Flirting With Fame (Flirting With Fame) (14 page)

I stood beside the bar of a randomly chosen room and watched Reggie and Clint talking on a love seat. My lips tugged at the corners as my friends shifted closer.

About freaking time.

I could read what they were saying to each other, but it seemed like a private conversation so I averted my eyes and focused instead on the glass of red wine someone had thrust into my hand when I’d entered. I took a sip and grimaced.

The wine stung my tongue and burned my throat as I took another sip. I coughed and wrinkled my nose against the sharp substance.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder and I found myself staring into the chest of Tanner Dryden, the actor who played Thora’s brother, Elof. He’d been another perfect casting choice. On set, he wore a red wig to match his sister’s tresses, but in real life he was blond. Taller than Gavin, but just as muscular, Tanner sported shoulders women fainted over. He was dressed as a sexy vampire from a popular television show, with dark jeans, a black tank top, and fangs. I needed to tilt my head to see his lips above me.

“Not a fan of red?” He pointed to my glass.

I shook my head. “I tend to prefer sweeter drinks. This both tastes and smells like feet.”

He laughed and eased the insulting drink out of my hand. “I think I know something you might like better. Follow me.”

He grabbed my hand and led me out of the room and down the hall. I motioned to Clint and Reggie that I was leaving as we passed them, but they didn’t seem to notice anyone else was even in the room with them.

As we moved through the hallway, I scanned the crowd for Gavin. I spotted him in the corner, pressed up against the wall.

Veronica leaned into his hips, her bare leg coiled around his calf like a perfectly tanned serpent. Gavin’s gaze flicked over her shoulder, and for a brief moment, I wondered if he was more trapped than actually enjoying himself. His eyes stopped on me. They dropped to Tanner’s hand entwined with mine. A muscle in Gavin’s cheek twitched, and for a split second, I wondered if he might actually be jealous. Then Veronica grabbed his face and broke him out of whatever he’d been thinking by shoving her tongue down his throat.

Right. Because Gavin had any reason to be jealous of Tanner. The author in me really got the best of me sometimes. It sucked having such a vivid imagination.

Something locked around my chest and I forced myself to look away from them and instead focus on the golden head leading me away from the crowd.

We stopped at a room next to the ice machine and Tanner slipped a white card out of his pocket and into the slot on the doorknob. A red light blinked to green and he pushed open the door, holding it for me.

“Is this your room?” I asked. He nodded and I scrunched my eyebrows.

“If you like, I can grab you a drink and bring it out. You don’t have to come in.”

I glanced down the hall. Gavin and Veronica hadn’t moved. Her dress rose to a dangerous level as his hands roamed her body. I considered my options. The heat of all the partygoers had already collected in the air of the hallway, strangling any coolness from it. A breeze wafted from the opened door and slithered against my skin. Pushing a lock of sweaty hair from my brow, I shook my head. I entered the room and immediately shivered with pleasure as the air-conditioning hit my bare legs.

The room was large but comfortable. Taylor took my elbow and guided me to the love seat in the corner, past the king-size bed that rested against the wall to my left. I exhaled in relief as I sank into the plush corduroy.

“So,” Tanner said, “you prefer sweet, right? Wait here.”

He went to the mini fridge and grabbed some tiny bottles and a can of Sprite. As he mixed, I turned to look out the window. The view was nothing special. Fernbrooke didn’t really have anything special to see, but Tanner had a decent view of Honeycomb Lake. In fact, if I looked hard enough, I could just make out the spot where the accident had happened . . .

Tanner touched my shoulder and I jumped, almost knocking a glass out of his hand.

“Whoa,” he said. “You okay? You seem a little tense. We can go back to the party, if you like.”

“I’m fine. It’s so warm out there. I’m enjoying the air-conditioning.” I took the glass from his hand and sipped. My mouth tingled with a combination of the burning alcohol, the bubbles from the soda, and something sweet I couldn’t quite discern. I murmured with delight and took a larger gulp.

“You like it?” Tanner sat beside me on the love seat, the heat of his thigh pressed against mine.

I downed the rest of the drink and placed the glass on the desk beside me. “I loved it. What was in it?”

“Rum, Sprite, and pineapple juice. It’s a favorite of mine. You want another?”

The warmth of the rum already spread through my chest and into my head, buzzing around with a pleasant tingle.

“Are you in the practice of giving underage girls alcohol?” I asked.

“Well, I am Swedish. We’re not quite as strict about it there. You’re not going to tell on me, are you?” He winked a perfect blue eye and my stomach flip-flopped.

I laughed. “No. I won’t tell. I’m just thankful you got me out of there. It was hard to breathe.”

“I noticed on set you tend to stand as far away from anyone as you can get.”

“You noticed me on set?”

“Yeah. You’re pretty hard to miss.”

His hand rested on my knee, and I flicked my gaze toward it and swallowed. I started to consider that second drink.

“So, are you having fun playing Elof?” I asked, forcing my eyes to his face.

Although he portrayed the villain, he was light where Gavin was dark. His blue eyes were playful while Gavin’s often seemed clouded. Except for his size, the two could have switched roles. He’d had quite the modeling career before becoming an actor. His etched cheekbones and boyish grin had adorned many a magazine.

“It’s a great part,” Tanner said. “There’s something freeing about playing the villain. No one has to like you in the end. You can do whatever you want and get away with it.”

His hand inched up my leg, dangerously close to the hem of my skirt. My heart hammered in my rib cage as his face moved closer to mine. His smile was positively devilish. The perfected Elof grin.

“Well.” I fought to find words as my tongue twisted against the roof of my mouth. “There are people who like rooting for the villain. Elof has a lot of fans.”

“He does. Aubrey wrote him well.”

“Thanks.” He furrowed his brow and I clenched my hands so as not to smack myself in the forehead for the error. “I mean, as Aubrey’s assistant, I feel proud when someone compliments her work.”

“So you’re a fan of the books, too?” he asked. The faint scent of alcohol escaped his mouth and hung in the air between us.

“Of course. I wouldn’t have taken the job if I wasn’t.”

“And, in your opinion, am I doing a good job playing the villain?”

I looked down at my hands as they twisted in my lap. “Yeah, you’re great. You’re, um, super hot.”

Crap. Did that really just come out of my mouth? Was it too late to leave this room?

Tanner’s finger touched my chin and tilted my face to his.

“So are you.”

I had no time to compose a retort before his mouth was on mine. I gasped at the sudden contact, then closed my eyes as he probed further, his lips pressing against me, almost bruising my mouth. His tongue slipped between my teeth. The vibrations as he moaned tingled against my lips and jaw. His tongue found mine and I groaned against him.

This seemed to be all he needed as his hand snuck beneath my skirt and started to stroke my thigh with soft, teasing fingers. I tried to tell myself all the reasons this was a bad idea. I barely knew him, except for what I’d read in the press. This was the longest conversation I’d had with him. There was no part of me interested in a relationship with him.

But when he pressed me into the armrest and his fingers traveled upward, grazing the delicate fabric of my panties between my thighs, all logic went out the window. My mouth sought his, hungry for his lips, his teeth, his tongue. He tasted like pineapple, rum, and the overly sweet soda. I wound my fingers through his hair and tugged him closer. Tremors coursed through his body as he moaned again, sending shock waves through me.

I wasn’t a virgin in the physical sense. There’d been one boy in my last year at Deaf school, Billy Jordan. We were both outsiders, both struggling to find acceptance in a world we felt had deserted us. I didn’t love him and he didn’t love me. One day, after school, we’d snuck into an empty classroom and he’d pulled my skirt up over my thighs, slipped my underwear to the side, and delved into me. There’d been no sound, no emotion, and no promise of anything afterward. I hadn’t even said good-bye to him when I went to a different school. It was the least pleasurable moment of my life. I’d never bothered to tell Jin about it. He probably assumed I was still a virgin.

Being with Tanner was different. Although I didn’t love him, either, unlike Billy Jordan way back when, Tanner knew what he was doing with his hands and mouth. It was like he had a map of my body, knowing which spots would make me respond. The weight of him against me was crushing, but I didn’t push him off. I’d never felt a man want me this way, with such urgency. Tanner’s want was very apparent when he pressed against my thigh.

To my disappointment, his hand left my skirt and moved to the buttons of my blouse. I whined in protest as his lips disappeared from mine and slithered to my collarbone. His tongue trailed down my front and he planted a kiss at each spot he popped a button open. I shivered and arched my back against the armrest to give him easier access. He finished unbuttoning and one of his hands slipped into my blouse, cupping a breast. His finger teased me through the thin fabric of my new bra before he pulled open my shirt.

My body hummed in approval and my insides clenched in anticipation of his next move.

Much too suddenly, he stopped. I cried out for him to continue, but it was like someone had pressed pause on a show right at the moment the main character had dived off a cliff. I opened my eyes and lifted my head. He stared at the front of me, his jaw slack, and all traces of lust vanished from his eyes.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

Silly Elise. I knew what was wrong. The same thing that had been wrong every other time I’d let anyone see what lay beneath my clothes. At least Billy had had the sense to simply lift my skirt and be done with it.

“These . . . these scars. What are they?”

I folded my blouse closed and felt shame creep up my face in hot red flashes. “I was in an accident years ago. The same one that left me deaf.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t know you’d been in an accident.” He crossed his legs. “But you know what? It’s probably for the better.”

He sat back on the couch and rubbed his eyes, as though he was trying to erase the memory of what he’d just seen. With shaking hands, I began to do up the buttons on my blouse.

“It’s better that I had an accident?”

“No,” he said. His eyes remained hidden behind his hands, but I could clearly see his mouth. “But we work together. We shouldn’t do this, you know? Also, how old are you? Like eighteen? I’m twenty-five. It’s not right.”

“I’m nineteen,” I said. I sat up on the couch and pulled my skirt farther down my thighs. “And Aubrey and Gavin are together, even though they work with each other.”

“Well, yeah,” Tanner fumbled, “but, like I said, I’m so much older than you. It’s not cool.”

Shame heated my face with the fury of a thousand irons. The room had grown hotter than the hall outside. “I see,” I said. His words should’ve made me feel better, but they didn’t. I’d seen it in his eyes, that moment of disgust. Like he thought I was a diseased animal. It had nothing to do with our age difference or our jobs.

“You should go back to the party,” he said. “Have some fun.”

He still refused to meet my eyes.

I nodded and got up from the couch, my legs wobbling beneath me. Tears gathered in my eyes, blurring the bed and television as I ran past them. I couldn’t think of anything to say, so I opened the door and stumbled out of the room.

And right into Gavin Hartley.

I
ran into Gavin’s chest full force, but he barely stumbled. His torso was a sturdy wall against my cheek, the kind that took years at a gym to build and wouldn’t be lost with even a straight month of the cupcake diet. He gripped my shoulders and steadied me, holding me away from him so he could tilt his face to mine.

Are you okay?
he signed.

Dressed in an unbuttoned white shirt with black pants and a scarf around his head, Gavin had the sexy-pirate look nailed. He shifted his eye patch to his forehead and studied me with kohl-rimmed eyes.

I brushed the tears off my face with the back of my hand, careful not to smudge my makeup. Like I hadn’t been humiliated enough. Now Gavin Hartley had seen me cry.

I’m fine
, I signed. I chanced a look back at Tanner’s door in the hopes he’d run out contrite and apologetic after the realization that he’d been a complete douche. The door remained stubbornly in place.
It’s nothing
.

Gavin released me and stepped back.

You don’t look okay
, he signed.
I saw you go in there with Tanner. You came out crying and your blouse is buttoned wrong. Did he hurt you?

Glancing down, I saw he was right. I’d missed two buttons in my hasty exit, and a bump of fabric between my breasts gave him, and the rest of the hallway, quite the eyeful of my new lingerie. I did up the buttons with trembling hands and shook my head.

I’m okay, really.
He didn’t hurt me
, I signed.
Not physically, anyway.
I just want to have a few drinks and forget about it.

Are you sure?
Gavin signed.
How about I get my driver to take you home? You look like you need some sleep.

No
, I replied.
What I need is Aubrey. Have you seen her?

A girl stumbled down the hall and fell into Gavin. He lurched toward me, and his body pressed into mine for the briefest of moments before the girl pulled him away, uttering apologies and adoration.

I rolled my eyes and set off down the hall, in search of Veronica. Gavin caught up to me. He grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

“Seriously, Elise,” he said. “You need anything, you let me know.”

“Sure,” I said.

Like I would risk embarrassing myself in front of him any more than I already had.

“Aubrey should be in the second room to your left,” he said. He held me with a steady gaze. “And please be careful.”

I shrugged in thanks and went into the room he’d indicated. Veronica stood by the bar, a group of men surrounding her as she giggled and touched them flirtatiously. Straightening my blouse, I pressed through the crowd and grabbed her hand.

“Elise!” she said. “Whoa. Who peed on
your
Prada?”

“Doesn’t matter,” I said. “What matters is I need to get drunk. Now. Can you do anything about that?”

Veronica laughed and pulled my hand to her chest.

“Finally! It’s about time you learned to have fun.”

•   •   •

The next few hours went by in a blur of alcohol, sweat, and pretty faces. Everywhere I looked, there was another gorgeous person. For some reason, the
Viking Moon
Halloween party was more than just the cast and crew. From the recognizable faces surrounding me, I figured they’d put out the invite to all of Hollywood’s elite. And it didn’t hurt that Veronica attracted them like sharks to blood. Actors, rock stars, groupies, they all wanted to be a part of our group. It was like nothing I’d ever experienced.

The alcohol burned away all my insecurities. I forgot about the scar on my face, even as my makeup merged with sweat and wiped off on my arm. I danced with a singer from a band whose music I’d adored before my accident, not pulling away each time his hands grabbed me around the waist to bring me in closer. I couldn’t hear the music the same way everyone else did, but he didn’t have to know that. I gyrated in time to the same rhythm as the bodies around me, feeling the beat through the soles of my shoes and rocking against him.

He spun me around and I laughed as the room swirled in a mix of whites and blues. I staggered, unable to get my balance. Long arms encircled me and I straightened and peered up at my savior.

“Cowboy!” I said, throwing my arms around his neck. I had to stand on my tiptoes in order to clasp my hands behind his head. “I missed you! Where’ve you been?”

Clint pried my arms from him and pushed me back so I could see his face. “Whoa, darlin’. You look like you’ve had a little too much to drink there.”

“No.” I shook my head. “Not enough, yet. I can still remember.”

“Remember what, darlin’?”

No. I wasn’t having that conversation with anyone tonight. And especially not with him.

“Nothing,” I said. I pulled his hands to my waist. “Dance with me, cowboy.”

Clint reeled his hands back and crossed his arms. “Naw, darlin’. That’s a nice offer and all, but I think we’d best get you back to the dorm.”

“We can’t go.” I placed my hands on his hips and pulled myself into him. “I’m having so much fun! Aren’t you?”

His body stiffened beneath my fingers, but he didn’t pull away. I gyrated my hips across his thigh and felt his stomach tense as he gasped. He grabbed my hands, but I entwined my fingers through his belt loops, making it impossible for him to pry them off.

“Why are you fighting me, cowboy? You weren’t so eager to push me off before. Like that night you walked me back to my dorm. If I remember correctly,
you
kissed
me
.”

He looked at something over my shoulder and pushed me off. “Stop, Elise. This isn’t you.”

“Oh, come on, cowboy. I’m just giving you what we all know you want.”

“Not anymore, Elise.”

“What do you—” I cut off midsentence, a sinking feeling creeping through my gut as I turned around to find what had caught Clint’s eye:

Reggie, standing behind me, face flushed and eyes brimming with tears.

“Reg—”

I reached for her but she pushed me off.

“You knew I liked him and yet, here you are, grinding up against him like some desperate skank. And you
kissed
him?! I can’t believe you. I thought you were my friend.”

I wrapped my arms around myself. She was right. This wasn’t me. I didn’t dance with strangers or hit on my friends’ crushes. Hell, I barely talked to strangers or other guys. But I was so damn sick of being me. Look what happened when people saw the real me. Being me meant being an object of repulsion.

“Reggie,” I whispered. “I’m sorry.”

But she didn’t appear to have heard me. She wiped at her damp face, smearing the green peace sign across her cheek. “I never thought you were the type. You’ve been hanging out with Aubrey for too long. It appears bitch is contagious. I’m so outta here. Have a good time finding your inner slut.”

My jaw went slack as she turned and stomped out of the room. Clint tapped me on the shoulder.

“I’m gonna drive her back,” he said. “I don’t want her trying to get home upset. I think you should probably take a cab or get a ride with someone else. Come back when you’re more yourself, okay?”

He followed Reggie from the room, and numbness overtook my legs and torso. Well, I’d just fucked up two major friendships in the span of five minutes. Not my best night. Someone jabbed me in the chest and a glass of vodka and cranberry juice floated into my line of vision.

“You look like you need more of this,” Veronica said.

“I think that’s what caused the problem in the first place.”

“A few more and you’ll barely remember the plump princess and her cowboy crush,” she said. “Trust me.”

A flash of movement from the corner caught my eye, and I spotted Gavin staring at me. His eyes were luminescent, even in the dimmed room. Memories of his naked form the other day and his face when I came out of Tanner’s room earlier danced through my head. Those were followed by the feel of Tanner’s hands as they roamed the flesh beneath my skirt and confidently undid each button of my blouse so precisely—until he stopped.

I grabbed the drink from Veronica’s hand and downed it in one gulp.

“That’s my girl. Here, finish mine, too.”

I had no idea what was in her glass but it was golden and sweet and my tongue hummed as it traversed my mouth. Then my head went blissfully fuzzy again.

“Much better,” Veronica said. “Let’s dance.”

I kicked off my torturous shoes so I could feel the bass squishing against my toes, found my hot rock star again, and we pulsed together to the beat until his hands inched beneath my blouse. I pushed him off with what I hoped was a coy smile and moved to a corner of my own. Closing my eyes, I swayed my hips and spun in a circle with my arms out.

But when I stopped, the world continued to spin. “What the—?”

I staggered to the wall and placed my hand against the ridged wallpaper for support. The people in the middle of the room blurred as they danced in circles across my vision. I closed my eyes to make them stop, but the floor swayed dangerously beneath my feet. I wondered if we were having an earthquake.

A pair of strong arms locked around me and I tried to push them off, but my limbs had become jellied and useless. I opened my eyes and stared into a set of familiar blue eyes.

“Whoa,” Gavin said. “You need to lie down.”

“But I wanna party,” I said. The words were thick in my mouth and hard to pronounce. It was like I was talking in slow motion, the way so many people did around me when they found out I was deaf. The thought made me laugh.

“Yeah, you’ve definitely had too much party,” Gavin said. “Come on. Let’s get you into a nice, comfy bed.”

He half walked, half dragged me out of the room and down the hall. I raised my head to look for Veronica, but the movement brought on a new wave of dizziness and I groaned. We stepped into an elevator, and Gavin pressed a button with a
P
on it. He propped me against his hip, pulled a white card out of his pocket, and slid it into a slot on the elevator panel. I pressed my head into his chest as we ascended, the motion doing nothing to stop the walls from whirling.

I gasped when he unlocked the door to his room and my vision cleared up enough for me to see where I was. “Holy shit! This room is bigger than my whole house!”

We stood in a small lobby that opened into a gigantic living room with two couches, a love seat, and a television. The television could’ve been a window, it took up so much space on the wall.

Gavin led me past a table covered with flowers and fruit baskets, toward a room at the end of the hall. The door blinked in and out of focus as my eyelids grew heavy. I leaned on Gavin and placed my head against his shoulder as he tightened his grip.

“You smell like cimman . . . cinman . . . cimmina . . . You smell like candy,” I said.

His chest vibrated against my cheek as he laughed. I closed my eyes and inhaled his scent. All of a sudden, he was gone and his hard upper body was replaced with a soft cloud beneath my cheek. Something white and fluffy tumbled around me and I moaned in pleasure. I flipped onto my back and raised and lowered my arms like when I’d made snow angels as a kid.

“Mmmm,” I said. “This cloud is so comfortable. And it’s huge! It goes on forever!”

Gavin touched my cheek and his beautiful face hovered above me.

I grinned. “Hey, angel! Is this your cloud?”

He shook his head. “You just get some sleep, Elise. You’ll feel better tomorrow.”

“No, I’m pretty sure I’ll feel worse. I had a
lot
to drink.”

“I mean you’ll feel more like yourself.” His face swirled, and I squinted to read his lips. It would’ve been so much easier if he stopped spinning. I touched his lips to tell them to stay in one place. They were almost as soft as the cloud I lay on.

“Why would I want to be her?” I asked. “No one likes her much. Myself included.”

My finger stayed on his bottom lip while he spoke. “I like her a lot. She’s incredibly sweet.”

“Yeah, sweet and stupid. And she’s a big coward. Afraid of letting people see the real her.”

His hand mirrored mine and he traced my lips. His eyes followed his finger, as though he could read my lips as well.

“What’s wrong with the real her? I think she’s beautiful.”

I giggled. “Says the man dating one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen. You say you like me ’cause I’m sweet. But tell me, movie star, is that the same thing you like about her? Or is it because she’s gorgeous and going to boost your career? Don’t tell me you can’t see through that act of hers. She’s a bitch and she’s just using you for your fame. If you weren’t a rich, hot actor, she’d want nothing to do with you, and you know it. But you stay with her anyway. What does that say about you? Huh, movie star?”

His finger left my mouth almost instantly and tingles danced along my lips in its wake. A muscle in his cheek twitched as his jaw tensed, and I cursed myself and the alcohol for all the words hanging in the air between us.

He pulled a blanket up to my neck, his lips pressed into a hard line. “Get some sleep. Good night.”