Once Upon a Star - Celebrity kiss and tell stories

by Peggy Trentini

  On set, our director, Steve, was a curt Englishman who was just perfect for directing this parody of a commercial. The shoot was of us girls in a rowboat coming down a stream. We ran through it a few times and everything went well. This was one of those moments when I looked around I laughed to myself, thinking about the funny journey that life takes you on. I would have never thought I would be where I was.

  When it came time to shoot the first take, Steve yelled for all of us to get into the boat, so the five of us hunkered down together and came rushing down the stream. Right as we got into the shot, our paddle was blocking the camera, and Steve yelled,

  “Get those oars out of the boat!”

  I shot back sternly, “What did you call us?”

  Everyone on set started laughing hysterically, and it really set the mood for the rest of the shoot. We had such an incredible day, and every commercial shoot we had held onto that same laid back humor. Everyone had an incredible time. It was such a pleasure to work on these spots, and it was only too bad they didn’t run longer. It was these commercials, though, that got us girls on the cover of Playboy magazine right before my breakup with Sly. The cover was an instant success, and we saw a nice slice of fame from it. We went on a nationwide tour for Playboy, doing radio interviews and talk shows. We felt like rock stars. There was quite a bit of drama that went down between us girls, but, in the end, it led to a lot of work and a lot of money for everyone involved. I wouldn’t have changed a moment of it. I was riding on the coattails of this success, and still nursing the heartbreak of Sly, when the fates aligned and I met the one and only Vince Neil.

  Bar One

  I didn’t feel like going out, and normally I always listened to that little voice in the back of my head. But, then again, normally that voice in the back of my head wasn’t downtrodden and playing the world's smallest violin for itself. This time, my girlfriends were right. It was time to put Sly aside and forget all about him once and for all. I had travelled across the country, I had found success, and it was time to stop feeling sorry for myself and the mess I had got-ten into.

  So I pulled myself up by the bootstraps and spent an extra forty-five minutes getting ready. I felt top of the line and ready to flaunt what that fool had left behind. I tried to get myself pumped up with saying into the mirror a series of self motivating mantras, but truth was that I had no hopes of being happy that night, or having a good time. I just wanted to make it through and save some face. We went to Bar One because Billy, the promoter, adored us, and caught wind that I was making myself available to the world again. The club was incredibly hard to get into and very exclusive because of their A-list clientele. If there was ever a place to go fishing for a new boyfriend, this was it.

  Upon arrival, we were greeted and led to a private table where the bottles of vodka seemed to flow endlessly, and the celebrities flocked constantly. The club treated us well because we treated the club well, and because we kept their most important guests very happy. Our table was in prime view of everyone who arrived, and my spirits started to perk up when I noticed we were in the company of Madonna, Prince, and Axl Rose. I thought to myself that maybe this could be a good night. Our drinks stayed full and our smiles stayed bright as we gossiped about everyone who came through those tall black doors. The music was pumping and the tease in my hair felt like it would never fall. Life could be good again, I thought; look at what I had been missing out on.

  I was riding high on my own fame, so when Vince Neil of Motley Crue met my gaze from across the bar, I felt like I had the right to saunter right up to him with smouldering eyes and a spicy smile. He immediately asked me to join him at his table. As I walked toward him in my skin tight crimson mini dress, I could see a look of approval written all over him.

  I followed him to his table where he sat right up against me, and whispered in my ear, “Hi, I’m Vince, and you are gorgeous.” Now, I know this is such a line, but considering my emotional state, at the moment, it sounded magical. He probably could have said anything.

  “What would you like to drink?” he asked.

  “Everything,” I said.

  He laughed and said, “I can see we’re going to be very good friends,” and then ordered a round of tequila shots. He was so adorable with his long blonde hair and huge smile. He looked like the quintessential California boy, and I was smitten from the very second we locked eyes. My girlfriend, Pam, eventually came over to the table to ask if I would be joining them for the rest of the night. Normally I would shoot her away and head back to my antics, but I thought that this would be the perfect time to make an exit. I knew musicians, and I knew he would follow me. As I took my leave, Vince gave me an all-knowing smile, and slapped my ass.

  On the way back to my table, a close friend of Sly’s approached me and pulled me aside, saying, “I don’t think Sly would approve of your behavior.”

  “Fuck off,” I said, and walked away. I was so done with Sly and his Mafioso crowd of friends. I was tired of being under his rule, and I was finally having fun again. Back at my table, all the girls wanted details on Vince, but I played coy because I knew that within moments, he would be whispering in my ear again. Sure enough, within twenty minutes, he ran his fingers through my hair and gave it a little tug. “Give me your number,” he said, “I want to take you out tomorrow.”

  “I don’t know, tomorrow is my birthday,” I said.

  “I’ll make it the best birthday you have ever known,” he said.

  “How could I say no to that?” I said, and gave him my phone number on a cocktail napkin with a sexy smile.

  The Bel Age Hotel

  My mother had sent me a beautiful bouquet of peach roses for my birthday, and I was putting them in water when the phone rang.

  “Hi, Peggy, it’s Vince. How are you?”

  I could feel our chemistry through the phone and I melted in response, “I’m just fine, how are you?”

  “Can you meet me tonight at the Bel Age Hotel, say 8 pm?” he asked. He explained to me that he was recently divorced, so he was living there at the moment until he found a new place.

  “Yes, I would love to.”

  I went shopping with Heather in the afternoon and found the most adorable cobalt blue mini skirt to wear with a plunging white shirt. She treated me to a drink at the Rainbow Room, and, before heading home, I promised to relay every detail of my night with Vince. I spent a long time getting ready, and took special care shaving my legs and teasing my hair. I wanted to look my absolute best.

  As I approached the hotel, I got so giddy and excited, it felt like my stomach was in knots. The prospect of what was about to happen was enough to send me into a tizzy. I spent a moment in the car applying lip-gloss and taking deep breaths to appear cool and collected. I entered the hotel and, right after the doors closed behind me, I heard a familiar voice. It was Sly’s assistant calling me.

  “Hey, Peggy, is that you?”

  I turned around to find Kevin standing there, and, in both frustration and shock, I replied, “Yes. How are you?”

  “Wonderful! Sly will be so very happy to see you,” he said. It was clear Sly hadn’t relayed what had happened between us and that I was no longer his to be seen.

  “What is he doing here?” I asked.

  “He is staying here while they do some work on the house. Now follow me,” he said, and led me by the arm toward the elevator.

  I didn’t know what to do, and I couldn’t think of anything quickly enough. I felt out of control of my surroundings, and so dumbfounded that I just followed him. Inside the elevator, I could my heart pounding in my ears. I kept thinking of all these horrible alternatives to my evening, and Vince sitting alone, waiting for me, and thinking I stood him up.

  We entered Sly’s hotel room and I thought might burst into flames. Sly and I had hardly spoken since the whole Mexico fiasco. He didn’t understand why I didn’t want to have anything to do with him anymore. He always acted like he had done nothing wrong and continually r
eached out to me. Seeing him was like my kryptonite.

  “Boss, look who’s here,” Kevin said.

  Sly turned around to see me, and I felt my heart jump into my throat. He smiled and embraced me, looking slightly confused because I hadn’t returned his phone calls recently.

  “What are you doing here?” He asked, holding me by the shoulders, searching for answers I wasn’t ready to ever give him.

  “I’m meeting some girlfriends for a birthday party. In fact, I am already late, so I really have to go,” I said, and wiggled out from his firm grasp.

  He reached back out for me and pulled me in close for a hug, asking me to come back later. I don’t remember what I said. I only remember feeling a great sense of sadness and relief and anger as I finally escaped back into the hallway. Once that encounter was behind me and I shook off all the nerves and emotions it had brought up, I was back on course. I got back in the elevator and made my way down to Vince’s room, a much more desirable destination.

  I knocked on his door and, when he answered, I knew I was in the right place. He was gorgeous; a heart-stopping, knee-shaking kind of gorgeous in the way that only a rock star could be. He was wearing leather pants and his long blonde hair fell perfectly over his masculine shoulders. He took me by the hand into his room, and kissed it softly, saying,“My god, you’re more beautiful than I remember. Happy Birthday, baby.”

  I followed Vince into the dining area and was instantly delighted by his wonderful taste. He opened a bottle of champagne and we toasted to new possibilities. The both of us were coming out of a very tumultuous time in our love lives, and finding each other in this moment made the world seem at peace again. There was a bowl of strawberries that he fed to me, and he put a candle in one, turned out all the lights, and sang me happy birthday. I felt the warm relaxation of being loved and appreciated again. Those gaping wounds were starting to fade, and, although it would be no easy feat, I knew I would be truly happy again. We sat around the table and sipped the champagne, telling each other hilarious stories about our lives. Many of his stories came from tour, because he spent much of his time on the road, and I shared with him the ridiculous adventures of the Swedish bikini team. It seemed like we were two creatures from the same walk of life, and I thanked the stars for bringing us together.

  He fumbled around in his pocket for a moment and pulled out a piece of paper folded like a coke bindle. I felt a knot in my stomach.

  “It isn’t what you think,” he said, “Open it.”

  Hesitantly, I opened the piece of paper to find inside a stunning heart-shaped amethyst pendant necklace. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever been given, and the thought behind it made it all the more special. I just melted; he totally had me at that moment. As he lifted my hair and put the necklace on me, he softly kissed my neck, sending electric butterflies throughout my entire body. Then he whispered in my ear,

  “We should go; don’t want to miss our reservations.” I couldn’t imagine the night getting any better at this point. It was, without a doubt, my best birthday yet.

  As the Rolls Royce pulled up in front of the hotel, Vince took me by the hand to help me inside. I felt like I had reached my calling. I could get used to this; dating a rock star was the best choice I had made in my love life at that point. We chatted the entire way to L’Orangerie, and I loved the way he could make me laugh. I was very at ease in his presence, and it was easy to grow closer as the night passed us by. L’Orangerie was one of the most elegant and exclusive restaurants in L.A. I had never been, but it was clear to me right away that he had, and that he knew how to live his life in style. I grew light-headed from all the attention and grand style we were served in. I had never been on a date like this in my life.

  After dinner, he asked me if I would like to go out to a club, but I told him,

  “Honestly this has been so perfect. I don’t want to share you with anyone, and I would love to just go back to the hotel and get to know you more.”

  He smiled that great big perfect smile of his, and said, “I was hoping you’d say that.”

  Entering the hotel, I held my breath, hoping we wouldn’t run into Sly in the lobby, which would be an all-time disaster. Riding the elevator up, I could feel the tension mounting between us. I ran my fingers along the inside of his arm as he started to breathe heavily. Two people joined us in the elevator, and I giggled because you could see how hard he was through his tight leather pants. I saw them trying not to look at us, but we were quite the sight.

  We barely made it to the hotel room door when I threw myself on him and we started kissing passionately in the hallway. He pinned me against the wall, and then lifted me up as I wrapped my legs around his waist. He fumbled for the hotel key, and I threw my head back in laughter. I wanted him so badly; it was a magnetic, scientific attraction between us. I don’t think anything could have kept us apart a moment longer. My heart was pounding out of my chest when he threw me down onto the bed and tore my clothes off.

  There were no games, no teasing, no waiting, he just plunged right inside me, and my moans of pleasure must have been heard all the way down the halls. I don’t think I had ever wanted someone as badly as I wanted Vince. I wanted to be completely consumed by him. He pulled out after a bit to prolong the sessions, and then went down on me for what felt like forever. I was always able to have multiple orgasms, but Vince showed me a thing or two about my body that I did not know. Right when I was about to come, he entered me again, and my entire body would tremble with pleasure. I must have come three or four times before he finished, himself.

  Neither of us wanted to say goodbye, so I stayed the night. We lay in bed talking into the early morning, and making love every now and again. Vince and I fell really hard for each other just in that one night. Our connection was undeniable on so many levels. As I lay there with him and he brushed the hair from my face, I knew my heart was in this once again. We talked a lot about his life and living on the road. I could tell it took a certain kind of toll on him that I had never seen in anyone. It was a hard thing to articulate, because, while he recognized he was living his dream, at the same time it was a dream that destroyed all other normal forms of happiness in life. There was no stability, there was no home, and there was a very small chance of ever having a real lasting relationship. He looked me in the eyes like I might have been the one girl who would understand, like I could be the one to save him.

  When the sun came up the next day, and I woke up in a tangle of our long blonde hair, I couldn’t stop smiling. I felt like the whole world was smiling. Even my walk of shame through the hotel in last night’s clothes, makeup, and bed head, didn’t deter my smile. Waiting for my car in valet, I saw Kevin, Sly’s assistant, out of the corner of my eye. He was giving me this look that made me want to scream, “What! What do you want? He broke my heart! Get over it!” Instead, I just smiled, jumped in my car, and sped off through Hollywood. I knew he was going to tell Sly, but, to be honest, at this point, I couldn’t care any less.

  On Tour

  Does the saying, “when it rains, it pours,” work for the good times, too? I think it’s because of the laws of attraction that good things happen all at once. They all just come flooding in from some unknown source, or the universe decides to smile on you for a while. It’s a blessing to be in one of those phases and have the foresight to recognize it and really enjoy it the same time.

  I was glowing, beaming, and positively side-splitting-happy when I started dating Vince. It had been a few weeks, and we were those people you would see and wonder how it was possible to be that happy, to be that in love. At the same time, my career was reaching heights I could have only made up to my mother a few months back. The Swedish Bikini team had landed a guest spot on Married with Children. It was a huge spot on national television, and I was a huge fan. Just the idea of going to the set sent me into a tizzy, but actually being on the show was a downright blessing.

  It was an early Monday morning when we did our table rea
d, and I showed up, smiling from ear to ear, with bells on. We all sat around a huge table and read through the script. I felt very comfortable with everyone. They truly had the energy of a family, and I knew David Faustino, who played Bud, from the party scene. We had barely launched into the script when suddenly Jane shouted out,

  “Seriously, this is like, so unfair!” Everyone was surprised, taken back, and silent to her outburst. The director finally asked her what the problem was, and she said, “We only have a few lines, but Peggy has lines throughout the entire script!”

  “Sweetheart, those lines are for Peggy Bundy, not Peggy Trentini,” said the director.

  The whole table burst out laughing, including Jane. It broke the ice for everyone, and from that moment on, it was smooth sailing for the rest of the week.

  When it came time to tape the show on Friday, we were all out of our minds with excitement. I kept imagining them asking me back for a reoccurring role, or landing my own hit TV show. We were interviewed by Entertainment Tonight as their feature story, and they came to meet us on set. It was just then that Christina Applegate walked by and said to me,