Forever in Hollywood

by Jovana Rodolakis

  “You don’t have to leave because I came back. I’m going to sleep.” Jocelyn looked away flushed.

  “Unfortunately, I do. My good man John here has left his car at my flat, insisting he take mine as to better impress you with. Therefore, without him, I have no ride home,” he murmured into my neck. I gasped, bit my lip, and ducked into Andrew’s shoulder when I realized how loud it was. “That is, unless Marissa here is no longer embarrassed to be seen with me. Then I could ride in with her tomorrow morning.”

  I nodded, afraid to trust my voice.

  “Well then.” He sat up and directed his attention to his friend. “I’ll see you tomorrow, man.”

  John turned his attention to Jocelyn. “Are you sure you want to stay here with them tonight?”

  “I’m going to have to. Thank God I sleep soundly.” She smiled.

  I pulled the comforter over my head to hide my embarrassment. Laughter came from around the room. A moment later the door slammed and Jocelyn whispered goodnight. Andrew returned her wishes, but I stayed hidden and silent.

  ****

  Andrew caressed my hand, moving up my arm under the blanket. I gazed at him and melted into his provocative smile. Next thing I knew his nose grazed my chin. I felt his breath against the hairs on the back of my neck. It tickled and excited me at the same time. His hand moved up my arm, over my collarbone and back down the middle of my chest. My breathing caught as my lungs forgot how to function.

  He traced under my breast with a feather soft touch before continuing his journey south. It wasn’t until his hand came to rest between my thighs that I became fully awake and acutely aware of my hormones.

  “Andrew,” I breathed. “Jocelyn is sleeping in the same room. Stop, you’re driving me crazy.”

  “Bathroom?”

  I barely had a chance to nod agreement before my face was covered with his kisses. In one gentle motion, he scooped me into his arms. I wrapped my legs around his hips and he carried me into the bathroom.

  The door wasn’t even closed before we started tearing and clawing at each other’s clothes with a raw animalistic need.

  This time he wasn’t gentle when he took me. With my hands pinned over my head against the bathroom wall, I’m almost certain I screamed far too loud.

  I awoke some time later to Andrew shaking me, unaware if it was still night or daytime.

  “Hey, wake up.”

  I blinked but the darkness in the room swallowed even the shadows. “What’s the point?” I think I grumbled as I wiggled my body closer to Andrew for warmth.

  “Wake up, love. We have a mess to clean up.”

  His warmth escaped me as he left my side and fumbled around in the darkness.

  There was a dull thud followed by a string of British curses. My tranquil state of mind was becoming slightly annoyed by being disturbed. I wanted to relax and revel in the exhaustion Andrew caused. A red glow seeped through my closed eyelids. The left side of my body wasn’t the same temperature as my right. Something was off, the bed was incredibly cold and…

  “Why am I all wet?” There was a shallow, half-inch puddle of water covering the entire bathroom floor.

  “I believe we may have broken the toilet.” He grinned at me.

  “What?” Comprehension set in. I got off the floor where I’d been snuggled into Andrew’s chest. The bottom of my hair clung to my back. “Ugh, I need a shower.” I lifted one foot to disconnect as much of myself from the water as possible. Andrew stood in front of me now. I wrapped my arms around his sculpted waist. “Would you like to join me?”

  A large grin from ear-to-ear surfaced across his face. “Would love to.”

  After we’d showered off all of the toilet water, my sense of humor emerged. I laughed hysterically. “I can’t believe we broke the toilet. What am I going to tell the office? That their toilet isn’t wild sex-proof?”

  “The poor ol’ girl couldn’t handle our lust. I’d love it if you told them that. But please, let me be present to see the guy’s face when you give him the bad news.” He brushed a strand of wet hair from my face, kissed my forehead lightly and then stepped out of the shower onto the wet tile. “I completely forgot I have to make a quick stop at my agent’s today, so I can’t stay to watch the glorious show, but I’ll see you on-set later.” He picked up his sopping pants and wrung the water out with the same hands that ever so lightly teased me the night before causing my lungs to cease working. “In any case, I should go before she wakes.”

  “I thought John had your car?”

  Disappointment creased his brow. He shook his head. “Bollocks, I’ll have to hail a cab.”

  I was looking forward to a few extra minutes with him. He grabbed the towel from my hands and wrapped it around my shoulders. Gently patting my back dry, he sighed. “What are we going to do?”

  The question was obviously rhetorical. He wouldn’t expect an answer yet he searched for one in my eyes.

  I looked down at his bare chest and then away. That question was also on my mind a lot these days. Could I seriously be falling in love with someone that I unequivocally knew had no chance of working out? The idea of such a thing tormented me from dawn till dusk.

  ****

  The hotel manager was very wary about how the toilet came loose from the base and wanted to charge me for damages.

  I stood in my bathroom with the young gentleman who manned the front desk, an older manager, and a maintenance man bent over inspecting the damaged property. “How in the world could a girl break a toilet? It isn’t like I flushed so many tampons down it that it clogged the thing.” My acting skills came in handy here as I gave them an innocent wide-eyed look.

  After mention of the word tampon to the group of male-only hotel employees, I knew I’d won the battle. Finally, they agreed it was a faulty problem with the toilet and transferred me to a different room.

  ****

  Apparently the time for us to become bold with our affair was upon us. Or so Andrew decided when he strolled onto the set and placed a lingering kiss on my lips that sent a ripple of gooseflesh up my arms. I almost dropped the creamer I was pouring into my coffee. Was that his tongue? He pulled away and flashed that cocky dimpled grin I loved so much.

  “I’ve got a surprise for you tonight,” he whispered, the scent of coffee lingered on his breath. My chest heaved in the tight corset, and my lungs ached for more oxygen.

  “Surprise? What kind of surprise?” My mouth was poised for more questions.

  “We’re going someplace special.”

  “What? Where?”

  He walked away without answering.

  Unreasonable panic fluttered over me, someplace? What did some place mean and why was it a surprise? Did I need to dress up? Why couldn’t he be a bit less cryptic? I was seconds from chasing after him, when I caught sight of the group of background actors at the crafty table along with other familiar faces looking my way, including Billy, who hadn’t spoken to me since Vegas. Trying to keep a steady hand, I set down the creamer and carefully removed myself from the room and went in the opposite direction Andrew took.

  I repeated my concerns of this someplace to Jocelyn that evening as I rummaged through my dwindling clean wardrobe. I should have made time to do laundry, but between my friend and Andrew—well mostly Andrew—consuming my time it hadn’t seemed important enough. I mean come on…great sex or clean clothes? It seemed like a no-brainer to me, until I needed an outfit for someplace special.

  I threw up my hands in exasperation. “I give up! I’ll just go naked.”

  “Somehow, I don’t think he would mind that,” Jocelyn commented. “Black shirt, nice pants, works for everything remember?”

  “Right.” Somehow, that still seemed too plain for someplace special.

  “Throw on those studded sex kitten heels and you’re set.” She pointed to a pair of dangerously high ocean blue heels I brought but seldom wore. “Man I’m hungry.”

  In response, my stomach growled. “I should sta
y.” It was clear; I hopefully assumed Andrew would take me somewhere to eat and disregarded my friend’s need for basic sustenance.

  “No, that’s crazy. Besides, I kind of need a night away from your manic tendencies.”

  I’d initially feared she was making up an excuse for me so I could be happy and spend more time with Andrew. Come on, me, manic tendencies? Please.

  Okay, so Andrew may bring out the bumbling, nervous idiot in me, and I guess at this vulnerable time in her life my, I hated to admit it, but my manic tendencies would pull on even my oldest friend’s nerves.

  “Talk.” No other words were needed. Andrew and his special place could wait and be damned. The butterflies in my stomach could not wait.

  One lengthy conversation later, I discovered she was being brave for my sake. She really wanted to cry herself to sleep and didn’t feel comfortable doing so with me in the same room. It was a relief to know she could have time to herself to work on her own demons.

  She did thank me for finding the most fucked-up situation to throw my own life into and give her something to divert her attention. I scowled. I was hoping she was letting herself heal this way and not grieving over the loss of that bastard.

  I was slightly more confident by the end of the conversation that she would heal and even maybe get a little excited about her new life in Boston. She was still in high school when I left for college and Raymond started dating her. Because of that, Jocelyn never had the chance to experience some things I consider essential to growing up.

  She’d never been inside a bar or a club before the trip to Vegas. Her husband didn’t like it when other men looked at her, she told me.

  If a man smiled at her in public, he assumed she encouraged it. The rest of her day would be filled with listening to him tell her what vile things that smile meant to the other man. Most of the time it involved thoughts of rape, which I assumed was in fact his personal mindset being projected onto her. She would then be directed to change into something less revealing, and if he didn’t approve of her selection, he would forcibly change her clothes for her. Sometimes he would take a less violent approach to her wardrobe. He simply insulted her body till she found something to hide it well enough. No wonder my beautiful friend had such a lackluster wardrobe.

  There would be no more of that; she would wear whatever she liked now. If she chose to dress a little provocative to attract attention, she would certainly be encouraged to do so—by me. If she wanted to lounge around in sweats and an old T-shirt she could.

  ****

  “I’m sorry about that,” I said as I gently closed the door to the hotel. “We needed to have that talk. You’re a real gentleman for waiting. Now, are you going to tell me where we’re going?” I tried for a seductive smile, but I think I failed. The weight of the conversation with Jocelyn wore heavy on my heart.

  “In due time. You must learn to be patient, love.” He placed a light kiss on the tip of my nose.

  Someplace special turned out to be his house in the hills of Brentwood, with eggplant parmesan served under candlelight.

  The eggplant was a soggy mess that fell apart on my fork, and the pasta crunched slightly between my teeth. It was perfect.

  His house was a typical Hollywood bachelor pad. Set against a mountain, it was built up instead of out. I gawked up at a modern Spanish style three-story home as we pulled into the driveway. There was a two-car garage and a foyer downstairs, the second floor staircase led to an open living room and kitchen combination. There were paint-splatter paintings hanging on neon green walls above an oversized brown leather sofa, but other than that, the décor was fairly sparse.

  I wondered what his bedroom looked like, but tonight wasn’t the night to find out. After dinner and some light conversation, he drove me back to my hotel and waiting friend.

  ****

  Rumors of our embrace at the club spread like wildfire since the night of the incident, but after his very bold demeanor around me, it was no longer a topic of much concern.

  Besides, the shoot was wrapping up, and everyone had more important things to think about than a divorcée sleeping with a very eligible bachelor.

  Production was hectic the final week trying to catch up on our severely behind schedule. We didn’t have time to do anything but eat, sleep, and work. Jocelyn’s interest in coming to set waned, and I didn’t blame her. Half the time, when I got off work, she wasn’t in the hotel.

  My laptop history was filled with job search sites. Yes, I was spying on my friend. We barely had time to talk, so how else was I going to find out what she was up to? The history was encouraging and told me she was accepting the change and would do well in Boston. She was ready to move on.

  I, on the other hand, wasn’t ready to go back to my monotonous life. I enjoyed the stress, long hours at work, and most of all, Andrew. It would all be ending soon, so selfishly I started staying at Andrew’s place and riding to work with him.

  Fourteen hour work days left us too tired to attempt to have sex half of the time. Hell, one night, determined to enjoy each other’s bodies with what little time we had left, we both fell asleep in the middle of foreplay. Simply being in his arms offered the comfort I so longed for with Dan. Andrew’s hands could melt the tension from my body like nothing else.

  We were fortunate enough to both be wrapped early one night and decided to take in a movie. To say I was shocked when Andrew turned into the entrance to the Hollywood Forever Cemetery would be an understatement.

  “They show old movies on the side of the mausoleum,” he explained. Andrew packed a light picnic, and we sat on a camouflaged blanket in the grass surrounded by what could easily be a thousand other people watching an old classic movie.

  It wasn’t without incident though. As we were leaving, several people recognized Andrew and stopped him for pictures and autographs. He humbly obliged, and I disappeared into the crowd on the off chance paparazzi were nearby.

  Chapter Twenty

  Andrew sat on the edge of his bed and watched her rifle through his dirty laundry separating bits and pieces of her clothing into a purple luggage case. Today was the day she would leave him, and he was trying to remain strong.

  It was strange how Marissa changed his life. He wasn’t the same man. When she was around, his chest felt tight, and he had this overwhelming need to touch her. Whether it was something as modest as laying a hand on her shoulder, or in a naked embrace, anything to keep contact between them satisfied him.

  “You could leave a pair of panties, or something for me,” he joked.

  “That’s disgusting, unless you want to wear them, then I’ll leave you a nice clean pair.” She bit the tip of her tongue while smiling in her playful manner. It lightened his mood for a moment.

  “If I agreed to wear them, would you stay?” It was a weak attempt, but he’d already exhausted all other options.

  Every time he tried to speak with her about leaving, she shut down on him. He hated that. One thing he truly loved about her was her openness, and this out-of-character behavior was driving him mad.

  “Andrew, stop. You know I can’t.”

  “You bloody well can. There is no reason you can’t finalize your divorce from here. You don’t owe him anything.” His voice rose in frustration. With her back to him, Marissa’s shoulders slumped and heaved as her head fell into her hands. Andrew regretted saying it, and knew he was the wanker now for making her cry.

  “If I don’t go back, I’ll lose my house, my life savings, my dog. Everything I have is in Boston.”

  Everything he wanted was going back to Boston. He folded his arms around her shoulders and held her tight for comfort, hers as well as his own.

  To his dismay, Marissa asked Anne to drive them to the airport instead of him. He would have to say goodbye hours before she left California. It was evident she meant to make a clean break. She didn’t feel for him the way he did for her, however it was that he felt.

  He kissed her forehead, followed by her beau
tiful eyelids, and landed on her soft pouty lips.

  She pulled away and closed the lid to her luggage. “I have to go now. They’re waiting downstairs.” He brushed a tear away that clung to her eyelashes with his thumb. Never before had he said goodbye to someone like this. Their hands gripped almost painfully tight and side-by-side they walked downstairs. Marissa’s luggage clumsily gripped by his other hand.

  “Let’s go.” Marissa’s voice was flat when she spoke to Jocelyn and Anne.

  Tension hung in the air like an early morning fog. Anne’s morose mood only made the situation worse. She looked as broken up about Marissa leaving as Andrew felt.

  “This is a stupid idea. I don’t understand why you’re leaving,” Anne fumed.

  “I agree,” Andrew said.

  “It’s the responsible thing to do, Andrew, I have to face things and do this right, a clean break. If I hide from it, you know I’ll regret it. Running from one relationship is no way to start a new one.” She spoke to Andrew in a hushed voice.

  She didn’t rise on her toes to kiss him goodbye, she simply pulled her hand from his and walked away. A clean break.

  The ache in his chest intensified with every step she took away from him, so much so that his heart felt like it would burst.

  Back inside, he paused. Everything felt empty without her flitting around. When Marissa was there, his house felt like a home. Now the chaos that filled the paintings on his walls matched the discord in his tortured mind.

  His friends had a pool going about his extracurricular activities. One of Andrew’s friends put money down saying the only reason he was so attracted to her was the fact that she was married. He thought Andrew saw this as an easy way out, at the end of shooting she would leave and return to her husband. She hadn’t told anyone of her divorce, so he didn’t feel it was his place to mention it either.

  Andrew poured himself a glass of whiskey and headed upstairs to drink away his sorrow and the memory of Marissa. It burned going down, which was good, it meant he could still feel.

  Attracting the opposite sex was nothing new. Since the age of twelve when he starred in a hit Disney musical, he’d had girls waiting to show him how much they enjoyed his talent. He’d enjoyed their talents as well, several times per week.