“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.”
“I see. If you’re interested, I would love to show you around a little more whenever you have the time. I promise I am not a creep or something.”
I laughed at him again. “From what I just heard you are fairly well-known and I don’t think murdering anyone would be good for your career. Besides, you seem like an ok guy. But then again… so do most serial killers.”
He laughed. “Serial killer? Wow. That is a kind of a big jump from ‘creep.’ However, scout’s honor, I am neither a creep nor a murderer. As far as I know.”
“Good,” I said with a laugh, brushing a piece of stray hair out of my eye nervously.
A few minutes later, the girls came back to the table and Hudson and I had already exchanged numbers by the time they arrived. He seemed trustworthy enough for that much and although I had his number, it didn’t mean anything would come of it. If he didn’t call me, I probably wouldn’t call him, mostly because I was terrible at summoning up the nerve to do it. It was cowardly and resulted in a lot of missed connections and lost opportunities, but I just wasn’t good at making the first move.
During the car ride home, Jade and Mariah poked around to find out what happened between me and Hudson.
“Come on, Chloe,” Jade said as she drove toward the apartment, “the guy was sitting at the table with you when we came back. We know that you guys had to exchange phone numbers. That had to have happened at the minimum.”
“Ok, alright. Fine. He gave me his number, and that’s it. We talked a little bit, but I don’t think I’m ready to go out with anyone yet. You know why I came out to California. I want to get my career started. I need to focus. I don’t need to meet a guy and hook up with him just so my focus can be thrown off.”
“Jeez, Chloe! You make it seem like the guy is asking to marry you or something. He just wants to hang out.” She looked at me in the rearview mirror, her eyes intensely zeroed in on me like she was seeing me for the first time. “I want to ask you something. When was the last
time you went out on a date?”
“Really, Jade? This again?”
“What do you mean, ‘this again?’ I am asking because it is important! When was the last time you were on a date? Was it Mark Taylor? The basketball player at NYU?”
“Maybe.”
She laughed out loud. “Maybe? That was at least two years ago, Chloe! That is ridiculous! How can you go this long without a fucking date?!”
Streetlights cascaded over us as we barreled down the street. “Because I was motivated to graduate, and then after that, I was trying to get my career going. You know, doing things to better my future. That don’t involve a man.”
“Um,” Mariah interjected, hesitantly, “now, I know we just met today, Chloe, so I don’t want you to feel obligated to answer this. But.” A few moments of silence went by as I waited for her to ask her question. “When was the last time you had sex?”
“Excuse me?”
“Sex!” Jade said out loud. “You know. The thing two people do when they are naked in a bedroom. Or sometimes a car. Or maybe an elevator if they can’t wait.”
I laughed and covered my face, embarrassed. “Probably the same amount of time since I’ve been on a date. I mean, I don’t just fuck random guys.”
“Damn it, Chloe,” Jade said, laughing. “Listen, it’s bad enough you went this long without a date, but I can’t fathom that you’ve made it the same amount of time without sex.”
“Shut up, you guys,” I said as they both laughed from the front seats of the car. “If I involve a man in my sex life, they’ll start to expect it all the time, and then they will think we’re in a relationship, and then they will try to control what I do. I don’t have time for it. I just don’t.”
We rode a few minutes in silence until Mariah spoke up. “Chloe has a point. A small one, but she still has a point. I’ve known some men to get extremely clingy once you sleep with them. So, yes, I can relate. But still, there are a lot men out there who don’t mind the ‘no strings attached’ sex.”
“Well, I am not in the mood to play Where’s Waldo for a fuck buddy. That is why I just stayed away from it altogether.”
“Now, this is my opinion, but I think that if Hudson asks you out, you should take him up on his offer. Life is not about work and nothing else. You have to enjoy it, Chloe. And besides, Hudson is cute, and with him being an actor, he just might have some connections,” Jade said over her shoulder.
She pulled into the parking lot. Even though it was late, the beach across the street was scattered with people. The moonlight reflected off the surface of the water, and it was so beautiful it was almost blinding. “Alright. I mean, I’ll think about it… that is, if he asks.”
“Good,” Jade responded, “That’s all I’m saying. Don’t bring it up, but if he asks, then I think you should take him up on his offer. Who knows what it could turn into?”
We’d just walked up to the stairs when Mariah jumped, and pulled her vibrating phone out of her purse. “And that’s my night,” she said with a smile. “My own fuck buddy is calling and I think I’m in that mood. You girls have fun tonight.”
She turned around on her heel and went to her car, then peeled out of the parking lot seconds later.
“Looks like I’ll be spending the evening with my boyfriend,” Jade said, before she winked at me. “That late night TV host I’ve had my eye since we were kids. Hubba hubba Jimmy. Don’t come knocking!”
I laughed and shook my head. “Yeah, thanks for the heads up.”
As soon as we got into the apartment, I went to my room and closed the door. My luggage was still completely unpacked, and the sheets and blankets were still stacked on the mattress. I really needed to start organizing things
I sat down on the mattress, then flopped backward as the fan spun methodically above me. I felt like I was going to nod off, when suddenly, my phone buzzed. It was a text from Hudson.
Hudson: Hey, just wanted to make sure you got home safely. It was good meeting you and I hope we can hang out again… soon.
My thumbs hovered over the screen, typing and then deleting words as I tried to figure out how to respond. Eventually, I just ended up closing the phone without sending a response his way. I didn’t want to seem anxious, so I was going to give it until tomorrow before I responded. As the silence flooded throughout the apartment, I listened carefully and could just make out the hum of the TV in Jade’s room. I suddenly began to feel lonelier than I had in years, locked in the silence of my undecorated, empty new room.
Instead of dwelling on it, though, I took a deep breath, grabbed my phone and decided to send a response to Hudson. Maybe it was time to focus on something other than work for a change.
Chapter 6
Hudson
Chloe: Yes, I am home. It was good meeting you, too. Maybe we can hang out sometime?
Me: That would be cool. Just let me know when you are free, and we will go from there.
Chloe: Ok. Goodnight.
Me: Goodnight.
I slid my phone onto my nightstand and folded my hands behind my head while I reclined on the bed. There was just something about Chloe that caught my eye. In some ways, she resembled my ex. I didn’t get the vibe from her that she was afraid to say what was on her mind. It was the same thing I loved about Monica, but at the same time, it was what ended up breaking my heart.
Keith warned me tonight not to get involved with anyone, especially since I was getting ready to start filming Love Struck. I was pretty sure his motives were selfish, though. He knew that I was a faithful guy, so if I were actually to get involved with someone, it would mean the end of his ability to use me as bait. But he didn’t have to worry about that. I wasn’t ready to settle down with anyone any time soon.
Despite that, I spent the whole night tossing and turning, thinking about Chloe, before I was finally able to fall asleep. When my phone rang the next morning, I groaned, felling like I had hardly slept at all. It was Keith.
“What’s up, man? So, are you waking up next to one of those hot chicks or what?”
“Really, Keith? You call me at fucking 7 o’clock in the goddamned morning and that’s the first thing you say to me?”
“Oh shit, sorry, man. Good morning. Now, are you waking up next to one of those hot chicks or what?”
I sighed and put my hand on top of my head. “You know what, man, if this isn’t about business, I’m not in the mood. It is early and I need rest.”
“Ok, ok. Sorry. I was just yanking your chain, but the real reason I called was to let you know they are starting to shoot the movie next week Monday. It turns out that they found a director’s assistant, so they can get things going sooner than they thought.”
“Really? Anyone I know?”
“Shit, hell if I know. I can’t remember her name. Toby? Chandra? I don’t know, but supposedly, she is new to the business. I don’t have the specifics and they don’t really matter. You just need to have your ass on set Monday. That gives you tonight and the weekend to hang out and get all of your jitters out of the way, so you can get to work. This is our future and I don’t need you to fuck it up for us.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. I’m going back to sleep. I’ll talk to you later.”
I hung up the phone and tried to go back to sleep, but I couldn’t get Chloe out of my mind. For some reason, her face was etched brightly in the darkness as soon as I closed my eyes. I reached for the phone again and sent her a text message.
Me: Good morning! Hope you slept well. Are you doing anything later tonight? I’d love to hang out with you.
Five minutes had gone by before I got a response from her.
Chloe: Sure, we can hang out.
Me: Good. I can pick you up later today. Around 8 pm?
Chloe: Sounds good. I’ll send you the address later.
Me: Looking forward to seeing you again.
Chloe: Same :)
With a smile, I rested my head back on the pillow. The sunlight trickled through the bl
inds as it rose higher into the sky. I knew that today was going to be a great day.
Chapter 7
Chloe
I stood in front of the mirror, getting dressed for my evening with Hudson. Jade was right next to me, helping me get ready like it was my first date ever. So much time had passed since my last one that it almost felt like it was my first.
“Now, don’t come off as desperate, but if things are going well, run with it. And if he asks you to go back to his place for ‘drinks,’ you’re in girl.”
“I’m not an idiot, Jade. I have done this before. And I’m not sure I want to go home with him on our first date, but I guess we’ll see.”
Jade just laughed at me. “Look at you! Snagging a sexy actor on your first day in LA. You were meant for the ‘best’ coast, I just knew it.”
I winked at her just as I got a text from Hudson, letting me know that he was outside. “Well, he’s here. I guess, wish me luck?”
“You’ll be fine, Chloe. Just relax and be yourself. That’s it. And call me if you need anything, or if he tries anything that doesn’t sit right. Then I’ll show up with my trusty Taser.”
She gave me a hug as I laughed again, and with that, I went outside to meet Hudson. He stood outside of his car, holding the passenger door open for me like a proper gentleman. A single rose was on the seat and I picked it up before I sat down. “Thank you,” I said when he got into the car.
He smiled. “You’re welcome.”
He took me to a restaurant just off the beach. It was a nice seafood place and even though seafood wasn’t my favorite, the food and atmosphere were so beautiful, I was won over immediately. As the waiter disappeared with our order, Hudson gave me a curious smile.
“So, why are you REALLY out here? I mean, I know there is more to it than just wanting a change of scenery.”
The waiter came back and placed our drinks on the table. “Work. Specifically, the movie industry.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. I mean, my heart is in acting, but for now, I’ll settle for something behind the scenes, just so I can learn the intricacies of the business. I’ve always been a performer, but I want to learn how things work behind the camera first.”
Baby and the Biker: The Ghost Riders MC Page 28
