Mr. Hollywood (5 page)

Before I could say anything else he raised his hand and ran it softly down my cheek and then leaned in and kissed me. I knew he was going to do it, and I was helpless to stop him. I wanted him to kiss me but I also didn’t. I was scared he wanted more.

As he kissed me, I felt like I was floating. I threaded my fingers through his hair as he deepened the kiss. Before things got too heated though he pulled away.

What am I doing? I’m alone with a man in his hotel room making out. This is ridiculous. I have to get out of here or at the very least let him know that I’m a virgin and I’m not ready to move forward with our relationship, at least not in that way.

He leaned in and touched my forehead with his. “I’m sorry. I told you I wanted you to come up to my room for lunch only and now here I am trying to take advantage of you.”

I pulled back to face him. “It’s probably about time we headed back now anyway,” I said delicately. “I don’t want you to be late getting back to work after lunch. Everyone will think I’m a bad influence on you.”

He laughed.

“Okay, then let’s head out.”

We walked hand-in-hand to the elevator, through the lobby and to the limo that was awaiting our arrival out front of the hotel. I loved the feel of my hand in his.

When we got back to my house he walked me to my door like a gentleman, kissed me on the cheek and said goodbye. With the door closed behind me, I closed my eyes and thought about that kiss back in his hotel room. But before I knew it there was a knock on the door.

I opened it, wondering who it could be. I just got home, I couldn’t have been home for more than a minute.

It was Grayson. He growled and stepped towards me and before I knew what was going on he leaned in and kissed me. His dark stubble rubbed my jaw raw as he took my mouth in a long, deep, claiming kiss. I melted in his arms and let him continue to devour me.

As he pulled back he put his hands up to touch my face.

“You are driving me crazy,” he said seductively. “How do you expect me to be able to go back to work now and remember my lines when all I can think about is you?”

I just smiled.

“Kiss me, Alison,” he whispered. I knew it was a bad idea to kiss him again, but I couldn’t deny his request. My heart sped up as I leaned in, closer to him and licked his bottom lip. His breath, hot and quick, dusted over my swollen lips. The kiss was tentative at first, slow and gentle.

A low groan vibrated against my lips. “You are going to miss me when I’m gone, admit it,” he commanded. I panted softly, my eyes still closed.

“Yes,” I sighed in surrender. “I’m going to miss you too, Grayson.”

His arms came around my waist, while my fingers found their way under his shirt and snaked up his chest, which made him shudder against me. He leaned in for another kiss and as his tongue slipped between my lips he groaned my name into my mouth.

When he left to go back to the set, I knew I was in trouble. We had too much heat between us. I had to have the talk with him soon.

Then again, he leaves in one day, to go back to his home in Los Angeles. Will I even see him again before then? Will I ever see him again after then? Does he expect me to sleep with him before he leaves Houston?

I went to find Jennifer, but she wasn't home. I didn't think she had any classes on Thursday, so I wasn't sure where she had gotten off to. I texted her, no response. Interesting, I wonder where in the world she was that she wouldn't have her phone with her? That's not like her.

I decided to call my sister instead. I needed some advice, and Andrea was the most logical person I knew. I grabbed a bottle of water and sat down on the couch to get comfortable, knowing this would be a long conversation.

“Grayson Chase. Seriously?” She said as if in shock.

“Yes Andrea. Grayson Chase.”

“Have you ever even seen a single one of his movies?”

I was about to answer when she cut me off. "And no, his Disney movies when you were like ten don't count."

"Okay, so I'm not a big movie buff. That doesn't mean we don't have other things in common."

"Hmmm," she said. In the background, I could hear her tapping her pen. That can't be good.

"You know sis, this is a tough one," she admitted. "On one hand, it's cool to be able to say my sister is dating Grayson Chase."

“But?” I prodded.

She sighed. "But on the other hand, he is Grayson Chase, one of the most famous people in the world. He's well known for his philandering Alison. Do you really think he's going to settle down with some random girl he met in Texas while filming his latest movie? It's not like you even live anywhere near each other to give a serious go of it."

My sister was right. That was exactly why I didn't want to go out with him in the first place. We lived far away from each other to have anything serious and even worse, he probably met girls on the set of all the movies he worked on.

"My advice is that you enjoy it while it lasts but be honest and upfront with him. Let him know that you aren't looking for things to go too far but while he's in town, if he wants a friend, you are the one to call."

“He’s only going to be in town for another twenty-four hours Andrea. His last day of shooting is tomorrow, and then he said he has to head right back to LA."

“Well, there you have it. Just avoid him for the next twenty-four hours and be done with it.”

She was right. My perfectly logical sister knew what was best. She always did. She was the smart one after all. So why was my heart telling me to ignore everything she said and do just the opposite?

I don’t know if he’ll even call me tonight. For all I know he’ll … My thoughts were interrupted by a beep on my cell phone. It was Grayson.

“I’ll be done here in a few hours. Can you come over tonight for dinner and a movie?”

"I don't know if that's such a good idea, Grayson."

“What if I promise to be a good boy?”

“What makes you think I believe you’re capable of that?”

“Okay, fair enough,” he responded. “But I’m serious. I promise to be the perfect gentleman tonight.”

I didn't text back that time. I was still thinking about what to say when his next text came in.

“Pick you up in two hours?”

“Okay Grayson, you win. See you then.”

Since I had some time, I decided to finish my laundry and get some studying done. I got so caught up in what I was doing; the time passed quickly, and before I knew it, there was a knock at my door.

Jennifer still wasn't home yet, and she hadn't responded to my text messages. That's what was on my mind when I answered the door to find Grayson's bodyguard standing there on my front porch.

"Hello, Miss Alison. Grayson sent me to fetch you."

Fetch me? Seriously? How romantic. I inwardly rolled my eyes.

“Is everything okay?”

"Yes, ma'am. He's just working a little later than expected and he didn't want you to think he forgot about you."

“He could have just texted,” I said good-humoredly as I walked outside, shutting the door behind me.

“Yes ma’am, well, my instructions were to come get you and bring you back to the set.”

He opened the limo door for me, and after I got in the back of the car, we were off.

When I got to the set, I was ushered to where they were filming a scene between Grayson and some girl. She looked familiar, but I couldn't place her name at the moment. Then as he leaned in and kissed her, it came to me. Grayson was kissing Ava Bailey.

She pulled away from him, opening her eyes and trying to catch her breath. “We have to talk,” Ava said. “I need you to understand.”

“My room?” Grayson asked her in a husky voice.

“Please,” she begged, her breath hitching.

Holy hell, they were good. If I didn't know better, I would swear they were about to get it on.

“Cut,” someone yelled. “Okay boys and girls, that’s a wrap. I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

People from all over suddenly flooded the stage that was setup and surrounded the two actors, fawning all over them.

Grayson caught sight of me and rushed over, picking my feet up off the ground as he gave me a big bear hug.

“You came.”

"Of course, I did. You didn't give me much choice," I teased.

He sat me back down on the ground, letting me stand on my own two feet, but not moving too far away from me.

“I’m sorry I had to have Jax pick you up. I just didn't know how much longer this was going to take. We had to do a few reshoots today, and I couldn't wait a minute longer to see you."

He pulled me in for another hug, and I dropped my cheek to his chest, as he tightened his arms around me.

“I can’t believe this is all over in less than twenty-four hours,” I said softly.

“I know. I don’t know what I’m going to do without you. Sure I can’t convince you to come back to LA with me?”

I took a step back and giggled. "You know I have classes, and soon it will be time for finals, then graduation."

He sighed and then we walked hand and hand to the waiting limo.

“How did things go with Ethan and Jennifer last night?” He asked.

I was surprised he didn’t already know. I figured guys bragged about that kind of thing.

“I’m not sure. I mean, well, I think they had a good time. They watched one of his movies.”

My face turned bright red, and I couldn't finish the story. He gave me a knowing look and let the subject drop, thankfully.

“How was your shoot today?”

"Exhausting," he confessed. "We had to reshoot several key scenes because they were afraid there wasn't enough heat between Ava and me."

"Oh, I'm sorry. If you are tired, I can go back home, and you can call it a night. You probably have to be up early tomorrow anyways for your last day of shooting."

“Are you kidding me? I’ve been looking forward to spending time with you all day. It’s the only thing that got me through.”

He put my hand up to his face and kissed the back of it. It was a sweet gesture but for some reason, I decided to take it a step further. I leaned in and kissed him and not a sweet and innocent kiss either. Luckily, we had to stop because we had arrived at the hotel.

As we got into the elevator, I purposely stood as far away from him as possible. My body was raging with lust, and I barely trusted myself not to push him up against the wall and try and have my way with him.

The kisses in the limo made me hunger for him in a way I couldn't explain. But I had to try. I had to speak to him and soon, before dinner. I needed him to understand. This wasn't fair to him. I knew I was sending mixed signals, and he didn't deserve that.

When we got into the room, dinner was there waiting for us.

"I hope you don't mind, but I ordered ahead."

Everything looked so good. He ordered steak, lobster stuffed mushrooms and deviled eggs with caviar on top. If all of that wasn't enough, on the side was a plate of what looked like tiny little tulip flowers but were really small tomatoes stuffed with a crab dip, stuck on top of a long stick. He went all out, the dinner was over the top.

I looked down at the simple sundress I had on. "I feel so under-dressed."

“What? No. Don’t be ridiculous,” he insisted.

“This all looks so fancy.”

Even if he was in a t-shirt and cargo shorts himself, he still looked like he belonged. I suddenly felt awkward and out of place.

“Please Alison, sit down and eat.”

I wasn't starving; we did have a pretty big lunch, but I guess I was hungry enough to sit down and try some of the fancy food. As I picked at it, I finally looked up at him.

“Grayson, can we talk?”

He looked back at me with his mesmerizing silver colored eyes. God, he was so gorgeous. "Sure babe, what's up?"

“I just … well …”

“Alison you don’t have to be nervous. You can say anything to me. Please just say what’s on your mind.”

Okay, here goes nothing.

"Tonight is our last night together, and we are alone, here in your hotel room. I just don't want you to get the wrong idea."

He started to say something, but I cut him off.

“I know I probably sent you all kinds of crazy mixed messages, especially with the kiss in the car and ….”

“I get it Alison. You aren’t that kind of girl. I won’t push you to do something you aren’t ready for. I told you that before.”

The way he said it, so matter-of-factly, like it was no big deal put me at ease.

"So, what movie do you want to watch tonight?"

“I’m not sure Grayson. I’m probably not the one who should be picking. I don’t really watch many movies. I wouldn’t begin to know which ones are good and which ones aren’t.”

He seemed to be thinking about something for a moment and then a big smile came across his face. “How about
Twin Zone
, have you seen that movie?”

I smiled back at him. “I’ve never even heard of it.”

“You are killing me Ali. How have you not heard of it? It was only the biggest movie of the year, last year. It grossed over $300 million.”

I gave him a blank stare. I really had no idea what the movie was about. I didn’t know who was in it or ever recall even hearing the name.

“Grayson, movies are a luxury I just can’t afford.”

“What does that mean?”

I sighed. "My dad left when my sister and I were young, and that meant my mother had to get two jobs to try and support us, so of course any extras were out. When we got old enough to work ourselves, we contributed, but things were still tight. There was just no way we would spend money on something so frivolous as our own personal entertainment."

“What about when you went on dates? Didn’t you ever go on a date to the movies?”

“Sure, when I got older I did, but now I don’t really date that much. I work, go to school, study, and work out. I told you my life was boring. College is expensive.”

"Okay, fair enough. Well, let me tell you about the movie. It's a sci-fi thriller about two girls, identical twin sisters who are actually cyborgs. They appear normal, like humans, but they are programmed with a deadly mission, to kill the President. My job is to find and capture the girls before they can complete what they set out to do."

“Sounds interesting.”

"It was nominated for six Oscars including best picture, best actor, best supporting actress, best-adapted screenplay, best editing, and best sound."

“That’s amazing. Did you win?”

"No, I didn't win for best actor, but the movie did win for best-adapted screenplay, best editing, and best sound."

“I’m sorry you didn’t win.”

"That's okay. I didn't deserve it. I don't think I put my best into that movie and if I win an award, I want to feel like I earned it. Know what I mean?"

I smiled at him. I really did know what he meant, and I loved that about him. On one hand, he was a movie star, bigger than life, but on the other hand, he was so humble and down to earth, almost like a normal person. That is a normal person who makes bazillions of dollars a year and travels all around the world with millions of devoted fans worshipping him along the way.

He got up from the table and took me by the hand. "Come on, let's watch the movie."

As he got up to start it, I began to wonder what he said about the awards. “Have you ever won an Oscar Grayson?”

“I’ve won an Academy Award for one of the movies I did for Disney as a kid. But as an adult, no. I have won two Golden Globes though and a SAG award.”

“What exactly does SAG mean?”

“It stands for Screen Actors Guild.”

"Oh well, that is pretty cool then. I'm sure it's just a matter of time before you win another Oscar."

The movie started, and he took his seat next to me on the couch.