Stars Collide

by H. P. Munro

  She grabbed the one glass of champagne she would allow herself from a passing waiter and walked out onto the large patio area. It seemed most of the cast and crew had gathered out there in the pleasant LA evening. Her remark to Jordan about not coming to the event had been an honest one. Freya didn’t like the ‘see and be seen’ aspect of her job. She usually avoided these types of engagements and if she did come to one she certainly didn’t lose control of what people saw of her. Too many times when she had been younger her life had ended up in gossip columns and she was careful not to provide any fodder for the vultures who waited on the sidelines for any such opportunity.

  She nodded hellos to anyone who caught her eye as she subconsciously scanned the crowd for Jordan. As she spotted her deep in conversation with Sabrina Morales she recalled that Sabrina had been in relationships with women before and an irrational sense of jealousy sparked in her. They made a striking couple, Sabrina’s dark Mediterranean looks contrasted starkly with Jordan’s girl next-door appearance. Caught in a dilemma about where to go, she turned to scan the crowd again. Arriving alone meant that she had to infiltrate conversations already flowing. She had spotted a likely possibility, when she heard a familiar voice shout her name. Turning she waved across to Jordan who was beckoning her over.

  “Hi, you made it then?” Jordan said, giving her a quick hug. “I was worried that maybe you had opted for the brave but foolish option.”

  “I’m afraid I’m not brave but can be foolish, but on this occasion I’m just tardy,” Freya smiled. “I’m hoping that Eleanor hasn’t noticed.”

  “Eleanor sees all,” Sabrina interjected. “It’s nice to meet you Freya, Jordan has spoken about you a lot.”

  “It’s nice to finally meet you too Sabrina. I saw you in that indie film Grosvenor Square last year, really lovely performance.”

  Sabrina glowed. “I like her, she can stay,” she whispered conspiratorially to Jordan.

  The sound of someone tinkling a glass to get everyone’s attention halted any attempt at conversation. Looking across the patio Eleanor stood on a table, her husband hovering anxiously as she waited for the noise to die down.

  “Thank you all for coming, I appreciate it. I like to celebrate occasions like this with my family and I consider each and every one of you a member of that family. I am blessed to have here not only old and beloved members of my Front Line family, but also new additions to the family and in particular the newest colt in the ELFREN Production company’s stable. Please welcome the cast and crew of Agents.”

  Placing a hand on Jordan’s forearm, Sabrina leaned in and whispered in Jordan’s ear, “That’s me, I am an FBI Agent.”

  Jordan stifled a laugh.

  Freya watched Sabrina lean in to whisper in Jordan’s ear and felt her jealousy rack up a notch. They seemed completely relaxed in each other’s company with their small touches and private smiles. She sighed resignedly and refocused as Eleanor wound up her welcome speech with a light hearted but equally ominous, ‘Eat, drink, just don’t throw up in the pool.’

  “Has that happened?” Freya asked.

  “Two years ago,” Sabrina answered. Switching her empty glass for a full one as a waiter passed.

  “Should I ask what happened to the guilty party?”

  Jordan leaned towards Freya and said in a dramatic voice, “Never seen again.”

  “You’ll make a cute couple,” Sabrina said, looking critically at them both.

  Freya looked surprised at Sabrina’s comment then smiled, “It’s going to be great.”

  Jordan nodded in agreement.

  “Have you worked out your couple name yet?” Sabrina asked, spotting someone across the patio and waving.

  “No, I hadn’t…” Jordan stopped as her brain worked out the possible permutations. “Oh no, you have to be kidding me.”

  “What?” Freya asked, looking in confusion between Jordan, who was rolling her eyes, and Sabrina who had a smug smile on her face.

  “Dollhausen, we’re going to get called Dollhausen,” Jordan sighed.

  “I’ve heard worse,” Sabrina laughed. “Now if you two fake lady lovahs will excuse me, I’m going to go try to build some rapport with my leading man, ’cause I’m going to need all the help I can get to fake being in love with him.”

  They watched as Sabrina sashayed across the patio towards a tall blonde man.

  “So what’s the deal tonight?” Freya asked, sipping her glass of champagne. As she was only having one she had to make it last.

  Jordan shrugged, “No idea, I’ve never been to one before.” She laughed at the look on shock on Freya’s face, “I’m kidding, although I did cut out early last year as my sister was visiting and despite her being a corporate lawyer and incredibly intelligent I have to restrict her access to people from work. She spent the entire night calling everyone by their character names. She’s actually never forgiven me for joining Front Line, she said me being on it made it less real for her.”

  Freya frowned, “The possible plague outbreak she could believe but you being on the show made it less real?”

  Jordan guffawed loudly, “I know, go figure! Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

  Surprised by the question, Freya took a moment before answering. Normally people asked her questions about her parents or grandparents, never just normal questions you would ask when trying to get to know someone. Usually people knew too much about her and her family to start with.

  “Erm, no just me. I saw you on Broadway you know, before Front Line,” she grinned, eager to change the subject.

  Jordan’s eyes widened in surprise, “You did?”

  Freya swallowed her mouthful of champagne and nodded, “You were…” She struggled to find the words that summed up what she had thought. “Breathtaking,” she finished, her tone full of genuine awe.

  Jordan blushed, “That’s sweet of you to say.”

  “Nope, not sweet, honest. So what made you want to become an actress?”

  “The film Monday Girl, I was six when I saw it and I knew that I wanted to be Anna Conor. I met her when I won my TONY and wanted to tell her that she was the reason that I became an actress but I was so awestruck that I could barely say hello.”

  Before Freya could respond, Jordan slapped her hand against her forehead, “Oh my god, I’m such an idiot. I was asking you whether you had brothers or sisters and then I start to prattle on about your grandmother. I’m so sorry, I totally forgot.”

  Almost since birth, Freya had developed a sixth sense that told her when someone was being genuine or whether they were simply trying to get close to her in order to gain access to her family. The look on Jordan’s face told Freya that she had genuinely forgotten.

  “Don’t apologize, it made me feel normal,” Freya said smiling.

  Jordan reached out and held her arm. “You are normal, you’re about the most normal person I think I’ve met,” she said softly.

  “Are you calling me dull?” Freya joked.

  Swatting her gently, Jordan laughed, “Okay have it your way, you’re weird.”

  “Growing up in my family, weird is all a matter of opinion.” Unusually, Freya felt comfortable enough in Jordan’s company to talk freely about her family. “When I was growing up while others were learning their ABC’s, I was being taught mine by Anna. A stood for ‘always show up on time on set’. B was ‘be prepared and know your lines’,” she paused enjoying the sound of Jordan’s laughter, “and c stood for courteous, although studios and producers pay your wage, the fans are your boss, so be nice and finally, d was ‘don’t admit you can’t do something’. If a director asks you say yes then figure it out afterwards.”

  Jordan gave her an empathetic smile, “All of my family are lawyers, while you were learning your ABC’s I was learning the constitution. As you can probably gather I’m the black sheep.”

  “I know that feeling well.” She saw Jordan’s puzzled look, “TV is, and I quote from Anna, ‘The devil’s work’. Your f
amily must be proud of you now.”

  “Yeah, but it all still feels like a completely different world to them and they worry about me.”

  “Well if it’s any consolation, I think you’re doing marvelously well,” Freya said, nudging Jordan with her shoulder.

  “Right back atcha fake girlfriend-to-be.”

  Eleanor’s voice rang out as she instructed everyone to get into a good position. It was only then that Jordan realized how much time had passed. Talking with Freya had been easy, and fun, and her attention had been so consumed by the dark-haired woman that she had barely registered it getting dark.

  Everyone moved to get a better view of the fireworks that Eleanor had arranged. Already they could hear the soft pops of other displays nearby. Freya could feel the warmth from Jordan’s arm pressed against hers. As they stood ready to watch the spectacle, the touch of Jordan’s skin on her own was all that Freya could concentrate on. It felt as though a fire was sweeping through her body from that single ignition point.

  The first firework exploded into the sky, flooding the dark canvas with colors. As is required with fireworks the assembled crowd ahh’d at the spectacle. The pyrotechnic display was reaching a crescendo when Freya noticed a waiter moving towards her, attempting to thread his way through the throng of people. She stepped back to clear a space only to find nothing beneath her foot. The action knocked her off balance and she lurched backwards. She whirled her arms around frantically in an attempt to restore her equilibrium but she could feel that the action was simply delaying the inevitable. She saw Jordan’s eyes widen in horror as she realized her fate.

  The splash was embarrassingly big, the sort of splash that makes you wonder the size of the person that caused it. If it had not been for the lungful of water that she had ingested, Freya was tempted to stay at the bottom of the pool to drown in embarrassment. There are worse ways to go she thought, before survival instinct kicked in and she pushed towards the surface. She emerged from the water spluttering and wiping water from her face. Pushing her soaked hair out of the way, she kicked her legs to keep afloat.

  The fireworks were forgotten as the partygoers turned their attention to the woman treading water in the pool, several were doubled over in mirth.

  Jordan was standing with her hands over her mouth, which was wide in shock but starting to tug into a smile as she swallowed down the laughter that threatened to escape.

  Sabrina edged up to Jordan, “This is the point where you should stop gawking and help the poor woman out of the pool.”

  Jordan leant over to the edge of the pool and offered Freya her hand.

  “Here let me help you out,” she said sucking at her top lip to stem the laughter.

  “It’s okay, you can laugh,” Freya grinned as she took Jordan’s hand and pulled herself out of the pool. “So technically I didn’t throw up in the pool,” she whispered, earning a load guffaw from Jordan.

  Jordan’s laugh died in her throat as she gulped. The loose white linen shirt Freya had been wearing was now transparent, as was the material of her lace bra. Jordan licked her lips subconsciously as her eyes traced the outline of Freya’s now erect nipples. “We should get you covered up,” she responded, her tone obviously distracted.

  Eleanor rushed over. “Oh my god, are you okay? Let’s go get you dried up. I’m not sure I have any clothes that will fit you though, we’re not exactly the same size,” she said, looking up at the actress, who was more than a foot taller.

  “I have gym clothes in my car, I’ll go get them,” Jordan offered, glad of the excuse to get away from her sopping co-star and their boss. She stepped out into Eleanor’s drive and puffed out a long breath of air.

  What the hell was that about Ellis? she mentally chided herself. You’re straight, just because you’re going to be playing a lesbian doesn’t mean you become one. That is taking the Stanislavski method a step too far. Get a grip.

  She shook her head. She had seen naked women before, including Sabrina whose body was known to have caused traffic jams when she had appeared semi-naked on a billboard. However Jordan had never before experienced anything resembling arousal in relation to another woman and yet her body was positively thrumming as she thought about Freya and how her shirt had clung to her.

  “Get a grip,” Jordan repeated aloud as she popped the trunk of her car and pulled out her gym bag. Feeling more composed, she turned to head back towards the house.

  ***

  “Good morning, good morning.”

  Freya buried herself lower under her duvet as her grandmother sang her way through the guesthouse looking for her.

  “There you are! It’s almost noon, why are you in bed? Are you sick?” Anna asked, opening the shutters in Freya’s bedroom, letting the light flood in.

  “No, I’m hiding.”

  “What did you do?” Anna sat down on the bed and smiled as Freya edged towards her until her head rested on her lap. She started to stroke the dark curls, waiting for Freya to open up.

  “I made a fool of myself at the producer’s party last night.” Freya still couldn’t believe what had happened, she was usually so careful to avoid bringing attention to herself. One minute she had been standing reveling in the touch of Jordan’s arm on hers and the next she was falling completely out of control. She had no doubt that Hollywood blogs and gossip sites would be full of the incident and she was mortified at the thought.

  “What did you do? Did you get drunk and make a pass at her?” Anna asked, her hand pausing mid stroke as Freya lifted her head and glared at her.

  “No I didn’t,” she replied angrily. She gave a small humph, “I fell in her pool.”

  “That’s it?” Anna laughed. “Honestly Freya, that’s nothing. I was once at the studio exec’s house for a big fancy party when my knicker elastic broke and down they came.”

  Despite herself Freya started to giggle at the picture her mind conjured up of the incident, “What did you do?”

  “Stepped out of them and moved to the other side of the room and started to speak to whoever was there. Your grandfather bent down, picked them up and stuffed them in his pocket,” Anna laughed loudly at the memory. “You worry too much about what everyone thinks about you. When you’re done moping I was going to take a drive out to the warehouse and, since you lot think I’m about to keel over and die at any moment, I thought you might want to come too.”

  “Give me five minutes and I’ll be right with you.”

  Looking at her granddaughter’s appearance Anna frowned, then leaned down and placed a kiss on Freya’s head, “Take twenty, you need it and I’m not in a hurry.”

  Freya’s eyes fluttered with annoyance, but she was well practiced at ignoring her grandmother’s veiled barbs. “Give me twenty then,” she ground out as she flung the covers back and swung her legs out of her bed with determination.

  ***

  “So, not that I don’t love coming here, but why are we here today exactly?” Freya asked, moving between the rows of movie memorabilia that her grandmother had collected over the years.

  “I’m selling the collection Freya,” Anna said with regret as her wrinkled hand reached out to straighten a prop on the tall shelving that lined the walls of the warehouse.

  Freya stopped walking, “What? Why?”

  Anna gave her an indulgent smile then reached out to cup her cheek, “Because I’m not getting any younger and your father has no interest in it all. The only one that loves this stuff as much as me is you and I’m not about to burden you with the cost of storing it and preserving it.”

  “Who are you selling it to?”

  “The rat company is looking to split the collection up and put it in their theme parks,” Anna sighed. “So today, we’re going to take the items that we’d like to keep before their assessors come in to itemize it all. Don’t want that oversized rodent getting all the good stuff, do we?”

  Freya grinned, heading off towards the shelf where the items she knew she wanted to keep were stored.<
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  ***

  “You fell in the pool!” Dan snorted.

  “Shush now, you’re not making me feel any better,” Freya groaned as her head thumped onto the table in the bar.

  “Way to impress your hot co-star Egg,” her friend laughed taking a sip of his beer.

  “Dan, don’t, just don’t, and we’re not calling her that remember,” Freya thumped her head rhythmically against the table. “This is such a mistake.”

  “What? You agreeing to be the lesbian lover of the woman you lusted after before you joined the show, while remaining so far in the closet that Aslan is licking your butt cheek? Noooo what could go wrong with that!”

  Freya sat up. “I did not lust after her,” she said indignantly.

  “Of course you didn’t,” Dan frowned and shook his head. “Remind me again. Was it because you were or weren’t attracted to her that you had the screen cap of her in a white tank top and fatigues as a screensaver?” Dan smiled dodging the peanuts being thrown in his direction.

  “Okay so I had a crush,” Freya conceded. “But that was then and now-”

  “And now you’re going to be kissing her,” Dan laughed, tossing a peanut in the air and catching it in his mouth.

  “Oh God,” Freya groaned throwing herself sideways on the booth’s seat. She sprung back up and reached over grabbing Dan’s wrists.

  “What am I doing agreeing to this story arc? It’s just asking for trouble and I’m not sure I’m ready to come out publicly Dan.”

  Her friend placed his hand on top squeezing gently, “We all have to at some point my little Easter Egg.”

  “Seriously Dan, it’s okay for you, you’re in fashion, it’s practically a pre-requisite. But in Hollywood it’s almost like it has its own ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy and besides, there is so much about me and my family already out in the public domain I like my privacy.”

  “Sweetie, it’s time to step out of the glass closet. It will come out eventually. Hell you’ve been lucky so far thanks to that weird lesbian thing of staying friends with your exes.” He pointed the neck of his bottle of beer in Freya’s direction for emphasis, “You need to decide if you want to control the message or let it control you. It might be time to put on your big girl pants and come out.”