by K E Osborn
I gently rap my knuckles on the door trying not to knock too hard, I don’t want to break that either. My heart is racing so fast I feel a little lightheaded. Sure, I knew she was worth a lot of money, but knowing it and seeing it are two different things.
Hell, I have a bucket load of money, but fuck, Zaria’s got to be worth billions.
The door swings open and my eyes open so largely I must look like a fucking idiot as she stands there wearing a see-through sarong thing and a white bikini underneath. It shows her perfectly toned body and leaves very little to the imagination. My cock twitches in my shorts and I have to think of toads and mud to try and stop myself from getting a full on boner while checking her out.
“You never seen a girl in a white bikini before, Nate?”
I smirk. “Sure, but you rock it so much better than them.”
She smiles and steps aside for me to come inside. She’s holding a drink, and the first thing I notice is that the glass has a straw in it.
“You love your straws!”
She swallows hard then fakes a smile. “I’ve used them ever since I was a kid.”
Zaria turns and walks off effectively shutting down the conversation. I step through the door fully and close it behind me. Casually, I start to look around. The place is kind of a letdown once you get inside. I was expecting it to be opulent and extravagant, but it’s basically all pristine white furniture and marble floors. I mean it’s nice, but it’s not the glamor that Zaria portrays—the diva that she depicts herself to be.
She’s one mystery package this woman.
I’m yet to figure her out.
I do happen to notice one piece of artwork on her wall. It’s a movie poster of her with a barrage of awards around it. Instantly, I recognize they’re her Oscar awards, and I gasp slightly from that realization. Looking at her picture on the poster she looks amazing, completely glamorous and every part the A-list celebrity she is. I must admit I’m having a little bit of what you might call a ‘fangirl’ moment as I look around in awe.
Zaria laughs shaking her head. “How can a rock star be awestruck? You’re famous, too?”
I scoff out a half-laugh. “Out of the four members of the band, I’m the least famous. I’m the fricking drummer after all.”
She furrows her brows and tilts her frame slightly. “Funny, out of all the guys… to me, you’re the most interesting one?”
Trying to hide my smile, I have to admit I do get a small buzz from hearing that. I’m not normally the one that people find appealing.
“Why me?”
She smirks. “Because you see me for me… the real me.”
“So the diva attitude is a farce?” I give her my best rock star smile.
She nods. “I was born in Israel. My father was an Aluf Mishne in the Army.” I furrow my brows and she notices. “Sorry… I mean Colonel. And when he died my mother wanted a better life for me, so she moved us to America. I was still very young, around twelve or thirteen.
Mom met Patrick Bloomfield, the mega-popular movie producer of the New Hollywood era. I’m sure you have heard of him. Anyway, they quickly fell in love, got married and we became citizens. My now stepdad, Patrick, saw a quality in me that he couldn’t ignore. Acting classes began quickly and I was thrust into Hollywood as a child actor in commercials and the like, which has led me to where I am today. Anyway, Patrick always said that to be in this industry you have to be a diva… live the diva life, act the diva bitch. If you’re nice, people will walk all over you and take advantage of you. If you’re a diva, they respect you and do everything and anything you ask for. That’s why I put on the so-called ‘diva’ personality to everyone, but in real life I’m actually quite lovely.” She smiles a megawatt smile.
I nod in understanding. It makes sense. It’s not how I’d do things, but I guess if you’ve been brought up that way then you wouldn’t know any other way to get what you want.
“I could see through the act.”
She smiles. “That’s why I like you. I knew you could see me… the real me. You weren’t judging me like the others.”
“You didn’t judge me either, for my… um… disability,” I say.
She waves her hand through the air like she has flicked those words away. “It’s not a disability, it’s merely a hurdle. I’ll help you. First, though, I’ll get you a drink and then we’ll get started. What’s your poison?”
“Umm… beer?”
She nods and steps off toward the back of the room approaching a mass of glass doors that lead outside. I follow her and watch as she opens the door, sliding it along as it concertinas open, letting the warmth of the day break through into the room. She steps down onto the paving, so I follow her outside.
As I look around it’s more like a tropical resort than a backyard. There’s an infinity pool overlooking the Hollywood Hills, surrounded by palm trees and leafy green plants with a splash of colored flowers here and there. At the shallow end of the pool it appears like it goes from water to sand. It’s crazy. Near the deeper end is a large rock formation with a waterfall, and around the pool are a variety of sun lounges. By the side of the house is a fully functioning bar, so I just stand there in awe.
This. Is. Amazing!
She heads to the bar, pulls out a Bud and brings it over to me.
I smile taking it from her hand and twist the cap off. “Thanks.” Raising it slightly in a cheers motion toward her, she smiles tilting her glass with a very colorful straw which is twisted in the shape of a love heart in the air too, then heads over toward a set of sun lounges. I follow and we take a position next to each other lounging back and enjoying the Los Angles heat.
“So, I have some books and stuff here that we can begin the learning process if you want to?” she asks.
With a sharp inhale I ask, “Oh right, you’re serious about teaching me?”
She nods picking up one of the books from the table beside her and shows it to me. “Of course, I guess I need to know what level you’re at before we can really get started. Before all of this…” she gestures around with her hands, “I started an online course to teach children in elementary school. I never actually finished the course because my career took off, but I kept all the coursework and books. It was something I really wanted to do, but acting overtook everything, even what I wanted in the end.” She casts her eyes down and I catch some sort of look, but she quickly masks it and moves on. “So what level are we talking,” she reiterates.
I slump my shoulders. “Well, I know the letters of the alphabet and I’m familiar with some words. I know my name and how to sign it. I can form some smaller very basic sentences but that’s pretty much it. It’s all really basic and has gotten me through to this point.”
She nods and purses her lips. “Question… how did you get through school if you couldn’t read and write?”
“It was tough, really tough. I had to learn the basics as you know, but I struggled a lot. Matt stepped in, he read me everything, filled in all my work. Whenever there was a test or anything he went as me, things like that. Sometimes it’s handy being identical to someone… I was in special classes but even so, I left school as soon as I could. He stayed on longer but it was tough. Without Matt, I would have failed for sure. As it is I only scrapped by. The only classes I excelled in were music and art. All the others… yeah, it was a train crash most of the time.”
She frowns and nods. “Sounds like Matt’s an amazing brother?”
I half-smile. “He has his moments, but don’t tell him I said that... big head syndrome and all.”
She giggles and smiles bright, so stunningly beautifully that my heart kick starts, beating a little faster.
“Has your difficulty been diagnosed… like a dyslexia or something?”
Swallowing hard trying to stop my heart from racing, I block my mind from thinking too much and answer with, “No… no diagnosis.”
Her smile falters slightly and she nods, while her eyes give me warm acknowledgment l
ike she knows there’s a deeper story but I’m not ready to divulge it to her yet. She doesn’t push either.
She tilts her head. “Okay great. Let’s get started then.” She pulls out a notebook and hands it to me along with some pencils. I take them willingly with a great big grin.
It feels awesome that she’s helping me with this, and for the first time I don’t feel ashamed, I feel empowered that someone other than Matt is making time to help me.
Zaria moved over to sit alongside me on my sun lounge and now we’re deep in tutoring. Her method of picture word association is definitely helping. It seems to be manipulating the word into something that’s not so intimidating or that I can’t decipher. I’m seeing the letters more like images rather than letters or words and it seems to be paying off. I’ve already chosen a word correctly three times so far without the aid of the pictures and I feel like I’m making really great progress.
“Nate, you’re doing so well. You’ve done so much better today than I could have possibly imagined you’d do, and you’ve finished three lessons worth of work in one. I’m so proud of you!” Her leg slightly touches mine as she leans into my side with a friendly bump. I turn, looking at her and she glances back at me. We both still, looking into each other’s eyes. Swallowing hard as nervous energy flickers between us, I peek down to her lips as she parts them infinitesimally and our breathing quickens. My heart rate spikes while the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, then her eyes blink slowly as she takes a deep breath and looks away from me breaking the tension.
I clear my throat taking in some much-needed oxygen and stare out over the crystal clear pool. “We should go for a dip?” I suggest and she smiles.
“Yes, we should.”
Zaria stands abruptly and pulls off her sarong leaving her in her bikini and she strolls over to the sandy shallow end. I jump up and pull off my shirt, leaving me in my swimming trunks as Zaria looks back at me trying to hide her smirk. As I stand there I flex just a little bit, but not enough to make it obvious. She glances at me sideways. I know she’s checking me out and I bite my lip trying to hide my smirk while watching her watching me.
She giggles softly while looking away and then turns stepping into the water. Being the depraved bastard that I am, I can’t stop my mind from hoping that her white bikini will turn see-through in the clear blue liquid, then I mentally slap myself for being a pervert.
Zaria glides into the water and I follow, trying so hard not to watch her ass as I move in behind her. The water is warm and feels great on my skin. It glistens and gleams in the midday sun and rays sparkle shimmering light off her body. The effect causes Zaria to light up giving her that angelic look I love. She wades in a little further so the water is just above her tits and I move in next to her as we stand there in the middle of the pool.
“The water is so refreshing,” I say.
She smiles. “I love this pool, I spend most of my time out here.”
“I can see why. Plus, the water shows off your assets,” I tease with a wink.
She scoffs like she’s offended but then finishes it with a giant smirk. Then her hands flow through the water suddenly causing a ripple of liquid to spray up and splash me right in the face.
Shaking my head to rid it of the droplets I laugh, and then open my eyes and narrow them at her.
“Don’t you dare, artist!” she warns.
“Hey, payback’s a bitch,” I say and splash her with a massive wave of water. She screams joyfully as her hair flattens, soaking wet and she pulls a sour expression.
“You’re gonna pay for that!” She then lunges and before I have time to think, she’s on me and pushing me under the water. I laugh, but with my mouth closed as she’s basically jumping on me. I don’t mind, and even though she’s trying to drown me she is touching me and it’s making me feel more alive than I’ve felt for years.
After a few seconds, I grab her around the waist and pull her under with me. Opening my eyes, I look to see her eyes open too and a bright smile plastered on her face. Our eyes lock and a moment passes between us. We’re under the water staring at each other and the looks we’re sending each other could set this pool on fire.
Without warning, something in her clicks and she sticks her tongue out at me then uses all her force to shove me in the chest. I’m startled by her swift turn as I’m forced back from her and she swims away from me and bobs up from below the surface. I realize I too need air, so I swim up to see Zaria laughing and she begins to swim away from me like she’s playing a game.
I don’t get it.
We go from smoldering to playful in a few seconds.
It seems like she doesn’t want any seriousness between us at all.
But the way she’s looking back at me and laughing I can tell she wants me to join in her game.
Who am I to deny her?
So I plaster on a happy face rather than my confused one and take chase, swimming after her.
“When I catch you you’re in big trouble, Miss Shafir,” I call out and she giggles.
“If you catch me, Mister Levine,” she replies as she swims around and heads back to the shallow end.
After a few strokes I begin the chase and gain on Zaria pretty quickly approaching her as we reach the middle of the pool. My hands wrap around her waist and I pull her to me. She lets out a fake scream as I spin her around, and she throws her head back in a fit of laughter while I hold her to me tightly.
“No escaping now,” I tease.
Her whole body is riddled with laughter as she wraps her arms around my neck and her eyes come back in line with mine. She’s so beautiful, every inch of her screams flawless beauty. Her sparkling doe eyes, her chestnut hair even when it’s soaking wet, the slight flush in her cheeks, her supple full lips, her curvaceous but tiny frame, everything about her is stunning and I have no idea how she’s single. She is amazing, any man who lands her is tremendously lucky. My cock is aching from simply staring at her.
Her laughter dies down to small giggles as she looks at me. I give Zaria a smile as her legs wrap around my waist and I basically hold her to me in the pool. This right here is all my fantasies come to life. My heart is racing as I stare and take in all her beauty. She’s everything I could possibly want, but I honestly have no idea if she wants me in return.
Swallowing hard, I glance into her eyes once more and her giggles dim to silence as her breathing hitches and she stares back at me. Tension fills the air while she chews down on her bottom lip. A surge so strong pulses through me almost causing me to lose my balance while a buzz crackles and sizzles between us, sending shockwaves through the pool.
Zaria’s eyes glisten and sparkle as I stare into them and it makes me want to kiss her so badly. So I inch closer testing the boundaries. Her breathing hitches as she watches me move in. She tilts her head and her lips part as her eyes shoot down to my mouth. Zaria’s tongue darts out licking her bottom lip and my heart, no shit, literally skips a beat.
Getting ready to kiss her for the first time, I inch closer and closer. I’m merely an inch away—my heart’s pounding, electricity’s surging around us like a tornado—when she takes a deep breath, turns her head and pulls back effectively stopping me from going further.
My heart sinks as I pause where I am, taking a second for my heart to restore its correct rhythm. Then I take a breath, pulling back to fake a smile.
“I’m sorry… I just… think we… should have some food,” she says the last part quickly bordering on curtly.
Raising my eyebrow at her avoidance of the topic I say, “Yeah, sure.” I release her and she unwraps her legs from around my waist while clearing her throat, then she starts swimming over to the shallow end of the pool. I continue to stand here for a second longer than I should, trying to gather myself.
I went for the kiss and she blatantly refused me.
She just isn’t that into me.
Maybe I need to accept that.
Clenching my eyes shut I swallow hard try
ing to compose myself then I nod my head once and open my eyes turning and walking out of the pool.
We both head over to the sun lounges where towels are draped over the back and start drying off. Neither of us speaks a word. My shoulders are tense and I notice hers are too. The awkward silence speaks volumes about the tension between us, and I wonder if I should just leave when she turns toward me.
“I’ll get us some drinks.”
I nod. Okay, so she doesn’t want me to go, that’s a good sign I suppose.
Zaria walks over to the bar fridge and grabs another beer and she pours herself some sort of fruity looking thing, adding a fucking straw, of course. She walks over, hands it to me and as I take it our fingers connect and I don’t miss the fact that she gently slides her finger against mine. It’s a kind gesture, but a fucking confusing one. Taking the beer from her hand, I take a long gulp needing something to help me calm down.
Zaria looks to me and sighs. “You know… Zaria is my full name and stage persona, but all my family and really close friends call me Ria.”
I take a sip of my beer. “That’s pretty.”
“It is… I’d like you to call me Ria, Nate.”
Warmth fills my chest and my lips tip up into a genuine smile feeling that perhaps she does like me more than she’s letting on. But I’m not getting my hopes up. She rejected me for a reason, I have to remember that.
“Okay… Ria it is. Thanks.”
She nods and leans in writing her name on a notepad as I sit down on the sun lounge next to her. She hands the notepad to me, and I nod taking it and a pencil and proceed to draw a dove as my picture reference for the word Ria. She sits back watching me as I continue to doodle on a free page of the notepad.
“You’re really good at drawing, you know that? You actually are an artist.”
Nodding, I glance at her. “I designed all my tattoos.”
