Absolutely Famous (9 page)

Chapter
14

I laugh out loud when I see the name on the big white sign being held by my best friend in the baggage claim of Heathrow Airport. I wouldn’t have thought that I had any laughter in me after the roller coaster of emotions that I’ve been through over the last few weeks, but Leah always manages to make me feel better.

“Betty Bangzer? Really, Leah? What, are we fourteen years-old again?” I giggle as I pull her in for a huge hug.

She laughs with me.
“Well, I sure as hell wasn’t going to put Sydney Tannen on a sign and stand here with it. No way do I want to attract a giant crowd of lookie-loos as I pick up my best friend from the airport.” Leah looks me up and down and smirks. “Nice hair by the way.”

I flick back my shaggy black wig and pretend to be sexy, puckering up my lips and posing for her. “I didn’t wear it on the plane, it’s too itchy. But I didn’t want to get mobbed walking through the airport so I put it on in the bathroom when I got into the terminal. I know that this airport has a huge paparazzi problem.”

I did my research on the flight and found out that Heathrow and LAX tend to have the biggest permanent herd of photographers that just hang out all the time, aggressively pursuing celebrities as they come and go from all over the world. For some reason that I can’t figure out, fans are beyond excited to purchase pictures of famous people at the airport.
Bizarre
.

I also found out that the U.K. has antagonistic paparazzi in general. The people here love their tabloids, hence the disguise. I choked up a little when I put the wig on, reminding me of the fun Drew and I had when we would go out wearing our disguises.

Leah grabs my carry-on from me as I wheel my giant suitcase outside. “Yeah, it’s pretty bad here. Ryker gets swarmed whenever we’re out. It definitely sucks.”

“Oh really?
Who would have thought that dating the newest hottie in Hollywood would come with its own pack of paparazzi and fangirls?” I roll my eyes then smile sweetly at Leah.

She gives me the evil eye and we both crack up.

“We’re both so fucked up, you know that, right?” Leah jokes.

“Yeah, I know,” I
t comes out sadder than I meant.

“You guys will be okay. This will be good for you both
.”

I give my best friend a weak smile as we hand my luggage to her driver and climb into the back seat of the car. We settle in for the twenty mile ride from Heathrow to the Warren Hotel and chat about Leah’s time in London so far.

“So Leah, what do you do all day when you don’t go to the set?”

“I go to the set most days and hang in Ryker’s trailer or with his assistant, Brittney. But sometimes I go shopping with her or out with other friends
.” I give her a confused look so she continues. “I spend a lot of time with the same people, so I’ve made a few fairly close friends.”

“That’s great.” I’m
genuinely happy for her, and a little jealous. It’s easier to make friends when you don’t think everyone has an ulterior motive to hang out with you. Then it occurs to me, people
do
have an ulterior motive to be friends with Leah now that she’s with Ryker. “How do you know who to trust? You know, who wants to get with you just to meet Ryker?”

“Oh, I don’t know who to trust. That’s why I only hang out with the crew, friends of the cast or crew, or friends of Ryker’s. No way am I going to l
et someone use me to get to him.”

I sigh.
Leah makes life seem so easy. Why is it that the exact same problems become monumentally unsurpassable as soon as they enter my world?

“What?” she asks, not missing the huge breath I let out.

“It’s just that I was in Vancouver for longer than you and I didn’t hang out with anyone except Drew. Am I unapproachable or a super-bitch or something?”

Leah stares at me with a blank look on her face.
“No Syd, you’ve always been closed off like that. I’m your only friend for God’s sake and you’re almost twenty-five years old!” She sees my face fall and hurries to finish her thought. “It’s how you’ve had to be, Sydney, to protect yourself. But now that your secret is out, you can open up more and let people in. Just be choosy about who and how.”

“I don’t know how to make friends
.”

God, I’m such a loser!

“Girl, that’s why you’re here with me! We’re gonna party it up like the hot young things we are!” She grins and throws her arm around me, hugging me to her side. “You’re going to relearn how to be social, and we are going to do it in style.”

I smile back, not sure if this is the bes
t idea she’s ever had. But she’s right. I need to figure out how to be a normal, functioning adult. Well, a semi-famous, tabloid fodder, not at all normal adult, but still. What I’m doing isn’t working so I guess I’ll do it her way for now and see what happens.

“I for
got how bad traffic here can be.” I tell Leah as we finally make it to my suite almost two hours later. I flop on the bed exhausted and close my eyes.

A sharp tug on my hand causes me to look up. Leah is standing over me, hands on her hips, scowling in my general direction.

“Uh-uh! No way!” she chastises.

“What?”

“We’re going out. You are not going to bed at 9pm on a Saturday night in London! Get up!”

“But it’s not Saturday night in my head
. I barely even slept on the plane. I’ve had a really long, emotionally draining 24 hours Leah. Can’t we start tomorrow? Jet lag!” I beg her for mercy.

“No. That’s what coffee is for. So get your butt up. Your stuff is all wrinkled and packed, so we’re going to my room to change and then we’re getting yo
u sexed up and out of your funk.” She yanks my arms until I’m standing, then pushes me towards the door.

Two flights up and we’ve arrived at Leah and Ryker’s two bedroom suite. I was thrilled to find out she was staying at the same hotel as me. In fact, they originally were at the nearby Corinthia until the paps found out that most of the cast from the movie were staying there. Dozens of photographers and a mob of teenage girls made a camp on the sidewalks surrounding the hotel. Leah recommended the Warren to Ryker’s assistant since she loves the one in New York so much.

She swipes her keycard and we enter the exclusive suite. It’s much larger than my one bedroom, but the décor is similar. Deep grays and creams with hints of iridescent silver here and there. It’s gorgeous and minimal, just how I like it.

I know with my background I shouldn’t have formed an opinion of Ryker before knowing him, but I honestly expected the room to be filled with loud music, drunken groupies and the smell of weed. All I hear though is an acoustic guitar, strumming a hypnotizing melody.

Leah beckons me to follow her through the dining room and into the main living area of the suite.

As I turn the corner
, I realize that Karma must really hate me. I must have done some seriously bad shit in a previous life, because playing guitar on the couch next to Ryker Bancroft is none other than Adam Reynolds.

The music suddenly ends with a loud screech across the strings. Adam and I lock eyes for a moment, until I
feel the heat in my cheeks and look away.

Holy shit! I’m going to kill Leah.

I sneak a peek at her as she flops down onto Ryker’s lap and curls her arms around his neck. She’s grinning from ear to ear. She did this on purpose!

“Sydney? You’re quite possibly the last person I ever expected to see walk into this room,” Adam says in his lilting British accent, clearly just as surprised as I am by this ambush. He stands up and places the guitar on the coffee table giving me a kiss on the cheek before pulling me in for a hug. “I’m glad to see you’re alright,” he whispers in my ear.

I step back and smile apologetically. “Thanks for ummm, calling the hospital, Adam. I, uh,.…” I stumble over my words. Thankfully, he takes pity on me and interrupts my babbling.

“No worries, Sweetheart. I’m
just glad to see you doing well.” He gives me a genuine smile and I relax some.

“Yes, thank you. I’m doing much better. I appreciate you caring enough to call. And, I’m sorry for the way I
freaked out last time I saw you.” I feel the embarrassment creep up my neck.

“Not a problem,” he laughs. He lets me sit in his seat next to Ryker and Leah and drops into the chair next to the couch.

“Hello again, Sydney,” Ryker says from his position underneath my best friend. “I would have stood to greet you but as you can see, I’m currently being overpowered by Leah.” He stretches out his hand and shakes mine. I laugh at him because Leah is about five foot three if she’s lucky and maybe weighs one-hundred pounds. Ryker, on the other hand, is about six foot one and covered in lean muscles. He could probably pitch her clear across the room if he felt like it.

“No big deal,” I say. “I’m pretty much used to Leah’s odd behavior by now.”

“Hey! I’m not odd,” Her face contorts into a look of fake hurt. “Oh who am I kidding? I’m totally odd, but in an awesome way!” she laughs, and so do we.

In my three and a half hours in England, I’m having more fun and less stress than in my entire three and a half weeks in Vancouver.

Leah jumps off of Ryker’s lap and grabs my hand. “Come on, Syd. Let’s go get ready. We’re going to have a hell of a lot of fun tonight!” She drags me off to her bedroom to get dressed.

An hour later
, I’m sitting in a booth in a crowded London club, with Ryker Bancroft and Adam Reynolds. Life can be so strange sometimes.

“Let’s dance, Sydney!” Leah yells over the thumping bass of the music.

“Okay.” I relent and slide out of the booth we’re sharing with Adam and Ryker.

She’s been bugging me to dance with her for the last h
our, ever since we set foot in the exclusive Low Rent nightclub in the trendy West End, near Piccadilly Circus. It’s packed, even here in the VIP area of the club. I even found that sometimes it helps to have a recognizable face. We were able to skip waiting in the enormous line outside, simply by being us. The bouncer even knew who I was and called me by my name though I have no doubt it was Ryker and Adam who got us in so easily.

We step down the few stairs from the VIP lounge to the main dance floor and manage to carve out a tiny spot of our own. We get jostled around some, but that’s what happens in crowded clubs. It’s no different than in New York when we would dance all night
and pick up guys.

After a few songs, I start to notice that I’m being bumped more than normal. I’m so jetlagged that I haven’t had any alcohol for fear of falling asleep at the table, so my senses are better than they usually are at a club. I peek over my shoulder and see a decent looking guy dancing to my left. I shrug and look at Leah, she’s got her hands over her head and her eyes closed, moving to the rhythmic beats.

Someone bumps me hard and I slam into a man dancing next to me.

What the fuck?

The man I landed on gives me a lewd look and keeps his hands on me too long. Now I know I’m being deliberately knocked into. ‘Decent-looking guy’ on my left has hip-checked me into his friend’s slimy arms. I hadn’t noticed this guy before, but now that I’m paying attention, I can see that they’re together and that they’re doing this to me on purpose.

I move to tell Leah that I’m going back to sit down with Adam and Ryker when I feel a hand on my inner thigh that moves up under the short Versace dress I raided from her closet.

“Hey luv, don’t go yet. We’re just getting cozy here,” he says from behind me where he’s pressing up against me.

Choking down the bile I feel rising up in my throat I bring my arm forward, then drop my elbow back into his gut as hard as I possibly can. He lets go of me immediately and doubles over in pain, trying to catch his breath.

“You fucking twat!” he coughs out.

His friend moves toward me, a hostile look on his ‘decent-looking’ face, and grabs my wrist in his very non-decent hand.

“What’s your problem?” he sneers, “We’re just having a bit of fun, gorgeous.”

His breath reeks of liquor and he’s trying to force me closer to him. I am so sick of standing around being a victim.
To hell with this shit!
I bring my knee up and connect with his balls, causing him to release my arm and drop to the floor, writhing in pain.

“What the he
ll, Sydney?” Leah stands next to me, gawking at the two men gasping for air on the dance floor. She shoves me toward the VIP area and into the booth, her eyes darting around like we’re about to be arrested or something. Maybe some of Angry Drew has finally rubbed off on me.

Adam notices the scowl on my face and the shock on Leah’s as we slide int
o the seats. “What’s going on?”

“Sydney just took down two guys on the dance floor, that’s what’s going on,” Leah huffs.

“You did what?” Ryker asks in disbelief.

Embarra
ssed, I tell them what happened. “These two guys kept jostling me into each other so they could cop a feel. Then one of them put his hand up my skirt, so I elbowed him in his diaphragm.” The men’s faces are ones of pure astonishment. “Then his friend manhandled me so I kneed him in the nuts,” I say unemotionally, sipping my juice.