Hollywood Lights

by Lana Xavier

  I nearly fell to the ground from the sheer level of relief I felt. The next unheard voicemail was from my mom, worriedly asking me to be safe in my travels and call her whenever I got a chance. I scrolled through the other texts to find a few of the same, mostly worried messages from my mom and two from my younger sister Candace— The first wishing me good luck and the second telling me to be safe.

  I shot back a quick thank you to Candace before replying to my mom. I told her I’d made it safely to my hotel and that my meeting had been postponed because of the flight delay. Then I sent a second text promising that I’d call her after the meeting but for right now, I needed sleep. Her response was almost instantaneous.

  ‘Get some rest. Love you and good luck tomorrow!’

  I smiled at the message before I placed my phone back on the nightstand and walked over to flip the light off. I was too tired to even bother with pajamas, I just pushed my bags to the floor and slipped beneath the covers wearing the complementary bathrobe I’d found in the bathroom.

  Even as I was drifting off to sleep, the knowledge that Caleb hadn’t tried to contact me was unsettling me more than I cared to admit.

  * * *

  “Hmm?” I hummed to myself as a shrill noise pulled me out of sleep.

  What the hell is that?

  I sat up and opened my eyes, immediately searching in the darkness for the bedside clock. It was nine o’clock and judging by the lack of sunshine coming from behind the curtains, it was obviously not morning yet.

  I tried to force myself to wake up more as I searched for the source of the noise, frowning when I realized it was my cell phone ringing from the table. I didn’t know why I didn’t immediately recognize my ringtone, but I blamed my sleep-addled mind and waved off my momentary stupidity. I reached for the phone, tugging it off the charge cable and pressing the green answer button.

  “’Lo?” I mumbled as I rested my head back on the pillow.

  “Sleeping already?”

  It was like someone dumped a bucket of ice cold water on me. I shot up in bed, phone still clutched to my ear as I looked around the darkened room. “Caleb?”

  There was a snort followed by a humored, “Who else would it be?”

  “What makes you think you’re the only male caller I get?”

  “I think we both know you don’t get many male callers, Sabrina.”

  It was amazing how quickly this man could take me from being totally out of it to unnaturally pissed off in three point five seconds flat.

  “Fuck you,” I bit out, my confidence higher and my patience lower than it had been during any of our earlier conversations.

  It’s easier to be a bitch when you don’t have to look at that gorgeous face of his.

  Caleb laughed. “That’s not a polite thing to say to someone who was calling to invite you to dinner.”

  “And yet it was polite to insinuate that I never have men calling me?”

  “Point taken. I’m sorry.”

  Even over the phone, I could tell he was being sincere.

  Or maybe he was just acting again.

  “So? What do you say?”

  “Apology accepted, I guess,” I muttered.

  “Not about that, Sabrina. To my dinner invitation.”

  “Tonight? It’s kind of late…” I said, unsure of why I was so desperately searching for a way to decline his invitation.

  Earlier, I had been upset that I hadn’t heard from him. And now, for some reason, I was nervous over the mere idea of seeing him again.

  Looks like Caleb isn’t the only one who runs hot and cold.

  “It’s like nine,” Caleb pointed out, his tone disbelieving. “When the fuck did nine become late? Are you a senior citizen or something? Did you watch Jeopardy before you went to bed?”

  “Shut up!” I snarled, before calming myself down with a long exhale. I couldn’t believe I was letting his teasing get to me but I still said, “Fine. Where should I meet you?”

  “Not necessary. Just tell me where you’re staying and I’ll send my driver for you.”

  Of course he has a driver. Why wouldn’t he? My eyes nearly rolled into the back of my skull as I told him which hotel I was staying at.

  “He’ll be there in about twenty minutes. See you soon.”

  The line went dead before I could complain about the short amount of time he had given me to get ready. I was well past irritated already and the desire to call him back and tell him where to shove his dinner invitation was pretty strong.

  But the desire to actually go was even stronger.

  I hopped out of bed and rushed to my bag, digging through my clothes in a panic while I tried to decide what to wear. He hadn’t even told me where we would be eating which made it damn near impossible to know how to dress.

  In the end, I opted against calling to ask. I put on what I thought could be considered a neutral outfit—- not quite dressy but not quite casual either. It was a nice white sundress that I thought would fit nicely with the fashion in California and a pair of wedged sandals to go with it.

  As I stood in front of the mirror and tried to tame my sleep-hair, I felt a little ridiculous. My dress was far more suited to daytime, but it wasn’t like I had a ton of options. I wasn’t going to wear the outfit I had picked out for the meeting tomorrow, and when my phone chimed with a text, I realized I was out of time any ways.

  ‘My driver is outside.’

  I took one last look at my appearance and sighed. After I grabbed my purse and shoved my phone and keycards inside, I tried to console myself with the fact that at least I didn’t look as bad now as I had in the airport.

  While I waited for the elevator to reach the ground floor, I occupied myself by saving Caleb’s phone number into my contacts.

  * * *

  Chapter Four

  Finding Caleb’s driver wasn’t as difficult as I thought it might be. Because in actuality— he found me. When I slid into the backseat of the black sedan, I asked how he knew who I was.

  ‘Your hair’ was the only explanation I was given before the car became silent once more.

  I smiled as I looked out the window at the passing lights of the city, toying with idea of renting a car on Saturday so I could drive around one night and look at the city from the bluffs like I always saw in movies. It was corny as hell, but it was something I’d like to be able to say that I did while I was in town.

  I made a mental note to take a least one trip to the beach as well. And maybe the Hollywood sign or the walk of fame… There were a number of things I wanted to do and I didn’t know if I’d have enough time to fit them in.

  But even if I didn’t get a chance to do any of those things while I was in town, I was still doing something that most regular people only ever dreamed of doing.

  Going on a date with a movie star.

  My sister would never believe me. Hell, my mother probably wouldn’t believe me either. But I wasn’t star struck enough to even consider asking Caleb for a picture for proof. Besides, I would know it was true and that was all that really mattered.

  I tried to keep from bouncing up and down with excitement in the backseat, instead settling on twisting my hands together and grinning like a loon. When I felt the car beginning to slow to a stop, I looked outside the window to try and get a look at the restaurant.

  “This is a hotel,” I noted with a frown.

  The driver didn’t respond and my frown got even deeper when the car bypassed the front door and drove up to a gate at the side. He rolled the window down and had a brief, hushed conversation with the man standing at the gate before he walked away and rolled it open, letting us pass through.

  What the hell is going on?

  After a moment of driving, we pulled to a stop and the driver exited the car, leaving me alone in the backseat with no idea what to do. When my door suddenly jerked opened, I jumped in the seat before I hesitantly stepped out.

  “Follow me, miss.”

  Even though I was becoming
more and more paranoid, I still followed him. What other choice did I really have? The gate had been closed again and it wasn’t like I was just going to run down the street in the middle of the night without a clue of where I even was.

  He opened a door and motioned for me to step inside and the pieces slowly began to click together in my head. I was being brought into the hotel by way of the service entrance.

  The way where I wouldn’t be seen with Caleb or anyone else who was connected to him.

  We walked through the winding hallways until we reached the service elevator where Caleb’s driver pressed the button for the top floor. I kept my eyes straight ahead, not even looking at the driver’s emotionless face even after we reached the top floor and he gestured for me to step out.

  “Right this way,” he instructed, his tone clipped as he led me down the short hallway.

  There were only four doors visible to my eyes and I assumed this floor was reserved for the suites. I wondered if the other three were currently occupied with other famous movie stars, but my curiosity was pushed aside when the driver stopped and knocked sharply on a door.

  “Have a nice night,” he said, tipping his hat to me before turning around and leaving me to the wolves.

  “W-What?”

  The door I was standing in front of flung open and I turned to look at Caleb with wide, confused eyes, my mouth hanging open with shock.

  “Good evening, grandma. Sorry to keep you up past your bedtime.”

  I snapped my jaw closed and sneered, once again marveling at just how good this man was at getting under my skin in record amounts of time.

  “What the hell is this?” I demanded, crossing my arms over my chest and shooting him my filthiest glare.

  He had the audacity to look taken aback and I wanted to slap him, movie star or not.

  “What the hell is what?”

  “This!” I cried, gesturing towards the service elevator then between the two of us. “You— You ask me to dinner then have me brought to a hotel like… God, like I’m some sort of whore!”

  “Come inside,” he said as he pulled the door further open and nodded towards me. When I didn’t budge, he let out an exasperated sigh. “So at the airport when those fans came up to me, you understood and hung back. But you can’t understand why I had you brought through the back entrance of my hotel? Will you just come in so I can explain?”

  My rage paused at his valid point and I found that I was willing to listen to what he had to say, but also more than prepared to snap at him again. I cleared my throat and stepped inside, brushing past him and trying not to shudder when my side just barely grazed against his chest.

  He closed the door and latched the lock before turning back to me. He raised his eyebrows expectantly and nodded forward, signaling to continue onwards. I walked further into the hotel room and paused when I crossed the threshold into the living area.

  Caleb quickly strode by me and lifted the bouquet of red roses from the coffee table, bringing them over to me with a small smile. “These are for you.”

  “T-Thanks,” I told him as I accepted the flowers, trying to contain my smile but failing. Tim had never gotten me flowers—not even for Valentine’s day. He said it was a total waste of money to buy something that would only die in a week.

  I had always agreed with his logic but I couldn’t have predicted just how happy it would make me feel when I met a man who was willing to waste that money just to make me smile.

  “Does it bother you having dinner here?” Caleb asked, his tone hesitant. “I thought after what happened earlier, you would understand why I brought you here.”

  “I understand,” I said with a nod, but felt the need to add on a disclaimer. “And I’m sorry for snapping at you. But-”

  He titled his head to the side, his attention rapt. “But what?”

  “I feel like I should go ahead and tell you that I’m- I’m not going to sleep with you just because we’re in a hotel room.”

  Caleb grinned and I could see something in his eyes—something mischievous.

  Something that told me he was taking my words as a challenge.

  Before I had a chance to push my point home, the light in his eyes faded and he nodded. “I accept that. So what do you want to eat? The restaurant in this hotel is amazing.”

  I sat down beside him on the couch as he opened the menu and I scanned my eyes down the list of items. I balked at the prices listed next to the entrees, then remembered that to Caleb, the cost was like a drop in the ocean. He could easily afford anything I ordered and I somehow knew that if I made a fuss about the price, he would likely just order everything on the menu to piss me off.

  My eyes continued to scroll down the list until they landed on something I didn’t expect to see. My stomach roared at just the word.

  “Pizza.”

  He turned to me, his brows furrowed together with confusion. “Pizza.”

  “Yeah, I want pizza.”

  “Are- Are you serious? After looking at all the stuff on this menu, you want pizza.”

  “Yes. Pepperoni pizza,” I specified, then added, “Please. Oh! And cheesecake.”

  I pointed to the dessert menu, tapping my finger over the picture of a slice of New York style cheesecake that looked entirely too good to pass up. He looked between the photo and me a few times, blinking slowly as if he was hopelessly confused, before he shook his head and chuckled.

  “Alright, fine. Pizza and cheesecake. Do you have a wine preference?”

  “Yeah. The kind that tastes like beer,” I said dryly. I hated every type of wine I had ever tried.

  Not that I had tried very many, but whatever.

  Caleb’s roar of laughter was infectious and I found myself giggling even as he lifted the room’s phone from the cradle and began to place our order. I smiled when he ordered a six-pack of Guinness, happy that he had managed to remember my beer of choice.

  “Alright, twenty minutes,” Caleb announced after placing the phone back in its cradle. “I still can’t believe you’d choose pizza over filet mignon.”

  I shrugged, trying to push away the feeling of classlessness that was starting to make itself known. I defensively muttered, “I love pizza.”

  “I love pizza, too,” he agreed with a grin as he sat back down on the couch. His thigh brushed against mine and I felt my pulse quicken. “You look nice, by the way.”

  “I had no idea what to wear,” I mumbled as I toyed with the hem of my dress. “You weren’t exactly forthcoming with details while you were picking on me for being asleep.”

  His eyebrows raised with surprise. “You were really sleeping? Shit, I’m sorry.”

  “It’s fine,” I said, waving him off. “It’s probably for the best. I’ll need some sleep tonight to make it through my meeting tomorrow. I was just so tired after all that shit at the airport. Did you get any sleep?”

  “Not yet.”

  I gaped. “How in the hell are you still awake? Did you sleep on the plane at least?”

  Caleb smirked. “Nope, I was going over a script. You get used to running on very little sleep when you work the hours I do. Did you sleep on the plane?”

  “Only for a few minutes. I was finishing up the rewrites for most of the flight.”

  “All done then?”

  I nodded proudly. “Yep. And they moved my meeting to tomorrow, thank god. I thought I blew my chance.”

  “What studio are you working with?”

  “Walter Realm Pictures. I mostly talk with Nathan Whitby.”

  Caleb nodded absent-mindedly. “It’s a good studio, I’ve done a few films for them. Nathan’s a cool guy.”

  I was excited to be talking about this with him and wanted to badger him with questions, but his tone had already turned disinterested, becoming reminiscent of how he was in the airport when I asked him about his work. I didn’t want to shut him down again, so I simply let the conversation fizzle out and turn into a surprisingly comfortable silence.

 
When his arm stretched across the back of the couch over where I was sitting, I didn’t say a word. But I could feel my pulse quicken again, just like it had done every single time we made any sort of physical contact.

  I could feel his gaze on the side of my face and I turned to look at him, my breath catching as I noticed the heat in his eyes. Even though I had already said that I wasn’t going to sleep with him, I could feel my body starting to betray my words, my skin heating up at the mere idea of falling into his bed.

  We stared at each other for what felt like the longest moment of my life, my heart pounding wildly in my chest as I waited for whatever it was that was going to happen. When he tilted his head forward by a mere fraction of an inch, I could’ve sworn he was going to kiss me.

  But he didn’t. I nearly slapped myself when I felt disappointment go sweeping through me.

  “So what are your plans for LA? When you’re not working, of course.”

  I cleared my throat and leaned to the side, trying to put a little space between myself and his hypnotic presence. “I honestly don’t know. I’m only here until Monday and I have no idea how much time they plan to have me spend at the studio. Any recommendations?”

  He smirked and I could already feel myself bristle in preparation of whatever lewd comment he was about to throw my way. But the smirk faded as he thought the better of whatever it was and he simply shrugged.

  “There’s plenty of touristy shit to do. If you want to go celebrity sight-seeing, there’s a big award show Sunday night.”

  “Will you be attending?”

  “Unfortunately,” he dryly confirmed and I could sense just how unhappy he was about it.

  “Well, that sounds like a load of fun and all but I’ve already met you. So I think I’ll skip it.”

  He laughed, the surprised sound making me smile in return. I myself was surprised he even mentioned the show, such a thing would surely be classified as ‘work’ to him and I already knew just how adamant he was about not discussing his work.