Rumor Has It (Limelight) (9 page)

“How do you know I’m not the same?”

“I saw how you reacted back at the restaurant when you realized who and what I was. You weren’t impressed by it, in fact I think it’s the exact opposite. It’s working against me. Isn’t it?”

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and looked down to her hands. I tucked my hand under her chin and brought her eyes back to me. She looked conflicted and tears had formed in the corner of her eyes, ready to fall at any second.

“Tell me. What is it that’s bothering you so much?”

“It’s really embarrassing.”

I scrunched up my face in confusion.

“Okay, here goes,” she said more to herself than me and took in a big breath. “A little while ago I was seeing this guy. We’d been on five dates together and I was really into him. He seemed nice, treated me well, said all the right things. I thought we were a good match and it could turn into something serious.”

I fixed my gaze on her. It was irrational to feel as irritated as I did listening to her describe how much she liked another guy, but there it was. Rational or not.

“Anyway, one night we were back at his house, you know, making out and things were getting a little hot and heavy. That’s when I told him about my ten-date rule. He seemed okay with it at the time and I figured we were good.

“The night of our sixth date he took me out to a restaurant. He’d seemed a little off all night but halfway through dinner he let me know what had been bothering him. In a big way—he unleashed on me. He began telling me what a cock tease I was and how if he’d known how long it would take him to get in my pants he wouldn’t have taken me to all the nice places he did. He called me a gold digger, said I was only dating him to get him to foot the bill for all the places I wanted to go.”

“I don’t know who this guy is but I want to strangle him. Still I don’t see what that has to do with me. You already know I’m okay with it.”

“He wasn’t quiet, and someone overheard then decided to take out their phone and record the whole thing. I was so pissed I picked up my dessert plate and shoved it into his face. Followed quickly by a drink in his lap. The video ended up on YouTube and went viral, it got connected back to me through Facebook, and I’ve had to deal with it since.”

Of all the things I expected her to say
that
was not it. “What’s the problem? That asshole deserved what he got.”

“I thought so, too, but I shouldn’t have let my temper get the best of me. If the food hadn’t started flying it probably wouldn’t have gotten so much attention. The comments people have sent me have been less than kind.”

“How so?” I asked.

“They agreed with him—called me a cock-teasing gold digger who got caught and that was the only reason I was so pissed at him.”

“Is that what you’re worried about? That I’d find out about the video and think all that stuff was true?” I pulled her in for a hug and rubbed her back. She fit perfectly and rested her head in the crook of my neck.

“I’m worried because I want nothing more than to fly under the radar. I don’t want to be in the limelight. I want it all to go away. If we keep seeing each other the chances of that happening are slim.”

What could I say to that? It was true. If the paparazzi ever saw us together they’d make it into something it wasn’t and wait around until they could manufacture a scandal. It only took one phone call from some enterprising individual.

“Ellie, I—”

“You don’t understand how much those comments affected me. I lost out on a job today because of it. People I don’t even know are having debates about what a horrible person I am. I can’t put myself in a position like that again. I’m sorry.”

“There’s no—”

She pulled away from me and held up a hand. “No, Mason. I’ve made my decision. I can’t see you anymore.”

“Ellie—”

“I think it would be best if you just took me home.” Her voice was devoid of emotion. She’d erected a wall I wasn’t going to be able to penetrate. At least not tonight.

I said nothing as I started the car and backed down the driveway. Inside I seethed with a mix of anger and regret. Anger that some asshole had treated her so horribly, and now I was the one paying the price.

The regret was the strange part. It was the first time since I’d gone from being piss poor to skyrocketing to fame that I’d actually felt some measure of regret. Where I felt that maybe all the money, fame, and opportunities it provided were actually keeping something of value from me.

We didn’t speak on the ride home. I didn’t even turn the stereo on. The silence was deafening.

As her mom’s place came into view I tried to think of something to say. Some logical reason why everything she’d said about my life was wrong, but I couldn’t come up with one.

I stopped the car in the driveway and she immediately unbelted herself. She couldn’t get away from me fast enough.

“Thanks for tonight, Mason. I’m sorry about everything but it was really nice meeting you. Good luck with everything.”

She didn’t wait for me to respond. She bolted from the car into the house, out of my life for good.

CHAPTER TEN

Skye, Katie and I had decided to meet up at Preston’s Pub. It was a down-to-earth place with a comfortable vibe and inexpensive food.

I was already sitting with Katie at one of the high tables in the bar area when Skye torpedoed into the room. She looked great as always with her long blond hair pulled back into a high ponytail. She wore a boho chic sundress with a cropped denim vest over top and metallic gladiator sandals. I’d admired her sense of style since college, which was why I always solicited her advice on what to wear on dates. That girl knew how to put an outfit together.

Her blue eyes sparkled with mischief as she plopped her purse down on the empty chair and took a seat at our table. She looked to the bartender across the room. “Rum and Coke please,” and turned back to our table.

“Hey, Skye, good to see you again,” Katie said.

“Same here,” she said to Katie and then swiveled her head in my direction. “Now. Tell me you didn’t start spilling your guts before I got here. Because if you did you’re just going to have to back that train up and start from the beginning again.”

I chuckled but my heart was still heavy from last night’s events.

“I’ve been trying to pry it out of her but she only wants to tell the story once so we’ve been waiting for you. You were late,” Katie said in her typical blunt fashion.

“I know. Sorry, guys. Vic and I got in an argument before I left.” She waved it off with her hand like it was no big deal but I saw a shadow pass over her face.

“Everything okay?” I asked. She’d been seeing Vic for a while now and I wasn’t a fan from the get-go. I’d found him possessive and controlling, and I worried for her. She always insisted he was just misunderstood.

“Peachy. Now, how was date number two?” she replied.

I hesitated for a moment.

“Uh-oh,” they said in unison.

I sighed and then filled them in on all that had happened. When I was done rambling the other two were quiet for a minute until Katie broke the silence.

“Holy shit! He’s
that
Mason Nash? Hip-hop superstar?” Katie just about yelled through the bar.

“Shhh,” I said, looking around to make sure no one had overheard us. “I take it you know who he is?”

Skye sat with a stunned look on her face. I don’t think she’d blinked at all for the duration of my story.

“Of course. Don’t you?” The tone of her voice implied that I was an idiot for not knowing exactly who Mason was when I met him.

I shrugged. “Not really. Only what he told me. And that he’s famous enough that people came up to the table to get an autograph.”

“You seriously need to Google him. He’s got awesome tunes. And he’s dated some celebrities you’d definitely recognize.”

“Wonderful.” Equal parts jealousy and insecurity worked their way through my system as I pictured him with an actress or a model on his arm. Which was the exact reason I hadn’t Googled him yet. I wasn’t a masochist by nature. The last thing I needed was a stream of candid shots of him with a plethora of different women running through my head all day.

“He’s one fine piece of ass. Why the hell would you tell a guy like that you don’t want to see him? Are you crazy?” Katie asked.

“Have you forgotten what my life has been like since that video came out? I can’t even go on social media for fear of what people are saying about me. The last thing I want is to be dating someone who makes that kind of attention look like a drop in the bucket.”

“If that was me I’d be all over it.
All
over it if you catch my drift,” Katie said.

“Drift caught,” I deadpanned.

I looked over to Skye who had finally recovered from her stunned state and was sipping her drink through a straw; the level of the drink going down and down, without her taking a breath.

“You must understand where I’m coming from?” I asked her.

“I’m still processing over here. I can’t believe you’ve been dating a real celebrity,” she said.

“I’m not dating him. Haven’t you been listening to me at all?”

“Okay, whatever. Past tense then,” Skye said to mollify me.

Katie piped up again. “Come on, Skye. You can’t really think she has a good reason not to date this guy?”

I looked to Skye to back me up. She looked sheepish. It seemed I was outnumbered.

Skye spoke to Katie. “Honestly, I don’t see what the big deal is. I can see she likes him…a lot. So what if he’s a celebrity? He’s only here for like, what, a month or something? Why doesn’t she hang with him while he’s in town and have some fun?” Skye asked.

“Exactly. It’s not like they’re going to end up on the front of
US Weekly
as the celebrity couple of the year. They’re not going to be walking red carpets together,” Katie said. “It’s this whole video thing that’s got her so freaked out.”

“I know. And I get it, but it shouldn’t hold her back from enjoying her life,” said Skye.

“Exactly. If it does then every asshole who wrote some idiotic comment about her without knowing her wins,” Katie said.

“And you can’t let assholes like that win,” Skye agreed.

Apparently I’d been dismissed from the conversation. I sat back in my chair and sipped my drink while they continued to discuss me as if I wasn’t there.

A part of me knew they were right. How much press could we really get hanging out in his beach house for a few more weeks? More than anything I didn’t want to end up in the news, on the internet or wherever else gossipmongers posted their shit; but we didn’t have to go out in public.

Another part of me, which I’d refused to acknowledge up until now, worried that Katie had nailed what was really holding me back. I didn’t have any illusions that I could hold a candle to the women Mason must associate with in his normal life. Don’t get me wrong. I had self-confidence. Before a bunch of random strangers decided to have an opinion of me on every social media channel available I’d had quite a bit. For a regular girl I was attractive, but I didn’t come close to the models or celebrities Mason was used to.

Once Mason’s time in Virginia Beach was over he’d be wheels up and back to his regular life, with me only a vague memory. Was that what I was really afraid of? That I’d fall too deep to shrug off our time together and move on with my life?

Damn, I didn’t know. My mind was moving a mile a minute and Katie was still going on to Skye about how swoon-worthy Mason was. I’d have to sort my own thoughts out later.

“So you’re both saying that I should keep seeing him?”

“Yes!” they said in unison.

“What about the press?”

“Screw the press,” Katie said. “Stay inside. And horizontal, I say.”

I laughed. You never had to wonder what she was thinking.

“At least consider it. How often do you meet someone like him? It’d be a great opportunity to get past the shit-head you dated last,” Skye said.

Shit-head being my co-star in the infamous video.

“I’ll think about it.”

“I’m just gonna put it out there...if you do sleep with him, I want a full debriefing,” Katie said. I raised one eyebrow at her. “What? I have to live vicariously.”

“Oh, oh, oh! What she said.” Skye pointed frantically at Katie.

I pushed my chair out from the table and headed to the bar. I needed another drink if I was going to listen to this the rest of the night.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The next morning I sat on the patio in the backyard wearing my favorite bikini trying to improve my tan. I saved this bikini for those occasions when there was no chance I’d be getting wet. I’d learned the hard way that even if a white bathing suit was double layered, that didn’t mean it wasn’t see-through when wet.

It was one of those amazing days where the sun sat high in the sky but there was still a nice breeze. It was perfect. Or it would have been if I hadn’t been sitting there replaying the last time I’d seen Mason over and over in my mind.