The movie was over, they both were feeling good, they had ended up holding hands, leaning into each other while watching it. It felt good, it felt right. “Well, I should be going.” Kate stretched, pulling away from Erin.
“Why, do you need to go?”
She was surprised to see the hurt look on Erin’s face. “Well, it’s a two hour drive and I know you have your boys coming home from camp tomorrow. I thought perhaps that you had some things you wanted to do.”
Shaking her head Erin grabbed Kate’s hand and pulled her back towards her on the couch. Leaning in she kissed Kate deeply. Kate couldn’t believe the effect this woman had on her so quickly. Admiring her from afar as a fan was totally different from knowing her intimately and this was almost overwhelming. All too soon Kate found herself across Erin’s lap and they were kissing passionately. Breathing hard Erin pulled back just enough to ask “do you still want to leave?”
Kate pulled Erin’s head back for a kiss thinking that was enough of an answer for both of them.
Waking up the next morning Kate felt very disoriented. For a second she didn’t remember where she was. Looking around she realized she was in Erin’s bedroom. Holy shit! She was in Erin Ingram’s bedroom! She also realized that Erin wasn’t in the bedroom with her as she looked across the bed. Thinking back to the previous evening she was grateful she had kept an egg in her purse, their second night together had been incredible. Deciding to get up she heard a noise and looked up in time to see Erin coming into the bedroom with a tray. Surprised she sat up in bed, forgetting she had no clothes on for a moment she quickly pulled the sheet up but not before Erin got an eyeful. Erin smiled in delight at the blush that filled Kate’s face.
“Good Morning!” Erin said cheerfully as she put the tray across Kate’s lap. Orange juice, toast, and scrambled eggs were on the tray, enough for two.
Kate was still a little embarrassed but pleased that Erin was kind enough to make her breakfast in bed. “Good Morning, this is a nice surprise. You didn’t have to make us breakfast in bed, I could have come down.”
Grinning, Erin leaned in for a kiss “I wanted to make us breakfast in bed.”
Erin had coffee for herself, something she had complained that she hadn’t found at Kate’s when she had been there but Kate didn’t drink coffee so she had had to make do on juice. They chatted for a while about what they should do that day and Erin wanted to go out for lunch in town. The boys wouldn’t be home until late in the afternoon so they could be together until then.
“Did you want to meet my boys?” Erin asked when she began to wonder that Kate seemed to keep trying to leave.
Nodding Kate answered “I think it might be too soon, but yes I’d like to meet them, you’ve talked about them a lot and as they are the most important people in your life, I’d like to meet them. I don’t want to get in the way though.”
“You’re not in the way. I’d tell you if you were. I want you to meet them eventually though.” Erin didn’t let her boys meet everyone in her life, her work was too varied for that. She also hadn’t had many lovers over the years she certainly wouldn’t introduce the boys to that. However, she already sensed that Kate was different. Her observations and stories about her own boys made Erin comfortable enough that she wanted to introduce her own boys to her.
“Why don’t we play it by ear. When is their spring break over?”
“Next week they go back to school. They’ve only been away at camp for the weekend.”
“How about later this week you bring them up to my place and they can go swimming?”
Liking the idea but still wanting Kate to meet them Erin asked “why don’t you meet them when they get home later today?”
“Because I don’t want to invade their turf. Your oldest is twelve and he might resent a strange woman in your life if you don’t introduce me as a friend and your youngest is what eight?” at Erin’s nod she continued “he will follow his brother’s lead.”
Erin agreed this was the best idea. She was surprised at herself that she wanted Kate to meet the boys so soon but then she hadn’t felt this way in years about anyone if ever.
They returned their movie later that morning and Erin drove them to D’La Orange. A trendy restaurant where stars went but were never bothered. Casual dress was acceptable which was good since Kate didn’t have a change of clothing with her. They both had a delightful lunch which Erin ordered as the menu was entirely in French. Erin had studied French growing up in Los Angeles and spoke it like a native. Kate found it intriguing and romantic at the same time to hear her speak it so natural.
During lunch they spoke about their mutual families. Kate found herself telling Erin about her two brothers and sister. She was closer to her sister’s in law than her own sister since her sister had never gotten over their childhood rivalries and carried it into their adult years. Erin was surprised as she was close to both her own sisters. One lived here in Los Angeles and the other in France near the German border. There Kate found something in common since she had cousins, Aunts, and Uncles in Germany and even spoke the language a little.
Their afternoon went by so fast and Kate found herself and D.O.G. back in her Rover pulling out of the drive as Erin released the gate and watched her leave. It tugged at both of them, they had spent the last three amazing days together and had already lived a lifetime in that short amount of time. Kate had left her cellphone number with Erin so she could call her but hadn’t asked for Erin’s, leaving it all up to Erin in case she changed her mind about pursuing this relationship. Kate was full of doubts but hadn’t voiced them to Erin. Erin too had her doubts but was pursuing things despite them.
Kate was on the road about an hour thinking over the entire weekend, over and over in her mind. Laughing at things that had happened. Enjoying it all over in her mind. D.O.G. leaned over occasionally to remind her he was there for her. Her cell phone rang. Kate wouldn’t use a cell phone as she was driving she pulled her Bluetooth out and hit the call button as she put it in her ear.
“Hello?” she didn’t recognize the number on her caller id but from the area code it was in Los Angeles.
“Hi baby, how’s the drive?” Erin asked
Delighted at hearing so soon from Erin and thrilled to have her calling her ‘baby’ Kate smiled widely as she answered “so far so good.”
“I didn’t want you to leave you know.” Erin held her breath. She had sensed something with Kate but now having thought it over since she left was worrying that perhaps she had come on too strong too soon.
This delighted Kate even more “I didn’t want to leave either but I really didn’t want to be there when your boys got home. Are they there yet?”
“No, still waiting but I couldn’t wait to talk to you again. I don’t know what it is but you’re so easy to talk to.”
“I feel the same way. I feel almost like a kid with a new best friend.”
Since Erin felt the same way she had to laugh in delight “I don’t know what it is about you at all but yeah, that’s an apt description. A kid with a new best friend! Whatever this is, I hope it continues.”
Smiling as she drove up the 101 Kate felt warmth suffuse her. She had kept a strictly hands off policy with Erin. She hadn’t wanted to assume anything about their friendship or anything that happened this weekend. She had let Erin call all the shots, pursue her, make the first moves. She hoped she didn’t put her off and apparently she hadn’t. “I’m also kinda scared. It’s been awhile since someone has been in my life and you being famous doesn’t help.”
“I know. If we are discrete though perhaps we can see where this goes before anyone tries to ruin it.” Erin was very well aware of the sharks in this town who would sell you out for a few bucks. She didn’t want to scare Kate off, she had sensed part of her skittishness was due to Erin’s fame. She felt Kate was special and wanted to protect her for as long as she could, to protect this, whatever this was. She just knew though that it could be something special.
Erin liked hearing that. After such a fantastic weekend she hoped they would have more, much more. Changing the subject they chatted over a variety of subjects as Kate drove, it helped to pass the time on the boring drive. Finally, Erin heard someone at the gate and had to go.
On Tuesday Kate was working hard in her study. It took a real mind set to keep typing, she got distracted so easily now that she had someone to think about besides herself. Erin had called after her boys were in bed and they had talked for hours again. She had suggested she bring the boys up the next day but Kate had asked to wait until Wednesday at least so she could get some work done and Erin could have a whole day to herself with her boys. Laughing at her own anxiousness Erin could only agree. Kate was having a battle of it though with herself. She just kept at it and was certain if she worked hard she could finish this book shortly. She had to finish it though, if she didn’t finish it now, Erin would be too much of a distraction for her and she knew it.
Erin spent the day with her boys. They hung around the house and enjoyed each other. They were the only thing in her life she could control absolutely. As famous as she was, she was grateful there were few pictures of her and her boys out in the public. The paparazzi and tabloids were relentless. Her privacy though meant a lot to her. She thought about Kate a lot and knew they would have to be very careful. She had done this before though and knew how to avoid some of the hoopla that would ensue with the press if word leaked out. Only once had there been a couple of pictures of her with a woman and those just made it look like they were shopping together, the press could make anything out of that though if they wished, instead they just used speculation, no hard facts. Only once had she ever mentioned another woman. It was an unspoken secret in Hollywood that she was gay but she wasn’t out of the closet and had no intention of opening that door. What she had with anyone was no one’s business but her own. She protected her children like a lioness. She would do that for a relationship as well if it was worth it, she hoped, she sensed that Kate might just be worth it. A lioness, she laughed at the thought after having met C.A.T. The boys would flip when they met Kate and her mini-zoo. They always wanted pets but with her schedule and them traveling it hadn’t been feasible. She didn’t want servants around taking care of them and their pets, they were never discrete enough and she could clean her own home. Gardeners were one thing but a nanny or a housekeeper, no way. She had been fortunate to be in a loving, committed relationship when the boys were born. Unfortunately, she had screwed that one up. Sandy still saw the boys on a regular basis but even that seemed to be waning. After 14 years together with Sandy it was odd but necessary to be alone these last couple of years. She had grown up in ways she hadn’t known she needed. She had discovered a lot about herself as well. Although she had loved Sandy once that attraction had waned, they had stayed together too long out of convenience or laziness, she wasn’t sure. Her infidelity to the relationship she had justified in her own mind at the time. She now knew she could never do that to another person, it had cost too much not only to the relationship she had screwed up but to her own soul.
Wednesday dawned bright and beautiful, a common occurrence in Southern California. As Erin made breakfast for the boys she casually mentioned she thought they might take a drive.
“Where to?” asked Peter her twelve year old. A teenager in the making.
“Where to?” echoed Elijah, her precocious eight year old, he was his brother’s shadow. Kate had been right about that.
“I thought we’d spend the day up in Santa Barbara. Maybe go for a swim?”
Both boys loved the idea but then Peter asked “isn’t it a little cold to swim?”
“Well a friend of mine has a pool up there but if you don’t want to go....” she left it hanging knowing they’d snap it up. She wasn’t disappointed and soon after breakfast the car was loaded with swimsuits, a change of clothing for each of them, snacks, and other miscellaneous beach gear and they were on their way.
Dialing Kate’s number from her cell, Erin plugged it into the car’s phone.
“Hello?”
“Hi Kate, this is Erin and the boys, say ‘Hi’ boys”
A chorus of ‘hello’s’ were heard through the speaker. Kate grinned. It was a good thing she hadn’t answered with anything flip or cheeky when she saw Erin’s number come up on the caller I.D.
“Hi guys, whatcha doing?”
“We are on our way to your house. You doing anything?”
“Nope, not a thing. Finished my work late last night and now I just have the next month to edit.”
“Cool beans. I guess we will see you in an hour and a half or so.” Erin smiled in anticipation.
“Ok, I’ll put out a lunch for you all. You boys like anything in particular?”
Soon Erin had to shush the sounds of ice cream, candy, potato chips, and other assorted foods that she knew didn’t exist in Kate’s kitchen. “We could bring lunch if you like?”
“Nope, I’ll have a spread for you guys when you get here.” Kate smiled, although it had been a few years she remembered her boys at that age and knew exactly what she had to get.
“Okay, see you in a while.”
“All right, do you remember how to get here?”
“If I don’t, I’ll call again.”
“Okay, bye for now.”
“Bye” Erin was so excited. She hoped the boys would get along with Kate but she was sure they would. She was so much fun and she had raised her own two sons so she at least could relate. She knew the boys would be enchanted by Kate’s pets much less her pool. Boys were easy to please on some levels.
Kate rushed down to the Albertson’s to do some shopping. Erin’s thoughts had been Kate’s own. She didn’t have any of the things that boys would want to eat in her household. Going down unfamiliar aisles it took her awhile to get ice cream, candy, potato chips, and other assorted things not only what they had asked for and would like but other things she remembered from her own boys. She got a cool kind of soda that had lumps floating in it like a lava lamp. She bought eight of those so everyone could try two flavors of it a piece. She really enjoyed herself stocking up on things that she rarely if ever ate anymore. Picking out meat was the hardest and she settled on cold cuts that the boys could make their own sandwiches with as well as peanut butter and jelly. Checking out she was grateful that no one she knew was working as she never bought this stuff, not even when her son’s had visited. They usually bought what they needed or wanted and besides they spent a lot of time driving around looking at things and eating out. Putting away her purchases she thought she had never seen her cupboards so full. She didn’t know where to put some of the things as they didn’t have a place in her cupboard normally. The cats and dog sensed her agitation and were acting up. By the time her buzzer went off at the gate she was very nervous. Looking into the monitor she saw the familiar black Mercedes station wagon and released the gate.
Kate was standing on the front porch as Erin pulled up with the boys. They had really liked the topiary plants throughout her front yard pointing them out to Erin as though she couldn’t seem them herself. Elijah was beside himself when he saw D.O.G. sitting quietly next to Kate.
Erin’s eyes were hidden behind her sunglasses from Kate as she got out of the car with the boys. Kate didn’t have that luxury but after one hurried glance she focused her attention on the boys.
“Hi, you must be Peter” she held her hand out to him which he shook politely.
By the time Erin got around the car Kate was holding out her hand to Elijah and say
ing “and you are Elijah?” he nodded but didn’t shake her hand.
“You shake someone’s hand when you meet them” Erin quietly admonished her son who suddenly got shy and held on to her hand.
“That’s okay, I understand. Well, you boys may call me Kate” she turned to where their attention had already focused. D.O.G. had followed her down from the steps of the porch and was waiting patiently to be introduced. “This is deeooogee” she said and watched the confusion on both of their faces. D.O.G. held out his paw and Peter leaned over first to take it.
“Hi dog, my name is Peter” he laughed at being introduced to a dog.
“Peter, his name is deeooogee, not dog” Kate smilingly told him.
Elijah got down to D.O.G.’s level and solemnly shook his paw when the dog held it out to him.
“Elijah, you should never put your face that close to a strange dog’s until you know him better” Erin cautioned.
“It’s okay, D.O.G. enjoys boys. Don’t ya boy?”
D.O.G. seemed to understand her as he stood up and wagged his tail getting to know Elijah’s scent.
Erin smiled at the beautiful smile on her younger son’s face. He loved animals. Peter was trying to be more restrained but couldn’t help but pet the dog when he shoved his head in the boy’s hand.
To Love a Shooting Star Page 5