Fame & Consequences

by Reese A. Stephens

  Brody climbs in the driver's seat and we pull off into traffic. “How are you today, Danny?” I ask.

  He looks into the review and scowls. He pretends that he hates when I call him Danny, but I can see that sly smile he gives me. “I’m fine, Sophia.”

  I grin. “Good. Are you coming along with us to Mississippi?” Eli and I are planning to go visit my family soon. I haven’t seen them in over four years. I’m well over due for a visit.

  “Yes, ma’am! Reynolds should be back before we head out.”

  Josh Reynolds, my bodyguard, is off because of an injury to his knee. Brody has been filling his role even though I insisted I didn’t need a bodyguard. My overly protective boyfriend insisted I did, and the great Elijah James Stone always gets his way.

  “I’ll get your door. We shouldn’t have any problems getting you in, though,” Brody says.

  We’ve pulled to the back entrance of the building. He helps me out and escorts me inside. A small woman with blonde hair meets us in the long hall just inside of the doorway.

  “Hi, I’m Anna, follow me, and I’ll take you to Mr. Stone’s dressing room.” She shakes my hand then abruptly turns and heads off toward Elijah. I quicken my steps to keep up with her.

  She opens the door where Hutch is stationed on the outside, and ushers me in, leaving the guys in their guard post. “Hey, baby,” Elijah says as he stands to greet me. He kisses my cheek, then thanks the girl for her help. She leaves us, and Elijah turns his attention back to me.

  “Your change of clothes is hanging up. I had them press it for you.”

  “Thanks, you didn’t have to do that,” I tell him. He locks the door so I can change then sits on the sofa with his hands behind his head.

  I stare at him for a moment and laugh. “Are you expecting a show?”

  He winks. “Would you like music?”

  I roll my eyes. “I don’t need music, baby.” I slowly start to unbutton my shirt, then smirk and move behind the changing partition set up in the room.

  “Tease.” Elijah grunts.

  I giggle. Eli and I have made an unpopular decision in waiting to have sex until we are married. We’ve set standards on what we are willing to do, and really no one knows about our choice. Not that it’s anyone’s business, but I’ve had this image in my head since I was a little girl, of giving that special part of myself to my husband. Surprisingly and luckily, Elijah is okay with that.

  I step out from behind the partition fully dressed and smile. “You love it.”

  He takes my hand and pulls me to sit on his lap. He kisses my cheek. “You know what I love?”

  “What?” My voice is soft matching his.

  “You. I can’t wait until we can have some time for ourselves.” The love I see in his eyes makes my heart squeeze. I love this man so much more than I ever thought was possible.

  “Me too, and we will, but first we have to get this interview out of the way. Maybe tonight we can cookout and hang by the pool,” I suggest.

  “That sounds wonderful.” He smiles, kissing me. Suddenly the serious atmosphere changes as an evil glint in his eye appears. I try to move away, knowing what he’s about to do, but I’m too late as he starts to tickle me relentlessly. “No, no! Stop!” I laugh and shriek, kicking and wiggling as I try to get away to no avail.

  “Tell me I’m the most amazing actor in the world.”

  “No!”

  “Say it!” He grabs the back of my thigh and squeezes, knowing it’s my most sensitive spot. I scream out a startled laugh.

  “Stop! I’m going to pee!”

  “Say it!”

  “Fine! You’re the most amazing actor in the world.” He laughs as he rights me in his lap, kissing the side of my face.

  “I knew you’d see reason. I’m sure they heard you through the door and probably think I’m doing all sorts of depraved things to you.”

  I swat at him. “I’m sure some tabloid will leak that we were having very loud intercourse in your dressing room right before you went on the show.”

  He throws his head back and laughs loudly. “You know, you can say sex, or evening fu …” I cover his mouth with my hand and glare at him. He laughs and pulls my hand from his face. “Sex, at least, isn’t one of your no-no words, but you’re probably right, if someone heard us, I’m sure gossip would ensue. But, you know what? I don’t care.” I just roll my eyes at him.

  I know sex is not a bad word, but I’m a girl from the reserved south. You can take the girl out of Mississippi, but you can’t take my grandma’s voice out of my head. As for the ‘other’ word … well, if Grans heard that, she’d wash his mouth out with soap.

  I stare up startled as the door flings open. “Lord, are you killing the poor girl?” Krystal asks as she marches into the room, paying no-mind to her favorite actor. Elijah chuckles, but doesn’t say anything as I jump up and into my friend’s arms.

  “Krys!” I scream. We jump around like complete idiots in our embrace.

  “You better be glad it was just me and your boys outside that door. I think anyone else would have tried to sneak in and get a picture of whatever was going on in here.”

  “He was tickling me, that’s all,” I say in defense.

  Krystal quirks an eyebrow at me then says, “Right.” Dragging her ‘i’ out.

  “He was!” I exclaim.

  “Uh huh. What’s that right there?” she asks pointing to my neck. I touch it and feel nothing, so I look in the mirror. “Gul-li-ble!” She sounds out the word in a singsong voice. I glare at her. She laughs. “Yeah, yeah. Hate me later. Right now, I need to be touching your boy.” She turns to Elijah. “Mr. Stone, pleasure to meet you. I’m Krystal Whitaker, but everyone calls me Krys.” She sticks out her hand to shake his.

  He takes her hand, smiles, and says, “Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  Peering over her shoulder toward me, she says, “Oh, I see how it is. You’ll talk to him about me but not to me about him. Heefer,” Krys turns back and continues speaking to Elijah. “I know it was nothing but good things, as I’m the epitome of grace and class. Please have a seat.” She points to the make-up chair and he sits.

  I burst out in laughter. “Oh, my side hurts.” I clutch said side as if there was a pinch there. “I’ve never heard such a line of malarkey come out of your mouth before.”

  Krys sighs and shakes her head. “Your vocabulary is in serious need of some updating. Why is it such ‘malarkey,’ sweetie?” She bats her long fake eyelashes at me.

  “Epitome of grace and class? If grace and class means you ride a Harley and have tattoos on eighty percent of your body.”

  “Hey! My tattoos are very classy, and who says you have to be a nineteen-fifty house wife to be classy?” she defends with a smile as she works on Elijah’s face. Krys is wearing a tank top that has a low scoop neck that gives him the perfect view of her more than ample tattooed cleavage. Jealousy spikes through me.

  “Close your eyes, Eli,” I tell him.

  “What?” he asks confused.

  “Thing one and Thing two are in your face. Close your eyes,” I tell him. I’m only half joking.

  His eyes move to look up at me. I wink so he knows I’m only teasing, even though I’m kind of not. He rolls his eyes, but then closes them with a sigh. “Ruin all my fun,” he pouts.

  “That’s okay, sugar. You can come by anytime. I can show you my other ink.”

  I scoff. “Over my dead body you will, hussy.”

  She pauses, looking down at Elijah. “You see how she treats me. It’s no wonder she’s never had girlfriends.” She tsks at me then continues her work.

  “Are you two always like this?” he asks.

  “Yes,” we answer in unison.

  “When I met Miss Thang over there, she was this scrawny bookworm with black-rimmed glasses. I helped her become this fabulously hot woman she is today, although, I was never able to persuaded her to get some ink.” Krystal sighs, shaking her head dramatically
.

  “I have a tattoo,” I defend.

  Krystal stops and turns to me. I plug in my curling wand and pay her no attention. “Shut the front door! Where?” she asks. “Show me, heefer.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Why not? I’ve seen every inch of you, I don’t care where it is,” she says, putting her hands on her hips.

  “Wait? What? You’ve seen her naked?” Elijah asks.

  Krystal laughs then looks at him. “We lived together for almost four years.”

  “When you say lived together and girlfriend, do you mean …” he stops, trying to think of how he wants to word this. I take pity on him and help him out.

  “No. We weren’t girlfriends like that. We were platonic, you should know that.” I roll my eyes. It’s like he doesn’t know me at all. Besides, I’m a virgin for crying out loud. Plus, her seeing every inch of me is a gross over statement, in panties and bra maybe, but not naked.

  “So she says,” Krys adds in a cryptic tone.

  Elijah looks at me in surprise, opening his mouth to speak, but luckily the intercom interrupts us. “Krys, we need Mr. Stone in two.”

  “Yeah, okay. He’s ready.” She rolls her eyes in an exaggerated fashion as she finishes up his stage makeup, then his hair. She declares him done, and Elijah stands. “I love this skunk spot, very hot,” she tells him, tugging it slightly.

  He snorts. “Thanks.” Anna returns to fetch him for his interview and Krystal and I are left to ourselves.

  She picks up my styling wand and tells me to sit in Elijah’s now empty chair. I obey, and she begins to curl my hair. “You should go ombre purple, it would look good on you,” she tells me.

  “Ombre? Seriously? Everyone is doing that. Remember in college I had that look, and you made fun of me.”

  “Yeah, but in college it wasn’t in style. It was just that you didn't want to recolor your hair after your highlights started to grow out. It’s not like it was a bright rainbow color.” She rolls her eyes.

  “So. I don’t want to look like everyone else.”

  She looks at me sardonically. “Seriously? You could have fooled me. Look at how you’re dressed, and you know you were planning to do the beach-y curl look, like every other female in Hollywood.”

  I blush. “That’s not true.” I pause and look at her in the mirror. “Fine. I like to be stylish, but I don’t like my hair lighter. You know that.”

  “Yes, yes. I think everyone knows how much you hate light-colored hair.” She rolls her eyes.

  “I’ve missed you,” I tell her, smiling at her through the mirror. She hugs my neck and places a kiss on my cheek.

  “I’ve missed you, too. So, have you told your man about Carter yet?”

  I groan. “Yes and no. Yes, I told him he was my best friend, and that we dated in high school, but no, he doesn’t know why we broke up.”

  “Does he know you’ve started talking again?”

  My face turns blood red. “No.”

  “Does he know you’re a virgin?” I open my mouth to speak but she holds up her hand. “I know you were raised in a very strict environment and have your beliefs. I’m not belittling you for that at all. I respect them, you know that. I’m just worried because this is Hollywood, guys here are … different.”

  “I know, and he does know and respects my wishes. I’m not a nun, and I do things that maybe I shouldn’t, given how I was raised, but he says he likes that I want to wait.” She gives me a look that screams ‘yeah, right’ and, I’ve worried about that a lot myself, but I have to trust him.

  “I hope that none of this blows up in your face. You should tell him about Carter.”

  I stare at my fingers. “I know. I will.”

  Our topic switches to my upcoming trip home, and the excitement I have to see my family after such a long time. Of course, that also makes me think of Carter, but I push those thoughts away and keep it light and upbeat. Before I realize the time, Elijah is coming back in with Brody in tow.

  I smile brightly at him. “How’d it go?” I ask, as I wrap my arms around Elijah.

  He kisses my forehead. “It went well.” He pushes me back, getting a better look at me. “You look beautiful.”

  “Thank you. I’m glad the interview went well. So, are you all done for today?”

  “Yep, let’s go get some groceries and veg out at the pool.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” I turn to grab my things, but find Krystal and Brody standing closely together talking. Her hand is on his forearm and he’s smiling down at her.

  I nudge Elijah and point over to my friend. Eli smiles. “I see you two have hit it off.”

  Brody straightens up and rubs the back of his neck. “Uh, sorry, boss. I just couldn’t help myself.”

  “No worries. I’m ready to go if you are.”

  Brody nods. “I’ll call you later?” he says to Krys.

  Krystal winks. “You better.”

  I give her an excited face as I follow the men out, and she actually blushes. In all our years as friends, it’s a sight I’ve never seen, but I couldn’t be happier; he’s a great guy.

  3 Insecurities

  B ack at Elijah’s house, we put the groceries we purchased away, then he heads to his room to change, and I to the guest room. I throw a cover-up over my swimsuit and pull up my hair. I hate to ruin what Krystal has done, but I need it out of my way. I head toward the kitchen where I hear Elijah tinkering around.

  “Are we going to eat first?” I ask, it’s a quarter after two and we’ve not had lunch, but I wouldn’t mind waiting until dinner.

  “Nah, well, I am going to grab a light lunch, but I wanted to marinate the steaks. I thought we could eat around five or six. Is that okay?”

  “Of course. I’ll make a salad for now.”

  “Mind making me one too?” he asks as he stands over at the counter rubbing the marinade over the steaks.

  “Not at all.”

  We busy ourselves with our individual tasks. I like the normalcy of the situation. When I’m finished, I take our salads out to the patio so we can eat in the shade, while Elijah washes up and grabs our drinks and takes a seat beside me.

  “It’s beautiful,” I muse as I stare out at the valley and mountains before us. The sun beats down on everything creating a golden glow on the valley that flows seamlessly, a cloudless sky of the most prefect blue.

  “Yes, you are.” I glance over to Elijah and smile.

  “I’m talking about the scenery.”

  He nods. “So am I.”

  He holds out his hand and gives mine a squeeze before he continues eating. Once we are done, I take the dishes into the kitchen and put them in the dishwasher. The marinade on the steaks smells fantastic; I can’t wait to eat dinner. Outside, Elijah has already dived into the pool and is swimming laps in the deep end. I pull off my cover-up, a little nervous since I chose a two-piece. I’ve only worn one in front of him once before. In general, I’m more comfortable in shorts and a tank-top, but I’ve tried to loosen up a little, though I won’t be wearing a two-piece in front of anyone else anytime soon. I ease myself into the water on the shallow end. I can swim, quiet well actually, but I’m feeling very lazy today so floating is preferred.

  Elijah pops up beside me, scaring me and making me fall below the water. He scoops me up quickly as I cough and sputter. He chuckles. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

  “I’m okay. I was in my own little world.”

  He pushes the wet hair that’s hanging in my face out of the way. “What’s on your mind? New story?”

  “Uh, not really. I need to talk to you about our trip. There are some things I neglected to mention, well not really neglected, just forgot.”

  He grabs his sunglasses, and two floating chairs from the side of the pool and passes one to me. They are the kind that let you sink down in the water, which is good, because I would feel over exposed telling him this in what could easily pass as underwear.

  “What’s going on?” His b
row is pinched together as a worried expression spreads over his handsome face.

  “You’ve said before that my family seems perfect, but that’s not true. It’s nothing horrible, but I’m afraid I’ll be embarrassed at some point on this trip.”

  “Don’t be embarrassed on my account,” he reassures me. “You know my family is messed up. My parents are divorced and hate each other. I’ve spent my life traveling between here and Scotland just so they wouldn’t see each other.”

  I bob my head, knowing the story. I should have shared more about my family when he did, but it didn’t work out that way. “It’s actually two things. The first is the easiest to tell. My cousin Clarissa, we are days apart, our moms were best friends. Bonnie, her mom, is my dad’s cousin. So naturally we were expected to be best friends, but we are more enemies than anything else. She’s a bully.”

  “What did she do?” I shrug. “Soph, it’s in the past.”

  Exhaling, I peer up to the cloudless sky. “It’s not really in the past, though. Gran says she’s jealous of me. I won a lot of awards in school for creative writing, sports, music, stuff like that; she barely passed,” I say with a sigh. “Then there was Carter. He was my best-friend, and later my boyfriend, and she wanted him. He hates her, not only because she has a horrible personality, but she was so cruel to me growing up, even going so far as making fun of my parents being dead. Once I went off to college, I thought things would change, but they didn’t.” I pause and take a deep breath.

  “She’s still awful to you?”

  I shrug. “I haven’t talked to her in a few years, but Gran is planning a get together with the family while we are there. She will try to start something with me, I know she will. She’s married and has a family, but she’ll still do something, and that worries me.”

  He takes my hand. “I’ll be there for you, and I do have some pretty capable bodyguards. I’m sure they could take her out.” He winks.

  I chuckle. “Probably.”

  “What is the second thing?” he asks.

  “Carter.”

  “What about him?”