by L. L Hunter
“You’re welcome. In this place, you need friends.”
30
Five months later
The film Kate and I were working on wrapped up about a month earlier, and I was hard at work shooting the teen drama TV show. And also counting down the days until I saw Chloe again. In the past couple of months, the rumours about me and Alexa ran rampant. But in typical Hollywood fashion, they died down soon after, and another scandal soon took its place. And on and on it went.
My days became monotonous and clockwork. I got up, headed to the set, shot my scenes, waited around, shot some more scenes, then went home. If I finished work early, early meaning there was still daylight, I jogged along Venice Beach or in Santa Monica.
One day, when I wasn’t called in to set, I made my way up to the Hollywood sign. I sat on the viewing platform behind it, legs dangling over the edge and took in the view.
As I sat and admired the view, I thought about the last time I was here. Chloe and I had driven up here and then made love in the twilight underneath the first letter O. I remembered how my nails had scratched the surface of her satin-like skin as she moved against me. It was the best sex I had ever had, and Chloe had said the same. I closed my eyes and remembered her as she climaxed, and then gasped—and my eyes snapped open.
Oh, my God. I almost came just thinking of us making love. It had been six months since I’d last held her in my arms. It was six months too long. I needed her. I needed her like yesterday. I stood and ran back to my car.
I knew what I had to do. It couldn’t wait a moment longer.
I needed her back in my life.
I knew then I couldn’t live without her.
I went straight to my parent’s place, running inside, and didn’t stop.
“Mom? Mom!” When I ran in the front door, which was thankfully unlocked, she came hurrying out from the kitchen.
“Jack? What’s wrong, sweetheart?”
“I need to go back to Sydney. I need Chloe.”
“Oh, I thought something was wrong.” She let out a relieved breath and wiped her hands on her apron before walking toward me and wrapping me in her arms. “You go get her, honey. You haven’t been yourself since she’s been gone.”
“Thanks, Mom. But I need a favour.”
“Sure, sweetheart. Whatever you need.”
I stepped back so I could take something out of my pocket. I opened the small velvet box in my hand and held it up toward my mother. She gasped and put her hands over mouth in surprise.
“Do you think she’ll like it, Mom?”
“Oh, honey. I think she’ll love it.”
“I picked it up the other day on my day off. I already proposed to Chloe, though, six months ago.”
“Oh, then what are you waiting for?”
I smiled. “I don’t know, really.”
I would have left that night had it not been for work. I had a few things to tie up here, including the show I was currently working on. I told them I could no longer commit to being a regular, so I left. Thankfully, they were good with that and sorted out my contracts so I could occasionally come back as a guest star. Next, I had to do one last interview. Then there was the matter of Alexa. But with the way she’d been acting lately, I had a feeling her own publicity stunts were going to backfire on her. There was a little piece of me that was worried she was going to self-destruct once more and overdose again, or worse. But I had to move on. She was toxic for me and for the future I wanted for myself. I had to put her in the past and move on with my life.
Growing up meant sometimes you had to burn bridges.
The interview was a breeze. It was my chance to finally clear the air and set the record straight about a few things.
I hopped on a plane about a week later. The interview went live when I was halfway across the Pacific Ocean.
HEADLINE: Tonight on Celebrity… (cuts to a video montage of Jack at the Golden Globes with Chloe, and at the premiere in Sydney, as well as a scene from the upcoming romantic flick with Kate)
* * *
HOST: Jack Dean sets the record straight. He joins us in the studio to update us about what’s been going on his life. Welcome, Jack. Thank you for joining us.
* * *
JACK: Thanks for having me.
* * *
HOST: Now, you’re here today to set the record straight about those rumours. Is that right?
* * *
JACK: That’s correct. (looks straight at the camera) I wanted to come here today to tell everyone the truth about what’s been going on lately. The beautiful young writer I met in Sydney at my premiere, Chloe, what she and I have is real. It is the most real thing I’ve ever had. I love Chloe. In fact, by the time this interview airs, I’ll be on my way to Australia to properly propose to Chloe and make things official.
* * *
HOST: Wait, are you saying that you’re going to propose to Chloe?
* * *
JACK: Well, I’ve already asked her. I’m just going to give her the ring and move in with her.
* * *
HOST: Oh, congratulations. But what about Alexa Long and Kate Brooks?
* * *
JACK: Alexa is a former co-star who pretended to be with me for publicity. She is my past. Kate is a co-star and friend. I care for them as friends. But that’s it. Chloe is the only one for me.
* * *
HOST: Thank you so much for joining us and setting the record straight, Jack.
* * *
JACK: Thank you for the opportunity.
* * *
HOST: (Looks at the camera.) You can see Jack Dean on the teen drama, Intrigued, airing this spring on Netflix. And in the upcoming chick flick, Written in the Stars, out in cinemas this summer.
31
I had seen on social media that not only had Chloe finished her second book about fame and Hollywood and us but had signed a few contracts, as well. One contract was for an international print deal, and the other was for the film rights. I couldn’t believe it. Someone wanted to make her books into films. Not only were our lives printed across the pages of two books, but they were soon going to be portrayed on the big screen.
This was all happening because I took a leap of faith and invited her to the After Party so I could talk to her without any pressure. No, it was all because Chloe’s boss gave her the gig that would place her on that red carpet so we could meet. Growing up, I wasn’t one who believed in fate. But since meeting Chloe, I did now.
I believe she and I were destined to meet that night. What would happen after that was up to us. We had both taken the leap and chosen to follow this path, the path that now led to me standing at the door of Chloe’s new house.
With the money she was given from the contracts, she bought her dream house in the country. When I first arrived in Sydney, I went straight to the townhouse where Chloe used to live to find out where Chloe’s new house was, since I wanted to surprise her. Her flatmates assured me she wasn’t home and didn’t suspect anything. I had a few hours to prepare the house and cook dinner before she finished up at her meeting in the city and ran a few errands.
She no longer worked at the entertainment gossip website, but still occasionally came to the city for meetings with the publisher and for book events.
I went to the house, let myself in with the spare key her old roommate had given me and set about making the house ready for when Chloe eventually got home. I had brought with me the ingredients for Vietnamese rice paper rolls. The house smelled of lemongrass, garlic, and pork cooking when she finally came home.
The best part was seeing her reaction when she walked in and noticed I was there. She dropped the box she had been holding and ran into my arms.
“Jack? What are you doing here?” We kissed like we hadn’t seen in each other in eternity. It had been almost seven months, which might as well be an eternity. I pushed her up against the counter and proceeded to free her of her clothing.
“I haven’t been with you in se
ven months. I can’t wait a second longer.”
Then we christened her new kitchen counter and her new bed. Twice each.
While we lay in each other’s arms in bed, I gave her the ring I had brought for her.
“This is where I choose to be. This is my home,” I whispered. The ring was a clear-cut diamond with two small sapphires on either side. The colour of the sapphires reminded me of her favourite colour blue, that dress she wore that was so hard to get off, and the first time she got inside my car. It was our shade of blue.
32
A few years later, we got married in Fiji in a destination wedding, and on the first night of our honeymoon, all around Southeast Asia, we conceived our first child. When we returned from our honeymoon, we attended the premiere of the film adaptation of Chloe’s first book. The story of our lives. The story that changed everything.
On that red carpet, amongst the sea of lights and stars, as we gazed into each other’s eyes, we shared our secret with each other alone. In this world where everything could disappear in a second and nothing was permanent, we vowed to hold onto this little secret a little while longer. It was our little piece of constant in a world that was always moving, always changing. We were each other’s constant.
Epilogue
Five years later
“Where’s daddy?” I heard my daughter say from the sand. I peered up toward the beach from the water, head just above the waves. Chloe bounced her small five-year-old frame on her knees to try to appease her. But our daughter had the attention span of a flea. It wasn’t long before she was shooting off Chloe’s lap and heading toward the water’s edge. I waited until the time was right.
When Lexi was standing at the edge with her toes in the soft wet sand, I leapt out of the water and roared like a monster. Lexi screamed and began to run away. But I was too fast and caught her. I wrapped her in my arms and spun her around in the air, kissing her neck and cheek.
“Ahh! Daddy!” she squealed. “Don’t eat me.”
“But you’re so yummy, Lexi Lou.” I proceeded to drag her little legs through the incoming waves, as Chloe came to join us. She adjusted her flopped hat, pulled off her big sunglasses to wipe off the sweat and smiled at us.
“Hey,” I said. “You okay?”
“Yeah. It’s just a bit hot. That’s all. It’s not easy being a pregnant lady in summer.” She held onto her eight-month-old baby bump and lowered herself into the shallows. I put Lexi down, and she sat down beside her mother. I sat on the other side of Lexi and together we sat and let the cool waves wash over our bodies. Lexi squealed every time a wave washed over her.
While she was having fun, I looked over at my wife and winked. She smiled and then placed each of her hands on that of her children.
Before Lexi was born, we learned that Alexa Long passed away from an overdose. I was shocked and upset at first. I had told Chloe the time I tried to help Alexa when she overdosed the first time. She told me it wasn’t my fault. But because she knew how much it affected me, she decided she wanted to call our first child after Alexa. Alexa would have loved that.
Chloe, Lexi, and I now spent most of our time in the country, but flew up every few months to our holiday house in Byron Bay. Chloe was still writing, novels and screenplays, and I was still working as an actor, but I was selective about the projects I worked on. My family was the most important thing in the world to me now, and I wanted to be there for them.
I was finally at peace with who I was and how far I had come.
This is who I am.
My name is Jack Dean, and I am not just an actor. I am a father, husband, and a man who knows what he wants.
* * *
The End
Girl with the Dream
Kate’s Story
“Experience is the name we give our mistakes” —Oscar Wilde
Prologue
My life changed the day I arrived in Hollywood.
I knew it would as soon as I stepped off the bus.
Maybe it was the hope I would one day get out of my small hometown in Ohio.
Maybe it was the hope I would score a role straight away.
Maybe it was optimism or straight up dreaming.
But the fact I had a dream, and I got out of my dead-end town was something. It was more than most people I knew accomplished in a lifetime. Hell, most people in my town had never been outside of Ohio.
But since I was a little girl, I’d had the dream that one day I would become an actress.
One year ago today, I made that dream a reality.
But that reality was more like a cold bucket of water to the face.
You see, Hollywood isn’t all lights, glitz, and glamour.
My name is Kate Brooks, and this is my story.
1
One Year Ago
Elton John always took me to dreamland.
I wasn’t sure how much time had passed since I last looked out the window or paid attention to anything other than my Discman. But I knew I was almost to my destination. I could feel it.
I took off my headphones and glanced around, coming out of my music-filled dream state. I was sure the bus driver had said something.
Sure enough. He had. And thankfully, he spoke again. More like yelled.
“Next stop, Hollywood!”
I flinched at the loud boom of his voice reverberating through the bus. I sat up straighter in my seat and smiled.
I was here at last. I had made it. I was in Hollywood.
As the coach pulled into the bus terminal, I grabbed my bag out of the overhead luggage rack and stood to get off. My bag was small, but it was all I needed. What I had shoved into my bag three days ago were clothes and the few keepsakes that actually meant anything to me. I was planning to start a brand-new life here in Hollywood, so I didn’t want too many reminders of my old one. The main thing I wanted to keep with me that couldn’t go into my bag hung from my neck at all times—my grandmother’s necklace. She had given me the aquamarine pendant when I turned sixteen. I didn’t know if it had much monetary value, but to me, it was priceless.
I stepped off the bus, and as soon as my sandaled feet touched the ground of Hollywood, a feeling of accomplishment and absolute glee washed over me.
I couldn’t believe I was finally here!
As I stood on the sidewalk and looked up at the skyscrapers and bright lights, reality finally hit me.
Literally.
It wasn’t sunny when we pulled into downtown Los Angeles. The sky was the colour of my Great-aunt Mable’s hair—silvery purple. And in the next moment, I knew why. The heavens opened, and the storm clouds unleashed their full fury on me.
A car horn honked, making me scream and jump, causing me to drop my duffle bag in a puddle in the gutter. Then another car drove by and went through that same puddle, throwing water all over me. I looked down at my now sheer white cotton top and cursed myself for wearing it.
It was like the universe was saying to me, “Welcome to Hollywood, Kate. Where it’s not always sunny.”
But at that moment, I refused to believe this was what my life would be like in Hollywood. I was optimistic that it would get better, much better.
First, I had to find somewhere to stay and dry off. I picked up my wet bag from the gutter and stumbled into the nearest bar. Surely, the people there would be able to help me.
The doorbell rang as I walked in, and like those old western movies, everyone turned to look at me, the sodden girl in the see-through top standing in the doorway.
“You look like a lost puppy,” said the bartender. It was reasonably quiet, and what customers were there had now turned back to their drinks. It was almost five in the evening when I walked in, so I guess people drinking at this time wasn’t unusual. I don’t know why I thought it was. It was probably because I’d been travelling for three days and time seemed to blur together. I wasn’t sure what day it was.
“Can I help you, miss?” said the middle-aged bartender. He stood behind the bar
polishing a glass and regarded me as a psychologist. My grandmother always used to say you didn’t need a shrink if you had a local watering hole and a friendly bartender. This man had probably seen a lot in his time as a bartender, and a girl walking into his bar out of the rain with one bag, and the look of optimism in her eyes wasn’t unusual.
I sat down on one of the barstools and placed my dripping wet bag by my feet.
“Um, yes. Sorry about the mess. I didn’t expect it to rain.” I laughed, wringing out my curly blonde hair, which was now a wet mop of knots.
“Don’t worry about it. You must have brought the rain with you. We haven’t had a good storm in many months. Where are you from?”
“Ohio,” I replied, adjusting myself on the hard stool. My denim skirt clung heavily to my legs.
“Ah. That explains it. Now, can I get you anything to drink? And perhaps a towel?”
“Oh, yes, please. And I apologise for my forwardness, but you wouldn’t know a place where I could stay, would you?”
“As a matter of fact, I do. My daughter has been looking for a roommate for a while now. I can give you her contact details.”
“Oh, thank you. If she doesn’t mind, that is.”
“Not at all. A recommendation is a lot better than a personal ad on Craigslist. Let me get you her number and your towel. I won’t be a moment.”