Bright Lights: Book One of the Talia Shaw Series

by Darcy, Christine J

  I looked at him and smiled. He smiled back and pulled me gently by the neck into his side. We watched the rest of the sunrise in comfortable quiet.

  My fingers on his stomach were half covering a tattoo of a smiling and a frowning mask, the symbol for drama.

  “What’s this one for?” I asked.

  “They’re all just random,” he shrugged.

  “Do you act?” I asked.

  “I’d like to. One day,” he explained. I remembered the movie posters on his walls. “Do you have any?” he asked.

  “No.”

  “Do you want one?”

  I had thought about it. Ashley and Kelly both had tattoos. Even Saffy had gotten a sunflower on her ribs when she turned eighteen. “I was never sure of anything being on my skin forever. I didn’t want to regret it,” I explained. Laurie nodded. “Do you regret any of yours?”

  He laughed a little. “Maybe one or two,” he answered.

  He was rubbing my arm, looking at the pale pink marks. I automatically put my hand over them. “They’re just deep scratches,” I explained. He lifted my arm up and pressed his lips there. I eyed him questioningly. “Cheesy,” I teased him.

  A couple of hikers came up behind us, chatting loudly about the previous night’s episode of the latest hot show. “Shall we?” he asked, reaching for my hand. I took it.

  “Oh my god,” one of them said. “You’re Laurie Siler.”

  “Yeah, hey,” he said, stopping for them. The lady was already pulling out her phone. The other lady looked at me like she was trying to make me out. I smiled at her, awkwardly.

  “Are you Talia Shaw?” She got it. I nodded.

  “Can we have a photo?” the first lady said, coming up beside us. “Catherine, get in,” she said to her friend. Catherine came up beside me and hovered there.

  “Hi,” I greeted her.

  “You’re so beautiful,” she said, kindly. I thanked her.

  “I can’t reach,” the woman with the phone couldn’t get all of us in.

  “May I?” Laurie offered, reaching for the phone. She handed it over and he used his longer arms to get us all in the photo. “Cheese,” he said as he took the shot.

  “Thank you,” Catherine said.

  The other lady took back her camera and asked, “Are you two dating?”

  Laurie laughed a little, always so at ease. “Nah, we’re just good friends.” They all looked at me for confirmation and I smiled and nodded. Laurie excused us and we went on our way.

  “I hope you don’t mind,” Laurie started. “That picture’s probably going to end up all over the place.”

  I shrugged. I was still thinking about the fact that he’d called us ‘good friends’. This was only date number two. I couldn’t expect more than that, could I? Maybe he was just trying to keep it quiet. That’s what people do here, don’t they? In Hollywood. Or what I had thought were dates were just friendly ‘hangs’.

  “What’s going on in there?” he asked, he dropped a heavy hand on top of my head and then wrapped his arm around me.

  “Nothing,” I lied.

  “Oh my god, a snake!” he yelled and tightly grabbed onto me. I screamed and lifted up my feet as I searched for it. I was spinning around in circles when I heard his laughing beside me. I pushed him heartily.

  “Why would you do that?” I yelled. He bent over, holding his stomach. I couldn’t help but laugh with him. “Jerk,” I kept walking. He caught up.

  We got back to his car where we’d left our phones. I turned mine on to three messages, each one more aggressive than the last. I groaned. “What is it?” Laurie asked.

  “My manager needs me to choose a show. For a performance,” I explained.

  “That’s great,” Laurie put a hand on my knee. He looked at my expression. The nausea returned. “Or not?”

  “I don’t want to do it,” I said, honestly.

  “Why not?” he asked, patiently.

  “It’ll be the first time I’ve performed.” His looked questioningly at me. “By myself,” I clarified.

  “Oh. Do you get stage fright?”

  “I don’t know. I’m usually off to the side. No one paid me much attention.”

  “I doubt that.”

  “It’s true. You should’ve seen Kelly and Ashley. They were incredible on stage. You couldn’t take your eyes off them. They loved it so much.” He nodded. He let me sit with that for a moment, remembering them like that.

  “You didn’t think you’d eventually have to perform?”

  “I thought I’d deliver the album and they’d send me home and this would all be just a strange blip…”

  “Why would you think that?”

  “Because how often does something like this happen? And, why should it happen to me after everything?”

  “Why not you?” he asked, earnestly. I looked away, willing myself not to get upset. “Talia?”

  I turned back. “I’m sorry. I know it was a long time ago.”

  “But it wasn’t though, was it? It was only a few months. You’re allowed to still be grieving.”

  “Am I? Because with all of these things happening, I feel like I am supposed to be grateful.”

  “I don’t think there is any right way of dealing with this. It’s a strange situation. No matter the circumstances. It never really stops being strange,” he insisted.

  I took a breath. “That’s a relief.”

  “Is it?”

  “Not really,” I answered with a smile. He laughed.

  “Go with Fallon,” he suggested. “He’s the friendliest, I’d say.”

  “Is he?”

  “Definitely.”

  I typed my answer back to Manny and got a near immediate thumbs up.

  “Ice cream?” he asked.

  I whipped my head back to him. “We just hiked.”

  “Froyo?”

  “It’s just as bad,” I answered.

  He laughed a little. “Ice cream it is then.”

  He drove us to a little place on Sunset Boulevard. It was empty of patrons and the shopkeeper was a much older woman who told us she made all of it herself. The ice cream was delicious and the best idea despite the time of morning.

  We talked about the places we’d go for ice cream as a kid. I told him about my very first job scooping ice cream after school.

  His phone beeped. I didn’t look at the screen but he said, “My sister. She’s in town visiting but she’s decided to go to San Francisco before she goes home. She wants to say bye.”

  “Right now?” I asked.

  He nodded.

  “Well, I can get home. You should go say bye.”

  “I just told her to come here. Is that okay?” he asked.

  “Of course,” I shrugged. He wanted me to meet his sister? Already? Or was it just the most convenient moment for them to say bye?

  She showed up after we’d finished, all long dark hair, and beautiful skin. She looked a lot like Laurie, although taller with sharper features. Her eyes, however, were just as kind as her brother’s.

  She hugged me before Laurie. “It is so nice to meet you.”

  “Nice to meet you,” I responded.

  “Rooney is on break from University,” he explained.

  “What are you studying?” I asked.

  “Ancient History. Egyptian,” she explained.

  “So cool.”

  Her friends were waiting in the car. “I’m so sorry, but they want to drive up.”

  “You’re leaving now?” Laurie asked.

  “That’s why I’ve come to ruin your date.”

  I shook my head. “Not at all.”

  She hugged him.

  “You won’t come back to LA before heading home?” Laurie asked her as they broke apart.

  “Just the airport,” she answered.

  “I know we’ve only just met,” she said as she hugged me again. “I really love your music.”

  “Thank you,” I answered. I couldn’t seem to get over how nice it wa
s to hear that people were enjoying my music. “Have a good trip.”

  “I will. Thanks, Talia. Bye, brother!” she said before she headed to her car.

  “She’s gorgeous,” I said as we waved the car off.

  “She got all the looks,” he answered. I scoffed. “Come on. Let’s go driving.”

  He grabbed my hand and pulled me from the booth back to the car.

  Laurie drove fast. The windows were down and the wind whipped my hair. I couldn’t hear the radio, but he could.

  “Hey,” he said, turning up the volume. “This is your song!”

  I hadn’t been listening to the radio. It was the first time I’d heard one of my songs this way. Laurie bopped his head along to Sails, tapping on the steering wheel. He even sang a few of the lyrics.

  “You like it?”

  “Are you crazy? It’s fantastic!” My heart soared a little. Cole never cared about my music at all. Laurie genuinely seemed to like it. I just watched him as the song played. Toward the end of it, he looked at me, surprised to find me staring. “What?” he asked with a smile. I just shook my head.

  “What?” he asked again.

  I just wanted him to know. I hoped it wouldn’t scare him. “I like you so much.”

  He smiled wide. He put his hand back on my knee. “I like you so much, too,” he answered. That wasn’t the reason I said it, to have him say it back, but I was ecstatic to hear it. He squeezed my knee and put his eyes back on the road. I looked back out the window with a smile I couldn’t and didn’t want to hide.

  I realised he was driving me home. “We’re not doing breakfast?” I asked.

  “I have an appointment,” Laurie explained.

  “Oh, what kind of appointment?” I asked.

  “Just work stuff. You know.” I nodded. He was busy. Much busier than me, I was sure. I couldn’t expect endless amounts of his time. He turned up my street and pulled into my driveway.

  “I’ll see you later?” I asked. He nodded and smiled. I leaned in and kissed his cheek. I got out and started walking toward my door.

  “Shaw?” he called out. I turned back around, smiling at the nickname. “What are you doing tomorrow?”

  “Nothing,” I answered.

  “Will you go to dinner with me?” he asked. Including Cole, any time anyone had asked me out, they had said something along the lines of ‘wanna hang out?’ Maybe it was all unfamiliar to me or maybe it was the accent but the way Laurie spoke to me felt so romantic.

  “Of course,” I answered. He smiled. I kept walking.

  I got to my door and turned back. He was gone.

  * * *

  Jimmy Fallon just happened to have a guest drop out and Manny got me booked to appear on his show that weekend.

  “But, the train takes three days?” I said, like he was crazy.

  “We’re going to need to you to fly,” he said, carefully.

  “I can’t do that,” I said, firmly. My heart beat a little at just the thought of it.

  “It’s a full size plane going over land. We’ve already looked at the weather forecast and it is extremely unlikely that you’ll encounter any bad weather,” he explained.

  “No. I can’t.”

  He took a breath, becoming impatient. “Talia, they’ve already announced your appearance. If you back out now, it would make for a really bad relationship with these guys. And you’re only just starting out. You need to maintain these relationships.”

  “Why did you book me on this weekend? You know I can’t fly,” I argued, getting upset.

  “The next available timeslot was too far away. We had hoped that you could deal with it this one time.”

  I didn’t say anything. I wanted to argue. I wanted to figure out a way to get there in time without a plane but there was none.

  “Talia,” Manny said. It sounded pleading.

  “Okay,” I said. And immediately regretted it. It had occurred to me over the course of the cruise to Los Angeles, that I couldn’t avoid planes forever. And, I knew the likelihood of getting into a plane crash, another one, was so low, much lower than a car crash and I’d been doing plenty of driving. I had planned on trying to fly again. Just not that soon.

  I spent the next day doing all the little things that Ari had told me were necessary in preparation for the talk show. I’d trained, had a facial and body scrub, manicure, pedicure and even a spray tan though I had been spending a lot of time by the pool it didn’t seem necessary. I thought I’d be keeping busy and wouldn’t have to think about the plane. But, all I was doing was thinking.

  I was so busy packing and stressing, I had almost forgotten about my date with Laurie. He was the perfect way to get my mind off the trip, I thought. I only had twenty minutes to get ready. He’d given me no indication of where we were going so I grabbed the nearest thing to me. I had seconds to spare when he knocked on my door. I wore a short black lace cocktail dress and black strappy heels. “Shaw,” he said, as I stepped out, looking me over. “What do you think you’re doing in a dress like that?” Maybe it was a little too short. Laurie wore a blue button down to match his eyes with a black jacket and black jeans.

  “Am I overdressed?” I asked.

  “You’re perfect,” he assured me, wrapping his arms around me and picking me up for a kiss. He tasted like sweet mint. He set me down and walked me to the car and opened the door for me.

  “Where are we going?” I asked, as he drove us through town.

  “You’ll see.” We were driving out of LA. He was asking me about my day and the New York trip, trying to distract me. The suburbs gave way to desert.

  “Are you planning on killing me, Laurie?”

  “Says you with your legs out like this?” He gripped my thigh. I laughed. We turned off the highway and followed this road along to another suburb. He parked us in front of a big warehouse with a neon sign overhead claiming it as ‘Roland Roller Rink’.

  “Definitely overdressed,” I said, gleefully.

  “You like to skate?” he asked.

  I was already out of the car and rushing toward the entrance. Laurie followed me.

  Inside the warehouse was a perfectly round timber floored rink holding a few families and a couple of couples. It was surrounded on both sides by box seating. There was a kiosk and a few arcade games being played by some older kids. They were playing ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)’. I gripped Laurie’s arm. “I love this song,” I told him.

  “Annie Lennox. She’s a classic,” he agreed.

  He paid for our skates and helped me put mine on when the laces got tangled. We got onto the rink and I realised how long it had been since I’d done any kind of skating. I held onto the edge. Laurie casually skated by me. “What’s going on?” he asked, looking down at my skates as if he’d done them up wrong.

  “Just getting my feet,” I claimed. I started to skate, one hand still on the edge.

  “What are you scared of?” he asked. My expression must’ve tipped him off.

  “Falling. Pain. Things in that area.”

  He laughed a little. “You’ll remember how it goes. Let go of the edge.” He held out his hand. I took a breath and grabbed Laurie’s hands with both of mine. He skated backwards, pulling me along.

  “Show off,” I teased. He was right. I was remembering how. He let go of one of my hands and skated along beside me.

  “You got it,” he praised. We went round and round, listening as the 80’s hits kept coming. ‘Take on Me,’ ‘Tainted Love’ and ‘Careless Whisper.’

  “How’d you find this place?” I asked.

  “A friend,” he answered. What kind of friend, I wondered, then told myself to stop. I’d told my mother not to judge Laurie by what the press had put out about him but I had been doing that all along.

  Laurie was skating circles around me. He started singing to me, giving me his best George Michael. I cracked up, almost losing my balance. He grabbed me around the ribs and steadied me, moving us both to the edge of the rink. The s
ong changed to ‘Every Breath You Take.’

  “Good song,” I said, again. He stood over me, his arms like a barrier around me. He was so tall and handsome as hell. I felt breathless as he looked down at me with those intensely green eyes.

  “Great song,” he replied. Then he kissed me, sweetly. We made out like teenagers against the edge of the rink for almost the whole song. I wrapped my arms around his neck and stood up a little higher on the wheels, trying not to lose my balance.

  He smiled against my lips, and then turned around.

  A little girl stood beside her mother. They must have tapped on his shoulder. “Excuse me?” she asked. She wanted to hold onto the edge as she went around. “Sorry,” I offered as Laurie pulled me away and let them through.

  We skated some more, round and round like there was nothing else in the world to do. Laurie skated backwards, in skillful circles, dancing to the music playing over the speakers, making me laugh. He came up behind me, held onto me and moved us forward. I lost my balance and fell, taking him down with me. We cracked up on the dance floor as people offered to help us up. We got ourselves up and decided we were done.

  As we stepped off the rink, the same little girl and her mother were waiting. “Hi,” Laurie said, brightly.

  The little girl was looking at me. “Are you Talia Shaw?” she asked.

  I knelt down to her level. “Yes, I am. What’s your name?”

  “Mira,” she said.

  “She just adores you,” her mother offered. “Could we have a photo?”

  “Of course,” I agreed.

  “Can I take it for you?” Laurie asked.

  “Thank you,” the mother said, handing over the phone.

  “Ready?” he asked. The mother knelt too. I put my around Mira and we smiled. “Now, a silly one,” Laurie suggested. Mira laughed. We all pulled silly faces.

  “Thank you,” the mother said again, taking back her phone.

  “You’re very welcome. Have a lovely evening,” he said. Ever the gentleman, even the mother was swooning.

  “Bye Mira. Nice to meet you,” I said, giving her a hug. Her mother ushered her away. Laurie and I sat down to take off our skates. I struggled with my laces again and Laurie got back down onto his knees to help me. I couldn’t help staring at him. “What?” he asked, though it sounded more like woh.