Rising Star (10 page)

“
Oh,” she said when she saw
Matt. “How long have you been here?”

“
Not long,” he answered
vaguely, the mischievous smile lighting up his blue eyes. “Are you
finished or just changing?”

“
We’re finished,” Betsy
answered for her.

“
Cool. You wanna take in
some sights today, Selena?”

“
Sure. I’d love to,” she
answered, his nearness unnerving her as it usually did at
first.

“
I’ll wait out front for
you.” He winked at her, then made his way around the side of the
house to his car.

Selena felt the stirring in her stomach
again as she went to change. It was still only mid-morning and her
plane didn’t leave until the following morning. She still had the
whole day to spend with Matt. She quickly forgot her depression
over the rejection letters as her heart began to soar, thinking of
spending the entire day with him. She’d thought she would never see
or hear from him again and now, here he was the last two days,
appearing as if by magic, and he wanted to spend time with her.

“
I guess Matt Mason has
taken a shine to you,” Betsy said when Selena emerged from the
bathroom, happy to be back in her own clothes.

“
We became friends a while
back in New Mexico,” Selena answered. Her stomach was feeling
nervous and excited again as she thought about what they would do
today. She had no idea what to wear or how to act around these
sophisticated Hollywood people.

“
Hmmph! Friends? One thing
I know for sure, girlfriend, when a man looks at a woman like that,
he’s looking for more than friendship.”

Selena’s face reddened as Betsy giggled.

Betsy gave her a hug before she went out the
door. “Good luck with your modeling career,” she told her. “I’m
looking forward to seeing the pics in all the magazines.”

“
Thank you, Betsy. I
couldn’t have done it without you,” Selena said as she opened the
door and saw Matt standing by a shiny black car. Betsy was quickly
forgotten as she stood and stared. Matt looked absolutely gorgeous,
she thought, standing tall and straight against his car, the sea
breeze lifting the dark, shaggy hair off his forehead. His black
tee shirt was stretched tight across his broad shoulders and his
black pants made his slim waist and hips look even slimmer. Dark
black sunglasses completed his look and his teeth looked incredibly
white when he flashed a smile at her. Forget the agents and
publishers, today I’m a lucky girl, she thought. She stared at him
for a full minute, before joining him at the car.

“
So…what do you want to do
today?” Matt asked as he stepped away from the car and opened the
door for her.

“
Um, I hadn’t really
thought about it. What do you want to do?”

“
Well, I guess we could see
the sights in Hollywood, or we could go shopping in Beverly
Hills?”

“
Ugh,” Selena giggled.
“Haven’t I been punished enough the last two days?”

Matt laughed. “Ever been to Disneyland?” He
looked sideways at her, the mischievous light back in his eyes as
he grinned.

“
No.”

“
Then let’s go have some
fun.” Matt closed the door after she was in and loped around to the
driver’s side. He felt like a teenager again, excited and proud to
have a beautiful girl agree to go out with him.

Selena stared at the interior of the car as
Matt pulled into traffic. It was a black Mercedes sedan. She’d
never even seen one before, other than on TV. The rich interior of
the car and the musky, masculine scent of Matt’s aftershave did
double duty to take her breath away. She closed her eyes as she
breathed in the new car scent and his rich, musky smell.

Matt whipped the car smoothly in and out of
traffic and Selena’s eyes flew open as she braced herself for a
collision. She was unused to this amount of traffic and to Matt’s
seemingly reckless driving. The world moved at a slower pace where
she was from. She felt the blood drain from her face as a car cut
in front of them, almost hitting them. Matt quickly checked his
mirror and gunned the big engine as he switched to another lane. He
glanced over at Selena and laughed. “It’s okay Selena, I’m a good
driver. You’ll get used to the traffic,” he said as he whipped the
car across another lane.

“
I don’t think I want to
get used to it.”

He laughed again, the musical sound calming
her nerves a little. “Yeah, I don’t blame you.”

Chapter 16

They had an amazing day together at
Disneyland. They rode the rides, they played the games, they
laughed and rough-housed together like two old friends. Matt had
pulled a black baseball cap from the trunk of his car before they
went into the park. He kept it on throughout the day to disguise
himself from his fans. Selena relaxed and enjoyed her day with him
as they rode huge roller coasters. “I think barrel racing might be
safer than this,” she yelled as they plunged down a huge hill, her
long dark hair flying behind her. She screamed and grabbed Matt’s
arm as the coaster hit the bottom of the hill and flew into a sharp
curve. “I think I left my stomach back there on the hill,” she
laughed as the roller coaster came to a bumping stop.

It was late in the day and they were walking
toward the exit, with Selena carrying a stuffed mouse Matt had
bought her, when two teenage girls passed by and stared. “Hey, I
think that was Matthew Mason,” one of them shouted.

To Selena, it seemed as if teenage girls
appeared from thin air. In only a minute, Matt was surrounded by a
crowd of squealing teenagers. He signed autographs for them and
even signed their tee shirts. Selena felt herself being pushed
further and further from Matt as the girls crowded closer. She
finally backed against a wall and watched in amazement as Matt
seemed to take it all in stride. He smiled and laughed with the
group of girls as he quickly signed autographs. When he realized
Selena was no longer by his side, he quickly scanned the crowd,
then, looking over the heads of the girls, he saw her leaning
against the wall. “Sorry ladies, gotta go,” he said as the girls
complained. “Sorry,” he said as he worked his way through the crowd
and took Selena’s hand. “Let’s get out of here,” he whispered as
they moved quickly for the exit. The group of girls followed them,
snapping pictures with their cell phones, but a security guard at
the exit saw what was happening. He held up the ever-increasing
crowd of teenagers as another guard walked with Matt and Selena to
their car.

Matt laughed once they were safely inside.
“Guess that was a bit much, huh?”

“
Does that happen a lot?”
Selena couldn’t imagine being mauled by people wherever she went
and smiling happily while they all took her picture. It had been
hard enough having her picture taken the last two days, and they
were paying her for it.

“
Not really,” he answered.
“You get used to it.”

“
Yeah, and again, I don’t
want to get used to it.”

Matt laughed and took her hand. He held onto
it, with both their hands resting comfortably on her thigh as he
drove with his free hand.

“
You must think I’m small
town and stupid,” she said quietly as she stared at her small hand
engulfed in his larger one.

“
On the contrary, I find it
very refreshing to be around someone who doesn’t live for this sort
of thing. Like a told you before, you’re more real than the girls
here.”

His words were nice, but Selena wasn’t
entirely sure she believed them. She just couldn’t understand what
he could possibly see in
her
.

“
Hey, would you like to
come to my house?”

Selena looked up at him quickly, a startled
look in her eyes.

“
Just for dinner,” Matt
said with a laugh when he saw her look. “There’s a beautiful view
of the city from up in the hills.”

“
Okay…I guess.” Selena felt
so awkward. She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to react, but she
felt sure even those young girls at the amusement park would have
been more comfortable in this situation than her. She felt like
such an ignorant, small-town hick.

Matt drove up into the Hollywood Hills and
entered a long drive to a big white house. It was surrounded by
palm trees and lush landscaping. Bright red bougainvilla hung from
the privacy walls, creating a lush wall of color. Matt came around
the car and helped Selena out, then led her through an enormous set
of double wooden doors into a tiled entryway. Selena stopped and
stared at the huge chandelier hanging in the foyer, the ornate
wooden staircase leading to the second floor and, on her right, a
doorway to a sunken living room with glass across the entire rear
wall. Matt led her into the living room and Selena went to the bank
of windows, looking down across the city. She could see for miles
across L.A., the twinkling lights of the giant city mesmerizing
her. Matt brought them each a soda from the kitchen and, setting
them down, he came and stood behind Selena as they looked out the
windows. He wrapped both arms around her and pulled her back into
his broad chest. Selena snuggled into his warmth, enjoying this
quiet moment together. She was surprised when she felt Matt’s lips
on the back of her neck. He reached up and brushed her thick hair
to the side as he continued planting light, soft kisses on her
neck. Selena felt her breath quicken at his touch and before she
realized what she was doing, she had turned and was kissing him
hungrily. They kissed for several moments, their passion rising,
until suddenly, Matt stopped and lifted her up. He carried her to
the white leather sofa, where he deposited her gently. He proceeded
to make love to her, at first passionately, then he seemed to
hesitate, and he continued slowly and gently, as if he were afraid
he would break her. Selena had been overcome with her passion for
him and she didn’t have a coherent, logical thought in her mind.
She only knew that she wanted to be with this man, in every way
possible. Matt held her tight in his arms afterward, his head on
her chest as his breathing slowed. “I’m sorry Selena. I don’t know
what came over me.”

Selena didn’t answer, she only pulled him
tighter to her as she ran her fingers through his hair.

She continued her caresses until she heard a
soft snore coming from Matt. She was basically trapped under him
while he slept, but she still held him tight as her mind raced
frantically. She felt as if she were crashing back to earth after
their wild, passionate love-making. She hadn’t planned it or really
even wanted it. Well, she hadn’t thought she wanted it, until he
began kissing her neck. She smiled in the dark as she remembered,
but her emotions were flip-flopping back and forth. She didn’t want
him to think she was one of these Hollywood girls who sleeps
around, and she was still afraid of him using her, then moving on
to the next vulnerable teenage girl. She didn’t really know what to
think as she lay there with her thoughts in a jumble and her
emotions in a turmoil. She had surprised herself with her ardor for
him. She’d never responded to a kiss from any of the boys she’d
known the way she did when Matt kissed her. “Hey.” Selena jumped
when she realized Matt was staring down at her. “You okay?”

“
Yeah, of course.” Selena
sat up quickly as Matt stood and stretched.

“
How about I make us a
sandwich?” He smiled down at her, the usual mischievous light in
his eyes replaced with a sweet, tender look.

“
Sure,” Selena smiled back.
She walked back to the windows while he went to the kitchen, her
thoughts still a jumble as she stared down at the city.

They finished off their sandwiches and sodas
and Selena curled up into Matt’s chest on the couch as he flipped
through channels with his remote control. He settled finally on an
old movie and they both pretended to watch as they each considered
what had transpired between them. Selena finally fell asleep in
Matt’s arms and he turned off the TV and sat there in the dark, his
mind still racing. Why hadn’t Selena told him she was a virgin? He
didn’t want to mention it to her until he’d had more time to think
it through. The implications of what this meant to her had never
left his mind. He knew how important a young girl’s first love was.
He guessed that Selena had been waiting for the perfect guy to come
along. Did she love him? And more importantly, did he love her? He
finally gave up on his jumbled thoughts and stretched out behind
her on the couch, wrapping both arms tight around her. Selena
shifted in her sleep until her head was on his arm, then she sighed
deeply, as if in perfect contentment.

Matt drove Selena back to her hotel early
the next morning and waited outside while she packed. Selena was
quiet on the drive; she was torn between flying back home and
leaving Matt, and a morning after embarrassment after spending the
night with him. She was still torn between thoughts of wanting to
be with Matt forever and the thought that he was only using her.
Had he only invited her to his house to seduce her after all? Was
he going to throw her away like yesterday’s trash and move on to
the next unsuspecting girl?

Matt found Jeffrie in the garage and let him
know he would be driving Selena to the airport. Jeffrie followed
him back to the portico in front of the hotel to say goodbye to
Selena.

Selena emerged from the hotel a few minutes
later and Matt went over to her, taking her gym bag from her
hand.

“
You have a safe flight
back home, Miss Selena,” Jeffrie said, taking her hand.