I parked my new car alongside a few others off to the side, ending up between a shiny red Jag and another BMW convertible like mine and got ready to make my hike towards the front door all the while thinking calm thoughts. Anything to keep down the sandwich I’d hastily eaten a few hours before at Trish’s insistence. As she’d said, I didn’t want to get sick or pass out from nerves.
Imagine that little spectacle.
What a way to make a grand Hollywood entrance.
I grabbed my cell phone from the glove compartment and my wallet and stuffed them inside my tiny purse, a gift from Trish.
I slid out the driver’s side, adjusting my top one last time before starting to close the door and hitting the fob, locking the doors before tucking my keys into my jeans pocket.
My car door slammed louder than expected. I winced—what a way to announce my arrival. But at least, no one was really around to witness it, right?
“Hey!”
Damn, I was so not lucky.
I spun at the voice to see a tall and pretty brunette in jeans and a bright blue tank top coming towards me from a few vehicles over. I held tighter to my purse, ready to prove I wasn’t the outsider I appeared to be.
“Uh, hi,” I said quickly, “I’ve got my invite…right here.”
Well, it was there, somewhere. I fumbled through my purse. How could I lose something in a purse this small? I went for my wallet, trying to remember if I’d folded up the invite when I was sitting in the car giving myself a pep talk. Maybe I’d tucked it in my cell phone case? I could just see this girl demanding to know who I was and how I got invited to what was an obvious private party. And me without a recent photo of me and Dad. Shit. I knew we should have taken a selfie before I left.
But what would that prove, anyway? It would look like just another teenage girl taking a selfie with a celeb.
Argh.
The pretty brunette smiled and waved a dismissive hand just as I was thinking of going back inside the car and seeing if it had fallen on the floor.
“No need. If you knew the pass code to get by the gates, you’re supposed to be here. I’m Sorche, and you’re—” she gave me a quick once over, scanning my face intently for a couple of seconds, an embarrassed hue darkening her perfectly made-up cheeks. “God, no clue. I’m sorry,” she admitted somewhat sheepishly.
I blushed, even though I figured I’d better get used to that reaction. I held my hand out awkwardly. “I’m Chey Daniels. My dad’s Sean Morrow.”
Technically, I was Chey Daniels-Morrow, but since we moved, Mom had decided to drop the hyphen to make it easier for me to blend in. I was more used to being plain old Daniels than having the Morrow tacked on.
“Oh, he’s hot! I had a crush on him when I was younger. I just loved his last movie,” she said with a big grin as she shook my hand easily and laughed. “Our dads have known each other for years, I think they even share the same trainer,” she rattled on. “You’re new to town, right?”
Wow. Did I look that out of place, or had Dad simply taken out an ad in the Times? “Just got here a few days ago.”
“Cool. Well, welcome to La-La Land.”
“Thanks.”
“What have you done so far?”
“Not much.”
“Well, we’ll have to change that. What’s the story, how long are you in L.A for?”
I caught her looking back over her shoulder, and turned my head a little to see what she was looking at, but I didn’t see anyone.
“For the summer. I just graduated, but I’m taking a gap year...”
“Oh, that’s exciting. Me, too. Or at least, that’s what everyone else calls it. I’m planning on hitting the audition circuit hard. My new agent is hopeful. I had a guest spot on a pilot we shot a few months ago, so, we’ll see...”
“Good luck.”
“Thanks.”
“I was just escaping the chaos out back for a few minutes.” She waved towards the massive double front doors that wouldn’t be out of place on a castle somewhere. “Let me be your unofficial tour guide tonight.”
“Great,” I said as we headed across the driveway towards the house. I took a deep breath before we went inside.
It was surreal as she pulled me through the open giant front door of the house. Immediately, I could hear the mix of loud music drifting towards us, the hum of people talking, and the definite sound of a video game or two being played somewhere nearby, but that noise wasn’t what caught my attention.
If I’d been impressed by Dad’s house, this one was legit straight out of a movie set. Marble floors, a dual curving staircase leading up to the next level, and in front of the staircases, a statue of a man that was beyond life-size. I was almost prepared to look up and see a painted ceiling, but Sorche pulled me deeper into the house before I had a chance to sneak a look.
“Where is everyone?”
“Most people are out back by the pool or in the pool.” She laughed. “There’s some people out by the tennis courts, others are hanging in here escaping the heat, playing video games, eating, hanging out somewhere. Most of the little cliques are holding court in their rooms.”
“Sounds great.”
So far, it wasn’t what I expected from my first Hollywood party, but then again, I was barely thirty seconds into it.
Sorche caught me looking around. “First things first, we need to get you a drink, then I’ll be happy to introduce you to who you need to know.”
Sorche must have sensed my uneasiness; ’course, how could she miss it? I was toying with my purse so much, I’d probably break the strap before we made it outside again.
She pulled me down the hallway, no doubt to keep me from getting lost—or bolting, another strong possibility. This place seriously dwarfed Dad’s.
I peeked into a game room where a couple guys were playing some racing game on the biggest flat screen TV I’d ever seen. It took up almost the entire wall. They didn’t even glance our way.
She took a turn near the end of the hallway into the huge black-and-white kitchen and opened the double-wide stainless steel fridge. “They’ve got soda, they’ve got beer, and somewhere, there’s…” she turned to me as if the thought suddenly struck her. “You’re not one of those wheatgrass and soy milk types, are you?”
She looked horrified as she asked.
“Not fond of soy, and the only wheat I like is in my cereal,” I replied as I leaned against the counter.
“My type of girl.” She grabbed two cans of soda.
Drink in hand, I popped the tab and took a small sip, hoping not to spill something on my new clothes or make an idiot out of myself. My goal for the night was to not draw too much attention. Blending in was a good thing.
“You ready to meet a few people, or do you want to hang out here for a while?”
I glanced around the large kitchen that remained surprisingly empty, given the spread of food on the counters. It looked like a mix of pretty much every food a person could want. Pizzas down one end, sliders, sandwiches, little tacos, several salads were in big bowls spaced in between everything. I could have happily spent the night in the kitchen, munching on a slider and watching the scene outside. It looked like there were a few dozen people out there, having a good time.
Maybe if I actually went outside, I’d be one of them.
“I guess I’m here to meet people.” I gave a small shrug. “Might as well start.”
Just as we were about to walk out of the kitchen, two guys in jeans and T-shirts walked in from the hallway. Their conversation about video games stopped as they saw us. I managed a weak smile, glancing at Sorche.
“Sor! Who’s this?” The taller one of the two said as they headed towards the food, looking at me.
Sor smiled, nudging me forward. “Adam, Brody, this is Chey Daniels. She’s in L.A. for the summer. Chey, meet Adam and Brody.”
“Hi,” the one I assumed was Brody said. He’d nodded when she said the name and smiled at me, a smile that wouldn’t have bee
n out of place in a toothpaste commercial.
“You two want to join us? We’re taking a food break before starting the new Fallout?”
“Thanks, guys, but I’m making sure Chey makes the rounds tonight and gets a chance to meet everyone. Maybe later.”
“Yeah, definitely,” Adam said, looking at me with a grin.
Sorche nodded noncommittally before she pulled me out of the kitchen, onto the first level of the covered patio. It seemed to stretch the length of the house, with a set of steps halfway that led down to the pool area.
I let out a deep breath. I guess that hadn’t gone too bad. I peeked back in and was sure they were watching us as they loaded their plates with pizza.
“You did great, and you don’t look so nervous. So come on…”
I followed her down the long length of the patio, seeing different groups of people sitting at tables talking away. I took a sip of my soda as we walked, and my gaze landed on a group farther down the patio, sort of set off from everyone else. One blonde at the table turned to look in our direction, her expression changing instantly the second she saw us.
Or maybe Sorche?
Whatever it was, she didn’t look happy.
We stopped at a different table to say hello to a couple more people Sorche knew. Two girls around my age and their older brother who was in town visiting. We made a little small talk, standing there, and I couldn’t help but glance back to that table farther down. It looked like the blonde had disappeared, leaving a handful of people behind, including a redhead who seemed busy on her phone, but kept peeking our way, a similar look on her face.
As we walked away from Sor’s friends and towards the steps down to the pool, I glanced back.
“What about that one?” I asked.
Sorche turned her head to see where I meant. “Wow. You really want me to throw you to the sharks so soon?”
“What do you mean?”
“Trust me, you can wait to meet them. Especially…” she trailed off as the redhead looked up from her phone and saw us looking over, instantly shooting us a dirty look I didn’t understand. Maybe it was more aimed at Sorche? There likely was a history there. “Just trust me, you’ve got all summer.”
“Okay,” I agreed, trying to find something to clue me in to what Sorche meant. Other than the dirty look, I didn’t see what made them sharks. ’Course, I was the stereotypical fish out of water, a goldfish suddenly thrown into shark-infested waters. If my tour guide was telling me to forget about them, then I definitely would.
Sorche stepped forward, grabbing my arm gently as she passed and pulling me along, almost as if she wanted to make sure I avoided the temptation of going anywhere near them.
I’d barely stepped out of the shadow of the house when something—make that someone, a rather naked someone—collided with me. I stood there frozen as he righted me, his wet hands cool on my bare skin before he winked and took off running straight towards the pool, giving a loud whoop before dive-bombing to a round of applause and yells of approval from the groups of people poolside.
I winced as the water splashed up in the air at impact. Instinctively, I took a small step back just as the water landed with a solid whoosh at our feet, splattering my sandals and the bottom of my jeans. At least, it hadn’t drenched us. I could have been soaked.
“JT! You ass!” Sorche yelled at him.
JT laughed from the deep end where he treaded water, a huge grin on his face as he looked back and forth between me and Sorche.
She looked at me. “I’m so sorry…”
I stayed back while she marched to the side of the pool, people around her moving out of her way without a word. I had a feeling an angry Sorche might not be a good thing. If a person could have literal steam coming off of them, she would have…easily.
“Get some clothes on. No one wants to see you of all people naked, Justin Thomas.”
She crouched down at the side of the pool, clearly trying to glare at him face to face. I wondered if he was going to try and pull her in, but he didn’t move from where he treaded water several feet away.
“Hey, Sor. Does that mean you’d streak if I grabbed some clothes?” he called, and I could see the mischievous glint in his eyes even from where I stood.
I almost laughed, but looked away just before I caught his gaze.
“Not if you’re here,” she said pointedly, getting to her feet. She let out a sound of frustration before she turned, rolled her eyes, then headed back towards me. “I’m so sorry. He can be such an ass at times.”
She cast a look back over her shoulder where some of the others in the pool were starting to play chicken.
I shrugged, trying to play it off like it was all fine by me. I could feel a few curious gazes directed our way, but I did my best to ignore them. They were probably all wondering what Sorche was going to do. I could see over her shoulder that JT had disappeared from the pool.
“What’s the story with him?” I asked as we walked. A set of stone steps at the other end of the pool looked like it led to a long balcony above, and it appeared that’s where Sorche was headed.
A lopsided smile crossed her face. “JT?” she asked as we started the trek up the stairs.
It seemed like there were twenty or thirty steps, a number that almost seemed to grow as we climbed.
“The streaker?” I asked as we reached the top and found a long stone balcony overlooking the pool below. Half a dozen empty loungers were scattered around. A few people stood at the far end, leaning over the railing and shouting down to the partiers below.
“That’s him. He’s harmless, really. My guess is he’s broken his twelve days of sobriety.” She sighed as she stopped to sit down onto an empty lounger, and I did the same, glancing towards the pool, but I didn’t see the dark-haired guy anywhere. Maybe she’d scared him off.
Suddenly, I found myself wondering if my self-imposed thirty minutes were up yet. Sorche was nice and all, but looking around me, I was so in over my head. I mean, the girl in the pink bikini who’d just dived into the pool before we climbed those stairs? I’m sure she was in the movie I saw on the flight out here.
“So how long have you been in town again?” Sorche angled herself to face me.
“About three days.”
She laughed in amazement. “Wow, you are a complete newbie. What have you done so far?”
“Unpacked.” A shy laugh escaped me, and I tucked a couple of strands of hair behind my ear.
I could see a few people by the pool glance over at us, no doubt trying to figure out who the heck I was and why I was hanging around Sorche. Easy to see she belonged in a place like this. She was completely confident in herself; no doubt if she’d been the one to bump into a naked JT, she probably would have simply shoved him into the pool and spun around to get herself another drink. I’d opted for the deer in the headlights look. Or at least, it sure felt like I had.
“And you’ve shopped. I saw those sandals the other day.” She leaned over and took a closer look at them.
I nodded absently. “Just picked them up today. My dad’s assistant Trish took me out this afternoon. I kinda didn’t think I’d blend in too well with what I brought with me.”
I didn’t see a paint-splattered tank top from when we’d repainted the kitchen and matching denim cutoffs blending in easily around here.
“You’d be fine. Really.”
Why did her words make me feel like I’d just passed some sort of initiation? Or maybe that’s what JT had been before? See how the new girl deals with nudity—if she doesn’t freak out or run away screaming, she’s certifiably cool and can stick around. Otherwise, there’s the door. See ya. Maybe I’d learn a secret handshake now that I was apparently part of the ‘in-crowd.’
One step at a time, Chey, I reminded myself.
“So you’re here for the whole summer, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Great.” She actually sounded enthused about that little fact, and I wondered if I had mad
e my first L.A. friend.
“C’mon…” She jumped up and headed to the railing. “Let’s see, who do you need to know…” She moved her soda down on the stone rail, walking a couple feet ahead so we were more towards the middle of the pool. “Okay, girl in the green bikini is Fiona. She can be nice on her own, but when she’s with the entourage…”
“Entourage?” Somehow, I didn’t think she meant the old TV show.
Cruel Summer Page 6
