Stripped Love #4 (BBW Alpha Male Romance) (4 page)

“All right. Tonight then, as soon as I finish working
with Pete at the studio, I’ll swing by here and pick you up for dinner to
celebrate your first commercial shoot. It will be our first date as a committed
couple.”

“I’ll be ready.”

I smiled and gave him a sultry kiss goodbye. I was
still grinning like a kid with a crush when I walked into my apartment door and
ran smack into Shawnee making out with the hunk from Kraft Services.

“Sorry!” I gasped, as I stumbled back away from the
blushing couple.

“Avery, I’d like you to meet Mike Griffin. He’s
studying to be a chef,” Shawnee giggled and it was obvious they had been
cooking up something pretty hot before I interrupted.

“Glad to meet you.”

I shook his hand awkwardly, and his eyes lit up with
recognition.

“You’re the
Star
Cologne
girl! You were great at the studio today; it sure as hell made me
want to go out and buy some.”

“Thanks,” I blushed. I guessed that was the kind of
thing I was going to have to get used to hear after the commercial was released
and started playing across the country. It was going to be a weird adjustment,
but I had a feeling I was going to really like it.

Shawnee grabbed Mike and started pulling him towards
the door with a playful sparkle in her eyes. “Come on, let’s get out of here. Mike
was going to take me dancing. Want to come along?”

“No thanks. I’ve got plans with Dimitri tonight. I
thought you and I could hang out together for a little while until then, have a
little girl time.”

“Normally I’d love that, but I already promised Mike. Sorry.
Maybe next time,” Shawnee said, but she didn’t look the least bit disappointed,
she looked happy and horny.

“That’s all right. You have fun, I’ll be fine here
until Dimitri comes,” I smiled and waved them out the door. As they left in
Shawnee’s Mustang, I pouted that Shawnee hadn’t even seemed surprised that I
had gotten back together with Dimitri. I’d been certain she’d want to hear all
the details about it, but I guess finding a new boyfriend took precedence over
my on-again/off-again love life.

I jumped in the shower and washed away the pounds of
hair spray and makeup that Sabrina had covered me with. If felt so good to be
rid of it all and I felt happy and free. Afterward, I sat on the couch dressed
in only a towel and tried watching television for a while, but there was
nothing on. Feeling bored and lonely, I picked up the phone and dialed the old
familiar area code for Utah. Hearing the familiar voices of my sisters always
cheered me up, and I knew they’d be excited to hear I was staring in a
commercial and dating a famous movie star.

My younger sister Ariel picked up the line, and tears
sprang to my eyes at the sound of her voice.

“Avery! It’s so good to hear from you! How are you?”

“I’m really good. Things are finally going my way out
here in California,” I told her, eager to hear her reaction when I spilled my
big news.

“That’s so great, but I’m afraid I don’t have time to
talk. I’m late for swim practice.”

“You’re doing swimming now?” I asked, completely
surprised. “When did you start doing that?”

“I don’t know. A few months ago. Want me to get
someone else to pick up the phone?”

I tried not to let it hurt my feelings that she was
too busy to talk to me, but it was hard. Still, I had to remind myself that I
was her age once and felt just as annoyed to talk about myself to anyone. Forcing
a smile into my voice, I said “Sure, put someone else on the line and good luck
at swimming today. Make them eat your wake!”

“What?” Ariel didn’t get my swimming reference like I
had hoped she would and I realized that I had become the lame older sister who
was out of touch with what was cool. My mood quickly brightened when my older
sister Angela picked up the line.

“Avery! How’s California treating you?” Angela said in
her perky voice, and I immediately smiled. Excitedly, I told her all about my
recent string of good luck and held my breath, waiting for her jubilant
reaction.

“That’s so great. I’m really happy for you,” Angela
said, but there was an unspoken hesitation in her voice. Then she said the
words that were on her mind, “So, now that you’ve gotten acting out of your
system, you can take the money you earned from the commercial and go to
college.”

“Are you kidding?”

I was utterly aghast. Leave it to miss college to
think my career was a waste of time and that going to school was the only thing
worthwhile. “This commercial is the big break I’ve been waiting for. My acting
career is just beginning!”

“You’ve been out there for two whole years and this is
the first real paying acting job you’ve gotten. After two years of going to
community college, you’d already have an Associate’s degree.”

“Yeah, and what good would that do me?”

I was furious with her now. “Then I could transfer to
a university and go to school for another two damn years to get a Bachelor’s
degree? No thank you. College may be for you, but it’s not for me!”

“And what is for you?” Angela asked me coldly. “Living
in a crappy apartment, struggling to be an actress, and working as a stripper
every night?”

I sucked in a huge breath of air. I didn’t realize my
family had found out what I did to pay the bills. I had told them I worked in a
bar, but I had thought they would think I was a waitress, not a dancer. Trying
to regain my composure, I whispered, “You knew I work at the BBW Club?”

“Yeah. Did you think I was smart enough to graduate
college, but too stupid to figure out my baby sister was a stripper?”

“How did you find out?”

“I got a job offer out there when the word got out I
was graduating Valor Victorian. The company flew me out for an interview and to
try and seduce me into accepting their offer with a five star hotel and fancy
restaurants. I thought it would be fun to surprise you while I was out there,
so I never told you I was coming. When you weren’t at your address a neighbor
lady with a cat told me where you worked. I took a cab there and saw you up on
the stage, practically naked and letting all those drunken men stuff dollar bills
down your underwear. I was so humiliated for you that I just turned around and
left.”

“Do mom and dad know?” I asked with a choked throat. It
would break their hearts if they knew and they might never speak to me again.

To my relief, Angela said solemnly, “No, I didn’t have
the heart to say anything to them. You need to get out of there Avery and come
back home where you belong. We’re your family. We’ll take care of you. I turned
down the job in the LA and I took one at a firm in Salt Lake City, so I can be
close to everybody. Amanda’s got kids of her own. You’re missing out on
everything.”

Her words reminded me that I was like a complete
stranger to Ariel now. I didn’t even know that she had taken up swimming, and
the little ones wouldn’t even know me anymore. It tore at my heart and I let
the tears fall from my eyes. I was just about to speak and tell her that she
was right when my phone beeped with an incoming call.

“Hold on, I’ve got another call coming in. Let me put
them on hold,” I said with a strained voice. I pushed the buttons on my cell
phone and saw I had an incoming text. It was from Dimitri.

Check
out the dailies. Pete will send the film to the editor tomorrow and by next
week the whole country will think of you when they hear the word Star! I love
you. See you in one hour!

A video was attached to the email and when I clicked
on it, I saw the footage of me in the glamorous dress with my hair flowing in
the breeze. My smoky eyes stared at Dimitri and said the lines with perfection,
making the pulse of every person who heard me speed up with desire. The camera
was close in on my face and the lighting made me glow like an angel. It was
surreal to see myself looking so fantastic, like a dream come true, and
instantly all my doubts about movie to Hollywood and becoming a star were
washed away. Fuck Angela and anyone else who ever doubted me. I had done it and
soon all the world would know it too! Even more than that, I had the love of a
man who I loved in return. We had everything a young couple could ever ask for,
and there was no way I was throwing it all away just because I had endured a
shameful past to get to where I was.

Smiling triumphantly, I clicked my phone back over to
Angela and said firmly, “I appreciate your concern, and I love you too; but I’m
finally achieving my dreams here and there is no way I can give up now. This
commercial is my big break. Just wait until it comes out and you’ll see. I’ll
make you all proud of me.”

“You already do,” Angela said softly and fresh tears
stung my eyes. I didn’t realize how much I had been longing to hear that from
someone in family until that moment.

“Tell Mom and Dad I love them and tell everyone else I
send a big hug from California.”

“I will,” Angela said, and then just before I hung up
the line she said, “Just be careful. If your star really is on the rise, other
people might be looking to try and bring you down. It was really easy for me to
find out about your other career and it will be for them too.”

Her words sent a chill down my spine. It was something
I had never considered. We said goodbye to each other and then the line went
dead. Shivering, I looked at the clock and realized Dimitri would arrive to
pick me up in less than an hour. “Shit! I’ve got to hurry!”

Luckily, I had already showered so all I had left to
do was pick out something to wear and do my hair and makeup again. Unfortunately,
everything in my closet looked like it belonged to a stripper. Everything I
owned was low-cut, cheap and tawdry; which was fine for going to the club or a
bar, but terrible when your date was taking you to an elegant restaurant.

Suddenly I remembered that Shawnee had gone to her sister’s
wedding not too long ago. Quickly, I ran into her room and rummaged through her
closet. Her clothes were just as trampy as mine, but then hidden in the back I
found my salvation. It was a gorgeous pastel pink silk dress with a flowing
skirt,
ruched
bodice, and sexy off the shoulder
design. I put it on and it fit me to perfection, flattering my curves and
minimizing my flaws. I’d never felt more feminine, like a flower floating on
the wind.

Running into the bathroom, I blow-dried my hair and
left it loose, flowing softly to my shoulders. Then I did my makeup using the
subtle methods Shari had taught me at her salon, and not the bold movie-camera
methods Sabrina had employed. I added a pair of silver high heels, a thick
silver rope necklace, a matching silver rope bracelet, and silver dangle
earrings to complete the outfit. My favorite silver clutch handbag and my one
good faux fur wrap completed the look, making me appear sophisticated,
ladylike, and enchanting.

“Wow! You get sexier and more beautiful every time I
see you,” Dimitri flattered me excessively and I slapped at him playfully
before giving him a welcoming kiss. He was still wearing the navy-blue Dolce
and Gabbana suit he had worn at the shoot, but it looked like he’d changed into
a fresh shirt and tie. The film makeup had been washed from his face, and a
faint amount of five o’ clock shadow made his face rough to the touch when I
caressed him with my hand, but I liked it.

“Shall we go?” he asked and escorted me to a black
limousine that was waiting outside.

“Where’s the Ferrari?” I asked with surprise.

“I left it at home. Tonight, you deserve only the
best. We’ll go the finest restaurant, drink the best wine, and afterward go
dancing at the most popular clubs. How do like the sound of that?”

“As long as I’m with you, anything sounds wonderful.”

“Oh, well in that case we could cancel the
reservations and to go the Taco Pit.” Dimitri flashed his boyish grin as he
teased me and I shot him a playful glare that told him I would kill him if he
tried. Holding up his hands in mock surrender, he laughed and said, “Okay,
we’ll stick with plan A.”

“Dimitri! How the hell are you?” A familiar voice
shouted out from across the restaurant as the
maître’d
was showing us to our table. We turned to see a table full of some of the most
popular actors and actresses of our generation. It was literally
a who
’s-who of Hollywood and I thought I would die! The
star-struck kid in me wanted to ask them all for autographs, but the
professional actress in me knew I had to play it cool if I wanted to be accepted
as one of them, so I remembered Dimitri’s advice from the night of the studio
party and played the role of being a star. It worked and nobody looked at me
like I didn’t belong.

“Everyone, I’d like you to meet my date Avery Phillips,”
Dimitri introduced me to everyone at the table. I was glad to be upgraded from
friend to date, but disappointed not to be referred to as his girlfriend. Still,
it was a huge improvement and I didn’t want to ruin this wonderful night
together by being petty. I just hoped date didn’t sound too much like
prostitute. Everyone at the table gave me a friendly smile or greeting without
looking scandalized, so I figured date must translate closer to girlfriend than
hooker and decided to let it go.