Relatively Famous

by Jessica Park

  “Wow,” Violet said. “Talk about monumental news, huh?”

  The doorbell rang, and Violet hopped up to see who it was. She returned with Nathan.

  “Oh, baby brother, you brought me my new phones!” Kayla reached her hand out.

  Nathan shot his sister an irritated look and gave her the phone. “I’m a year older than you.”

  “Whatever. You’re just so immature that I keep forgetting.”

  “I’m so glad I showed up to be abused by a tyrannical princess.” He looked down at Dani. “Hey, Dani. Hope the girls haven’t corrupted you too much yet. Oh, God, Kayla, what are you doing to her?” He groaned. “There was nothing wrong with her hair, and now you’ve got her wearing that rat’s nest on her head. Leave the poor girl alone. She doesn’t need all that junk. She looks good the way she is.”

  “This, coming from a boy with the fashion sense of David Arquette?”

  “That’s my cue to leave. Have a good time, Dani.” Nathan turned and let himself out the front door.

  “Someone’s got hearts in his eyes,” Chelsea sang.

  “What do you mean?” Dani asked.

  “Please. He totally wants you,” Violet said.

  “He does not. He’s just being nice.” Embarrassed, Dani changed the subject. “So, I have to ask you guys a question. I don’t mean to sound stupid, but why do the paparazzi photograph you? I mean, you’re not really celebrities, right?”

  “Honey,” Kayla said with an theatrical flair in her voice, “we’re practically royalty out here! Of course they want our picture.”

  “But…why?” Dani asked.

  “Because we’re rich,” Chelsea said unapologetically. “Or rather, our parents are rich. Very rich. And that makes us famous. Kay’s mom is an ex-supermodel, and her dad is a highly respected film producer, so she is the daughter of two legitimate celebrities.”

  “We’re all basically spoiled socialites,” Violet explained and then popped a bite of yellowtail sushi into her mouth. “Things could be worse.”

  “I love it,” Kayla said unabashedly. “The more times I get my picture taken, the better. And don’t forget that I’m on Shorelines,” Kayla added. “I’m an actress.”

  Chelsea rolled her eyes. “You’re the coffee girl on a soap opera, Kayla! You’re on, like, once a month! Don’t count your Oscars just yet, darling.”

  “So? That’s just for now. I’m sure my dad will cast me in something when he finds the right part for me.”

  “Kayla, have our fathers ever worked together?” Dani asked.

  Chelsea did her best to suppress a smile, and Violet gave her a friendly nudge to shut her up.

  Kayla cleared her throat. “No, they haven’t worked together. Your father has his niche, and my father has his. And I’m guessing that never the two shall meet.”

  “Mark’s not that bad.” Dani suddenly felt surprisingly protective of her father.

  “No, not at all.” Kayla attempted to backpedal. “I just mean that he is strictly known as an action star, which is fine. It’s just that my father works with …well, different people. Have you even seen your father’s movies?”

  “Well, yeah.” Dani understood Kayla’s point but she didn’t like it. “But,my mother told me that Mark was very good before he started doing action.” Dani stood up to check out her hair in the mirror. “Whoa, look at me!” Dani said, distracted. “I’ve got Victoria’s Secret hair!” The addition of the hairpieces had given Dani beautiful locks that billowed over her shoulders. “Kayla, you’re a hair genius. I might never get used to the paparazzi, but I could definitely get used to this hair.”

  “Hey!” Kayla had stopped bouncing around the room and was glaring in the direction of the foyer. “Where the hell are my shoes? I left them right there. A pair of Roger Viviers don’t just strut their classic selves out of here. Ugh, someone give me their phone. I have to order another pair immediately or I’m going to die!”

  Violet adjusted one of the hairpieces on Dani’s head. “You have to wear this for the premiere tomorrow. And for Jason.” She moved to stand next to Dani. “You don’t have a boyfriend, do you? It’s way too dangerous to be near Jason if you have any hope of being faithful to someone back home.”

  “Nope.” Dani shook her head, admiring her reflection. “No boyfriend back home.”

  Chapter 23

  Jason couldn’t be any hotter. It quite simply was unimaginable that there was another human being roaming the earth whose utter deliciousness could come close to his. Dani was forty-five minutes into her pre-premiere training session with Jason, and she had barely heard any of his exercise instructions. She was in the middle of attempting some sort of newfangled pushup and was balancing on her palms while her upper body wavered on top of an exercise ball. Dani’s arms quivered, and she silently cursed her lack of upper body strength.

  Here she was, working out in the sunshine by Mark’s perfect blue pool and rock waterfall, dressed in a super cute sports bra and skintight workout shorts, and all she could do was struggle to keep up with even the simplest of moves. To top off her humiliation, Jason had shown up early and caught her shaking her stuff to Britney Spears. She cursed Mark’s fantastic sound system that pumped music outside! Dani listened to all kinds of music, but why couldn’t Jason have found her listening to The Red Hot Chili Peppers? His “Dani California” reference hadn’t escaped her. Or maybe a dirty Kid Rock anthem pounding in the background? Anything but Britney! Come on. That’s what you listened to privately when you could lip synch and perform for an invisible audience in your bedroom.

  “Sorry,” Dani said as she fell to her elbows, causing her lower body to roll off the ball. “Are you ready to give up on me yet?” Dani flipped onto her back.

  “Not even close.” Jason lay down on his side next to Dani, and she admired his muscular chest.

  How was it possible for a sixteen-year-old guy to look so perfect? He obviously had some genetic abnormality that made him so freakishly attractive.

  Jason brushed Dani’s sweaty hair off of her cheek. “You’re actually in good shape. Obviously you’ve got a great body. You just need a little toning.”

  Dani lifted herself up and eyed him skeptically. “How can you possibly think I’m in good shape after that terrifically awful set of pushups?”

  “Nah, you’re fine. Those are tough to get the hang of. Come on, let’s do a few crunches.” Jason patted her stomach and then moved by her feet, holding her ankles firmly in his hands, and pushing her legs into a bend. “Hands behind your head, and curl up toward me.”

  Dani figured she could do crunches ‘til the cows came home if she got to stare into Jason’s green eyes the entire time. Countless crunches later, she was still mesmerized by him.

  Jason was staring back at her, watching her move up and down, his lips curled in a supportive smile. “Exhale on the way up. Good.” Jason said. “Okay, that’s enough or you’ll be hurting later.” Dani collapsed back onto the foam mat and stretched her legs out in front of her. “How does that feel?” Jason knelt down next to her and rubbed her stomach with his hand.

  “Good,” Dani managed. “That feels good.” Despite the heat, goose bumps appeared on her arms. “Are we done?”

  “Unfortunately,” he said with a smile. “Where is your dad?”

  “I don’t know. He said he’d be back around five.” Dani pulled off her sneakers, praying her sweaty feet were not emitting any toxic odors that might make Jason run off.

  “Too bad. I’d like to meet him.” His hand was still on her stomach.

  “Um, so, what about your parents? What are they like?” she asked, trying not to pay attention to his distracting touch.

  “From the little I know about them, they’re not earning any parent of the year awards. My father is gone most of the time, either for baseball games, training camp, publicity appearances, handling endorsement deals. That sort of thing. And my mother, the ultimate stereotype of a trophy wife, is right along with him, smiling and pa
tting his back. When they are home, it’s only for a few days at a time.” Jason shrugged. “But there are perks to having the house to myself and not having parents on my case all the time.” A wry grin spread across his face. “You know what, Miss Dani California?”

  Dani laughed. “What, Mr. Jason Young?”

  “I can think of one more thing we need to do,” he said, not trying to hide the glint in his eye.

  “What’s that?”

  Jason took Dani’s hands in his and pulled her to a stand. Before Dani knew what was happening, Jason had scooped her up in his arms and was heading toward the pool. “Actually, I can think of two more things.”

  “Jason, what are you doing?” She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. “No, way, Jason! Don’t!” she begged halfheartedly.

  “You can’t stop me now,” he said as he took a few running steps and jumped into the crystal water with her.

  Dani held on to Jason as she went under the surface and felt his arms tighten around her as he pushed his feet off of the bottom and sent them back up for air. Jason tossed his dark hair out of his eyes as he pulled Dani to shallower water, her body still cradled in his arms. “You’re crazy,” she teased. Jason set her down on the steps that descended into the pool and moved to kneel on a lower step, facing her.

  “That’s what they tell me.” He splashed her playfully.

  “So that was one thing. What’s the second?” she asked flirtatiously.

  “Oh, well, the second thing,” he said with mock seriousness, “is very important. It’s something that you really can’t go without.” He placed his hands on Dani’s legs and pulled himself closer. “Or maybe it’s just something I can’t go without. I guess we’ll see.”

  “And that is…?”

  “Something I’ve been wanting to do from the moment I saw you,”

  Dani forced herself to breath as Jason slid one hand slowly up her back until it rested on the back of her neck. He leaned in, brushed his lips against her cheek, and whispered in her ear. “This.” He moved his mouth along her jaw line, kissing her softly. Dani turned her head to meet his mouth, but he was working his way down to her neck. Dani rested her hands on his biceps and tilted her head back, momentarily delirious while she enjoyed the feel of his kisses. He kissed her neck confidently and firmly and just when she thought she might fall into a permanent state of bliss, Jason’s mouth found hers.

  Dani might not have kissed that many boys before, but she knew enough to appreciate that Jason was good. Gentle yet firm, light kisses interspersed with stronger, deeper ones. She had to will herself to keep kissing him and not break out into a giddy smile. She was making out with the dreamiest, hunkiest, yummiest, most kissable…

  “I should probably go,” he whispered in her ear.

  “Huh?” Dani opened her eyes and shook herself out of her kissing stupor. “Yes. Absolutely. I was just about to say that. You should probably go.”

  “You were not going to say that,” he said, calling her on her lie.

  “Okay, fine, you’re right.” This time Dani splashed him. “But I have to get ready for tonight anyway.”

  Jason took her hand and helped her up from the steps of the pool. “I wish you were going to be here longer.”

  “Yeah, I know.” She unconsciously raised her fingers to her lips. “But I’m glad we had today together.”

  “Bye, Dani.” Jason gave her one last quick kiss and then walked past the pool toward the path that would lead him to the side of Mark’s house and out of her life. She quickly grabbed her phone off of a small table and flipped it open, aiming at Jason. This must be the reason they built cameras into cell phones, she thought as she admired Jason’s backside.

  Without warning, Jason turned around and caught her with the phone raised out in front of her. “Are you taking a picture of my ass?” He flashed her his sexy grin.

  “No.” Dani held his look with her eyes. “Yes.”

  Jason laughed. “You want me to hold still for a second?”

  “Yes.” Dani aimed and snapped the perfect shot. Sam would flip out when Dani sent this to her. “Got it. You can go now.”

  When Dani was sure he was out of hearing distance, she let out a yell and cannonballed into the pool. She swam the length of the pool underwater and emerged at the far end. She leaned her head against the edge of the pool, closed her eyes, and replayed her steamy interlude with Jason for the first of what she knew would be a thousand times. God, was he adorable! And the way he’d been kissing her neck had been so eager and sensuous. Dani wasn’t in the habit of making out with guys she barely knew, but she’d only had one shot with Jason, she reasoned, so she had to make the most of it. And she didn’t regret it one bit.

  Her phone beeped, and Dani got out of the water to check it. There was one text message.

  Nice cannonball.

  Chapter 24

  “Dani, don’t get your hopes up about The Clone Faction,” Mark said through his red-carpet smile. “And by the way, you look very pretty tonight.” He took Dani’s hand and waved at the crowd that was pushing against a metal gate that separated him from his fans. “Christopher, can you hurry things along?”

  Mark’s personal assistant had been simultaneously shuttling Mark and Dani from one spot to another, texting contacts at lightning speed, and coordinating and confirming all of the post-show events through a headset. Multitasking was obviously Christopher’s strength, since he hadn’t broken a sweat yet, and he was just as tightly groomed and organized as ever. “Of course. If you would just give Extra a minute, then you can be done here.”

  Dani felt utterly spoiled and glamorous this evening and didn’t mind playing to the photographers and interviewers. Mark had picked out the perfect dress for her—a long, silky navy dress with a short train—and the stylist had come to the house to do her hair and makeup and to redo the manicure and pedicure she’d just had done last night.

  The noise and blinding camera flashes were daunting, but Dani just followed Mark’s lead as Christopher moved them from one interview to another. The constant calling of her father’s name was beginning to blend into one continuous chant for Mark to turn this way or that way so that each media representative could get a perfect shot.

  “I’m sure the movie is going to be great. We’re going to have fun.” Dani tried to reassure Mark. Her father looked especially handsome in his designer black tux, but she could tell he was nervous. “Thanks for this dress. I’ve never worn anything like it.” Dani looked up at her father, watching the strobe flashes lighting his face.

  “It suits you perfectly, and you make me look good. Oh, excellent, Renna is here. Dani, I want you to meet my agent. Renna Martin, this is my daughter, Danielle McKinley.”

  Dani had met more people than she could remember and shaken so many hands that she’d lost count at this point. All the names and faces were jumbled together. She had been introduced to most of the cast, all the high-ups from the studio, and a few people from Rumble Liquors who were sponsoring the premiere and hocking Vitarum (which was a vile-sounding blend of rum and vitamins designed to prevent a hangover.) But Renna Martin was not someone Dani would forget. The woman’s enormous glasses covered most of her face, and her layered purple outfit hung so low off of her arms that Dani wondered if the woman might take flight at any moment.

  “It’s very nice to meet you, Ms. Martin.” Dani held her hand out, but Renna bypassed the offer of a more formal greeting and threw her arms around Dani, swallowing her with her arms.

  “Darling, I can’t tell you what a pleasure it is to finally meet you. I’ve been hearing about you all week. Your father cannot stop raving about what a gorgeous, intelligent, delightful young lady you are. Mark, you’d better keep an eye on her. With looks like that, a casting agent might snatch her up, and you’ll never see her again! Oh, it’s time to go in. This is your moment, Mark. It’s your night. Enjoy it all.“ Renna put her arm around his waist and rubbed his back supportively, all to the delight of the
photographers. She patted Mark’s cheek like a proud parent. “Let’s go, kids! Christopher! Where’s Christopher?”

  Christopher appeared from behind Renna and extended his arm, showing Mark where to go. “I’ll see you afterwards,” he said and immediately began reprimanding some poor soul on the receiving end of the headset. Christopher’s tone of voice was perfectly warm and calm, but his words caused Dani to turn back and stare at him in horror. “I swear on my dead mother’s grave that I will ruin you and your entire family if you do not get this done.” Christopher paused and casually stared off into the crowd while the recipient of his threats presumably begged for his or her life. “Oh, good. I’m glad you can accommodate Mr. Ocean.” Christopher sounded pleased. “Thank you for your help.” He caught Dani’s eye and gave her a thumbs up as she continued following her father.

  They were ushered to their seats by a pair of serious young men in tuxedos. Mark chatted for a few moments with several stylishly dressed people who all offered their congratulations. The lights began to dim, and Mark, sitting between Dani and Renna, took each of their hands in his. “Here we go. I don’t know what I’d do without my two favorite women by my side.” Dani caught him winking at Renna.

  Dani had to admit she was excited to be here. She was at a celebrity-studded event with her famous father, wearing a sexy gown, and she was going to be a pillar of support for the surprisingly nervous Mark Ocean. The movie couldn’t possibly be that bad.

  Two hours and twelve minutes of meandering plot and inane dialogue later, Dani knew she was wrong. Mark’s character had been cloned so many times that Dani knew even Sam would have been sick of the actor’s face. At one point, there were sixteen Marks, all occupying the screen.

  Dreadful. The movie was undeniably dreadful.

  Dani glanced at Mark. He’d barely moved throughout the film and was still frozen in his seat. What was she going to say to him? There had been some interesting computerized special effects…