CHAPTER 11
Lacey
“I can’t believe we’re about to be on camera and meet Cameron Levine and Kennedy Gannon,” she said. “Do you think they’re nice?”
“I hope so. We’re about to be trapped with them for the whole weekend,” River replied as she stared out the window at the giant houses – no, the mansions – they were driving by. “How much do you think these houses sell for? Like, twenty million or something?”
“I have no idea. Maybe more. They’re on the beach.”
“But they have the same number of bedrooms and bathrooms as so many other houses that sell for a fraction of that. Think about it. The rent on my shop is already insane, but if I had it down the street from here, it would’ve been astronomical. I’d never be able to afford it.”
“Yeah. Anyway, I wonder what we’ll actually do. They weren’t specific. Their rules were pretty basic, and they didn’t say anything about the activities.”
“Activities?” River asked.
“We have dinner with them tonight. I know that much. That’s all I know specifically, though. Are we required to be there for every meal tomorrow? Sunday brunch?”
“No clue,” River said.
“And are we with them the whole time? I was kind of hoping for some alone time with you. Maybe we can escape from the cameras or something. That could be fun.”
Lacey gave her a hopeful smile, and River turned to her and gave her a small smile back.
“I don’t know. You’d think there would be some kind of itinerary for the newbs like us, right?
We don’t know what we’re doing here. The only time I’ve ever been on camera is when someone’s phone was aimed at me, and I guess, technically, in that third-grade play I was in where I had to play the spleen.
I’m sure some parents had actual cameras out for that. ”
“I’m sorry; what?” Lacey laughed.
“We were playing organs. It was terrible. I had two lines.”
“What were they?” she teased.
“I don’t remember.”
“Yes, you do.” Lacey laughed a little.
“Fine. I had to say, ‘The spleen is really two organs in one.’ And after one of the kidneys said something, I had to add, ‘It filters the blood and removes bad cells,’ because the play was ridiculous.”
Lacey laughed a little harder and said, “I bet you made a cute spleen.”
“Have you ever seen a picture of a spleen? I looked like a giant ear combined with a mushroom. My mom made my costume.”
Lacey took River’s hand in her own and moved it to her lap.
This was what she’d been hoping for: getting back to how they’d been as a couple not all that long ago.
They’d only been together for a year and a half, and Lacey still wasn’t sure how they’d grown so far apart in that short time.
She was pretty sure they were still supposed to be in their honeymoon phase: having hot sex all around the apartment, living together, and planning their future.
Talks of living together had pretty much ceased, though, and she hadn’t even bothered to bring up the rest of the stuff she wanted for herself and for them lately.
“I think we’re here,” River said and let go of her hand.
She missed it, but only for a second, before she looked out River’s window and noticed two cameras aimed at the car they were in, as well as a short woman with long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail standing behind the two guys holding those cameras.
The woman had a phone in her hand, and she looked up from it as they parked on the street.
Then, she smiled in their direction, but Lacey wasn’t sure whether or not it was a real smile or a forced one.
The door was opened for them before Lacey could even take a centering deep breath and prepare herself, and that woman was now standing in the open doorway.
“Hello. I’m Jessie. You must be River and Lacey.”
“That’s us,” River said. “River.”
“Lacey,” Lacey added.
“Well, congratulations again on your win, and thank you so much for your generous donation,” Jessie began.
“I’m the publicist for Cameron and Kennedy.
They’re both inside and are excited to meet you.
We’ll just get a few shots of you two getting out of the car and taking in the house before you walk in.
Be yourselves, say whatever you want, and we’ll go from there.
When you get inside, Cameron and Kennedy will greet you, and there are food and drinks set out for you already.
Dinner will be at seven on the patio that is off the kitchen, which is on this floor.
I’ll give you a full tour after your meet and greet and show you to your room for the weekend. ”
“Um… Okay,” River replied and turned to Lacey, looking at her with her wide, anxious eyes.
Lacey winked at her.
“Yes, that! That’s perfect. Did we get that?” Jessie asked someone.
“I got it,” one of the guys behind a camera replied.
“Great. Are you ready? I’ll just open your door again, and we’ll go from there. We’ll add in that little wink later.”
“Oh, okay,” Lacey replied, feeling suddenly very overwhelmed.
“Here we go,” Jessie said and closed the car door right after.
“Are you sure about this?” River asked.
“Not sure we have much of a choice about it now,” she replied just as the door opened again.
River slid out first, and Lacey slid over to her old seat, waiting an extra second before she climbed out and stood next to her girlfriend. They both looked up at the house, but neither said anything for a moment.
“A lot bigger than your apartment, huh?” Lacey finally spoke.
River chuckled and said, “I bet this one has air-conditioning, too.”
Lacey laughed and looked over at Jessie, who gave her a thumbs-up.
Then, she felt River’s hand in her own, and they walked up the sidewalk to the door of the house.
Her heart was pounding. Lacey hadn’t met anyone famous before.
She had rich clients, yes, but no one famous in or around Anaheim had enlisted her massage services, so this would be the first time for her, and she was pretty sure for River, too.
The door was opened for them, and Lacey expected to see two celebrities standing there, probably holding hands, too, but the foyer was empty, save a side table and yet another camera, which was aimed at them.
“Wow,” River said. “It’s massive. This is just for us? I mean, the four of us?”
“Pretend I’m not here, River,” Jessie replied.
“Right. Sorry.”
“Just one second,” Jessie added before she walked by the camera that was still on the two of them while the two behind them moved to basically surround them in the foyer, which Lacey wasn’t a big fan of. “Cam!”
“What?”
Lacey heard a voice that sounded a lot like the voice of a woman she’d just seen in a movie, coming from beyond a wall in what was probably a living room or something.
“Where’s Kennedy?”
“Kitchen, I think.”
“Get up and greet them.”
“Shit. Sorry. I was waiting for Ken,” Cameron said.
Lacey swallowed hard, and River let go of her hand to run her hand over her nicest jeans.
“Clammy,” River whispered to her.
“I’m nervous. Sorry,” she replied softly.
Lacey looked forward just as Cameron Levine walked around that wall and stood about five feet in front of her.
She was wearing a pair of skinny jeans, some black-and-white Vans, a black scoop-neck T-shirt, and she had her blonde hair kind of tossed around as if she hadn’t cared at all to do anything with it that morning, but damn it, it was sexy.
“Hey. I’m Cam. Nice to meet you both.” She held out her hand for Lacey to shake. “You’re Lacey, right?”
Lacey nodded and shook her hand, probably a little too hard.
Why was she this damn nervous? This was just another person.
Cameron Levine, or Cam, as she had introduced herself, was human, just like Lacey.
Her blue eyes were intense, though, and they were on Lacey, and she highly doubted that her own brown ones were as penetrating.
‘That’s a weird word to use in this context,’ she thought as she finally let go of Cameron’s hand.
Cameron was still looking at her, and she had a small smile on her face that almost looked nervous, too.
That could not be right. Shy; it was probably a shy smile.
Lacey knew that a lot of actors and famous people were introverts at heart, so maybe Cameron was one and was nervous around new people. That sounded like a possibility.
“I’m River.”
“Oh, shit.” Cameron looked over at River and offered her a hand to shake as well. “Sorry. I’m clearly great at this, huh?” she joked.
Lacey laughed, but River didn’t seem to like the joke.
“Don’t you do this all the time?” River asked.
“What? Double date with people? Not really, no,” Cameron replied and took a step back from both of them. “This is the first double date like this I’ve ever been on. Kennedy, too.” She hooked her thumb behind her. “She’ll be right out, probably. She had to take a call and was grabbing some coffee.”
“So, we’ll cut here, and I’ll show you two around since Kennedy…
needs a minute,” Jessie said when she reemerged from wherever she’d gone off to.
“How about the bedrooms first? We can skip the reaction shots for now and just get to the fun part of the weekend: the food, the drinks, the beach. Cameron, do you maybe want to go check on that phone call Kennedy is on?”
“I can give them the tour, if you want. I’m sure Ken is fine. It’s just… her agent.”
Lacey tilted her head because she could tell. She didn’t know how she could tell, but she could tell that Cameron Levine had just told a lie. Lacey wondered why, but she didn’t say anything because she figured it wasn’t her place.
“Um… Sorry. Can I maybe get some water or something?” River asked. “Honestly, this whole thing has made me a little anxious, and I could use a drink.”