Read Hollywood Princess Online
Authors: Dana Aynn Levin
Hollywood Princess (49 page)
“You can?” Elizabeth understood!
“Yes, I can,” Elizabeth smiled. Her delicate fingers cupped my face. “Because I’m getting what I want, so what’s three more months when I’ve been waiting nineteen years.” Eli laughed.
“You’re so confident.”
“Completely.” Eli wrapped her hands around my neck. Through my hair she pulled me to her. My arms clutched Eli’s body against mine, my hands resting on her upper thigh.
Elizabeth’s full lips parted. Our tongues met, caressing. She had never tasted sweeter. H
er leg curled around mine, gripping me in a vise. The pareo slipped open exposing Eli’s thigh. My hand stroked her thigh, enjoying its smooth softness. Eli responded by moving as close to me as possible, sliding her leg up to my hip. My desires rose hard against her, probing, wanting entrance.
Eli abruptly uncurled h
er leg and stopped kissing me. What the…?
“Teddy,” she whispered.
“He can see us.”
We both laughed having forgotten our houseguest.
“One more kiss,” she said, not wanting us to end.
I grabbed El
i and attacked her lips again. My hand caressed her thigh. Teddy be damned! He could avert his eyes. Elizabeth was right. I was spoiled.
Hearing Teddy in the living room, Danny and I decided we’d better get out of bed. While he took a quick shower, I threw on yoga pants and last night’s hoodie. Grubby, with my hair a tangled mess, grooming could wait. I wanted Teddy gone.
But first Teddy had to be fed. I raced to the kitchen to get breakfast started. Being boys, Danny and Teddy virtually inhaled the scrambled eggs I cooked. They gobbled up bagels too.
Normally a raised eyebrow from me got Danny to slow his pace, but not today, no raised eyebrow. I wanted Teddy out of here so badly I didn’t care if I finished eating my meal alone.
Danny was a study in motion. Whether he was taking the quickest shower and literally throwing on shorts, or wolfing down breakfast, Danny was operating in warped speed hyper mode this morning. He wanted Teddy gone too.
Danny fairly ran in from Teddy’s room, my brother’s backpack slung over his shoulder. I was starting on the second half of my bagel but Danny grabbed my shoulders and smacked a loud kiss on my cheek.
“Gotta go, babe. I’ll be back soon.”
“Don’t get a speeding ticket,” I warned.
The way Danny was moving, I was afraid to see the speedometer.
“What will you be doing?” Danny managed to stop long enough to ask.
“I’m feeling lazy. I’ll just lie on a lounge chair and bake in the sun.”
“Sounds good. I’ll join you late, but we won’t have long. We’re going to the stadium later. The Braves are in town.”
“Can I come too?” Teddy piped in, having quietly arrived from his bedroom.
No! I wanted to be alone with Danny, even if we were with 50,000 strangers.
“Eli?” Danny asked, his eyes pleading Teddy’s case.
I sighed loudly. Danny gave me no choice.
“Teddy can come but we’re dropping him at his house after the game.”
Danny hugged my shoulders and kissed the side of my forehead.
“Thank you, Sweetheart,” he said and rushed off to the garage.
“Thanks, sis,” Teddy called while running after Danny.
I didn’t like it, but I understood. I would see Danny every weekend. He wouldn’t see Teddy again until August if not later.
“Mind if I come too?” Dad asked, as we were getting Teddy. “I wouldn’t normally ask, but as you’re already taking Teddy….”
“Sure, Dad.” I frowned. How could I answer otherwise? “What about Mom?” Or all of Santa Monica for that matter?
Danny opened the front passenger door. I hesitated. Did Dad expect to sit there?
“Go ahead Elizabeth. We’re intruding on your date.”
I climbed into the car while Dad and Teddy settled into the back.
“Where’s Mom?” I asked again as we headed east on San Vicente.
“She’s meeting friends for an early dinner before going to a screening,” Dad replied.
“What’s she seeing, Mike?” Danny asked.
“Some weepie chick flick. Don’t ask. I didn’t pay attention.”
“E, why didn’t you go with her?” Danny asked.
“You know me better than that,” I snapped. “I resent ‘weepie chick flicks.’ It’s so sexist to think all women like movies that make them cry. I don’t.”
“Sorry I asked,” Danny relented.
“Mom didn’t invite me,” I awkwardly admitted.
“Kids, thanks for letting me and Teddy tag along,” Dad interjected.
“Yeah, Dad. It’s not like Danny and I ever get to spend time alone anymore.”
“Tomorrow we will,” Danny announced. Seeing my disappointment, he picked up my hand. “Tomorrow will be Eli’s day. Nobody else is invited, okay?”
“I have witnesses, Daniel.”
“I promise. Tomorrow is about you. We’ll do whatever you want and then we’ll have a nice, quiet dinner at Geoffrey’s. How’s that?”
I immediately cheered up. A day alone with Danny, followed by a romantic dinner – works for me!
If only the Dodgers would score a couple of runs early and then settle into a low-scoring pitchers’ duel. Then the game would end quickly and we could shed my father and brother.
At least Dad understood. When we reached our seats, he insisted that Teddy sit with him in the row in front of Danny and me.
“Enjoy,” Dad said, and he kissed my cheek before sitting down next to Teddy.
In the top of the second inning, just as the Dodgers completed a double play, a familiar voice interrupted us.
“Can I join you?”
Danny and I stopped our celebration kiss mid-stream.
“Steve!” I exclaimed, thrilled to see him.
“Dad! This is unexpected.”
I jumped up and enthusiastically hugged Steve. He was forced to balance his tray carrying two loaded hot dogs and a beer, on the seat so he wouldn’t drop them.
Steve and Danny warmly embraced. By this time Dad was standing too.
“Steven, glad you made it,” Dad said while clapping his hand against Steve’s shoulder in a brotherly greeting.
“Thanks for the text, Michael. My driver dropped me off. Is there room in your car for me?”
“Should be. We came in Elizabeth’s Range Rover.”
“Dad, I thought you weren’t coming home until tomorrow,” Danny said.
“I thought so too, but I’m meeting with the studio in the morning.”
Steve sat down beside Dad and turned to him. “Personnel issue,” he said quietly as though it were a code.
“Talent?” Dad responded just as softly.
I had a feeling Dad and Steve didn’t want anyone listening. So I tried as hard as possible to block out all the other stadium noises to hear them.
“You’ll be there, right?” Steve asked Dad.
“Yeah. It’s my film too. I want a happy director.”
“But it’s their money. And they want her.”
“You may be stuck, bro.”
“If I can give them another name by tomorrow.”
“I hear you,” Dad said empathetically. “But there are three problems.”
“Curiosity because of my insistence...”
“Main one. Plus she’s perfect for the part and it’s been publicized.”
“A beautiful, young bitch. Nobody can play bitch better,” Steve groused.
Were they discussing Vanessa Rogers? She was Steve’s announced star, and Vanessa was young, beautiful and an infamous bitch.
Dad snapped his head around and caught me. He must have felt my ears boring into their backs. I tried to look innocent but I’m sure I failed.
If I was correct, why was Vanessa so disliked by Steve?
Dad turned back to Steve. “Come by early for breakfast. We’ll talk then when we’ll have privacy.” He emphasized the word privacy.
It wasn’t until we had dropped Steve, Dad and Teddy off that I could reflect on the overheard conversation. Dad must have thought I knew whom he and Steve were referring to. In reality, I was far from certain and was guessing.
Nearly my entire family was involved in this project. Prior to now I hadn’t paid much if any attention to it. Would Steve’s ‘personnel issue’ impact Danny? I hoped not.
And poor Dad! If Steve couldn’t get an actor replaced, Dad would be under a lot of stress. We could all be in for a long, hot summer.
Eli’s Day was here! I had the morning planned, and I knew Elizabeth would love it.
A sleepy smile p
layed upon Elizabeth’s full pink lips. Thick auburn waves flared in all directions. I smiled in memory of the mess I’d made of them last night. Then I slid over, closing the inches-wide gap. The comforter covered most of her, though a lightly tanned shoulder attached to a slender arm faced me.
Careful not to wake
Elizabeth, I smoothed the waves off her neck and shoulder. I reached my arm around her, pressing my body against hers. Elizabeth’s narrow frame was soft and fragile.
Ever so gently, I
kissed her neck and shoulder. Eli’s squeezed-tight closed eyes didn’t fool me. The silent, laughing smile and delightful squirm told me all I needed to know. She was awake. I leaned over her shoulder and kissed her cheek.
“Good morning, beautiful,” I whispered.
“Good morning,” Elizabeth whispered back.
Her voice was musical
; the sound of Eli’s smile. I held her securely, pleased that Elizabeth enjoyed my touch on her bare skin as much as I did.
“It’s Eli’s Day.
How do you want to spend it?” I asked while stroking her thigh.
“Daniel Martin Newman,” Elizabeth said in a devilishly seductive trill.
“Am I in trouble?” My question was light and teasing.
Eli rotated in my arms to
face me. Her hands went around my neck. An infectious grin lit her face.
“You sure are,” Eli pronounced
, and she joyously pressed her lips against mine.
Yep, I was in trouble.
And I planned on enjoying every minute of it.
“What’s next?” Eli eagerly asked while we lay in each other’s arms relishing the warm afterglow of making love.
I smiled at her childlike curiosity, a complete contradiction of her very womanly behavior.
“It’s your day, babe.” Then I kissed her parted lips before she could reply. Elizabeth’s hand on my cheek held us together and she smiled.
“You haven’t shaved in a few days.” Eli stroked
my two-day growth.
“Am I hurting you?”
I hadn’t thought about my rough stubble against her soft skin when I decided not to shave yesterday. Sometimes I got so sick of it. Ironic, as only a few years ago I had wanted so badly to be a man I had shaved peach fuzz.
Elizabeth gently caressed my cheek.
“I like it. It’s very masculine.” Then she kissed me. “Let’s run on the beach?”
“Run on the beach?”
Ugh, no! Eli had already sapped my energy.
“It’ll be fun.
It’s such a beautiful morning.”
“Haven’t we had enough exercise already?”
Elizabeth considered this. “How about a walk?”
“Okay,
” I sighed, “But not too long. I did plan one part of the day.”
“
You did?” Eli asked, curious.
“I
did, baby. I have coming to our home,” I said slowly and deliberately to build suspense, “Not one, but two masseuses so we can have massages, together, outside on the patio.”
“Seriously?” Elizabeth asked.
She was so excited.
“Seriously,” I laughed.
Elizabeth reached for me and kissed me again. I ran my finger up her spine causing her to squirm. “Daniel, you’re the best.”
“No, you are.” I pulled Eli to me and devoured her luscious lips.
We never made it to the beach. We barely made it to a quick shower before the massage team arrived.
An hour and a half later, we were
like two extra limp noodles.
“First shower,” I ordered Eli.
I knew full well that she’d be in the bathroom for at least half an hour. I could take a much-deserved nap.
San Vicente Boulevard, Brentwood’s main shopping district, was unusually busy today, but this was where Elizabeth wanted to be. The wide boulevard is lined with upscale shopping, restaurants, and a Whole Foods market. The passing runners reminded me of what we hadn’t done earlier and I grinned at the memory of our more enjoyable work-out. Keeping fit the Newman way. I sighed, content.
Some things about Elizabeth I would never under
stand. Maybe all girls were like this. I didn’t know. I lacked experience. But on a day when we could have done anything, or gone anywhere, Elizabeth insisted that what she wanted to do the most was shop at the Free People boutique.
“Didn’t you
buy new clothes two days ago?” I had asked, half hoping my question would make Elizabeth rethink her retail plans.
Instead I was the recipient of a glare that made me feel completely inept.
“Those are for the beach. I can’t wear them to the studio. And forget about couture.” In case I’d been ready to suggest Beverly Hills.
I u
nderstood, but I had to laugh. Unless you’re working in Hollywood, which she was, Free People’s edgy feminine styles did not qualify as work clothes anywhere else. Elizabeth would be in for a rude awakening if she ever worked on Wall Street or at a law firm.
Eli in a business suit!
I caught myself laughing out loud as we neared the store entrance. My arm was around Eli’s shoulder and she cocked her head in my direction.
“What?”
She was adorable, no doubt about that.
“Nothing,” I smiled.
“A thought struck me as funny.”
Elizabeth s
hrugged and narrowed her eyes. She was confused, but not enough to further inquire.
“Elizabeth!” A very attractive blonde salesgirl warmly greete
d Eli as we entered the store. She was probably my age or a little older and, I assumed, an aspiring actress. If I were she, I would remember Elizabeth Jacobs too.
The level of attention she would lavish on Eli would be in dire
ct proportion to her ambition. I was twenty years old and already a jaded cynic. Not so Elizabeth.
“Monica
, I need some new clothes. I start my summer job on Monday.”
“Oh, of course,” Monica concurred with the appropriate level of understanding.
I laughed again. Only in Brentwood!
Eli f
rowned, looking at me crossly. I shrugged. It didn’t work. She was pissed.
“Don’t mind him, Monica,” Elizabeth said sourly.
Of course that’s exactly what Monica now did. She minded me. Monica regarded me, all of me, and looked me straight in the eyes while turning on her best business smile. Had I not been accompanying a favored customer, say we’d met at a bar, I would have been the recipient of the flirtatious version of that smile.
“Who’s this?”
an intrigued Monica asked Elizabeth.
“My roommate.
He’s sharing a private joke with himself,” Eli answered coolly.
“I’m sorry, babe.
I’ll explain later,” I kissed Elizabeth’s forehead. Roommate, huh? “Go find lots of nice things, honey,” I instructed.
With Monica’s assistance, Eli did in
deed find lots of nice things. Guaranteed, she would be the most fashionable summer intern in Culver City.
Once Elizabeth entered the dressing room, I removed my American Express card from my wallet and handed it to Monica.
“Whatever Elizabeth wants, put it on this,” I instructed.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Eli protested afterwards.
Her pleased smile told me otherwise. Eli would have to get used to my spoiling now that she lived in my house.
After driving down to
the heart of San Vicente, we stopped in M.Fredric for a few more things. Later, strolling down the boulevard, we picked up a light snack at Whole Foods that would tide us over until dinner.
Again my arm was around Eli’s back, my hand resting on her shoulder,
while I carried her shopping bags. She was enjoying the chivalry. I was too. On Eli’s Day, Eli did not carry shopping bags.
I stopped in the middle o
f the sidewalk and kissed her. Eli’s face lit with joy.
“I love you, babe,” I murmured.
Then Eli did the unthinkable for Eli. She grabbed my cheeks and kissed me in the middle of the busiest street in Brentwood!
Clic
k! Click, click, click.
“Eli, someone took our picture.”
“What!” She exclaimed, horrified.
“That wasn’t a tourist.”
“Why?” She frowned.
“Don’t sweat it,
baby. At least you were kissing me,” I grinned.
Elizabeth smiled. “I was, wasn’t I.
But why would anyone care?”
“People Magazine.”
“The premiere?”
“We’re gossip worthy.
It’s almost two months and we’re still together.”
“Does that mean they’ll be speculating about our wedding and kids?”
“Probably. Better keep a flat stomach or they’ll say you’re pregnant.”
When we returned home, what little was left of the afternoon Elizabeth wanted to spend relaxing on the sun-drenched patio.
“I’ll be down in a few,” I told her after she had changed into a bikini.
I didn’t want Elizabeth
watching me go through my side of the closet to prepare for packing. I planned to leave as much as possible here and take more from Brentwood. Elizabeth should not feel as though I’d moved out.
Tomorrow I would bring my filled s
uitcases to my parents’ house. I was leaving Sunday in the early afternoon from Santa Monica Airport. Dad wanted to settle me in at the hotel in Vancouver and share dinner before he left for an early evening meeting. I hated being alone in a hotel room. My iPad would be my savior this summer.
After arranging my clothes for easy packing, I changed to swim shorts and hurried out to join Elizabeth.
