I Heart Hollywood (33 page)

‘The reason I vamoosed was…because I was…well, a bit confused. To be honest, I don’t strictly remember what happened.’

‘Honestly?’ Joe looked a little crestfallen. ‘Wow.’

‘So help me God, Joe,’ Jenny started up again. ‘You want to check your ego before I beat the living shit out of you for taking advantage of my best friend when she was out of it.’

I felt myself blush from head to toe. The few remaining people around the pool murmured to each other. What else did they expect but a bit of drama? They were in Hollywood, after all.

‘Calm down, Lopez.’ Joe folded his arms. ‘I didn’t do anything she didn’t want. Right, English?’

‘I don’t remember,’ I said, not knowing where to look.

‘Well, he can’t have been very good, so I’d say that’s a blessing,’ surmised a voice on the other side of the bar. Looking up, I saw Blake and James standing across from us. James had his arms folded, while Blake went for a slightly less concerned hands in pockets combined with a ‘ha, I knew you were a big slag’ expression.

‘I don’t think anyone was talking to you, man.’ Joe turned to face the boys. I really want to say I wasn’t a little bit excited. But I was.

‘Doesn’t sound like anyone particularly wants to talk to you, either,’ James shrugged. ‘And yet here you are. Maybe you should apologize to Angela and then just go away.’

‘Apologize for what?’ Joe walked around the bar. ‘For sealing the deal when you couldn’t?’

‘Please can we just not?’ My voice sounded awfully high to me. ‘James, Blake, let’s just go to dinner and Joe, I don’t remember what happened the other night but whatever it was, I regret it massively and I don’t want to talk about it ever again.’

‘Whatever.’ He looked me up and down. ‘Just don’t come back begging for more when this fag can’t get the job done later on.’

‘Right, that’s it.’

In one swift move, James was in front of Joe, his arm up in his throat, pushing him back until his head cracked against the bar. It didn’t look comfortable.

‘James,’ Blake shouted a short warning. ‘Think.’

James nodded but didn’t take his eyes off Joe. ‘Apologize to Angela and then, if she’s happy, we’ll pretend this never happened. All of this.’

‘I’m not apologizing,’ he coughed. ‘Nothing even happened—she was too wasted.’

‘I was? Then why were your clothes on the…’ I flushed an even deeper shade of red. ‘Why were you still there in the morning?’

James rammed his forearm into his throat again. ‘You might want to think really carefully before you answer.’

‘I thought you might sober up a little?’ Joe croaked. ‘But you just talked about your ex, threw up and went back to sleep. It was too late to go home, I had a shift in the morning.’

‘So we didn’t?’ I could barely breathe.

‘We didn’t,’ Joe replied.

‘But you let her think you did? You are all class.’ James let him go with one last shove. ‘Well, at least we’ll all sleep better tonight. You’re not even nearly good enough for her.’

‘Jesus Christ, you can fucking have her,’ Joe coughed and righted himself. ‘Bitch.’

Which was about the point when James turned around and knocked Joe flat on his back with one almighty punch.

‘I really feel like I’ve missed something here.’

I span around to see Alex staring at the sorry scene.

‘Alex, it’s uh, it’s…this is Joe,’ I pointed at the bloody, groaning pile on the floor. It was impossible to tell from his expression what he’d seen. Or heard.

‘I waited downstairs but no one showed so I came up to find you.’ He hadn’t moved from the entry of the lift. ‘I didn’t realize you were…rumbling?’

‘All right, Alex,’ James said, stepping over Joe, who was sobbing loudly. ‘We had a bit of trouble with this one but we really should get off. Reservations are in about half an hour and we have to get all the way up to the Mondrian. Nice shirt.’

Blake and Jenny followed James into the lift, Blake smirking at me, Jenny holding in nervous giggles, while I stepped awkwardly over Joe and took Alex’s hand.

‘What was that all about?’ he asked, accepting my light kiss on the lips.

‘Uh, I don’t really know,’ I said, pulling him along behind me. ‘I told you they had a bit of a fight on Monday. I think it was the same thing.’

‘Right,’ Alex looked back at Joe while I silently prayed for him to keep sobbing long enough for me to get Alex safely into the next lift. ‘Man, how glad am I that James didn’t decide to kick the crap yesterday?’

‘Very?’ I asked, jabbing at the button.

If it was possible, the evening only got worse after we left the hotel. Luckily the manager set us away from the rest of the diners in the restaurant so at least we couldn’t ruin anyone else’s evening with the massive cloud of awkwardness that hung over us. Knowing my talent for saying the worst possible thing at the worse possible time, I ate in silence, keeping my leg pressed up against Alex, occasionally trying to distract him with a gentle squeeze of the thigh. And, if his responsive back-stroking was anything to go by, it was working.

In between ordering masses of food and many, many bottles of wine, James kept the conversation going for everyone, volleying questions at Alex about the band, about New York and, most dangerous of all, about me. Alex handled the grilling well, smiling, nodding, only occasionally kicking me lightly under the table and trying to divert the conversation to Jenny and Blake, but Jenny was too busy doing her bit by drinking as much of the wine that James kept ordering as possible.

By the time her too-little-too-late duck arrived, she was on her second bottle and veering wildly between overexcitedly discussing her new LA life with Blake and choking up over leaving me behind in New York. And when Blake wasn’t getting Jenny all worked up about the celebrities he could introduce her to, he was asking me increasingly awkward questions, preferably while Alex was listening. By the time the waiter came to ask if we wanted dessert, it was a relief to say no, get the bill and call for a cab. I couldn’t remember a time when I’d felt more tense.

‘Well, have a safe flight back to New York.’ James shook Alex’s hand and pulled him into an acceptable one-armed man hug. ‘Good to meet you, take care of her. I’m guessing that one gets herself into trouble fairly easily.’

‘Yes, she does, and she isn’t going to have me to get her out of it any more.’ Jenny threw herself on me. ‘Seriously, Brooklyn, I’m giving you my number before you go tomorrow and I expect you to call me the first time she falls down an open hatch in the sidewalk or something.’

‘I’m not going to fall into a hatch in the sidewalk,’ I mumbled into a mouthful of hair. ‘Honestly Jenny, I’ll be OK.’ I was so going to fall into a hatch in the sidewalk.

‘Yes you are,’ Jenny insisted, flinging herself from me to Alex, who held his arms out, terrified. ‘And I’ll have to accessorize your cast or something. You promise you’ll call me whenever you need me.’

‘I promise,’ Alex said, peeling her off him. ‘And so does Angela.’

They climbed into our cab, leaving me, Blake and James outside the restaurant.

‘So, Blake, I know it’s been a bit weird—’

‘We so don’t need to do this.’ He cut me off and walked off towards his and James’s car, holding up a hand in something of a wave. ‘Bye, Angela.’

‘At least that wasn’t awkward,’ I breathed out, letting James draw me into a big hug.

‘Yeah, thank heaven for small mercies,’ he said. Even now, after everything, I couldn’t help but notice how delicious that man smelled. ‘I’m sorry this week was so difficult but I’m really glad I met you. I think everything’s going to be better though. Even though you can’t tell, Blake is so happy and that’s because of you.’

‘Well, I’m very glad I made him happy,’ I lied. ‘And you promise you’ll take care of Jenny?’

‘Cub scout’s promise,’ he saluted. ‘And you promise you’ll invite me to your wedding?’

‘Baby steps,’ I gave him a stern look. ‘I just hope we can get through all this when we get home.’

‘You’ll be fine.’ James kissed me on the cheek and pushed me towards the cab. ‘You’re so clearly horribly in love.’

‘Yeah,’ I said, peering into the back seat. Alex was cradling a sobbing, slightly worse-for-wear Jenny and mouthing ‘help?’ in the darkness. ‘I hope so.’

‘I think so,’ James said as I slid into the back seat and Alex’s free arm.

‘Don’t come too close, I’ll cry on your dress,’ Jenny sniffed. ‘If I fuck it up, I can’t take it back.’

‘Then James will have to pay for it.’ I wrapped her into a hug across Alex’s lap as James shut the cab door, laughing.

Chapter Seventeen

I hadn’t expected to be sad to be checking out of The Hollywood, but after Jenny and I had bundled all of our bags into the back of the Mustang, I felt strange walking out of the doors for the last time.

‘Are you sure you’ve got everything?’ I asked a very hungover Jenny, who nodded back and draped herself delicately across the back seat, in between her cases.

‘Angie, I’m only moving, like, ten minutes up the road,’ she said from behind her hair. ‘If I forgot something, I think I can come and get it when I turn up for work here tomorrow.’

‘Did you speak to anyone about last night? Is everything still OK about you working here?’

‘Everything’s fine for me,’ she said, sipping from a bottle of water. ‘Joe got his ass fired so I don’t imagine I’m gonna have any hassle.’

‘He got fired?’ I hissed, watching Alex wander outside, looking around for us. ‘How come?’

‘I don’t think the management really like it when the staff get into a bar brawl with really famous movie stars. Or when they sleep with the guests.’

‘But he didn’t sleep with the guests,’ I said quickly as Alex waved and started over to the car. ‘And it was James that hit Joe. Not that I’m defending him, obviously.’

‘Obviously,’ Jenny said. ‘And, don’t get mad, but they think that because I told them he did. And it really doesn’t matter who started or finished the fight, this is Hollywood: celebrities are never guilty. He deserved it, Angie. Don’t start feeling all guilty now.’

‘I don’t.’ I was as surprised as she was. ‘He’s a complete shit.’

‘Yeah, he is.’ Jenny gave me a feeble high five. ‘Hey, Alex.’

‘Hey.’ He stood by the driver’s door. ‘Am I driving?’

‘Well she’s not.’ I looked back at Jenny, who was getting greener by the second. ‘And if I’m being totally honest, I don’t really fancy it. I have no idea where we’re going.’

‘Then I’m driving.’ He opened the door and dropped in beside me. I hadn’t ever really thought about it, but living in New York, I’d never seen Alex drive. I didn’t even know that he could, but as if he wasn’t amazing enough, he put on a pair of Ray-Bans, turned over the engine and pulled out onto Hollywood Boulevard.

‘What?’

‘Nothing,’ I smiled happily. ‘I just didn’t know you could drive.’

‘I guess there are still lots of things you don’t know about me,’ he said, slowing down for a red light. ‘And I guess there are lots of things I don’t know about you.’

‘Guys, pull over,’ Jenny groaned, batting me on the back of the head. ‘I’m gonna be sick.’

‘Well there’s one less thing not to know about, Jenny,’ I said, stroking her hair while she threw up into her handbag, trying not to think about what Alex could mean.

‘So, I’ll call you when we get back?’ I said to Jenny, carrying her bags into the living room. Daphne’s place was beautiful, all open plan, big windows and a terrace with a view out over LA. Maybe there was something to be said for having a sugar daddy.

‘Yeah, call me when you’re back at the apartment.’ Jenny propped herself up against the doorframe. ‘I guess I might need you to send some stuff.’

‘I suppose so,’ I said, thinking how weird it would be to walk in without her, not knowing when she would be home. If she would be home.

Jenny slipped down the frame, buzzing her own door bell. ‘I have to be sick again.’

‘Do you want me to stay for a bit?’ I risked her puking down my back and went in for a hug. ‘I can stay if you want?’

‘I’m cool, go get your flight,’ Jenny said, falling on the bell again. ‘What is that noise? Angie, say you don’t hate me for staying here?’

‘Of course not, I do get it,’ I said reluctantly. ‘I just wish you didn’t have to be so far away to sort your head out.’

‘You could always move here with me for a while?’

I looked back out at the car. Alex’s head was bobbing along to whatever he was listening to on the radio.

‘Or you could stay in New York with him.’

‘If he still wants me to after all of this,’ I said.

‘Jesus, Angie,’ Jenny let go of the doorframe long enough to slap me round the side of the head. ‘I’m gonna have to get more minutes on my call plan if I have to talk you out of this every time you guys have a row. You’re just gonna get in the car, fly back home, maybe fool around a little on the plane and then pretend that none of this ever happened.’

‘Sounds like a plan,’ I said, letting her out of the hug. ‘I love you, Jenny, you always know what to say.’

‘Yeah, well, that’s my thing,’ she said. ‘Love you too, Angie. You always know how to mess up and make me feel needed.’

Walking back to the car, I tried not to cry but I couldn’t help it. When everything else had gone wrong in my life, Jenny had always been there to help me make sense of myself. What would happen now? And why was it so easy for us to throw around the reasons why we loved each other when I couldn’t say to the person who needed to hear it the most?

‘She OK?’ Alex asked, turning down the radio.

I nodded. ‘She will be.’

‘You OK?’ he asked, wiping away the tears that were rolling down my cheeks.

‘I will be.’ I ran my fingers under my eyes to pick up any stray mascara streaks and smiled. ‘Airport?’

‘We’ve actually got a couple of hours,’ he said, rolling out into the street. ‘And I’m not desperate to spend any more time than we have to in LAX.’

‘What do you want to do?’ I asked, suddenly nervous to be alone with him, even though he was smiling.

‘I know this is going sound weird, but I was kind of thinking the beach? Who knows when I’m going to be back in LA, right? I feel like I should at least see the Pacific Ocean.’