I kissed her on the cheek and she embraced me once more, then released me to my father. He stood tall like an oak tree, staring down at me. Immovable. Sturdy. Full of wisdom. “Make us proud, Chloe. Make us proud.”
I wrapped my arms around his waist and he cupped the back of my head with his hand, then kissed me on the crown. “I love you, sweetheart.”
“I love you too, dad.”
He opened the car door for me and after I climbed inside, they made their way up the stairs. As the driver pulled away from the curb, my last image of them, holding onto each other, while waving goodbye, sent another wave of tears down my cheeks. My heart thumped inside of my chest like the footsteps of a giant, and for the first time, I felt like I was well and truly my own. I had no choice but to make my parents proud, and failure was not an option.
A six-hour plane trip later, and Jade was waiting for me as I made my way out of the airport. It was so comforting to see her with her arms extended towards me as I lugged my carry-on suitcase down the moving walkway.
“Chloe! Oh my God! I haven’t seen you in forever!”
“Seriously, Jade? I just saw you five months ago, before you moved out here.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever! Stop trying to ruin the moment with your technicalities!”
She wrapped her arms around me and the anxiety I felt on the plane seemed to evaporate as soon as I fell into her arms. She grabbed one of my suitcases and wheeled it away from the luggage carousel. “Well, how was the trip?”
“Long and bumpy.”
“Ugh! I hate turbulence. I always think the plane is going to go down at any moment, and I have way too much to live for to die like that,” Jade says with a flourish.
“It’s a good thing you’re an actress, Jade, because you’re way too dramatic to be an accountant.”
Jade laughed, shaking her head as we walked through the sliding doors out of the airport. The soft California breeze blew against my skin as soon as we stepped outside. The sun shone bright above us, but it didn’t seem as hot as normal.
“Well, welcome to Cali!” Jade said, smiling from ear to ear. “I know we are going to have so much fun together! This is going to be just like NYU again, except the campus is way bigger.”
We walked to a car that was parked right at the edge of a huge parking structure. Jade drove a really nice little sedan; it was all black with tinted windows and a double exhaust in the back. We placed the suitcase in the trunk of her car, then she sped out of the airport.
The city looked so different from New York and I could immediately tell that the atmosphere was far more laidback. The people moved slower and it didn’t seem like anyone was in a hurry to get where they were going. In New York, there was hardly a moment when drivers weren’t speeding past you or driving on your tail because you were moving too slow for them. Out here, people moved at their own pace.
“Jeez, is the whole city this mellow?”
“Yeah, that is just how Los Angeles is. You are going to love it here, Chloe. Absolutely LOVE it.”
As we rode down the freeway, I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket so that I could let my parents know that I made it here safely. I put them on speaker phone as soon as my mom picked up. “Chloe? Is everything alright? Did you make it?”
“Yes, mom, I’m here in the car with Jade.”
“Hey, mom,” Jade said with a wide smile. “You should’ve come out here with Chloe, at least to visit.”
“No, I couldn’t come on such short notice. Besides, your father wouldn’t last a week without me here to help him out.”
“I’d survive,” daddy yelled from the background.
Jade laughed. “Oh, hey, dad! You could’ve come, too! We could have gone to a Kings game!”
Mom spoke up. “Well, with Chloe out there, I am sure that we will have more than a few opportunities to come and hang out with you all. But I don’t want to take up too much more of your time because I know Chloe just got there. Thanks for calling, sweetheart. You all be careful out there, and Chloe, make sure you call me after you get settled in.”
“Ok, mom, I will.”
“Love you, ladies.”
“Love you, too,” we responded in unison before I hung up.
“I love your parents so much! They are so sweet. I know it was hard for them to let you go.”
I took a deep breath, then breathed a sigh of relief as I looked out the window at the beautiful scenery passing us by. “It was hard for all of us, but I know that this was the right decision. I could feel it, you know? As soon as you told me about the opportunities out here, I knew I had to give it a shot, just to see for myself.”
“Acting, behind the scenes stuff, there is just so much for you to try out and get involved in out here. You can’t help but to be successful if you commit to working at it.”
As we exited the freeway into the city, I couldn’t stop admiring the sights of downtown LA. I wasn’t opposed to doing things behind the scenes because, as much as I loved acting, I loved the intricacies of production well. The way the movies came together was just as important as acting, and it didn’t hurt to learn how everything worked behind the camera too. Plus, I was ready to do whatever I had to in order to get my foot in the door.
“So,” Jade said as we rolled along, “I know that I brought up the acting thing and how there were so many opportunities to get involved in that, but well… would you ever consider becoming a director’s assistant?”
I groaned, then slowly turned towards her. Working behind the scenes was one thing, but picking up coffee and drying cleaning was quite another. “Jade, I did not come out to California to be some pushy director’s assistant. I came out here to act!”
“I know, I know, but I think this is a good opportunity for you to get your feet wet, you know? Get in the door and see how things work behind the scenes. You don’t have to take it, but if you did, it would pay the bills temporarily, and in the meantime, you could audition for other roles.”
I folded my arms over my chest. It wasn’t what I came out here for, but I figured that it wouldn’t hurt just to see what it was like. “It sounds like the position is mine if I want it.”
“Yeah, it is. You’d just be following the direcotr around and taking cues from him, but they pay is decent and you’ll get to meet a lot of new people. Plus, you’d make some connections that you probably wouldn’t have made otherwise. I mean, this acting thing? Trust me, Chloe. Spread your wings and see how far you can go on both sides of the business.”
We rode for a little while before she convinced me to take the opportunity. She was always a good salesperson. “Which movie?” I asked as she turned down a side road.
“It’s a movie called Love Struck. It’s supposed to start filming next month or so. I think they are just wrapping up the casting process.”
“Ok. Well, I guess I have my first job then.”
“Yes! I will introduce you to everyone tomorrow, but I am going to call Leslie when I get home. She is one of the producers of the movie and I told her that I had somebody in mind who could slide in as a director’s assistant. The one she had flaked out on her at the last minute and left her scrambling. Once I found out, I figured that you would be a good fit.”
“I guess we will find out.”
After what felt like forever in traffic, we finally arrived at Jade’s apartment in Santa Monica. The building was powder blue and the balconies were painted white. The complex was three stories high and it overlooked the beach across the street. I smiled as I got out of her car, admiring the sights. The wide-open view made it seem as though I was truly receiving a brand-new start.
Jade grinned as she looked towards the beach, “Just wait until the evening rolls around on a weekend. This place is jam-packed with so many hot guys that you will feel like you are a kid in a candy store.”
She pulled both of my suitcases out of the trunk and placed them on the ground. “Come on, let’s go upstairs so you can meet your other roommate.”
The b
uilding was a walk-up, and we make our way up the staircase to the third floor of the building. Jade unlocked the door to apartment 3-B, then handed me the key. “That one is yours,” she said as she pushed the door open with her foot. “Mariah? You in here?”
“I’m in the back!” she yelled.
“Chloe is here! Come out and meet her!”
The apartment was small, but comfortable, and everything was clean and shiny. The balcony that I saw from the parking lot had a view of the beach if you craned your neck just right. I almost had it in my sights when an unfamiliar voice startled me from behind.
When I spun around, a short, pretty blonde girl with a bright smile and hazel eyes was grinning at me. “Hi, Chloe!” she said as if she had known me for years. “It’s good to finally meet you! Jade talks about you so much that I feel like we are old friends.” She gave me a huge hug.
“Well, it’s good to meet you too, Mariah. Thanks for agreeing to let me live with you guys for a little while.”
“Oh, it is no problem at all. We have more than enough room for you. But there is one rule.” Jade shook her head, laughing, as she rolled her eyes. “What, Jade? This is serious. She has to know this rule if she is going to live here. This is a matter of life or death.”
“What’s the rule?” I asked quizzically. I didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes while I was here, so if there were any rules, I wanted to be sure to follow them.
She led me to the kitchen and opened the cabinet door, then pulled out a box of fruity o’s and held them up. “Any time you see this box of cereal in here, do not touch. Ever. Period. I don’t care if you are dying of starvation and this is the key to your survival… do not touch this cereal under any circumstances.”
“Yeah,” Jade shouted from the living room, “the last time I did it, she literally tried to call the cops on me for stealing. I had to snatch her phone away from her to keep her from doing it.”
She laughed and placed the cereal back into the cabinet. “I am serious about my cereal! Jade was about to learn the hard way.”
“Anyway,” Jade said as she came into the kitchen. “Chloe, I am going to show you to your room, and then you can get dressed because we are going out to get something to eat tonight. I want to take you to Pierre’s. It’s a nice little chill spot that I think you will enjoy.”
“Pierre’s?” Mariah said with a smile on her face. “Well, then I am coming, too! I love that place! And the men? Lord have mercy!”
“Yeah, so take a shower and get ready because we are hanging out tonight. We can worry about work tomorrow.”
I smiled at her, then grabbed my luggage and followed her down the hallway and into my room. I could already tell I was going to love it here. I only wish I had moved with Jade when she first came out to Los Angeles, so I could have been living here the whole time.
My new life was really about to begin.
Chapter 4
Hudson
I sat with Keith at a table inside of Pierre’s. We normally went there when we wanted to meet women and blow off steam, but tonight, we were there to celebrate my new role as Maddox. We sat at a table near the bar, but the music thumped low enough for us to speak comfortably over the sound of the baseline.
A few patrons entertained each other on the dance floor as they held drinks in their hands and lights whizzed back and forth across the platform they were on. The waitresses bounced back and forth from table to table like pinballs, taking orders and delivering food and drinks to customers. Keith lifted his drink into the air. “To you nailing your audition and landing a role in a big-budget movie!”
I lifted my glass into the air and tapped it against his. He smiled and threw his shot back, then slammed it on the table. Keith lifted his hand in the air and made a circular motion with his finger, signaling that he wanted another round of drinks. I tossed my shot back; the liquor burned my throat on its way down, forcing me to wince in the process.
“That’s it, man! Drink up! I don’t know how many more times we’ll be able to kick back like this once you start filming, so we need to take advantage of it while we can.”
“I still can’t believe I nailed that audition.”
“Shit,” Keith said as a flash of bright light shot across the room like lightning. “When I got the call, they said that you were head and shoulders above the rest. They loved your confidence and the way you came in there and told them that you were the only actor for the job.”
I shook my head with a laugh. “I was really worried they’d think I was overconfident.”
“Come on, man! Confidence is half the battle and you killed it,” Keith said as he slammed his hand on the table.
The vibration rattled the glasses as the waitress brought another shot out to us. Keith smiled at her and winked, brushing her hand with his as she placed the small glass on the table. “Thank you, beautiful,” he said.
She rolled her eyes and walked away from us, her curly, burgundy hair bouncing with each step she took. “You see that?” Keith said, staring at her ass while she walked away from us. “Those are the kind of women that will come flocking to us as soon as you get a little more fame. We won’t even have to say anything, they will just come. I mean, you will be the magnet, of course, but you can’t take them all. Nope. And that’s where I come in.”
“You’re disgusting, Keith. Seriously. A real douchebag.”
He smiled, then threw another shot back and slammed the empty glass on the table again. “But I’m your douchebag! Woo! That shot stung a little more than the last one. But it is all good because we are going to enjoy ourselves tonight. All drinks on me, Hudson. So, enjoy the shot she brought and seriously, and don’t hesitate to order another one.”
I took a deep breath, then put the shot glass to my mouth and swallowed the liquor in one gulp. The stinging sensation came back in an instant, so I quickly grabbed the chaser and chugged it down. As I looked to my left, I noticed a trio of women at a table not too far away from us. They looked happy and beautiful as they laughed with each other and talked and drank.
As I scanned the three women, I stopped on one in particular. She was little with brown hair and huge beautiful eyes. She sat with one leg folded over the other, exposing a portion of her thigh as her foot bounced up and down like she was trying to balance it. She didn’t look like she was from the area. LA girls had a certain aura to them, but she didn’t have that. The women surrounding her looked like they were from the coast, but not her.
It only took a second, but I was smitten.
Chapter 5
Chloe
We sat inside of Pierre’s with drinks in front of us, enjoying the atmosphere. A large fish tank with colorful fish swam around along the wall and bright lights flashed across the dance floor as men and women danced to the beats that pumped through the speakers. The server placed another round of drinks on our table, and with a smile, she left us to them. Jade took as sip of hers and nodded her head.
“The drinks are usually not super strong but the bartender is on fire tonight!”
“One of the bartenders must like you or something,” Mariah said as she kept her eyes on the different men in the building. “But I know one thing, I wouldn’t mind chatting up a few of these guys. Especially that one.”
She nodded her head to the left at a trio of men who had ordered drinks at the bar. One of them had a well-kept hipster beard and spacers in his ears. I could tell just by looking at him that he definitely had tattoos. His other two buddies were more clean-cut; no beards, or any facial hair at all, but they had smiles that could stop traffic. They were all super good-looking, but it had been a while since I even considered going out on a date. Back in New York, I was so focused on trying to get something started with my career that I put everything else on the backburner.
“So,” Jade said after she took another sip of her drink, “what are the plans for the night? Are we just going to chill here, or is there somewhere else you all want to go?”
S
he looked at me, then Mariah. “Well,” Mariah responded, “I know that there is an after-hours spot not too far from here. They are usually pretty generous with the liquor as well, so we might want to check that out. Some hipster place called Stitch & Dollar.”
They both looked at me. “I don’t know anything about this area, so I will just follow you all.”
I took a sip of my drink, and just beyond my glass, I saw two men sitting at a table near the bar. I squinted my eyes to make sure he was looking in my direction, and as soon as I confirmed it, I put my glass down and turned away. I hated intense stares and I could feel that it was going to turn into one of those fairly soon. A few minutes went by and as I kept him in my peripheral, I tried to ignore him at the same time. It wasn’t that he was unattractive; it was that he seemed to be a little too attractive for his own good.
Before long, he stood up from his table and started towards us. “Um, who is this coming our way?” Jade asked with a smirk.
“He looks good, whoever he is,” Mariah whispered under her breath.
He stood in front of our table and he was just as hot as I suspected him to be. He wore jeans with a tight-fitting t-shirt that showed off his pecs and the size of his arms, which were massive.
“Hello, ladies, my name is Hudson. Can I buy you all another round of drinks?”
“Absolutely,” Jade said, speaking for the rest of us.
I wrapped my lips around the straw and desperately angled for the last of my drink. It was more melted ice than anything else.
“Have a seat,” Mariah said, scooting to her left to make room for him.
He sat down beside her and then motioned for the waiter to bring more drinks to the table.
“So,” he continued, “who do I have the pleasure of sitting with?”
“Well, this is Mariah,” Mariah shook his hand delicately, “that is Chloe,” I smiled at him, “and I am Jade. Our friend Chloe just moved here from New York, so we are taking her out to show her the nightlife. We want her to get a taste of Los Angeles so she can be more comfortable with her decision.”
Baby and the Biker: The Ghost Riders MC Page 27