Hollywood & Vine

by Olivia Evans

  “I’m not,” Levi interrupted, shaking his head. “There’s nothing you could tell me that I don’t already know because I was involved.”

  Josie’s face heated as she fought back angry tears. It was yet another reminder of how much Anders had kept from her. Hurt and embarrassment burned through her, making her feel insignificant all over again. “It’s obvious I don’t know anything. Anders’ past isn’t any of my business.”

  “Fair enough,” Levi conceded. “But I need to be honest with you about who I am.” Again guilt ate at him for telling her half-truths. “I was the pap who exposed Anders’ ex-girlfriend. I crossed a lot of lines and did things I shouldn’t have. Believe me, I’ve paid for it.”

  “You’re a pap?” The room started spinning when a wave of dizziness washed over her.

  “Was. I was a pap. I’m done with that shit.”

  Josie pressed her palm flat against her forehead and swore under her breath. “Jesus, I have the shittiest luck in the world,” she mumbled. “I need to get out of here. This is too much.” Grabbing her bag, she moved to stand when a thought hit her. With narrowed eyes, she dropped her bag and turned to face him. “Why were you at the fabric store?”

  Levi held up his hands. “I wasn’t there to take your picture. I’ll admit, I received a message from the guy who contacted all those assholes to mob you. But I wasn’t part of that. I’m not even sure why I was there. Curiosity maybe? Which I realize is messed up, but I’m trying to be honest. When I saw what they were doing, I left my car and got to you as fast as I could.”

  “You’re telling me that one guy contacted the rest of those cockroaches to do that to me on purpose?” Josie didn’t bother to hide the look of horror on her face.

  “I’m afraid so, but I haven’t been a part of that sort of thing since the incident with Anders.” Levi didn’t bother to add that it was because almost every magazine in LA had blacklisted him. Even now, the pictures he took at Aubrey’s behest were submitted under an alias.

  “Look, I’m grateful you kept me from getting hit by a car, but you understand why I’m not comfortable with this, right?”

  Levi shrugged and looked at his hands. “Guilty by association. Once a cockroach, always a cockroach.”

  Josie frowned. She’d just been angry with him for doing the same thing, making assumptions about her, but she needed to get the hell out of dodge. “I’m not trying to judge you for your past, but my life is complicated enough. I don’t need the added stress.”

  “I understand. Another time, another place, maybe we could have been friends.”

  “Stranger things have happened.” Josie reached for her bag again as Levi’s hand shot out and grabbed her wrist.

  “Wait. I get why you’re leaving, but let me pay the tab and walk you to your car. It’s late. I want to make sure you get to your car safely.”

  Josie looked toward the door and shifted her weight. She didn’t want to go out there alone. It was already dark, and with her luck as of late, she was sure to be ambushed. “Fine.” She grabbed her drink and took a generous swallow before settling in her seat.

  An uncomfortable silence settled over them as they waited for the check. It made her antsy. “So if you’re not chasing celebrities around LA, what do you do?”

  Levi’s eyes widened. He wasn’t expecting her to make conversation, and her question caused him to freeze for a moment. “Um, I still take photographs. Just not of celebrities. I’ve sent a couple of portfolios to National Geographic.” He skirted around the fact that only recently had he found himself in a financial position where he could afford to cut ties with that part of his life.

  “Really?” Josie’s shock was genuine. “Why did you choose that?”

  “It’s why I moved to LA. Becoming a pap was never part of the plan.” Taking advantage of the opening, Levi felt compelled to tell her how it had all happened. He wanted Josie to understand that he wasn’t really a bad guy. “One day I was out snapping pictures of this elderly couple sharing an ice cream when all these camera flashes started going off around me. It turned out there was an argument happening between a celebrity couple, and they happened to be standing in the frame of my lens. A guy told me I could get a good price for the pictures. I was broke, so I sold them. The money was good. I got the idea I could do it for a while until I landed my dream job. The more time that passed, the more distant I felt from those dreams. I became one of those guys. After Anders sued me and took out a restraining order, I had no choice but to stop. No one would buy pictures from me anymore.”

  Josie kept her face blank, hiding her surprise. In a matter of minutes, she knew more about Anders’ past from a stranger than she did from Anders after months of dating. That knowledge caused the bitter taste of resentment to coat her tongue. Still, no matter how much Anders had hurt her, she wouldn’t sell him out.

  “Well, I hope everything works out for you.”

  Levi accepted the receipt from the waitress without removing his eyes from Josie. He stared at her for several seconds, his jaw set and his lips pursed in concentration, before nodding. “Yeah. Me too.”

  The pair pushed away from the table and gathered their belongings before heading to the front of the restaurant. As soon as they stepped outside, the sound of rain pelting the awning above greeted them.

  “Ah shit,” Josie groaned, looking at her shirt. “Well, this is perfect.”

  Levi grimaced. “I take it your shirt isn’t meant to get wet?”

  “No. This freaking sucks.”

  “Here.” Levi shrugged out of his lightweight jacket and draped it over Josie’s shoulders.

  “Thanks,” Josie mumbled, shoving her hands through the sleeves.

  “Go ahead and get your keys out. We’ll get you inside as fast as possible.” Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, they ducked their heads and took off running while a guy sat in his car across the lot snapping picture after picture.

  Josie spent the next several days trying her best not to think about Anders and the things Levi had told her. Anders, however, did nothing but think about Josie. The last few weeks had been hell, and the strain was beginning to take its toll. Twisting his neck from side to side and rolling his shoulders, he pulled his shirt over his head and smoothed down the front. He didn’t want to go out. He hadn’t wanted to go out since he got back, but this wasn’t about him.

  Grabbing his phone from the side table, he sat on the bed. He swept his thumb across the screen and sighed. He was unsurprised to see he had no new messages, just as he was unsurprised by the disappointment that followed.

  He’d warred with himself about staying away from Josie. It didn’t matter that he understood why Nathan had suggested it, logic and emotions didn’t always see eye to eye. After returning to LA, he’d lasted one day before breaking down and sending her a text. When his first text went unanswered, his stomach twisted and his muscles clenched, but he made a promise to her and intended to keep it.

  Anders knew the most effective way to take the attention away from Josie was to put it on himself. With a weight bearing down on his shoulders and a bone-crushing pressure on his chest, he called Owen. He put himself front and center in the spotlight. He hit all his old stomping grounds, putting on a show for the same people who’d mobbed the girl he loved. It made him sick.

  The only thing other than Josie that could possibly offer him any relief, any happiness, was finding out who had outed them. Much to his dismay, Nathan hadn’t been able to dig up anything. The more time that passed, the more Anders wondered if he ever would. Grunting in frustration, he pushed off the bed and headed toward his car to meet Owen.

  “Well, look what the cat dragged in,” Walker drawled, taking a pull from his cigarette.

  “Walker.” Anders nodded and moved to the opposite side of the table closer to Owen.

  “I wasn’t sure if you were coming,” Owen joked, bumping fists with Anders.

  Grabbing the bottle of rum sitting on the table, Anders smirked and fi
lled the glass in front of him. Downing the amber liquid in one gulp, he refilled the glass and sat back in the booth. “I was detained.”

  “Nice.” Walker laughed as Owen’s brows shot up in surprise.

  “Is that so?” The corner of Owen’s mouth lifted in a half-smile.

  Instead of answering, Anders turned his attention to Walker. “So how are things with you? Sobriety’s treating you well, I hope?” Anders’ eyed the drink in Walker’s hand.

  “Spectacularly,” he exhaled, a huge smile on his face.

  The mood seemed to lighten after that. Anders wasn’t sure if he was the one who loosened up, or if their attention shifted when Walker and Owen started doing shots. Either way it didn’t matter to Anders. The drunker they were, the less they would bother him.

  As the night progressed, alcohol flowed. Girls came and went, each one a little bolder than the last. Anders played his part. He flirted when he should, dismissed before things got out of hand, and remained detached. The occasional flash of a camera phone would brighten a corner of the room, and in a matter of hours his picture would hit the Internet. Everyone would see he was the same as before: unattached and unattainable.

  He poured another glass of rum, spilling a good portion before setting it back on the table, when a girl slid into the booth next to him. Her fake blond hair matched her fake breasts and plastic smile. He noticed her watching earlier and each time she had a fresh drink in her hand. She was no doubt piss drunk at this point.

  When she palmed his dick, his reaction to the contact was instantaneous. “Get the fuck off me,” he snapped, knocking her arm away.

  “I just want to make you feel good,” she slurred, her lids heavy.

  “If I want to feel like I’m fucking something plastic, I’ll jack off wearing a condom. Now fuck off.” His face twisted with disgust as he stared at her with condescending eyes.

  “Asshole,” she muttered and stumbled away from the table.

  “What the fuck was that?” Owen demanded, pointing in the direction of the girl.

  “That was me telling that bitch to move the fuck along. What the hell did you think that was?”

  “Oh, I know what that was. I just want to know why. You’ve turned down every piece of pussy thrown at you lately.”

  “What? Come on―”

  “Cut the bullshit, Anders,” Owen interrupted. Leaning forward he lowered his voice and continued. “I see right through your fucking act. Christ, you played this shit off better after that bitch Eva fucked you over. I never thought I’d see the day you let it happen again, especially not with a bitch who would use the same fucker involved last time. You sure can pick ’em.”

  Anders sat stone still as Owen’s words filtered through his alcohol-clouded brain. Owen was calling him out about not hooking up, but the rest lost him. “What the fuck are you talking about? What does Eva have to do with anything?”

  Owen cocked his head to the side and studied Anders. A chuckle bubbled from his chest as his face colored with understanding. “Fuck man, you’re always the last to know just how much you’ve been fucked over. Your makeup girl? It seems she’s moved on. Got herself a new guy. One you know very well.”

  Anders’ heart picked up speed as anxiety and adrenaline crashed through his veins, wrecking his nerves and setting him on edge. “Don’t fuck with me right now. It’s obvious I have no idea what you’re talking about. Stop with the dramatics and spit it out already.”

  Fishing out his phone, Owen opened his browser and moved his fingers over the keys a few times before sliding the phone across the table. “They look pretty cozy to me, wouldn’t you agree? Like they’ve known each other for quite some time.”

  Anders held his hand steady as he reached for the phone. For a moment, he imagined this must be how Josie felt whenever she looked at pictures of him with someone else. Of course that sentiment faded when he focused on the screen. His throat tightened as jealousy, anger, and betrayal ate through him like acid.

  “What the fuck?” His voice was low, his words spat through clenched teeth and a jaw set in stone. Sliding his finger over the screen, bile rose in his throat as he read the caption.

  Words like “moving on,” “secret lover,” and “a new man” burned into his mind and caused a searing pain in his chest. It wasn’t the words that caused him to shove away from the table and bolt from his seat, though. It was the pictures of Josie and Levi talking outside a theater, having dinner together, and his arm wrapped around her as they ran through the rain that caused Anders to lose sight of reason. “I’ve gotta go.”

  Owen realized his mistake too late. He was in no shape to reason with Anders. “No, man. What are you going to do? Confront her? What good will that do? Sit down. Pour a drink. Smoke a joint. Relax and fuck some of the uncomplicated pussy around here.”

  Anders shook his head. Locked in a defiant stance, his entire body screamed stubborn determination. “Fuck that. I can’t sit here.” Tossing Owen’s phone on the table, he took two steps before pausing and looking over his shoulder. “Keep that close.” Anders nodded to where he’d dropped the phone. “I might need you to bail me out of jail later.” Then he left, ignoring his friend’s protests.

  Slamming his car door, he gripped the steering wheel and pulled in a deep breath. He couldn’t understand why Josie was with Levi. Why she was with one of the people instrumental in the biggest betrayals of his life. She wouldn’t do that to him. Josie was different. She was better.

  He thought about the times he’d disregarded her feelings. How he’d pushed her away and treated her like she didn’t matter. Was this revenge? Had he hurt her so much she’d become someone else? It wouldn’t be the first time something like that happened. He was proof of that.

  A growl of frustration rumbled in his chest as he banged his forehead against the steering wheel. Doubt crept up his spine, and even though he tried to beat it down, the seed had been planted. He needed answers, and Josie was the only person who had them.

  He dialed her number, his teeth grinding together when the call went to voice mail. A dozen reasons why she wasn’t answering flitted through his mind, each scenario worse than the last. He imagined her with Levi. Touching. Kissing. The moment the image entered his mind, all reason left. He was in a black cloud of rage, despair, jealousy, and regret.

  Throwing his phone into the passenger seat, he didn’t give a second thought as to the repercussions as he took off in the direction of Josie’s house. The pictures of Levi and Josie played like a slide show, each pass becoming more distorted, intimate, painful. By the time he pulled onto her street, anxiety and aggression locked his frame. The emotions intensified when he realized the house was dark and her car was missing.

  His eyes drifted to the clock, and he cursed when he noticed it was already after midnight. Snatching his phone off the seat, he dialed her number again. His heart sped when it didn’t go to voice mail. It rang three times before an unfamiliar voice floated across the line.

  “Josie’s phone,” a soft feminine voice sang.

  “Who the fuck is this?” Anders spat.

  “Excuse me?”

  “I need to talk to Josie. Now.”

  “Josie’s busy, but I’d be delighted to take a message for you.” The saccharine sweet, albeit sarcastic edge to her tone told Anders that no message would be delivered.

  “Just tell me where she is. It’s important.” He managed to soften his tone with a bit of effort, but the desperation in his voice took no effort at all.

  “She’s at the studio. We’re having a night shoot, and there were some issues―”

  Anders disconnected the call before she could finish. He got what he wanted. He knew where to find her.

  Lori looked at Josie’s phone and scowled. She clicked on the screen to see the name that went along with the voice and couldn’t help but laugh when the name Asshole popped up. “Appropriate,” she mumbled, dropping Josie’s phone on the desk and grabbing the items she’d come after. Hesitatin
g, she reached for a pen and scribbled on a Post-it before sticking it to Josie’s phone and leaving her cubicle.

  While Anders drove to the studio and Lori took off in search of Madison, Josie added sugar to her second cup of coffee. She hadn’t planned on working so late, but last-minute changes and new interns left her with little choice. After chatting with a couple of people and grabbing a snack, she headed back to her department.

  Falling into her chair, she let her head fall against the back. Her eyes drifted shut, and she knew if she didn’t keep busy, she’d be asleep in minutes. With a sigh she leaned forward, bracing her elbows on the edge of her desk. Her eyes landed on the bright sticky note stuck to her phone and it caused her breathing to falter.

  “Asshole” called. ―Lori

  As Josie tried to fight against the avalanche of emotions crashing over her, Anders made his way toward her department. He’d worked himself into a frenzy of suspicion and doubt. The lingering traces of adrenaline had burned away and dulled, causing the excessive amount of alcohol to hit him full force.

  When the door came into sight, he struggled to control the same sense of recklessness that overcame him at the club. He pushed the door open and slammed it shut as soon as his eyes landed on Josie.

  His heart clenched and his chest ached when he saw her. For a split second all he wanted to do was wrap her in his arms. He wanted to bury his face in her hair and press his lips against hers until her taste lingered and her scent clung to his body. But when she spoke, the sound of her voice broke the spell, and Anders remembered why he was there.

  “Anders? What are you doing here?”

  He raked his hand through his hair and let out a humorless chuckle. “What am I doing here?” he repeated, almost as if he was asking himself the same question.

  Josie stared at him, her stance rigid, her brows pulled together in confusion. “Anders.”