Electric Eyes
Creed
By the time I made it back to the table, Morgan was arguing with two elderly men. All I heard before Jenny saw me was something about how churches don’t play porn for old men and if they did it again, she was taking car keys away. I could only guess she was referring to the riot in front of St. Paul’s that happened a while back.
“Morgan, sweetie you have to meet a few of our newest residents.” Jenny tapped Morgan on the shoulder, and I set my tray down as she stood. She gave me the most earth shattering smile anyone had ever given me as she stuck out her hand to shake mine.
“We kind of sort of met, back at the tavern. I’m Morgan and it’s very nice to meet you, Mr…?”
She paused and waited for me to answer.
“Its Creed.” I reached for her hand and as soon as our hands met I felt a shock and we both jerked our hands away. No, it wasn’t the kind-of spark romance writers write about, it was static. Actual static electricity and it was a big one that could actually be seen.
She laughed and her eyes were as big as saucers. “Did you see that?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I felt it too.” We both shook our hands in the air to work out the shock.
“Damn, that looked like it hurt.” Patrick laughed.
“That was hilarious, it even hurt a little. Anyway, I thought your first name was Creed.” She said.
Her eyes were unnaturally gorgeous. I always thought they were CGI in her movies, but they were real unless she was wearing contacts. I looked really hard in them and didn’t see anything.
She giggled. “They’re real, no contacts here. You can thank my dad and Uncle Darren, theirs are similar to mine.”
I shook out of the spell her eyes were putting me in and tried to grasp back on to my sanity. Holy shit she was adorable.
“My last name is Creed, you seem different than the parts you play.” I sounded like an idiot.
She giggled again. “It wouldn’t be called acting if I played as myself, would it?”
I shook my head. “I guess not.”
Jenny spoke up. “Creed, you should sit down and eat before your meal gets cold. While you do that, Morgan can tell you a little about herself.” I didn’t miss the wink she gave Morgan. I wasn’t real sure what the fuck kind of shit was going through Jenny’s head, but it wasn’t going to work.
“There’s not much to tell, mom. What exactly do you want me to tell him?” Morgan asked as she took a seat next to me.
“I’m Scott Drakos, by the way.” Drakos tried to reach over and shake her hand.
“Its nice to meet you, Scott. I would shake your hand, but I don’t think it’s really all that safe tonight.” Morgan spoke like she was some kind of innocent little country girl, but I knew better.
“Morgan, tell him about your home in California and maybe about the movie you just made.” Jenny said.
Morgan rolled her eyes. “Like I said, there’s not much to tell. I own a home in Malibu I rarely see because I work too much. I’m surrounded by entitled assholes who have no appreciation for the things they have, and not only am I burned out on acting, but if I have to do another sex scene I might just blow my brains out. Anything else you’d like me to add, mother?”
Drakos choked on his beer, and I paused mid bite. Patrick sprung up from his seat and announced a celebration to the end of his buddies jerking off to her movies. He made a run for the bar to see if they had champagne.
“Amen to that, my friends do the same shit to her movies.” The ninety year old man said.
Drakos was laughing but I was still paused mid bite.
“Its been a long time coming. The only friendship in California I ever cared to make and keep is with Jake. I love entertaining, but at what cost? I feel like I’m selling more and more of my soul to the devil every single day I’m involved with Hollywood. The people are fake and all they care about is status. I miss my real friends. The ones that couldn’t care less if I was acting or baking pies for a living. I’m almost thirty and I feel like I’ve put my life on hold for long enough.” She announced.
“Sweetheart, are you moving home?” Jenny had a hopeful look in her eyes.
“I don’t know, mom. I told you this is a hiatus for now. I have two years to make a decision. For the time being I will focus on Callie, Addie, and my family. Other than that, I have no plans at all.” She paused. “Other than to manipulate that fried chicken recipe from old man Callahan.” She glared at a man, and he flipped her off. In return she winked and batted her eyelashes at him. “Stingy fucker.” She muttered under her breath.
Drakos was still laughing but I was not all that amused. She was playing a part, acting innocent like she actually had something valuable to offer the town. She put down Hollywood, but it was that industry that paid her bills and made her famous. Nobody goes to Hollywood to act and not want to be famous. She acted as if she was better than the people that made her. I almost fell for it, she was damn good, but I knew the type. She wasn’t the first A-list actor I met in my lifetime. Unfortunately, I not only had ties to Hollywood, but also to Morgan.
“What would you do for a career?” Darren asked his niece.
She looked at him. “I started acting when I was six and it’s all I’ve ever known. I don’t think my other talents are career worthy. Anybody can ride a horse, bake a pie, sing a song, dance, and garden. I don’t know, maybe I’ll just be lazy the rest of my life. I could pop out a couple of kids or something.” She paused like she knew someone was standing behind her. “I played a stripper and prostitute once, I was pretty good at it too. That’s a career choice, I guess.” She lifted her shoulders into a shrug.
“You’ll what?” Patrick stood behind her with a stack of solo cups and a bottle of cheap champagne. I finally lost it and laughed when I noticed his bottom lip quivering. “Please say it’s a joke.”
She turned her head and looked up at him. “No, I have to get my freak on somehow.”
Drakos was laughing as hard as the old men while Tanner, Darren, and Patrick were less than thrilled.
“You don’t have a freak to get on, Morgan.” He growled. “Sisters don’t get their freak on, you hear me?”
She turned back around and looked at me. “I think there’s a few men here tonight that might just meet my needs.”
Okay, that bitch was saying that shit while looking at me and right in front of her entire family. The fucked up part, I would have given just about anything to let her get her freak on with me. Shit! Dammit no, I had to stop thinking that way. A woman like her was exactly the reason I had a contract with Dahlia. I wouldn’t have been out anything if she up and took off.
She winked then pointed at my chicken breast. “Are you planning to eat that? Name your price, and I’ll pay it.” She batted her eyelashes at me.
Everyone burst out in laughter, even the woman I believed was her grandmother. There she was, entertaining her family and being the focus of everyone’s attention.
Her eyes grew for just a second and she turned to reveal a very young little girl that must have been tugging on her dress to get her attention. Morgan’s smile grew even brighter when she looked at the little girl. “Well, hello.” Morgan said.
The cute little girl with pigtails whispered something, but I couldn’t hear it.
“I’m sorry, I can’t hear you.” Morgan stood then kneeled down to the child’s level. “What were you saying, sweetie?”
The little girl whispered in her ear then Morgan repeated it. “Am I Princess Emelia from the Princess Chronicles?”
The little girl nodded real big.
“Why yes, I am Princess Emelia. What might your name be?” Morgan asked.
“Hannah.” The little girl whispered.
Morgan placed her finger on her chin and acted like she was thinking. “Hmm…Hannah. That name sounds very familiar.” She continued to act like she was thinking, then her eyes lit up even brighter which took my breath away. I had to remind myself to breathe. “Oh, you’re that Hannah. I was told you would be here tonight. Did your mom tell you the great news?”
The little girl shook her head.
“For one day of the year I get to appoint one little girl to be a princess for me. So, Hannah, do you accept, and will you be a princess for me today?”
The little girl nodded real big.
“Alright, with the power vested in me, by title and by birth, I now appoint Hannah as my princess of Camelot.” Morgan tapped her nose, and the little girl giggled.
“Now that you’re officially a princess, you have duties. Your first duty for the evening will begin when the music starts. You must gather all the children and dance. Make sure you dance your heart out tonight and don’t leave any other children out. Do you understand?”
The little girl nodded. “Good, you better get started because the band is setting up now.”
The little girl hugged Morgan then ran away. When she took a seat next to me she looked down at my plate. “So, what would it take to get my freak on with that chicken breast right there?” She pointed at it then batted her eyes at me.
Drakos spoke up. “If you agree to have my baby, I’ll take Callahan out back and rough him up for that reci…” I elbowed Drakos and he grunted. Dammit to hell, I shouldn’t have done that, now they all thought I wanted Morgan to myself.
I reached down and handed the breast to her. “Free of charge.” I didn’t even crack a smile. Then I looked at Jenny. “It was nice seeing you all again. I have some things to do for the raffle. Please excuse me.”
I walked off with my tray while internally cursing myself. I wasn’t just pissed about that woman getting the best of me, but she got my chicken too. I really wanted that piece. Indiana festival fried chicken was no joking matter. Fucking hell! It was only available at fundraisers, festivals, and special occasions. Mainly just during the summer and I knew I wouldn’t see another piece for at least a month.
I helped the ladies in charge of the raffle and slowly, very slowly they announced the winners. Morgan won the quilt, spoiled brat, I wanted that too. It was handmade and everything. First she got my chicken and then she got my quilt. Enough was enough.
After the raffle I relieved the bartender for about an hour. It was busy, so I didn’t get to keep my eye on her. Why did I care though? Right, she had a nice rack and a gorgeous ass. She made me hard just by being in the same room, and she gave me those other weird feelings.
I was stunned when I heard her being called up to stage over the speakers. I was also shocked to learn that Morgan knew that little Hannah was Lance’s daughter.
“I cant believe you called me up here.” She laughed a little. I tried to see her on the stage and when I did I saw Morgan holding Hannah’s little hand. “Some of you may know me as Morgan, but Hannah knows my true identity of Princess Emelia. Today is a very special day for Hannah, its her princess day. So, instead of me singing for you, it’ll be me and Hannah singing Starlight from the Princess Chronicles.” Morgan kneeled down and shared the microphone with Hannah. I was awestruck. Not just me, but everyone. The people waiting in line for beer, stood frozen as they watched the magic happening on stage.
What I was seeing up on that stage was definitely not the kind of innocence that attracted me, but holy hell it was beautiful. Everything from her voice, to the way she shared that microphone with Hannah, and even those eyes that shined so brightly. I could still see them from the other side of the VFW hall.
They were still singing when they stepped off the stage. I left the bar just to see what they were doing and what I saw broke my heart. She was helping little Hannah sing the words “I’ll still love you when you live among the stars,” to her daddy who was too weak to stand from his wheelchair. The man was wiping his tears and crying as his baby girl sang that children’s song to him. Morgan backed away and gave Hannah that special moment with her dad. I had to turn away. There was no way anyone was going to catch this Green Beret crying. I raced back to the bar and did my best to put it out of my mind. The scene I just witnessed reminded me of missing my own dad and how badly I fucked up our relationship. I was no stranger to regrets but when I thought about Lance, I guessed a man like him had only one regret. That would have been the short amount of time he would have had with his little family. The man had life by the balls until an unnecessary and very powerful evil entered his life. It was an evil that not even a special ops agent could fight and win. His cancer was just too far progressed since the treatments weren’t working the way everyone hoped.
When the song ended, everyone clapped. Then the other music started. When I was done helping at the bar, I finally saw her. She was dancing as she was surrounded by kids. They all stuck to her like magnets. She was bouncing, twirling, laughing, holding toddlers one minute, then singing along in a circle the next minute. I had to admit one thing to myself. If she was trying to impress anyone, she wouldn’t have been on that dance floor acting like a complete and total goofball. I realized in that moment, Morgan Rozzi was a nerd and I kind of liked it.
I was one of the organizers and the bike shop sponsored the fundraiser, so I was busy helping out wherever I could be useful. The night went on, children went home, and what was left was people who wanted to dance and drink. I stood and watched as couples slow danced to a country song. Then I saw her. She was dancing with a man her age, and they were dancing a little too close. I looked at Magnus as he scanned the dance floor.
“Who is that man?” I nodded toward Morgan.
“That’s Tristan Brown, her high school sweetheart.”
I felt my fist clench. “What do you know about him?”
“Tristan?”
I nodded.
“He’s a good guy. They dated through high school, but he wasn’t into the whole Hollywood thing. He broke up with her their senior year. He never moved on from what I can tell. He truly loved that girl, and he once told me he thought he would hold her back. That she was meant for bigger things than Cold Springs could offer. He stayed behind, worked for Rainbow Disposal, and never married. He said some tabloids published some crazy stuff about them and his parents really pressured him to break it off. He obviously still regrets it.” Magnus explained.
“She dated a garbage man?” I was a bit shocked.
“Why does that matter? Even if it did, he wasn’t back then. In the world of regular people, they make decent money and it’s honest work. It doesn’t seem to bother Morgan. No matter what you read in the tabloids, Morgan is a nice girl. A little spoiled with nice things, but she’s a good person. This town respects her, well other than the naked movie scenes. They still pray for her to stop doing that every Sunday at Mass. She’s permanently on the prayer list, Patrick made a big donation to make it happen.”
I watched and felt my jaw clenching as the guy pulled her in closer and she rested her head against his chest.
“You knew him all your life?” I asked.
He took a drink of his beer and shook his head. “They’re both younger than me. The most I interacted with her was when my bitch of an ex was picking on her. It pissed me off to no end. I told her not to let it get to her. Morgan was smart, talented, and very kind, which made her the perfect target of the mean girls. She truly was bullied despite the fact that she was nearly perfect in all the guys eyes. Tristan wasn’t the most popular guy in school, but she really did fall for him.”
“She didn’t hold out for the most popular guy?” That was surprising.
“It didn’t seem she did, but the girls all thought he was cute or something. He’s in management now and is doing pretty well for himself. He might not be rich, but he’s a good man.” He took another drink of his beer.
I ran my hand down my beard as I watched them. I may have growled just a little when he lowered his head and took in her scent.