by Pamela Ann
Lydia said her goodbyes, giving Bass another kiss before she turned to me and gave me another fucking smile. Her smile, it was genuine, not one of the fake ones. I simmered even more.
“She’s an actress, too?” I didn’t know that.
“No, I invited her along to join me. I didn’t want to get bored in Canada.”
Right… because a pretty angel would be making all your wishes come true.
“Well, good for you. I guess now we’re both happy. How quaint,” I said sourly.
“Sorry the call took a while.” Martin slid back in to his seat.
I was rather grateful that Martin chose that moment to come back. I couldn’t look at Bass. My stomach was churning and my mind was working overtime. Ding dong, what do you call that? Oh yeah, jealousy. It was twisting me up like a damn pretzel.
Once the food arrived, the conversation stuck to the movie we were about to film. The food was excellent. It was fine French cuisine with a twist of fusion. After the two hour, four-course meal, we were ready to head out.
After Martin signed the bill, he spoke, “I will keep in touch, Emma. My assistant, Jack, will contact your agent directly if there are any requirements that are altered or added. If you have any questions, you can call me directly.
“Bass, have a safe flight. I will speak to you soon, son. I have to go to a film screening at Scorsese’s house. Drive carefully, you two.” We all stood up to leave and with a quick hug, he abruptly left us alone.
“Have a great evening, Mr. Cole. Come and dine with us again, sometime soon,” Alyssa called out.
“I will. The food was excellent as always. Thank you,” Bass spoke with sincerity and graced Alyssa with his signature smile. I think Alyssa almost died. The love-sick puppy blushed and almost freaked out. Sigh.
Outside, we both handed our tickets to the valet attendant. We waited side-by-side for our cars. I suppose this is it then. I thought sickly.
“Will you stay the night with me, Em?” I tensed.
Crap. “Bass, I don’t think that would be good for either of us.”
He exhaled and looked at the passing traffic. “I know it isn’t, but I’m asking anyway. I won’t be seeing you until Greece. That’s months from now. I just want to spend time with you.”
“But Greece is months from now. I thought we’d stay friends?” Was he planning to just drop and un-friend me?
“I know and we will.” Bass’s azure gaze captured my eyes. It was hard to tear them away from the beautiful depths of his. “I choose not to see you until Greece because it will take a long time for me to get over you and the fact that I’ve been rejected for the very first time. What’s bruised my psyche is that you were the first woman I wanted to have a real relationship with. I just want this night with you, Em. That’s all I ask. If it’s too much, I’ll understand.”
I stared at him with my arms folded, my lips pressed together and my foot was tapping. I was in deep shit. I didn’t know how I could do that without hurting anyone. Carter would go apeshit if he learned that I had decided to stay the night with Bass. Did I want to spend time with Bass? Yes, very much so. I was going to miss him when he left.
“Give me just a second. I need to make a quick call.” With my phone in hand, I stepped a few yards away from him. Lindsey picked up on the first ring. Thank God! “I have a mammoth-sized problem.”
“Spill.”
I groaned before I spoke. I hated to be in that position. I wanted to kick something and hyperventilate at the same time. “Bass wants to spend time with me tonight. Do you think I should? Carter will lose his shit if he ever found out!”
“Well, are you planning on screwing each other tonight?”
“No, Lindsey. Bass hasn’t even managed to kiss me. He just wants to hang out and do the usual stuff we do, I suppose.”
“Good, because if that was the case, I don’t want any part of it. I might not like my brother for you, but he is my brother and I don’t want him hurt. Now that we’ve cleared that up, why don’t you tell Carter that you’re visiting your parents and you’re staying the night with them? It’s the best excuse.”
It was a perfect excuse. “You’re the best, Lindsey. I’ll call you soon, okay?”
“Please do and please, please don’t do anything that isn’t PG-13, got it? Now, go be a good girl.”
“Will do. Bye, doll.”
Next call, Carter. I wasn’t really a big fan of lying, really I wasn’t, but this was a special circumstance—selfish as it was. I didn’t know why I had the need to spend the night with Bass, but I felt like we owed it to each other. Sort of like an ending to the little ‘something’ we had. Only it wasn’t a little something. It was much more than that, but I wasn’t ready to look beyond the surface and dig deeper. Chicken? Just a tad. I feared what I would find if I did.
“Carter, hey,” I greeted him as he came on the other line.
“Are you on your way home, babe? Is it going to be my place or yours tonight?” Carter happily asked.
Yeah, about that…
“I’m driving to see my parents tonight. My aunt is in town and I want to visit with her and my baby cousin.” I was going to my parents’ house, I tried to rationalize.
“Oh. Sure, no prob. I want to take you out to dinner.”
“Yeah, that would be nice. I’ll see you tomorrow, Carter.”
“Love you, Emma.”
“Yeah, me, too.”
I cut off the call before he had the chance to question me. I didn’t know what was going on either. I did love Carter, didn’t I? I just couldn’t bring myself to say I loved him when Bass was so close to me.
Turning around, I walked towards Bass who was leaning against my car, waiting and watching every move I made. The valet attendant waited for me to finish my call before he handed me my keys. I graciously thanked him as I gave him a tip.
“I’m all set. I’ll follow you to your house.”
He shook his head. “That won’t do. You have to ride with me. I’m not letting you out of my sight. I will have someone pick your car up and drive it back to my place.” Bass held out his hand. “Your keys?” Okay, that was workable and made total sense.
I handed him my car keys as he guided me towards his car. Bass called Lou, his driver, to pick up my car, giving him the location of the restaurant and instructing him to drive it back to his house and leave the keys on the table in his entry hall.
The ride back to his house was silent. Bass’s usual happy demeanor, that I was so accustomed to, didn’t surface. He was rather quiet and serious and didn’t bother with small talk. I supposed we were so engrossed in our own conflicted thoughts.
Once we got to Hollywood Hills, I started to fidget. What the hell was I doing? Carter would kill me. At the same time, though, I felt like Bass and I had unfinished business… but to what extent? That was the million dollar question I had yet to find an answer to.
“A desire arises in the mind. It is satisfied immediately another comes. In the interval which separates two desires a perfect calm reigns in the mind. It is at this moment freed from all thought, love or hate. Complete peace equally reigns between two mental waves.”
~Swami Sivananda
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Do you want anything to drink?” Bass asked as he strolled towards the kitchen.
My feet shifted as I held my clutch in both hands. “Water would be great, thank you.”
Bass cocked his head towards me. “Do you want wine as well?”
Shit. Did I really need alcohol right now? In a sense, yes. I was nervous and I didn’t know why. I had been to his house before and both times, nothing crazy really happened. I guess the only thing that I should have been worried about was me because Bass was making me think of things that I shouldn’t have been thinking about.
“Um, sure that would be lovely.”
Bass gave me a dimpled, lazy smile. “Right away.”
Oh, geez. That smile of his…
The silence was
short lived because Bass’s cell phone started ringing. “Yep?” he answered as he pulled a bottle opener from a drawer and slid it closed. His teeth bit his bottom lip as he concentrated on opening the wine bottle while he was listening to the person yapping in his ear. “I might check it out. Yes, might. Gotcha. Bye.”
I moved towards the marbled counter and sat across from him. He was still biting his bottom lip when he looked at me. Smolder overdose anyone?
“There’s a promotional bash at a club tonight. Do you want to come and party for a little bit with some of my friends?”
Should I? “Will there be paparazzi lurking around?” Yeah, I had to ask. I would be put through the meat grinder tomorrow if Carter found out or anyone from school, for that matter.
“Yes, they are always around, especially at hot spots, but we can go through the back door and no one will know that you’ve been partying with me.”
“It’s nothing personal, Bass. I just…” Don’t want Carter to know… for now. Carter didn’t even know about the movie yet. I’d tell him after I told my parents tomorrow, most definitely.
Bass poured us a glass of wine and slid mine carefully towards me. “Carter; got it.”
I opened my mouth to deny it, but ended up shutting it and instead, decided to swirl my wine glass before I took a small sip.
“What’s the verdict?” he asked, raking a hand through his dark blond hair, making it look all hot and sexy.
“Yeah, I could do with some dancing.”
“Awesome! Let me just get a quick shower then we’ll head out, is that cool?” Bass asked and drained his entire glass, looking sexy as sin.
I licked my lips and blushed. Without looking him in the eye, I responded, “Yes, sounds great.” Why, oh why, does Bass fucking Cole make me think of sex when he’s drinking wine? It was disturbing.
Bass was off to shower and I was left alone with my thoughts… and they were full of IF’s. Ugh!
Taking my wine with me, I strolled towards the patio and stared at the bright lights of the City of Angels. Tonight… tonight felt different with Bass. I supposed it was because I was with Carter now and it made things feel even more… not weird… constricted, perhaps, leaning towards restricted. I think it was because during the short time with Bass, he infiltrated my inner being. Bass had made his mark; he had marked me without me even noticing it. He was rooted somewhere deep inside and I didn’t know if I could erase the stamp he had made.
I felt wretched and cut open. I mean, here I was, restarting my relationship with Carter and yet Bass was hounding my thoughts. I didn’t know if I was so blinded with the realization that I fell in love with Carter that I didn’t really see or realize what was really going on before me with Bass.
After ten minutes, I heard him say, “Ready?”
I turned around and found Bass standing next to the sliding patio glass door. His hair was still wet, but what really caught me was how the plain white shirt and washed out jeans made him look like a hot, smoking, rock god. I felt my nipples tighten at the very sight of him. I was in so much trouble!
“I know, I look too plain for a club, but I really don’t feel like dressing up and all that.”
Uh, the prepped up Bass looked sexy, but the laid back all-American look was just downright yummy! I’ll take both please!
I was bothered that my thoughts were bordering on cheating. Was it really cheating fantasizing about Bass instead of Carter? A little, perhaps?
“Let me just grab my clutch then I’m all set to go,” I muttered.
As I walked past him, my senses went into hysterics as I got a whiff of that shower gel he used. I almost stopped, almost. I just wanted to drown in that sexy fucking smell. I was such a basket case. How the hell was I going to get through the rest of the night if I all I could think about was Bass fucking Cole?
Once I got to the barstool where my clutch sat, I stared at it while my thoughts rampaged on. I was seriously losing it…
I almost moaned when Bass touched the side of my hip and asked, “Everything okay, Em?”
NO! It’s not okay. My body seems to be wired with a crazy amount of sexual energy and all I can think about is fucking you until I can’t take it anymore! No, nothing is okay.
“Yes, let’s go.”
~E~
“Emma, how is Bass in the sack?” the hot brunette asked me, giggling.
I thought she was dating Bass’s friend, Stan… Stud… Stew? Meh, I didn’t remember. Bass had introduced me to a lot of people at the club and I hadn’t managed to remember any of their names.
“I heard he’s a beast! I heard Sheila’s friend, Masie, actually spent a night with him at some hotel. She said Bass fucked Masie four times in one night. I’m so jealous of you, Emma,” the blonde, honey-eyed chick said.
“Yeah, he surely is a beast,” I giggled back. Here I go, lying again. I found that there was no point in trying to rationalize with these women when I arrived with Bass earlier. It seemed that in Hollywood, once a woman arrives—or is seen—with a famous actor anywhere, it’s a given that they’re sexing it up.
So, in my champagne/tequila/vodka muddled head, I was owning Bass.
These girls that were introduced to me by Bass were fun—a dum-dum kind of fun. All they talked about was Hollywood, plastic surgery, gossip and hot men. In my semi-coherent state, I didn’t remember their names and yet, I had been hanging out with them for two hours or so. I just called them—in my head—the pretty blonde, hot brunette, so-so redhead and goldilocks.
My gurgling laughter died when my eyes darted across the club and saw a girl trying to get Bass’s attention. I didn’t think twice before I got up. I excused myself and marched over to them. The woman looked like some hot vamped up Latina. She was drop dead gorgeous. I fumed and stepped right in between them.
“Emma,” Bass uttered, a little surprised that I was being bold towards him.
“Dance with me, Bass,” I ordered and grabbed his hand.
The vamped up woman pulled my hand away from holding Bass’s.
Nah, uh. She. Did. Not. Just. Do. That! “Bitch! Back the fuck off! He’s mine!”
The stupid bitch smiled. “No, he’s not. He’s single. I know this because we hooked up last night.”The stupid bitch looked smug as hell when she saw how her words affected me.
Stupid bitch can go fuck herself! “Choose, Bass. It’s her or me.” I started tapping my foot as I simmered some more. What if Bass chooses her? Ah, fuck. I didn’t think that far ahead!
Before Bass could answer, the stupid bitch spoke, “Who the hell are you? Are you like some random psycho who wants to get it on with an actor? I think you should start with the Z-list ones and not head straight, like a piranha, to the A-listers.”
I was about to retaliate when Bass pulled me towards the dance floor, but before he did, he managed to holler at the stupid bitch, “Don’t ever talk to me again, Cassandra. Emma is not on any alphabetical list. She is on The List.”
Bass took me to the other side of the dance floor and shoved me up against the wall. I knew the music was thumping, but I had no clue what song was on and I was oblivious of the people around us. The dance floor was packed, but all I noticed was Bass’s searing, blistering gaze.
“I think you should stop with the Mojitos, Emma. You’re clearly wasted already.”
I sneered. Yes, I certainly was. “Well, if you weren’t busy flirting with all the women here, I wouldn’t have made a scene.”
He leaned closer, both hands on the sides of my head, as he whispered in my ear, “You’re off limits, Emma. You made it that way.” His hot breath made me shiver. I closed my eyes and devoured his scrumptious aroma.
God, help me. I didn’t know anymore.
Bass pressed his hot body against mine, his heart beating erratically. I moved closer and nestled my nose on his neck. My nose slid up and down and I felt him shiver. Since I was going crazy, I went even further. I stuck out the tip of my tongue and licked the base of his neck, stoppin
g in the middle and biting into it while my hand went inside his shirt and clawed his back, wanting him closer.
“Emma… you’re killing me here,” Bass spoke in between hissing and moaning.
“How do you like it, Bass? Hard and rough? Nice and slow? Or fast and delirious?” I whispered against his ear.
Yep! I was way past drunk. I was ludicrous.
Bass groaned as he pushed his hardened state between my hips. “I want you… I want all of you. I want your hot body on my bed, wide open and ready. Your cunt will be annihilated. Your sweet, little pussy will be destroyed and I will not stop until it is ravaged and weeping with wetness… and you screaming for me to stop because you can’t take anymore.”
Need I say that my silk thong was soaked? Need I say that I was going bat-shit crazy with horniness?
“Bass, I want you.”
Bass pulled a bit away from me, our bodies still connected, while his eyes pierced mine. His magnetic eyes darkened as he saw my overtly wanton face. “Be with me, Emma. Just say the word and I’m yours.”
“I don’t know if I can.” I loved Carter, but with Bass, it was complex and enthralling. It frightened me. I didn’t know if I would ever be ready for that kind of terrifying possession.
He bit his bottom lip then looked to his right as he processed what I said. Bass huffed out a deep breath. Composing himself, he gave me a bright smile. “I just had to try one more time, I guess.” He gave me a quick peck on the cheek and grabbed my hand. “Come on! Let’s go and join our party.”
And so we did. The entire time, Bass avoided touching me. When other random girls came up to get a picture with him, he obliged them. When they wanted to dance with him, he gladly went. When they flirted and touched him, he didn’t stop them. And so, the jealous bitch that I was—but had no fucking right to be—drank some more delicious Mojitos. I wanted to get drunk and just pass the fuck out. I didn’t want to think about Bass anymore. Of course, it was short-lived, but it was worth it.