by Oliver Rill
I felt my way to the bathroom first and stood there getting my bearings. It may be a trick by some ambitious journalist, but where did he get my number?
Although I was tired, I was also curious. The jogging idea was taking hold. It would certainly make me feel better. We could meet at a neutral location, I wouldn’t have to give him my address. After I rang Rebecca and promised her that I wouldn’t say anything to anyone until Monday, I rang my mysterious caller back.
“Ok, I live in Hollywood. Let’s meet in half an hour at Trails Café in Griffith Park, then we can run there.”
“Ok Oli, see you there.”
I ducked into the shower quickly. Gavin had arrived and was busy getting breakfast ready, but I only wanted a coffee before running. “I’m just going for a run. I’ll be back in an hour.”
There was another black Range Rover parked in the parking lot and I drew up beside it. I opened the door and got out warily.
“Nice car, isn’t it?” James Aickens! The guy from Metaphysical! Now the pieces fell together. I had spoken to so many people the night before; a few of them had been stars. I was gob smacked that I had forgotten a whole conversation with him though, especially him. I normally hung on every word that dropped from those gorgeous lips when he was on the TV, even if the series didn’t particularly grab me.
“Yeah, I love it so much I bought another one. Good morning.” My thoughts went back to his lips and I averted my eyes in embarrassment before realizing he wasn’t reading my mind. He meant two Range Rovers. “It was a great party last night.”
“Thanks, I think it went well. Do we want to have a drink here first or should we head off?”
“No, let’s head straight off. I don’t fancy signing autographs.”
“I have an admission to make. I’m not a terribly good runner.”
“I know, you said, yesterday. Just don’t waste your breath talking, then you can keep going longer.”
We didn’t speak and I managed to keep going for quite a while, all around the park in fact until we reached the parking lot again. The whole way I kept trying to work out how I had managed to bag a running date with him.
He pulled a towel out of the trunk and dried himself off.
“Do you want to come back to mine? I’ve got fresh orange juice.”
“Oh I don’t know, I’ve got guests at the moment.”
“It’s only ten O’clock! They’re bound to be still eating breakfast. Come on, just follow my car.”
So I did. I followed the car through Hollywood to Malibu, without knowing how far we were going. I thought about turning back three times as I drove, but if you were invited by ‘Damien’ from Metaphysical himself for a drink at his house, you don’t miss the opportunity.
“My God, this house is a dream! It’s unbelievable! I’ve just bought one myself in Santa Barbara, but it’s very different from this. I’m quite jealous.”
“Sit down Oli and make yourself at home. I’ll just get us an orange juice. Santa Barbara, yeah? I was there at a party once. Cassandra’s. It was pretty crazy, let me tell you. But it was nice. It would be too far from the studio for me.” Of course, he was at Cassandra’s. I should have known he knew Cassandra Pollock. The show off! But he was sweet, no not sweet, damned sexy and hot. I picked up my cell phone and googled him discretely. He had a wife and a child, but there was no sign of them in the house that I could see. I decided not to ask. They may well have been on vacation or maybe separated for a while, you never knew with these things.
“So Oli,” he returned with the glasses. “If I need a flight, you’re the man, right?” He plonked himself down next to me on the white couch and we both looked out to the seascape beyond.
“Of course! Give me a call!” I laughed.
“Do you like doing what you do? I mean, yesterday you looked like you were having fun.”
“Well, to be honest, I can’t remember much of what happened yesterday. I spoke to so many people and was rushing about checking that it was all running well. It was quite a lot of stress and I’m glad that it’s all over, really.”
“But you do remember what we were talking about, don’t you?”
I gazed into my orange juice, color creeping into my face.
“You didn’t know who I was this morning, did you?”
Maybe it was the embarrassment, but I did let out a shout of laughter at that. “James, I wish I did remember. Please don’t be angry, but you now have the opportunity to change the past. You can tell me what we talked about and I won’t have a clue whether you are telling me the truth or not. I’d just have to believe you word for word.”
“Now that is very tempting! You told me in fact that you like wearing women’s underwear.”
I spluttered with laughter.
“And then you told me secretly that you always wanted to sleep with a soap star.”
My laughter stuck in my throat.
“Was I flirting with you? I’m sorry I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”
“You wanted to yesterday. You said that you thought my lips were so sexy you wanted to kiss them.”
Shit! That rang true. I either said it or all of his millions of fans must feel the same and he had read it in their fan letters to him.
“And you went for a run with me in spite of my inappropriate behavior?”
“You really don’t remember a thing, do you? We had a date to fuck!”
I swallowed hard.
He laughed. “Well it wasn’t quite like that, but you know what I mean.” He stepped closer and drew his hand down my back. I felt him stroke my buttocks as I watched his eyes. “But we did flirt a little yesterday and I know that you want to kiss me.” His face, with those big melting eyes blocked out the rest of the room. “Do you still want to?”
And I did! And how! We kissed and moved into his bedroom upstairs. It was two long energetic hours before we reemerged.
“James, I have to go. My phone’s been ringing off the hook and I have guests.”
“You don’t say a word to anyone. Ok?”
“Don’t worry. I don’t want it to come out either.”
“That’s what I was hoping. They are all cool with it officially, but Ricky Martin wouldn’t sell any records anymore. This new openness is a double edged sword.”
“I will just treasure the memories.”
“Hey, wait up! Come here a moment. One more kiss from those sexy lips.”
“This might sound a little naive, but are we going to see each other again?”
“Who knows? Maybe I’m going to need a flight somewhere, sexy guy.”
I drove home in an electrified haze. I had slept with James Aickens! I had to return the missed calls immediately.
“I’ll be there in two seconds! Something came up, sorry! I just popped over to Venice, where they are dismounting the stage.” The first thing that came into my head slid glibly over my lips. No one would believe I had been jogging for four hours. And on my own. “What about you, what do you want to get up to today?”
“Some of us are hanging around the pool. Martin and his boyfriend have gone back to bed. I don’t think much is happening today. Aaron and Marie have gone shopping. Aaron was annoyed that you weren’t there and he didn’t know where you were.”
“Don’t worry; I’ll give him a call. See you later.”
Aaron was really cross. He accused me of being irresponsible, disappearing like that, especially after last evening. He also thought I drove the car alone too often and I shouldn’t be doing that. I felt like a small child who had to tell its parents where it was all the time.
Tobias, Andrea, Martin and his boyfriend all had to fly back the next morning. They were exhausted and just wanted to rest and hang around at the poolside, eating, drinking and maybe cooling off in the pool itself. We would all go sightseeing next time. Superdandy and Cesco were staying another couple of days and I promised to show them round my house in Santa Barbara at least. I also would fit in seeing James again I thou
ght silently.
The some more key members of the Berlin gang broke away on Monday. I drove into the office while Aaron took them to the airport and then did some sightseeing with Dandy and Cesco. I sat in a meeting with Rebecca. She summarized the press coverage we had received, how I was to answer questions. They were all unimportant questions that would probably not reach the press if I did answer them. I had been invited to a morning TV show, but I declined. I didn’t’ want to get into celeb gossip and certainly not talk about anything I might have heard on the evening or be asked about my travels as if I were an expert.
Rebecca listed the pros and cons of the answers, while wondered if I should fly to Tel Aviv if James didn’t call. Just to level out the hormones.
“Don’t you think so?” That was directed at me and now I had to find an answer.
“I don’t think we should go on TV with it. We’ve had a good press and I’m growing tired of seeing my ugly mug every time I open a newspaper.”
“Good. Then I’ll cancel.”
As I wandered through Matt’s office he fell in behind me, and plumpst himself down in the chair in front of my desk.
“So? How did you find the party?”
“I was so stressed out, I can hardly remember what happened. I seem to have blanked it all out.”
“You were taking to an actor for ages.”
“Really? I don’t remember any more. What about?”
“I didn’t’ catch that, but you two did look quite intimate.”
“Intimate? Amongst 20 thousand guests? Who was it?”
“He plays in one of those soaps, I don’t know which one.”
“Aha. And? Did you have fun too?”
“Oh yes. I was talking to all sorts of people too. It was really interesting to hear things from the point of view of the customer. I think we’re going to gain a few new ones in the next few days as well as a lot better utilization rate.”
“We’ve been really lucky, haven’t we? I think we did everything the right way. Even Ad congratulated us. Now we’ve just got to keep it up.”
“Did you go home with that actor?”
“Aaron drove me and I’ve got guests, Matt. And even if I did … Anyway, I’m not sure I know who you mean.”
“I know how you look at someone you fancy. I know it all too well.”
“Matt. I can see who I like and so can you. We’re free agents, ok? And for your information, I didn’t go with anyone on Saturday night.”
“Ok, ok. If you say so. I also wanted to know if there’s anything we can do to get hold of the planes that we’ve ordered quicker.”
“I don’t know if I’ll get an answer if I call Boeing. I keep trying, but I’m not getting anywhere. There are others waiting too.”
“Can’t we do something? Maybe Delta will let you take the first ones? Ed likes you.”
“Wait a moment! Stay here; I’ll give him a call now.” I picked up the phone and dialed. “Ed! How are you? Yeah, I know. It was a really cool party. Thanks. Ed, all hell has broken loose here. I didn’t want to ask, but would you be able to relinquish your waiting list place and let me jump in? Really? You’re sure it’s not a problem? Oh boy! Thanks a million! Yes, we’ll do that. You could come over to us. Exactly. Give me a call. And thanks again. Yeah. Bye.”
“You really are the limit! Ha ha ha. He did it?”
“Well, not just like that. He almost called me. They need to massage the figures a little and it’s better for them if the new planes come into next year’s budget. God I’m glad that we don’t have shares as a company! Apart from anything else, everyone would be able to see what we are raking in, or not. We have to let the bank know, but they can’t tell anyone!”
“And you don’t have anyone interfering in what you want to do either; you can make your own decisions”
“Yes if I had to lick shareholder’s grey-haired asses all the time it’d drive me round the bend. Ewww! Ok. So if there’s nothing else, I’ll love you and leave you and go back to my guests. Give Boeing a call and ask for the new delivery schedule, then let the technical department know as soon as.”
I sulked a little on the way home. James hadn’t rung. I fantasized about calling him up and telling him that we had just go a fantastic offer on and he should book right away. But that would be nonsense. I would just have to wait and see if he got in touch. I should wait at least three days before I did anything, if he didn’t. That’s what they always said in the advice columns of popular magazines anyway.
“There he is!” Cesco lay bronzing his perfect body at the poolside. He always looked so hot! I mentally checked that I wasn’t actually drooling. Dandy sat in the shade, reading a paper.
“How is your day going so far?”
“We’ve driven all over the place with Aaron and took some real nice shots.”
“Great! Tell me, do you two guys fancy a road trip tomorrow?”
“Yeah! Where to?”
“I wanted to take you up to Santa Barbara, before you both deserted me again.”
“Whoa! We didn’t’ desert you, you deserted us!” Retorted Dandy.
“Yeah, well, maybe you’ll see why tomorrow.”
“And this evening, how about a club? I’ll check what’s playing around here.”
“Really, Cesco? Tonight?” My mind wandered to the much more enticing prospect of sitting poolside and downing a few beers.
“Yes, Oli. And you have to come with us!”
“Does Aaron know about this?”
“Sure he does. He’s coming too.”
“I’m not going to be able to get out of this, am I?”
“No. We’ve sorted it all out.”
So when Aaron came along, we all went out to enjoy ourselves, visiting a couple of bars, two clubs. We didn’t return until four in the morning. Aaron was in his element, making sure that no one got too close to us. It was fun, but somehow still didn’t beat our clubbing expeditions in Berlin. They were still on the pinnacle of the clubbing charts for me.
The next day Aaron drove us down to Santa Barbara. We strolled down State Street, looking at all the little businesses along the way in the bright sunshine. We bought improbably large ices and ended up on the pier, drinking coffee. Then we drove to the house. I had already received the keys and although they were happy for me to use them, I felt a little inhibited. We looked around the house then stood talking about the area and view for a few minutes, before we left. It didn’t feel like home yet.
It occurred to me later that showing them the house had altered their attitude towards me. I wondered if I should have left this house out of their schedule this time.
“Wow! It’s a real castle! Tell me, what does something like this cost? You’ve reached the ranks of Bill Gates and Warren Buffet!”
“Not by a long chalk. Gates is worth 80 billion, and Buffet isn’t far behind that.” Suddenly I felt awkward. I had organized a massive gig for them and that would stand them in good stead career-wise, but I had paid them the same rates that they would have got in Berlin. I felt as if I had somehow given them a bum deal.
“You can always come for a holiday when I’ve got it renovated next year. Whenever you want and as long as you want. Was the gig any use to you? Did you get any enquiries from it?” Both reported that they had had some interest shown and that they would come again as long as the flight was covered in the price.
When they had both left, I got down to a work good work routine and focused just on that unless there was some emergency elsewhere. I went jogging with Aaron, or for a change joined him at the gym. Sometimes I ran with Matt, but made sure it was only now and again, as fitting for our more distant relationship. He spent more time with his girlfriend although I was skeptical about how seriously he took that relationship. I had to face the fact that it may have been more a measure of what I wanted him to think of her, than of how he actually felt about her.
Christmas was getting closer and I looked in my diary. I thought about all the people I w
anted to catch up with when I was there and started to plan the days as Daniel walked in.
“Daniel. How’s Christmas looking? Are we flying together to Berlin?”
“I wanted to fly around the 18th.” He said. I looked at the calendar, then tapped around on the computer to find an available flight.
“Right, you want to fly on Sunday. Where do you want to sit? In the bathroom?”
“When is there space?”
“On the 20th or 21st. Tuesday or Wednesday, but business is full as it always is. Come on. It’s Christmas! Two first class tickets?”
“And Aristo?” asked Daniel.
“Oh wow! I completely forgot about him. I’ll call him.” I dialed his number. “’Risto, how’s it going? What’s happening at Christmas? Are you going to Athens, or Berlin, or what? You’re doing what? Who’re you going to celebrate with in New York? You haven’t introduced us. No! Ok, then Daniel and I will fly home alone. Cool. Yes, if you fancy it. That’d be nice. At eight? Great, see you then!” I cut the call and looked at Daniel aghast. “Aristo is going to New York with his girlfriend.”
“Uh oh, is Oli jealous?”
“Sure! I’m always jealous when Aristo gets a girlfriend.”
“Maybe you should give him some of that gay-juice.”
“Oh sure, then he’ll get with Matt and I’ll be just as jealous. So. I’ve booked us on the 20th. And coming back, let’s see. I’d prefer the 2nd. Yes, the 2nd is ok. 3rd would be better. Come on, let’s give our hangovers a break and say the 3rd. Business is full as usual, and we want to celebrate the New Year in style, so we’ll fly back first class. I’ll book them as request, so if we need to we can change them if first class gets too busy.”
My cell rang. Daniel looked up and reached for it, but I got there first.
“Hey, JA is calling you, isn’t that ‘yes’ in German? Do you have ‘NO’s number too?” he laughed. I grinned, in spite of myself and pressed to accept the call.