Chapter 18: Here, Hold My Beer

Sunday January 1
We all came out of the terminal to find a bigger plane than I expected. Brook and I had sprung for a charter flight to LA from our local airport. With us were all our friends who were staying for the week.

“I thought we were getting something practical,” I said.

“We did, but Rita James is flying back with us, and she upgraded us. It’s an Airbus A318 Elite configured so it seats 18 and has sleeping quarters for eight,” Brook explained.

“I could use a nap,” Tami said.

She did look a little hungover after last night.

“Mile high club,” Wolf said as he high-fived Tim.

“Are you planning to do each other?” Sarah, Wolf’s girlfriend, asked her boyfriend and Tim.

“I like her,” Cassidy announced as my two friends scowled at Sarah.

“I’m sure David has done it,” Wolf whined.

“I’m sure David has earned frequent flyer mileage doing just that. It doesn’t mean I’m going to,” Sarah warned him.

Wolf had sent me an Internet link to suggest a destination for spring break. There was a resort called ‘Sex Island’ in the Caribbean where they provided you two hookers and all the drugs and alcohol you could handle for the week. I’d read that almost half the guys who signed up were married. One had even brought his wife. Somehow, I didn’t think Brook was up for something that over-the-top.

Wolf had pointed out one of the ‘special’ activities was a chance to spend sixty minutes with 30-plus women. I personally didn’t think that sounded all that enjoyable until Tim sent a text back to Wolf.

‘FIFY – spend sixty {strike}minutes{/strike} seconds with 30 women.‘

Wolf wasn’t nearly as amused with Tim as I was. Tim gave him the big shrug.

“Hey, I really did Fix It For You, what are you complaining about?”

I was afraid Wolf and Tim thought this week was going to be something like ‘Sex Island.’ We told the parents that boys and girls would be in separate rooms to calm some reasonable concerns. We even assigned roommates. Personally, my parents hadn’t bought that for a second. I figured if there ended up being some room-swapping, it wasn’t up to me to say anything about it.

The current room assignments were Tim and Wolf, Sarah and Tami, Brook and Cassidy, Tracy and Pam, with Lexi and me having our own rooms.

Cassidy had decided not to invite her boyfriend Don. She was just dating him casually and didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. Plus, Fritz had asked her to assist with security to help Manaia.

Speak of the devil: I saw Fritz lead Rita, Halle, and Stewart Thatcher out of the terminal.

“What are you all standing around for? Get on the plane,” Rita ordered, playing den mother.

I agreed because it was a little chilly standing on the tarmac.

“I see who wears the pants in your relationship,” I teased Stewart.

“David, get on the plane,” Brook ordered with a smirk.

Stewart and I just smiled and did as we were told. When I got on, I saw the interior was completely decked out to remind you of a classy lounge, complete with a bar. I went to the back, picked out one of the sleeping rooms, and stretched out. We hadn’t gotten home until almost three in the morning, and I was running on about five hours of sleep. I figured if I goofed off, I might not get a bed to sleep on.

I dozed off as the plane left the ground.

“Scoot over,” Pam said.

The beds weren’t any bigger than twin size. I hadn’t planned on sharing but was half-asleep, so I didn’t argue. Pam crawled in next to me, and I put my arm around her as I lay on my side.

“David,” Pam said softly.

“Hm.”

“I heard what you said to Kent and Chuck last night.”

“Uh, huh.”

“You’re a really good guy.”

“I love you too,” I said.

“I know,” she said and snuggled down so we could get some sleep.

I had about a ninety-minute power nap and felt great. I slipped out of bed, taking care not to wake Pam. When I went out into the main cabin, I found many of the others had followed my lead and claimed sleeping berths. I found a nice comfy chair and pulled out my phone.

While I’d slept, I’d received several messages and texts. Brook had sent one with my share of the flight cost. With Rita’s help, it was about four times what I would pay for a first-class ticket. The upside was I didn’t have to drive to Chicago and go through their security, saving me several hours of travel time. I was also able to bring my friends in luxury. It was something I could see doing as a special treat every once in a blue moon. I might get away with it more often, now that Caryn was leaving her job as my conscience.

Ari sent a text about the box office numbers for The Royal Palm through Saturday. We’d reached that magic threshold where we’d actually made money. To date, every film I’d been in had done just that. Ari said he’d received more scripts that were perfect for me, and he’d sent them to my managers to look at. At least he’d learned not to buck the process. I was sure if he were to find anything outstanding, he would hand-deliver it.

The text I received from Lexi shocked me. I had jokingly suggested that she look into getting us the yacht her dad had invited me on. He’d done that to help sway me to sign up for the next two Star Academy movies. Her text said we were good to go for tomorrow, and the studio was picking up the cost. We could invite thirty people. I was about to become very popular. There was a note that one of the guests had to be Lexi. I was reminded once again that I was blessed to have her working for me. I sent her a text back to confirm and assure her she was going.

I sent a text to Mr. Otsuki, my director, to tell him what Lexi had arranged and to invite him and the cast for the day if he could fit into his shoot schedule. It didn’t take him long to accept. Tsuyoshi, my mentor, had clued me in that Mr. Otsuki had mentioned that he might want to come with us when we did American activities. Tsuyoshi suggested that I not go skinny-dipping if he did join us. Tsuyoshi thought he was funny. I gave Mr. Otsuki the details and asked that he invite the cast.

That accounted for about two-thirds of the slots. I had to reserve one for Manaia and another for Halle. I sent a text to my other Hollywood friends and soon had the trip’s guest list filled.

I sent another text to Lexi to arrange for us to take a commuter helicopter from Malibu to the heliport close to where the yacht was docked. When I went last time with Rita, it had been very reasonably priced. I just knew it would save us a ton of travel time. Plus, I wanted my friends to get the full experience while they were there.

I decided that after that, I would cut back on throwing money around. I knew Wolf was touchy about it, and I really didn’t want my friends to think I was an ATM.

Brook came out and sat down in my lap. She looked refreshed from her nap.

“You need to talk to your boys. They seem to think you’ve planned a ‘Girls Gone Wild’ type of week.”

“Why am I responsible for that?” I asked.

“Because they take their lead from you. Someone has a reputation for doing outrageous stuff,” she reminded me.

“I really haven’t gotten too far out of hand this year. Every time they’ve wanted to do something over-the-top, I’ve said I wasn’t going to get involved,” I reminded her.

“Sarah is uncomfortable,” Brook clued me in. “She said you announced something about ‘anytime, anywhere’ when you went to model camp with her. Wolf keeps telling her ‘right now and right here.’”

“Are they not doing the deed?” I asked, suddenly confused.

I knew that Sarah wasn’t against having sex. Heck, I’d spent some quality time with her, and she’d enjoyed it. I guess I just assumed she and Wolf had taken it to the next level, so to speak.

Brook got a look on her face like she’d bit into a bad lemon.

“Just tell me.”

“She told me this in confidence,” Brook wavered.

“Then don’t,” I said to let her off the hook.

“Wolf is terrible in bed,” Brook blurted.

I blinked a few times and then called bullshit.

“Cassidy never complained.”

“Cassidy learned early on that she had to be on top to get hers. She told me that you, Jim, and Jeff were much better in bed than Wolf.”

“I think I remember you saying this was a secret, and I said not to tell me,” I said and covered my ears, hoping I could unhear it.

“You have to talk to him,” Brook said.

“Hang on. Why doesn’t Sarah talk to him about it? She has a vested interest in fixing it. Personally, I don’t really want to know what he does behind closed doors,” I reasoned.

“You need to talk to him because he’s one of your best friends and because Sarah will dump him if you don’t.”

“Nice try,” I said, calling her bluff.

“Then do it for me,” Brook said, pulling out the big guns.

“What am I supposed to say? ‘Hey, Bro, the girls have been talking, and you’re coming up short in the bedroom?’ He’ll punch me, and I’ll probably deserve it.”

“You could show him,” she suggested.

“I guess Sarah and I could bang one out while he watches. Bet I can still make her scream,” I teased.

Some things should not be said to a girlfriend who knows how to hurt you.

“Ow!” I complained.

“Tracy said you showed Tim. Tami thinks he’s pretty good.”

Actually, I’d tasked Kim with his education during the summer between sophomore and junior years.

Then my old feelings for Tami suddenly came to the forefront, and I had to take a deep breath to tamp them down. Just when I thought she was completely out of my system, something like what Brook had just said reminded me that Tami and I had a history. You don’t go most of your life thinking you will end up with someone and then just forget it. It didn’t matter that I loved Brook and wouldn’t give her up for Tami for any reason. I still thought of Tami as mine, at times.

“I could have gone the rest of my life without hearing the last part,” I grumped.

“Come on, you have to know we girls talk. You always come off well,” she tried to assure me.

“Whatev,” I said to change the subject from me. “How am I supposed to show him? Are we going to do it in front of everyone?”

She giggled.

“You are a bit of an exhibitionist.”

“If you got it, you flaunt it,” I said to annoy her.

“Whatev,” she said, using my own words against me.

“You know who we need?” I asked and then paused. “Cindy.”

“She’s in LA,” Brook said.

“I didn’t know that. Is she there working on my house?”

“Yep. She wants to get together this week,” Brook shared.

I waggled my eyebrows at my girlfriend.

“That’s not happening. After the session with Suzanne, I’m not sure letting you hang out with her is a good idea. I personally think she’s a little too wild,” Brook admitted.

“Can you ever be ‘too’ wild?” I asked, doing air quotes.

“Ow, stop that,” I complained as she jabbed me again. “I will defend myself.”

“I don’t think so, tough guy,” Brook said, and then tickled me.

“Don’t start something you can’t finish,” I warned her.

“You two settle down,” Rita said, coming out of the back of the plane.

“Yes, Mom,” I said.

“I’ll get Cassidy, and we’ll hold him down if you want to spank him,” Brook offered.

“Slow down, Speed Racer. There’s no need to bring the Little Ninja into any of this. If you two want to take turns playing with my butt, just ask.”

“You should dump him,” Rita suggested.

“So Halle can swoop in? I don’t think so,” Brook said, and then kissed my nose. “I’ve put too much work into training him.”

“There is no way this one is even close to housebroken,” Rita said as she rolled her eyes.

“David, could you get me something to drink?” Brook asked, trying to prove how well I was trained.

I picked her up, threw her over my shoulder, and swatted her butt. Both Rita and Brook got the giggles as I carried her to the bar to see what they had. I put Brook down and grabbed a couple of sodas. I also got one for Rita.

“He is a work in progress,” Brook admitted and then gave me a kiss.

We landed at Van Nuys Airport, located in the heart of the San Fernando Valley. It’s said to be the busiest noncommercial airport in the world. They handled over 200,000 takeoffs each year. Once the doors opened, I led everyone off the plane. When the sun hit my face, I stopped, let my head drop back, and closed my eyes.

This was why people lived in LA. It was about 70 degrees with a gentle breeze to blow the smog off. If you were from here, you didn’t really notice it, but living in a rural area and then traveling to a big city, you could feel the pollution in your lungs some days. Malibu wasn’t so bad because it had the ocean breeze. It was more when you hit the city proper that you noticed it. I would consider this amount of smog a good tradeoff, considering the snow we’d left behind us.

“Move it,” Cassidy bossed me.

“Young lady, you are about to get on my last nerve. You’ve started to get bossy in your old age.”

She had gotten comfortable around me and treated me more like a brother than anything else, a brother she was allowed to boss around. The thing was, I would put up with a lot more from her than almost anyone else because I knew that she cared deeply about me and would never really do anything to harm me. Cassidy would also protect me and mine without a thought. Even then, as her ‘brother,’ I had to remind her every once in a while that she couldn’t completely take advantage of my good nature.

“David, I told her to lead the way as your security,” Fritz called out from inside the plane.

“Well then, by all means, I will move,” I said and let her wiggle past me.

I wasn’t too worried about security because there was no one within twenty yards of us. Then again, what did I know? I paid Fritz and his people for a reason.

We all got off, and they gave us our luggage. Once we exited the airport, we found Manaia with Jane and Flo standing by three Range Rovers. Fritz, Rita, Stewart, and Halle got into one, and my crew filled the other two so we could go home.

Once we got to the house, Brook and I gave everyone the grand tour and showed people where their rooms were.

“Seriously? I thought the boy-boy, girl-girl roomies stuff was just for the parents’ sake,” Wolf said to Sarah.

He’d assumed that he and Sarah would be sleeping in the same room.

“Dude, cool it,” Tim told his friend.

“But David and Brook...” Wolf began.

“Are much more serious,” Tami said, to play referee.

Fortunately for me, I didn’t have to get in the middle of this. I was sure Tim and Tami could get Wolf to understand. I just let them figure it out as I went to carry Brook’s and my bags to our room. Once I dropped the bags off, I went downstairs and found Brook with her head in the refrigerator.

“You need to make a run to the store for supplies. Why don’t you take Tim and Wolf? That’ll give you all a chance to talk and leave us girls some time alone,” Brook said.

“What are you planning?” I asked.

“I’m impressed. Normally you don’t figure these things out,” she teased me.

“Hey, while you and the girls are plotting our downfall, call Cindy.”

“Why me?” Brook asked.

“Because you brought up the little issue.”

“Word is, it isn’t all that little.”

I closed my eyes and tried not to snap out a bad comeback. My mind went blank.

“Whatev.”

I needed to work on my material.

“David,” Wolf said with concern on his face, “is there somewhere cheaper we could go?”

I’d taken the guys to the Malibu grocery store my dad and I had first come to. At the time, I’d been shocked at how expensive everything was. I could see both Tim and Wolf were worried.

“I hate to say it, but we aren’t back home where everything is normal. I know you don’t want to hear this, but let me buy. Just ignore the prices and get what you want.”

“I can’t do that. You can’t just pay for everything. It’s too much,” Wolf complained and took a deep breath. “Actually, all of this is too much. I don’t belong here.”

“What’s the problem?” I asked.

“The flight, the house...” he said, waving his hands around him. “All this. People like me aren’t supposed to be here.”

My eyebrows went up, and I looked at Tim for help.

“Do you expect David not to have nice things?” Tim asked.

“I forget that he’s so much better off. Maybe it would be better if we weren’t friends. I have no idea why you want to hang out with me,” Wolf said.

“Do you mind hanging out with Brook?” I asked.

“No, not really,” Wolf admitted.

“You do realize that she has much more money than I do,” I said and saw him flinch. “Talk to me. What’s the real problem? It’s not like you hadn’t figured out that I have money. I distinctly remember you looking me up on the Internet at lunch and announcing my net worth to everyone.”

When he didn’t say anything right away, Tim answered for him.

“Sarah.”

Wolf flipped Tim off and shook his head.

“Have you talked to her about what’s going on with you two?” I asked.

Wolf’s already pained expression got worse. The obvious answer was he had no idea.

“Let me make a suggestion. Instead of picking on the rich kid,” I said with a big smile, “take advantage of his good nature and let’s buy some food. When we get home, go spend some time with Sarah.”

“Dude, fix this. I really want to spend time with Tami, and she told me that wasn’t happening with Lurch, here, in my room,” Tim said while pointing at an offended Wolf.

“You could always hook up when I’m not there,” Wolf retorted feebly.

“Just make sure you do it on his side of the bed,” I suggested.

They both gave me blank stares.

“You don’t want to have to sleep in the wet spot,” I said and then had to dodge Wolf when he tried to smack me.

“You’re sick,” Tim said with a smile. “But that’s why we like you. Come on. I suddenly feel fine spending David’s money.”

Apparently, so did Wolf.

I took them to the deli and bakery sections, explaining that I didn’t plan on cooking for everyone all week and wanted to get stuff that was ready to go.

I did learn something new and exciting. The girl at the bakery gave me a flyer that said I could go online and order what I wanted, and they would deliver it. That included alcohol. All I had to do was set up an account. I was starting to love the conveniences LA offered. This was just something else that was missing back home.

We were well on our way to filling one cart, so I sent Tim to get another one. He came back with Manaia. I looked at Manaia and Tim.

“Alcohol.”

“They might need help with that,” Wolf guessed.

“I got this. Don’t forget to get ‘girl’ food for breakfast,” Tim reminded us.

I took Wolf to the meat section and then produce to get plenty of fruit. We then hit the dairy area, and we were done. We met Tim at the front so we could check out. Manaia had helped Tim pick out the wine. From the quantity of alcohol, I was afraid we had enough to open our own bar.

“I figured we would have a party at some point,” Tim said.

“That’s a good idea,” Wolf agreed as they both looked at me hopefully.

I felt like I was their cool uncle or something. So, I did what any cool uncle would have done and agreed with them, while in the back of my mind worrying that it might not be the best idea. I knew how out of hand a party could get. My fear was that in LA, it could be ten times worse. The responsible part of me reminded me that I was only renting. The other part reminded me of my life goals—no regrets! Fuck it, we were having a party.

We came back, and all the girls were taking advantage of it not being freezing outside to catch some rays by the pool. Tim and Wolf helped haul in groceries and left me to put it all away while they changed into swimsuits. Brook came in and helped me.

I handed her the flyer.

“If I missed anything, just order it. They said my account would be open by tomorrow morning,” I explained. “Just don’t abuse it and don’t give the account info or password out to anyone else.”

My login and password were written at the bottom. I’d signed an application that allowed them to charge my debit card.

“Halle’s mad at you.”

I gave my girlfriend a curious look.

“You invited her brother for a day on the water but didn’t invite her,” Brook explained and then gave me a look.

“It was supposed to be a surprise,” I tried.

“More likely, you forgot.”

“Maybe,” I admitted.

Brook rolled her eyes.

“Do I have to drag it out of you?” she asked as she crossed her arms.

That didn’t have the desired effect because she was in a bikini top, and it pushed her breasts together and up in a most interesting way. She looked at where my eyes had gone and took a step towards me.

“What ... oh, uh, yeah. Everyone is invited,” I assured her.

Brook smiled and twirled around to go back out. She looked over her shoulder and wiggled her butt. Damn.

“Open some wine for the girls,” she ordered.

“Send Cassidy in to help me bring it out.”

“She’s busy working,” Brook chirped.

I looked out back, and Cassidy was sound asleep in a recliner. God forbid I interrupt that. By the time Tim and Wolf came down, I had opened a couple of bottles and set out glasses. I figured they could fetch and carry for the group outside.

I’d picked up pizzas and bag salad for dinner. Everyone had a good time settling in. Wolf and Sarah spent some time taking a walk around the neighborhood to talk. I could tell from Wolf’s body language that there were still problems in paradise.

I just put it down to teenage romances and how they ran hot and cold. What sort of surprised me was that they’d been going out for over six months. When I thought back, that might actually be longer than I’d ever managed to keep a relationship from imploding. They received bonus points because they had done it long distance.

Everyone was still on Midwestern time, so I wasn’t surprised when they headed to bed early. Brook and I were left with Lexi, who’d come back from her parents’ house, and Tami. We picked up around the pool, and I started the dishwasher. The girls each grabbed a glass of wine, and I joined them in the living room, arriving in the middle of a conversation.

“I want sensual, mind-bending, raunchy, blazing-hot sex three times a day so that I physically can’t even wiggle my big toe,” Brook said.

Both Tami and Brook laughed when they saw the look on my face. Lexi gave me an unreadable look. They must have seen all the naughty thoughts that had just invaded my mind. Either that or they noticed Mr. Happy had perked up and was struggling to find room in the front of my shorts.

“And David can’t give that to you?” Tami asked, playing the straight man.

Brook gave me a challenging look.

“I’m still moving, and there are only a couple of hours left in the day. So, no, I guess not.”

“Sounds like I better get busy,” I pondered out loud and then pounced on Brook.

“Let me know if you need any help,” Tami said with a sideways look that was hard to read.

“I got this,” I said, intentionally playing dumb.

“Not you, ‘stupid boy,’ Brook,” Tami clarified.

“Oh, I got this. I’m woman enough to bring him to his knees,” Brook said, mimicking my deep voice. Then she saw the look on my face. “Oh, crud!”

She barely got it out before I flipped her over my shoulder. Tami laughed as Brook shrieked in mock horror as I hauled her off to bed.

“Have fun,” Tami called as we left.

I glanced over my shoulder, and I saw a sad expression touch Tami’s face when she didn’t know I was looking. She must have been playing the ‘that could have been me’ tape in her head. For me, I was happy with how everything had worked out. Speaking of work, I needed to rock someone’s world. Brook would learn she shouldn’t challenge me.

Then I glanced over at Lexi and almost stumbled. What I saw was nothing short of her shouting, ‘Fuck Me!’ with a look. She’d wanted to join Brook and me when we helped Halle out. The problem was, I wasn’t in a sharing mood tonight. I wanted to make sure no big toes were moving when I got done. I was a man on a mission, and even Lexi’s look wasn’t going to dissuade me from accomplishing it.

Monday January 2
Brook was still asleep when I got up. I quietly left the room and went to make myself some tea. I was a little surprised to see Tami and Pam up and eating some of the fruit I’d bought yesterday. Manaia had made himself a bagel.

“We surfing?” Manaia asked when he saw me.

“Can I come?” Pam asked, perking up.

“Sure. Go change and meet us out front.”

“I want to come too,” Tami said.

I’d had Manaia pick up some extra boards from Rita’s beach house for the week. Rita had already cleared my borrowing them. I knew Pam would want to go and wasn’t surprised that my tomboy friend would join us. It was good to see Tami hadn’t outgrown her old self.

The four of us had a great time. Manaia worked with Tami to teach her the basics, and she made a couple of nice runs before we were done. Pam looked like she had just gone surfing last week. I guess it’s like riding a bike, you never forget.

When we were done, we needed a real breakfast, so I took them to my favorite diner for after-surfing munchies.

“David,” Pam said as she touched my arm.

I looked at her and smiled when I saw her with a little pout on her face. This was either going to cost me money or test my resolve that I was only dating Brook.

“You’re in trouble,” Tami said from across the table.

“Yes?” I said, falling into our routine.

“Would it be okay if Tracy and I bailed on the outing today?” Pam asked.

“What do you girls have planned?” I asked.

“I want to show her around LA.”

“And?”

“Coby might need a few things.”

I’d shared with Tami how Pam thought that things for her were really for Coby. She barked out a laugh at the little deception.

“What does Coby need?” I asked.

“I don’t really know, but I will when I see it,” Pam assured me.

“Do you have your debit card with you?”

When she was pregnant with Coby, I’d given her a debit card so she could get what she needed. She’d had it ever since and was good about not abusing it. Pam didn’t hesitate to whip it out if the boys really did need something, which I encouraged.

What I was hearing was she planned to take Tracy shopping and was asking permission to buy herself some stuff. If Pam were alone, she wouldn’t spend too much. With Tracy there to encourage her, and with it being LA, all bets were off. All that kept me from worrying too much was the fact that it was a debit card, and she only had what was in the account to spend.

“Yes.”

“Manaia, who’ll go with them?” I asked to make sure they had security.

“I’ll go. I have a feeling Cassidy will want to go on the boat. Personally, I get seasick,” he shared.

That surprised me.

“Okay, you’re all set,” I told Pam.

Tami rolled her eyes at my happy baby mama. Pam stuck her tongue out at her.

“He loves me best,” Pam announced.

It was my turn to roll my eyes. It was my own fault for telling her that.

When we got back to the house, everyone was up. The kitchen looked like a bomb had gone off in it. Last night, Brook, Tami and I had done cleanup. This was going to stop today. I spotted Cassidy and sent her to round up everybody who was going on our yacht trip today. They gathered around in the living room while Cassidy and Manaia got the cars ready to take us to the heliport.

“Before we leave, there are a couple of things I need to mention. First, Tracy and Pam are going on a shopping trip. If you’d rather do that, they are leaving after Manaia drops us off. Second, I’m not your mother. Last night, we had to clean up after you all, and this morning, you’ve already left the kitchen a mess. It’s not like we don’t have a dishwasher. I won’t have you treating this place like it’s a frat house,” I said.

“Sorry, I thought you had people for that,” Sarah said.

She really had never been around my house or me other than on photo shoots or when we went to modeling camp. Looking at the house, I could see where she might think this was how I usually lived. Then again, we did just hire a cook/housecleaner back home.

“We do have a cleaning lady, but she won’t be in until after you all leave,” I explained.

Everyone but Lexi and Brook went back to the kitchen to clean it.

“I’m glad you said something. I was afraid you would make me clean it,” Lexi said.

“David would never do that. He would either do it himself or ask me to help,” Brook shared, and then she looked at me. “What was up with Sarah?”

“She probably assumes I’m not just a normal guy. She must think that I’ve always lived like this,” I said, waving my hand around to point out the lovely house we were staying in.