Ethan"This is Ethan," I mumbled into the phone, trying to keep my voice down, though there was no way in hell anyone could hear me over the noise at the mall."Ethan Lewis?" A woman stopped in front of me.Fuck me. I pointed to the phone and shook my head no, pulling it away and mouthing that I was a look alike."Oh. Never mind." She gave me a snarl and walked on."Deza?" I put the phone back to my ear. "I'm in the mall. Come get me before these crazy bitches tear the flesh from my bones."Deza's laugh filled up my ear, accompanied by Frank’s. "We have you on speaker. What the fuck are you doing at the mall on a Saturday? And a public mall at that.""Riley forced me to." I pouted and watched for signs of my girl in the windows of the store she was shopping in. "She's still wearing rose-colored glasses about this shit.""I'm taking it she didn't see those horrible pictures the Daily Star posted about her being-" Deza started.Frank finished it. "Pregnant with Ethan's alien twins?"The
RileyWe walked into the wedding dress shop, and everything became real. All of the struggle and strife we'd been through to reach this point.I turned as tears blurred my gaze and reached for Ethan."Baby, what's wrong?" He leaned down and pulled me against his chest as a salesman spoke up behind us."How can I help you, Mr. Lewis?""Nothing. I'm just overwhelmed. I'm sorry." I pressed my hands to my face and leaned against him.He brushed his hair down the back of my head. "My girl and I want to see some wedding gowns. The best that you have. And I'll put down a thousand dollars to have you leave us be back in the dressing room for about an hour once we have a few of your best.""Done, Sir. I'll gather them now."He kissed the top of my head. "We can come back, Ri. We don't have to do this now.""No. I want to." I forced myself to look up at him. "I just feel out of place.""But you fit in at the mall?" He chuckled, but the sound fell flat. He got it. I was out of place there, but a
Four Months LaterEthanNo matter how many times I went to the premier or opening night, I couldn't help but feel nervous. I was worried about my woman, but knowing her, she was handling it better than me. Deza had her in one of the dressing rooms at the large theater downtown where we did all of our opening nights."She needs to have some time to herself where you're not humping her damn leg like a Chihuahua in heat." Deza had been quite clear on why Riley wasn't coming with me to the premier."You want a turn?" I'd tried to hump her leg a few minutes earlier as she came in to check on me, but it hadn't gone over too well. Something about her big ugly boyfriend out front and him not liking me as it were.His loss. He's eating those words when the two of them finally retied the knot. It was me that got them back together, though neither one of them seemed to want to admit it.It was a thankless job."You know it's weird." Deza moved up in front of me and reached up, adjusting my tie.
Riley"It's here! It's finally here!" Charlotte bounced on her toes as we waited in the line for our tickets."We're not going to get a seat." I glanced over at her and couldn't help but grin. She was head over heels in love with Ethan Lewis, but so was half the universe. The child-star had grown into the sexiest man in America, or so the magazines touted. I moved up behind a group of teenage girls, giggling wildly as they worked through all the details of the handsome actor’s last movie."Stop being negative. We're getting in. I'll sell my soul if I have to." Charlotte nudged me with her shoulder."That's not going to get us more than a small popcorn." I gave her a cheeky grin and took another step up. The line for Ethan's new movie, Down Under was around the side of the movie theater, and it was the final showing of the night."Very funny. Just get our tickets. I'm going to stare at the movie poster with the rest of the teenage girls and lonely women." She tossed her long blonde hai
Riley"Oh my God. That was so fucking good." Charlotte wrapped her arms around her as we walked out of the theater with the rest of the glassy-eyed women we’d shared the last two hours with. I had to blink a few times to make sure no one could tell that I was completely lost to the handsome bastard too."He's nothing like that in real life." I tossed the popcorn in the trash and shoved my hands into my pockets."Hey!" Some girl moved up in front of me as I zipped up my light-weight jacket. "Aren't you the girl from the Trident commercial? I love that gum.""Yeah." I smiled. "Good stuff, right?""Oh my God. Can I get a picture with you?" The teenager moved toward me and I wrapped an arm around her shoulders, feeling stupid, and yet not willing to deny her. "Thanks so much! So cool.""You bet." I turned back to Charlotte who was smiling. "What?""You know what. You're going to be as big as Ethan Lewis one day. I just know it." She slid her arm into mine and chuckled. "And then there wil
Ethan"Smile. It makes you look human," Deza whispered as we walked toward the premier party."I don't want to look human. That doesn't sell movies." I glanced over at my agent and denied her the smile she wanted from me. The party was a week late thanks to a few fuck ups by some of the dip-shits we'd hired to help us manage my ever-growing list of things to attend. To say I was pissy would have been a massive understatement."Ethan! Ethan, over here! Please!""Ethan! I'm your biggest fan."I turned and smiled, waving at the large group of women that had gathered outside the theater we'd rented out for the preview of my latest movie. It was staged to be the box office hit of the weekend. I wasn't so sure about it, but then again, I was forever critical of my skills. I needed to be. No one else was anymore."Hey guys. Thanks for the support." I forced myself to play the humble college frat boy that most of them believed me to be. A cute child star that now worked hard every day and pra
Ethan"I'll tell you when I get back." She pocketed the phone and walked out, leaving me there wondering what the hell was going on.She returned a few minutes later with the cute blonde from the second list beside her. "Ethan, this is Amber Mills. She's a big fan of yours, and head of your fan club back in Seattle. She won these tickets tonight.""Awesome." I stood up and dusted my slacks to get rid of the excess popcorn I seemed to be collecting there. I extended my hand, but the girl rushed me, wrapping her arms around my waist and giggling loudly. The sound made me want to cringe, but I locked my jaw and glanced up at Deza. It would seem that my 'date' for the event was going to be a choice I would soon regret."Oh my God. I'm totally in love with you." She squeezed hard, and I worked to pull her arms from me."That’s great. Sit down here and let me and Deza finish our conversation." I looked down at her. "And then you can ask me three questions. Any three you want to.""Oh my God
One Week LaterRiley"Oh God. I hate accounting." Charlotte pressed her hands to her face and let out a long groan as we sat at the table together."Then why are you studying it?" I glanced up from the lines I was working to memorize. I'd scored a side part in the next school play at UCLA. My best bet for snagging a real agent and dropping mine was to grab someone’s attention in one of the college productions. Sadly enough, it was more about who you knew and not what you were capable of."It's part of my business degree." She closed the book and leaned back. "Guess what I heard this morning, or rather saw.""What?" I reached for my Coke and took a quick sip as it spilled onto my papers. "Shit."I got up and grabbed a few paper napkins as she continued like nothing happened."They're having open auditions to a big time movie coming up." She wagged her eyebrows and took a sip of my Coke."Oh yeah? What? Elves in Wonderland three?" I lifted my eyebrow and gave her a cheeky grin as I clea