Written in the Stars Series Collection

by L. L Hunter

  9

  The beat of the music slowed into something more sensual. Raven held my hips, pivoting them in toward hers. I swayed my hips from side to side with the rhythm.

  It felt like we were in a magical world involving only us, with the singer singing only to us. The song was ours.

  It was the perfect moment. But I didn’t seize it because I was still freaking inside my brain.

  “Lexi, I can see the cogs turning. Turn it off. Just for tonight. Be here with me.”

  I laughed. You sound like my dad talking to my mom.”

  “Well, then you should know how fucking annoying it is.”

  I bowed my head, letting my hair fall over my face.

  “Sorry.”

  She placed a finger under my chin and tipped it up. Our eyes met.

  “Don’t. May I kiss you again?”

  “You didn’t ask last time.”

  “But then you freaked out, so I thought I might be the gentlelady and ask this time.”

  “That’s sweet of you.”

  Raven reached for my face, and this time I was ready for her. I stepped closer. Our hips grazed, and our lips collided.

  Kissing Raven felt like fireworks and champagne bubbles all at once.

  It was secret and naughty, and oh so good.

  I couldn’t get enough.

  I pulled her closer still. Our breasts touched, and her hands slipped into the back pockets of my work pants, cupping my butt.

  I slipped my tongue inside her mouth. But still, I couldn’t get enough.

  “Raven, I need you.”

  “Me too. Let’s get out of here.”

  “Yes.”

  She took my hand, and we pushed through the quivering bodies toward the outside. Once we had escaped the secret nightclub, Raven hailed another cab, and we were soon speeding off into the L.A. night.

  I leaned into her in the cab. She reached for me, turning my face toward, and our lips touched again.

  Time meant nothing. I had no idea where we were going. All I knew was that I wanted to spend the rest of the night with Raven. Perhaps even the rest of eternity.

  I was completely enthralled in her.

  I had no idea where we were when the cab finally came to a stop. Raven paid the driver, and we climbed out of the car. I stepped out first, followed by Raven.

  The street was winding and lined with palm trees. It rose upwards into the darkness. The only lights in the vicinity came from a multi-level white mansion set into the hillside.

  “Come on. Hopefully, my parents will be asleep now. Normally, if I come home at this time, my dad is still working. He hears me and pops his head out of his office and wants to chat. And after a long shift of talking to a billion people, I am in no mood to chat.”

  “This is your house?” I asked, looking around, my jaw hanging open in wonder.

  “Yeah. This is one of them.”

  She said it like it was no big deal.

  “One of them? How many do you have?”

  “A few. This one. One in New York and one in Sydney, Australia.”

  “A what exactly does your father do for work? I had no idea you were…”

  “What? Rich? Famous? Babe, didn’t you grow up on a Hollywood backlot? You’re acting like this is a big deal. Like you’re some commoner.”

  “Yeah. But my parents are humble. We have multiple properties, sure. But they’re not like this. Plus, I’m not famous. My parents have sheltered me from all this. I have no idea how much they actually make.”

  “Anyway, even if you were, I don’t care. I’ve had enough fame in my life to last a lifetime. It gets boring after a while. Now, enough talking and kiss me.”

  10

  Sunlight hit my face, turning my eyelids red.

  It was bright. Far too bright.

  “Mm. turn it off.”

  “Good morning, sleeping beauty.” Raven leaned over to kiss me, then turned back to her phone. I glanced over and saw her sitting up in bed wearing a loose basketball jersey and sipping coffee.

  “Mm. You’re up early. Why are you up so early?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. I just am.” Then she let out a high-pitched squeal that made me jolt out of my skin. I sat up straight, forgetting that I was naked underneath the covers.

  “Ooh, hello.”

  I quickly pulled the sheet over my breasts. “what is it? what’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. Sorry. The pictures are out from last night.”

  “What?!” Now it was my turn to shriek. I grabbed Raven’s phone and looked at the screen.

  And sure enough. All over social media was a picture of Raven and I kissing inside the secret club.

  “Oh my god! Who put that on there? Who took it?”

  “I don’t know. Someone at the club last night.”

  “Can you take it down?”

  “No. It’s not my picture. Calm down, Lex. It’s fine. It’s just a photo.”

  I pushed off the covers and jumped out of bed, forgetting again that I was buck naked.

  “Just a photo? Just a photograph? Don’t you get it?”

  “No. Lexi. It’s fine. Hop back in bed. Please.”

  I searched around on the floor for my clothes. I found my underwear, so I pulled them on. I found my pants, but my top and one of my shoes were nowhere to be seen.

  “It’s not fine, Raven. This was how my parents’ relationship was exposed. A single photograph started this whole thing. Besides, they don’t even know I’m bi.”

  “It’ll be fine, Lexi. It’s social media. A single picture. It’ll be forgotten by tomorrow.”

  I exhaled in frustration and found a shirt on the floor half under the bed. I still had no idea where my other shoe was. But I threw on whatever I could find and ran to the door.

  “Lexi? Where are you going?”

  “You don’t get it, Raven. To you, this might be nothing. But to me, this could change everything.”

  I ran out of the house, having no idea where I was in L.A., but I ran anyway, not looking back.

  I ordered an Uber and went back to my place to change. I checked the clock on my phone. It was almost nine in the morning.

  “Shit.” I had to be at work at the studio now.

  My feet hit the stairs to the upper floor, making an audible tapping sound on the wood. My brother poked his head around the railing at the top of the stairs.

  “Where have you been? Mom and Dad, even Grandma, have been trying to contact you.”

  “I know. I stayed at a friend’s house, don’t worry.” I checked my phone, but nothing came on. It was dead. “I’m sorry. My phone died. I’ll charge it and call them as soon as possible. Wait. Aren’t you supposed to be at school, Jordy?”

  “Nah. I have the day off.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Excursion. But I’m sick.” He faked a cough. I knew something was up without the phony coughing. He disappeared back into his room and shut the door. But I ran after him. I reached his door just after he had closed it.

  “Jordan? Jordy? Please talk to me. it’s about what happened the other day, isn’t it?” I knocked and knocked. But he ignored me.

  Time for an intervention.

  I took a bobby pin out of my hair and unlocked the vintage locks, pushing the door in. I was so glad my parents had bought a house that had these types of locks. They were easy to break into.

  “Go away, Lexi! Leave me alone.”

  “Jordan, please tell me what’s going on. I’m worried about you.”

  “I’m fine. Nothing is going on.” He slipped his noise-canceling headphones back on his ears, and I knew that was the end of the conversation. For now.

  I let out a loud sigh and went to my room.

  Then I remembered my dead phone. I plugged it in, and when it turned back on, a frenzy of notifications came through. My phone danced on my nightstand.

  The first message I saw was a voicemail from my mom. There was another two from my dad. And five from my grandmoth
er.

  “Shit.”

  I called my grandmother first, to get her out of the way. She was traditional, and according to her and Asian culture, children who didn’t call their parents or grandparents were careless and were often a disappointment. The last thing I wanted was to be a disappointment to my grandmother and the family.

  “Just wait and see, Grandma,” I said to the air as I dialed her number.

  “Alexa Lou Dean, where have you been?” I copped an ear full as soon as she picked up. I held my phone away from my ear and placed it on loudspeaker while she ranted and went in search of clean clothes.

  “Alexa? Alexa? Are you there?”

  “Yes. Yes, Grandma. I’m here.”

  “Please call your father. He’s worried. Don’t give us a heart attack again. You hear me?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  I hung up from my grandmother, promising over and over to call my parents.

  But first, I needed a shower. I would talk to them at the studio.

  11

  Driving to the studio, my mom called. I hit answer on the car Bluetooth.

  “Hey, Mom. I was gonna call you. but my phone died.”

  “Lex, are you okay? When you didn’t come home last night… you should have told me where you were. if you were fine.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. But I kinda got lost in the moment. After work, I went back to my colleague’s place.”

  “Oh. A guy or a girl?”

  “A girl. Her name is Raven. She’s a nice girl. It’s okay. I felt safe with her.”

  “That’s fine. But please call us next time. We were so worried. Your grandmother threatened to go knocking on everyone’s door in the neighborhood. I told her that was not necessary. She then threatened to go storming into your workplace.”

  I hit the palm of my hand against my forehead. “That’s kinda unnecessary. I’m fine.”

  “I know. I trust you. it’s just… you’re my firstborn. My daughter. Your dad was scared. And when you didn’t answer… we even called your workplace, but they said you left straight after your shift with a quote, ‘wild girl.’ What’s up with that?”

  I cursed under my breath. “Nothing. Don’t worry. My boss doesn’t really like Raven for some reason. But she’s not wild. She’s…”

  Gorgeous.

  Mysterious.

  Beautiful.

  Sexy.

  “She’s not wild. Okay? I’m almost at the studio. Tell Dad I’ll see you guys soon. I love you.”

  “Okay, sweetie. I love you too.”

  As soon as I pulled into the staff parking lot of the studio, I jumped out and ran straight for the coffee cart. I needed coffee. Stat.

  “Hey, Lexi. You’re late. Did you sleep in?”

  “Hey, G. yes. I did. Long shift at work. So, I need a strong coffee. Stat.”

  He made a salute sign. “Yes, ma’am. Coming right up.”

  I wasn’t really in the mood to make small talk with G this morning. So, I didn’t say anything unless spoken to. Even then, I said minimal.

  “So, are you the runner today?” he asked.

  “Yep.” I yawned loudly, then pulled out my phone. I had to check if my parents needed coffee.

  “Hey, I’m at the coffee cart. Do you need anything?” I sent it to my parents then switched over to social media.

  “Shit!”

  There it was. Front and center again. That damn photograph.

  “What? Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. Yeah. I’m fine.” I quickly put my phone away. I didn’t want to tell G all about my night and the scandal that may or may not come out soon.

  “Okay. Here are your coffees.”

  I smiled when both my parents replied yes to coffee. Then gave G a small smile and made my way to my parent’s offices.

  I kicked the door open with my sneaker when I reached my dad’s office.

  “Hey, Daddy,” I called.

  He looked up from his computer. “Lexi? You didn’t answer my text. But your mom told me you were fine and on your way.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m fine, though. Here’s your coffee.” I set his coffee down and kissed him on the head.

  “Thanks, sweetie. When you drop your mother’s off, can you head over to makeup and hair? I think they need some help over there.”

  “Sure.”

  I made my way across the hall to my mom’s office. In this studio building, my parents’ offices were opposite each other, while Damian was beside my dad’s, but most of the time, Damian worked at the second computer in my dad’s office. Damian wasn’t in my dad’s office or his today. So, he was probably on set.

  I knocked on my mother’s office door. It was closed, and I could hear her typing away at her computer.

  “Come in,” she called.

  “Hey, Mom.”

  She spun around on her whirly chair and pushed the headphones off her ears.

  “Lex, sweetheart. You’re here.”

  “Yeah. I made it. at last.” I set her coffee down next to her computer. “I have to run to the makeup department.”

  “Okay, sweetheart. Are you okay?”

  I headed to the door. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”

  I didn’t wait for her to say anything else. I wasn’t ready to have that conversation with her yet. So, avoiding the elephant in the room, I hurried over to the makeup department.

  12

  The makeup and hair department were mostly a trailer parked outside the office building. The door was ajar, so I pushed it open and saw the makeup artist and hairstylist setting up for the day.

  “Hey, there. I heard you needed help?”

  “Lexi, darling. Yes, yes. Sit. Sit.”

  Pierre was French and gay and posh and kinda snobby, but he was sweet. But only if he liked you. He called me ‘darling,’ so I figured he liked me.

  “Oh, okay.” I sat down in the hair stylist’s chair, a little confused. “what’s going on?”

  Maddy, our makeup artist, came over and stood before me with a hand on her hip. She was a large and foreboding woman and not one to be messed with. She also had a thick New Jersey accent. I definitely didn’t want to get on her bad side. I flinched as she moved closer and was kinda standing over me. I shrieked, almost jumping out of my skin.

  “Maddy, hey,” I said, giving her the best smile I could manage.

  “Don’t ‘hey’ me, Missy. We need to have a chat.”

  “Not another chat. I got enough crap off my parents and grandma.”

  “Well, something needs to be said. I don’t think your parents know yet as they’re too busy living in their script.”

  I played dumb. Maddy was pretty in tune with the world, especially Hollywood, even though she was middle-aged.

  “What is this about?”

  “You can’t fool me, Alexa.”

  There was the use of my full name again. I sighed.

  Then she pulled out her phone and brought up that photograph.

  “Care to explain?”

  “I… I just went dancing with my work colleague after work. That’s all. Then we went back to her place.”

  “Okay. And she’s just a work colleague? Nothing more? Because according to this picture, it looks like it’s much more.”

  “Okay, I can explain. We didn’t know we would be photographed. It just kinda happened, and…”

  Maddy put up her hand, telling me to stop. “look, I don’t care who you go out with or are interested in. That doesn’t matter here. What matters here are the consequences that follow.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Lexi, you have got to stop being so naïve. You’re not a nobody. You are Lexi Dean, the daughter of two famous people. Because of this picture, there’s going to be a million rumors circulating now.”

  I took out my own phone and found the image on social media. There were already a few articles online. I found the image and saved it. It wasn’t a bad image.

  But thinking about it, I could see where
Maddy was coming from.

  “Maddy, it’s not the fact that I’m bisexual, is it?”

  “No. That’s not it. As I said, I don’t care. Your parents are pretty open people. They won’t care. I don’t think. But you’d better speak to them about it. People are going to say things that may not be true. They’ll spread rumors about you that could be poisonous to your career. It’s your reputation I’m worried about. And that of your parents and their business.”

  I was naïve. And perhaps half asleep. I finally understood why Maddy was so concerned. I was worried this morning about my parents finding out I liked girls, and me not telling them first. But I hadn’t grasped the seriousness of the situation.

  I was finally awake.

  “Okay, I can see how bad this looks now. I honestly didn’t know we had been photographed.”

  “You have to be careful what you do out of the spotlight, Lexi. Anything you do, every move, every decision will be criticized by the public. Words have power.”

  “Okay. So, what should I do?”

  “Don’t worry about it for now. Here’s what we’re gonna do. I’m going to give you a makeover.”

  “How is that gonna help me?”

  “For one, it will give you a bit of anonymity. Secondly, it’ll make you feel better. I love your hair, but I think a bit of blonde will look amazing on you. You have the most gorgeous eyes and skin tone, thanks to your genes. I’ve wanted to work with them for ages.”

  I smiled. “okay. I guess I could use a bit of a makeover. Thanks, Maddy.”

  “Don’t thank me, yet, girlie. Wait until all the tabloids start talking about you.”

  “Great,” I laughed nervously, before settling back into the chair.

  13

  I turned my head from side to side, looking at my new hair.

  “Oh, my gosh, Maddy. You were right.”

  “Told you.”

  My hair was lighter, but not extremely. Maddy had put golden blonde through the ends in a balayage-style—darker at the roots and lighter at the end. She had also trimmed a few inches off the ends.