Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Kira
I was dressed in regular clothes, forgoing the ageplay stuff since I was going to be out in public.
But I had to admit—I kind of liked the babydoll dresses I’d been wearing at Athena’s. They were cute.
That didn’t make me a Little, though.
Nor did the fact that I’d enjoyed my time with Trish. This was just a fun little vacation. Nothing more than that.
And tonight, it might all come to an end, I told myself. I would have to tell the truth. The longer I drug it out, the worse it would be.
This tour was important to Rex. So, I would respect his wishes and wait. Later, though, I would have that difficult conversation.
Until then, I might as well enjoy it.
And that’s what I was doing, too, as the old Buick convertible pulled up to the gate of the movie studio.
“Good afternoon,” a beefy young man said. He looked handsome in his security guard uniform, almost as if he was cast to play a security guard on a soap opera or something. I realized he was probably an aspiring actor who’d taken any job at the studio he could get.
I couldn’t blame him, if that was the case. Might as well be close to the action one way or another while you wait for your big break.
“Good afternoon,” Rex responded. “My name is Rex Sterling. This is my friend, Lila. I believe we’re on your list.”
Guilt surged through me at hearing him call me Lila. He deserved better than what I was doing. I felt so low!
The guard tapped on the tablet he held and then nodded. “Oh yeah. You’re Stryker’s guests. Man, he’s a great guy. Drops by and chats with us all the time. Do you know where his office is?”
“No.”
“Just follow this main road until it curves past the soundstages. You’ll see a big one-story office building that seems to go on forever, and just beyond that are a bunch of bungalows. Stryker’s office is one of those. Number thirty-two.”
“Thank you,” Rex said as he pulled away.
“You’re welcome. Cool car!” the guard called behind us.
“Thanks!” Rex yelled back, raising his arm in a little wave as we slowly drove onto the lot.
“I bet you get a lot of comments about this car,” I said.
“Oh yeah. On Fridays I take it over to Bob’s Big Boy in Burbank. If I’m not working. They have a big car show every week and it’s fun to show ‘er off and look at others.”
“Does she get jealous?” I asked, patting the dash.
“Nah. When it comes to cars, Veronica knows I love her but I’m not a one-gal kind of man.” He looked at me and flashed that grin that showed off his dimples. “When it comes to women, however, I am most certainly a one-gal kind of guy.”
I wondered if I was blushing as hard as I thought I was.
It was hard to miss the meaning in what he was saying and my stomach turned an excited somersault at the thought of me being his one and only.
Would he still feel the same way about me once he knew the dirty secret?
I would find out after dinner. The thought made a sickly feeling spread throughout my core, so I wiped it from my mind and tried to simply live in the moment.
After all, it was a magical moment!
There I was, with the mountains towering in the distance, driving through a real-life movie studio among the cavernous, curved-roof soundstages.
We even went around the iconic water tower I’d seen on TV and in pictures so many times!
With that brilliant sun, it was the perfect day.
For now, at least.
Pulling up to the right bungalow, we saw a tall man with dark-blond hair standing in front waiting for us. He had on blue jeans, a navy-blue tee, and cowboy boots.
“Hey, Rex. And you must be Lila. Good to meet you. Auntie Athena told me about you.”
More guilt gripped me. I hated being so dishonest. But right then wasn’t the time to spill everything, so I smiled and shook his hand. “And you must be Stryker. Nice meeting you. Thank you so much for having us!”
Stryker shook Rex’s hand too, then turned back to me.
“Rex told me you love Halloween.”
“I do!”
“Do you like horror movies?”
“I love them! Oh my gosh, they’re my favorite.”
“Well, I’ve got some cool places to show you on the tour. Y’all ready to go?”
“Are you giving us the tour?” I asked.
“You bet. Cleared my afternoon schedule.”
I looked at Rex and grinned. “You arranged all this for me?”
“Well, you’re in Hollywood. You can’t go back to New York without truly experiencing Tinsel Town.”
“He’s right,” Stryker said. “And who knows? After you see all this, you might realize we’re the superior coast. You might not want to leave.”
“Thank you both. Seriously, this means the world to me.”
“Don’t mention it. Hey, I’ll be right back. We have some tour golf carts just around the corner, and I’m going to go grab one so we can ride around the studio. This place is huge and it’s too much to cover on foot.”
After Stryker jogged away, I looked at Rex and realized he’d been watching me the entire time.
“Thanks again,” I said, not really knowing what to say but having so many thoughts swirling around in my head.
Chief among them was that Stryker might be right.
I wouldn’t want to leave the West Coast.