Hollywood Princess (12 page)
Read Hollywood Princess Online
Authors: Dana Aynn Levin
“I could do this all night,” I sighed as Danny’s hypnotic eyes smiled at me.
Then he laughed nervously. “Eli, you have no idea how petrified I am. I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do with a girlfriend. And you’re even less experienced.”
“Don’t think so much,” I said tenderly, and I nibbled Danny’s lips. “We’ll be the same best friends we were this morning, only now we can have sex.”
“Sex with Elizabeth Jacobs,” Danny pondered. “Do you realize the enormity of what I’ve done? You’re the one girl I’m afraid to have sex with.”
“Let’s just get it over with. Then you won’t have to worry anymore about me being Elizabeth Jacobs.”
“You make it sound so simple.”
“It is, Daniel,” I said breathlessly. “It is.” I reached around his neck and brought his lips to mine for another kiss. My poor honey; so full of conflict.
Later, Danny and I sat starring at the full moon caught between two tall pine trees. I frowned knowing our evening would soon be coming to an end
.
“Before we go public, I want to give us time to become solid as a couple.”
“You don’t want the attention, do you?” Danny asked.
“
Yeah,” I said quietly, summoning my confidence to say what had been gnawing at me. “You split with Juliette, but have you been seeing anyone else?”
“Yeah.”
“What!” I sat straight up and glared. How did I not know?
“Y
ou asked me a direct question. I promised to always be honest with you, Eli.”
I g
lared at Danny, but he was smiling which puzzled me.
“
There’s this beautiful, wonderfully neurotic brunette from Santa Monica. I think you might know her.” And he shut me up by kissing me again.
“Are you as happy as I am?” I asked.
Danny grinned and looked straight into my eyes.
“Yes. And relieved,” he finally answered. “Eli, I’ve been conflicted from that first day in the dining hall. When we hugged... I told myself it was the surprise of seeing you again and how I’d forgotten you’d become a woman. I wasn’t expecting it.”
“I felt it too. It frightened me. I didn’t want to become a twelve year old with a hopeless crush again.”
Danny hugged me and laughed, “I loved when you were a twelve year old with a hopeless crush. It was so cute.”
He hugged me again and continued. “We were together so much it frightened me. I didn’t handle it well. I wanted you, and at the same time I wanted to keep the line drawn. That’s sort of why I hooked up with Juliette.”
I smirked. “You hooked up with Juliette to stay away from me?”
Danny laughed. “I thought if I had a girlfriend it would inoculate me. Obviously, it didn’t work. I spent more time with you than with Juliette. I was hoping I could get to Christmas before breaking up with her.”
Now I was laughing. Juliette was such an obvious mismatch for Danny.
“No, Thanksgiving,” I choked. “You’re spending the holiday with my family.”
“That’s right. All the time I was with Juliette, I was craving you. I need a girl I can be myself with. It’s great that Juliette’s a vegan, but it’s not me.”
I thought of my two hapless dates with Greg.
“Like if we were to go to a movie Friday night, you and I would share a big bucket of popcorn. And I would slather it with as much butter as I wanted, because of course that’s the only way to eat movie popcorn.”
“Yeah,” Danny answered. “What other way is there?”
“You would never complain that we were about to ingest ‘butter-flavored chemicals’ and forbid me.”
“Did somebody do that?” Danny asked in surprise.
“Yes,” I answered earnestly.
“It probably is butter-flavored chemicals, but so what? We don’t eat it every day. Movie popcorn has to be buttered.” Danny paused for effect, and then twinkled his sapphire eyes at me. “And then I would kiss your buttery flavored lips.”
“I would expect nothing less,” I flirted back.
“All because of buttered popcorn. Let’s see what’s opening Friday night.”
“I’m available.”
“You’d better be or I’ll have to break up with you.” Danny answered, and he playfully rubbed his nose against mine. I giggled in delight.
“Your busted ankle was the turning point for me. The moment I received your text, making everything better consumed me. Those two nights were amazing.”
“But we didn’t do anything.”
“Didn’t matter. It was so incredibly intimate. Especially when the storm frightened you.” Danny smiled at me. “Holding you while we slept felt so right.”
“We can do it again,” I said eagerly.
“I told you, I’m not ready.”
“If you sleep with me you won’t want to sleep with anyone else, not ever.”
“You certainly are confident,” he laughed. “What if you don’t like sex?”
I looked Danny straight in the eyes as I brought my face to his and kissed him.
“Impossible. I’m with you.”
Chloe
accompanied me to the field. “I don’t understand anything about rugby,” she giggled. “I just love watching cute guys run around in shorts.”
Ra
chel refused to be a hypocrite. “Count me out,” she declared. “I don’t care if it is Danny and Cam. Rugby’s a waste of my time.”
Despite having
attended several games, I still didn’t understand the sport. No matter how many times Danny had explained it, rugby made no sense. Football, soccer – those I understood. Rugby, forget it, but I could still cheer for my man.
My man! Today marked my first appearance on the sidelines as Danny’s girlfriend, though I didn’t think anyone yet knew.
“Hey, look at you! Elizabeth Jacobs, photo-journalist.” Danny teased when he spotted me, my camera hanging from my shoulder, standing with Chloe.
“Be nice or you won’t get in the yearbook,” I teased back.
“Great lens,” Cam noted, referring to the high-powered zoom I had purchased on Thursday for this purpose. Cam was an avid photographer. He could teach me a thing or two.
Chloe and Cam left
to talk privately, leaving me with Danny.
“Be careful,” I
cautioned. Our eyes locked, and we shared a lovers’ glance while our fingertips touched. Electric!
“Don’t
worry,” Danny smiled, “It’s not as dangerous as you think.”
“Newman.”
Duncan appeared from out of nowhere. I jerked my fingers away from Danny’s. “I see you have your own publicist,” he sneered.
I held up the badge dangling
from a lanyard around my neck. “Yearbook staff,” I answered curtly.
“My mistake, Lois Lane,” he
sneered.
“
Duncan!” Danny admonished.
“I didn
’t mean to offend Malibu Barbie,” Duncan smirked.
“You are too low on the food chain to offend me
. Plus it’s Danny who has a house in Malibu. Not me,” I retorted.
Danny shook his head in frustration.
“Elizabeth, Duncan, put away your claws,” Danny said in a stern, commanding voice. “I’ll be with you in a minute,” he told Duncan.
“Right.”
Duncan knew he’d gone over the line and left to join the team.
“Can’t you two
be civil?” Danny asked.
“Ask him,” I answered. I
sounded like a petulant little girl. I had disliked Duncan from the first and the sentiment appeared to be mutual.
Danny sighed. “Got to go
, babe.” He laced his fingers with mine. “Game time.”
“Play well,” I
said, and I rose to full height to kiss his cheek. “And safe,” I added. Danny grinned, and kissed me back. Then he headed to the team.
“Did you see that?” a girl standing behind me gaped to her friend. I smirked, stifling a giggle. Yeah, ladies, he’s taken.
My new lens was awesome. I got great shots, and the zoom put me in the action without getting clobbered. Not so Danny. I cringed every time he was tackled.
“Rugby is safer than football,” Danny had explained. “The rules are stricter and it’s illegal to hit the head. There are rarely any concussions, Eli.”
I didn’t buy it then or now. There was something comforting about football players encased in aerospace-grade plastics.
The game was close until the final minutes. A Donnelly player got possession of the ball coming out of the scrum. As he was about to be tackled, he lateraled to Duncan. Duncan picked up a few yards and as he was tackled, he passed the ball to Danny.
Danny’s speed enabled him to reach the goal after outrunning several opposing players. He scored!
“They won!” I screamed,
and I jumped up and down hugging Chloe.
Moments later, the game was over. We sprinted
down the field where the athletes were already celebrating. I threw my arms around Danny from behind and he spun around to greet me.
I stared in horror.
“Your face!” I exclaimed. Danny’s right cheekbone was bruised and puffy. I touched it cautiously.
“Ouch!” he
grimaced.
“Get an ice pack,” I barked at
Cam.
“It hurts that much?” I asked in my gentlest voice.
Danny tried smiling but cringed. “I’m okay. I’ll just be ugly for a few days.”
“You could never be ugly,” I empathized.
Cam ran over with the ice pack. I grabbed it and pressed it against Danny’s battered cheek.
“Sonofabitch! Eli, that hurts.
” Danny grimaced, and he grabbed the ice pack. “Get any good shots, babe?” He asked as he held the ice to his face.
“I think so. I’ll show you later.
Can I get one of your face?” I smiled. “I’ve never seen you ugly and probably never will again. I want to remember it.”
“Fine,” he scowled.
“Just don’t blackmail me.” I rolled my eyes. Like I’d ever do that. Danny complied and lowered the ice pack. The bruise was already turning purple. I snapped a few photos. “Perfect.”
“Don’t send that to my mother,” he warned.
“Not a chance,” I agreed. Ellen would freak.
“Newman!” Oh great –
Duncan! “C’mon. It’s party tine.” Then he looked me up and down and smirked.
“
E, the team’s going to The Cellar. You and Chloe coming?” Danny asked.
“Lois Lane,” Duncan sn
eered, “Rugby parties are not for amateurs.”
“I can hold my beer.” I glared
.
“Eli, you don’t drink beer,
” Danny reminded me.
“I do now,” I responded stubbornly.
“This should be fun. Let’s see how plastered Lois can get,” Duncan smirked.
“
Elizabeth,” Danny cautioned, “This is a bad idea.”
“We’ll see
. Elizabeth Jacobs does not back down from a challenge.”
“I’m
going to clobber both of you.” Danny sighed, exasperated. “Elizabeth,” he said crossly, “let’s go.” And he grabbed my arm.
“Lois
, leave the camera home.” Duncan ordered. “Paparazzi makes me nervous.”
I burst out laughing.
What did Duncan know about the paparazzi? His father was a Louisiana oil executive.
“Duncan, we’ll catch you at The Cellar,” Danny
said.
“Looking forward to it Lois,” Duncan sneered, and I glared as we walked away. Slime! Total slime.
Danny and I strolled over to my Range Rover. He didn’t take my hand. Crap.
When
I reached for the ignition button, Danny grasped my hand to stop me.
“You are not giving in to Duncan,” he warned. “He’s baiting you, Elizabeth. You are not getting drunk with Duncan today or any other day.”
“It’s not your decision.
I can do what I want, Daniel,” I said defiantly. “I’m tired of Duncan laughing at me. Lois Lane. Yeesh!”
“Not today,” Danny
insisted. “Elizabeth! Listen to me,” he demanded. Then Danny winced. “Ouch, my face hurts so much.”
“
Honey, I’m so sorry.” I lifted the ice and saw the even deeper purple Danny’s cheek had become. I pressed my lips to the bruise. “Does that help?”
“Not really, but it’s nice,” Danny smi
led as best as he could. “That’s why you’re not drinking this afternoon. I need you, baby.”
“You do
, don’t you?” I smiled. I liked being needed.
“
I hurt more than you realize. You getting into a drinking match with Duncan… You’ll lose big time and I’ll have to babysit you.”
“Okay.
I get it. But when do I get to have any fun?”
“To
morrow. If I make it.” Danny squeezed my hand. “I hurt so much, I can’t even kiss you,” he complained.
Everyone
at The Cellar applauded Danny’s grand entrance. We strode in, holding hands aloft and bowing. Like a decorated hero returning from war, he ate it up.
P
itchers of beer were already at the table. I ordered Danny into a chair while I went to the bar for ice. When I returned he had already chugged his first beer and was pouring a second.
A girl wearing a tight
green sweater had taken up residence in the chair next to Danny and was fawning over him, batting her long eyelashes. Would it always be this way?
“Than
k you for saving my seat.” I smiled at her and I applied the ice pack to Danny’s face. He winced from the cold, but he kept his hand over mine. Tight sweater got the hint and left. I dreaded the long night ahead.
By
seven, I felt like a failure. I had no idea how much beer Danny had consumed, and despite being blitzed, his face still hurt.
We had
danced a few times, but in Danny’s inebriated state this meant he held me as tightly as possible while we swayed to the beat. His hand rested unwelcome on my rear, but I was powerless to remove it.
I felt tawdry and cheap, but I had promised
to take care of Danny so I couldn’t do what I wanted to do – flee. I was fed up with Danny, but most of all I was fed up with myself.
I would never
put myself in this position again. After tonight, if Danny wanted to get blitzed, count me out. This was not the Danny I loved. This Danny I didn’t know, and I didn’t like. If we made it through tonight, I knew I wasn’t ready for a committed relationship with him.
Somehow we adjourned to Duncan’s suite
in Daughtry House for part two of the never-ending evening. If it wasn’t enough to be drunk, why not follow it up by getting wasted. Oh joy!
As
the only person not partaking I was bored. So while everyone else shared joints, I sat on a bed propped against a wall and contemplated life. Danny had warned me, but talk had not prepared me. It tortured me trying to reconcile the two Danny’s. Tears that none of the besotted souls in the room noticed, trickled down my cheeks.
Soon
Danny had had enough of smoking pot and remembered he had a girlfriend. He climbed on the bed, kissed me, and laid his head in my lap. Then Danny took my hand and played with my fingers while I stroked his sweat-dampened hair.
His
cheek looked awful although the swelling had stabilized. Wasted Danny was mellow. He gazed up at me with contented, angelic blue eyes and smiled. Danny was in no pain, but he was clueless about mine.
Duncan
appeared and squeezed in beside me. Danny’s glassy eyes acknowledged him and in a dreamy voice he said, “Eli’s my best girl.” Then he kissed my lips and added, “She even tastes good.”
“Let me
try,” Duncan said in his wasted stupor. He grabbed my face between his hands.
“Get away!” I
exclaimed, and I shoved Duncan who toppled over on to the mattress. I moved Danny aside more gently and jumped up. “I am so out of here! Danny, let’s go.”
Danny was too wasted to object.
I grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door, leaving a room of stunned, wasted people in our wake.
When we reached Berkeley Hall after
walking across the quad in stony silence, Danny embraced me for a kiss. I pushed him away. Ew. Vile. Danny still wore dirty rugby clothes. The stench of old sweats, stale beer, and pot was a nauseating combination.
“What’s wrong?” he asked
, oblivious to reality. “Are you angry?”
In his state
, I decided to focus on the issue that required less of an explanation.
“Danny, y
ou reek. You’re wearing a soiled rugby uniform.”
The usually fastidious Danny looked
at his clothes and frowned, clueless.
“I’ll shower
upstairs.”
“And brus
h your teeth.” Danny grinned, a mischievous little boy grin. “I’m serious,” I added with icy regard.
Danny wo
bbled up the front steps. He clung to me. I helped him to the elevator, praying his larger size wouldn’t knock me over. Stumbling through the hallway, I cautioned him to be quiet. Then I realized it was 10:30. Nobody was sleeping. It was Saturday night.
Once inside Danny’s room, I found clean sleep pants, a t
-shirt, and underwear in his bureau. I pushed Danny into a chair and pulled off his muddy cleats and socks.
“Ugh! This is
gross.” I scrunched up my face. He smirked. I scowled. Then I threw the socks in Danny’s face and he sniffed them.
“You’re right.
These are gross,” and he threw them in the corner.
I pulled
Danny up by the hand. “Shower,” I announced, and I marched him down the hall to the bathroom.