CHAPTER 7 ALEXIS
We pull into the driveway of the address Danny’s mom texted, and we’re in for a real treat for the next few days as I looked up the house after she sent over the information. The place is gorgeous, with expansive ocean views on a rooftop deck with couches and lounge chairs.
When we arrive, the sun is just starting to set, which means we’ll have gorgeous views as the water swallows up the sun.
We race up to the rooftop deck once Danny inputs the code into the keypad by the front door. We don’t even give ourselves time to check out the gorgeous all white and bright décor of the place before we head right up, and he drags me against him as we look out at the sunset.
We can hear the gentle rolling of the waves from where we are. It’s the same ocean and shoreline that Danny was looking out over when I arrived earlier today, but everything has changed now.
Everything.
I rest my head on his chest.
I should be concerned about what I left behind.
But in this moment, I’m not.
I’m where I’m supposed to be. I’m happy. Maybe for the first time in my life, I’m content.
But nine days will pass in a flash, and we’ll return to Los Angeles for the Christmas Eve special.
The thought rumbles a bit of anxiety in the pit of my stomach, but I push it away for now.
Because right now, I want to enjoy the beautiful views in the arms of the only man who has ever loved me the way love is supposed to be.
We stand there wrapped in this sweet embrace until the sky turns dark, and then I hear his voice rumble up from his chest.
“We should order some food. Maybe move the car into the garage—it’ll be safer in there.”
I nod, and we head downstairs, flicking on lights and checking out our home away from home for the next few days. I’ve always loved California, but there’s something special about this place.
“Do we have to order food?” I ask.
“Are you hungry?”
I nod. “Getting there.”
“Then we should get something.” He gives me a confused look.
“I mean…can we go out?”
The crease between his brows deepens. “You want to go out to dinner?”
I nod, and I move in closer to him. “I want you to take me on a dinner date somewhere normal, and then I want you to bring me back home and fuck me until I can’t see straight.”
He shifts and clears his throat. “Jesus. You have yourself a deal. Unless you want to reverse the order.”
I grin. “I do, but I need to feed you first so you have more stamina.”
“When it comes to you, I have plenty of stamina. But food first.” He nods resolutely, and then he searches what’s around us. “Pizza?”
I nod. “Perfect. But first, I need to change and probably disguise myself a little.”
“I should, too. I’ll pull the car into the garage and grab the bags from Target.
” He disappears for a few minutes while I check out all the rooms. The primary bedroom on the second floor is huge and gorgeous with its views overlooking the ocean, and I settle onto the bed and look outside while I wait.
And then I think twice. If he walks in and I’m on the bed, we’ll never get pizza.
Not that I’d be complaining, but I really am starting to get hungry.
I head back downstairs and help him carry the bags in, and then I choose an outfit.
I look in the mirror.
I still look very much like Alexis Bodega.
I realize it’s because I am Alexis Bodega, but it’s not like I can just buy a box of hair dye and suddenly look different, given that my hair is already dark. I bought a box that claimed it could lighten hair up to three levels without any bleach, so we’ll see if it does the trick. Tomorrow, maybe.
Tonight, I pull my hair up into a messy bun. The real Alexis Bodega would never be seen with a messy bun in public.
I put on heavy make-up to disguise my appearance. I’m not sure whether it’ll work or not, but I give it a try.
I think about cutting bangs. That would do the trick.
But then I’ll have bangs, and I’m not sure I want them. I’ll be on television in nine days, and I still need to be…well, me. My brand.
Even if everything else around me is changing.
And even as I think it, I realize…I don’t care about my brand anymore.
“Danny? Danny!” I yell.
He appears in the doorway to the bathroom a minute later. “Whoa. The goth look looks…hot on you.”
I laugh. “Too much?”
“You don’t look like Alexis Bodega,” he says. “Carrie, maybe.”
My chest warms at his words. “I need to cut my hair, and I need you to do it for me.”
“Cut your…cut your…” he stutters.
“Hair. It’s just hair. It’ll grow back.”
“It’s up, though. Nobody will recognize you.
And with the hat you bought at the store that isn’t Vegas Heat, nobody will know.
You don’t have your entourage following you, Gregory is nowhere in sight, and I don’t really look like me with this shit on my face, so even if somehow we’ve already been linked together, nobody will know. ”
I walk over and touch his beard. “I like this shit on your face,” I say quietly. My eyes meet his, and his are dark blue and warm. “I want to feel it between my thighs later.”
“Ugh,” he groans. “Really? We’re waiting until after dinner?”
“We’re really waiting until after dinner,” I say with a resolute nod.
“Fine. Then let’s get a move on. I have thighs to tickle and a gorgeous cunt to lick for dessert.”
My eyes nearly bug out of my head as I clear my throat. “Uh, yeah…let’s go eat.”
We finally manage to get out the door, clothes intact, and I guess because I’m so used to having a security detail with me, I find myself looking around us even when we’re in the car.
It feels like every car behind us is following us. At every stoplight, I think whoever is in the car next to us is staring into our car, recognizing who I am and ready to blast it to the media.
Maybe I’m just living in my own little world where I’m a bit delusional, overly cautious, and a touch egotistical, but the paranoia is real. Probably because I’ve been burned more than once before.
Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.
But I glance over at Danny and remember I’m not hitting up the pizza joint with some nerdy Brooks.
I’m hitting up the pizza joint with a professional athlete who will protect me at all costs because he adores me to the ends of the Earth.
I may not have Gregory with me, but I do have Danny, and I feel safe with him.
When we get to the parking lot and he pulls into a space, he glances over at me. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
I press my lips together and stare out the windshield as I consider how well he knows me. I probably shouldn’t be surprised at this point, but I am. “Yes. It’s all I want to do.”
“Well, I knew it was important to you when it came before the sex.”
I can’t help a small laugh at that. His ability to make me feel comfortable even in this very strange situation in which we find ourselves is calming and a little terrifying at the same time.
It shouldn’t be this hard to get out of a car and walk into a restaurant, yet I sit in the front seat, staring at the restaurant, wondering if this is the right thing to do. What if we get caught? What if my dad figures out where we are?
What if I have to go back home early and face reality?
“Let’s go,” I finally say. I open the door and get out of the car, the first step of what to anyone else would be a normal night out with their boyfriend, but to me, it’s the first risk I’m taking at potentially being recognized.
But we weren’t recognized at Target. Maybe we’ll luck out again.
We step inside the restaurant, and it’s dimly lit.
Without my usual makeup and designer clothes on, I’m just another girl walking into a restaurant.
And Danny’s hat pulled down low paired with the Guns N’ Roses tee he picked up at Target pairs well with my Mickey Mouse sweatshirt and jeans.
We’re a good match as he asks for a table for two.
I keep my eyes down, glad I chose to wear the hat, too, and we’re led to a booth.
The dim lighting bodes well for us, and we don’t draw a whole lot of attention to ourselves other than the fact that we’re a damn good-looking couple.
The booth keeps us out of the spotlight, and I order a glass of wine to calm my nerves.
The waitress doesn’t appear to recognize me.
In fact, she barely even looks in my direction, instead focusing on Danny.
I’m sure she’s waiting for the end of the meal when he’ll present his credit card so she can check his name, but we’ll be paying cash to keep our tail clean.
We order our food and talk quietly across the table. The loud din of restaurant noise blocks our conversation from anyone around us.
“Is it everything you thought it would be?” he asks.
“I hope there’s leftovers.”
“Why?” I ask.
“I brought some gummies with me, so we might need a snack later.”
I giggle. “Good thing we bought all those road trip snacks at Target, too.”
“Oh, that reminds me.” He pulls out his phone and asks if I want anything from the grocery store, and we place an order for pick-up after we’re done eating here.
“By the way,” I say before our pizza arrives, “I wish you would’ve told me about the gummies before we came here. It might’ve helped me relax a little.”
“A little? You would’ve fallen asleep before we even walked in the door.”
I grin. “You’re probably right about that.”
There’s some commotion by the door, and I hear someone yell, “Oh my God, is it really her?”
I shrink back into the booth, keeping my eyes down as fear palpitates in my chest.
“It is! It’s Maci Dane!” another voice yells, naming the popular singer married to the drummer of Vail.
The attention diverts toward her, and I’m glad another celebrity showed up. Nobody was paying attention to us to begin with, but now I feel even safer blending in with the crowd.
Our pizza arrives, and it’s absolute perfection. Nobody gives us a second glance.
It isn’t what I was expecting my dinner to be when I woke up this morning.
It isn’t what my father expected my dinner to be, either. And which man sitting across from me is even more astonishing.
But this is about ten thousand times better than what was planned for me.
We pay in cash and head out.
For as big of a night as I built this up to be in my mind, it was simple. Easy.
Just like everything is with Danny.
It has been that way since we first met. The only complications are when other people interfere or our jobs get in the way. But things between us? Simple. That’s what should have clued me in that it was always going to be the right thing.
“I think I might be too full for sex,” I say.
Danny starts laughing. “Then we’ll take a walk until you feel ready.”
“Nah, I’ll be okay.”
I think about getting the party started right now by bending over the console, but I really am full, and we have the rest of the night—and the eight days that follow—to have as much sex as we want.
And I for one can’t wait to enjoy every single second.