My Life With The Movie Star

by Hoffmann, Meaghan

  Jessica pulled Becky out of her daydream and back to reality. “Come on, Becky! If you daydream all day, we’ll be late for practice. You know how much Mrs. Johnson hates that!”

  Jessica was right; Becky was head cheerleader, and she had to set the precedent for everyone to be on time. The crucial game was on Friday night. Her school, Winslow High Westerners, would be playing the Houston High Oilers for a chance to go to the state championship. The stands would be packed, and her squad had to be ready for the crowds. This was no time to be distracted by a boy.

  “Hi girls, glad you could make it,” Mrs. Johnson said sarcastically. She was looking over her clipboard, which was always in her hands.

  “It’s not Becky’s fault. Scott Thomas made her drop all of her things and didn’t stop to help her pick them back up,” Jessica said defensively.

  “Now Jessica, Becky does not need you to speak on her behalf,” Mrs. Johnson barked. “Okay, girls, let’s get in our first formation. We have to be on fire Friday night!”

  The girls practiced their various positions and pyramids, tosses and catches. Finally, practice was over. Becky made her way to her little silver Porsche. Derrick had beaten her to it and was waiting there with a single rose.

  “Hi, Derrick. I thought you guys were done with practice and were resting up for the big game,” Becky said and walked over to the driver’s side of her car.

  “We finished early so I ran out and bought you this perfect rose,” Derrick said. “You still haven’t answered my question about going to the Homecoming dance on Saturday.”

  “I’m just not sure I feel like going. That’s all,” Becky lied. She truly wanted to go, but she desperately wanted to be in Scott’s arms instead.

  “Come on, everyone from the team will be there. If we win, you will be required to go. Might as well have a date,” Derrick suggested.

  Becky opened her car door and threw her book bag in the backseat. She looked up at Derrick with his pleading eyes. How could she say no to him? Scott obviously hated her for some reason, and Derrick was right: if she had to go, it would be nice to have a date. She would no doubt be the envy of all the other girls in school. Her parents would be so happy they wouldn’t care about her curfew.

  “Okay, Derrick, I will go to homecoming with you,” Becky said and accepted his rose.

  “I promise you will have so much fun!” Derrick said. He tried to put his arms around her, but she had already started to get into her car.

  “I need to get home. I’m surprised mom hasn’t been calling my cell every five minutes,” Becky said and jumped into the driver seat.

  Derrick knocked on her window. “Thanks for going with me,” he said and reached in for a kiss.

  Becky quickly started the car. Her radio, which was turned all the way up, blasted out song, which made Derrick jump back.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” Becky said as she started to back out of her parking spot. Late again, she thought. I guess mom won’t mind when she hears that I’m going to homecoming with Derrick.

  *****

  Just then, my phone rang, and reality rushed back to me. I couldn’t believe how caught up in the book I had become. I looked down to see who was calling and smiled when I saw it was Gray.

  “Hi, Gray,” I said. I turned down the corner of the page of the book and set it down in my car, so that he would have my undivided attention.

  “Hello, beautiful.” His voice had a pleasant, gentle southern accent that wasn’t normally there. “I’m working on my Scott voice again,” he said. “Does it sound like the first movie?”

  “I think so,” I said. “But to be honest, I have only seen the movie once. I’m sure all your teenage fans might have a different opinion.”

  “You’re too kind. Sorry I didn’t call you back last night; I fell asleep with the script in my hand. Someone wore me out all weekend,” Gray teased.

  “How dare they,” I teased right back. “When do you start shooting?”

  “Tomorrow. It’s going to be a few long days and nights through this weekend. We need to get a bunch of stuff in the can before the VMA’s and other award ceremonies that will pull cast members away from production,” Gray said. “Can you live without talking to me for a few days?”

  “I think I will manage. I do have a date with you on Saturday,” I teased.

  “Did I tell you I was coming to see you this weekend? I’m sorry if I did; I will be all tied up,” Gray started to explain.

  “No, silly. I have a date with you at the movies,” I explained. “I’m going to go see Texas High again.”

  “Why would you do that? There are better movies out right now.”

  “None of the other movies star Grayson Edwards.”

  “I guess you’re right about that. Just don’t fall in love with Derrick, okay?”

  “Okay, I promise. Team Scott all the way! Oh, Gray, my lunch is almost over. I have to get back to my desk.”

  “Have a great day. Love you.”

  “Love you too,” I said.

  I hung up the phone and felt a jolt of adrenaline. What was I worrying about? He loved me and not some silly Hollywood actress. I would miss him over the next couple of days, but I was glad to know what he was up too. Maybe someday I could go see him on-set. That would be incredible to see how a movie was made. Of course, I would have to check my jealousy at the door.

  The rest of my week flew by. I spent my days trying hard to focus on work and my nights try to get motivated to run or do some type of work out. I was extremely surprised to receive a text from Rachel asking if I would like to get a drink with her on Friday after work. I wondered what had brought this on. My guess was that Lisa had been bugging her since Fish Day to apologize to me so we could all be friends again.

  Before responding to Rachel’s text, I decided to call Lisa and see what she thought, knowing full well that she would push me to see Rachel. My work day finally came to an end and climbed into my car and started my commute home. As soon as I walked in the front door I grabbed my phone and called Lisa.

  “Hey, Lisa, it’s me,” I said, taking off my high-heel shoes as I spoke.

  “Hey, Abby, what’s up? This weekend is sure going to be boring after last weekend!”

  “Well, I can’t always have a movie star at my house now, can I"? I teased.

  “No rule says you can’t!”

  “Rachel texted me today, asking if I wanted to get a drink tomorrow night,” I said. I knew Lisa would be happy about this, but I didn’t trust Rachel’s motives and timing. My guess was that she would want to play nice so she would be included the next time Grayson came into town.

  “That’s great! Now we can all be friends again,” said Lisa.

  “Are you behind this?” I asked her point-blank.

  “Well, I’m always telling her to call you, but I will admit she thought of this herself.”

  “After Fish Day, I’m not sure I want to.”

  “Oh, Abby, stop being a baby! It’s not like you not to forgive someone. Just go and hear her out. I would like the three of us to be friends and do things together. I have been juggling both of you since this happened, and both of you like to throw me in the middle.”

  “I know, Lisa. It’s just hard,” I said.

  “I think she became jealous of our friendship. She has always been somewhat jealous of your life. You have a great job, which you love, and you make good money and could buy your own place. In Rachel’s eyes, your life was very easy.”

  “My life was easy?” I asked angrily. “She was always prettier than me and had tons of guys asking her out; she was the popular one who made cheerleading look easy. I was the ugly klutz who didn’t even go to one prom.”

  “Abby, none of that stuff matter now. Just go and hear her out. Maybe the three of us can do stuff together again,” Lisa pushed.


  “And you don’t think this has anything to do with me dating Grayson Edwards?”

  “If he’s the catalyst to get you guys to talk, then I don’t care. Just meet her okay? If doesn’t go well, you can always leave.”

  “Fine, I’ll go,” I said angrily.

  I texted Rachel back and said I would meet her. I picked the Deck as our meeting spot. I knew that she disliked that bar, and I felt like she should meet me on my turf.

  Chapter 13

  I couldn’t believe how nervous I was before meeting Rachel on Friday night. I parked outside the Deck, waiting for her to show up. I was happy when Grayson called; it was a pleasant distraction.

  “Hey, Gray!” I said after the first ring, hoping I hadn’t picked up too fast.

  “Hey there,” Grayson’s soft, velvety voice chimed. “How was your day?”

  “Fine,” I said. “I’m about to go meet Rachel for a drink. Wish me luck.”

  “Is this the girl from Fish Day?” Grayson asked.

  “Yes. I didn’t want to meet her, but Lisa is making me do it.”

  “Well, you can tell her to be nice from me,” Grayson teased. “Or else I may have to fly back and have a discussion with her myself.”

  “No need for that,” I said. “Enough about my life. How is the shoot going?”

  “Shoots are always long and boring hours. It’s silly; you have to get up super early just to sit around for hours on end until you are needed for a scene. I will have to invite you to the set sometime so you can see how a movie is made. It’s a boring process. You would have to spend most of your time in my trailer with me.”

  “That sounds great to me,” I said in my most flirtatious voice. “Gray, I hate to do this, but I have to go; I’m just outside the restaurant.”

  “Okay, I’ll call you tonight and see how it went,” Grayson said.

  “I can’t wait.”

  “Bye.”

  I hung up the phone and sat in my car for a few minutes, just enjoying the moment. I still could not believe who I was dating. Thinking about him made me smile and not mind what I had to do. With a big sigh, I bravely got out of the car and headed into the bar. I saw that Rachel had grabbed a booth for us over in the corner. I walked over and put on my brave face.

  “Hi,” I said sheepishly.

  “Hi, Abby. Thanks for meeting me here,” Rachel said and looked down at her drink. “I really want to apologize for how I behaved last weekend. I was being a horrible bitch. I was just surprised to see who you were with.”

  “It’s okay, Rachel. Gray didn’t get upset about anything. No harm done,” I said. I sat down on the other side of the booth and ordered a beer from the waitress.

  “Thanks, Abby. It means a lot to me that you’re willing to forget about last weekend.” Rachel looked down at her hands and then back up at me. “What is it like to date Grayson Edwards? I mean, it must be amazing.”

  “Well, it’s different from dating John, that’s for sure,” I said. “He is wonderful, kind and extremely funny. I’m not sure most people see that side of him. I’m sure they all think he is the depressed teenager he played in Texas High.”

  “How long have you been dating?” Rachel asked.

  “Since my trip to Texas in June,” I said, “but last weekend was the first time I had seen him since then, so I’m not sure how long I can say we have been dating for.” This was going much smoother than I had imagined. I sat back and began to relax a bit.

  “Is it weird to know he’s off shooting the sequel to Texas High and has to make out with that actress Holly?” Rachel asked.

  “No, it’s not weird. He let me know that he has zero feelings for her,” I replied. I would have to change the topic; Rachel was starting to get a bit personal. “So who are you going out with now?”

  “No one special,” she answered. “I’ll be right back. I have to go to the ladies room.”

  Rachel got up and walked off to the ladies room. I had to admit, this wasn’t going as badly as I had imagined. I was starting to relax and enjoy my beer when out of nowhere my ex John came walking over to our booth and sat down next to me.

  “Hi, Abby, it’s been awhile,” he said.

  “It has.” I was shocked to see him sitting next to me. Had this been last year, I would have been overly excited, but now things had changed, and I wondered what he wanted. John lived a few cities away, so it was out of the ordinary to run into him. Most of the time when that happened I would make a quick escape and hope that he would call me. Of course, he never did. I would just feel like an idiot for a few days afterwards, waiting by the phone. My guess is he had also seen the pictures of who I was dating, or had heard from someone.

  “Look, Abby, I just wanted to apologize for how I ended things.” John got extremely close to me and brushed the hair off my face. “I just hope you know how special you are to me.”

  “John, look,” I started to say when he reached over, took my face, and gave me an enormous kiss right on the lips. I tried to pull back, but he was strong and was able to kiss me again. I briefly struggled to get free. Gasping for air, I managed to scoot over to the other side of the booth. My back was up against the wall, and I looked at John wondering what had just happened.

  “Wait a second,” I said. “Please, John. I’m seeing someone and things are going great in my life at the moment.”

  “Oh, I see,” he said, looking terribly disappointed.

  Just then Rachel came back over to the booth. She looked shocked to see John. “What’s he doing here?” She asked, her arms crossed against her chest.

  “I was just leaving,” John said got up and started to walk away. “I’m glad you met someone, Abby. You only deserve the best.”

  “Thanks, John. I guess I’ll see you around.”

  “Take care.” And with that, he walked off.

  My mind was spinning again. Why did John have to pick now to apologize for what happened? Maybe he was jealous of Gray and thought he could come and start something with me again. Guys like John are all the same: they don’t actually want you, but they don’t want you to be with anyone else either.

  “What was that all about?” asked Rachel.

  “I’m not sure. He just came over here and sat down next to me. At first he was apologizing for how things ended, and next he was making out with me.”

  “Did you tell him about Grayson?”

  “I told him I was seeing someone. I didn’t go into details about who it was.”

  “Well, I’m proud of you, Abby. Last year you would have jumped at the chance to get back with him. It’s nice to see you have moved on.”

  Rachel and I finished up our drinks. I decided not to push our evening, so I excused myself to go home. However, instead of going home, I stopped off at the local theater to watch the last showing of Texas High. It made me feel so close to Grayson, watching him on the silver screen. I just imagined myself in the movie and pretended he was speaking directly to me. I looked around the theater and saw all the teenage girls who were thinking the same thing I was. I was just lucky enough that in real life, he was saying things like this to me.

  Chapter 14

  On Saturday morning, I woke up early to go for a walk with Lisa. I could not believe that an entire week had passed since I had last seen Gray. I was proud for losing almost two pounds. The rest of my spare time and energy had been focused on reading the Texas High Series. I was almost finished with the second book: the characters’ sophomore year in high school. The story picked up a few months after Scott left. I was surprised that Gray’s character Scott did not show up in the book for the first five chapters, but as the story went on, I could see that Becky and Scott would get back together. Derrick was going to make Becky choose, and I knew she would choose Scott. I figured the book would end with prom again, showing Becky and Scott going together.

  Lisa
met me at the Upper Bluff Park. We started our three-mile walk. We always did a loop around upper Bluff Park and then went down the hill and back along the bike trail.

  “You will never believe who showed up last night,” I said.

  “I was going to ask you how that went. Who showed up beside Rachel?” asked Lisa

  “John.”

  “What!” Lisa stopped and looked at me in confusion.

  “You heard me. John showed up, apologized for what he did, kissed me and left,” I said.

  “Has he finally broken up with that horrible girl he was with?”

  “He must have. Why else would he come around me?”

  “Did you tell him about Grayson?”

  “No, I didn’t want to make him feel bad.” In the back of my mind, I was questioning why I hadn’t come out and used Grayson’s name with John? A part of me knew that if it didn’t work out with Grayson, I would want to call John again.

  “Abby, you are way too nice. After how he dumped you, I would have rubbed Grayson in his face.”

  “Maybe I should have,” I answered. I had never been one to hold a grudge, but it would have been gratifying to see the look on his face when I told him who I was seeing.

  “Have you talked to Gray today?” Lisa asked.

  “Not yet. He said he would call me later on with our flight arrangements. We will be staying at his house,” I said excitedly. I had images of what Grayson’s house must look like. I had been watching too many episodes of Celebrity House – images of pools, bars, and movie rooms danced in my head.