Stars Collide

by H. P. Munro

  “There goes my no carb, coffee or dairy diet,” Sabrina sighed, then held her hands out flexing her fingers like a small child begging for candy. “Gimme.”

  Laughing Jordan handed over the coffee cups and opened the bag.

  “So how was New York New York?” Sabrina asked, concentrating on pouring the coffee from their cardboard cups into the oversized mugs.

  “Busy, noisy and utterly wonderful.”

  “I asked you about New York, not me,” Sabrina joked, raising a sculpted eyebrow as she sniffed the contents of the mugs and handed Jordan hers. “Latte for you.”

  “It was great to be back there and the play was a brilliant experience,” Jordan took her latte and breathed in its scent before sipping.

  “So are you ready to pack it all in here and head back east?”

  A hint of worry appeared in Sabrina’s tone as she considered that the return to New York could spark a need in her friend to return to the city where she first tasted success.

  “Weirdly, this time it felt like I was coming home getting on the plane to come back. I think buying my house last year has made me start to put roots down here.”

  “Well hallelujah, I’m so glad ’cause I’m terrible at long distance things.”

  “Thanks to, ‘he who shall remain nameless’, I’ve never had to go down that route.”

  Sabrina snarled at the non-mention of Jordan’s ex-boyfriend who, when she received the offer to move to LA and appear on Front Line, had promptly ended their relationship, stating that he didn’t want to move and didn’t believe in long distance relationships.

  “Did you see him while you were there?” Sabrina asked cautiously.

  “God no.”

  “Did you see anyone while you were there?” her tone turning from caution into outright teasing.

  “I had a couple of dates, but I was so busy and you know what, I’m so over the bullshit,” Jordan stood up on the stool to reach over and grab a bagel from the bag, which somehow during the conversation had gravitated towards Sabrina.

  Sabrina swallowed a mouthful of bagel, washing it down with a noisy slurp of coffee, “Bullshit how?”

  “Don’t you wish you could meet someone and it feel real? That you have a connection with them. That the conversations you have with them are adult and not full of pretentious crap?”

  “You’ve been reading too many romance novels again Jordan,” Sabrina tutted, opening the sliding doors and stepping out to observe her view across the city and down to the ocean.

  Jordan got up to follow her, “I’m fed up of a relationship being like a power play and never feeling like I’m the one with any of the power.”

  Sabrina tilted her head, “Oh honey, with that body, believe me you have all the power.” She let out a loud chuckle.

  “That’s just it, we keep looking at the surface and wondering why after a while there’s nothing else there,” Jordan sighed, trying desperately to form the words that would describe her current state of malaise about her previous approach to relationships. “You keep saying that you being bisexual means that it’s the person that you’re attracted to and not the wrapping, maybe that’s where I’ve been going wrong.”

  Sabrina nodded thoughtfully, “You also remember me saying that it has to be hot wrapping!”

  Jordan ignored her, lost in her musings, “I want a partnership with someone and if that means worrying less about the package it comes in, then so be it.”

  “Really, you have no preference?” Sabrina’s tone failed to mask her incredulity. While she didn’t think for one moment that Jordan was questioning her sexuality, it was progress that she was querying her appalling taste in men.

  “Nope.”

  Narrowing her eyes, Sabrina studied her friend closely, “Eyes, hair?”

  “Would be good if he had them, but personality counts.”

  “So penis or vagina?”

  Jordan spluttered her coffee. Coughing, she scowled at Sabrina who was taking great joy in shocking her. Deciding that two could play that game, she smiled sweetly, “Just the one preferably but which one doesn’t really matter.”

  Sabrina guffawed loudly, “Touché and nice try straight girl.”

  “How’d you know?” Jordan teased.

  Sabrina motioned to her body, “’cause sweetie, if you were a switch hitter, there is no way on this earth you would not have tapped this already.” She managed to keep her face neutral for all of two seconds before they both burst into peals of laughter.

  “I don’t know whether to be offended by your laughter,” Sabrina said haughtily when their giggling died down.

  “I love you, but I can assure you there will be no tapping,” Jordan giggled, still amused by Sabrina’s fake vanity.

  They stood together in companionable silence, each lost in their thoughts as they looked over the roof-tops of LA.

  “Enough of depressing relationship talk. What’s happening with you and work? Did they like the pilot?” Jordan asked.

  “Did they like the pilot?” Sabrina replied incredulously. “They did not just like the pilot, they loved the pilot, and we have a twenty-two episode season that starts shooting next month. I’m coming after your time slot girl, you better watch out.”

  “Bring it bitch,” Jordan grinned swatting the back of her hand against Sabrina’s ass.

  “Oh for that I am so having that last bagel,” she pushed Jordan lightly and ran giggling back into the house, yelping as the disgruntled blonde chased after her.

  June 2011

  Jordan straightened her top and exhaled nervously as she knocked on the door. She heard a muffled ‘come in’ from the other side. She opened the door and peeked round towards the occupant of the office.

  Sitting behind a large desk, with her red frizzy hair sticking out at odd angles from where she had recently run her hands through it, Eleanor French’s face broke out into a wide welcoming smile, “Jordan, good to see you. Did you have a good summer break? Take a seat.” The diminutive woman indicated towards one of the large soft seats to the side of the office.

  Regardless that this was now her third season on the award winning army hospital drama Front Line, Jordan was always nervous when she had her meeting with the series’ producer. She was still under her original seven year contract with the network, but this was the meeting when Eleanor would map out the season’s arc for her character Captain Georgia Van Hausen, the feisty trauma surgeon. With the recent influx of new actors, Jordan was unsure whether this conversation would have her dying tragically this season. With her newfound realization that LA was starting to feel more at home, she did not want anything to jeopardize that feeling of security and she was not ready to put herself back into the world of pilot pimping and face the potential rejection that that particular joy could bring.

  “Yeah, I did a play off Broadway,” Jordan replied, proud of her work in New York during the summer hiatus. While she had done plenty of stage work before it had tended to be in musical theatre. The opportunity to perform in a serious play had given her the chance to flex her acting abilities away from the character that had made her a household name.

  “I saw your reviews, they were really good,” Eleanor commented as she sat down on the soft seat beside Jordan. “I guess you’re wondering what we’ve got in store for you this season?” she smiled.

  Jordan returned the smile, hoping that her boss wouldn’t notice her nerves and that she was managing to disguise that her stomach was churning.

  “As always Eleanor.”

  “We talked last December when the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ repeal legislation went through about exploring a character’s sexuality and I know you put your hand up to say that you would be willing to portray that,” Eleanor started carefully. Jordan nodded slowly recalling the conversation. “Well, we at ELFREN Productions feel that now is the time to bring that storyline to life and I wondered how you felt about us taking Georgia down that journey?”

  Jordan’s brain fired of
f into a myriad of directions. She wasn’t going to be thrown on an IED and she gave silent thanks that she’d managed to avoid the grim reaper story of the season. This meant a meaty storyline, some good drama to get her teeth into and the potential to help a community that, thanks to her theatre work and circle of friends, she was intrinsically linked to. Unexpectedly her mind also fleetingly passed over the conversation she’d had with Sabrina about relationships the month before.

  “I’d love to,” she smiled broadly. “It’s great that we get to tell this type of story and help with visibility.”

  “Excellent,” Eleanor clapped her hands. “I hoped that you would feel that way.” The small woman stood, circled over to her desk and picked up the phone, “Sammy, can you send Freya in please?”

  Jordan raised an eyebrow. Freya Easter had joined the cast at the end of the previous season as Captain Emily Dollar. She was introduced as a foil for the ex-boyband member, turned actor, Blake Devon’s character Damien Holt, while he was on the combat set. Emily had immediately fitted in with the quirky nature of the show’s characters, even gaining her own fan section on the show’s messageboards. When the network announced that they were looking to promote Freya to a series regular after they had extended her initial three episodes appearance to the end of the season, Jordan and her closest friends on the show, Greg and Dianne, had taken bets that by the end of the season Freya and Blake’s characters would be hooking up. They had even created a portmanteau for the couple, as was the tradition for couples on the show. However, the season ended without the hook up and it now appeared that the bets on Hollar were pre-emptive.

  Freya entered the room her smile bright even though she was biting her bottom lip almost to the point of drawing blood.

  “So Freya grab a seat,” Eleanor pointed to the seat she had vacated beside Jordan. “It would appear that you’re both keen to take the storyline on.”

  Freya gave Jordan an encouraging smile.

  “So this season we’d like to take it slowly to let the viewers get used to the connection with the characters before we explore the…physical aspect of the relationship,” Eleanor coughed. “We want to make sure we do this responsibly. The network has received criticism from GLAAD about their portrayal of gays, and lesbians, so we want to make sure this gets done right.”

  The two actors nodded as they listened to the formidable woman before them lay out her ideas for the development of their character’s relationship. At the end of the meeting, Eleanor gave each of them a brisk hug.

  “We’re going to do good work here ladies. I’ve arranged for a meeting with GLAAD for you so you can ask questions about what your characters might be going through. Particularly the difference between a…” She hesitated as she searched for the correct phrase, “I believe the term is a ‘Gold Star’ lesbian entering a relationship with a woman whose previous relationships have all been with men.”

  They allowed themselves to be guided from the office, both exhaling slowly as Eleanor closed the door behind them.

  “So...” Freya grinned.

  Jordan turned to face her, “So indeed.”

  “Have you ever -”

  “Been gay for pay?” Jordan interrupted laughing. “Yeah I played a lesbian killer on LA Blues a couple of years before I got the role here. So have you played gay?”

  Freya nodded, smiling at the irony that in her public life, she was used to playing straight, “Yeah I had a small role in Velvet Girls when it was on.”

  “So did you…?” Jordan trailed off, chewing the side of her mouth. A slight blush appeared on her cheeks.

  Freya immediately realized where Jordan was going with her question and saved her the embarrassment of clarifying, “Yup, had to get hot and heavy in a nightclub bathroom. You?”

  Jordan shook her head. “No, I just killed my lover with an ice pick,” she laughed scuffing her shoe against the floor.

  “Well let’s hope history doesn’t repeat itself. It’s actually easier than doing it with a man,” Freya smiled, her smile however quickly turned to a frown. “The scenes I mean,” she clarified, hoping that her neck had not started to redden with embarrassment.

  Jordan laughed, “I’ll hold you to that.” She checked her watch. “I’ve got to go,” she said reluctantly. She hadn’t had the opportunity to chat one on one with Freya before and was surprised when she realized that she had been smiling throughout their conversation.

  “I’ll see you on Wednesday at the table read?” Freya asked hopefully.

  “I will be there.”

  Freya gave her a final smile before turning and walking off, her long legs covering the ground with ease and soon putting distance between them.

  Jordan turned to leave then hesitating she turned back around. “Freya,” she called after the retreating actress.

  Smiling Freya turned and jogged back, her dark curls bobbing around her shoulders, “Yeah?”

  “Are you free on Saturday?”

  Mentally going through her diary in her head Freya could not think of anything that would trump spending time with Jordan; a woman whose blonde hair fell in smooth waves, the silky locks just begging to have Freya’s fingers trail through them. Her brown eyes seemed to perpetually send out ‘take me to bed’ signals to anyone they captured in their gaze, or at least that was Freya’s interpretation of Jordan’s look. Although she reluctantly acknowledged that her grandmother’s doe-eyed description could also apply. Her body was lithe but curved in all of the right areas and the absolute cherry on the top of the exquisite cake as far as Freya was concerned was that she was actually an inch taller than Freya, something that was a rarity in her life. Realizing that she had not answered the question and was possibly even drooling a little, Freya gave a little shake and tried to appear nonchalant, “I think I am, why what do you have in mind?”

  “I have a charity thing. It’s a music workshop for kids that have been victims of bullying. We introduce them to music as a way to boost their confidence. I was wondering whether you wanted to come along?”

  To be fair Freya had been sold at ‘Are you free?’ but she gave a look as if she was seriously considering the request, before smiling broadly, “I’d love to.”

  “Great, if you give me your number I’ll text to you the directions to the school where we’re meeting.”

  Embarrassed, Freya pulled out her phone, “Two seconds, I can never remember my number.” She located the entry that Dan had put in her phone with her own number and held the phone out to Jordan.

  “What’s a numpty?” Jordan asked, looking at the name of the entry on Freya’s phone.

  “British for idiot, my friend thought he was being funny.”

  “Ahhh,” Jordan smiled. “Now smile for me.” She held up her camera phone to take a snap-shot of Freya to add to her contact info. She laughed loudly at the image captured; Freya’s green eyes were crossed and she had stuck her tongue out.

  “Are my eyes shut? ’cause my eyes are always shut in photos,” she grinned as Jordan held the phone so she could see the photo.

  “Nope they’re open and it’s a beauty,” Jordan grinned. “If I’m ever in need of cash I may sell it to the media. So I’ll text you the info and see you on Saturday.”

  “Great, I’m looking forward to it and working with you,” Freya said, as Jordan turned to go.

  “Me too.”

  As she watched Jordan leave the office Freya’s shoulders slumped slightly. Being firmly in the closet sucked, she thought as she contemplated the potential scrutiny she was exposing her personal life to by saying yes to the storyline. As if that wasn’t enough, now she was worrying about how she was ever going to get through a day in Jordan’s company without making a fool of herself, never mind an entire season, pretending to be in love with her.

  ***

  “Are you listening to me at all Egg?”

  Dan’s voice filled the car as Freya navigated through the streets of a part of LA she was not familiar with and she checked her sat
nav for the hundredth time to make sure she was heading the right way.

  “Yes I’m listening,” she replied distractedly as she checked the street names as she drove.

  “What did I say then?”

  “Rule one. Do not ogle hot co-star.”

  “Okay you were listening, so that’s rule one. Rule two, do not call her your hot co-star, her name is Jordan. Say it with me, Jordan.”

  “Her name is Jordan, got it.”

  “You need to not think with your hooha, Egg, and think with your head. What are you wearing? ”

  “Now is not the time to try and have a dirty phone call with me Dan.”

  Hearing a loud snort down the phone line, Freya laughed, “I’m wearing my green sweater.”

  “The V-neck? You sneaky little bugger, that’s the one that makes your eyes go pop and your boobs go boo!”

  Putting the car into park, Freya gripped the steering wheel. Standing in the shadows of the building was Jordan, looking amazing in black jeans and a white Henley T-shirt. Both items clung to her body so tightly that they looked as though they’d been painted on. She had pulled her hair into a messy ponytail and pushed sunglasses onto the top of her head. Freya watched her unobserved as she greeted people warmly, directing them into the building.

  “Are you there? You’ve gone quiet.”

  “Sorry Dan, I’m here. I’ve just pulled into the school car park.”

  “What are you doing? You sound all breathlessy.”

  “Breaking rule number one,” Freya stated, ending the call before Dan could shout at her. Grabbing her phone and keys, Freya got out of the car.

  Jordan checked her watch, wondering whether the directions she had given Freya had been adequate. Her decision to ask Freya to the event probably surprised her more than Freya. Despite questioning her motives several times, she was still yet to come up with an adequate response for the impromptu invitation. She smiled and greeted some more attendees to the workshop, providing them with guidance on how to find the gym hall where they would start the session before breaking out into smaller groups. She turned and looked out across the car park, her face breaking into a smile as she spotted Freya getting out of her car. She had said to Freya to come dressed casually and it was a relief to see her dressed in faded blue jeans and a green V-neck sweater. Jordan had once invited Sabrina along to a workshop and, despite the same instruction, she had stepped up looking every inch the Hollywood star, putting everyone on guard for the first hour of the day until the sheer force of her personality won everyone over.