In truth, Dr. Abrams was a brilliant professor. If she ever attended college, he would have been the exact type of teacher she wanted. His passion radiated through his words, and his background in acting gave him a smooth interesting edge that had his students enamored no matter what the subject.
“Now, are there any questions?” Drew put his hands in his pockets and sauntered around the auditorium stage.
The entire room seemed to raise their hands.
“Are there any questions about polyphenols?” He chuckled.
From her seat over at the edge of the stage, Erin continued to film and watched about half the hands lower.
“All right.” Drew pointed. “Third row, female, green shirt.”
A girl who appeared as if she wasn’t old enough to watch a PG-13 movie or sit through a college chemistry lecture jumped up.
Erin nodded. If Drew chose one of those tight t-shirt girls, he would be hard pressed for any other boobs tonight, namely hers.
“I was wondering what Charles’ and Roxy’s favorite sources of polyphenols would be?” The girl hugged herself.
Drew crossed his arms. “All right, all right. I see how this is going to be played. I’ll offer ten minutes of questions as long as we keep it calm and I can bring my co-star out with me.”
Waiting for her cue, she turned off the camera and sat up straighter in the chair.
Once more, the audience applauded. Drew turned toward her and held his hand out.
In an instant, she stood and went to him, taking his hand and holding it tight.
“You’ve been in a ton of movies, and even in the theatre, but have you ever been in front of a class?” He winked at her.
“I was never the teacher type. I leave that to you.” She leaned closer to speak into the microphone clipped to his tie.
The crowd let out a low chuckle.
“So, the girl in the green shirt wants to know what are Charles’ and Roxy’s favorite sources of polyphenols?” He put his arm around her.
“I think you’re testing me to see if I was listening.” She laughed and scanned her memory banks. “I think Roxy would have to say strawberries, blueberries and cherries.”
“Very good.” He gave her a little squeeze. “What about Charles?”
Not wanting to have a chemistry test and wanting to redirect the questions to what the audience wanted to hear, she tried for a different answer. “I’d say anything that would get him home in time for his test.”
The audience clapped and they looked at each other.
“Let’s take another question.” He motioned toward the other side of the theatre. “Fifth row yellow dress.”
“I have a question for Erin.” The girl waved to her. “What is your favorite part of Hollywood Stardust?”
Erin returned the gesture and took a breath. Too many images materialized in her head. For twenty years she didn’t answer a question about the movie, at last she had her opportunity. “I love that it’s a journey both literally and figuratively. I love how each character had their own story, but they all intertwined. I think my favorite part is how Roxy changed through the movie and became a woman.” The story centered on Roxy, the new girl who wanted to return to California to see the Hollywood Stardust theatre before it was torn down. Logan and Ryder played Steven and William, the two points of her love triangle while Drew played Charles, the misfit best friend who got dragged along for the ride. Strange, how life did indeed mimic art.
“We have time for two more questions.” Drew lifted his chin. “Way back, man in the blue suit.”
“If I go get my doctorate in chemistry will I be able to appear out of nowhere and end up with the MILF of the year?” The man, more like boy, clapped at his own question.
“Not by asking questions like that.” Drew barked into the microphone.
The crowd roared with laughter.
She froze at the person’s description of her. MILF? She wasn’t even a mother, but she could be one. In fact, a quick scan of the room told her that she had the potential to be a parent to most of the audience members. These weren’t even the people who watched Hollywood Stardust during its first run. No wonder Logan wouldn’t let her play her role, no wonder Drew gawked at those young girls, no wonder she didn’t get the roles she went after.
Somewhere along the line she’d changed, the world changed, but damn it, she didn’t feel any different.
“Last question.” Drew pointed right in front of him to a younger woman, who reminded Erin of the female version of Charles. A bit awkward, a bit disheveled, a bit of a standout.
“This is for Erin.” The girl spoke in a voice barely above a whisper. “After twenty years, are you finally going to tell us who you were with behind the scenes?”
Twenty years.
Two decades.
Two hundred and forty months.
As it all came into perspective, a chill took over her body and she shuddered.
“Do you want the truth?” Her voice sounded as if a ventriloquist was speaking for her.
Drew didn’t as much as tighten his hold on her as he dug his fingers into her side.
The entire auditorium became utterly silent.
“I wanted to be with Drew, and I should have been with him, and now I am with him.” She inhaled and, wanting to end the interrogation, bowed her head.
For the umpteenth time that night, the room roared with applause.
While her thoughts went elsewhere, Drew said his goodbyes, collected his things, and shook his colleague’s hand. She played the role of dutiful significant other, shook hands, smiled, signed a couple more autographs and then thankfully Drew led her back to the car and let her inside.
They may have spent twenty years apart, but he still knew her. Instead of talking or asking questions, he simply kissed her, turned on some music, and drove straight to the hotel, more like a resort. Of course, he didn't mention what she said. Maybe when faced with her in reality she wasn't nearly as grand. After all she could be a mother.
She meant the words she said in the auditorium. All those years ago she should have been with Drew. It was what they both wanted. She never put on a better performance than she did that night when they were supposed to make it official. Every day since, she paid for her stupid mistake.
What would have happened if she’d allowed them to be together twenty years ago? Would they now have a child or two in high school or college, a little combination of the two of them who watched his or her parents in that quote unquote genre changing movie and laughed?
Would they have even made it or would their hearts have been broken in a whole different way if they couldn't stay together? The pit in her stomach deepened.
Unlike their other stops, she didn’t hide. Instead, she chose to go with Drew as he checked them in, and they followed the bellman to their suite just like a couple.
The room was nothing if not glorious. Decorated in a Southwestern flair, a huge bed overlooked a picture window of the New Mexico landscape and off to one side she spied an oversized bathtub in an even larger bathroom with every amenity.
After tipping the bellman and locking the door, Drew came up behind her and put his arms around her. “Let me tell you what we’re going to do next.”
Still caught in her reverie, she looked up backward at him. Maybe they needed to talk about what happened at the University.
“I’m going to order us some room service and you are going to go get in that bathtub.” He kissed her nose. "I booked this room specifically for that bathtub."
"Is that it?" Really, he wasn't going to say a word?
"I just need a few minutes to decompress." After another kiss on the nose he patted her bottom as if shooing her away.
With her only choice to do as he requested, she turned her back to him and lifted her hair. “Would you mind?”
“I never mind.” His fingertips skimmed the back of her neck before he pulled the zipper down.
She shivered at his touch and walked tow
ard the bathroom, stopping at one of her suitcases along the way and giving him one last chance to say something.
"I got everything, go relax." Drew loosened his tie.
She pressed her lips together, stopping any argument on her part and went into the bathroom and closed the door. For a minute she simply stood there and then finally summoned her courage to look in the mirror.
Roxy, at least the Roxy who existed two decades ago didn’t exist anymore. Who did Drew see when he looked at her? The Erin who played Roxy, the Erin in her heyday he watched from afar, or the Erin who was nearing her fourth decade with a few more curves and a little less career?
She started the water in the tub and poured in the bubbles especially left on a shelf with other potions and lotions and then took off her clothes.
At one time in her life she wouldn’t have cared who Drew wanted because she got what she was after. She lived that way for years with Brian. With Drew she wouldn’t settle.
She needed him to want this Erin.
At last, she stepped into the tub.
Maybe it was time Roxy finally grew up.
* * * *
FRUIT, CHEESE, BREAD, finger sandwiches, and a great bottle of wine provided the perfect meal to eat in a bathtub built for two. Drew rubbed his hands together and pushed the room service cart toward the bathroom door.
One could say his lecture took many unexpected turns. Scores of fans, a change in venue and a film crew completely changed the entire event. However nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to Erin acknowledging their relationship to the world. It was a wish two decades in the making. On the ride to the hotel she stayed mostly quiet as if lost in her own thoughts. He could only hope she didn’t simply say the first thing that came to her mind when faced with a question about her past relationships.
“No.” When she finally said the words aloud, he vowed then and there to stop focusing on the old Erin, do as she asked and focus on other things. If they were going to build anything, they had to move forward, he had to move forward.
Right before he made it to the bathroom door, the dual vibrations of both his and Erin’s cell phones reverberated through the room. Though he wanted to ignore it, the fact both their phones went off at the same time gave him cause for concern, and he backtracked, pulled his phone out of his suit jacket pocket thrown over the chair and read the text from Logan.
Hey all. We are going to start casting calls for Hollywood Starburst, we want you there to pick your twenty year ago self. Don’t worry, you will all be getting paid. We think this is not only for the good of the movie, but publicity. We are starting at the end of the week.
It seemed as if anytime he was ready to let go of the past, it came barreling toward him. The last thing he wanted was to interrupt his and Erin’s time with talk of Hollywood Star-anything. Erin was right, they needed to focus on the good and some of his best times were when she wasn’t being a star, she was just being her. He smiled as one of the better times flashed into his mind.
The door joining their two hotel rooms had shot open. “Drew!” In a pair of leggings and a pink t-shirt that almost reached her knees, Erin had rushed into the room, looked around as if she were being chased and with a look of pure mischief had backed up against the wall with her hands behind her back.
He shot up from the small desk in the room and faced her, loving when she took off all the makeup and was just natural. She was an absolute beauty. “Why does it look as if you’ve been bad?”
“Don’t you want to see what I have?” She raised her eyebrows.
If she only knew. Rather than tell her what he really wanted to see, he tried to play it cool and slowly strutted toward her. “What do you think?”
“Okay, you asked for it.” With a bit of flourish, she pulled a video game cartridge from behind her back.
“Fire Fury Deluxe?” Okay fine, while he would still rate seeing Erin with less clothing at the top, the game was a cool second place. “How did you get that?”
“The director got it, and I begged him for it, and now I shall show you who is the crown princess of the fire planet.” Cartridge in hand, she darted around him to the couch and rubbed her hands together.
He followed and pulled over the game console he brought with him. Working in unison, they set up the game, and with an over exaggerated movement, she put the game into the slot.
In less than five minutes, they were entranced in their quest to take over the fire planet.
“I got you!” The competitor in Erin emerged, and she stood as she manipulated the controls.
“Oh, yeah.” He managed to get around a huge barricade and slid down on the floor.
“Oh, my god, here come the flame throwers.” She reclaimed her seat on the couch, but slid closer to him.
If someone would have asked him of all the stars of the movie who would end up to be his video game partner, he would have never guessed Erin. Yet, he caught her one day, and they had been the perfect pair ever since.
They both warded off the flame throwers coming in his direction, and he managed to make his way around a fire pit, taking her from behind and delivering a fatal blow.
“You got me!” As if she were shot, Erin slapped her hand over her chest and fell back on the couch.
He wished. With a laugh, he turned back to her. “You okay over there?”
“I’m recharging my fuel tanks so I can take you on again.” She combed her nails through his hair.
“Anytime.” Hey, he had to give her a little innuendo. “You know when we met, I never pictured you a closet gamer.”
“There are some benefits to being girl number three in the first version of this video game console five years ago.” She slid down onto the floor next to him, lifted her control device, and widened her eyes. “Look, the images are so lifelike it’s like I’m actually in the game.”
At her performance, he clapped. “Very convincing. If I didn’t already play, I would want to now.”
She elbowed him. “Part of my pay was the game. I felt normal playing it.”
“Well, I for one adore plain old Erin, the gamer.”
“What about Erin the actress?”
“I’m a fan, what can I say?” He restarted the game.
“I’m a fan of Drew Fulton, actor and future astronomer.” She punctuated her statement with a kiss on the cheek. “Let’s play.”
While he was enamored with Erin the actress, he was in love with plain old Erin. Rather than dwell on it, he went head to head with the fire throwers once more. He had nicknamed them Logan and Ryder, and he had taken them down, at least in the oh so lifelike video world.
The memory faded and once more he looked at his phone and the message from Logan. No, not tonight. Tonight was for quests of a different nature. He exhaled and returned his phone to his pocket. The two of them were on the cusp of something. He knocked on the door.
“Enter at your own risk.” Erin called out. Her quiet from earlier was replaced with her low sexy tone.
Well, their relationship had advanced from video games. He opened the door to one of the most magnificent sites ever to grace his vision. If nothing else, Erin Holland knew how to set the stage.
She followed his instructions and lay in the oversized bathtub with her hair pulled up in a bun and her face scrubbed clean of her makeup. Great mounds of bubbles overtook the tub, strategically covering key body parts with only her smooth leg peeking out.
“Is something the matter?” She held a sponge up and washed her gorgeous appendage.
“Only the fact that I’m not the one with the sponge in my hand.” Already his body reacted.
“I can think of way better things to put in your hands if you would join me.” She turned away and paid attention to her leg.
Preferring to savor rather than dive in, he poured the wine, made a plate of some of the morsels from the tray, and took off his clothes. “I did want to clean up.” He handed her a glass of wine.
She took the drink and sat up, givin
g him room to join her. “Funny, from the looks of things it seems as if you want to get dirty.”
Yes, his erection was already thickening. “I can’t help myself when I’m around you.” He stepped into the tub, on the opposite end to face her. Her slick legs slid against his, electrifying his skin.
“Really?” She tapped her glass against his and took a sip.
Strange. Normally Erin didn’t ask for reassurance. Maybe this had to do with those t-shirt girls. “You never need to ask. I just glance in your direction and I want you.” He drank and put his glass aside, choosing instead to run his hands up her one submerged leg.
A smile struggled on her lips. “When you look at me, who do you see?”
Anyone else would balk at her question, but as a former actor and someone who changed his identity, he understood completely. “I see you, Erin.”
“Which Erin?” The water splashed as she put her glass with his and slid closer to him.
“The one who showed up at my house the night of the gala because I willed her there.” His hands traveled up to her hips.
“I felt it.”
“The one who would flop around on any hotel couch and play video games with me.”
“You remembered.” She pressed her palm to his cheek.
He grabbed her waist and pulled her to him. “I see the woman who I wanted twenty years ago, but back then I don’t think either of us was ready.”
She shook her head.
“But at the end of the day, I see the Erin who gave me a gift tonight that only she would understand when she decided to tell the world what she wanted.” Unable to resist, he wrapped his arms around her. “I’m not sure how you got more beautiful, but it happened.”
“I meant every word.” She leaned into him, her lips caressing his as she spoke.
“So did I.” Acting as one, they kissed. A deep, slow, lingering kiss with no rushing, only perfect unison.
She curled her legs around him and pressed her body to his, her nipples already hard with arousal. “God, Drew.”
He ran his fingertips over her breasts and kissed down her neck, lapping up the water droplets lingering on her skin.
Limelight (Hollywood Stardust) Page 30