“I just want to go to bed to sleep,” I whispered. He nodded his understanding.
Anthony turned his baseball cap on his head so the peak was at the back of his neck before unlocking the door and speaking. “Right then you two. Let’s get this impromptu meet and greet under way.”
“I’ll be right next to you,” Alex reassured me taking my hand. “Let’s do this together.”
Two hours later, I was leaning against Alex’s chest as I relaxed against him. We were in the bath together, alone at last after Megan and Anthony had eventually left.
The past hour had been crazy. As soon as Megan knew I was moving in with Alex, she had driven back to my flat. She had grabbed the contents of my wardrobe and drawers, as well as my shoes and boots, and mine and Alex’s laptop. I’d have to call back there at some point and sort everything out. There were a few more things I needed to move to Alex’s, but not many. I’d never had that much to start with. Megan had also produced a new phone for Alex; one to replace the one he’d thrown against the wall the other day.
Alex was washing my stomach with a sponge, occasionally dipping his head forward to kiss the back of my head. I twisted my head sideways trying to look at him.
“That girl was so sweet.” I smiled, recalling one of the fans we had spoken to earlier.
“Which one, there were several.”
“The dark haired one. I think she said her name was Sid?”
Alex’s breath warmed the side of my face. “Sid?”
“Yes. At least that’s what I thought she said. She was so taken aback by you, she could hardly speak.”
“Oh, I know the one you mean. I prefer it when they’re quiet and shy. It’s much more comfortable having that sort of reaction rather than them eye fucking me.”
“Eye fucking you? How exactly do they do that?”
“You’ll soon find out. All the men will be drooling over you. When you get to meet them . . .” His voice faded off.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, twisting even more in his arms to try to face him.
“No, stay there,” he whispered, circling the wet sponge lower on my belly.
“Only if you tell me what’s wrong. I can tell something is bothering you.”
“It’s just . . . well, all the men. They’ll all have seen you practically naked. I don’t like it.”
I grinned at his response. “I can’t say I’m over keen on it either, but I have to cope with all those women seeing you naked as well, remember?”
“I know. And I know of all the clips they put together of me showing my ass. There are even ones when I’m supposedly thrusting into someone, and close ups of the way I kiss the actresses I’ve worked with.”
“Exactly!”
“I have to say that when I kissed you, it was nothing like how I kiss when I’m acting. What we did was real, Ella.”
I nodded. We had both been so lost in our feelings for each other, that we hadn’t needed to act much at all. It was the reason that the clip was so explosive and passionate.
“But when it’s footage of you that they’re going to be doing it with, men messing with graphics . . .” he shuddered.
I knew the sort of footage that was available out there. I’d watched a lot of it myself. There were some talented people out there in the Starshine fandom who supported everything Alex did. Nothing was missed.
“I’d like you to delete your twitter account,” he said. “No point torturing yourself with all the footage that you’ll be linked to.”
“I was thinking of deleting it before we went away. I don’t know any of the people enough to be able to tweet to them, let alone tweet anything privately. It’s sort of lost its purpose.”
“Thank you,” he whispered, lightly kissing the side of my forehead.
I turned over in the bath so that I was lying against him. Water splashed over the side as I manoeuvred myself.
“We need to do something, you know?” he said, his brow settling into a creased line.
I raised my eyes heavenwards; I hated it when he was this serious.
“Just chill out Alex, forget about it.” I encouraged.
“No, this is serious.”
I groaned, not wanting to hear anything else about what he was thinking. It wouldn’t be anything fun.
“We need to watch the footage that’s been leaked. See what all the fuss is about. I’m sure we’ll get asked about it, and we’re going to need to be able to comment on it. We can’t, unless we watch it.”
He was suggesting that we watched the three-minute clip of us performing the sex scene. I’d seen how erotic the scene was, I’d edited most of it. But Alex hadn’t seen any of it, and I had no idea which version Rowan had released to the public.
“Seriously?” I asked.
“Yes. Seriously. Now get your fabulous, luscious body off mine, and get dry. I’ll hook my laptop up to the screen. We can watch it together whilst in bed.”
“It’ll be like watching our own sex tape,” I said, unsure as to whether the idea excited me or freaked me out.
“Move,” he said, pecking me on the lips. “This is going to be fucking amazing to watch.”
He twisted away from me and climbed out of the bath. He was rushing, urgent to see the footage. He threw a towel at me as he left the bathroom.
I was in no rush to see myself on the screen.
“Come on!” he shouted.
I groaned before standing up and drying myself. With no need to get dressed, I wandered into the bedroom, climbed onto the bed, and settled on the pillows that Alex had fluffed up against the headboard.
The butterflies in my stomach were currently out of control, and I breathed deeply, trying not to let my nerves break free and spoil this for Alex. As a fan, the idea about watching Alex acting out an explicit sex scene excited me tremendously. But as his girlfriend and co-star in the sex scene, I felt sick. There were potentially thousands of people that had already watched this and seen me and Alex making love. Everyone knew it was only acting, but it was still incredibly personal.
“Are you nervous about this?” I asked as he moved around the room sorting things out.
He stopped what he was doing, and his hand pushed his damp hair away from his forehead. “I’m not particularly nervous about it, more curious. Why? Are you?”
I nodded. “I spent a full day editing this in the production room, remember? I know what was shot. I know how X-rated it is. Do you think it’ll be the raw footage or the edited version?”
“I hope it’s the edited version,” Alex muttered as he finished setting up the cable connecting his laptop to the television.
“Why? Surely that would be the worst thing for the film when it’s released. Everyone will have seen the exact sex scene. Wasn’t that one of the major parts of it? It was what the fans tweeted about the most after reading the book.”
Alex joined me on the bed, shaking his head.
“You are too innocent at times, Ella.” He spoke softly. “Think about it. Forget about the Starshine machine, and think about it from our point of view. Would you prefer to see a pretty decent edit of us acting? Or actual footage of us chatting and interacting during parts of the scene—the times throughout filming when we noticeably let our guard slip and we became ourselves for a few seconds?”
I frowned. “Rowan wouldn’t release those parts, surely?”
Alex shrugged, flicking a small remote that he was holding. “We need to watch it to find out. Let’s see just how much Rowan wanted to screw us, shall we?”
I breathed in deeply, shifted closer to Alex, and wrapped my arms around him. His hand rested on the top of my arm as the video clip started playing.
The image of Alex’s naked top half of his body filled the television screen. He looked gorgeous, and I couldn’t help but smile as the camera zoomed in for a close-up.
“Fucking shit!” Alex exclaimed. “He’s done what I hoped he wouldn’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“Th
at part of the scene is when . . .” his voice trailed off, but he had no need to continue as I came into view on the television. The camera moved sideways. I knew exactly which part this was—it was just before I positioning myself for the blow job.
Rowan had well and truly stitched us up.
These weren’t the edited scenes.
The part we were watching was us, Alex and Ella, not Ryan and Evelyn. I remembered the exact words he had spoken as I’d moved into position—they were the words he had teased me with, telling me that I was going to get what was coming to me. I recalled how he had struggled with his emotions at that point of filming and how I had blown across his abdomen, earning a wriggle from him. Unfortunately, I had no need to remember any of it as it was all played out on the television. It was all our playful interaction before Rowan yelled, 'Action.’
Alex’s grip on my arm tightened for a few seconds, and then relaxed as he caressed my skin.
“On a positive point, you look fucking amazing,” Alex said, relaxing back into the pillows even further.
“Are you okay about this?” I asked, amazed that he hadn’t thrown something through the television screen.
“I’m surprised that Rowan released this in the first place, but even more shocked that he’s chosen to show our real interactions with each other. But what can we do, huh? I think I’ll just lie back and enjoy the show. Because damn it, Ella, you look stunning.”
And even though I didn’t want to watch, I found myself mesmerised by the images on the screen. It was almost surreal, like it wasn’t me. But Alex was right about one thing. We looked great together. In fact, we looked amazing.
I woke before Alex the following morning. I didn’t want to wake him, so I pulled on a t-shirt and jeans and left the bedroom, letting him sleep.
I was about to go downstairs, explore the kitchen and make a mug of coffee, but as I past the bedroom that had been Amy’s, I decided to look inside. Had Megan moved all her things out like Alex asked her to?
I pushed the door open, peeking around it nervously. The room was completely bare. There was nothing in it. No curtains, carpet, not even a bed. Wooden floorboards replaced the carpet, and the pink walls had disappeared under a coat of white paint. Amy had well and truly been scrubbed out of this room, this house, and hopefully, out of Alex’s life.
I shut the door before walking across the landing to the top of the stairs. The carpet was deep and soft under my bare feet, luxury even on the floor. But the most striking part of the hall was the large stained glass window. It faced me as I turned to walk down the first flight of stairs. The early morning sun hit the brightly coloured glass and it lit the whole staircase with its rainbow of colours.
I smiled, ridiculously happy about living here. Not only would I be with Alex, but this sight would greet me every morning. I shook my head at the understated grandeur that surrounded me. I’d gone from poor reclusive student, to girlfriend of super rich, mega famous film star in three weeks. I felt like pinching myself just to see if it was true, and that I wasn’t dreaming.
A melodic chime rang out from downstairs, and it took me a few seconds to realised that it was the doorbell.
I froze.
I had no idea who was at the door, or whether I should answer it. I stopped at the mid landing, still trying to work out what to do when Alex came flying out of the bedroom.
“Fuck, fuck, double fuck!” he yelled as he ran down the stairs toward me in just his black trunks.
He kissed me as he drew level with me. “Morning, Ella,” he greeted as he continued rushing down the stairs, taking two at a time.
“Were you expecting someone?” I asked as he skidded to the door.
“It’s Charlie and Hazel. I forgot they were calling this morning.”
“Your parents?” I exclaimed.
I panicked, staring blindly ahead, not focusing or listening to anything going on around me. I was about to meet Alex’s parents. I had to make a good impression. Why hadn’t he told me they were calling this morning? Shit! I wondered whether they had seen the video? Oh god, if they had—what must they think of me?
Alex opened the door, hiding his body behind it as he greeted Charlie and Hazel.
“Great to see you.”
As soon as the door was shut, Hazel hugged him. “Alex,” she muttered as she pulled away. “What on earth have you been up to? And go put some clothes on, goodness knows what . . .” She caught sight of me. I was slowly moving down the stairs, unsure as to how my appearance would be received.
Alex waved his hand, signalling for me to come to him. “Mum, dad, meet Ella.”
His arm rested lightly on the small of my back as I approached.
“Hi,” I said, swallowing nervously.
Charlie stepped forward and shook my hand. Hazel tutted at his action.
“Good grief! Ella’s not one of your business associates.” She pushed in front of Charlie, and hugged me. “It’s so nice to meet you. I’m afraid Alex hasn’t said a lot. He doesn’t keep in touch as much as I’d like him to. But Megan has filled us in on everything.”
I shot Alex a panicked look, but he was just looking amused.
“Has she told you about Anthony?” Alex asked, raising his eyebrows at his father.
“Hmm, yes. She does worry me at times.”
“Oh behave,” Hazel scolded. “Anthony is a lovely man. He certainly knows how to stand up to Megan. That should make you happy. She’s too used to walking all over her boyfriends. She needs someone to stand up to her, show her who’s boss occasionally. A man should be in charge, don’t you think, Ella?”
“Mum,” Alex gasped, rescuing me from answering her. “Don’t pull Ella into yours and dad’s discussion about Megan. It’s not fair.” He placed his arm around my shoulder. “Now, you usually call around with coffee and croissants,” he said, peering into the brown paper bag Charlie was carrying.
“Yes, we did. Why don’t you go and get dressed, and then sit with your dad in the living room? Ella and I will sort the pastries.”
Alex cocked his head, and looked at his mum.
“No interrogation, mum,” he said before kissing me lightly on my forehead and heading back upstairs. Charlie handed the bag to Hazel and then headed to a door to a room I had yet to see.
“Let’s get these sorted,” Hazel said as she wandered into the kitchen.
I’d never been much of a chef, but this kitchen made me want to cook the most delicious and scrumptious meals imaginable. The kitchen was easily as big as my flat. The units were polished white, and a grey marble counter ran on top of the waist high cupboards, only stopping when the units were full height. They housed the fridge and freezer, as well as the cooker and microwave. There was an island in the middle of the kitchen, but towards the far end of the room was a further seating area. The area had a lower ceiling than the rest of the kitchen, and currently housed a sofa and a television. It was, what I’d always imagined a snug to look like—a warm and cosy area separate from the main kitchen.
“Can you grab me four mugs and some plates, please?” Hazel asked.
I turned to the many cupboards, not having a clue where anything was.
“Oh, sorry, I should have realised he wouldn’t have you cooking. Top cupboard to the right, just up there.”
I reached for the door, locating the mugs and plates, before placing them on the central island.
“I’ve only stayed here two nights,” I said. “Once a few weeks ago, and then last night when we’d got back from Sao Miguel. I’m sure I’ll get used to it.”
“I’m sure you will.” She frowned and stopped placing the pastries on the plates. “I’m sorry, Ella, but when you say get used to it, do you mean that he’s asked you to move in with him?”
I nodded, not sure what her reaction would be. Things had moved quickly for us—the speed at which we’d fallen for each other frightened me at times, and I was sure she’d be concerned that Alex wasn’t rushing things.
“Oh
my, that’s wonderful news. Charlie will be pleased.”
Relief flooded through me, but my stupid curiosity made me question her response. “Can I ask why? Surely it’s a concern. We haven’t known each other all that long.”
Hazel reached into the bag and placed another pastry on a plate. “Alex is a changed man. I only had to look at him this morning to see how happy you’ve made him. Charlie was hoping that you were the one. I had high hopes after what Megan’s told us. I haven’t seen him like this for such a long time.”
“Since Amy?” I questioned.
She nodded. “That woman ripped his heart out, even though she never had it to start with. Charlie and I have read the interviews, we’ve seen the pictures. I’ve spoken to Megan. He thinks he loves you Ella, and I can see that you love him.”
I should have been used to people telling me that Alex loved me by now. But because it was his mother telling me, it somehow felt right, and I had to admit that his parent’s approval meant a lot.
Since his mother had spoken a bit about Amy. I took this opportunity to try and find out more. Was Alex the only person who had been taken in by her scheming ways?
“I take it you never liked Amy,” I said cautiously.
“Never liked, or trusted her. There was just something about her that never rang true for me. Charlie thought I was just unhappy because Alex had another woman in his life, and I had to share him with her. Silly man. I want someone to take him off me.” She took the cardboard containers of coffee from the bag. “I love Alex, and I want him to be happy. I don’t care who that person is if she can love him for the person he is, not the superstar everyone sees.”
I nodded.
“I presume you’ve met Amy, when you were on the work experience? Did you warm to her?” she questioned.
I shook my head, grimacing at my memories. “I think she’s one of the nastiest people I’ve ever met. I’ll never be able to forgive her for what she did to Alex.”
“Unfortunately, she had an ability to keep crawling back into his life in some way or another. Starring in the films has made it impossible for him to forget she exists and get away from her. Well, until he met you.” She smiled warmly. “But I think her latest plan, getting poor Rowan to release that footage of you and Alex has well and truly back-fired on her. Megan told me he instructed her to get rid of all her junk from upstairs as well.”
Starshine Page 36