Counting Stars

by Renee Porter

  “George, don’t play with that please,” Katie huffed out as she took away George’s small hands from the keyboard.

  “She’s pretty,” Ryan gulped at George’s observation as he pointed toward the screen. She started to cough as Katie eyed the website and then eyed Ryan with a very interested expression.

  “I was doing research,” Ryan spoke up as if that would explain everything. Katie gave her a slow smile and the look in her eyes let Ryan know she wasn’t nearly off the hook.

  “You’re doing research on Jonathan’s cousin, who just so happens to be one of the most talented women in Hollywood, and might I add, very gorgeous?” Katie lowered her gaze. “And why would you be needing to do research on Charlotte Baker?”

  Ryan heard Georgie try to say Charlie’s name like his mother but he failed miserably. The green eyed girl tried to think of something, anything to get her out of this mess. She knew the second that she had entered Charlie’s name into Google that it was a bad idea. It made her feel dirty, stalker-ish but she couldn’t deny the fact that she wanted to know more about the woman that was quickly becoming her friend.

  “I, uh…” Ryan shook her head at her stuttering. This was ridiculous. She just needed to tell Katie the truth. Ryan finally blew out a breath. “I’m trying to get a sizeable donation from her, that’s all. I’m just doing my homework.” That was too easy of a lie. Katie is going to see right through that.

  “I’m onto you Starks, you know that?” Katie pointed a finger at Ryan and grabbed her son out of the ‘Commander’s’ chair. Georgie landed on her hip and hugged onto his mother’s neck. “And if you weren’t my boss, and I didn’t have to go get this little one to the D-E-N-T-I-S-T, I would totally give you the third degree right now.” Ryan breathed out a sigh of relief, thankful that she wouldn’t be questioned by Katie, for now.

  Katie passed Ryan as she told George to say good bye. He placed a sloppy kiss on Ryan’s cheek but before they left Katie still had one more thing to say. “She is quite beautiful, you know.” Katie shrugged her shoulder as she let Ryan ponder her last statement.

  Chapter 5

  Charlie was grateful for her life. Really, she was. She had worked hard to get out of her small hometown. She had taken a chance on leaving and that risk had paid off. Charlie remembered her first apartment when she moved to Los Angeles. LA . It was small, in a bad part of town and she was sure that her neighbors sold drugs for their chosen career. She had remembered thinking that the small apartment was just a stepping stone into a life that she would work relentlessly to achieve. In her young mind she wanted that glitz and glamour. As she looked around her rundown apartment she envisioned something else…something fit for someone of status. The small kitchen in her eyes was now spacious with granite countertops and top of the line accessories. Her small living room wasn’t also her bedroom and she could see silk curtains fluttering in the breeze coming through the endless windows adorning her walls. If she looked hard enough, the brick wall that her current view afforded was replaced with water close enough to touch. Yes, she had known that the apartment was just a stepping stone. She had wanted it all – fame, money and extravagant parties.

  But that was the mind of a young girl from a small town who really had nothing. As Charlie made her rounds in the gorgeous backdrop of the Los Angeles hotel she yearned a bit for that small town. Her heart almost ached for the small apartment. Her mind seemingly hoped that this was all a dream and soon she would wake up with the forest behind her, the woodpeckers singing their morning songs and the creek whispering in the morning light.

  “Charlotte, hello!” Charlie’s reverie of her life back home was disrupted by a pair of deep honey eyes and perfect white teeth. Her own smile widened as she deftly rolled her eyes and pulled in the woman in front of her with a deep hug.

  “Since when do you ever call me ‘Charlotte’, Alexandra . ?” Charlie’s friend Alex chuckled at Charlie’s tease and she felt a small, playful slap against her bare arm. Alex stepped back an arm’s length away and openly admired the woman’s dress. She gave out a low whistle which made Charlie flush with slight embarrassment. Alex gave her a knowing smile and shook her head.

  “You look stunning. And that’s the last compliment you’re going to get from me because I am mad at you.” Alex turned from Charlie as a waiter passed with a tray of champagne. The woman took one easily from the tray and sipped lightly from the crystal.

  “And why would you be mad at me? I haven’t seen you for over six months.” Charlie sipped the same champagne that she had been nursing since arriving to the fund raiser earlier that evening. She caught the honey brown of Alex’s eyes and those same eyes seemed to narrow with humor.

  “You’ve been in town for how long now and you haven’t even called me? I had to find out from ET that you moved from Miami back to Cali. Literally, the media knew before your seemingly good friend.”

  Charlie sighed as she shook her head. “I know, I should’ve called.” Charlie knew that Alex had been trying to lace her concern with humor but there was also slight hurt behind the woman’s words. “I have no other good excuse except that I’ve been trying to lay as low as possible since Miami.” Alex gave Charlie a withering look that seemed to soften with every second.

  “At least the media didn’t catch on to that,” Alex stated while clinking her now empty flute to Charlie’s. Charlie nodded as the pit in her stomach tightened. She hadn’t brought up Miami to anyone but Jonathan since, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to, especially with so many people around.

  “Has she tried to contact you?” Charlie tried not to roll her eyes as the topic of conversation didn’t change as she had hoped it would. Charlie looked around to make sure that no one was listening. Everyone seemed to be inundated with each other and only a few eyes were on her but only in interest that the Charlotte Baker was at their event. She sighed heavily as she turned her back slightly to the patrons.

  “Not a word, thank G g od. It was a part of the deal.” She tried to sound as though she wasn’t bothered but the look in Alex’s eyes told her that she was as transparent as she felt.

  “I still can’t believe she threatened you,” Alex whispered. “I really thought she was the real deal, you know?”

  Charlie nodded as she imagined tanned skin and honey blonde hair. Her throat tightened as watery blue eyes flashed quickly through her mind’s eye. She had thought she was the real deal too.

  A hand against her forearm shook her out of saddening thoughts as Alex’s eyes replaced the ones in her mind. “No one could have known what would happen. It wasn’t your fault that Lisa was only in it for the money, you know that right?” Charlie nodded as she released an audible sigh.

  “It’s for the best really. Not like it would have gotten much further. She wanted more than I could offer.”

  Alex nodded as she eyed the many people of the party. “Last time I spoke to you before all this happened, you said that she wanted it all out in the open.” Charlie sighed. She wished that she could have given that to Lisa. Honestly, she would have given her the world if she could but the timing just wasn’t right. She shook her head and almost had to laugh at the impossibility of it all. How could she have gone from wanting to spend the rest of her life with this woman to paying her out just to make sure she would never be a part of her life again?

  “Enough of that though. It’s in the past. Let’s talk about how tall, dark and handsome hasn’t taken her eyes off of you this whole night.” Charlie’s head cocked up quickly at the sound of Alex’s words. The change of subject nearly knocked her off her feet and when she looked up to find the subject of Alex’s topic staring at her from across the room her skin shivered with dislike.

  “Shit,” Charlie muttered under her breath. She hardly swore but the woman whose attention that was on her was not the woman who she wanted attention from.

  “That’s Naomi Hart isn’t it?” Charlie took the warm champagne and winced as she knocked back the remaining content. />
  “Yes.” Charlie sighed again with warring emotions. She didn’t know why exactly Naomi had her attention fixed but she could assume that it had to do with her friendship with Ryan.

  “Is there something going on between you two? Because I’m not sure if she wants to murder you or kiss you.” Alex whispered conspiratorially and Charlie shook her head.

  “I think it’s the former. And no, there isn’t anything going on between us.”

  “But you know her?” Alex said, not really believing Charlie’s words. Charlie shook her head.

  “She used to date a friend of mine. Apparently, she dislikes it when people rain in on her territory.” Alex’s gave her a knowing ‘oh’ and then winked.

  “So then, this friend…” Charlie chuckled as she shook her head.

  “Just a friend, Alex, nothing more.”

  “Okay, Charlie. Whatever you say. Just make sure that this friend is truly a friend. I worry about you, you know? We’ve been friends since college and I dislike it when people mess with my friends.” Alex waved her finger at Charlie who just nodded her head. She smiled at her friend’s protectiveness. She wanted to defend Ryan but knew that this wasn’t the time nor the place. Especially with Naomi seemingly breaking her down with her stare.

  “Oh, and this is where I take my leave. Call me when you’re not so busy okay? I’ll keep an eye out on you tonight.” Alex gave Charlie a quick hug and again the woman was astonished with the change of subject. She wasn’t sure why Alex hastily left but when a sultry, raspy ‘hello’ sounded in from her left she had immediately known why.

  Charlie turned and was met by Naomi’s still hardened stare. The woman gave a slow smile showing off a perfect row of white teeth. Her short hair was slicked to the side and her deep brown eyes zeroed onto Charlie’s chest and then neck and then her own blue eyes.

  “Charlotte Baker, I had to come over and introduce myself. I’m Naomi,” the woman held out her hand and Charlie wanted to quickly swat it away but her social graces got the best of her. She tightly grabbed Naomi’s hand and shook it with confidence. Naomi released it with a slight wince and Charlie almost chastised herself for letting her emotions for Ryan already rear.

  “I thought I saw you at the Abbey a few weeks ago but I couldn’t have been so sure with the lighting. You were with Ryan and Jonathan, weren’t you?” Charlie swallowed as she looked around the party, not wanting people to overhear their conversation. She didn’t know why she was so panicked, it’s not like the Abbey exclusively catered to the gay community. She actually wouldn’t have been surprised if many of the fundraising invites had been there at least one time in their lives.

  “Ah, yes. That was me.” Naomi smiled again and Charlie could see why Ryan would have fallen for the woman in front of her. The model was gorgeous and probably just as charming as she believed.

  “Your hair is a bit darker though,” Naomi reached out and touched the fine hairs of Charlie’s curls. Her knuckles grazed against Charlie’s soft skin and the shiver she felt was more from not liking the inappropriate touch and less from what Naomi thought was a slick move.

  Charlie backed up a step and smiled tightly at the model.

  “I’m sure you know how it is. Sometimes the only way to go out and have fun is not being noticed.”

  Naomi laughed a little too forcefully at Charlie. “I wouldn’t say that. I find that being noticed can be quite fun. Especially when you’re just looking for a good time.” Naomi bit her bottom lip and Charlie forced herself not to roll her eyes.

  “So I take it you know Ryan from Jonathan, then?” Charlie nodded her head. She had wanted to try and steer clear from talking about Ryan. She knew that her attraction for the woman had grown but her want of protecting her wasn’t from her growing feelings, rather than her growing friendship. She had never met anyone like Ryan and she could only imagine why someone would hurt her like Naomi had.

  “That’s true, yes. She’s become a good friend.” Charlie locked eyes with Naomi, staring at her with eyes that dared Naomi to say anything negative about Ryan.

  “Just a good friend? Or something more?” Naomi chuckled and sipped her champagne. She licked her lips slowly and again Charlie shivered.

  “Well, it is becoming something more, I believe.” Charlie stated. Naomi was surprised at the candor and then Charlie continued. “I can say that we’re headed to being best friends.” Charlie smiled and Naomi chuckled at the humor.

  “Ryan, is something else.” Naomi’s smile brightened when talking about Ryan and Charlie almost felt bad for the woman’s heart. Almost. “So I take it she told you about us then, with you two being so close.”

  “I’ve heard some things, yes.” Charlie found herself growing bored of the conversation. She tried to scan the room for Alex to get her out of this mess but the woman was nowhere to be found.

  “It’s a shame really. I know you probably have heard what happened, but just so you know, it wasn’t entirely my fault.”

  Charlie barked a laugh and shook her head. “I hardly think that you can blame your infidelity on Ryan.”

  Naomi tilted her head regarding her conversation partner. “I would agree with you if I was in your position, but there are always two sides to the story.”

  “Or three,” Charlie stated. Naomi gave her a questioning glance for an explanation. “Don’t forget about the woman you slept with, her story counts too, doesn’t it?” Charlie gritted her teeth and for a second Naomi’s smile faltered.

  “You sound like my therapist.” The smile was back in full force. “Ryan, has issues herself you know. Ones that were very heavy in our relationship. But with you being close friends and all, I’m sure she’s told you all about those things that go ‘bump in the night’ for her.” Naomi carefully eyed Charlie. Charlie just nodded her head and whispered an ‘of course’ but Naomi’s words did exactly what she was hoping for. This woman was on a mission to see just how close Charlie and Ryan were and it was obvious that Ryan still held back from Charlie. Of course, the two women had gotten to know more of each other but there was still so much not being said. Charlie still wasn’t sure why Ryan didn’t divulge a lot of her past but she figured those stories would come in due time.

  “Of course she has,” Naomi finished. The woman waved to someone who was attempting to grab her attention and quickly looked toward Charlie. “It’s been a pleasure meeting you. I’m sure I’ll see you soon. Please give Ryan my best.” Naomi winked and walked off, leaving Charlie with a shear sense of relief that the woman was gone and also a sickening feeling that this woman knew more about Ryan than she might ever know. Charlie shook her head as she forced those thoughts out of her mind. Ryan was just a friend, anyway – nothing more, nothing less.

  Chapter 6

  “Three months?” Ryan breathed out steady breaths as she looked over to Charlie. Her face was red with exertion as they rounded the corner and started to jog up a steeper hill. Ryan felt the burn in her legs but she pushed through it, allowing her muscles to become accustomed to the new incline.

  “It’s supposed to be set in L.A. but it’s too expensive for a small independent firm to produce here so they’ll just make the sets in Georgia to look like Downtown. It’s surprisingly cheaper that way.” Ryan bit her tongue almost wanting to provide the production company the difference to film in Los Angeles. She didn’t know why, but the prospect of having her friend gone for three months straight made her stomach churn.

  “Does this happen often?” Charlie and Ryan both started to slow as they reached the top of the hill. Ryan looked out across the view of the valley. The morning sun allowed small windows to glint and Ryan felt at war with her emotions of feeling at peace and surprisingly uneasy.

  “It depends on what I’m working on at the time,” Charlie took a swig of her water and then placed it down next to her. “I was in South Africa for six months for a project once. That was a bit much but I got to see a lot of the country.”

  Ryan nodded her head as she
tried to continue the conversation. She was familiar with the hustle and bustle of the business and it was times like these that she was reminded why she tended not to get attached to anyone that served within its belly. How often had she wished that she could stay at home and try to have friends while her father was cast off to some unknown state to film?

  “It’s going to be hard this time around though.” They had started to walk along the steep cliff as they made their way back to their homes. They walked closely with one another as Ryan waited for Charlie to continue. When she didn’t, Ryan felt the need to press.

  “Why is it different this time?”

  Charlie inhaled deeply as she thought for a moment and then continued. “I’m not used to having roots. It’s easy to pack up and leave when you don’t have anything waiting for you back home, wherever that may be. Now though…” She looked over at Ryan and then shook her head. “I have Jonathan, and I finally feel like I belong here. So, I have a feeling that this time I’ll be a little homesick.”

  Something inside of Ryan warmed but she pushed it away. As the weeks passed and as she and Charlie grew closer as friends, there was no denying the feeling of attraction steaming within her. She tried to push it away , knowing She knew Charlie was the last person she needed to have a crush on, but lately she found herself chastising her heart and mind more often than not.

  “Well, you know there is always Skype and a phone, if you get lonely.” It was an invitation that sounded good and friendly in her head, but in reality Ryan knew that she would feel just as lonely not having Charlie around for an extended period of time.

  Charlie glanced over at her a slow smile spreading across her face. “Yeah, I know, but Jonathan isn’t the best over the phone. It’s just a bunch of ‘uh huh ’ s’ and ‘yeahs’.”