Chapter 25 #2
“The someone that I know who knows someone who knows people, has a lot of contacts in the US. In the music industry, actually. They starred in a music video for one of them once.”
“This kind of stuff is confidential,” Josh butts in, but Heath rolls his eyes.
“So’s everything in this bloody business, and the acting one.
Don’t you see? It’s all the bloody same.
Gossip, scandal, big pay checks and people using them.
” Heath smiles at me. “Well done, Ella. It seems you’re doing extremely well.
What may have seemed to be a hurricane, might well turn out to be a sunny day. ”
I nod, focusing on Heath rather than Josh’s conservative grip on the rules.
“Yeah, I’ve heard rumours of that myself, but there’s only one type of sunny day that my heart is really crying out for. And that’s us. The three of us. In France.”
“Ditto for me, sweet curva. I’ve been craving that myself.”
Josh curses under his breath.
“Put another proposal in, then. France for fourteen weeks, if you really want to. If you want to risk the paps in your face, and your reputation being smashed all over social media, then go for it. We’ll charge a fee, you book us. Bingo. Job done.”
“And what if I did want to risk it?”
Josh’s eyes widen.
“You two have lost your minds. The pair of you.”
Heath looks back at me.
“At least two of us are on the same page.”
“I’d do fourteen weeks in France,” I say. “I don’t care who knows shit about me anymore. I just want to be me, doing what I love, being with people I love.” I shoot my boyfriend a stare. “That might make me crazy, but we all need to be crazy sometimes, don’t we?”
“This is madness,” Josh says, rubbing his forehead. “I’m only trying to protect everyone.”
Heath gets to his feet. “Protect us from what, exactly? People talking about us?” He wiggles his fingers like a ghost. “Ooooh, petrifying.”
Josh scoffs. “Whatever, Heath. You really have gone crazy. You’re the one who wants to hide in the shadows whenever you’re not filming.”
My boyfriend walks over to the minibar and pulls out a beer.
“What if I was wrong?” Heath says. “What if there is a life worth far more than being a reclusive TV star? Everyone has rumours surrounding them. I just choose not to notice mine. Why would it be any different if they were about hookers?”
“BECAUSE IT MIGHT COST YOU YOUR WHOLE CAREER!”
Whoa, I rarely ever see Josh lose it. He turns away from us and curses under his breath again. The silence is deafening. My ears pulsing with the tension.
Things calm down, slowly. Heath’s shoulders ease up, and he shakes his head, and Josh sighs, and turns back from the window.
“Sorry,” Josh says. “I just don’t want you to lose what’s important to you. Your career has been your life blood for years. No pun intended.”
“Maybe that was my mistake all along,” Heath says. “Does loving your career really mean that you can’t be who you want to be? If it does, then maybe I was wrong all along.”
Josh stares at him head on. I feel like a spectator as the two forces battle it out.
“Vinnie Hampton is a bit different to you. People expect it from him. He’s a rockstar, known for being a wild thing.”
“There goes the confidentiality,” Heath says. “Finally got a chink in that armour of yours, at least.” He pauses. “I had no idea about Vinnie Hampton, by the way. He wasn’t one of the someones that someone was talking about. Congrats to you, Ella. Vinnie Hampton is a hot rocket.”
“Thanks,” I say.
It feels like such a dumb word when it comes out of my mouth.
“Let’s start this over. Something has gone massively tits up here,” Josh says, and shakes himself off, brushing down the sleeves of his jacket.
“Sounds good to me,” Heath says, and I nod. Thankful.
“Me, too. Can we please just start this over.”
“And this time, let’s just all say what we really fucking mean,” Josh says. “Let’s get it out there.”
“Fine,” Heath says.
He holds out a hand to me, and helps me up. He wraps me in his arms, holding me tight, breathing deep with his mouth against my ear.
“It’s lovely to see you, Ella,” he says. “Congratulations for being such a superstar, and breathing rampant life into the celebrity community. I want a part of it, please. Normal can go fuck itself. I’ve missed you too much to settle for normal.”
I could cry with happy tears, feeling the sentiment from him resonating and merging with mine.
“Thank you. Me, too. I don’t want normal. I don’t want isolation from you. I don’t want to be scared of how things truly are.”
We turn to Josh, both of us. Heath holds out a hand, urging him closer. And Josh, Mr Rational, takes a deep breath as he joins us in a three-way hug.
“Fine, you guys. I’m done with playing safe. You win the vote. For better or worse, we’re all in this together.”
“No PowerPoint needed?” Heath asks, and Josh cracks a smile, his own walls finally crumbling along with ours.
“Nah, we can give the bullet points a miss. I think they’re kinda redundant now.”
I squeeze the two men like they’re life itself. Because they are.
They are my life itself, and I don’t want any restrictions around us anymore. I don’t want anything holding us back.
Normal is done. Finished.
And we are us.
For better or worse.
As well as for richer and poorer.
Because that’s one potential repercussion that is left to be seen…