Among the Stars

by Renee Porter

  “Hey! Do you not think I can’t plan this out? Cause I’m a great planner!” I said defensively. Dana smiled and shook her head.

  “I know you are. But you still have to get your dress fitted. Kristie was able to get that done today. If we’re leaving in two days, it will be easier for her to get everything settled.”

  Kristie raised her hand as if she was in school. “I’ve totally got this, Jen. No worries.” With one nod I relented.

  “Okay, fine. Let me know if you need help with anything okay?”

  Kristie nodded. Dana nodded. And I felt like they were up to something.

  Chapter 30

  Two days later Dana, Kristie and I were standing in front of her apartment building waiting for the party bus to pick us up.

  Doug’s cousin, Tracey, was on her way, and the other member of the bridal party said she would be running a little late.

  I looked over to my left as I saw Dana and Kristie whispering to each other. They had been doing this all morning and it was getting me a little on edge. I figured it was talk about what we were doing during the days we would be in Reno so I didn’t think much of it. But when they would look over to me and Kristie’s face would grow concerned, I didn’t know what to start thinking.

  I was about to ask when the bus pulled up. It was a huge, black vehicle with tinted black windows. The driver opened the doors and let himself out. He too was dressed in a black suit, his hair covered with a black top hat and smiled at us.

  “Ladies, your carriage awaits.”

  Dana gleefully screeched as Kristie and I followed her undulating body onto the bus.

  The bus was decked out for well…a party. There was a pole in the middle with soft booth seating along it’s sides. The end of the bus housed a fully stocked bar and blue and red lighting adorned the interior.

  Dana sat along the left side of the booth, her smile wide and excited. I followed Kristie to the right side and flopped down the leather bench.

  “This is so nice.” I had to talk loudly over the bumping of the music that was already playing. Kristie looked at the above controls and turned the volume down slightly.

  “Totally worth every penny.”

  “Thank you both for doing this, really. It means so much to me.” It looked as if Dana was going to start crying. I didn’t want her to, so I waved my hands letting her know it was nothing.

  Before any tears could fall, the bus driver, who was still outside, exclaimed, “ladies your carriage awaits.” I heard laughter and then Kristie leaned into me, whispering in my ear.

  “There is probably something I should have let you know…”

  She didn’t have to say anything more.

  I watched as who I assumed was Tracey, walk up into the bus. She was a pretty woman, who looked to be in her early twenties. She waved at us and then went to Dana to give her a hug. I didn’t follow her movement though, because my eyes were glued to the woman who was directly behind her.

  Taylor.

  Dark sunglasses were removed by lithe hands as Taylor glanced in my direction. She provided us with a small, shy smile, allowing her perfectly straight teeth to show. I melted into my seat a little more.

  I was surprised, yes. And now I knew why Dana and Kristie had been whispering all morning. They had been probably discussing whether to tell me that Taylor had accepted being in Dana’s bridal party.

  They had also probably thought I would be upset, seeing as Taylor had left the way she did, leaving me heartbroken in her wake. And then, I did something that surprised even me. I stood up, wiped my hands on my jeans and gave Taylor a hug.

  At first, Taylor was stiff, and I thought that maybe this hug was a little too forward, but she soon relaxed and I felt a whispered breath in my ear.

  “Hey.” I responded in kind and finally let go of her. She kept her eyes on me, waiting for me to speak. I was about to open my mouth to say something but waited to make sure I wouldn’t say something along the lines of “why are you here”?

  “You look beautiful.” Her eyes twinkled and I stepped aside, allowing her to say hello to Kristie and Dana. After they all made their initial pleasantries, I sat back down next to Kristie, who put her arm around my shoulder.

  “Very smooth, Casanova.” My face heated with the praise. “I’m surprised something mean didn’t come sputtering out of those lips.”

  I smacked Kristie in the arm and laughed. At the same moment, the bus driver closed the door and we all felt the engine come to life. With the final statement of, “everybody ready to party?!” coming from the overhead speaker, I locked eyes with Taylor and smiled.

  I was definitely ready. I could only hope she was too.

  +++

  The bus ride was long and bumpy. A traffic accident on the 134 made our drive just as long, and within six hours of our party bus extravaganza, we were all already out of juice.

  Dana was already knocked out cold, laying across Tracey’s lap. Tracey had her mouth open, snoring quietly, her head turned upward at the window.

  Kristie had fallen asleep on the floor with her dark hair plastered to her face and a bucket clutched between her limp arms.

  I on the other hand, was sitting across from Taylor who was curled up on the bench looking out against the dark window. We were both wide awake but didn’t speak much. I felt like she needed time, so I allowed myself to watch her until she was ready.

  About an hour out of Reno, Taylor stretched her arms and looked over to me. She smiled softly, and I told my eyes to stay on her own, instead of the expanse of skin making itself known as her shirt rode up her stomach. Taylor stood, stepped over a passed-out Kristie and sat next to me.

  “You’re going to give me a complex if you keep staring at me.” She nudged my shoulder and I smiled shyly. I didn’t deny that I hadn’t been looking at her. I didn’t want to.

  “What can I say? It’s a nice view.” Taylor looked at me hesitantly and then gave her own shy smile.

  “You’re in a good mood. It’s been nearly eight hours without you insulting me.” Her tease landed perfectly. The old me would have analyzed that very moment, but I was trying something new. I decided to actually try and be an adult.

  “So, how is that guy you’ve been dating? Sorry, I don’t even know his name.” I needed to know what Taylor was thinking. I needed to know if there was anything still there left to salvage. Taylor eyed me again and a touch of a smile graced her lips.

  “His name was Harold,” she said.

  I nodded and then asked, “was?” I tried to get Taylor to look me in the eyes but she kept them glued to the outside scenery.

  “It didn’t work out. And I’m sorry about all of that, Jen. I wanted to try and apologize earlier, I just didn’t know how.”

  I could hear the sincerity in her voice and I knew she was being honest in her apology. I also knew that she was apologizing for more than the fiasco that happened a few weeks prior. I wanted to talk about everything that had gone through her mind, but looking around the party bus, I realized that it wasn’t the right time.

  “I know.” I paused and then said, “Tell me what you’ve been up to.” Taylor finally looked at me as she took my bait and started talking about her life. And soon I found out that her life only consisted of her work. She told me about the tour, her ending it before it should have been over. She talked about firing her ass of a manager and hiring her “Uncle” Jonathan, who happened to be Bryce’s real Uncle. It was things that we had already spoken about over the last few months, but for some reason it felt new with her explaining it in the flesh.

  The rest of the trip to Reno consisted of us just talking. I in turn told her about my job and how much I loved it. How I was settling in nicely and how the effect of working for JPL still hadn’t worn off. She had told me that she was happy for me, and I could tell that she honestly was.

  I wish I could say the same for her.

  As we pulled up to our hotel room and everyone awoke, I couldn’t help but feel sad for T
aylor. She had wanted a celebrity life but it felt like that dream was long gone now. I couldn’t help but think that Taylor would go back and change that dream if she could. She sounded as if she was exhausted and just wanting a break from it all. A very, very long break.

  Taylor and I parted ways as we all took to our rooms. Kristie, Dana, Tracey and I shared a two bedroom suite. Taylor had decided to get her own room since she had confirmed that she was coming too late for us to get a larger suite. But it was just next door, which was nice.

  When I placed my stuff in my room, along with Kristie, I finally allowed myself to lay down. It looked as though Kristie hadn’t just been sleeping for the last three hours and she knocked out quickly. I guess she couldn’t hang as well as she could in her younger twenties.

  My eyes opened to a knocking on the door about two hours later. The curtains were drawn, but I knew that it was already dark outside.

  “Come on you lazy asses! It’s time to party!” Dana’s booming voice came from behind the closed door and I pushed Kristie to get up. She groaned and wacked my hand away.

  “Five more minutes, please.”

  I pushed her again and Kristie glared at me through half opened eyes. “You suck.”

  “This was your idea. So, get up and don’t make the bride go crazy on us.” Again, Kristie moaned and sat up.

  “I’m really sorry we didn’t tell you Taylor was coming.” Kristie had said while removing her shirt and opening up her suitcase. She rifled through, looking for a specific shirt and then donned it when she had found it.

  “It’s okay. I don’t mind.” I was doing the same.

  Dana opened the door and smiled when she realized we were in fact up and getting ready to go out. “Did you guys get some rest?”

  I was having trouble getting on my shirt. It was one of the nicer ones I owned but the intricacy of it was making me confused. I was pretty sure I was putting my head where the sleeve opened up and vice versa.

  “You need some help there, sport?”

  I stopped suddenly knowing the voice. My shirt was still covering my face and I thanked God for small miracles. My nearly naked torso covered quickly as I finally found the right hole for my head. As the world reappeared to me, I met eyes with Taylor who was grinning at me from the opened door.

  “She can build a rocket but can’t put on a shirt. That’s my best friend for ya!” Dana clapped her hands as I ran my own through my wild hair.

  “Ready,” she asked the group. We all nodded and followed Dana out single file. Taylor waited for me to exit and grabbed my arm before leaving. I looked up at her, wondering what she wanted and licked my lips as Taylor’s parted.

  “Your tag is sticking out.” I felt Taylor’s hand grace the back of my neck and tuck in the tag. I said ‘thank you’, I think, and waited for her to move by me. My body was still tingling where her fingers had touched, and I let out a deep breath. You can do this, Jen. You can do this.

  +++

  We ended up gambling a little at the black jack tables and playing slots for free drinks. Taylor and I were content with our one beer but I watched as my friends made a second go of trying to get black out drunk. I laughed as Taylor fixed her black wig that she had placed on her head before reaching the taxi. She grinned at me and stuck out her tongue, pulling down her fake nerd glasses to glare at me.

  “Are you making fun of me, Hunter,” she dared as she pushed the button on the slot machine. The reels stopped and her credits went up a little bit. She had won a whopping thirty-five cents.

  “Not at all. I was just thinking about how you should go back to your natural hair color. It looks nice on you.” I was rewarded with her laugh as she shook her head. “But in all seriousness, it kind of isn’t fair that you have to go out like this.”

  “It’s kind of nice, actually. I get to be someone else for the night.” I considered Taylor’s words for a moment and the pang in my heart returned. I wished for her that she would want to be exactly who she was.

  I stared out across the floor as my friends and Tracey all stumbled up to our sitting bodies.

  “We’re going to a club,” Dana said as she hit the cash out button for me. Kristie did the same to Taylor and giggled when she waved the ticket in the air.

  “We’ve got drinks paid for tonight! Woo!” I rolled my eyes at Taylor who seemed to take the loud woman in stride.

  “And what club are we going to?” I asked as we stepped out onto the Reno strip.

  “I bet it’s Sideways. It’s the nicest club in Reno,” Taylor said from my left. I had noticed that Taylor hadn’t really left my side for much of the night. I filed that into the ‘win’ file for me.

  “Have you been?”

  “A few times, yes.” Taylor smiled at me and pulled her small jacket closer to her body. It wasn’t cold and I figured she did this out of habit when out in public. Maybe she thought that people would recognize her figure. It was distinct, if I said so myself.

  Taylor was correct in her assumption. We stood in a long line waiting for our turn to get in the club. From the outside, you could hear the loud thumping of music and it wasn’t lost on us when Taylor’s song was remixed into the next played.

  “I love this song, you know?” I whispered to her. I was rewarded with a scoff and I reached out to link arms with her. “I do. You can ask Kristie. I would study to it every night.”

  Taylor lips curved upwards and glanced at me from behind her fake glasses. “It’s funny you say that,” she whispered back. I was waiting for her to explain when we heard the bouncer from up front shout something to the rest of the line.

  “Sorry, folks we’re filled up for the night. Looks like we won’t be letting anyone else in!”

  Dana, Tracey and Kristie groaned in complaint.

  “It’s okay, guys. We can get into another one.” Dana moaned again. I could tell that she was upset and that’s when Taylor patted my arm, let go and moved out of the line.

  “Give me a second, okay?” We nodded as we watched Taylor move through the angry and upset masses now dispersing. She grinned at the guard, whispered into his ear and he nodded stoically. She waved us over then, and we all scuttled to the front of the line.

  The bouncer held back the people complaining at us as he stepped aside to let us in. Taylor was rewarded with a back hug from Dana and I was rewarded with a smile from Taylor.

  “Only been here a couple times?” I asked as we entered the busy club.

  “I guess it helps that I own part of it.” Taylor winked at me as she grabbed my arm. “I also have my own booth. Come on party people!”

  We followed Taylor to the back of the club behind a curtain that had a badge that said “VIP” hanging on the left. Taylor opened it for us and we ‘oohed’ and ‘awed’ at the expensive display. It was an even more luxurious club inside of the luxurious club. Red, velvet curtains adorned golden walls and a nicely dressed bar tender housed a wide array of expensive alcohol.

  “Everything is on the house tonight, so order up.” Taylor said to us. The women laughed and headed straight for the bar, as Taylor and I took one of the empty booths to the left.

  “You continue to surprise me. How long have you owned this place?” I asked in conversation.

  Taylor smiled as a drink was placed in front of her. It was water and I was grateful for the one placed in front of me as well. “It’s a new venture for me. I needed to do something with my money and my accountant provided me with a portfolio of ideas. This one stood out so I told him to go for it.”

  I nodded as if I understood. I couldn’t fathom the amount of money it took to invest in a club like this. I wasn’t hurting for money, but it’s not like I could just write a check and buy a part of a club.

  “And what other ventures have you invested in?” Taylor chuckled as she mouthed off every investment she had made within the past year. I swallowed my drink, listening to her, and wondered how much money she had left when she finished talking. From the math I could do in my he
ad, Taylor had invested millions into businesses, property and stocks. I knew she was rich, but not that rich.

  “And with my last investment I could finally just live normally and hopefully won’t have to wear this every time I go out.” She pointed to the wig and it finally donned on me. Taylor was investing because she wanted her money safe. Taylor was investing because she was retiring.

  “You’re done.” I stated with an epiphany.

  Taylor nodded at my assumption and looked out toward our friends. They had found the dance floor and were shaking their bodies with the beat.

  “I am.”

  “Won’t you miss it?”

  “A little. I’ll miss performing but I won’t miss being followed every day of my life. I won’t miss the lack of privacy and pretending to be someone I’m not. I always thought this was the life I wanted but during my last tour it donned on me that this isn’t who I am.” Taylor paused, and then said, “I wanted to give it one last shot, you know? I left for the tour because I didn’t want all of my hard work to go to waste and I needed to finish this part of my life. But I realized that I was losing out on my life and I finally decided that I’m ready, Jen.” She licked her lips and presented me with a slow, sexy smile. “So, very ready.”

  My heart was pounding in my chest. It was as if every cell in my body awakened with her words. I grabbed my glass of water, took one long sip, and placed it back down. Standing up I placed my hand out to Taylor.

  “Well, I guess it’s time to celebrate then.” Taylor looked at my outstretched hand and then back up to me.

  “I guess so,” she laughed as I pulled her with me to the dance floor. We joined our friends and let the music take us away. We allowed it to sooth our body and soul and for the first time in my life I felt a glimmer of that thing that Bryce had always talked about.

  Happiness.

  Chapter 31

  I awoke with a splitting headache and to a snoring Kristie. We had been in Reno for three nights and I was finally ready to go home. It wasn’t as though I disliked the city or my time here. In fact, being in Reno, with Taylor, made me want to stay longer. But I needed to know if our connections would extend outside of the city of lights. I needed to know if we could be something outside of this magical atmosphere.