My Life With The Movie Star (15 page)

Next was hair. She went right to work, teasing my hair out before she pulled it up into a loose up-do. Melissa had joined us again to see my progress.

“We need to hurry and get you into the dress. I want to see if we need any last minute alterations done,” she barked.

I quickly put the dress on, and she helped me zip it up. She decided it needed to be taken in a tiny bit. I was surprised when she grabbed a needle and thread and sewed me into the dress. I guess assistants must have many different talents.

It was almost three. I quickly put on my shoes and grabbed the purse that had been provided to me. Melissa had done a terrific job of stocking it with the extra accessories I might need lipstick, powder, gum. I had just a second to admire myself before she rushed me downstairs to meet Grayson.

“Abby, you look amazing,” he said.

“Thank you. You look hot,” was all I could say back. He had on a dashing suit that was ultra-modern. The shirt showed off his magnificent body, which I would admit might look slightly better since he worked out earlier.

“Do you like the necklace?” Gray asked. He walked over to me to and admires the necklace himself, then put his arms around me and gently kissed my neck.

“None of that,” ordered Melissa. “You will mess her up, or she will wrinkle you. God forbid you get lipstick on your face or shirt. The studio would have fits if that happened.”

By this time, Lisa had joined us. She also looked stunning
in a short black dress and bright-red high heel
. Her hair was long and straight and almost sparkled in the light. She looked even sexier than she normally did.

“Wow, Lisa, you look great,” I said.

“Nobody will guess we’re farm girls tonight, will they? Patrick can eat his heart out,” she said.

All four of us piled into the limo. I noticed how professional Melissa looked. She had her hair pulled back and was wearing an elegant dress, but she still clenched her blackberry in one hand and was wearing her Bluetooth headset. She had our passes and a few random lists in her lap.

It took us almost an hour in LA traffic to make it to the event. I looked out the window and could not believe how large the crowd was. The city had closed down a road and built bleachers for the fans to sit in. Thousands of paparazzi were everywhere, taking pictures, and reporters lined the red carpet. Melissa handed out our passes as we pulled up.

“O
kay
, Grayson will be exiting the car alone, and we will join him in the auditorium,” Melissa said.

“That’s not the plan. She’ll come with me,” Grayson said.

“
The studio thinks it’s better for Abby to join you inside. You have pictures with her just yesterday; the press will notice that she’s with you again and want to know why.”

“Well, then all four of us are getting out,” Grayson said.

“Grayson, that’s a bad idea.” Melissa was too late; the limo door opened and Grayson jumped out onto the red carpet. He gave a giant wave to his fans and then looked back at me and signaled for me to get out of the car.

I was too scared to look at Melissa, so I just jumped out and followed him. Lisa was right on my heels and, reluctantly, Melissa joined us. Quickly, Melissa pulled me and Lisa back into the shadows with her and everyone else’s assistants.

I could only watch Grayson. I was in awe of him walking the carpet like a professional movie star. He stopped every few feet to shake hands with fans and sign autographs and have a few pictures snapped. He was one of a few stars who reached through the police barrier to greet the young girls who had come to see him. He did a fantastic job of showing off his sexy smile.

He was joined at the end of the carpet by the rest of the cast of
Texas High
. He posed for a bunch of pictures with Holly and Patrick. When he carefully put his arm around Holly’s shoulder, the crowd cheered even louder for them. After the group poses, the cast was interviewed one-by-one by a series of reporters. We followed Grayson into the press tent. I was excited to get to see him work.

“Welcome, Grayson Edwards. What is it like to have all this attention?” the reporter asked.

“Tough, but I’m enjoying every moment of it,” Grayson said.

“Who are you wearing tonight?”

“Oh, I think Gucci – I’m not sure,” Grayson replied.

Melissa looked frustrated. “I went over that with him hundreds of time. Gucci will be pissed,” she said.

“The girls are dying to know if you are seeing anyone?” the reporter asked.

“I’m single, so look out girls,” Grayson said and flashed his sexy smile at the camera. He then looked over at me and gave me a warm wink. I knew he was doing his job and that the studio would be proud.

“You’re not even dating you
r
co-star, Holly?” the report pushed.

“I enjoy Holly’s company, but we only date in the movie,” Grayson said.

“I heard you were in the news yesterday being escorted into a police car. Care to comment on that?”

“That was a big misunderstanding. I accidentally got caught up with a group of enthusiastic fans. Office
r
Miller was so nice to help me out of the situation,” Grayson replied without missing a beat.

“Thank you for your time, Grayson.”

Grayson waved and walked off into the auditorium. As soon as the door shut, he ran over to me and gave me a loving hug and kiss.

I had noticed all the celebrities from all different genres and eras around, and was beginning to feel a bit star-struck. Just then I saw Billy Idol. I had loved him since I was thirteen. I couldn’t believe he was here.

“Is that Billy Idol?” I asked.

“He’s handing out an award. Would you like to meet him?” Grayson asked.

“Yes, she would,” Lisa exclaimed. “She is his biggest fan and has every album. She has forced me to listen to them all for years.”

Billy was dressed in black leather pants and a sexy T-shirt and jacket. He still had his trademark spiky blond hair. Months ago, I would have been too shy to speak to him. He had a few people in his group. One was a teenage girl, who I guessed was his daughter.

Grayson walked over and talked to Billy, pointing me out. The teenage girl was going a bit crazy to see Grayson. Soon I realized that Grayson had traded a picture of himself with Billy’s daughter for a picture of me and Billy. Billy strolled over to us and introduced himself.

“Hi, Abby. Grayson said you would like a picture with me.”

I could feel my cheeks burning. I had been to several of his concerts and had loved him for years. Now he was standing in front of me saying my name.

“She is your biggest fan,” Lisa butted in as she pushed me over to him, camera already in her hand. She was having too much fun embarrassing me, but I was pleased she had said something since apparently I was unable to speak.

“I’m sure you hear that all the time. Please don’t mind my friend,” I said and gave Lisa a death look.

“It nice to hear that I have fans your age,” Billy said. “You did me a favor. My daughter only came to see Grayson Edwards, and I was wondering how to introduce her to him.” Billy put his arm around my shoulder to pose for a picture.

“Thank you,” I said.

“My daughter thanks you as well; we have so many “Team Scott” things around the house. She will think I’m cool now. Oh, and by the way, if it doesn’t work out for you kids, have your people call my people,” he said with a smile and a wink.
Billy walked back and joined his group.

“Did he just hit on you?” Lisa asked, her voice was full of jealousy. “Why are you the celebrity type and I’m not?”

“Don’t worry about it, Lisa; you will meet someone tonight.” I gave her a reassuring pat on the arm.

Grayson made his way back over to us, and we went to go find our seats. I was surprised to see how close we were sitting to the stage. My guess was this was where the winner sat, so they could get up on stage quickly. Melissa was trying to round us up and go over last-minute instructions. The rest of the
Texas High
cast had also joined us.

“O
kay
, Grayson and Holly, you have won Best Kiss and Best Couple. Please get up on the stage as quickly as you can. You have thirty seconds to make your speeches. Once you leave a stage, there will be a reporter back stage to interview you.

“They already know they won?” I whispered to Lisa.

“I guess so,” she whispered back.

By this time, other celebrities had come into the auditorium, and it was filling up fast. The show was about to begin in five minutes.

Grayson turned around in his seat and stroked my leg. “You look hot tonight,” he said. “Do I need to worry about you running off with Billy Idol?”

“You don’t look so bad yourself. And no, you have nothing to worry about.”

“Grayson, please! There are hundreds of people with cell phones that can take pictures,” Melissa scolded.

I was beginning to realize that the studio had hired Melissa as more of a babysitter than a personal assistant.

The auditorium went dark; the show was about to begin. A musical number opened the show. I looked around and could not believe how many A-list celebrities surrounded me. Grayson turned to give me a wink from time to time, and each time I saw Melissa scowl at him.

The first few awards were given out. I soon realized how tiring these shows were. Everything came to a stop during commercial breaks. The only amusing thing that happened during the breaks was that I could watch the Jumbo Trons and see the actors who had won the awards being interviewed by reporters or droning on with a never-ending list of people they wanted to thank but hadn’t had time to during their thirty-second speech.

Grayson, sitting nearby, looked incredibly hot, but I could tell he was uncomfortable. He had his hair done the way Scott wore his hair in
Texas High
. He never wore his hair like that unless he
was at an event for the movie.
I was glad I was sitting behind him and got to take him all in. I did the love Scott look, but I would never tell him that. I wanted Grayson to know that I loved Grayson, and it had nothing to do with Scott.

The show started back up, and the hostess announced the category for Best Kiss.

“Nominations for Best Kiss are …” the actress read, “Grayson Edwards and Holly Long, for
Texas High
.” A brief clip of the big kiss in
Texas High
played. The other nominations were for movies I hadn’t even seen. Most were silly: one movie was about a frat house and two recruits that were forced to kiss. It didn’t matter; I knew that Grayson had won. I watched him sit nervously, waiting for his name to get called.

“And the winner is … Grayson Edwards and Holly Long, for
Texas High
.”

Grayson and Holly got up and waved to their fans as they made their way to the stage. Once they were at the podium, they of course kissed, just like they had in
Texas High
.

“Well, this was unexpected,” Grayson said as he held the award. “What a lucky guy I am. I get to kiss one of the prettiest girls in Hollywood and then get an award for it!
Seriously, I would like to thank all the
Texas High
fans who voted for us. We couldn’t have won this without you.”

Holly had a long list of people she wanted to thank, so Grayson stepped back and let her have her moment. Soon the music came up and cut Holly off, and they both walked back-stage. It was, of course, another commercial break, but I would get to watch Grayson being interviewed back stage on the large Jumbo Tron screen.

A young reporter with some papers in her hand quickly approached him. I thought that was kind of odd that she had a bunch of questions written down for him.

“Grayson, how did it feel to win tonight?” the reporter asked.

“Of course I enjoyed winning. It’s not every day I get an award for making out with a beautiful woman,” Grayson stated.

“You have been linked with Holly long since the filming of
Texas High
, but lately you have been seen around town with a mystery girl,” the reporter said.

“As always, I like to keep my personal life personal,” Grayson said, a bit annoyed.

“Well then, what do you think about the mystery girl writing a blog about your relationship?” the reporter asked.

I felt a massive pit start to well up in my stomach. What was this reporter saying to him? And what was she showing him?

“What are you talking about?” Grayson asked, looking confused and hurt.

“Recently a blog has been published called
‘My Life with the Movie Star.
’ Abby Smith has published letters and pictures and stories about you on this blog, and has even sold some of your personal things,” the reporter stated. “Were you not aware that she was doing this?”

Just then, of course, the commercial break was over, and the Jumbo Tron went dark. I had no idea what Grayson was thinking. I looked over at Melissa, who was beyond pissed. She whispered over to me to get up and meet her in the hall. I swallowed hard and followed her.