Read All The Pretty Lights (The "A" List #1) Online

Authors: Tara Oakes

Tags: #Romance, #Contemporary, #New Adult & College

All The Pretty Lights (The "A" List #1) (8 page)

BOOK: All The Pretty Lights (The "A" List #1)
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“I’m Jim Epstein. I’m the producer of the film.” That answers the second question. “Is everything alright? Why aren’t you in the theater watching the film?” He laughs. “Don’t tell me you hate it already!”

I shake my head quickly. “No, no. I—this sounds so stupid.”

He looks intrigued. “I guarantee you, it’s not stupid. What is it?”

Taking a deep breath, I prepare to look like an idiot in front of one of the most powerful men in Hollywood. “I needed popcorn.”

Jim doesn’t know if I’m serious or not. “Popcorn?”

I smile sheepishly. “I told you it was stupid. I just can’t watch a movie without popcorn. I mean, it kind of rounds out the whole experience for me. I don’t know. There’s just nothing like the smell of freshly popped popcorn when a movie is playing.”

Jim thinks on it a moment. He turns to Laura who’s been watching our exchange. “How long would it take you to make a fresh batch of popcorn, Miss?”

Laura can’t believe her ears. “Um, maybe fifteen minutes?”

Jim purses his lips, thinking. “Please make three full batches, and then have a team of ushers hand pass small bags of them through the aisles.”

Laura nods quickly, and dashes over to the abandoned concession area, no doubt to get the popcorn popping. Jim and I are left alone.

“You, Daphne, are a one of a kind,” Jim takes my hand and lifts it to his lips, gently kissing my knuckles like a true gentleman. “Enjoy the
movie
. And the popcorn. I’ll see you at the after party.”

He smiles broadly as he heads through the heavy doors into the theater. I stand in shock. One of the most successful movie producers in the world just called me a one of a kind.

A light smile takes hold and spreads my lips. I don’t know if it’s from the compliment Jim’s bestowed upon me, or from the wafting scent of popcorn beginning to fill the air.

The movie is beginning to really take off, with a daring action scene unfolding on the screen just as I return to my seat.

“See,” Colt gloats. “Told you. No popcorn.” He looks at my empty hands.

He’s such a little shit sometimes. I’m going to
really
enjoy this.

“Just wait a few minutes,” I hum matter-of-factly.

By the time the first action scene is finished, a drove of uniformed ushers holding round trays of popcorn bags begin to file down the aisles. Colt straightens and sits tall while watching the development.

When the ushers reach our aisle, I raise my hand, indicating I’d like a bag. Colt clears his throat before whispering to me as I gladly accept my bag. “I’d like popcorn, too.”

I stifle my laugh, while shaking my head playfully. “Not so fast, yee of little faith. You didn’t think I could get popcorn, did you?”

Struggling to see through the dark, I watch him drop his eyes like a little puppy dog. His lower lip pouts out. “I didn’t think you could.”

I playfully move my bag of popcorn away as he makes a grab for some. “Uh-uh. No popcorn for you.”

Colt smirks at my sudden bravado. I reach into the warm bag and take the biggest, fluffiest piece I can find, lifting it out to show him. “I don’t reward people who doubt me.”

Before I have a chance to register what he’s doing, he bends down opening his lips and taking my fingers, with the piece of popcorn, making them disappear inside his mouth.

I feel the warmth of his tongue on my fingertips, the pressure of his lips against my skin. My throat tightens and chokes from the air trapped inside. My stomach swirls as he slowly and playfully releases his hold on my fingers.

My teeth scrape against my lower lip, working out the frustration that’s building deep inside. His eyes still watch me, I feel myself drowning in them. Forcing myself to turn, I face the screen and exhale deeply.

My timing couldn’t have been worse.

Just as I’m trying to deal with and compartmentalize the slurry of feelings whirling around inside of me, a close up of Audrey Camden’s character splashes across the screen, catching the hero’s attention, also known as Colt Webb’s character.

Their eyes lock while dramatic music plays.

In slow motion, they move towards each other. Colt’s character, a time traveling super cop, reaches for her cheek. He leans in. He kisses her.

My fist balls and clenches.

My teeth grind against each other.

For some reason, I want to scream.

Not able to stomach any more of the intense love scene, I turn away before the popcorn that I’ve just devoured threatens to make a repeat appearance. I settle my eyes to the side, someplace where I think it’s safe for the time being.

I couldn’t be more wrong.

Audrey Camden, with a terribly condescending scowl on her lips, is staring back at me. She’s been watching me all along.

CHAPTER EIGHT

 

COLT

 

After parties are always the best part of these things. Well, at least that’s how I used to feel. That’s not to knock tonight’s party, it’s a good one. Tonight though, I can’t help but feel like the highlight of the night was in the beginning, when I got to meet up with my fans. It set adrenaline pumping through my veins, gave me a high, so much so that I hadn’t even noticed Audrey spying on Daphne and I until the very end of the film.

My ex-girlfriend was shooting daggers at me with her eyes. Her lip was practically snarling. For however much effort she was putting into making me feel uncomfortable, she was doubling her efforts on Daphne.

If looks could kill, this would be a taped off crime scene. In fact, if Audrey had put half the intensity that she used against Daphne and I tonight into her acting, she would have had an Academy Award on her mantle by now.

Due to plenty of effort on the part of both Audrey’s and my management team, we’ve been able to avoid each other. They must have known what a shit storm it would be if the three of us had been in each other’s crosshairs.

Audrey’s team must have been thrown for a loop when they found about Daphne escorting me tonight. I know for a fact that it didn’t play into their plans of having Audrey and I photographed together while interacting to fuel the reconciliation rumors.

With Daphne by my side, and Audrey not able to hide her animosity, those pictures would never work. Audrey doesn’t have the acting skills to pull it off. So, unsurprisingly, Audrey’s team announced that she was feeling ill and would be heading home to rest, unable to attend the after party.

It was a relief, not just for me, but, I can tell, for Daphne as well.

We don’t have the inevitable clash with Audrey hanging over our heads, at least not tonight. I know the threat isn’t going away, it’s just being… delayed. And oddly enough, I’m cool with it. I don’t need to think of it right now. I’ll worry about it tomorrow. Or the day after.

Surprisingly enough, Daphne is the belle of the ball. Every single person that meets her seems to be enamored with her.

“Daphne!” My producer, essentially my boss, Jim Epstein, rolls over to us, drink in hand.

Daphne. He doesn’t greet me first, his biggest star and therefore biggest moneymaker. He greets Daphne first. I chuckle to myself as I take a sip of the scotch on the rocks in my glass.

“Hey, Jim,” she greets him like an old friend.

I shake my head. This is surreal. “You two know each other?”

Jim smiles coyly. “Meet my partner in crime.”

I nearly spit out my scotch. “
Excuse
me?”

“In popcorn!” Daphne quickly clarifies. “Partner in crime in
popcorn
!”

It all makes sense now. Jim slaps me on the back, “You’ve got yourself quite a girl here, Colt.” Don’t I know it. “Don’t fuck it up.”

Jim clanks his glass against mine to toast, then nods over to Daphne and winks before leaving us to continue schmoozing with other industry people.

I feel my legs grow lighter. The alcohol is seeping in.

I raise what’s left in my glass to her, “To not fucking it up.”

 

~*~

 

“There you are,” I’ve finally found Daphne, standing outside on the patio, leaning against the railing.

A light wind kicks up, lifting the hem of her dress to wrap around her legs, hugging them tight. Every curve, every little delectable inch of those stems is contoured.

I feel my dick jump.

She shivers, crossing her arms around herself and rubbing her hands against her flesh. The moonlight shining on her hair, making her dress sparkle… it’s ethereal.

Loose strands of her wavy hair dance around her, and she moves to tame them, tucking the stray spirals behind her ears. She leans against the thick stone railing of the balcony, looking off into the distance.

She’s deep in thought, so much so that she doesn’t hear me come up behind her.

“Here,” I take my jacket off and use it to cover her bare shoulders. She jumps, surprised that I’m here. “Better?”

She pulls the lapels tight, and nods. “Much. But, now
you’ll
be cold, won’t you?”

I move close to her, leaning against the railing, staring off into the same distance. I love New York. It reminds me of LA. No matter the time of night, the streets are still alive. It’s nothing like my hometown of Indie, Arkansas, where the streets become a ghost town after dark.

If I were to lie down in the middle of the one intersection my hometown had on a Saturday night, I would wake up undisturbed on Sunday morning. That’s how quiet the place was. I couldn’t wait to get the hell out of there the second I turned eighteen.

“Nah,” I shake my head. “I’m used to it. You wouldn’t believe how many movie scenes are shot in the dead of winter. Picture it, me in nothing more than a pair of jeans running through an entire day’s worth of filming during twenty degree weather while the entire crew are wearing parkas.”

“That’s crazy!” She’s in disbelief. “Why do you do it?”

Good question. “Because I love it.”

It’s the truth.

“Everyone loved the movie.” Daphne butts shoulders with me purposely.

I don’t know why, but hearing the praise come from her makes me blush. It doesn’t matter that hundreds of people have already told me the same thing tonight. It hasn’t come from her lips.

“Oh yeah?” I chide her. “Did
you
like it?”

She seems to think on it a moment, before relenting, “Yeah, I did.”

I take a deep breath of the crisp November air into my lungs to mask the curious emotion that’s taking hold as she tells me she enjoyed my work. “Good. That’s all that matters.”

Daphne giggles, thinking I’m joking, when in all sincerity, I meant it.

“You know,” I add. “
You
were a bigger hit than
I
was tonight.”

She rests her hand on my arm. “Don’t be stupid. I made a friend or two. No one here will even remember my name tomorrow.”

Her self-depreciating humor upsets me. “That’s not true! They could never forget you, just like
I
could never forget you.”

She laughs. “Oh yeah? Why’s that?”

Her hand is warm, gentle. My eyes drop down to it, and I study it, afraid to see her eyes when I tell her why. “Because, you’re unforgettable. Very few people in this world are unforgettable, but you, Daphne Baker, are one of them.”

I hear her heavy breaths, mixing in with the wind around us. She doesn’t say anything, she doesn’t move. Neither of us do. She’s caught off guard by what I’ve said, and I’m afraid to see how she feels about it.

I’ve come in and turned her otherwise normal life upside-down. I’m a jerk, a liar, a user, tricking her into being here with me, and she doesn’t even know it. I may not be the most honest of people, but every single word I’ve just told her is true.

It never really phases me if people believe me or not, but not this time. She needs to know how special she is, a one of a kind. If she were to call bullshit right now, if she didn’t believe me, thought I was insincere, it would crush me. I’ve never been more authentic in my life.

That’s why I’m standing pin-still, terrified that she’ll never feel the full weight of meaning behind what I’m saying, or how true it is.

We’re quiet. Other than the sounds of the street below, it’s dead silent. Awkward.

Oh, fuck it.

I turn quickly and take her chin in my hand, tilting it to lift, to raise her eyes to find mine, to see
how
serious I am. “You. Are. Unforgettable.”

She gasps at my intensity. My lips find hers, pressing against them, moving them, guiding them. They’re cold from the night and I warm them, suckling on them gently until she returns the favor.

I feel the hot air of her breath mixing with mine, creating a fog-like steam in the icy air. I deepen the kiss, seeking out the depths of her mouth. She moans and I pull her in closer, slipping my free arm around her back, keeping my other hand on her face, caressing the soft skin.

I feel the fabric of my jacket fall from her shoulders and pile near our feet, freeing her arms. Shockingly, her hand flattens on my chest, sliding up the crisp material to find my neck, to bring me in closer to her.

Her tongue finds mine and brands it. I feel her gain an inch as she rises on her toes, stretching and arching her back as we turn, pressing her against the railing, held secure in my arms.

Her fingers tickle the sensitive skin of my neck. Her hips press against mine and I feel myself grow from the touch, throbbing against my leg. This girl has no freaking idea what she’s doing to me. This night is supposed to be the biggest of my career, and right now I couldn’t give two shits about anything else besides her.

Her lips are strong, meeting mine with every move, every caress, matching my own in both intensity and need. She tastes like popcorn and it makes me starve for her. The kiss slows gradually before we separate.

I can hear her struggle to catch her breath, just as I search for my own. My forehead rests on hers and we cling to each other, keeping each other warm in the dropping temperature.


That
,” her words are breathy, “was unforgettable.”

I need her. Now. And I’m dangerously close to taking her right here on this balcony.

“Get your purse, let’s get the hell out of here.”

 

~*~

 

DAPHNE

 

I’m a slut.

I closeted slut, but a slut none-the-less.

That’s the only explanation for what I’m doing right now. I can’t even use the excuse that I’m drunk, because I’m not.

Colton Webb’s hands are on my body and they feel
so
damn good. In fact, they feel so good, that I don’t really care if this makes me a slut. Hell, I’d proudly wear a sash labeling me queen of the sluts as long as I get to feel more of this.

Knowing that there would be a swarm of paparazzi waiting at my place, Colton made the decision to return to the hotel instead. We’d been driven around back to the service entrance to avoid a fuss with the media out front, and I couldn’t help but feel like I was in some type of espionage movie as we snuck around through the back halls to a small elevator reserved for private use.

Marcus stayed behind to stand post outside Colt’s door as we entered, leaving us where we are now, with me pinned up against the wall, his tongue, his hands, his flesh all over my body.

The room is dark, neither one of us bothering to hit the light switch. That would take precious time away from what we both want to be doing right now. Instead we make good use of the dark.

I hiss as I feel the burning touch of his fingers trail up the back of my thigh, pushing my dress as he goes. I take his earlobe between my teeth as his scorching mouth moves to my neck, playfully nipping and tickling with his lips.

“Yes,” I whisper.

I’m about to have sex with Colton Webb.

Colton. Webb.

My heart beats fast, then faster.

I flash back to earlier this afternoon when he was changing in front of me, his boxers dropping to the floor, showing me what I’m silently begging for now. My knees weaken and wobble at the thought.

“Whoa,” Colt catches me, holding my upright. “You alright?”

I struggle to catch my breath. “Just, just a little lightheaded.”

Colt wraps his arm around my waist to keep me standing while walking me through the living room to the couch, flipping the switch to a nearby light along the way.

“Let me get you some water,” he leaves me seated on the cushions, rushing into the kitchen.

With him gone, I find that I can recover my breathing. I fan myself with my hand, doing my best to cool myself off. Closing my eyes, I do whatever it takes to keep myself conscious. And that means under no circumstances am I to think of his naked chest, the strong bulging muscles that ripple wildly—

Agh!

I shake my head violently to get back on the right track. Those images will not help at a time like this.

Distraction. I need a distraction.

There’s a fresh floral arrangement on the coffee table before me. A beautiful bouquet of long stemmed red roses. I inch forward to the edge of the seat, sitting forward to smell the gorgeous flowers. Reaching for the longest stem, I take hold of it and—
Ow!

“Shit!” I yelp, taking my hand back and sucking on my wounded finger. The metallic tinge of blood fills my mouth.

Colt runs back in the room, a bottle of water in each hand. “What happened?”

I keep my finger between my lips, nursing the puncture, as I push my chin forward, pointing to the flowers. “Thorns.”

Placing the bottles down, he inspects the roses. “What the fuck! Why would they leave the thorns on?”

BOOK: All The Pretty Lights (The "A" List #1)
13.03Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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