by Wendy Louise
We remain wrapped around one another, hiding behind the waterfall as we catch our breath and re-connect after our time apart. Each vowing to the other we will never be apart again.
Hawaii….Again
The last three weeks since Nanny’s death have flown by in a whirlwind of filming and promotions. I’ve been grateful for the distraction; I’m missing her like crazy. I think I always will.
We are just about finished with the production phase of the movie. The Producers decided that we needed to capture a few more of the shots that we missed out on getting in Hawaii the first time. So today, we have landed back here in Honolulu to bright sunshine. It’s paradise.
Of course my gorgeous girl is with me, as is Liv, Madeline and most of the cast and crew. I haven’t told Ava, but I am extending our stay once we wrap the movie in a few days so we can holiday. Olivia and Ryan are staying too, and Ava’s parents are flying in the day after tomorrow to surprise the girls.
I spoke to Grayson yesterday to see if he and the band could join us too. The wrap party is taking place over here and I thought it would be a perfect gig for Awesome Rebel to play. Of course he was up for it, so now my best friend is joining us too.
If Nanny were here, then life would be perfect. Right now it’s pretty damn close.
Awesome Rebel are about to sign with a major label, so Gray’s life is about to change as much as mine will when Forever is mine is released in the summer. I want to make the most of the time we have now before rock tours and press junkets pull us in opposite directions.
But for right now I’m standing on the terrace of our Suite looking out at the Pacific Ocean and smiling, as I watch Ava in her bikini and sun hat, drawing in the sand with a stick and acting carefree. I love her so damn much it hurts. How I ever lived my life before she came in to it, I don’t know.
I throw on my cap and aviators and make my way out to her on the sand. I scoop her up from behind and she squeals, “Put me down!”
“Only in the ocean babe,” I reply as I run us both towards the waves.
She giggles and slaps me on the butt as I continue to carry her over my shoulder to the water. We reach the edge of the shoreline and I lower her down my body slowly, feeling every inch of her against me. I take her face in my hands and kiss her hard on the mouth, conveying all the love I feel for her in this one kiss.
“Wow,” she says as she pulls back.
I smile and take her hand leading her in to the waves.
Grayson arrives today and I need to talk to him about something I’m planning for Ava at the wrap party. I decide to text him while Ava is in the shower getting ready for the day.
What time do u get in Gray?
A moment later he responds.
We board in 10 minutes, be there this afternoon.
I respond:
Cool. Can’t wait to c u. Need yr help with something.
Gray’s last response:
OK. Will text when I get to the hotel.
Ava emerges from the shower soon after wrapped in a towel, her hair tied back in a messy bun. “You look gorgeous as always.”
“Ethan...” she responds, “I’m in a towel, no makeup, hair not done…”
“That’s exactly the way I like you,” I say as I wrap my arms around her from behind. I clasp the front of her towel and pull it off her, leaving her gloriously naked in front of me.
Before she can say a word I start to kiss her behind the ear in that special place that drives her wild, and we are both lost in each other for the next thirty minutes.
Gray’s flight landed an hour ago and he has settled in to our hotel so we’re about to meet for drinks at the terrace bar. Ava is out shopping with Liv for a few hours after a long day of filming in the sun today. We are all wiped out.
Ava and I are going to have room service for dinner, tucked up in bed and wrapped around each other. I can’t fucking wait.
First I need to talk to Gray about what I have planned.
I look across the room and spy Grayson talking to a couple of leggy blondes over near the outdoor bar. I wave as he catches my eye and he excuses himself from his harem, making his way over to me carrying two beers.
“Hey E,” he says as he places the drinks on to the outdoor table.
“Hi Gray. Glad you could make it.” We give each other our special handshake, the one we always do, and sit down on the bamboo bar stools watching the sun set over the water.
“What’s new?” I ask before I can stop myself and of course Gray’s answer is “Lots and nothing” as always. I laugh, he never changes.
“How’s filming going man?”
“Good, really good, we got some great stuff down today. Two more days and we wrap.”
I feel bittersweet about wrapping the movie.
So much has happened during production. I’ve lost Nanny, I’ve gained a father and a sister, and I’ve met the person I want to spend the rest of my life with. It’s really bittersweet. If Nanny were still here with me, it would be the best time of my life.
“Tell me a bit about the wrap party. We’re heading to the venue tomorrow for a sound check.”
“We’re holding it at a restaurant on the beach. We’ve booked out the entire venue. It’s amazing man. I’ve taken Ava there before and we loved it. The stage will be set up on the back deck overlooking the ocean. You’ll never perform in a more stunning venue.”
Gray comes back with, “Never say never.”
I laugh. “Well now that Awesome Rebel are about to be signed, I guess I shouldn’t be saying that. God knows where you’ll be in twelve months’ time. I’m so fucking proud of you man.”
We clink beers, “Thanks. Now tell me what you were so desperate to talk to me about.”
Here goes nothing.
“I need some help with something for Ava at the wrap party, and you my friend are the one that I’m counting on. Josh is covering most of it but I need your professional expertise to pull it off.”
“Go on…” he says.
I tell Grayson my plans and although he is a little reluctant about some of it, he agrees to help me out. We have some work to do to pull off what I want to do in the next two days, so Gray and I make plans to get together tomorrow afternoon to go over the details.
We drink three more beers and share a serve of wings before we see Liv and Ava approaching from the lobby. Ava’s arms are full of bags so it looks like they gave their credit cards a beating at the outlet mall.
“Ava!” I call to her and wave.
Her stunning face lights up like a Christmas tree when she sees us both there. She scrambles to the table, weaving between the chairs, trying not to snag her bags.
“Gray, what are you doing here?” she says as she drops her shopping bags and throws her arms around him.
He laughs at her excitement. “Hey Ava, Surprise!”
Ava jumps up and down and claps her hands together.
I pull Ava to my side. “What about me, don’t I get some love?” I pout.
She throws her arms around my neck and kisses me behind the ear. “You’ll get more than your fair share of loving tonight Mr Drake,” she whispers. “I just spent a fortune at Victoria’s Secret.” She pulls back and gives me a sexy wink. I can feel myself getting hard just listening to her.
“Hey Liv.” Grayson says as he leans over and pecks her on the cheek.
“Hi Grayson,” Olivia says, blushing slightly.
They’re both acting really strangely lately; I noticed it at the funeral. Normally they are teasing one another and engaging in quick conversation. Something’s up. I resign myself to ask Grayson what’s going on when we are next on our own.
Liv and Ava join us for a drink and then we all decide to make our way back to our rooms. It’s been a really long day. Ava is staying with me this time around and I love it.
As we all say goodnight, I swipe the card into the slot and open the door in to the Suite. I stand holding the door open so Ava can walk in before me. I follow he
r to the bedroom, holding her shopping bags for her. “So when can I see what you bought?”
She gives me an evil grin and rummages through the bags until she finds the pink and white striped bag from Victoria’s Secret. She dangles the bag from her fingers. “Just you wait and see what I’ve got for you in here.”
She turns on her heel and makes her way to the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
I settle back on to the bed and plug my iphone in to the speaker dock. I turn on Sam Smith and John Legend’s Lay me down and I sit and wait in anticipation. I know she loves this song.
She opens the door to the bathroom and is dressed in the most stunning navy blue lace corset with matching panties. The light from the bathroom is illuminating her from behind and she looks like a goddess. He chestnut hair is falling around her shoulders in waves. I can’t seem to find my voice, and I can’t swallow past the lump in my throat.
“Want to see what I got you?”
I nod and she makes her way over to me. She stands at the foot of the bed and twirls around for me. “What do you think?”
“Come here,” I growl, “and I’ll show you exactly what I think.”
I crawl across the mattress and reach for her, hooking my index finger in to the top of the corset and tugging her body to mine.
She falls to the mattress and looks up at me through her lashes, smiling that smile that she reserves just for me.
I lower my mouth to hers and I show her how much I love what she bought for me, and how much I love her.
We miss our room service dinner.
We miss watching a movie.
We miss everything, because we are so caught up in each other that time doesn’t mean a thing.
I love this girl with every fibre of my being and my mission in life is to make her happy no matter what.
She’s mine and I will spend the rest of my days loving her.
We’ve finally wrapped the movie and Olivia and I are on our way to the hair and make-up tent. The girls have kindly offered to do our hair for the wrap party tonight. Ethan has been really busy with Grayson over the last two days. I think he has been helping him get ready for his gig tonight. I’ve been able to spend some extra time with my sister which has been lovely.
Liv and Ryan have been having a few issues. Liv hasn’t spoken too much about it, but I can see that something is on her mind. Ethan was concerned about the way Grayson and Liv were with each other when he arrived a couple of days ago, so I’m not sure what’s going on. I know its best not to push Liv; she’ll talk to me when she’s ready.
“What are you going to do with your hair Liv?”
“I think I’m going to have it all braided and pulled to the side in a messy bun.”
“That sounds gorgeous. I think I’m going to leave mine down, but have it curled. Ethan loves it like that.”
“Are you wearing that sapphire blue cocktail dress that you got at the designer outlet?”
I nod.
I bought the most stunning dress. It’s a strapless flared cocktail dress, with netting under the skirt to make it stick out. It’s navy blue satin with a waisted skirt and a tight bodice which features asymmetrical lines across the corset.
I’m going to team it with some strappy black heels that I also bought the same day to match it. I wanted to look special tonight; this is a big thing for Ethan and Liv. They’ve both wrapped their first feature film. I’m so proud of them.
“What are you wearing Liv?”
“The paparazzi will probably be camped outside the venue so I’m going for hot pink! You know that Marchesa dress I have that’s one shoulder, silver detail at the waist. I’m going to team it with my sparkly silver heels that wrap around my ankles.”
“Oh Liv, that’s perfect. You’ll be stunning; Ryan won’t be able to take his eyes off you.”
Olivia shifts in her seat like I’ve said something wrong. “Is everything okay with you and Ryan?”
She shrugs lightly. “Not sure Sis. Let’s not talk about it tonight though; this is going to be a good night. Okay?”
I settle back in to the seat as Marie starts to work on my hair and David starts to make up my face.
I’m so excited about tonight, I can hardly wait.
When I return to the room, made up and feeling pretty, Ethan is nowhere in sight. I call out twice to him but there’s no answer. I make my way in to our bedroom and I find an origami heart sitting on my pillow.
I smile; he really is adorably cute sometimes. I open the two halves and he has as usual left me a note in his neat handwriting:
Ava,
I’m sending a car to deliver you to the party at 7pm. I’m heading to the venue early to help Grayson. Remember I love you and I can’t wait to see you.
Yours Always, Ethan. X
God, how I love him.
I make my way to the bathroom and start to get ready for the party. The car will be here in thirty minutes and I still need to get dressed. I scramble through my closet to find my shoes, grab my new dress and head to the mirror to finish getting ready.
Twenty five minutes later I check my reflection and I’m happy with what I see. The dress and the shoes look amazing, and my hair and make-up is stunning. It’s amazing what they’ve done. I feel beautiful. Life couldn’t possibly get any better, well unless Nanny was still here with us.
I grab my clutch and my wrap and head to the lobby to make my way to Ethan. For possibly the first time, I feel like I belong on the arm of Ethan Drake.
Camera flashes are firing in all directions when I step from the car.
A few photographers back off when they realise that I’m no-one famous, but a few also call my name, obviously realising that I’m Ethan’s girlfriend.
I smile politely and wave but I don’t stop. All this attention is too much for me. I hurry along the walkway and make my way in to the restaurant.
The transformation inside is incredible.
The chairs and tables have been moved out and replaced with high tables surrounded by tall stools. They are scattered throughout the open space. Each table is draped with crisp white linen, holding a clear vase of hot pink and red hibiscus flowers.
Tea light candles line the open windows that lead to the outdoor terrace. The view of the ocean beyond the windows is breathtaking.
The majority of the crowd is congregating outside so I head in that direction, all the while searching for my man.
I see Liv and Ryan standing towards the back of the terrace, deep in conversation and not happy. I don’t want to know what that’s about so I head in the direction of Josh and Chelsea.
“Hey Guys. Have you seen Ethan?”
Joshua shifts uncomfortably but says, “No, he’s supposed to be here somewhere though.” Chelsea just smiles adorably at me as I give Josh a puzzled look. You would think as Ethan’s PA that Josh would know where he is. In fact, he always knows where he is.
Gray and the band are set up on the large stage at the end of the terrace. A huge dance floor is situated in front of it. I sidle up to Grayson and grab his arm from behind. He spins and smiles at me. “Ava, you look great,” he says, placing a kiss on my cheek.
“Thanks. Have you seen Ethan?”
He looks out over the crowd. “Yeah, I’ve seen him, he’s around here somewhere.” He gestures towards the band who are now making their way on to the stage. “I have to get up there.”
“Of course. Go. Good luck.” I call out, continuing to scan the crowd for Ethan.
Where is he?
Grayson’s soulful voice fills the room as he welcomes everyone and they launch in to one of their fast-paced hits. Bodies immediately take to the dance floor. I want to dance with Ethan, if only I could find him.
Olivia walks towards me with a scowl on her face. “You okay Sis?”
She shakes her head. “No. Ryan is impossible. I’m tired of it. I’ve had enough.” Tears prick her eyes so I pull her against me in a warm embrace.
“I’m sorry Liv; do y
ou want to talk about it?”
“Not now. I don’t want to spoil the night,” she says, wiping a stray tear from her face.
“C’mon, let’s get drunk,” she suggests, pulling me towards the bar.
As we head that way I hear Grayson say my name over the microphone. Everyone on the dance floor starts to call my name to try and get my attention.
Geez, I haven’t even had a drink yet and Gray is already setting me up for embarrassment.
I make my way back towards the stage area with Liv following close behind. Gray is grinning like a cheshire cat from the stage, holding a tambourine up high.
“Here she is, my favourite tambourine girl,” he says. “How about a round of applause for Ava everyone.”
The crowd start to clap and cheer, calling my name. Thank God I know most of them because this attention would be mortifying otherwise. I slowly climb the stairs to the stage giving Grayson my usual I’ll-kill-you-when-this-is-over smile.
He laughs as he hands me the tambourine and takes a seat behind the piano. He adjusts the microphone to the right height so that it sits in front of his mouth. He smiles and winks at me. “Tonight we are going to do something a little special.”
I grasp the tambourine in my hand, wishing that I’d had at least one drink for a bit of Dutch courage. I look out to the crowd and smile down at Liv, Josh and Chelsea who are positioned directly in front of the stage.
Where is Ethan?
Grayson begins to play a sweet melody on the piano. I recognise it immediately; it’s one of my favourite Jason Derulo songs. I give Grayson a smile. He always said he’d never do a Jason song for me, I’m really impressed. He shrugs back at me and smiles widely as he starts to sing.
“Wooooo, Oh Yeah….”
He speaks back in to the microphone, “this one’s for you Ava.” I smile brightly at him, he is such a sweetie.
He starts the song, singing about a guy telling his girl that he wants to spend 105 years loving her and being with her. The rest of the band comes in with drums and guitars and Grayson keeps singing. I love it. They sound incredible, and my tambourine is keeping time brilliantly.