Just Like Me

by Dani Hall

  “Who was that?”

  “My Mom.”

  “Oh.”

  Taylor put the pictures back into the envelope, keeping out the ones we had picked out.

  “Yea, she was worried. I didn’t tell her about today.”

  “She wouldn’t have approved?”

  “No, I just didn’t keep her in the loop. It freaks her out when she doesn’t know where I am. Or if I don’t answer…she…some things in her past have made her paranoid.”

  “Yea, my mom used to be like that.”

  He stretched out on to the couch, making himself comfortable.

  “Used to?”

  “See, you say ‘used to’ when every other girl on the planet would be surprised I even have a mother. It’s like Hollywood thinks I dropped from planet Zupiter or something.”

  “Zupiter?”

  “Yes, Zupiter.”

  “Great way of avoiding my original question.” I noted as I flipped through the pictures we had selected.

  “I wasn’t avoiding. I was just adding in a needed conversational remark.”

  I didn’t press, he had avoided it again by saying he wasn’t avoiding it. But now he was in though as he stared at a new artist that flashed mutely across the screen.

  “You have a dad?” He broke the silence first.

  “Not really. I have Abe, my mom remarried. And I have my little sister, Nori.”

  “Nori.” He repeated the name, frowning, probably trying to recall if he’d heard the name before. He shrugged and moved topics.

  “So, you have a gay ex?” He asked.

  “My ex’s…I don’t even know if that’s what I would call them.”

  “They’re labeled ‘ex’ for a reason.”

  “I know, I guess that’s one way to look at it. I just haven’t ever really dated over an extended period of time. And by extended period, I mean like…two days.” He gave me a look.

  “So…are you avoiding individual names or...?”

  “Well, I try not to harp about the past too much.”

  “Yea, it’s a little early. I just…I don’t want there to be any surprises for you. You know? You’re getting peppered by paparazzi fire and they ask you about an ex and…”

  “Like Chrissie Fast?”

  “Yea.”

  “Ok…if you want to discuss, you go right ahead.”

  “Veronica, my costar on the zombie movies? I dated her during the first film. I also dated a girl named Kara Jones. She was my latest ex.” Geez, way to jump right in.

  He breathed out; this was obviously a subject that bothered him.

  “My best friend tells me that you had a lot of girls in your life that…weren’t exactly labeled girlfriend. But…were involved with you.”

  “Really, your best friend told you that?” He shifted, uncomfortable.

  “I just…I have a gut feeling here. I mean, I don’t think I just come along and you change your ways, Taylor.”

  “You’re right, it doesn’t sound that easy.” He left it at that. I thought about poor Lisa, probably running rampant around our dorm room, trying to figure out what parts of Star Gaze were being accurate.

  “My best friend is going to kill me.” I said out loud.

  “The girl Lisa? Why?”

  “Because she was in love with you…and I called her stupid for it. Actually…” I looked at my phone up on the bar, I heard a familiar ring tone that let me know Lisa was texting me. “You want to do me a favor?”

  “Depends.”

  “Call her on my cell? Tell her I can’t call her back right this second?”

  “You want me to do that?”

  “It would make her night.”

  He was already getting up and making his way across the room.

  “What’s her contact name?”

  “Lisa Beans. Her last name isn’t beans…it’s just what I call her.” I flushed, man that sounded so stupid.

  I watched as he took a few seconds, figuring out the layout of my phone. Finally he pressed it to his ear, winking at me. I heard Lisa pick up, fear and desperation clear when she thought I was the one on the other end.

  “Hey, Lisa?” Dead silence. “This is Taylor Jett. I’m sorry that Kale hasn’t been able to talk with you a lot tonight, I’ve been keeping her all to myself. She is, unfortunately, occupied at the present moment.” He listened as she must have said it was fine, just fine. “Great, well, we’re kind of in the middle of something here. Tell me, do you know if she’s allergic to latex?”

  “Taylor!” I gasped, my mouth I’m sure gaping wide. But his facial expression was amused as Lisa struggled to answer him.

  “Alright, I guess we’re about to find out. Have a great night, Lisa.”

  He hung up and tossed my phone back on the counter.

  “Oh my God.” I said as he came and plopped back down beside me. “You probably just gave her a heart attack. I am soooo dead.”

  “That’s what she gets for listening to the media about my sex life.”

  “I know girls are normally throwing themselves into your bed…but that’s not happening.” I warned.

  “Kale, I’m not expecting anything from you tonight.” He said easily. Then he looked at me and cocked his eyebrow. “I mean…if you’re not even willing to kiss on a first date.” He teased.

  “Well, I normally don’t.”

  “I’m not sure if you’ve made up your mind about tonight.” He said as he casually moved closer.

  “I don’t think I have.”

  “Well, let’s figure it out.”

  He was leaning in, and I felt my heart fluttering like a butterfly on steroids.

  “Yea, maybe not.” I said, breathlessly leaning away. He pulled a pillow off the couch, throwing it at me. I laughed. “Please don’t be mad.”

  “I’m not.” He chuckled, leaning back into the couch again. “It’s actually nice to be told no.”

  “Yea, get used to it.” I leaned over and put my hand up against his cheek. I could feel a little stubble under my fingers, and sparks flew. He turned and smiled at me. He put his hand over mine, letting it fall back to the couch. He got up and went over to my phone. I saw him mess around with a few buttons then put it back down. “Programmed my number. My real number, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t sell it on the internet.”

  “I’ll add that to my to do list.” I laughed, thinking about Lisa’s To Do list. Taylor gave me a funny look.

  “What?”

  “It’s…nothing.”

  “I didn’t put the number under my real name, the last thing I need is someone going through your contacts and realizing you have my number.”

  “What name did you program it under?”

  “Coffee House.”

  “Nice.”

  He sat back down, flipping through the channels. I leaned against him, watching as a movie played across screen. Before I knew it, I was closing my eyes, and dreams were playing behind my eyelids.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  I woke up to a knock on my door. I sat up, glancing around, confused as to where I was. Then it hit me. The media, the pictures, the restaurant, the hotel room. I was in the gold and white bedroom in the hotel.

  Taylor.

  Oh God, had I really fallen asleep on him?

  I shook the fog from my head and quickly got out of bed. He wasn’t here. I grabbed my purse and bag, making sure to slide my phone into my purse. I must have fallen asleep on his shoulder last night. He must have brought me in here. Was I really that asleep? Normally I wake up if a pin falls. Geez, that’s humiliating.

  I looked through the peephole and saw that Hector was the one knocking. I glanced back at the clock on the wall; it was 6:00 am.

  I opened the door and heaved my bag over my shoulder.

  “Hey, Hector.” He looked at me, trying to judge my expression, whether I was still as mad as I was yesterday.

  “Yes, we have to get going, Kale.”

  “Sorry I slept in,” I said, taking o
ne last glance around the hotel room to make sure I hadn’t forgot anything. I stepped out into the hallway with him, letting the door slam behind me. I felt a little awkward in yesterday’s clothes, but no one had any idea of knowing I had dressed in a t-shirt and jeans last night when Taylor came over. “And also I’m sorry about yesterday. You were just doing what you were being paid to do. It wasn’t your fault that stuff came up on the T.V. I was mad at Taylor, not you.”

  We walked down the hallway, the guards all trailing.

  “So ya’ll made up?”

  “I guess you could say that.” He gave me a look and I flushed. “Ew, Hector, not like that.” He laughed and shrugged.

  Soon I was in the car, on the way to the plane. I remembered he had programmed his number in my phone. I flipped through, realizing Lisa had already started texting me.

  YOU’RE DEAD!

  I laughed, quickly punching back that I already knew I was dead. And that maybe I’d be resurrected as a zombie so I could star alongside Taylor in Zombie Grave.

  I went back to my contacts and stared at Taylor’s number, unable to figure out whether I should text him or not. That was probably one road I didn’t want to go down. It was too early to be texting him anyway. I could just see my life as an endless charade of red carpets and photography flashes. Constantly watching what I did and said. Was that what I wanted? But it was Taylor, and if I had met him on campus or something, I would be dying to meet up with him a second time. Well, at least parts. The snotty arrogance I couldn’t stand, the paparazzi Taylor. But the Taylor I saw when it was just the two of us? I had liked that. A lot. But was that just a joke? Was he hoping I’d fall for the act if it meant another date and more publicity for him? He had easily fooled me one time; this could just be another trick.

  That made me angry, thinking about how he may have just pulled that act last night so he could score even more good points with the media. He couldn’t stand me at the beginning of the night, why should I think he could stand me now? He wouldn’t, I’m not one of those girls that celebrities date. I’m not any kind of Cinderella, if anything he’s that prince and I’m the pauper. Yea, it’d be just like that story. And it never goes down like that. I’m not pretty enough for him. I’m not some gorgeous model. Why in the world would he be interested in a girl like me?

  And whenever you flip to those Hollywood channels, you always hear about some celebrity divorcing their spouse. It never lasts. The young celebs stay married a year before they’re calling out for divorce. Heck, even the couples married for twenty years divorce in Hollywood. And it’s not like I even know Taylor. What if he is always getting drunk? What if he abuses drugs? Isn’t that what celebrities do? They do drugs, girls, and alcohol? And the celebrities that don’t do that stuff, you never hear about them.

  What am I thinking anyway? I hate celebrities. I hate everything they stand for. How arrogant, rude, and selfish they are. And I’m thinking about liking one? Dating one? Who am I?

  My head started to hurt with all the thoughts swirling around. I finally put my phone down; deciding to give it a lot of thought before texting him anything. At the back on my mind, I knew I’d already resolved that I wouldn’t be texting him at all.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  A black car finally dropped me off in front of my dorm. I waved goodbye to Trent and quickly hopped up the steps. I swiped my card allowing the doors to be opened. I skipped the elevator and ran up three flights of steps, trying not to run down the hallway to our dorm room. Finally I reached it; I tried the door, knowing it’d be unlocked. I flung it open and Lisa was sitting up in bed, dazed looking like I had woke her up by opening the door.

  “Kale?” She asked, sleepily. I nodded.

  “Yea, I’m back.”

  I dropped my bag and purse on the ground, unsure whether or not I should launch into details. I wasn’t quite sure Lisa was capable of functioning this early.

  “You had sex?!” She thundered. Ok, maybe she can function.

  “No!” I tried to keep my voice at a casual level. “Taylor was just messing with you, he was mad that you thought you knew him so well based on the media.”

  “You have no idea the mess that was on T.V. yesterday! Kale!” She was awake now, flinging herself out of the covers. “I was so worried! It’s like they kept changing their story. Was it a real robber?”

  “It wasn’t a robber; it was some actor they paid to be a robber so Taylor could get publicity.”

  “What an ass.”

  “Yea, I agree, that’s an ass move.”

  “Why did he call me? Was that really him?”

  “Yea, I asked him to call you because it was getting late and we were still hanging out.”

  “Why?”

  “Because…”

  Because he started being honest, or sounding honest. And I liked it. I liked the way it felt when he was close to me, the way he had taken me to my bedroom when I had fallen asleep on his shoulder.

  I started from the beginning of the evening, talking about the car ride and the jet plane, the hotel and the outfit. I talked about the limo and the beach, recounted every detail up until I had woken up that morning. Lisa was looking very confused by the end of it.

  “So was he faking or was he being honest?” She finally asked.

  “I don’t know!” I exclaimed. “I’ve been trying to figure it out all morning. I think he must have been faking, Lisa, because he hated my guts at the beginning of the evening. I’m thinking he wants more publicity out of this thing so he wants the media to think we’re dating. That would help out the foundation thing too.”

  “Oh yea! They announced on the T.V. yesterday that there’s going to be another competition. But they’re taking it down to areas now, and going to start a T.V. show about how celebrities are ‘just like me’. It all seems kind of ridiculous.”

  “Well, you know from what I told you…all those fancy things were NOT just like me.”

  “No kidding.” She evaluated my face for a moment. “You like him.” She finally accused.

  “No I don’t.”

  “Don’t lie to me. I see it in your eyes. They’re all bright and happy looking. And you’re normally a grump. Normally you’d be bad-mouthing him from a mile away. You enjoyed yourself yesterday.”

  “No! It was horrible! All that media stuff, the pictures, you know I don’t like getting close with people like that.”

  “Then why did you fall asleep on his shoulder?”

  “I was tired!” That was the truth, wasn’t it?

  “Why did you let him come back over with pictures?”

  “I really was worried he’d pick out ones that looked good of him but horrible of me, just to spite me or something.” Ok, that was a lie.

  “That’s not how it sounded when you were explaining it to me.”

  “Well…that’s how it went.”

  “Are you going to text him?”

  “…I don’t know. Honestly…I don’t think it’d be a good idea. I mean, my life is going to take forever to get back to where it was before all this. Can you imagine if I continued seeing him? I wouldn’t be myself anymore.”

  “Well, it’s up to you.” And she was back down in her bed, catching a few more hours’ worth of sleep, I assumed. I crawled into my own bed, but thanks to Taylor Jett, I was wide awake.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  When we got up it was lunch time. I got out of bed quickly never having slept a wink. I was hungry for something to eat, realizing I hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday’s handful of popcorn. Lisa seemed to drag as she put on her clothes.

  “Ben wants to eat lunch with us, if that’s ok. He wanted to hear about Taylor Jett.” She stuck her tongue out while saying his name.

  “That’s fine, I don’t care. But can we use our code name? I don’t want to draw attention today in the cafeteria.”

  “Actually, can we do Bert’s? The T.V. will drown out your voice and we can actually watch what you did last night.”
/>   I cringed. I could just imagine how the media was going to spin our evening together.

  “I guess.”

  We met Ben downstairs in the lobby, it was actually a little bit chilly outside so I was thankful for my hoodie. But as soon as we entered Bert’s I regretted it. It was hot and stuffy and I’d be sweating in no time.

  I ordered a turkey sandwich while Ben and Lisa decided to split a pizza. We put in our orders and all filed into a booth with a T.V. that was already featuring Star Gaze. I was opposite of the two of them, it was commercial break on the Star Gaze network.

  I gave Ben a quick and blurry picture of what had happened with Taylor. He seemed mildly interested in me, but a lot more interested in Lisa’s reactions to me.

  I was just finishing up about the pictures in the hotel when I spotted him. No, not Taylor.

  Chris.

  Chris Tanning.

  His blonde hair and ice blue eyes were unmistakable as he made his way through Bert’s.

  “Oh God.” I said. I quickly folded my arms on the table and buried my head in my arms.

  “Kale?” I heard Lisa fidget as she turned to see what I was looking at. “Oh God.” She repeated after me.

  “I know, right?” My voice was muffled against my sleeve. “He never comes in Bert’s.”

  “He’s going to know you’re with me. You better look up.”

  “No.”

  “Kale…you’re going to just be more embarrassed so…sit. Up.” She talked quick and low so I could hear it. I peeked out at her, but her eyes must have been focused on Chris.

  Chris was the reason I hadn’t been close to a guy in so long. Chris broke my heart senior year in high-school, dragging my heart purposely along after him. After a year of chasing him he finally let me down. It was the biggest heart break I had ever had, the reason I felt my heart had painful pieces of glass shards protruding out. Because of him, I was messed up. Because of him, I didn’t want anyone coming close to touching me. Just when I had let him in, just when I became accepting, after he kissed me…he left.

  I thought I would finally get away from him when I came to college. He had big plans about going to a huge university. He told me we would never work out because we were going down different paths. Imagine my surprise when we ended up picking and attending the same college. I found out quickly his favorite places to hang out, the people he talked with the most, and ignored those places and people like the plague. This was supposed to be my escape, the best years of my life, and here I had to tiptoe around campus.