Chapter 88

I called Meg Friday morning to tell her that I’d be at her house around ten o’clock and to bring her bathing suit. She gave me directions and I followed them to one of the older neighborhoods in the Hollywood hills. Bill and I had once driven through the area and he told me that’s where a lot of young people who came to town looking for work in the movies lived. It was exactly ten o’clock when I pulled in front of her address to find her standing on the sidewalk with a duffle bag over her shoulder. It was already getting warm outside and she was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. Her hair was in a ponytail sticking out the back of a baseball cap, and she looked cuter than hell. I said, “Damn, you really look cute this morning,” when I got out of the car to take her bag. She blinked, before answering, “Thank you,” and I thought that I caught a hint of a blush as she climbed into the car.

The airport is only about twenty minutes from her house, and she sat up in her seat and began looking around when I pulled through the main gate. She asked, “Why are we here?” when I pulled the car up next to our plane.

I hadn’t mentioned that we were going to fly to La Jolla because I wanted to surprise her. I didn’t count on the fact that she seemed worried, so I said, “It’s your magic carpet ride. Just sit there and relax while I get things ready, Erin wasn’t kidding when she said that I wouldn’t let anything bad happen to you.”

She sat watching me as I gave the plane a careful preflight, and I made a point to knowingly nod my head and declare everything to be perfect when I completed the checkout. She seemed okay when I led her to the plane and seated her, but I could feel her trembling when I leaned over her and fastened the seatbelt. The wind was calm, so the takeoff was smooth, and I settled back and looked over at her when we got to cruising altitude. Her eyes were big as saucers and she seemed to be enjoying herself, but she was clutching her hands together so hard that her knuckles were white, so I reached over with one hand and put it over hers. Her head snapped around and she said, “Uhh, shouldn’t you be steering with both hands?”

“No, it’s perfectly safe. I promised someone I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”

She raised an eyebrow and said, “Really? Who’d you promise that to?”

“The manager at the studio lunchroom made me promise to keep you safe. He said a good portion of their income depends on you.”

It took her a second to understand what I said, then she laughed out loud and took a playful swipe at me. She seemed to relax for the rest of the trip and she began pointing things on the ground out and asking me about them. It’s only a little over a hundred air miles to La Jolla so it wasn’t long before we entered the pattern at La Jolla Airport. I called the number that Jay had given me as soon as we landed, and told Gus that we were here. He said that he’d be right over, so Meg and I had a seat, and she said, “It’s been pretty exciting so far, what’s in store for the rest of the weekend?”

“Well, we’re mainly here to relax. Jay says that we have reservations at somewhere special for dinner, the rest we’ll play by ear.”

“This Jay person, is he an old friend of your?”

I told her about Jay and how he wanted to spend some time with Marla, then I explained that he was bringing a friend along to meet her.

She frowned and said, “Oh, so this is a setup?”

I took her hands and said, “It’s only a setup if you want it to be. We’re down here to have fun. We can always leave if you don’t like the guy, or something happens to make you uncomfortable. I wasn’t kidding when I said that I’d watch out for you.”

“I know you weren’t. You like taking care of people, don’t you?”

“I guess so. You must too, you’ve been watching out for me lately.”

“I’m getting paid to do it.”

“Well, you’re doing a good job and I appreciate it.”

We sat quietly for a minute, then she said, “Okay, tell me about this weekend.”

“Well, Jay’s family has a home down here, so we’re going to stay at his place. He said it’s a big place with plenty of room.”

“You said there’ll be some other girls here.”

“Yes. Two friends of mine are working down here this weekend and they’re going to meet us. They both work for WE. I’m sure that they’ll tell you all about it.”

“So, these girls are not high school friends of yours.”

I smiled at her and said, “No. They’re not as ancient as you are, but they’re both out of high school.”

She scowled and stuck her tongue out at me, then she asked, “This girl you’re here to meet. Is she your girlfriend?”

“No, she just a friend. Her name is Monique and she’s a model. She’s been working in New York for a while and she just came back to LA. She’s working for WE right now, and she’s down here doing glamour shots this weekend. The other girl’s name is Marla. She also works for WE. I introduced her to Jay a while back and he said that he wanted to get to know her.”

“So we’re going to Jay’s house now?”

“Yes. Jay and his friend are driving down later.”

“What do you know about his friend?”

“Jay told me that the Warden at Sing-Sing prison said that the guy was was a model prisoner both times he was an inmate there, and that the reports of him being a rapist and a child molester were mostly false.”

She made a face at me and said, “Knock it off! C’mon, what do you know about him?”

I decided I’d let the guy tell her about himself, so I said, “Nothing really, but Jay says that he a good guy.”

A heavy-set older man stepped up to us just then, and said, “Hi, I’m Gus. Are you Pete?” He grabbed our bags when I nodded, and we followed him to a late-model station wagon. He put our bags in the back, then he held the door for us to get in the car. Meg got in first and slid her cute butt across the seat. I noticed Gus watching her with a slight smile on his face. It wasn’t a lecherous look, just one of appreciation. I winked at him when he looked at me, which caused him to smile big. He was still smiling as we drove away.

I read about La Jolla when I was at school. It’s a beach town just north of San Diego and it’s supposed to have some of the best weather in the country. The seniors in school all talked about the fact that UC San Diego was near there, and it had the reputation of being a real party school, but you either had to live in campus housing or somewhere far away, because everything around La Jolla was very expensive and only rich people lived there. That became obvious by the size of the houses we were passing and even more so the closer that we got to the beach. It turned out that Jay’s place was right on the beach, and Gus pulled the car into one of the larger ones. It was a two-story place and it sat on a small rise that made it a little higher than the houses around it, plus it had a railing around what appeared to be an open deck on top. We grabbed our bags and followed him inside. The house was huge, with high ceilings and full height windows that looked out over the ocean. He took us up a flight of stairs to a large U-shaped room with two doors in front and two on each side. He took us to one side, opened two of the doors, and said, “You’re the first ones here so you get the rooms with the best view,” then he pointed to a circular stairway at the back, and said, “After you freshen up, go up top, there are some sandwiches and things. It’s going to be hot today. I suggest that you put swimsuits on if you brought them. I’ll be downstairs if you need me.”

My room was quite large and he was right. The view was spectacular. The sun was straight overhead, and it made the ocean glisten. There was a door on the side of the room, but it was locked when I tried the handle. I rattled the handle, and Meg called out, “These rooms share a bathroom. Me first, but hurry up, I’m hungry.”

I threw my bathing suit on then called Marla’s cell phone. I gave her the address and asked if she wanted us to pick her up. She said that Tammy would drop her off on the way back to LA. She said that Monique s was expecting my call when I mentioned that I was going to call her next, but she was probably going to be too busy to answer, so I should leave the address on her voicemail. I did, and I finished just as the bathroom door burst open and Meg, dressed in a one-piece bathing suit, said, “Wow, this place is amazing. Your friend must be loaded.”

In spite of the fact that the suit covered everything, it couldn’t hide the fact that she had a great body. Her legs were great, and her butt looked cute as hell. It took me a minute before I squeaked out, “Yeah, it looks that way,” then I added, “But what’s with the one-piece suit?”

She frowned and answered, “It’s all I have. Besides, I don’t want pervs like you staring at me all day. C’mon, let’s get something to eat.”

I stared at her butt on the way up the stairway. The tight swimsuit made it look even cuter. She must have seen me peeking at her because she said “Whatcha lookin at?” when we got to the top.

A little embarrassed, I answered, “I was looking at you. You have a great ass.”

She grinned and answered, “Yes, I do,” and she turned and headed toward a table loaded with sandwiches, beer, and soft drinks.

The deck was amazing. It covered the entire top of the house and it was higher than the other houses, so it had an uninterrupted view of the ocean and the surrounding area, and provided for real privacy. There were several tables with umbrellas, a bunch of lounge chairs, and there was a redwood structure of some kind toward the back side. Meg immediately went to the table with the food. She built herself a huge sandwich, grabbed a soda, and plopped down in one of the lounge chairs. I did the same and sat down next to her. Gus was right. It was just past noon and it was getting hot, but a nice breeze was coming off the ocean, and it made for an almost perfect day. We finished our sandwiches and quietly sat enjoying the ocean. I had nearly dozed off when Meg said, “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure, what’s up?”

“You live a pretty exciting life, don’t you?”

“I, uhh, gee, I don’t know. What makes you say that?”

“Well, you seem to know everybody, you ride a motorcycle, fly a plane, and now you’re an actor. That sounds pretty exciting to me.”

“I guess it does if you put it that way, but I never really thought about it.”

“Your sister says that you date lots of girls, but you don’t have a steady girlfriend. How come?”

“Why, are you interested in applying for the job?”

“Not a chance. You’re too young, too cute, and too self-confident. I’ve seen you in action, and I don’t want to be another notch on someone’s belt, but what’s the deal with you? Why don’t you have a steady girl?”

“I went with a girl for a while, but she left to go to school in Europe. I just haven’t met the right person since then.”

“What about the one you’re meeting this weekend?”

“She’s just a friend as I told you. She’s been gone for a while, and I’ve wanted to spend some time with her since she got back in town. But what about you? You can’t tell me that fat guy you hang around with is the only game around.”

She looked thoughtful for a minute before she answered, “Carl isn’t as bad as you think. I know that it’s time I got away from him because he’s beginning to think that there’s something between us. I actually feel bad for him because he’s helped me a lot.”

She sat for a few seconds before she continued with, “I knew that I wanted to be an actress from the time I was old enough to go to the movies. I read every magazine when I was a kid, and I took acting lessons and joined all the local theater groups when I was old enough. I guess that I did well, because everyone told me that I was a natural and destined for stardom. So I left Davenport, Iowa, when I was eighteen, and came here to get into pictures. I knew that I was pretty, I knew that I could act and I thought that would take me where I wanted to go.”

She was quiet for a minute, so I said, “It, umm, didn’t go like you wanted?”

She answered, “No, it didn’t. I knew that there’d be other girls here with the same dream, but I didn’t realize how many. There are hundreds, and they are just as pretty, just as talented, and they all want the same thing I do. I read all the ‘tell-all’ books and I had no illusions. I knew what I wanted and I thought that I was willing to do whatever it took to make that happen, but it soon became evident that many of the girls were willing to do things that I’d never even heard of. You asked me once about the casting couch. That may have been a way to get to where you wanted in the past, and some of the old female stars actually used it as an image builder from what I hear. That was when the studios were run by a few big-time moguls. It’s run by beancounters today. The couch is still around, but the girls who try to go that way almost never get anywhere.”

“So, how does someone make it in the business?”

“It’s generally like you did. You were in the right place at the right time, and you had the right connections.”

“Yeah, I guess I did. The funny thing is that I never even thought about acting or modeling.”

“That’s what I’ve heard, and it really pisses me off.”

“Gee, I’m, uhh, sorry.”

“I’m not pissed off at you. You have the connections and you’re so good-looking that you deserve to be where you are. I’m just pissed off that I worked so hard at it, and you just stumbled into everything.”

“So you think that I’m good-looking?”

“Of course, I do.”

“But you won’t go out with me.”

“I’ve told you why.”

“But you went away with me this weekend.”

She’d been lying on the lounge next to me. She suddenly sat up and said, “Okay, I’ll tell you why, but you have to promise not to spread it around.”

“Uhh, sure, I promise.”

“I don’t date a lot. I don’t date at all, as a matter of fact. I made my mind up that I would concentrate on work, and that’s all I’ve been doing for the last couple of years. I’ve been out with Carl a few times, but they weren’t really dates. I told him that we were only friends at the beginning, and I thought that he understood. I guess he wants more, and it doesn’t look like I’ll be going out with him anymore judging from what happened the other day.”

I interrupted her with, “Of course, he wants more. You’re probably a fantasy to him because I bet he never went out with anyone as pretty as you are, but why did you agree to come with me this weekend?”

She smiled before she continued, “It was actually Erin’s idea. I was telling her that I hadn’t had a date in a long time and she insisted that I come when I mentioned that you had asked me to come down here and meet someone.”

“Did she say why?”

She chuckled before she said, “Your sister is really something. She said that you were a good guy and that you would never let anything bad happen to me.”

We both sat back, and I was thinking about what she said when a voice behind us said, “Hey, Pete! What’s up,” and Jay strode across the deck followed by a dark-haired guy. I stood up and I was about to introduce Meg, when Jay interrupted with, “See, Lane, I told you that she’d be a knockout if Pete brought her.”

The guy with Jay reached down, took Meg’s hand as though he was going to shake it, and said, “Boy, you’re sure right about that,” then he added, “Hi, my name is Lane.” He just held on to Meg’s hand instead of shaking it, and Meg seemed a little flustered for the first time since I met her. She quickly recovered and said, “Hi, I’m Meg, and I’d like my hand back if you don’t mind. I may want to wave at someone.”

That got a laugh from him, and he let go of Meg’s hand, offered it to me, and said, “Hi, Pete, I’m Lane.”

His handshake was firm and he looked me straight in the eye, so I took a second to look him over. He’s a very nice-looking guy. He looked around six feet tall, with curly black hair, a nice smile, and the whitest teeth I ever saw. I was thinking that he and Meg would be a great-looking couple when Jay broke in with, “It’s getting hot out here, c’mon, Lane, let’s go put our suits on,” and the two of them headed for the stairs. Meg leaned close as soon as they left, and said, “Damn! That guy is a fox.”

They came back wearing swimsuits a few minutes later. Jay is tall and lean with the beginning of a little roll around the waist. Lane was very fit looking. It looked like he spent time in a gym. They grabbed some beers and a plate of snacks. They brought them over to us and we sat talking for a while. I watched Lane and Meg. He was obviously interested in her and she was playing it coy, but her body language said that she was interested too. I heard the doorbell ring and Marla stepped onto the deck a minute later. She looked fantastic! She had sunglasses on and was wearing a business suit. Her hair was shoulder length and it looked like it had just been styled. She looked like something out of a magazine, and Jay jumped up when she started walking toward us, and said, “Can I help you, Ma’am?”

Marla stopped, and said, “Uhh, I’m Marla Rand, Pete’s friend.”

Jay immediately answered with, “Are you sure you’re not a movie star? You’re much too pretty to be the girl I met in Hollywood that night.”

Marla raised an eyebrow, then she grinned, looked at me and said, “Well, you guys must have already had lunch, because your friend here is sure full of, umm, bologna, Pete.”

That got another laugh, then Marla stepped toward Jay, put her hand out, and said, “Thank you for the compliment. You don’t look so bad yourself. Thanks for inviting me.”

Jay shook her hand, and she turned to Lane and did the same, then she bent to Meg and introduced herself. I was surprised to see how poised Marla seemed. Meg is five or six years older than Marla, but Marla looked like the older girl and I was impressed by her behavior. The training she was getting at WE had obviously turned her into a different person than the shy, unhappy girl I first met.

Jay then asked her, “Did you bring a swimsuit?”

She answered, “Yes, I did. It’s in the room that your man was kind enough to show me.”

Jay added, “Why don’t you put it on. It’s going to be quite warm this afternoon.”

Marla said, “I believe that I will,” and she headed for the stairs, but she stopped just as she got there, turned, and said, “May I speak to you, Meg?”

Meg went to her and they talked for a minute, then Meg turned toward us. She seemed to make a decision after a few seconds, nodded to Marla, and they both disappeared down the stairs.

We sat there drinking beer, wondering what was going on, when they both returned. Lane saw them first and he stood up and smiled. I turned to see why, and they were both wearing bikinis. Marla apparently had brought an extra one along and both of them looked sexy as hell. They stopped by the food table on the way over to us. Meg took a beer and Marla grabbed a diet soda, but Meg looked at her for a split second as Marla walked toward us, then put the beer back, also took a diet soda as they came and joined us.

Both Jay and Lane were definitely interested in the girls and the girls were obviously attracted to them, so watching what was going on between them was interesting. I had never been in a situation where I wasn’t part of the interaction before now, and it was almost like I was a spectator watching a movie. Jay was the more outgoing of the group, and he was continually talking and cracking jokes. Marla was getting a kick out of Jay’s stories and even added a couple of her own. Lane didn’t say much. He laughed at Jay’s jokes, but he spent most of the time trying not to let Meg catch him sneaking peeks at her. Meg saw what was happening, and she turned her head away from him and winked at me at one point. I was surprised at how quiet she was. She was content to let Jay and Marla carry most of the conversation. It was as though she was out of her element, and it looked like Marla saw it too, because she stopped Jay in the middle of a long, boring story, and said, “That’s enough from you. Be quiet and drink your beer, let’s hear from someone else for a while.”

Jay blinked, then he burst out laughing, as Lane said, “Thank you, Marla. He’ll talk all day if someone doesn’t stop him.”

Marla asked Meg what kind of work she did, and Jay immediately asked her about shows she’d been in when Meg said that she worked at the studio. Meg started talking, and I could see the shyness start to fall away as she warmed to the subject, and we were all laughing at a story she was telling about a show she’d worked on before long. She had just started telling about another incident when a phone rang.

Marla reached into her purse and answered it. Then she said, “It’s okay, everyone is in swimsuits,” then she hung up and said, “It’s Monique. The photo shoot was at the beach today. She wearing a swimsuit and wanted to know if she should change.”