by Matt Cain
‘Look, I’m really sorry about that, Ronnie. But it honestly wasn’t part of the plan, I promise.’
‘Yeah and neither was getting pulled over by the LAPD.’
‘Seriously? You got stopped by the cops?’
‘Yeah, for some reason they thought I was acting suspiciously. Can’t think why. I tried telling them I was going to a costume party but they looked at me like I was a total weirdo.’
Leo tried not to laugh. ‘Well in that case I suppose I owe you an even bigger favour than I thought.’
‘You sure do, bud.’
‘So it’s just as well I’ve got us a pair of tickets to see the Dodgers game later.’
‘You’ve got to be kidding me! Are you for real?’
‘Too right I am.’
‘That’s awesome, man. But how did you swing it?’
‘Oh you know what it’s like in our business – we’ve got accomplices dotted all around town. I just work them more than you, I suppose. So do you fancy joining me or what?
‘Big time. The only problem is Rosie. I already promised I’d go with her to visit some chick she works with who’s just had twins. She’s in a bitch of a mood and I can’t bail out on her now, she’d totally whip my ass.’
‘Well give it half an hour and then ask her. By that time a huge bunch of flowers should have arrived with her name on it.’
‘Man, are you serious?’
‘Yep, it’s all sorted.’
‘Dude, you’re so good at that kind of thing. If only I could be more like you – my life would sure be a lot more peaceful.’
‘Well, I’ve sent them from you so all you need to do is make out the whole thing was your idea. And then I’ll see you at the game in a few hours.’
‘Man, you think of everything.’
‘Mate, that’s nothing. Wait till you hear what I’ve sent Mia.’
*
Mia had to admit, Leo was good. He was really good. Laid out on the office table in front of her was the exact pair of shoes she’d talked to Serena about wanting in the car on the way to their date. She’d assumed Leo had zoned out and hadn’t listened to a word she’d said, but not only had he managed to have them sent over from Prada first thing this morning but they’d come in her exact size too. She had no idea how he’d done it but she was really impressed. And kind of touched that he’d taken the trouble to do something so thoughtful to make her happy. The only thing was, she’d been trying not to think about him all day. How was she going to avoid it now?
Hector wasn’t helping in the slightest. ‘Dios mío!’ he squeaked when she showed him the shoes. ‘It’s like something out of Cinderella!’
‘Do you really think so?’ she asked, trying to sound as cool as she could. ‘You don’t think it’s a little hokey?’
‘Not at all! It’s so romantic!’
Mia’s instincts agreed with Hector but something inside her was making her hold back. ‘But what if he’s only done it because he wants to get laid?’
‘Excuse me but didn’t you notice how hot he is? A guy like that could easily get laid without going to the trouble of buying shoes.’
‘But what if he just wants to sleep with a movie star? You know, to brag about it to all his friends? Isn’t that what men do?’
‘Some men. But did he strike you as that kind of guy?’
‘Not really but . . .’
‘But nothing. Quit freaking out and enjoy this, Mia. It’s like something out of one of your movies!’
‘I know. But maybe that’s what I’m afraid of.’
She knew that he meant well but the last thing Mia needed when she was trying to rein in her feelings about Leo was Hector doing his best to whip her up into a love-struck frenzy. He’d turned up a few minutes ago muttering something about leaving his phone charger in the office, but she could tell he was lying. It was blatantly obvious that he was only there because he wanted to find out more about last night’s date. Right now he was making a big show of scouring the room for his charger while he bombarded her with questions about Leo.
‘So is he a good kisser?’
‘What does he smell like?’
‘Do you feel tingly when you look him in the eye?’
Mia was doing everything she could to avoid Hector’s questions and play down how much she’d enjoyed last night. She was immensely fond of Hector but at times he came across like an over-enthusiastic puppy.
‘You know, it’s just like my mom and dad,’ he gushed. ‘Did I ever tell you that Dad had to sail across the ocean on a raft so they could be together?’
‘Yes Hector, you did tell me – several times.’
‘Well, every day she came to the sea front to look out for him. And when he finally arrived he whisked her into his arms and they danced along the sand, blissfully happy and totally in love.’
‘Don’t tell me, to the sound of Ricky Martin?’
He frowned. ‘No, that came later. And anyway, quit being so cynical. You need to open yourself up to love, Mia. You and Leo could be like a modern day Romeo and Juliet – sworn enemies who, against all the odds, find true love in each other’s arms.’ Once again he squeaked with excitement.
‘Erm, correct me if I’m wrong but don’t Romeo and Juliet die?’
‘Well, erm, yeah . . . But that doesn’t mean that you and Leo wouldn’t have your happy ending.’
Mia rolled her eyes and smiled. ‘Hector Molino, you are something else.’
‘And Mia Sinclair, you’re just frightened because you know I’m talking sense.’
Just then she spotted his phone charger peeping out of the desk drawer. ‘Yeah well, I might quite like Leo but not enough to die for him.’ She yanked out the charger and handed it to him. ‘Is this what you’re looking for?’
‘Oh yeah, erm, thanks.’
‘Now that’s all you’re getting for now. Run along and find your own Romeo. Because the sooner you do, the better for all of us!’
*
The roar of the crowd was almost deafening. The batter had just hit a blooper and scored a triple. Unfortunately the Dodgers were pitching.
‘Man,’ groaned Ronnie, ‘we totally suck today.’
Leo and Ronnie were in Dodger Stadium watching their team take on the New York Yankees. When Leo had first arrived in LA he hadn’t really enjoyed baseball; it used to remind him of playing rounders at school but with much more complicated rules. But Ronnie had always been a big fan so over the years Leo had grown to love it. And from the very start he’d loved coming to Dodger Stadium. There was something about the Chávez Ravine location with its amazing mountain views, the live organ music inside the stadium and the constant call of the peanut vendors working their way through the stands that created an incredible atmosphere. It was just a shame today’s game was going so badly. It was the sixth innings by now and obvious the Dodgers were getting thrashed.
Ronnie was just about to roar his disapproval at an outfielder who missed a catch when he was hit on the head by a stray beach ball. Impromptu volleyball games often broke out in the stands during Dodger games and the fans loved them. Leo took hold of the ball and punched it far away behind them.
As he refocused on the game he spotted a not very pregnant-looking but heavily Botoxed Layla Lloyd and her boxer boyfriend sitting in prime courtside seats. Part of him wished he’d brought his camera. He didn’t normally leave the house without at least a little pocket-sized camera, just in case he came across something worth snapping. Thinking about Mia all morning had obviously made him sloppy. He decided to concentrate on the game.
The batter whacked the ball high into air and began belting his way around the field. The Yankees fans’ cheers grew steadily until their man scored a home run, by which time it felt like the stadium would erupt. Ronnie looked gutted.
‘Man, this is just my luck,’ he moaned. ‘Every time I watch a game the Dodgers get their ass kicked.’
‘I’m sorry, mate, I wish I could have fixed it for you.’
‘Don’t worry, bud. I reckon you’ve fixed enough for today already.’
Leo suddenly remembered to text his contact in the Prada shop to say thanks for sorting out the shoes. Kiana Kamaka was a rather severe-looking lesbian from Hawaii who over-used the words ‘eclectic’ and ‘iconic’ and spent the whole time either fanning herself or loudly clicking her fan open and shut. She regularly tipped off the paps when any stars came into the store so Leo had got to know her well over the years. He took out his phone and texted a quick thank-you.
Once again, Leo found himself wondering what Mia thought of the shoes. They must have arrived hours ago by now and he still hadn’t heard anything from her. He was starting to worry that he’d missed the mark somehow and managed to cause offence.
During the seventh inning stretch, when he and Ronnie were happily chomping away on Dodger dogs with all the trimmings, he decided to ask his friend’s opinion. ‘Mate, do you think the whole shoe thing was a good idea?’
‘Sure it was, dude. Chicks go crazy for shoes. You’ll totally get laid now.’
‘But I keep telling you, I don’t want to get laid.’
‘Sure you don’t, buddy.’
‘I don’t! Well OK, I don’t just want to get laid.’
‘That’s more like it.’ He smiled and took a huge bite of his hotdog.
‘I don’t know,’ Leo went on, ‘for some reason with Mia things feel different. It’s like I just want to make her happy, if that makes sense. I’d have loved to have seen her face this morning when she opened the package.’
Ronnie pretend to be choking on his food. ‘Dude, did you hear what you just said? You need to take a step back and listen to yourself. She’s a target, remember?’
Leo thought back to his strict policy of never mixing business with pleasure – a policy that had led to him ending countless relationships. But now here he was, wanting to break all the rules after just one date. My God, what’s happening to me? he thought. Maybe I am falling in love after all.
‘All I can say,’ piped Ronnie, ‘is I just hope Mia feels as strongly as you do.’
‘Yeah,’ gulped Leo, ‘so do I.’
*
‘Now before you ask, I’m not falling in love with anybody.’ Mia was standing in the doorway with her arms folded. ‘Can I just make that perfectly clear?’
‘Loud and clear, sister,’ boomed Serena, standing to attention and giving her a little salute. Hmm, she thought, somebody’s got it bad.
That morning Serena had received a text from Mia telling her that the date had gone well. She’d been desperate to speak to her ever since but had already arranged to have lunch with Mitchell’s parents that day and couldn’t get out of it. She’d sat in her in-laws’ dining room for what felt like forever, not enjoying a minute of it and wishing it would end soon. Mitchell’s parents were academics in the department of molecular biology at UCLA and fiercely intellectual. And although Serena was confident that she could more than hold her own when it came to worldly wisdom and knowledge about the entertainment industry, she felt completely out of her depth whenever she spent time with Mitchell’s family and often couldn’t follow their conversation, let alone join in. As usual, she ended up feeling like, however much she progressed in life, however much she matured and grew as a person, deep down she was still the same foul-mouthed, tough little girl from a single-parent family in Harlem, and one who wasn’t even as tough as people thought. After nearly three hours of torture, she’d finally managed to extricate herself and had plonked Mitchell in front of their house and then rushed straight round to Mia’s.
Serena had a hunch that last night’s date was potentially the most important one her friend had been on for years, if not ever. And now that she was here she could tell that she’d been right – however much Mia protested.
‘So do I get to hear about this man you’re not in love with?’ she teased.
‘Of course you do.’ Mia grinned, kissing her on both cheeks. ‘Come on in.’
They’d arranged to have an early evening swim so made their way through the house to the pool in the garden. It was Mia’s day off hardcore exercise but she’d promised Cole she’d do at least fifty lengths and somehow Serena had landed herself the job of making sure it happened – even though she hated swimming as she had to stick her neck out of the water like a turtle to avoid wetting her straightened hair. The truth was, she actually quite liked her naturally kinky hair but she’d discovered from experience that other people saw a black woman with an Afro as some kind of angry, political activist. It was a conclusion that Serena had learned many Hollywood execs were only too quick to jump to – and one that she had to spend a lot of time avoiding if she wanted to continue being successful in the movie business.
Mia led her over to the small summerhouse at the edge of the pool and slipped off her bathrobe to reveal her bikini underneath. She’d obviously been sticking to her extreme diet and exercise plan as her figure was looking better than Serena had ever seen it. And even though they were best friends and she knew all about Mia’s struggles with binge-eating, Serena always felt conscious about her own figure when stripping off in front of her. Since her days as a model, when she’d had to starve herself and used to suffer fainting fits and stomach cramps on a daily basis, she’d decided to go much easier on herself and eat what she wanted. She never went crazy but now that she was approaching thirty-five her natural body shape was catching up with her and however much Mitchell loved her ever-expanding booty (or her ‘ghetto blaster’ as he called it), there were days when she felt like a water buffalo and wished it weren’t so damned big – or at least that her boobs would grow and balance it out a bit. She reassured herself that she only felt like this because she’d spent so much time around skinny white models at the height of the craze for heroin chic. And she hoped that being unhappy with her body shape didn’t mean that she was any less proud of her identity as a woman of colour.
As Mia crouched into a sitting position at the edge of the pool, Serena shyly slipped into her swimming costume and went over to perch next to her. From where she was sitting she could see out over the entire city and hear the sound of the water softly cascading down the hillside. Swimming would have to wait.
‘So come on then,’ she started, ‘I promise not to mention the L-word if you promise to tell me all about him.’
Mia laughed. ‘Oh, Serena, he’s great. Really, really great. He’s funny, intelligent, sexy, charming, thoughtful, gentlemanly, sexy—’
‘Yeah, I think you mentioned that one already.’
‘Oh did I?’
‘Yeah but I get the picture.’ They looked at each other and giggled. ‘So if he’s really that great, then what’s the problem?’
‘The problem is that he’s a paparazzo.’
‘Oh yeah, I’d forgotten about that.’
‘I mean, however great he is, can I ever really trust him?’
Serena dipped her feet into the water and began gently paddling. ‘You know, I think you’re right to hold back a little but you need to cut this dude some slack.’
‘Do you really think so?’
‘Totally. At least give him a chance to prove himself, to prove that you can trust him.’
‘OK, well what do you suggest?’
‘Well it’s pretty early days to be talking about long-term compatibility but I think in your case you need to find out if you would ever feel comfortable integrating him into your life.’
And how would I do that?’
‘By introducing him to your world, I guess. Giving him a little try-out.’
‘OK, and how do I do that?’
She began kicking her legs faster. ‘Well how about taking him to Cooper Kelly’s birthday party this week?’
‘Are you serious?’
‘Deadly serious. Think about it, sister – it’s perfect. Cooper’s turning eighty and wants to show the world that he’s still in the game, especially since everyone knows he was in hospital last week. The word i
s the party’s going to be freakin’ awesome.’
‘But the whole of Hollywood’s going to be there. Billy’s been excited about it for weeks.’
‘Exactly. So if Leo wants to do the dirty on you by secretly taking shots of people or just doing some sneaky research then he’ll have ample opportunity.’
‘Hmmm, I see what you mean. But if he is going to stitch me up then won’t everyone get real pissed at me for bringing him along?’
‘Well that’s a risk you’ll have to take. I suppose the question is, how strongly do you feel about this guy? I mean, is he worth taking the risk?’
Just then Mia blushed. She turned away, almost hiding her face. At that moment Serena knew she’d got her answer.
She touched Mia on the arm to get her attention. ‘Do it, sister. If you feel like that then you’ve got to do it. Take your man behind enemy lines and see what happens. See if he sinks – or swims.’
And with that she slid into the water and swam off.
7
The driver opened the door of the limousine and in stepped Billy.
‘Hey, sugar,’ he beamed at Mia. ‘How’s my favourite girl?’
‘All the better for seeing my favourite boy.’
They leaned forward and kissed each other.
‘Well you look real beautiful – just like a princess.’
‘Oh thanks, Billy. And you look very dashing, my handsome prince.’
Billy did look even more dashing than usual; he was dressed for the party in a tuxedo, which really set off his square jaw and sparkling eyes. It confirmed Mia’s assessment of him as attractive in a safe, non-threatening way – sweet rather than sexy. At least to me he is anyway, she thought. But then again, he is my gay best friend.
The two of them were on their way to Cooper Kelly’s eightieth birthday party and had been told that there’d be a red carpet for photographers and TV crews at the entrance; Cooper obviously wanted the whole world to know about his relaunch. Mia and Billy shared the same publicist and she’d suggested that they arrive together to help plug War of Words, which now that they’d finished the reshoots would be released in less than two months’ time. Leo had accepted Mia’s invitation but arranged to wait at the far end of the red carpet; he’d only join her once they were out of sight of the photographers. She hoped that Billy wouldn’t feel pushed out but when they’d run through the plan on the phone he’d seemed perfectly happy.