Limelight (Hollywood Stardust)

by Kim Carmichael

  If he knew it was her on the other side of the door, he would have tried to wear something less, less… he glanced down at his pjs, less plaid. “Thanks.” He stumbled, but covered it up by plopping down on the bed next to her. “Tell me.”

  “What do you think of the movie so far?” She ran her fingernail along the edge of her pillowcase.

  “I don’t have anything to compare it to, so you would know better than me.” Trying to be casual, he leaned back on his elbows. Though he knew she was covering up for something else she wanted to ask, he went along with her. Eventually, she would tell him.

  “I think it’s good. It would have been better if the story was based off a book or something then it would already have a following.” She shrugged.

  He never thought of the movie that way, actually he only did this film to appease his parents. “You really know a lot about the industry.”

  “Most people think I’m stupid.” Her voice lowered.

  “Then most people are stupid themselves.” A cramp taking over his side, he sat up and stared straight ahead.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her turn to him.

  Strange, he could have a camera pointed at him all day, but the minute one particular set of eyes was on him, he froze.

  “You’re different than everyone else.” She moved his hair away from the side of his face.

  Though he willed himself to have no reaction, it was nearly impossible and he strummed his fingers on the bed, tapped his foot. All he did was think about her. “Yeah, Logan and Ryder I’m not.” He wasn’t stupid either. They looked like stars, while he wanted to be sucked into a black hole.

  “Stop worrying about them.” She slid over and leaned her chin on his shoulder.

  Easy for her to say, she had all three of them panting after her like a pack of wolves, but he swore he was the only one who really knew her.

  “I don’t feel safe with them. I only feel safe with you.”

  While these were words all guys wanted to hear from the girl they crushed on, he already knew his sentiments wouldn’t be returned the way he wanted. His only choice was to remain staring at the dark wood dresser in front of him, fidgeting at her mere presence.

  “Drew?” Her voice caressed his ear and her tone told him that at last she would reveal what she wanted.

  He nodded.

  “May I stay here with you tonight, please?”

  “Y-y-you want to stay here?” He needed to repeat the words to make sure he heard her right.

  “I’ll never sleep all alone, I only feel safe when I know where you are.”

  He gazed into those huge blue eyes. Many, many people would kill to have his dilemma. How could he tell her no? He had sighed. “All right.” With the sudden urge to run out of the room, he had stood and rather than running, tried to make a plan for a single queen bed.

  “Thank you.” Along with her pillow, she had put her bright red nightgown on the edge of the bed. “Do you mind?”

  He turned to find her back to him and her hair pulled up. “Mind what?” Right now he would mind if she saw the erection he would be nursing the entire night and wished he had thicker pajamas.

  “Unzipping me so I can change.” Her giggle made the world sparkle.

  He’d never undressed a girl before, or had a girl in his bed. There wouldn’t be any sleeping on his part. Most likely he would end up passing out.

  At least he had a little piece of Erin, even if it wasn’t the part he wanted.

  “Drew.”

  At the sound of his name, Drew blinked and was jolted into the here and now. “Mind what?” He spit out the first thing that sprang to mind.

  “Unzip me, you’re an expert.” A low laugh escaped her throat.

  With a bit more knowledge of the female body than the first time he performed this action, he swallowed and lifted his hand to the tab of the zipper. Slowly, tooth by tooth, he slid the zipper down.

  Apparently, this particular dress didn’t require a bra even though Erin had always been well endowed. Instead, she presented him with a stripe of perfectly smooth skin with no interruption.

  Unfortunately, the zipper ended right at the small of her back, but damn, he wanted to know if she wore underwear, and if so, what color.

  He cleared his throat. While he may have pulled a couple of zippers down in his lifetime, nothing compared to those belonging to Erin Holland. “All right, why don’t you get comfortable and I’m going to go get you some sheets. There are clean towels in the cabinet.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Fulton. When you return, will you tuck me in?” She turned back to him, a one-sided smile gracing her face and one arm across her breasts holding the dress up. “Maybe you can tell me a bedtime story?”

  Before he thrust her arm away and let her dress fall so he could see what had always been denied him, he nodded. “I’ll be right back.”

  She wiggled her fingers at him, collected her pajamas and a toiletry bag and disappeared into the bathroom.

  Once the door closed, he dashed into the hallway and found one of his better sets of sheets. Beaker trotted up the stairs and the two of them exchanged knowing looks before he rushed back into the guest room.

  He tore the old sheets off the bed, tossed them into the hallway, gave Beaker a thumbs-up and then redressed the bed. By the time he finished his last hospital corner and folded the comforter down, she reappeared.

  Like every time he saw her, he found himself momentarily speechless, one of his downfalls. She slithered out in a green, spaghetti strapped clinging nightgown, her hair pulled back, her face scrubbed clean and glowing, and her nipples showing right through the flimsy fabric.

  “Multiple sheet sets, towels in the cabinet, you’re all grown up.” She put her dress over one of the chairs and made her way to the far side of the bed.

  “I think that title goes to Isaac Abrams, not Drew Fulton.” He couldn’t take his eyes off her.

  “Is that the name you went by?” She slid in between the sheets and her hair fanned out on the pillow.

  “I go by and yes.” He sat on the edge of the bed.

  “I should have guessed the Isaac part.” She bit her lip.

  “Why’s that?”

  “You taught me all about Isaac Newton. What goes up must come down.” She pulled back the sheets on the other side of the bed and patted the mattress. “Your favorite scientist.”

  He glanced at the space reserved for him. Did she think about it as often as he did?

  “You know, every night no matter where I was or who I was with, the bed always felt empty,” her voice was barely above a whisper.

  They looked into each other’s eyes.

  “I have no expectations, I just want you to be next to me for a few minutes,” she whispered. “I finally feel a little safe.”

  He swore her eyes glazed over. With her, he could never tell if the tears were real or not, another one of his downfalls. Still, he couldn’t stop himself from kicking off his shoes, turning down the lights and joining her.

  “Where did the Abrams come from?” She kept up the conversation.

  “First last name I saw in the phone book when I was choosing a name that seemed to fit me.” He laughed and she let out a giggle as well.

  “Tell me about Isaac Abrams.” She turned on her side. “I want to know him.”

  “He got his degrees and opened up his business and then one day he decided to crash a party from his old life.”

  “All so you could get the perfect spokesperson for your products?” She ran a nail over the stitching on his sleeve.

  “Exactly. You know how it is when something has to be just right and you can’t wait,” he said.

  “Oh, I know that feeling all too well. I haven’t felt like anything has been right in a really long time.” She moved her nail up to his shoulder. “Tell me about the nutraceuticals.”

  “I was always interested in nutrition, especially with…” He really didn’t want to talk about his past weight issues at t
he moment.

  “I know, keep going.” Her fingers traveled up to his neck.

  Of course she knew, one of their bonds of their fledgling friendship all those years back was that they dieted together.

  “I studied chemistry, studied how the right mix of things could truly make a difference in someone’s life. We haven’t yet begun to explore non-prescription solutions, and you know how I feel about drugs.” To no avail, he tried to stop the words from exiting his mouth.

  “I am well aware.” Her voice softened and she continued with her caresses.

  “Anyway, one of my professors was also into manufacturing, and I interned with him at his plant. I decided I wanted to try to make some truly therapeutic supplements and the rest is history.” To abate the sensations coursing through him at her touch, he closed his eyes. Yes, he could have simply told her to stop, but he couldn’t.

  “Do you make everything yourself?” Now her fingers grazed his jaw line.

  “I come up with the initial ideas and do the research. I have a couple of formulators and chemists who work with me.” He attempted to keep his breathing even and ignore his body’s natural reaction to her.

  “Well, by the looks of things, your products work.” Her finger outlined his ear as she moved closer to him. “I need to try them out. “I was told recently I was letting myself go.”

  He faced her. Whoever said that was either blind or wanting to hurt her. “Don’t listen to them.”

  “I haven’t had anyone else to listen to, everyone leaves me.” She slid her hand over to his chin.

  “Well, I’m here now and trust me, you look gorgeous.”

  “Drew. I missed you so much.” She pressed her palm to the side of his face. “I thought about you every day.”

  The small amount of light coming into the room twinkled off the tear running down her face.

  He rested his hand on her waist. Twenty years ago his entire life was centered on kissing her.

  He never reached his goal.

  At long last, he finally had her here and wanting him.

  This time he would do the denying.

  “It’s really late.” He kissed her forehead and used every last bit of his will to get out of the bed.

  “Drew?” Her voice broke.

  “I want you to know you can stay as long as you need.” He backed up toward the door. “Good night, Erin.”

  He shut the door behind him and exhaled.

  Promises were broken. Trust breached. He was a coward in too many ways.

  Through the years he asked himself over and over again why he wanted her, why it was always her and even now he couldn’t define it. Maybe it was what some called chemistry, and maybe that’s why he studied that particular science.

  If he allowed it, they could kiss. No doubt it would set off a reaction of epic proportions.

  On the other hand, there was always the possibility it could always fizzle out.

  He didn’t need another downfall.

  * * * *

  A KNOCK AT THE DOOR at nine o’clock on the Sunday morning after he revealed his true identity to the world and the woman he wanted since he was eighteen moved in with him, meant only one of three things. One, he had the tabloids knocking his door down, two, he had his employees knocking his door down, or three, he had the one last member of the Hollywood Stardust cast coming to check on the situation.

  Since the paper and the Internet were already stuffed full of his story and he was quite sure his employees were going to give him hell tomorrow, he decided to let the third option wait for an extra moment while he popped a couple of his custom supplements into his mouth and downed them with some coffee. After glancing toward the stairs for his houseguest, he stretched and took slow steps to the door.

  A quick peep in the hole designed for exactly that purpose revealed he was right about his hypothesis.

  While he almost wanted to tell Beaker to go ahead and attack, he didn’t need a lawsuit and instead opted to open the door. The sight before him would probably have every woman between the ages of 16 to 50 squealing with delight. He stood back and let Ryder Scott into his home, or he would definitely have the paparazzi stalking him.

  The leading man personified, Ryder flipped his overpriced sunglasses up on top of his coiffed shock of black hair and gave Drew a slight nod as he walked inside. Actually, it was more of a strut.

  Beaker ran over, but ever the faithful pet, the dog gave a glance to Ryder and then ran over to his master with his toy.

  “Cool dog.” Ryder stopped and looked around, taking his time and making sure to build the suspense.

  Drew picked up Beaker’s toy and tossed the knotted rope. “I suppose I should ask you to have a seat.”

  “Then I suppose I should accept.” Ryder made his way into the living room, nodding as he took in this or that and finally sat on the couch, arms stretched out, legs spread out, taking up as much surface area as possible.

  Not sure if he wanted his houseguest down here or not, Drew joined the superstar and took the chair across from him. In a strange twist of fate, he could lay claim to the fact that each one of the Hollywood Stardust stars sat on his couch in less than forty-eight hours. He wondered if the piece of furniture was worth more now. “Coffee?”

  “You’re an excellent host, but I never touch the stuff. I drank some alkaline water before I drove over.” Ryder finished his assessment of the room and turned to him. “I can bring you a case if you want. It’s much better for you than regular water. It’ll change your life.”

  “I’m familiar with the concept, and I’m good, thank you.” He sat back. “Did you come here to meet my dog and offer me beverages?”

  “It’s been a while. You missed a lot.”

  “Maybe you missed a lot.” In truth, Logan kept him updated. As far as Ryder went, he didn’t miss too much.

  “Logan owns the sequel.” Ryder squared his jaw.

  “When did you find out this little tidbit?”

  “Same as everyone else. Yesterday at the gala.”

  “You know when I found out?”

  Ryder raised his eyebrows.

  For the first time in his life he was going to best the man and he smiled. “About seventeen years ago when he called me after he bought it.”

  The star let out a grunt. “So, let’s get down to business. I want to know if Erin is here.”

  Heat overtook him. It was always Ryder who threw his relationship with Erin at him. Though Logan played the third point in a love triangle Drew had no part of, somehow his best friend managed not to rub the situation in his face. “That’s none of your business.”

  “Listen.” The calm façade melted right off the man and he leaned forward. “For twenty years I had to hear about you and where were you, and what happened to you. Then, out of nowhere you appear and suddenly she doesn’t answer texts or phone calls. Since I’m the one who cleaned up your mess for the last two decades, I just want to make sure she’s okay before I officially transfer the pink slip.”

  No doubt Ryder rehearsed that entire little diatribe before he sped into his driveway in an Italian masterpiece, but Drew wasn’t eighteen anymore and he knew Ryder was only using Erin as an excuse to get here for some reason.

  “So what made you reappear after all these years anyway?” Ryder narrowed his eyes.

  As if someone cued Erin, she came down the stairs. “Drew?” She made it to the bottom and stopped, grabbing on to the railing. “Rye, what are you doing here?”

  Both he and Ryder stood and Beaker trotted over to her.

  She appeared like a slice of morning sun in the room, a beam of light, all done up in skin-tight black pants and a white shirt, her hair cascading over her shoulder, her make- up light and casual.

  “I came to check on you. I tried calling and texting.” Ryder went toward her. “Are you all right?”

  “I don’t think it was a secret where I was headed.” She patted Ryder on the shoulder, gave the same attention to Beaker, and with h
er hand held out went right to Drew. “It feels so weird to see you. I woke up at five like I always do, and I didn’t want to wake you up, then I was so tired I fell back asleep.”

  Did she really give his dog and Ryder the same attention in front of him? Drew took her hand. “Then you slept well?”

  She moved up against him and put her lips by his ear. “As good as could be expected without you there, but we were under the same roof. I may have finally learned to sleep in my own room, but that was before you returned to me.”

  He glanced down at her, his body taking on a life of its own.

  “I also came to discuss a few things with both of you.” Ryder raised his voice and returned to the couch. “Everyone, sit.”

  Without thinking of logistics, Drew resumed his seat on the chair, leaving Erin either in a chair across the room or on the couch with Ryder. He would never learn.

  “What’s wrong?” Erin scanned the room.

  Ryder moved over and patted the cushion next to him. “Did you see Logan’s message to us?”

  “I never even saw your text, what would make you think I saw his?” Without skipping a beat, she grabbed the ottoman from the other chair dragged it over by him and sat down, putting her hand on his knee.

  Like an obedient pet, Beaker went to Erin and sat down at her feet, a picture perfect moment. Drew only wished he had a camera to capture it.

  “It was to the three of us. He invited us to the bar later to discuss the sequel for Hollywood Stardust.” Ryder lifted his phone.

  “Well, he has a built in cast.” The energy around Erin changed, sizzled with excitement.

  Drew tensed. He sort of forgot about the movie.

  “Erin, he also wants to discuss the dissolution of our contract with him. Should we go in the other room or something?” Ryder tilted his head back as if directing her away.

  Drew ground his teeth together. If Erin agreed to a secret conversation, he might as well tell her to go pack her bags.

  The damn contract had ruled Logan’s life for too long. A moment of desperation among the three of them caused the under aged Logan to take the rap for Ryder and Erin’s typical Hollywood indiscretions. His best friend was arrested for a crime he didn’t commit and, upon Ryder and Erin’s prodding, managed to get the sequel cancelled when it was originally meant to start shooting right after the first movie’s success.