Before He Was Gone: Starstruck Book 2 (23 page)
Read Before He Was Gone: Starstruck Book 2 Online
Authors: Becky Wicks
‘It’s been six months now since our castaways made it back to reality,’ Ed Bernstein booms from the front of the small studio, and the audience full of die-hard
Deserted
fans cheers and applauds loudly.
The lights are bright in my face and I feel my heartbeat increase knowing millions of people are watching me again, right now.
‘Don’t they look good, fattened up a bit, eating more than rice? How are those cheeseburgers working out for the systems now?’ Ed says, and laughter ripples around the room.
Joshua and I weren’t going to come to the reunion show, all things considered, but we each got paid ten thousand dollars for the appearance and we figured it would help our project.
‘Joshua and Alyssa,’ Ed says, walking round to our seats. ‘You’re just back from volunteering in the jungles of Borneo, is that correct?’ He looks down at the card in his hand, reads from it. ‘You’ve been working to rescue displaced orangutans, regenerate forest and support the local Dayak communities over there? Good work. Sounds like you couldn’t keep away from the great outdoors, huh?’
I look down at Joshua’s hand in mine on the fabric of my dress as he nods and squeezes my fingers. ‘We’ve got a way to go yet, Ed,’ he says, and I take in his mouth moving, his clean-shaven face, the casual blue collared shirt he’s wearing that tightens with every movement of his arms. I’ve decided I like Joshua in clothes. He looks hot, and plus, it’s always fun tearing them off him.
‘There’s a long trip ahead of us,’ he carries on. ‘As some of you know, we’ve been raising money for the Neurological Research Foundation along the way, and we want to thank everyone who’s supported our journey so far. To the fans and friends who’ve been following our blog, your input means everything, thank you.’
‘And the treatment’s working out well for you?’ Ed says, raising his eyebrows.
‘It is,’ Joshua replies, and Ed puts a hand on his shoulder as a camera closes in.
‘We know there’s been a lot of media coverage about your condition, Joshua,’ he says, ‘but this new sense of awareness for neurological disorders has helped many more people speak out and stop suffering in silence. I think a round of applause is in order for Joshua and for Alyssa here, too. Your favorite Deserted couple
ever
, judging by the poll!’
The studio erupts and I watch Joshua lower his eyes and his head slightly. I drop his fingers and squeeze his knee over his jeans. His improved memory is undeniable and he hasn’t had a blackout since the treatment started. He hates the attention though.
Going off the grid hasn’t exactly been possible, seeing as people know us everywhere we go, but we’re sucking it up right now for the sake of making a difference while we can. Exposing his condition on the show has led to all kinds of support he wasn’t expecting.
‘One out of every five Americans - that’s about fifty million of us - suffers from neurological damage of some kind,’ Ed continues. ‘There are more than six hundred types of neurological disorders, isn’t that right, Joshua?’
‘That’s right,’ I answer for him. ‘We just hope even more people find the courage to talk about it, and we’re excited to see more of the world, too. I’m just getting Joshua here to teach me how to shoot up zombies before we go anywhere too remote.’
Ed grins and chatters on about our planned itinerary and I feel Stephanie’s hand on my shoulder. ‘You guys are beyond awesome,’ she tells us and I smile back at her, remembering that first day in the jungle, collecting leaves with her. Stephanie was the one who told me you have power as a celebrity.
You can make changes -
she said.
Our own money pays for the projects we get involved in now, and supports the communities we travel to and work with, but the money people pay to see our exclusive photos, videos, interviews and written posts along the way goes right back to the Foundation – and so do all kinds of donations. Also, excitingly, I’ve been building a recipe book with dishes and notes from each place. My Indonesian
nasi-goreng
dish with a Greek twist got over eight hundred thousand blogs hits, and a publisher has already told me they’re interested in the finished book. I don’t really know when it’ll be ready - I have a lot more cooking and eating to do first - but it feels as good to be busy as it does to have my curves back.
Joshua kisses my cheek suddenly and the cheer gets even louder. ‘I love you,’ he whispers in my ear, so that only I can hear. Stephanie gasps behind us. Guess she heard too.
He’s been saying that a lot lately, but he only said it for the first time two weeks ago. I was just putting my shoes on in the hut back in Borneo, caked in mud, flies buzzing about my face, ready to go play with another crazy baby orangutan, when he pulled me up by my hands, looked right into my eyes.
‘I’ve never said it out loud to you, or to any girl, believe it or not, but I love you Alyssa The Greek. I loved you before I met you, I think.’
My heart went into overdrive then. 'From a past life?'
'No, from when I saw you on the cover of
In Touch!
'
I rolled my eyes,
looped my arms around his neck, kissed the grin on his face. ‘I'll always love you,' I told him. 'I think it's a curse.'
'Well, let's not break it,' he said as h
is hands undid the belt on my shorts in a matter of seconds. The baby orangutan didn’t get any human attention after that for well over an hour.
‘Speaking of romance,’ Ed says now, walking over to Stephanie and Jaxx. ‘Love wasn’t all it seemed for you guys on the island either, was it?’
Stephanie smiles, puts a hand on Jaxx’s arm. I notice his hair is longer, his eyebrows are shaved in the middle again. His plain white, ironed shirt is whiter than Ed’s teeth.
‘We’re past all that, now, right Jaxx?’ Stephanie smiles and he nods, although he doesn’t grab her hand back, or even look like he’s past it. ‘He knows I’m sorry,’ she says, flipping her long, styled hair over her shoulder. She looks just as tan, glowing in a bright red, tight dress. She hasn’t disclosed whether or not she’s actually a virgin, but she was definitely playing her ditzy blond girl role better than Journey ever played her spiritual hippy one, that much is for sure. I can’t help feeling impressed all over again at how she had poor Jaxx thinking he’d gotten further than any other guy had ever gotten with her, until he handed over that charm and sealed his fate.
‘So, Stephanie, what’s been going on?’ Ed asks her now.
‘You know, Ed, I think I’m going to move to Nashville,’ she says and everyone hollers and cheers. ‘My aunt and both my brothers encouraged me - they wouldn’t let me say no. I guess I have the show to thank for that. I’ve been recording a demo.’
I see Punk nudge her shoulder encouragingly. He’s looking decidedly less nerdy now. The glasses are gone; the sweater’s been replaced with a stylish black T-shirt and he’s kept the shaved head. He looks cute. I heard he has legions of fans now, on and off campus, and a massive following on Twitter.
‘Journey!’ Ed hollers, walking around to her and Joshua squeezes my hand again, tries to hide his smile. ‘Or should we say Annabel Kline? How’s business for you?’
‘It’s good,’ she says. ‘I guess I wanted to apologize to all the people I pissed off!’ She winks at Karin as she says it. ‘I’ve never had a job like that before, but it was kind of fun. You should’ve seen your face, Joshua, when I screamed at you over that goat. I’m sorry!’
‘No apologies necessary,’ Joshua says, but she runs a hand through her now-much-shorter and blond hair and smiles.
‘Were you surprised when they figured out you were a plant?’ Ed asks her now, folding his arms, and she shakes her head.
‘I knew they were smart. That’s why I bowed out early. There’s one every season, right? For the record, though, I do know about astrology.’ She glances at me. ‘Two Pisceans with the same birthday? It’s not surprising to me that Joshua and Alyssa made something amazing out of this experience, or that they did it together.’
Everyone nods and claps at that and Shan rolls his eyes. ‘Please yogi,’ he says, ‘save it for the campfire.’
Laughter erupts but I’m pretty sure I see Joshua’s cheeks redden at the same time as mine do. The world loves Shan. G-A-Y-fronts are now available at Urban Outfitters in a box with his face on. His early eviction thanks to the jellyfish sting doesn’t seem to have made much difference to his popularity. He’s coming to Greece with me and Joshua and his ‘besticle’ Marty, soon. That should make for some interesting blog posts.
Ed re-caps some moments from the show, shows us all on that first day, crawling round in the shelter; the moment Joshua and I almost bumped foreheads, fighting for space. It seems like so long ago. Sometimes now, when I close my eyes, I can still hear that ocean and the rain, the cicadas in the trees and the rush of the waterfall that hid us as we followed our instincts like animals, right into love. I got lost and found myself - or at least a better, more rounded version of myself, out on that island.
But there
is
a lot to be said for pillows and comforters, and for making love to my incredible, brave boyfriend with four strong walls around us and a bedpost to grip instead of sand. We just have to be a little quieter with our tribal sounds in a hotel on Franklin Avenue, in Los Angeles. That’s all.
The End
Hold your horses, cowgirls - there's a bonus chapter, AND you could win a $100 Amazon voucher! Review this book on Amazon and/or
Goodreads
by October 30, 2014,
email me the URL
and I'll put you in that draw. Review on both and get two entries.
Everyone
gets a free bonus chapter emailed right back (double yay!!)
Reviews are super important to us indie-authors because it's the only way people know our work doesn't suck (and hopefully it doesn't!) so I figured this was a pretty fair way to get some help, right?
Big thanks for your support while I work on book three - it means the world!
Tweet me up @bex_wicks
(I always welcome distractions. Especially cat photos)
Here’s what people are saying about
Before He Was Famous (Starstruck #1)
- #1 in Amazon's Coming of Age list and #2 in Contemporary Romance - 08/14/14
:
“Super-sexy, fast-paced and unputtdownable. Get ready for Chloe and Noah to break your heart!” -
Sarah Alderson - (author of Hunting Lila, Fated & The Sound)
“WOW!!! That was FREAKIN FANTASTIC!!!” -
Jen ~ Schmexy Girl Book Blog
“Their attraction to each other is so intense it practically jumps off each page!” –
KandTBookReviews
“This book is brilliant!!! Being a TV insider I can also see the parallels between this and what really goes on -- Becky’s done her research but more than that, she’s written a love story that will stick with you forever!” -
Paul Ewart - Senior Producer, Channel 7 (Sydney Australia)
“A brilliant love story. An emotional roller coaster. A deep look inside. Before He Was Famous will wrap you up in knots and won’t let you go until the end.” -
Katie St. Claire (Goodreads reader)
Download
Before He Was Famous (Starstruck #1)
on Amazon now.
Follow me on Twitter @bex_wicks, on Facebook and on my blog at
www.beckywicks.com
COMING SOON
Before He Was a Secret (Starstruck #3)
There’s a lot to be said for perfect harmony
When singer/songwriter Stephanie leaves home to try her luck in Nashville, waiting tables and being 'that blond from
Deserted
' isn't exactly what she had in mind. Soon a sexy piano player called Conor is helping her see her story very differently. United by a passion for music, the two work through their pasts until a deep love seems unbreakable and a songbook full of experiences start making dreams come true.
When a twist of fate leads famous HotFlush manager Denzel to Stephanie, he sets his sights on making her a superstar, but there's a catch. Instead of Conor, Denzel wants Stephanie paired up with
singer Travis Flynn - a man with big dreams of his own, who won’t take no for an answer.
As sparks fly and secrets and lies start to surface, Stephanie's story starts to take a very different turn. And it's soon clear that neither man is quite what he seems.
It’s always so bizarre when you find yourself at this page, at the end of a journey you’ve taken in your head. You look up blinking at the world like you’ve been in some kind of dream and then you hope to hell that others will like that dream as much as you did!
Huge thanks to my friends Dacey Calisura, Pip Russell and Tracy Fitzgerald, plus Liz, Ray, Simon and Charlotte for their constant support, and also as usual to the brilliant Sarah Alderson, fellow author and true friend who knows what it’s like and just gets it.
Big shout outs to the amazing Ashley Frank for her generous tips and time in helping this British author sound more ‘Merican,’ and also Asa and Ubud Pilates for tearing me away from this book and getting my body flexing as much as my tired brain.
Massive thanks to my cover designer, the talented Jeanine Henning, and of course the bloggers, readers and supporters out there who give up their time for the love of books and give us writers something to write for. Without you none of this would be possible. You rock, all of you. Thank you.