Hot Set

by Ivy Blake

  I folded my arms over my chest. It wasn’t what I came out here for, but I figured that it wouldn’t hurt just to see what it was like. “It sounds like the position is mine if I want it.”

  “Yeah, it is. You’d just be following the direcotr around and taking cues from him, but they pay is decent and you’ll get to meet a lot of new people. Plus, you’d make some connections that you probably wouldn’t have made otherwise. I mean, this acting thing? Trust me, Chloe. Spread your wings and see how far you can go on both sides of the business.”

  We rode for a little while before she convinced me to take the opportunity. She was always a good salesperson. “Which movie?” I asked as she turned down a side road.

  “It’s a movie called Love Struck. It’s supposed to start filming next month or so. I think they are just wrapping up the casting process.”

  “Ok. Well, I guess I have my first job then.”

  “Yes! I will introduce you to everyone tomorrow, but I am going to call Leslie when I get home. She is one of the producers of the movie and I told her that I had somebody in mind who could slide in as a director’s assistant. The one she had flaked out on her at the last minute and left her scrambling. Once I found out, I figured that you would be a good fit.”

  “I guess we will find out.”

  After what felt like forever in traffic, we finally arrived at Jade’s apartment in Santa Monica. The building was powder blue and the balconies were painted white. The complex was three stories high and it overlooked the beach across the street. I smiled as I got out of her car, admiring the sights. The wide-open view made it seem as though I was truly receiving a brand-new start.

  Jade grinned as she looked towards the beach, “Just wait until the evening rolls around on a weekend. This place is jam-packed with so many hot guys that you will feel like you are a kid in a candy store.”

  She pulled both of my suitcases out of the trunk and placed them on the ground. “Come on, let’s go upstairs so you can meet your other roommate.”

  The building was a walk-up, and we make our way up the staircase to the third floor of the building. Jade unlocked the door to apartment 3-B, then handed me the key. “That one is yours,” she said as she pushed the door open with her foot. “Mariah? You in here?”

  “I’m in the back!” she yelled.

  “Chloe is here! Come out and meet her!”

  The apartment was small, but comfortable, and everything was clean and shiny. The balcony that I saw from the parking lot had a view of the beach if you craned your neck just right. I almost had it in my sights when an unfamiliar voice startled me from behind.

  When I spun around, a short, pretty blonde girl with a bright smile and hazel eyes was grinning at me. “Hi, Chloe!” she said as if she had known me for years. “It’s good to finally meet you! Jade talks about you so much that I feel like we are old friends.” She gave me a huge hug.

  “Well, it’s good to meet you too, Mariah. Thanks for agreeing to let me live with you guys for a little while.”

  “Oh, it is no problem at all. We have more than enough room for you. But there is one rule.” Jade shook her head, laughing, as she rolled her eyes. “What, Jade? This is serious. She has to know this rule if she is going to live here. This is a matter of life or death.”

  “What’s the rule?” I asked quizzically. I didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes while I was here, so if there were any rules, I wanted to be sure to follow them.

  She led me to the kitchen and opened the cabinet door, then pulled out a box of fruity o’s and held them up. “Any time you see this box of cereal in here, do not touch. Ever. Period. I don’t care if you are dying of starvation and this is the key to your survival… do not touch this cereal under any circumstances.”

  “Yeah,” Jade shouted from the living room, “the last time I did it, she literally tried to call the cops on me for stealing. I had to snatch her phone away from her to keep her from doing it.”

  She laughed and placed the cereal back into the cabinet. “I am serious about my cereal! Jade was about to learn the hard way.”

  “Anyway,” Jade said as she came into the kitchen. “Chloe, I am going to show you to your room, and then you can get dressed because we are going out to get something to eat tonight. I want to take you to Pierre’s. It’s a nice little chill spot that I think you will enjoy.”

  “Pierre’s?” Mariah said with a smile on her face. “Well, then I am coming, too! I love that place! And the men? Lord have mercy!”

  “Yeah, so take a shower and get ready because we are hanging out tonight. We can worry about work tomorrow.”

  I smiled at her, then grabbed my luggage and followed her down the hallway and into my room. I could already tell I was going to love it here. I only wish I had moved with Jade when she first came out to Los Angeles, so I could have been living here the whole time.

  My new life was really about to begin.

  Chapter 4

  Hudson

  I sat with Keith at a table inside of Pierre’s. We normally went there when we wanted to meet women and blow off steam, but tonight, we were there to celebrate my new role as Maddox. We sat at a table near the bar, but the music thumped low enough for us to speak comfortably over the sound of the baseline.

  A few patrons entertained each other on the dance floor as they held drinks in their hands and lights whizzed back and forth across the platform they were on. The waitresses bounced back and forth from table to table like pinballs, taking orders and delivering food and drinks to customers. Keith lifted his drink into the air. “To you nailing your audition and landing a role in a big-budget movie!”

  I lifted my glass into the air and tapped it against his. He smiled and threw his shot back, then slammed it on the table. Keith lifted his hand in the air and made a circular motion with his finger, signaling that he wanted another round of drinks. I tossed my shot back; the liquor burned my throat on its way down, forcing me to wince in the process.

  “That’s it, man! Drink up! I don’t know how many more times we’ll be able to kick back like this once you start filming, so we need to take advantage of it while we can.”

  “I still can’t believe I nailed that audition.”

  “Shit,” Keith said as a flash of bright light shot across the room like lightning. “When I got the call, they said that you were head and shoulders above the rest. They loved your confidence and the way you came in there and told them that you were the only actor for the job.”

  I shook my head with a laugh. “I was really worried they’d think I was overconfident.”

  “Come on, man! Confidence is half the battle and you killed it,” Keith said as he slammed his hand on the table.

  The vibration rattled the glasses as the waitress brought another shot out to us. Keith smiled at her and winked, brushing her hand with his as she placed the small glass on the table. “Thank you, beautiful,” he said.

  She rolled her eyes and walked away from us, her curly, burgundy hair bouncing with each step she took. “You see that?” Keith said, staring at her ass while she walked away from us. “Those are the kind of women that will come flocking to us as soon as you get a little more fame. We won’t even have to say anything, they will just come. I mean, you will be the magnet, of course, but you can’t take them all. Nope. And that’s where I come in.”

  “You’re disgusting, Keith. Seriously. A real douchebag.”

  He smiled, then threw another shot back and slammed the empty glass on the table again. “But I’m your douchebag! Woo! That shot stung a little more than the last one. But it is all good because we are going to enjoy ourselves tonight. All drinks on me, Hudson. So, enjoy the shot she brought and seriously, and don’t hesitate to order another one.”

  I took a deep breath, then put the shot glass to my mouth and swallowed the liquor in one gulp. The stinging sensation came back in an instant, so I quickly grabbed the chaser and chugged it down. As I looked to my left, I noticed a trio of women at a ta
ble not too far away from us. They looked happy and beautiful as they laughed with each other and talked and drank.

  As I scanned the three women, I stopped on one in particular. She was little with brown hair and huge beautiful eyes. She sat with one leg folded over the other, exposing a portion of her thigh as her foot bounced up and down like she was trying to balance it. She didn’t look like she was from the area. LA girls had a certain aura to them, but she didn’t have that. The women surrounding her looked like they were from the coast, but not her.

  It only took a second, but I was smitten.

  Chapter 5

  Chloe

  We sat inside of Pierre’s with drinks in front of us, enjoying the atmosphere. A large fish tank with colorful fish swam around along the wall and bright lights flashed across the dance floor as men and women danced to the beats that pumped through the speakers. The server placed another round of drinks on our table, and with a smile, she left us to them. Jade took as sip of hers and nodded her head.

  “The drinks are usually not super strong but the bartender is on fire tonight!”

  “One of the bartenders must like you or something,” Mariah said as she kept her eyes on the different men in the building. “But I know one thing, I wouldn’t mind chatting up a few of these guys. Especially that one.”

  She nodded her head to the left at a trio of men who had ordered drinks at the bar. One of them had a well-kept hipster beard and spacers in his ears. I could tell just by looking at him that he definitely had tattoos. His other two buddies were more clean-cut; no beards, or any facial hair at all, but they had smiles that could stop traffic. They were all super good-looking, but it had been a while since I even considered going out on a date. Back in New York, I was so focused on trying to get something started with my career that I put everything else on the backburner.

  “So,” Jade said after she took another sip of her drink, “what are the plans for the night? Are we just going to chill here, or is there somewhere else you all want to go?”

  She looked at me, then Mariah. “Well,” Mariah responded, “I know that there is an after-hours spot not too far from here. They are usually pretty generous with the liquor as well, so we might want to check that out. Some hipster place called Stitch & Dollar.”

  They both looked at me. “I don’t know anything about this area, so I will just follow you all.”

  I took a sip of my drink, and just beyond my glass, I saw two men sitting at a table near the bar. I squinted my eyes to make sure he was looking in my direction, and as soon as I confirmed it, I put my glass down and turned away. I hated intense stares and I could feel that it was going to turn into one of those fairly soon. A few minutes went by and as I kept him in my peripheral, I tried to ignore him at the same time. It wasn’t that he was unattractive; it was that he seemed to be a little too attractive for his own good.

  Before long, he stood up from his table and started towards us. “Um, who is this coming our way?” Jade asked with a smirk.

  “He looks good, whoever he is,” Mariah whispered under her breath.

  He stood in front of our table and he was just as hot as I suspected him to be. He wore jeans with a tight-fitting t-shirt that showed off his pecs and the size of his arms, which were massive.

  “Hello, ladies, my name is Hudson. Can I buy you all another round of drinks?”

  “Absolutely,” Jade said, speaking for the rest of us.

  I wrapped my lips around the straw and desperately angled for the last of my drink. It was more melted ice than anything else.

  “Have a seat,” Mariah said, scooting to her left to make room for him.

  He sat down beside her and then motioned for the waiter to bring more drinks to the table.

  “So,” he continued, “who do I have the pleasure of sitting with?”

  “Well, this is Mariah,” Mariah shook his hand delicately, “that is Chloe,” I smiled at him, “and I am Jade. Our friend Chloe just moved here from New York, so we are taking her out to show her the nightlife. We want her to get a taste of Los Angeles so she can be more comfortable with her decision.”

  “I see.” He looked directly at me and I could feel him scanning my body for an answer so he wouldn’t have to ask certain questions. “How do you like it so far?”

  “It’s fine. I love the weather and the people seem really friendly.”

  “It is a wonderful city. I wouldn’t move for the world, though I know it is much different from the east coast.”

  “Yes, very much so. I noticed that as soon as I got off the airplane.”

  Just then, Mariah slammed her hand onto the table. “That’s it! That’s where I know you from!” she said, looking directly at Hudson. “You were in that toothpaste commercial.” She cleared her throat. “Conjurer’s Toothpaste gives you a magical smile,” she said, imitating the commercial. “That’s you, right?”

  He laughed. “Yeah, that is me. I’ve done a few commercials here and there. That was one of my very first, actually.”

  “I see. So, you’re an actor, huh?” Mariah asked with a grin.

  Hudson chuckled. “That’s certainly my long-term goal, but time will tell. I am still new to it, so who knows what the future will bring.”

  “You certainly have movie star looks,” Jade added. “If your talent matches up, I am sure you will make it in no time.”

  “Why, thank you, Jade,” he said with a wink.

  The waitress came back and placed our drinks on the table. Hudson didn’t take his eyes off me as the girls pulled their glasses closer to them.

  “Hudson, man, who are these beautiful ladies? I go to the bathroom and come back to find you surrounded?” I didn’t even notice the other guy until he started speaking. I guess Hudson was distracting me.

  “When you left, I just had to come over here and introduce myself. Keith, this is Jade, Mariah, and Chloe. Ladies, this is my manager, Keith.”

  Keith, with a tacky, adolescent excitement, extended his hand to greet all of us. “It is a pleasure. I promise, whenever I am with Hudson, we tend to meet some of the hottest women in LA. He is just like… like a magnet for babes, I swear he is.”

  Hudson cleared his throat, then stood up. “I wouldn’t say that,” he said as he put his hand on Keith’s shoulder. “I wouldn’t say that at all. But um, excuse us for a moment, will you? Keith, can I talk to you at our table?”

  With that, Hudson put his arm around Keith and dragged him back to their table, Hudson’s face bright red with anger.

  “Well, he was cute until his annoying ass friend came over and ruined it for him,” Jade said, laughing. “He immediately turned me off. That was a case of the right person having the wrong friend.”

  “Exactly,” Mariah added. Then, she looked at me. “But Hudson was only focused on Chloe, anyway. He came over here for her.”

  “Me? What? No. I mean, he was speaking to Jade more than any of us.”

  “No, Jade was speaking to him. She initiated most of the talking, but I pay more attention to non-verbal communication than anything else and I could tell that he was zeroed in on you, girl.”

  I shook my head and grabbed the drink off the table. The liquor was smooth on its way down and the mix had more juice than the ones we had before. “Wow, I can hardly taste any alcohol in this.”

  Mariah laughed. “Yeah. I think the bartender probably suspected that Hudson was trying to talk to Jade, so he stopped being generous with the liquor. That’s usually how it goes,” she continued.

  “Then I need to go over there and flirt with him a little bit so he can start pouring our drinks the way he was before.” Jade grabbed her glass and got to her feet. Her dress clung to her hips like it was soaked in static.

  Mariah stood up with her. “I’m going to go with you. I think I want a few of these men in here to get a better look at me.” Her attention switched towards me. “You coming?”

  “No, I’m just going to sit back and chill here. I don’t feel like getting up.�
�

  “You sure?”

  “I am positive. You two go and make sure our drinks are stronger than last time. I’ll be good until you all get back.”

  “Ok.”

  I took another sip of my drink as the Mariah and Jade walked toward the bar, and then I looked back at Hudson. His friend Keith had just walked away from him, and as soon as he did, Hudson was on his way back towards me. I took a deep breath. Stay calm, Chloe. Stay calm. He approached the booth, and with a smile, he asked if he could take a seat.

  I nodded my head and sipped the drink out of my straw, still too nervous to say anything.

  “So, what drew you out here to LA?” Hudson asked as he shook the ice in his glass.

  I didn’t want to tell him about my aspirations of eventually starring in films because I felt like my story would be no different from anyone else’s who moved out here. I didn’t want to be lumped in with the hundreds of other girls he probably met every week. “I just needed a change of scenery. I was tired of life in New York and I figured that I would give the west coast a try.”

  “I see. Well, I think you are going to love it, but I am a bit partial. I am an OC OG.” I wrinkled my eyebrows and slightly shifted my head to the right, equal parts confused and a little bit embarrassed for him. “Ugh, I am sorry, I was just trying to say I was born here. You know, Orange County Original?’”

  I burst out laughing. “Oh. Yeah, ok. I get it now. That was… ridiculous.”

  “Yeah. I’m sorry, I can come off like a total idiot when I am nervous and it doesn’t happen often.”

  “Oh? You’re nervous? Why?”

  “Because I’ve never a woman as beautiful as you and I feel like I’m tripping over my words.”

  I laughed at his honesty.

  “So,” he continued, “did Jade or Mariah invite you out here? Or did you know both of them before you moved to Los Angeles?”

  “Jade has been my best friend for the last four years. We went to college together and she moved out here right after graduation. It took me a few months, but I finally followed suit after a little bit of convincing from her end.”