Hollywood Playboy

by Natasha Madison

  “You,” the man says, and then I get in, making sure I don’t rock the boat and freak her out anymore. I sit with my back to the water, facing her. When the man hands us two water bottles, Jessica takes both and tries not to move. He points at the oars lying on one side. I nod at him, then grab one and clip it on, repeating the same thing for the second. After he double checks to make sure they are locked in, he smiles, grabs his own oar, and then pushes us away from the dock, making the boat rock from side to side. Jessica reaches her arms out to grab the sides and then glares at the guy who’s laughing at her.

  “Relax,” I tell her, steering the boat away from the dock.

  “Should you be rowing with your back toward everything?” she asks, looking around. “I know you’re a daredevil and all, but I don’t think it’s the right thing to do. Surely, there’s a YouTube video we can watch before we go any farther, right?”

  “I promise you that I know what I’m doing,” I tell her and then slowly move over. “I mean, worst case, the water is warm this time of year.” Chuckling, I look over my shoulder and see boats scattered everywhere. I row up around the bend, and it finally comes into view.

  “Oh my God,” she says, her eyes big and wide. “Are those cherry blossoms?” I watch her face, then look over my shoulder and slow my pace. The trees have gone from green to a light white and are now a soft pink. She takes her phone out of her pocket and then looks at me. “I won’t get you in the shot.” Holding her phone up, she snaps pictures of the pink trees.

  “Give me your phone,” I say, but she ignores me. I take the oars and lock them in place so I take my own out, and I snap a picture of her with the blossoms hanging over her head. She looks at me when I’m taking the picture, and she smiles. “I won’t post it anywhere.” I wink at her.

  “Look over there.” She points at the side of the water where it looks pink because the fallen cherry blossoms are floating on top. We have drifted into the middle of it, and the cherry blossom trees cover our heads with the sun peeking in just a touch.

  “This is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been to,” she says, smiling as her eyes capture the scene. With her phone in her hand, she’s trying to catch the beauty of it, but nothing will capture the beauty of this moment. Sitting here with her, I admire her eyes and how they sparkle in happiness without a care. I snap another picture of her, and she looks at me. She turns her back to me, puts her hand in the air, and I see us fill the screen. “Say cheese,” she says, and I smile as she takes three pictures. “This is off the record,” she tells me, turning and scrolling through the pictures of us. “I give you my word that no one will see this picture.”

  “I believe you,” I tell her, looking around. “I don’t think you would put yourself in that position.” Laughing, I say, “Being linked to me for the rest of your life just because we took a picture on a boat. I wish it wasn’t true. I wish that you could post that picture, and it would simply be two friends enjoying their day.” Shaking my head, I look away from her, then turn back to look at her. “The pros and cons, right?” I try to make a joke of it, but the reality of who I am and who she is, both with careers often directly at odds with each other, is the ever-present white elephant in the room.

  “I understand you now,” she says softly, putting the phone down. “Will the boat capsize if I come over there and sit with you?” Stopping when she feels the boat tilt side to side, she slowly comes over and sits next to me. “Just so you know, I wouldn’t put myself or you in that situation. What we speak about when I’m not sitting in that room is between us, and I hope you trust me enough to know that.” I want to reach out and touch her face, to see if her skin is as soft as it looks. I want to see if her eyes change when I touch her. To see if she feels this, whatever the fuck this thing is. She takes my phone from my hand and opens the camera from the lock screen. “Smile,” she says. I put my arm around her shoulder, and we take a picture of the two of us. “There. Now if I leak mine, you can leak yours.”

  I chuckle, and neither of us move as we sit here and people watch. “Do you ever look at people and make up a story about them in your head?” she asks me, and I look down at her. “Like that boat over there.” She points over at a boat where the girl and guy are almost in the same position as we are. “First date. He likes her more than she likes him.”

  I smile. “Or she’s cheating on her husband, and he has no idea.”

  She looks over at me. “Oh, that’s a good one.” She laughs, and for the next little while, we make up stories about the people around us. Neither of us moving, my arm still hanging on her shoulder. “Should we head back?” she asks, and I want to say no. “It’s almost four,” she says, and I don’t know how the time passed so fast. “I’m getting hungry.”

  I nod. “Do you want to sit on this side with me?”

  “Only if you turn the boat around so we can see out.” I laugh, then lean over her and unlock the oar. After I turn us around, we make our way back to the boathouse. We pull up to the dock, and she takes the guy’s hand to get off the boat, this time much steadier. We walk back to get our helmets. “So where are you taking me for food?” she asks me when we get to the bike, and she expertly puts on her helmet.

  “Who said I’m taking you to get food?” I joke with her, putting on my own and getting on the bike. She climbs on behind me as if she’s been doing this forever. I start the bike and take her to one of my favorite restaurants a local took me to three years ago. I make my way through the streets, parking in the middle of an alley where fifteen other bikes are parked. I grab her hand, and we walk out of the alley onto the narrow street that you can’t really drive on unless it’s a little moped. Since the sun is setting, the glowing neon lights show you where you are walking. The doors to the restaurant are propped open, and sandwich boards on the sidewalk display pictures of the food available. “Do you eat sushi?” I ask, hoping to fuck she says yes.

  “Love it.” She smiles, and I finally see the yellow door I was looking for. I walk in and duck my head down. With only five tables in this restaurant, my hotel bathroom is bigger than this place, but it’s honestly so damn good that the details don’t really matter. The little old woman comes out from the back, smiling. She pours us water, and I order us the food I hope she will like. She more than likes it, and we spend two hours talking about all the sushi shops she’s been to around the world. We talk about our favorite meals, and when she gets up and pays for the meal without me knowing, she earns her first glare. “Hey, friends treat other friends.” She holds my hand when we walk back to the bike. I climb on and hold the helmet in my lap as she steps up to me. “Thank you for giving me one of the best days I’ve ever had.” She leans down, and I’m waiting for her lips to find mine. I hold my breath, and when I feel them on my cheek, she tells me, “You really aren’t the asshole I thought.” As she gets on the bike, my mind is still frazzled from a simple kiss on the cheek.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Jessica

  Looks like this country star is going on the road! New concert dates have been announced. Sold out in a record twenty-nine minutes.

  “Good morning, everyone.” I pull my suitcase behind me with my Louis sitting on top of it. It feels like we just got to China, and we are already taking off. “I don’t know why, but I’m so tired,” I say, and they all nod. I guess one week in was okay, but now we are going on almost two weeks, and it’s about gotten to be enough with everyone, even the triplets. Those three are wearing sunglasses on this cloudy day.

  “How do you look so fresh?” Ella asks me, sitting on a chair as we wait for the bus to pick us up. I’m wearing a pair of light blue jeans and a big knitted sweater tucked into the front just a touch, and it falls off my shoulder. My Tiffany necklace hangs down, and I have my white Adidas sneakers on my feet. Today is all about fashionable comfort while we head to our next stop.

  “I’ve been up since six,” I tell them, and they all look at me shocked. “Every day, I’m on the treadmill by six f
ifteen.” That earns me a gasp from all three.

  “It’s almost like a farmer,” Evelyn says. “How do you function?” I ignore her as she flops down on the couch in the lobby.

  “The bus should be here in ten minutes,” Yolanda says, walking in a circle to make sure everyone heard her.

  “I’m going to get a coffee,” I say to Autumn, who is on her phone. “Will you watch my luggage?” She nods. “Do you want anything?”

  “No, I’m good. Thanks.” She smiles, and I turn to walk toward the coffee stand they have in the lobby. I see Tyler getting off the elevator with Cassie beside him. He is dressed in jeans and a gray sweater with a red plaid shirt sticking out from under it, a scarf around his neck, and a beanie on his head.

  “Hey.” He smiles when he sees me, his eyes crinkling at the corner. Ever since we took that day away, things between us have been nice . . . weird but nice. We spend every morning together running. Sometimes we talk, sometimes we don’t—it all depends on the mood—and then we usually have breakfast together. When we aren’t together, he sends me one-liner texts about the joys of his day. I have no idea what this thing is we are doing. I guess we are friends. Can you classify it as a friendship when all you can think about is dry humping him? When he got on the bike and I went to kiss him, I almost got his lips, but I pulled away when I heard his breath stop and went for the cheek instead. Jesus, I thought I would die I was so embarrassed. I’ve convinced myself he so doesn’t want me the same way I want him. “Where are you going?”

  “The bus is going to be another ten minutes, so I was going to grab a coffee. Would you like anything?” I ask him.

  “I’ll come with you.” Turning to Cassie, he says, “Meet you at the front.” We walk to the coffee stand. “Aren’t you cold?” he asks me, and I look at him. “Your whole shoulder is out,” he says, reaching forward and trying to cover my shoulder with my sweater, but the way it’s cut, there is no covering my shoulder. “Here,” he says, taking the scarf off his neck and wrapping it around mine, “that should work.” The smell of him all around me stumps me for a minute; a euphoria I’ve never known envelops me, and I have no idea where I am when the lady behind the register asks me for my order. I look at her, blinking, my thoughts all hazy. “She wants a latte, non-fat milk, no foam.”

  “What just happened?” I ask him when we step to the side and wait for my coffee order. “Did you just cover my shoulder up with a scarf?” He twists open the bottle of Pellegrino that he just bought and takes a long pull.

  “You looked cold,” he says, smiling but hiding it with the bottle at his lips. “You’re welcome.” He grabs the coffee when they call his name and hands it to me.

  “Thank you.” I look at the coffee. “For the drink, not the scarf.” He laughs at me, and we walk back to the lobby and see that the bus has arrived, and everyone is getting in line and getting on the bus. I walk to Autumn. “Sorry, there was a line,” I tell her, and she just flicks her wrist, not caring. I roll the bag out, leaving it with the valet person who tosses it under the bus.

  When I climb on the bus, I sit in the empty chair by the window, taking my phone out and scrolling through my messages. I got a couple from Mary who tells me that my apartment is just fine. A couple of emails from Stephanie praising the scoops I’ve gotten while I’ve been away. I got one message from Brooke asking me about my time away.

  “It’s a seven-hour flight to Dubai,” Jonathan says from behind me. “Seven hours closer to home,” he says, and I laugh with him. Tyler plops down in the chair next to me, and Cassie sits across from him. She’s looking at me and glaring, so I close my eyes and shake my head. I don’t say anything to him as we make our way to the airport. Once the bus stops, Tyler gets up and waits for me to get out, then follows me down, and we walk to the plane together.

  “You know Cassie hates me, right?” I say with a smile, not caring. “That just doesn’t help.” I look at him, and he just shrugs. “Are you cold? Would you like your scarf back?”

  He doesn’t say anything; he just looks at me and glares while I walk up the stairs and say hello to the attendant. I walk down the aisle and take a seat near the window, and Tyler sits next to me. “If I end up chopped in pieces,” I say, taking off the scarf from around my neck, “you are to blame.”

  “Put the scarf back on,” he almost hisses. When I look down, I see that my shirt slipped a touch, exposing the top lace of my bralette. I jump and cover myself and look around to make sure no one saw but Tyler. “Maybe next time, you should dress appropriately.” My head snaps to him, making sure he was the one who actually said those words before I unleash my inner beast.

  “Wow,” I say, making sure my shirt is okay. I unsnap my seat belt and grab my purse while he watches me. I hop over his knees, tossing his scarf at him, and make my way to the pods in the back. I sit down in one, tying my seat belt. I look up in time to see Tyler march into the back of the plane and shut the door to his room. “Asshole,” I mumble to myself. I sit here for takeoff and then totally shut the pod during the flight. We arrive at one p.m. local time, and when I walk off the plane, I make sure my sweater covers everything it should. We get on the bus, and I sit next to Autumn while Tyler gets on and sits in the front with Cassie next to him.

  “Do you have a dress for tomorrow?” Autumn asks me, and I shake my head. “Me either. Kendall and I are going to go shopping.”

  “That sounds good,” I say, thinking retail therapy is always a good idea. “Is there a special dress code?”

  “Not slutty,” she says, laughing. “I think they said no cleavage or not too much leg. Everything has to be respectful clothing, according to all the signs that are up and around.”

  “Arms?” I ask, knowing only a small amount of skin should show. “Even when you go to the mall, you have to have the shoulders covered.”

  “Arms are okay as are feet.” I laugh now. “Well, we have today off, and then we are here for four days. This is the longest stop,” I sigh, thinking about what a long day tomorrow will be. We have to be ready to interview by eight, the screening is going to be at five, and the gala starts at seven, which is mandatory. Dubai and Paris are the only premieres having galas afterward.

  We get to the hotel, and I walk off the bus and into the vast lobby adorned in gold and red. After Yamina and Yolanda hand us our keys, we make plans to meet in thirty minutes. I open the door to my room, and I stop in shock. They must have given me a suite. Walking in, I see that the whole outside wall is floor-to-ceiling windows. I see a plush red sofa with a footstool—that I swear is as big as a twin-size bed—to my left. To my right sits my king-size bed in purple and gold, drapes hanging from the gold painted ceiling. I walk to the window and look out, noting where Burj Al Arab Jumeirah sits in the middle of the ocean. It’s breathtaking. I rush to change my sweater and get down to the lobby. We spend the day shopping, and when I finally get back to my room, I’m beyond exhausted. I don’t wake up at six the next day and skip my run. The interviews are also rushed, and I know the minute he comes in and gives me his fake smile that star Tyler has emerged once again . . . not the Tyler I thought was my friend. Maybe he doesn’t know how to be friends with people? Maybe he doesn’t have the ability to be friends with someone? The interview goes off without a hitch; he stays super professional, and he even thanks me at the end. I refrain from rolling my eyes at him.

  The screening of the film will be held in the hotel’s huge theater on the top floor. With the gala being held on the same floor, just on the other side, that is how big this place is. It is literally its own city. I take my time getting ready and do my makeup a little heavier tonight since such an elegant gala will highlight the movie premiere. I leave my hair loose and in large wild curls. I step into the light pink chiffon dress that I bought yesterday. It’s a halter dress, so I don’t have to worry about cleavage. I zip the dress on the side and look at myself. Although it’s light pink, it has light gray, almost silver sequins across the top that look like flowers. The be
lt at the waist is a braid, and the bottom of the dress flows loosely to right about my knees. I sit on the bed when I put on my cream open-toe sandals and tie them around my ankles, grabbing the light gray bracelet with the high drop earrings. I take a huge breath in when my phone buzzes, letting me know it’s time to head out. I grab my small handbag, then throw my phone and key card in there. Once I make it upstairs, Yamina and Yolanda stop and stare at me. “That dress is to die for,” Yolanda says while Yamina just nods.

  “Thank you, girls.” I smile at them. “Where do I go?”

  “Change of plans. It seems everyone is walking the red carpet tonight. The journalists will walk together, and of course, Tyler is walking with Ella tonight. I think.” I nod. “You can wait in there.” She points at a room off the red carpet. I walk in and notice I’m the last one to arrive.

  “That dress . . .” Kendall says, shaking her head. “I want to borrow it.” I laugh, admiring her stunning lilac dress. “Incoming,” she says, and I turn to see Ella walk in on the arm of Tyler. “I don’t think she’ll leave his side all night.” I look at them, seeing that she is dressed in a deep red halter-top dress so tight I don’t think she’ll be able to sit. It comes to her mid-thigh. “I guess she didn’t get the memo.” He’s dressed in a black suit, perfectly fitted, with a white dress shirt and a skinny black tie. He looks around the room, and when I know his eyes are coming to me, I turn my head to avoid his judgment.

  We walk the red carpet. I’m on the arm of Jonathan, Kendall’s on Peter’s arm, and Autumn’s with Jim. Jake groans when he has to walk the carpet with Evelyn and Erin. Ella is all over Tyler as if they are really a couple, her hand never letting go of his arm. I try not to roll my eyes. Instead, I walk in, ask for directions to the bar, and decide that tonight, I’m going to have a drink or maybe two. After the second glass of champagne, I decide it’s a good idea to drink until my nose starts to itch. Yeah, that’s a thing.