by Karen Gordon
“And Casey was all like. ‘He was so patient when he taught me.’”
Carrie choked on a laugh. “Like he’s going to tell her to stop because she wasn’t doing it right.”
They both laughed until they were exhausted.
MG felt better and she hoped Carrie did too. They never solved a damn thing when they talked, but they laughed, a lot, and that helped.
♪ ☺ ♥
One night as she lay in bed surfing the web on Alex’s laptop when she was supposed to be doing research for a paper, she noticed that Daniel’s song had made it to number one on several charts. God, she hoped he was having half as much fun as she was. She remembered their talk in the Blue Lagoon and hoped he had learned to loosen up some and enjoy this amazing life he was having. His number was still in her cell, so she decided to give him a call, hoping it was still his number. He answered and seemed super happy to hear from her.
“MG! Damn, it’s good to hear your voice.”
“You’re number one! Are you celebrating?”
He laughed. “Yeah, I guess.” He paused. “I mean, they’ve got some party set up to celebrate it this weekend--couple thousand people … of which I might know five.” His voice trailed off at the end.
“You don’t sound happy.”
He breathed out. “I don’t want to dump all this on you. I’m glad you called.”
“You’re not dumping. What’s up?”
“Nothing. Hey, wanna go to a party?”
She laughed. “You seriously want to go to a party with me? Do I need to remind you about the night I puked all over you and your bathroom and your bed.”
He laughed. “Believe it or not that sounds more fun that what they’ve got planned. Come on, I’m serious. I can fly you out on Friday and have you back on Sunday.”
“You are serious, aren’t you?”
“You have no idea.”
He sounded so down and, to tell the truth, a break from all her school drama sounded great. “OK.”
“Really? You’ll come?” He sounded happier already. How could she not go now?
“Yeah.” Being away for a little thinking time was sounding better and better. “In fact, how about I hang out for a week? Shit’s crazy here, and I need to get away.”
He was really excited now. “A week? Seriously?”
She opened up a new tab and checked flights from JFK to LA. “If I leave here in an hour, I can catch the red-eye.” She was half joking, until she really thought about what she was doing. Logic told her this was crazy, but her gut was telling her to go, that she needed to go. She was going with her gut. “Do it. Book it, and I’ll pack now and have Alex drive me to the train station.”
He was laughing now, happier than she had ever heard him. “God, I love how crazy you are. You are exactly what I need right now.”
♪ ☺ ♥
She called Steve on the train ride from Poughkeepsie to JFK to tell him that she was going. His response was exactly why she loved him so much. He got her and was behind her no matter what crazy idea she threw at him.
“Babe, if you really feel like you need to go, then do it. Call me when you get there.”
He trusted her instincts more than she did. She couldn’t ask for a better best friend. She figured she’d call her mom after she had a few days of thinking and Randy too.
She managed to sleep a little in the nice first-class seat, but her sense of time was still jacked up when she landed. She was hungry, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted breakfast or lunch, and she was a little drowsy but too excited to sleep. Daniel sent a limo to pick her up and bring her to his house. He left her a note letting her know that he was doing some radio press today, but he would be home around seven to take her to the party. He asked her to make herself at home.
There wasn’t much to eat, so she heated a few left-over pizza slices in the microwave and sat on his patio to watch the waves and surfers. The sun was warm, the breeze was cool, and she felt like a ton of weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Sure, it was a case of “out of sight, out of mind,” but it felt great to take a break from worrying about school.
When he got home, Daniel hugged her and held on like she was his long-lost best friend. He kept saying, “Damn I’m glad you’re here.” He was more emotional than she had ever seen him.
They were only alone for about a half hour before two women arrived to style his hair and have him dress in the clothes they brought. MG cringed when she realized that she didn’t have anything with her worthy of this event. She’d just have to wear what she had and hide in the background when the cameras were around.
The two stylists didn’t hide their alarm and disgust when MG got into the limo with them and Daniel to go to the party.
“Uh, she, can’t … you know, get out with you.”
Daniel looked at MG. “She looks fine. Lay off.”
The girl went into bitch mode and talked to him like he was a slow child. “One, she doesn’t look fine. I do not want her in any photographs. We’ve worked damn hard on the image for this event.” He glared at her but she continued. “Two, if she gets out with you the press will assume she is your date. You don’t have a date! We’ve been over this.”
What the hell had she just walked into? MG tried to smooth things over. “I can get out somewhere else. I really don’t want my picture taken. It’s no big deal.”
The stylist seemed to ignore her. She rubbed her forehead with her fingertips. “Stop pushing me, Daniel. I’m doing this for you.”
They rode in silence the rest of the way to the restaurant. MG let them all get out first then rode to the end of the block, climbed over to the front seat and got out the passenger side door. When she got to the doorman, she realized she might not be able to get in. Daniel probably didn’t have time to put her name on the list, and it didn’t look like one of the girls was going to do it. She milled around by the door for a half-hour trying to figure out what to do. The guy with the clipboard had just asked her to leave when bitch number two came out and grabbed her by the arm and dragged her inside. She gave MG her instructions, as she pulled her through the crowd to the back room.
“I don’t know who you are, but you are not his girlfriend. There are a million girls who want to be his girlfriend and we count on that to sell him. Don’t screw this up for him.”
MG nodded.
“Don’t stand by him, don’t have your picture taken, do not talk to any press. Other than that, eat, drink, and be merry.”
She waited ‘til MG nodded her agreement before she stalked off in Daniel’s direction.
Being on the sidelines really wasn’t a big deal to her. LA was a whole new kind of human zoo. She got herself a big plate of strange, healthy-looking food, snagged a cocktail from a waiter’s tray, and found a corner to hide in. At some point in the night, Daniel came looking for her. He pulled her into the kitchen.
“I’m sorry. This sucks.”
She smiled. “No big deal. I’m not a spotlight kind of girl. I’m more of a stir-up-trouble-behind-the-scenes kinda chick.”
He laughed and started eating appetizers off a tray. He stopped a waiter and asked for a beer. They guy looked at him questioningly.
“I’m over twenty-one, I swear.”
MG vouched. “He is.”
He drank his beer and ate quickly while trying to have a conversation with her. “I’m so sick of this shit.” He smiled. “Damn it feels good to cuss. Tabitha has a shit-fit if I cuss in interviews, doesn’t fly with the moms.”
“Moms?”
“Of my audience.”
MG could feel the frustration in his response. She looked at the time on her phone.
“Are you tired? Bored?”
“No, well, kind of jet lagged. Do you care if I leave and meet you back at your place? I’m guessing you aren’t supposed to be seen leaving with me either.”
He nodded, then grabbed her and gave her a big hug. “Thank you, for coming. You have no idea how good it is to s
ee you.”
She hugged him back and he clung to her for a minute. She wrote it off as stress, but she also had her guard up a little. They had always only been friends, but he was definitely acting differently now.
On her way back to his place, she called Steve (and woke him up). She needed to connect with him and to tell him about the vat of crazy she had just fallen into.
Chapter 30
There was only one bed in the sparsely furnished condo, so MG stole a blanket and pillow off if it and slept on the couch. When she woke up the next morning, she was in Daniel’s bed. She looked around the room, while she tried to recall how she got there.
She’d had a few drinks at the party, but she didn’t feel too buzzed when she got here. She had been really tired, but not drunk. She remembered changing into her sleep shirt and shorts and falling asleep on the couch, wishing he had better blinds to block the light from a street lamp. She could hear Daniel on the phone in another room, so she went to ask him what happened.
“I’ll be there, but she goes with me.” He paused for the female voice on the other end to talk. “I. Don’t. Care. Tell them she is my long-lost cousin, but she goes.”
MG cringed. He was arguing with someone about her. She tip-toed to the coffee pot and poured herself a mug full, then squeezed past him to go out on the balcony. He grabbed her leg as she walked by and squeezed and smiled at her. She smiled back.
When he finished with his call, he brought his cup of coffee and sat with her on the balcony. They sat in silence, looking out at the waves, letting the bad energy of his call dissipate.
He finally spoke. “I hate it.”
She nodded. “Yeah, wow. Not what you imagined, huh?”
He chuckled and took a sip of coffee. “It’s just … I mean, how do you complain about this?” He looked around him at the view and the condo. “There are so many guys out there busting their asses, praying for what fell in my lap, but I’m miserable.” His voice got quiet at the end.
She didn’t know what to say, so she squeezed his arm. Changing the subject seemed like a good idea. “So, did I get up last night and push you out of your bed?”
He laughed and shook his head while he took another sip of coffee.
“I thought I fell asleep on the couch.”
“You did. But that couch sucks, so I brought you in with me when I got home.”
His tone was matter of fact, not sexual, so she let it go.
“Tabitha wants you to meet her to go shopping today.” The way he said it let her know this would be painful, not an afternoon of chick-fun.
MG laughed. “She’s …um …”
“A colossal bitch, I know. But I’ve got this movie, red-carpet thing tomorrow night and an award-thing later this week and …” He hesitated like he didn’t want to hurt MG’s feelings. “She doesn’t want you there unless you are wearing clothes she’s approved of and she does your hair and makeup.”
“Red carpet thing?”
“A premier of some teen movie.” He let his head fall back, and he pushed out a calming breath, as if he was already starting to gear up for something painful.
“Is it that bad?”
He shook his head. “No. I mean. It’s not hard or anything. I get dressed up, smile and say a few scripted things for the camera, then go see a movie.” He shrugged, “It’s … every one of these things feels like another nail in the coffin of my chances at being seen as a serious musician.”
His neck muscles were tense as he took another drink of coffee. MG could see how hard this was for him. She gave him her full attention and let him talk it out.
“I know that Josh and Austin used to call me a whinny bitch, and I know they’re assholes, but, I mean, who the hell complains about having all this handed to them?”
She hurt for him because he was stuck in this crazy for now, and she wanted to comfort him, but she didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. He knew about Steve, but it felt like he was desperately grabbing for someone to be there for him, and here she was. She squeezed his arm again but didn’t move any closer.
“Do you want me to talk to Randy? Maybe he would have some ideas?”
He shook his head. “Your dad’s done enough for me. I don’t want him to know how I feel about all this.”
She agreed, but only because she didn’t really want to call Randy right now and tell him she was in LA and not going to school this week.
She looked at the time on her phone. “So, what time am I supposed to meet Princess Charm-a-lot?”
“She’s sending a car at eleven. You might want to eat lunch here or have the driver go through drive thru, because she won’t be seen at a restaurant with you--at least not until she has styled you.”
“Nice.”
“Oh, yeah. And I get to hang out with her sometimes two or three days a week.”
“Well, I’d better get in the shower, so I’m not late,” MG got up and rounded Daniel’s chair to get to the door. He grabbed her hand as she passed. MG squeezed his, thinking that was what he wanted, but he pulled her down onto his lap and hugged her tight.
“I’m serious, about how much it means to me that you’re here.”
She cringed with her head on his shoulder so he couldn’t see. Then she hugged him back briefly and pushed herself up.
♪ ☺ ♥
She wanted to call Steve, her lifeline, but this was so not a problem she could share with him. He would tell her to get the hell out of there, and he would probably be right. Only there was no way she could bail on Daniel right now. They could both call Randy tomorrow (or the next day) and hopefully get some ideas to help Daniel.
Shopping with Tabitha was torture. She held nothing back in her assessment of MG’s body.
“Jesus, I’m not sure where they would carry your size.” She looked her up and down, “What are you, like a ten?” She made it sound huge.
MG nodded.
“And your boobs.” She pushed on the side of one and gave a frustrated sigh. “Do you work out?”
MG shook her head.
“Yeah, it shows.” She marched down a row of shops and assumed MG would follow along. They went to one that did have really cool clothes, and amazingly, they had a few size tens.
“You’ll need a dress for tonight, and,” she sighed again, “I guess another for Wednesday if you’re staying that long. You need to coordinate with him, but blend into the background. Do you know what he threatened to give up to have you there?”
MG was pretty sure Daniel had threatened to walk away from it all, but she knew it wouldn’t be for her sake.
“He could have any one of a hundred girls, properly dressed and styled, camera ready, who know how to do an interview …” Tabitha wasn’t exactly talking to her so much as complaining out loud about Daniel’s crappy taste in dates.
Five hours later, without so much as a coke or candy bar for sustenance, MG was back at Daniel’s condo with dresses, shoes, jewelry, a handbag, and detailed instructions as to where she had to be tomorrow to have her nails and toes done. She was also supposed to memorize the names of who made each item she was going to wear. That was the only thing she would be allowed to say to the press.
Daniel wasn’t there, so she called and ordered take-out from a menu he had on his fridge and called Steve before it got too late in St. Louis.
♪ ☺ ♥
OK, she did look hot--like “awesome, freakin’ amazing, who is that bitch in the mirror” hot. Tabitha knew how to do her job.
The dress made her waist look smaller and her boobs look bigger. It also somehow made her look tanner and taller. It was like an LA-magic dress. When you added the perfect jewelry, purse, shoes, hair, makeup, nails, and toes the total look was jaw-dropping. It was almost worth the torturous hours it took to get this look.
She was allowed to exit the limo with Daniel this time, but not hang on his arm. She was told to walk a little behind him, like some distant relative who was just along for the ride.
It w
as loud and frantic, and she was actually happy to hide in plain sight. Daniel was almost at the end of the carpet, having already stopped to talk to several reporters and pose and smile, when he reached for her.
MG freaked and looked at Tabitha for what to do. Tabitha gracefully walked between his outstretched arm and MG, cutting him off. But he reached around her and grabbed MG’s hand and pulled her to him. MG got close, with a huge fake smile on her face to hide her internal freak-out. She patted him on the arm like a doting aunt might. He slid his arm around her waist and leaned down and kissed her on her head. Oh, crap.
He paused at the TMZ microphone with her on his arm and greeted the interviewer. They did the usual routine about his song being number one and when he planned to release a new one, then the reporter turned his attention to MG.
“And who is this lovely lady?”
Daniel squeezed her tight. “This is MG. She’s my fiancée.”
MG wasn’t sure if the place really got quieter or if she just imagined it as all the blood rushed from her head, and she thought she was going to faint. She tried to keep smiling. She may have nodded to something the reporter asked. Tabitha, still smiling, pushed them along from the back until they were safely inside the doors. Then she got in front of them and backed them into a corner.
“What the fuck was that?!” Tabitha looked like she could spit fire. MG tried to back up a little, but Daniel held firm to her hip.
“I guess I forgot to tell you.” Daniel’s tone was calm but confrontational, daring Tabitha to push him.
Tabitha scrubbed her hand through her hair, messing up her perfect messy waves. She took a deep breath before she could speak and then glanced outside to see what was going on. She shook her head.
“God dammit, Daniel. You think this is funny? You think this is all some kind of a joke? Do you know how many careers you just trashed? The least of which is yours.”
He looked worried for a moment, he clearly hadn’t thought this through. It was then that MG realized that Steve would see the footage. She had told him what they were doing tonight, and he had promised to watch on TV. Fuck! She needed to call him, now.
