Raw

by Simone Sowood

  “Exactly what it sounds like I mean. We break up and I don’t go on your show anymore.”

  “You wouldn’t,” she whines like a little sister. “You know how much my show means to me. You did this for me to help rescue the ratings. If you left, the show would die for sure and then what would I do?”

  “Take your yacht around the Caribbean for a few months and figure that out.”

  “Darling, you know I get seasick. Now let’s work this out. What do you want?”

  “I don’t even know how we can fix this. You went way too over the top. How are you supposed to undo that now?” I ask, my voice filled with frustration.

  “But how?”

  “You need to figure that out, and fast. I don’t care if you have to go on every morning show there is and say that you made the entire thing up. How you fix it isn’t my problem, only that you fix it.”

  “Okay, but if I fix it you have to promise that we are still a couple and that you will still be on the show.”

  “Not very likely.”

  “Well then, why would I go and say anything different about it?”

  I exhale heavily, knowing she’s got me and say, “So I don’t go public and tell them the whole story.”

  “You wouldn’t,” she says, her voice dropping an octave.

  “Try me.”

  Luna growls in frustration and says, “Fine, darling, you know I love you. I’ll fix this, I promise.” I roll my eyes and end the call without saying goodbye.

  Chapter 8

  Elsie

  “I am so excited to get those pictures. Larson is going to die when I give them to him. I’ve already decided I’m going to wear the same outfit underneath my clothes and let him discover it for himself when he undresses me, photo in his hand,” Isabel says, leaning on the reception counter.

  We already decided we were going to have a celebratory post photo-shoot dinner together tonight and she’s waiting for my shift to finish. Fortunately, she’s wearing normal clothes, although who knows what she has on underneath her black blouse and jeans. The plan is to go straight from here to a local bar called Tarzan’s and toast the fact that we did something out of the ordinary and kinda crazy. Although Isabel’s was a whole new level of crazy from mine. Still, at least I did something out of the ordinary.

  “Yeah, I’m really excited to get the photos and share them with nobody,” I say.

  “You can share them with me, darling. I’ll appreciate them,” Nathan says, tapping my arm playfully.

  “You’ll just get jealous,” Isabel laughs.

  “Absolutely, I’d love to fit into a little corset like she wore,” Nathan says. “But my waist is far too thick to even dream of it and there’s no way I’m giving up my Ho Hos so don’t even tell me I can always slim down, because that’s just not going to happen.”

  “They do sell plus-size corsets,” I say.

  “How do you know I don’t already have a closet full of them?” he asks.

  “It wouldn’t even surprise me,” I say, shaking my head. In fact, I’d be surprised if he didn’t have them. Although I never really figured him for a cross-dresser, but you never know with Nathan.

  “Anyway, back to me. Becca said my photo shoot was full-on dirty. As in the dirtiest she’d ever done. We really pushed boundaries,” Isabel says.

  Man, she’s not making me want to see the results. I start formulating a list of excuses to tell her why I can never look at them.

  “Wow, Izzy, you’d fit right in with our current guest. You know Xander Whitman is staying here, right? He’d be all into your photos,” Nathan says.

  I cringe at how openly he said that Xander is staying here, although I was obviously going to tell Isabel anyway.

  “Oh my God, is he the guy who walked in on us? I thought he looked familiar,” Isabel says.

  “One and the same,” Nathan says.

  “Now you’re sad you went and hid in the bathroom, aren’t you?” I tease Isabel.

  “That’s the understatement of the century. I can’t wait to clean his room tomorrow. How long is he saying?” Isabel asks.

  “Just one night,” I say.

  “Dammit. I’m just going to hang out in the lobby until he shows his gorgeous face,” she says.

  “And then what?” I ask.

  “I don’t know, ask for his email to send my nasty photos to?”

  “I’m sure Larson would love that,” I say.

  “He probably would, they could have a threesome and Larson could tap his ass,” Nathan says, waggling his head.

  “I’d be up for that,” Isabel says without hesitation.

  I can’t help thinking about my earlier interactions with Xander and how my body reacted. I’m also aware that it’s almost six-thirty and Xander will be coming to get his pizza soon. What will our interaction be like this time? My cheeks heat at the prospect.

  “What are you blushing about?” Nathan asks.

  The question makes me blush more and I say, “He keeps flirting with me.”

  “Get out,” Nathan says, his eyes bulging.

  “Of course he is. You should’ve seen what she was wearing when he first saw her,” Isabel says.

  “What did he say?” Nathan says.

  “Yeah, what did he do?” Isabel asks before Nathan’s finished speaking.

  “I can’t go through it all now,” I say.

  “Oh come on, give us something,” Isabel says.

  “He touched my hand to his face.” I shift my eyes down, remembering his touch. “Something happened, I don’t know, my body just went into full-on alert for him. He could have taken me right here on the desk and I wouldn’t have done anything to stop him.”

  “Obviously! The world’s sexiest man touched you,” Isabel says.

  “No, he made her touch him. That’s major sexy,” Nathan says.

  “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. We’re talking about someone with a girlfriend in the middle of a very public sex scandal,” I say.

  “Hey, what happens in Trenton stays in Trenton,” Nathan says.

  “That’s not very nice to his girlfriend,” I say.

  “After today do you honestly think they are going to be a couple much longer? I’d be surprised if they haven’t already broken up. Hell, why is he here at our little hotel in Trenton? If they were still together he would be at her penthouse,” Nathan says.

  “Excellent points,” Isabel says.

  “He sure doesn’t seem very upset if they just broke up,” I say.

  The entrance door opens and a pizza delivery man carrying a stack of three pizzas with some bottles of drinks in a bag dangling from the crock of his elbow makes his way across the lobby. Either Xander has a big appetite or he has no idea how to order pizzas. Unless he’s stocking up for breakfast. And lunch.

  “Hi, you can set them down here. Are they already paid for?” I ask.

  “Great, yep. All paid,” the delivery guy says.

  “Thanks, this is for you,” I say, handing the man a ten-dollar bill.

  “Have a great night,” he says and makes his way out the door.

  “Okay, spill. Those pizzas are for Xander, aren’t they?” Isabel says.

  “Maybe,” I say.

  “Oh shut up and stop trying to hide secrets from us,” Nathan says.

  As if on cue, Xander comes strolling into the lobby and struts up to the desk. He doesn’t even seem to notice Nathan or Isabel as his eyes are fixed firmly on me. His gaze is enough to heat my core once again.

  “Three pizzas, you must be hungry,” I say.

  “I wasn’t sure what kind you like so I ordered a few,” he says with a coy smile that shows off his dimple.

  “Does it matter what pizza toppings I like?” I say.

  “It does if you’re going to eat them with me,” Xander says and flashes me a smile.

  I am stunned into speechlessness. It doesn’t even seem real. I mean, I know it’s only pizza but still, Xander Whitman wants to eat dinner with me. Although
realistically it’s only because he saw me in the lingerie and most likely he’s only after a quickie on his way to wherever it is he’s going. Plus, he has the girlfriend. Plus, there are details of his outlandish sex life all over the news. Plus, plus he makes my insides melt.

  “I’m really sorry,” I say, scrunching up my face, “Isabel and I already have plans for dinner.”

  “I’m going to have to move our dinner to tomorrow. Really sorry, but Larson just texted me and I really have to meet up with him,” Isabel says, her words rushed.

  Xander’s lips tighten together, he clearly sees what she’s doing as well as I do. She’s such a little liar. The problem is I simply don’t know what to do.

  “Good thing I have two lovely chairs in my room,” Xander says.

  God, in his room. I think that decides it. I don’t think me going alone to his room is the wisest idea. He’d get the wrong idea right from the start. I’m not exactly a one-night stand kind of person. I’ve never had sex with anyone outside of a relationship and I can’t see myself starting now, even if it is with him and my body does react like it’s never reacted to anyone before. I’m still mostly convinced that I’m reacting this way simply because he’s famous and incredibly good-looking.

  Nathan grabs my shoulders from behind and steers me around the counter and to Xander. I try to drag my feet, but he’s very determined.

  “You go and have a good time. I’ve got the front desk under control until the evening shift gets here,” Nathan says.

  I glance between Isabel and Nathan, both urging me on with their wide eyes and not-so-subtle nods. My heart is racing as I twist and turn the options over in my mind. A solution comes to me.

  “How about we eat in our VIP roof garden?” We don’t really have a VIP roof garden, or even any roof garden. The area is simply a plastic dining table and chairs that Cynthia gave us as a reward for meeting some target or other that she set on us last year. Now the employees use the area for breaks away from the hotel guests. And as I said before, he is the first VIP guest and it’s only fitting that I give him a private, comfortable area to eat. He’s been in his room all afternoon, I’m sure he needs a change of scenery.

  “The VIP roof garden sounds ideal,” Nathan says half scoffing as the words come out of his mouth.

  “It certainly does. Let’s go before the food goes cold,” Xander says and picks up the pizzas.

  Am I really doing this? What the hell, I promised myself to have more fun before my body gives out so that’s what I am going to do.

  “Follow me,” I say and stride to the service elevators before I have the chance to change my mind.

  Chapter 9

  Xander

  I follow Elsie through an employee-only door, watching her ass sway as she walks and wondering if she’s still wearing the thong. She doesn’t say anything as she leads me down a plain white hallway and stops in front of a service elevator.

  “This only goes to the third floor, then we have to take the stairs to the roof,” she says, still not looking at me. Is she going to be all business on me? I can’t let that last for long.

  “Sounds good to me. I was getting cabin fever in that room.” Besides, on instinct I stuffed a condom in my pocket before I left my room. I’m a regular Boy Scout, I come prepared.

  The elevator door clunks open and we step inside. She pushes the big glowing three and examines the buttons as we wait for the door to close. There’s a grinding noise as we start to move but Elsie doesn’t react to it.

  “Thanks for keeping me company tonight. I was getting bored,” I say.

  She turns and looks at me, and our eyes catch. My dick gives a little nod of approval and I will it to behave itself. Something tells me I need to take the slow approach with Elsie. That’s fine by me, I have no other plans tonight.

  “It’s my pleasure. I hope you got pepperoni,” she says.

  “Of course, one pepperoni, one vegetarian and one Hawaiian.”

  “All the classics, you have a real imagination.”

  I shrug and say, “I picked the right one. You’re the one with no imagination.”

  “Maybe I should make Mongolian barbecue my go-to flavor?”

  The elevator stops moving and the door rattles open. We walk into another small service corridor and pass through a black door into a stairwell. Elsie climbs the flight of steps and I hang back so that my head is eye level with her ass. I’m already enjoying dinner.

  “Here we are,” she says, pushing open the door to the roof. The roar of traffic from the highway fills the air.

  “Nice. Very VIP.” I really don’t care that it’s some kind of disused area with a plastic table and chairs in it. I’m not here for the comfort.

  “It’s private, I figured you’d prefer it to the lobby.”

  “You know me too well,” I say and smile coyly.

  Setting the food and drinks on the table, I sit in one of the chairs and Elsie sits in the seat across from me.

  “Here’s your pepperoni,” I say, nudging the pepperoni box across the table to her.

  “I don’t need the entire extra-large pizza. Do you want some pepperoni?” she asks.

  “I’m good with the Hawaiian, I like a bit of juicy pineapple. Help yourself to a drink as well,” I say, setting the bag of drinks in front of her. I didn’t know what she’d want so I got one of everything. Unfortunately, the pizza place wouldn’t bring me beer.

  “This is quite the selection of drinks,” she says, peering into the bag.

  “I aim to please.”

  “But there’s no iced tea,” she says and looks at me with mock disappointment. Figures I’d forget the one thing she wants.

  “I assumed you were a Diet Coke sort of person.”

  “I don’t like the bubbles,” she says, and selects a bottle of water.

  Flipping open the lid of the Hawaiian pizza, I take out two slices and fold them over on themselves and take a big bite. I’m starving. I haven’t eaten anything since I fled New York and I inhale the rest of the two slices. I pull out another two slices and fold them over on themselves and cram them into my mouth.

  “Hungry?” Elsie asks.

  “Can you tell?”

  “I wasn’t sure if it was simply the best pizza you’ve ever had in your entire life.”

  “Definitely not,” I say, and bite off as big a piece as I can fit in my mouth.

  Elsie nibbles at her slice of pepperoni and I watch her in fascination as I chew. She has a total lack of self-consciousness, unlike the women I normally go out with. They’re always too busy worrying about how they look and what other people are thinking about them to do anything like simply enjoy a piece of pizza. Plus, they fret over the tomato sauce staining their overly whitened teeth.

  Fakers. Posers. Attention seekers. That’s what my life is filled with. Everything is for appearance. And my biggest worry of all is that I’m in the same category. If this media sex story has taught me anything, it’s that my life completely turned into a fake life for the sake of the camera and that there’s zero happiness to be found in front of the lens.

  Publicity might feed my ego, but it has done shit to feed my soul.

  “You must have some good stories about shit that’s gone down in this hotel,” I say, trying to get the conversation flowing.

  She chuckles, a broad unguarded laugh that sends the blood straight to my cock.

  “One time we had a couple check in, they were elderly so we put them on the ground floor. Oh my God, as soon as they checked in they started having sex so loud you could hear them at the reception desk. We thought it would be over fast, but it went on and on and on. Finally it ended and Nathan I could take our fingers out of our ears but an hour later they started again. They must’ve had a mountain of Viagra.”

  “That’s awesome. I want to be that guy when I’m old,” I say, laughing along with her.

  “Yeah, unfortunately later that evening the man’s kids showed up with the nursing home staff. Turns out th
ey took off from the home because the staff had banned them from being alone with each other. They weren’t married or anything, so the staff can do that. They only met each other on bingo night and the common room.”

  “This guy is my hero.”

  “The best thing is they got married a month later and had the honeymoon here at the hotel. It was great to see, but we knew to put them in the far reaches of the top floor so they could be as loud as they wanted.”

  “Sounds like a lot of fun stuff goes down here.”

  “It’s why I love my job,” Elsie says and takes another nibble of pizza. “There are always so many different people who come through here, and it’s always interesting. Take you, for example.”

  “Do you get many people like me staying here?”

  “You mean people running from media sex scandals?” she asks and her eyes widen as if she can’t believe she finally brought up the topic we’ve both been avoiding.

  “Yeah, about that. You can’t believe everything you see on TV.”

  “Even on the news channels?”

  “Especially on the news channels.”

  “So, you’re saying there is no truth to the story?” she says, setting down her pizza and sitting up straight in her chair.

  “None whatsoever. I promise you.”

  Elsie twists her lips and looks at me with her brows raised. I’ve never told anyone about my real relationship with Luna but there’s something about Elsie that makes me want to be real for once in my life. She makes me want to unload my burden. Like she’ll share it with me somehow and make it disappear into irrelevance.

  “Okay, here’s the deal but you have to promise that this doesn’t leave the roof.”

  “Absolutely. I would never tell anyone.”

  “Not even your friends in the lobby?”

  “Your secret is safe with me,” she says with that natural smile that lights up her face.

  I open my mouth to give her a full confession, but the words don’t come. Instead I ask, “Why don’t you tell me about you? Do you have a boyfriend?”

  She furrows her brow in confusion and says, “Nope, I’m single. I work far too hard and don’t have much of a life outside of the Good Rest Inn, although I’ve recently made a promise to myself to have more fun.”