Rising Star

by Karen Webb

  “It’s too bad you only have a couple days. There’s a lot to see and do here,” Matt was saying.

  “Yeah, well, the beach is nice, but I think I prefer my wide open spaces to this huge city.”

  Matt laughed his musical, ringing laugh and then took her hand again across the table. “You know, Selena, a lot of these young starlets give up their whole lives to come here, just for a chance to be a star.”

  “I know. And I’ve already made enough money for some of my college tuition, but I’m just not into this life.”

  Matt chuckled, shaking his head. “You’re one of a kind, Selena.”

  After dinner, Matt instructed Jeffrie which house to drop him at and Selena’s heart sank as they pulled into the drive. She hated to see the evening end, and besides, Matt was the only person she knew in this strange land. She stepped out with him while Jeffrie discreetly stayed in the car. She leaned her back against the car as they chatted.

  “Where you staying?” Matt asked.

  “The Montague, in Beverly Hills.”

  “Hmm, nice place.” He leaned toward her as he said it and she felt his body press hers against the car as he kissed her. She wove her fingers into his hair where it curled over his collar as she returned his passionate kiss. He broke away finally, both of them out of breath. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said quietly, his voice gruff with passion. She could see it burning in his eyes and she knew he was seeing the same in hers. He held her stare for a long moment, then turned away and strode purposely for the front door of the house. Selena dropped back into her limo, still breathless from his kiss, her mind a whirlwind of confusion. She had told him in New Mexico that she only wanted friendship; she had been determined not to let some Hollywood player hurt her. But now she knew, it was too late for that. He was more than a friend and she knew it.

  Chapter 15

  Selena floated back to her room when Jeffrie let her out at the hotel, still euphoric from Matt’s kiss and the passion and longing she’d seen in his eyes. She had assumed he had already found someone more his style. How could he possibly be interested in some small town girl from New Mexico anyway? She had all but given up on ever hearing from him, and now, here she was, floating around her room on a white, fluffy cloud.

  She used the remote to open the blinds, then stared out the window as she thought of Matt. Were her feelings for him true or was it a movie star crush like she’d had for Paul James before? Was she star struck? No! She shook her head as she contemplated it. It was neither of those things, she was sure of it. She knew her own mind and her heart better than that. She was still so afraid of being hurt by him, but she didn’t really believe anymore that he was just a player. The look in his eyes had said it was more than a fling. She heaved a sigh and finally turned from the window to check her emails and social media. She had been sorely out of touch since arriving in L.A. and she was sure Beth would want to know everything. She picked up her cell phone and saw ten new emails. She checked them first and her heart sank as she read letter after letter from the publishers and agents she’d sent her manuscript off to. Each one was a polite and respectful rejection letter. She felt all the wind go out of her sails and the white, fluffy cloud she’d floated in on was blown away on a darkening sky as she read the emails. She’d had such high hopes for the hard work she’d done on the detective series and it almost felt like her world was crashing down around her. She knew she should be happy. She was having an opportunity of a lifetime with the movie and now this modeling gig. But she just couldn’t seem to even feign an interest in any of that. It seemed unreal to her, whereas being a published author; that was a real dream. She quickly answered Beth’s emails and put her phone on the charger. She went into the bathroom and scrubbed Betsy’s makeup from her face before turning in. She scrubbed vigorously, as if she could wash away all the Hollywood acting and modeling and just return to herself and her quiet world. She felt a single tear trickle down her face as she crawled beneath the sheets of the enormous bed. She had worked so hard on the book. She’d put several years of her life into the series of books. All her hopes and dreams dashed in an instant. She didn’t even bother turning on the TV as she buried her head under the covers. She was determined not to cry, but she felt another tear roll across her cheek and onto the pillow. She sniffed and tried to get her mind back on Matt and the euphoria she had floated in on, but to no avail. Another tear was followed by another and she slammed her fist into the pillow as she finally gave up and let the tears come.

  Jeffrie picked her up at eight a.m. again the following morning.

  “Did you sleep okay, Miss Selena?” he asked politely when she jumped into the back seat. He noticed dark circles under her eyes and a forlorn look on her face this morning. He’d thought she would be jubilant after the time she’d spent with Matthew Mason. They had certainly seemed to be getting along well when they parted.

  “I slept alright,” she answered. “Just feeling a little homesick, I guess.”

  She was quiet the rest of the way to Malibu, where, once again a small crowd of people awaited her arrival. Betsy took Selena’s hand and led her to the house when she joined them. The handler, Jake, was once again holding the dancing Catalina by her shiny black bridle. She brightened Selena’s mood considerably as she watched the graceful horse prance on the beach. Betsy was quick with her makeup and hair this time. “The photographers want to get some pictures with the morning sun,” she told Selena.

  Selena was surprised to find the same white dress as the previous morning hanging in the bathroom for her, cleaned and looking new again. “Why would they have me wear the same dress again?” she asked Betsy when she emerged with it on.

  “Oh, the photographers weren’t happy with the way some of the pictures came out. After the dress got soaked in the waves, it didn’t billow out the way they wanted. Anyway, as I understand it, it’s just a few more shots with this dress, then you’re all done for the day.”

  “Really?” Selena could feel waves of relief wash over her. As much as she had enjoyed riding Catalina in the surf yesterday, she still hadn’t been looking forward to another full day of sitting in front of a camera. Especially as depressed as she felt today. She really just wanted to go home, back to her safe little world and her faithful horse. She didn’t think she would ever have the guts to send another manuscript off to agents. It was just too hard to put so much work into something, only to have everyone tell you it sucks.

  “Really.” Betsy smiled at her kindly as she followed her back across the balcony and down to the beach. She sensed that Selena wasn’t herself today. She had used makeup to cover the dark circles she’d seen under her eyes.

  Selena swung deftly onto Catalina’s back and kept her to the beach as she danced and pranced. She didn’t want the dress getting soaked and having to do this over again. Catalina was full of fire, but she obeyed Selena’s commands. The two of them had gotten to know each other enough by now, she knew she couldn’t push Selena too far. The cameras clicked and clicked as Selena rode Catalina up and down the beach at a trot, then a gallop, before one of the cameramen called out to her, “okay, if you could just sit on her in the waves facing us.”

  Selena turned Catalina into the waves, the hems of her dress already getting wet where it flowed down across the horse’s hindquarters. Catalina stopped in the waves before Selena could turn her fully around, bowed her head down toward the water with her nose almost touching a wave and pawed at the surf with her right hoof. Selena had no idea of the picture they made, as she sat on Catalina in the waves with the horse pawing at the surf.

  But Matt did, as he watched from his place at the rear of the house behind them. He stood in the sand, looking down at the fantasy-like sight of the dark-haired beauty in white and the stunning white horse with her black bridle. The sight would be etched on his memory forever, he was sure of it. He let his breath out in a whoosh when he realized he’d been holding it as he stared at the sight. The girl and the horse looked lik
e mythical creatures as they sat in the waves with the horse pawing at them. She’s a Goddess, he thought with a smile as he stared. If I blink, she’ll probably disappear. He remained by the house, unwilling to disturb the crew or Selena, until the shoot was finished. He watched Selena dismount and put both hands on Catalina’s face as she kissed the soft, charcoal gray nose. Then she turned and walked with Betsy back toward the house.

  “Oh,” she said when she saw Matt. “How long have you been here?”

  “Not long,” he answered vaguely, the mischievous smile lighting up his blue eyes. “Are you finished or just changing?”

  “We’re finished,” Betsy answered for her.

  “Cool. You wanna take in some sights today, Selena?”

  “Sure. I’d love to,” she answered, his nearness unnerving her as it usually did at first.

  “I’ll wait out front for you.” He winked at her, then made his way around the side of the house to his car.

  Selena felt the stirring in her stomach again as she went to change. It was still only mid-morning and her plane didn’t leave until the following morning. She still had the whole day to spend with Matt. She quickly forgot her depression over the rejection letters as her heart began to soar, thinking of spending the entire day with him. She’d thought she would never see or hear from him again and now, here he was the last two days, appearing as if by magic, and he wanted to spend time with her.

  “I guess Matt Mason has taken a shine to you,” Betsy said when Selena emerged from the bathroom, happy to be back in her own clothes.

  “We became friends a while back in New Mexico,” Selena answered. Her stomach was feeling nervous and excited again as she thought about what they would do today. She had no idea what to wear or how to act around these sophisticated Hollywood people.

  “Hmmph! Friends? One thing I know for sure, girlfriend, when a man looks at a woman like that, he’s looking for more than friendship.”

  Selena’s face reddened as Betsy giggled.

  Betsy gave her a hug before she went out the door. “Good luck with your modeling career,” she told her. “I’m looking forward to seeing the pics in all the magazines.”

  “Thank you, Betsy. I couldn’t have done it without you,” Selena said as she opened the door and saw Matt standing by a shiny black car. Betsy was quickly forgotten as she stood and stared. Matt looked absolutely gorgeous, she thought, standing tall and straight against his car, the sea breeze lifting the dark, shaggy hair off his forehead. His black tee shirt was stretched tight across his broad shoulders and his black pants made his slim waist and hips look even slimmer. Dark black sunglasses completed his look and his teeth looked incredibly white when he flashed a smile at her. Forget the agents and publishers, today I’m a lucky girl, she thought. She stared at him for a full minute, before joining him at the car.

  “So…what do you want to do today?” Matt asked as he stepped away from the car and opened the door for her.

  “Um, I hadn’t really thought about it. What do you want to do?”

  “Well, I guess we could see the sights in Hollywood, or we could go shopping in Beverly Hills?”

  “Ugh,” Selena giggled. “Haven’t I been punished enough the last two days?”

  Matt laughed. “Ever been to Disneyland?” He looked sideways at her, the mischievous light back in his eyes as he grinned.

  “No.”

  “Then let’s go have some fun.” Matt closed the door after she was in and loped around to the driver’s side. He felt like a teenager again, excited and proud to have a beautiful girl agree to go out with him.

  Selena stared at the interior of the car as Matt pulled into traffic. It was a black Mercedes sedan. She’d never even seen one before, other than on TV. The rich interior of the car and the musky, masculine scent of Matt’s aftershave did double duty to take her breath away. She closed her eyes as she breathed in the new car scent and his rich, musky smell.

  Matt whipped the car smoothly in and out of traffic and Selena’s eyes flew open as she braced herself for a collision. She was unused to this amount of traffic and to Matt’s seemingly reckless driving. The world moved at a slower pace where she was from. She felt the blood drain from her face as a car cut in front of them, almost hitting them. Matt quickly checked his mirror and gunned the big engine as he switched to another lane. He glanced over at Selena and laughed. “It’s okay Selena, I’m a good driver. You’ll get used to the traffic,” he said as he whipped the car across another lane.

  “I don’t think I want to get used to it.”

  He laughed again, the musical sound calming her nerves a little. “Yeah, I don’t blame you.”

  Chapter 16

  They had an amazing day together at Disneyland. They rode the rides, they played the games, they laughed and rough-housed together like two old friends. Matt had pulled a black baseball cap from the trunk of his car before they went into the park. He kept it on throughout the day to disguise himself from his fans. Selena relaxed and enjoyed her day with him as they rode huge roller coasters. “I think barrel racing might be safer than this,” she yelled as they plunged down a huge hill, her long dark hair flying behind her. She screamed and grabbed Matt’s arm as the coaster hit the bottom of the hill and flew into a sharp curve. “I think I left my stomach back there on the hill,” she laughed as the roller coaster came to a bumping stop.

  It was late in the day and they were walking toward the exit, with Selena carrying a stuffed mouse Matt had bought her, when two teenage girls passed by and stared. “Hey, I think that was Matthew Mason,” one of them shouted.

  To Selena, it seemed as if teenage girls appeared from thin air. In only a minute, Matt was surrounded by a crowd of squealing teenagers. He signed autographs for them and even signed their tee shirts. Selena felt herself being pushed further and further from Matt as the girls crowded closer. She finally backed against a wall and watched in amazement as Matt seemed to take it all in stride. He smiled and laughed with the group of girls as he quickly signed autographs. When he realized Selena was no longer by his side, he quickly scanned the crowd, then, looking over the heads of the girls, he saw her leaning against the wall. “Sorry ladies, gotta go,” he said as the girls complained. “Sorry,” he said as he worked his way through the crowd and took Selena’s hand. “Let’s get out of here,” he whispered as they moved quickly for the exit. The group of girls followed them, snapping pictures with their cell phones, but a security guard at the exit saw what was happening. He held up the ever-increasing crowd of teenagers as another guard walked with Matt and Selena to their car.

  Matt laughed once they were safely inside. “Guess that was a bit much, huh?”

  “Does that happen a lot?” Selena couldn’t imagine being mauled by people wherever she went and smiling happily while they all took her picture. It had been hard enough having her picture taken the last two days, and they were paying her for it.

  “Not really,” he answered. “You get used to it.”

  “Yeah, and again, I don’t want to get used to it.”

  Matt laughed and took her hand. He held onto it, with both their hands resting comfortably on her thigh as he drove with his free hand.

  “You must think I’m small town and stupid,” she said quietly as she stared at her small hand engulfed in his larger one.

  “On the contrary, I find it very refreshing to be around someone who doesn’t live for this sort of thing. Like a told you before, you’re more real than the girls here.”

  His words were nice, but Selena wasn’t entirely sure she believed them. She just couldn’t understand what he could possibly see in her.

  “Hey, would you like to come to my house?”

  Selena looked up at him quickly, a startled look in her eyes.

  “Just for dinner,” Matt said with a laugh when he saw her look. “There’s a beautiful view of the city from up in the hills.”

  “Okay…I guess.” Selena felt so awkward. She wasn’t sure how she was supp
osed to react, but she felt sure even those young girls at the amusement park would have been more comfortable in this situation than her. She felt like such an ignorant, small-town hick.

  Matt drove up into the Hollywood Hills and entered a long drive to a big white house. It was surrounded by palm trees and lush landscaping. Bright red bougainvilla hung from the privacy walls, creating a lush wall of color. Matt came around the car and helped Selena out, then led her through an enormous set of double wooden doors into a tiled entryway. Selena stopped and stared at the huge chandelier hanging in the foyer, the ornate wooden staircase leading to the second floor and, on her right, a doorway to a sunken living room with glass across the entire rear wall. Matt led her into the living room and Selena went to the bank of windows, looking down across the city. She could see for miles across L.A., the twinkling lights of the giant city mesmerizing her. Matt brought them each a soda from the kitchen and, setting them down, he came and stood behind Selena as they looked out the windows. He wrapped both arms around her and pulled her back into his broad chest. Selena snuggled into his warmth, enjoying this quiet moment together. She was surprised when she felt Matt’s lips on the back of her neck. He reached up and brushed her thick hair to the side as he continued planting light, soft kisses on her neck. Selena felt her breath quicken at his touch and before she realized what she was doing, she had turned and was kissing him hungrily. They kissed for several moments, their passion rising, until suddenly, Matt stopped and lifted her up. He carried her to the white leather sofa, where he deposited her gently. He proceeded to make love to her, at first passionately, then he seemed to hesitate, and he continued slowly and gently, as if he were afraid he would break her. Selena had been overcome with her passion for him and she didn’t have a coherent, logical thought in her mind. She only knew that she wanted to be with this man, in every way possible. Matt held her tight in his arms afterward, his head on her chest as his breathing slowed. “I’m sorry Selena. I don’t know what came over me.”