she was currently taking a selfie and plumping out her collagen-filled lips. I rolled my eyes.
“Is it this farce of a relationship?” I asked. “We all knew that was never going to work.”
Alexa paused in her selfie-taking and making fish lips and glared at me again.
“Yes and no. The word is out, guys. Critics officially hate Traitor Born. It’s a week from the premiere, so if the box office numbers go the same way…”
“I’m sure they won’t. The public hasn’t even seen the film. You can’t base all the facts on a few reviews.”
“It doesn’t matter,” said Kyle, waving my input off. “The numbers are also in for your last film, Jack. And they’re no better.”
Fury bubbled in my chest. I clenched my fists. “Are you implying it’s my fault?”
Kyle put his hands up in surrender. “Now, now. That’s not what I’m saying.”
I stood and threw back the chair I’d been sitting in. It hit the wall behind me with a loud thud. It startled Alexa’s agent out of his smartphone world. Even Alexa stopped applying her lip gloss to stare in my direction. I didn’t care.
“But that’s what you’re implying. Am I right? I’ve worked damn hard on this film and the film before that. If the studios didn’t cut the good stuff and brought on quality producers and directors, and a female lead who didn’t throw themselves all over me, then this thing would actually have a chance.”
“Jack…”
“No. I’m done. I’ll do the
press tour and the premiere in Sydney. But that’s only because I need a break. After that, I’m done.”
I stormed to the door and yanked it open. “Oh, and call Julia and tell her to give me a decent job for once.” I slammed the door behind me and walked out of that meeting room feeling ten pounds lighter mentally. That had felt good to finally get all my feelings off my chest.
Hollywood of late had become stifling. All the roles that Julia, my agent, had arranged for me have been one dimensional. I longed for something real. And for a real female co-star who didn’t want to fuck me or use me to elevate her own career.
I was done with Hollywood for now. I needed out.
And Sydney… Sydney was the perfect excuse.
2
I jogged home from the agency office, having changed in the bathroom after storming out. I needed to run out my frustration, my anger. Running often helped me when I was anxious, upset, or just needed time to myself.
Taking a detour, I headed toward Venice Beach. It was almost lunchtime, and soon, this stretch of beach and sidewalk would be filled with runners, dog walkers, and people out doing numerous forms of exercise. And also, many posers. Venice Beach was notorious for people who loved showing off their bodies. I wasn’t one of them, but I loved the relaxing feeling being at the beach gave me. Especially at dawn or dusk. I was often down here before the sun rose or set, just to watch it. I loved watching the colours paint the sky.