by Lee, India
THE HIDDEN GEM SHORT STORY COLLECTION
India Lee
Smashwords Edition
Copyright © 2013 India Lee Books
All Rights Reserved
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Zoe: A Little Over a Year Since Every Pearl Has Its Oyster
Tyler: A Little Over a Year Since Every Pearl Has Its Oyster
Harper: About a Year and a Half Years Since Every Pearl Has Its Oyster
Madison: About a Year and a Half Years Since Every Pearl Has Its Oyster
Damian: A Little Over Two Years Since Every Pearl Has Its Oyster
Gavin: About Two and a Half Years Since Every Pearl Has Its Oyster
ZOE
L.A was where most of Zoe’s boys were, though technically, she no longer lived there.
Her house had been officially sold a month ago since she barely spent time in it anymore. But Los Angeles was still her favorite city of hookups past. She had had the most there, having lived in Los Feliz between the ages of thirteen and twenty-one. The town had seen her through some of the best fun she’d ever had and definitely the most boys she’d ever kissed.
Seventeen was the age at which that list truly began to build – with guys she’d actually made out with as well as ones whom she’d been building sexual tension with for long enough that the hookup was somewhere on the horizon. Early on, they were mostly her cute Outta This World guest stars. It wasn’t until around eighteen that Zoe started dating the L.A area athletes – baseball guys with the occasional soccer player thrown into the mix. The list didn’t begin to diversify until she reached her twenties, when she began to look outside the usual film and sports categories that the starlets her age so often lost themselves in. As it turned out, boys in the restaurant business were Zoe’s favorite kind to go on dates with – chefs in particular. They had good taste and knew how to treat a lady but for the most part, they were crass with wild sides that Zoe happily identified with.
Scrolling through her contacts in her hotel room, she tried to decide on which one of her restaurant boys she felt like getting dinner and drinks with tonight.
She could go with Drew, who had introduced himself to her mid-meal about a year ago. It was at her favorite sushi bar on La Cienaga, where he was apparently head chef. She could definitely go for cooking with him in the massive industrial kitchen after hours and letting him warm her in the walk-in wine fridge, where they always picked at least two bottles for the night.
Or she could go with Gabriel, the head mixologist at Léon Cocina. On top of recipes for the strongest, most delectable cocktails, he had just about the sexiest, most indistinguishable accent in the world.
Her ex-costar and ex-boyfriend, Marco, had also texted but she’d sworn him off ages ago – he had just been a bad habit from her teen years and habit wasn’t Zoe’s thing. She needed variety and constant change. That was the lifestyle she thrived in and knew best, having broken into Hollywood at such a young age. She was always on the move, being shuffled from one set or interview to the next, always meeting new people and seeing new places. This particular week, she was in L.A for just a few days and only to shoot an interview about the reprisal of her role as a Bond girl. Twelve hours ago, she had been in Barcelona and in thirty-six, she would be in Prague, where she’d continue promoting the film before going off to London.
It was that kind of schedule that forced her to have a boy on call for whichever city she was in for the week, assuming she had a day or two off to spend with them. It wasn’t as if she necessarily slept with each one, or even made out with them. It was just the perfect excuse to hang with a cute boy and then bail. Quality time, she had long decided, was reserved for girlfriends like Gemma and Harper. Her most treasured and longstanding relationships were the ones she shared with her best friends. Boys were meant for entertainment. It sounded horrible but that was the conclusion she’d come to after years of never getting it right with even one.
Though she’d come pretty close with Gavin.
But in the end – though she’d actually, foolishly thought that they would last – it didn’t work out. Her schedule hadn’t quite worked with him. Simply explained, he was going through a rough period and he needed her around more. But she was filming the Bond sequel, so after trying to make it work long distance for nearly a year-and-a-half, he dumped her. And she pretended that it didn’t crush her for a month, especially when hanging out with Gemma, who constantly felt the need to apologize for her brother.
She also pretended that a month-and-a-half later, she didn’t still get giddy around 10PM, when she and Gavin used to have their Skype dates, because that was totally embarrassing for multiple reasons. First off, it shouldn’t have taken her body so long to adjust to the fact that she would no longer have those nightly catch-ups. Also, it meant that a boy had actually screwed with her head, which was crazy. She was Zoe Mercury. She screwed with boys’ heads. Never intentionally, but that was just what she did.
“You’re a heartbreaker,” Marco had always said. “You have a boy in every port.”
“It’s not like we’re in relationships. They know it’s just dinner and conversation and if they’re lucky, a little more. I’m a busy girl. The boys know the deal,” Zoe had defended herself.
“Yeah. You give the guy the most exciting twenty-four hours of his year and then you skip town,” Marco had laughed.
That wasn’t exactly true – the part about going a full year without calling, at least. Though she did kind of have a tendency to avoid seeing the same boy in too close of a time frame. She didn’t want to give him the wrong message, like they were dating. Because they weren’t. They were all just a part of her “Zoe Rotation,” as Marco called it. Again, it sounded horrible but that was just how it was. Aside from being unable to because of work, there was really no point in investing all that much time in one guy. As seen from her past relationships and her best friends’ relationships, true love didn’t actually exist. Right?
“You look gorgeous as usual,” Aaron grinned when Zoe climbed into his Yukon in front of her hotel, where he picked her up twenty minutes after her text.
Aaron Brewer. Once a Yankee, now a Dodger, Zoe had first hooked up with him when she was seventeen or eighteen – whatever year it was that she first met Gemma. Zoe smiled back because he too looked gorgeous as usual, which was what made up for the fact that he was one of her backups. Drew was catering some huge event and Gabriel was out of town and as much as she loved Nico from the steakhouse on Melrose and Olivier from the one on Sunset, she’d seen them both too recently and didn’t want to give off the wrong message. Which meant she had to settle on one of her old athlete boys.
Once upon a time, Aaron had been one of her favorites. It was back in New York, before she’d spent too much time with him – about three dates in less than two months – and realized that he frequently repeated the same, corny jokes and tipped servers a horrific twelve percent.
But he was gorgeous. Six foot three with this perfect all-American smile that made her forget that he was also prone to asking breathtakingly stupid questions.
“Where we going?” Zoe cocked an eyebrow at Aaron’s sleek suit and black skinny tie as she put on her seat belt. He looked insanely cute in it but she was wearing a crocheted crop top and jeans, which didn’t quite put her in the same dress code. Aaron grinned.
“It’s a surprise.”
Zoe frowned. “I’m scared.
”
“Don’t be,” he laughed, putting a hand on her knee and stealing a look at her. His warm brown eyes were reassuring. “I just missed you is all, so I planned us a special night.” His words not so much.
“Oh.” Zoe managed a smile though she wasn’t sure she wanted to be a part of an elaborately planned night. The point of these dates was the spontaneity. She wore jeans and gave short notice for a reason – so her time with the boy felt as casual as she intended it to be.
Her heart about sank to her stomach when Aaron’s Yukon pulled up to the famous and majestic white building downtown. It was a former Baroque cathedral that was now used for pretty much one thing and one thing only – weddings. Considering the fanfare surrounding the place, there was one going on tonight. Unblinking as she stared out her window, Zoe wondered what would compel Aaron to spring on her the unwanted honor of being his plus one.
“I was at Terry’s wedding when you called,” he explained with a big grin, referring to his former Yankee teammate and now fellow Californian All-Star, Terry Luna of the San Francisco Giants. “I was his best man today,” he added, beaming with child-like pride.
Zoe wasn’t sure what to say. “I… congratulations.”
“Yeah. It’s a really beautiful wedding in there,” Aaron said, looking out the window and scratching his head of wavy brown hair. “Super pretty.”
“I’m sure.”
“A lot of my teammates are in there. My family, too, since me and Terry are like, brothers. We go way back.” When Zoe said nothing, Aaron nodded for a little bit, biting back both lips. “Bros for life,” he said, pounding his heart twice with his fist.
“That’s very sweet.”
Aaron smiled. “Yeah. I’m gonna take you inside and introduce you to my parents.”
“What? Why?” Zoe cleared her throat, trying to mask her horror. “I mean... look at me, dude. I’m so not dressed for a wedding.” She always dropped “dude” on her boys when they seemed to be getting too attached. It desexualized them and made them feel subconsciously more like friends than lovers. But it wasn’t working on Aaron.
“Aw man, no one cares, Zo! It’s all love in there right now,” he said with that big, unflappable grin of his. “Plus, you’re with me, babe.”
Her smile was more of a grimace. “Right.” Damn it, Zoe. Totally chose the wrong backup tonight, she cursed herself inwardly. She had been so close to calling Jace, too. He was a hotel heir and the owner of a hot lounge called Place but she opted for Aaron because she recently read that Place got its weird name for being a rhyme with Jace’s own name and she found that painfully corny.
“Ah ha! So this is the famous Zoe!” Ted, the jovial, bald man Aaron introduced as his father brought her in for an immediate hug. “I’ve heard so much about you, dear!”
“You have?” Zoe asked, unable to hide her surprise.
“Well, you know. I’ve read about you in the newspapers,” he said.
“Ah.”
“But I was talking about her a lot after she called, wasn’t I, Dad?” Aaron asked. A heavyset woman cut in, bright eyed as she clasped Zoe’s hands in hers.
“Yes, he absolutely was, hello, beautiful girl, I’m Aaron’s mom, Dena,” Dena lilted all in one breath.
For the next hour, Aaron kept his arm around Zoe while they sat at his table, imprisoning her by his side as Ted and Dena unloaded stories from his childhood, all the while showing her photos from the Mediterranean vacation that Aaron had purchased for them, “like the perfect doll of a son that he is.” They were all on the iPad that Dena had pulled out of her purse, which she also used to take about six dozen photos of Aaron and Zoe. It was like a perfect storm of Zoe’s least favorite things – elaborate dates, vacation stories and people who used their iPads to take pictures in public. This is the actual worst. She knew she was being intolerant but she couldn’t help it. She would have preferred being alone in her hotel room than sitting through a stranger’s wedding and meeting the parents of a boy she wasn’t even dating.
“You’re pissed.”
Aaron winced once they got back into his Yukon – three hours later. Zoe was actually pretty impressed with herself. She had managed to survive the night despite her phone dying midway through, cutting off all contact with Gemma and Harper, whom she’d been texting bitter live updates to.
“I’m not pissed,” Zoe exhaled, immediately plugging her dead phone into the charger in Aaron’s car. She was too tired to be pissed. And she had had a lot to drink, so that helped. “I’m just… wondering what the heck that was,” she said truthfully.
Aaron stared down at his hands as they played with the skinny tie he’d spent a good ten minutes taking off, nearly strangling himself in the process because he’d messed up the knot somehow. Zoe had felt only a little bad about just watching the scene. “I know that wasn’t what you were expecting tonight, Zo, but I thought there was a chance you might have fun. I mean… did you?” Aaron asked hopefully. He winced again when he caught the drab expression on her face. She had meant to disguise it but she was too exhausted. “Okay. Never mind. Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Zoe said, feeling guilty. “I’m just… not a wedding person.”
“Really? I thought all girls liked weddings.”
“No.”
“Oh. I guess they only like their own weddings.” Aaron squinted. “Oh. Okay, yeah. That’s what it is.” He raised his eyebrows, impressed with the explanation he’d given himself. “That makes sense.” Zoe didn’t bother to correct him as he thought about it, his face seeming to brighten. “So… you’d like your own wedding, right, Zo?”
“I don’t know.” She peered over at him, her eyes narrowing. “Why are you asking?”
Aaron swallowed and scratched his head. Exhaling hard, he turned to her, his eyes anxious but genuine. “Do you want to get married?”
“What?”
“To me?”
“What?”
He heaved a sigh. “I had feeling you’d react like that.”
Zoe couldn’t help bursting out laughing. “Ya think? Aaron… what are you even talking about right now?”
He groaned, ruffling his own hair. “I’ve been thinking a lot about marriage lately, Zo. Road life’s getting to me,” he said seriously, as if away games held the same gravity as going off to war. “That’s why Terry got married. The whole girl in every city thing gets old after awhile. You start to want stableness.”
“Stability.”
“Stability. You think about… you know. Coming back from a road swing and going home to a family and not like, this sweet, big-ass apartment with nobody in it.” Aaron frowned as he scratched the back of his head. “Plus, my dad is super old. Did you see him?”
“I did. I just spent three hours with him.”
“He’s like, almost seventy. No joke. He was forty-three when my mom had me and my mom’s always like, ‘Aaron! You better not be forty-three when you have your first kid ‘cause Dad’ll be dead for years by then!’”
“Oh my God. I hope she doesn’t say that in front of him.”
“She does.”
Zoe snorted. She clasped a hand over her mouth but Aaron laughed. “No, yeah, you can laugh. She’s a trip.” He shook his head, heaving a big sigh. “Man.” Leaning back against the headrest, he turned to her with a look of apology. “I guess that was kind of weird of me tonight. Taking you to a wedding and introducing you to my parents.”
“Yup.”
“Sorry. I just think you’re really good wife material.”
Zoe stared out the windshield. She smiled. “Thank you, Aaron.”
“You’re the funniest girl I know. And you’re smart. I don’t know why, but I feel really stupid when I’m talking to you.”
Zoe giggled. “Oh… Aaron,” she said, because everything else she wanted to say was entirely too mean.
“Our kids would be really good-looking. But anyway.” Aaron turned the key in the ignition, starting up the car. But just as he starte
d to drive, he paused. “Hold up.” He squinted at her. “Do you think you’d want to get married in like, the next two years?”
“Nope, definitely not.”
“Ballsack. Then I’m probably gonna go with another girl, okay?”
Zoe laughed, squeezing the bridge of her nose. “That’s fine, Aaron. Just take me back to my hotel.”
“You got it, babe.”
~
Nausea woke Zoe up the next morning. She groaned as she rolled over in bed, flopping onto her back and staring up at the ceiling. Not even worth it, she thought of her hangover. As much as she had tried – since Ted and Dena were really quite adorable despite trying to force her into being their daughter-in-law – she hadn’t had any fun at the wedding. She’d kind of resented every minute of it. At one of her darker, drunker points in the night, she’d imagined going up to the beautiful new bride and persuading her to return to bachelorette life. Besides, being married to a man with eighty-one road games a year would suck. As she had learned, distance did make the heart grow fonder but after awhile, the heart got tired of waiting around.
“I’ll go with the Guatemala blend. The biggest one,” Zoe said as she stood at the counter of her favorite coffee bar in Silver Lake. It had been her hangover haven since she was a teenager. She forgot who had introduced her to the place but it hadn’t taken her long to become hooked. Once upon a time, she’d gone often enough that the baristas would have her coffee ready and waiting before she reached the counter.
Taking a deep breath of the aromatic air, Zoe exhaled, letting go of whatever crankiness was left over from the night before. She couldn’t be mad at Aaron. He was a total sweetheart. He just wasn’t all there in the head. And it wasn’t his fault that she’d recently solidified her somewhat unorthodox viewpoint on relationships – that they weren’t meant to culminate to just one love, one person. That was impossible. After a certain amount of time, things would go bad, so why wait for that moment? Stop while ahead and move onto the next. Keep things light, simple, always fun. That had always been Zoe’s mantra.