Laguna Nights (23 page)

“Your old man really wants to talk to you, by the way. He’s called me at least three times since noon to get your number, but you told me never to give it to him,” Marty said.

Josh looked out the window at the bright blue sky and the shimmering ocean. He realized he’d been excited to see his father watching him work, seemingly proud of him. It had crushed him more than anything else when his father had walked away. “If he calls again, give him my number, ok?”

“Sure, kid. So what about tomorrow’s shoot? What do I tell them?” Marty said.

“I’ll talk to Madison and get back to you in a couple hours,” Josh said.

“She’s with you?” Marty said, sounding incredulous.
Why would a girl like that be with a loser like you
, Josh heard him say inside his own mind.

“She is. I’ll get back to you,” Josh said hanging up.

S
he woke up, naked and happy, stretching to get her bearings. They’d finally made love, she realized, and it was better than she had ever imagined. Madison climbed out of bed and headed for the shower, waking up in the warm spray, soaping all of the areas where Josh’s hands, his lips, and his body had touched her. Reliving the memories with her hands and turning herself on in the process.

She laughed and jumped out of the shower, drying off while walking over to try to salvage the blue dress, now a tangled mess on the floor. The dress was inside out and too frustrating to unravel. So she found a plush white robe in the closet and shrugged it on, opening the door to the main room of the suite, greeted by a blast of bright afternoon sunshine.

“Hey,” she said as Josh turned around and smiled. He was wearing a robe, too.

“That was so great,” he said, walking toward her, wrapping his arms around her. She could feel his erection through the robes. “Why’d we wait fifteen years?”

“I don’t know, I guess because I thought you were doing that with Laura,” Madison said. When she saw the hurt cross his eyes, she added. “Let’s not wait that long again, ok?”

“Never,” Josh said. “Coffee? I ordered up a pot for us. There’s sparkling water and hot tea, too. I wasn’t sure what you’d prefer.”

Madison walked over to the room service cart and poured herself a cup of tea. “So, what’s the plan?”

“I say we do the wrap scene, the one at the hot tub,” Josh said. “I’ve been thinking about it. It’s unscripted, so we can say whatever we’d like. We can make it completely different than that scene was, the one they’re replicating. And, it gives them more footage that we’re controlling. We’ve signed over the rights to everything they’ve already got. We’re screwed, hidden cameras and all.”

Madison sat down on the couch and took a sip of tea. “So we’d film tonight? In bathing suits? Will Laura be popping by, too?”

“Yes, yes, and I don’t know. If she does, we’ll be ready for her,” Josh said, his fists clenched by his side.

“What is our message?”

“That we’re good. The drama is over and we’re coming clean. We were part of a landmark reality TV show that was, compared to everything that followed, pretty tame and straight forward. That some of us made it because of the show, and others, despite it,” Josh said, sitting down on the couch next to her. “We’re not going to talk about all the cash I blew, I mean it was millions,” Josh said shaking his head.

“And we’re not going to talk about my weight gain, and depression or that I ran away to Europe,” Madison said. She placed her tea cup on the coffee table and stood up and walked out on the balcony. Below her was the oceanfront pool, and just beyond, a small slice of beach and the ocean. This hotel was smaller than her resort, and it hugged the water, spray from the waves reaching the balcony and leaving a mist on her face. A pelican dove for a fish in the ocean in front of her. A child’s laughter bubbled up from the pool. She had been lucky to be a part of the cast, she realized. She’d been able to pay for college and help her mom buy the building her mom had rented for her nail salon business. And this time, with this stupid show, she’d get residuals if it was a hit, a recurring payment for recurring embarrassment. It would work out.

She walked back inside and Josh shot her his signature grin.

“My dad called,” he said.

“And?”

“We’re meeting, next week. He wants to talk to me about a job. He needs help,” Josh said, and Madison saw the hope in his eyes, and it was more than about the job.

“That’s great,” she said, walking into his arms.

“It is, but you know what’s better?” he said, untying the belt of her robe and pulling it off her shoulders before tugging off his own, revealing his full erection. “This. You. You’re so sexy.”

Madison felt her body respond, aching for his touch, wanting him as much as before. He leaned forward to kiss her as he pulled her to him, grabbing her butt, sealing them together. She felt the fingers of his other hand between her legs as moisture flooded her and her knees dipped.

Josh was backing her up, walking her backward until she felt the back of the suite’s dining table on her thighs. Breaking their kiss, he pushed her up onto the table, where she sat, naked and dizzy with desire.

“Oh Josh,” she heard herself moan, overcome with need.

“Lean back,” he commanded and she did what she was told, as he grabbed her thighs and wrapped her legs around his waist. “You are gorgeous.”

Madison saw his erection, huge and thick and ready. “Please,” she said, as he plunged inside her, her thighs locked around him, her body arching against him on the table, his thrusts deep inside her. She was losing control again as pleasure shot through her and she cried out the climax shot through her, sending shivers of pleasure throughout her body. She felt him shudder, his stomach muscles clenched as he followed after.

“My god, Holls,” he said, looking down at her with a look of shock in his eyes.

“I know,” she said, as another shudder of pleasure surged through her.

He pulled out, scooting her back onto the table, giving her legs support. All she could do was flop them apart, she felt like a ragdoll. A happy ragdoll just trying to breathe. Josh looked down at her, limp and vulnerable, and leaned forward and kissed her stomach. She smiled and looked into his blue eyes, and knew this was it. No matter how far and how long she had run away from him, he was the one. She could trust him, she should have all along, no matter what she saw on TV.

“I love you, Holls,” Josh said, touching his fist to his heart.

It took all the energy she could muster to repeat the gesture. “I love you, too, Josh.”

He leaned forward for a kiss and scooped her up off the table, and deposited her on the ground in front of him, making sure her legs would support her. And as much as she never wanted to leave this room, this moment, she knew they had one last segment to film.

“Ok, let’s get ready, do the hot tub scene and get these creeps out of our lives and out of Laguna Beach.”

“Deal,” Josh said, kissing her lightly on the lips and then dialing Marty.

“We’re on for tonight,” Josh said. “Yep, we’ll be there.”

Madison’s heart raced, but Josh covered her hand with his.

“We’ve got this,” he said.

“Problem. I don’t have anything to wear. My dress is, well, not going to work,” Madison said feeling her face flush.

“Marty has wardrobe and makeup coming here in an hour. I told them that was fine. We’ve hidden out here long enough, and we can always come back,” Josh said.

“Seems I need another shower,” Madison said. “Join me?”

Josh’s smile said it all.

M
adison knew exactly where the limo was taking them as the car snaked its way up the thin streets of the southern-most gated community in Laguna Beach. As soon as the car had turned onto Coast Highway, heading away from town, Madison knew. They were headed to Laura Kinkaid’s hot tub, or, more precisely, her parents’ house and hot tub. Josh squeezed her hand, but didn’t say a word. Now that they knew there were cameras everywhere, they’d agreed not to talk unless they were in a safe place. But nothing associated with the film crew was safe from cameras, they had realized now, including the car service Marty had sent to pick them up.

The car stopped and the driver opened Madison’s door. She wore a charcoal gray Laguna Beach sweatshirt, skinny jeans and Converse tennis shoes. Underneath, she wore a bright blue bikini. A typical teen outfit that looked great on her, even though she was in her thirties. Josh wore black board shorts and a black sweatshirt. As she looked at him, she thought they could be in a time warp suddenly back fifteen years. She shook her head trying to focus on the job ahead.