Cut to the Chase (14 page)

Avalon’s body began to slowly relax as little shivers erupted, rippling her stomach muscles. Paige tried to slow her breathing, her heartbeat, but she could still feel Avalon gripping her fingers in smaller waves.

She eventually pulled her fingers from Avalon and made her way up into her arms.

Wet with sweat and with Avalon’s excitement, she exhaled, melting into her and relaxing to her touch.

“Kiss me,” Avalon said as she wrapped her arms around Paige, holding her so lovingly.

In that moment, she felt safe and happy. Avalon stroked her hair with feathery-light fingertips and kissed her forehead.

“Oh, my God,” Avalon whispered, and when she cleared her throat, a tear dropped onto Paige’s cheek.

Paige raised up, gently catching more with the back of her hand. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she said. “It’s just that…it was so intense.” Avalon hugged her tight, and Paige held on as if she might fly away. Avalon’s lovemaking had satiated her body, but her emotions quickly swelled.

She closed her eyes, letting Avalon’s heartbeat soothe her.

“Marlene is dead wrong about you in bed,” Avalon finally said.

Paige chuckled and kissed her neck, but Avalon broke the kiss by pushing her over onto her back.

“We’re not done yet,” she said as she looked down on her with a grin so sexy, Paige felt her heart falling into the deep seas of passion. She imagined how incredible this kind of drowning would feel. They were together in an ocean that Avalon had created, and the waves were growing so immense, she knew she would soon be overcome by her feelings for her.

Whether they made love again or just held each other, she certainly wouldn’t get any sleep tonight.

Paige awoke to the squeal and wheeze of the street sweeper outside her apartment. When the quiet returned, recollections of the night before came slowly into focus and then, more clearly, the almost implausible memories of Avalon’s body tangled in hers.

Avalon Randolph. Was it possible?

The weight of a more pressing question, however, fell heavily on her chest. Had it been a one-night stand? When Avalon had driven her home, they’d hugged and Avalon held her for the longest time. And she’d waited until Paige was safely inside her courtyard before driving away. She sighed, knowing she couldn’t draw any conclusions from those gestures.

Her cell phone rang and she grabbed it, hoping it was Avalon.

“What’s this I’m watching on TV, Paige?”

It was her mother. “I don’t know,” she said, rubbing her eyes and not caring to hide the disappointment in her voice.

“On this show about actors and entertainment, you’re going into some club or something with Avalon Randolph. Are you seeing Avalon Randolph?”

“I don’t know if you’d call it that.”

“Well, what is it?”

Why did she need to know? She hadn’t called when her first two books were published, but for this she had to pick up the phone?

“We went out, Mom. Why are you concerned?”

“I’m not concerned. Just surprised, I suppose.”

“Surprised by what?” That a celebrity would be interested in her? That she was on television?

“It just seems a bit salacious.”

There it was. The always-proper mother worried that her daughter would do something to embarrass the highly intellectual and practical family.

“You don’t need to worry about me, Mom.” She wasn’t her mother’s true worry, but maybe a little passive aggression might get across to her.

“That’s not it.”

Or maybe not. Paige sighed. This wasn’t the way she wanted to wake up. “Okay. What bothers you about this?”

“That lifestyle, Paige. We all know what it does to people.”

“And what is that, Mom?” She had no desire to make it easy for her.

“Parties, alcohol, drugs—”

“If I suddenly decide to become a drug addict, I’ll let you know. But for now, I need to get up and get some work done.”

“You’re being flip, aren’t you?”

“I’m telling you not to be upset. I gotta go.”

She said good-bye and rolled out of bed, wincing as she stood. Her hip and groin muscles protested, sending throbbing reminders of their recent workout. It had been a while since she’d enjoyed that kind of exercise, and it was painfully obvious that she’d found herself in more innovative positions than she’d ever known existed.

She felt the weight of no sleep, and it took a few seconds longer to collect her thoughts and figure out what day it was and what she was supposed to do.

A shower and a cup of coffee would help, but before she could make it to the bathroom, her doorbell rang.

“You off today?” Chris walked through the door Paige held open and plopped down on her couch. She was in blue board shorts, a white T-shirt, and flip-flops.

“No, but it looks like you are.”

“I’m here to persuade you to go to Venice Beach. It’s beautiful out,” she said as she examined her arms, “and I’m getting a bit pasty.”

Paige shuffled toward the kitchen, favoring her tender quadriceps as they had now joined the silent protest.

“Hey,” Chris said, “you look like you were rolled in an alley.”

“I was on a date.” Why wasn’t the coffee dripping faster?

Chris charged into the kitchen so fast she startled Paige’s already slow-functioning brain.

“My God! Don’t do that!”

“Your date with Avalon!”

She nodded, frustrated that the caffeine might as well have been molasses the way it seeped from the filter.

“You…she…you two…?”

Paige was still trying to sort it out herself. She turned to Chris, who was crouched in a football stance, looking like she was ready to receive a hiked ball. Her hands were out in front of her, but they were gesturing to the area below Paige’s waistline.

Paige slapped her hands away. “What are you doing?”

“You…her…you two…?”

“You already said that.”

Chris cuffed her hands to her head. She was now beginning to look like one of the Three Stooges. “How can you sit there making coffee like last night was no big deal?”

“Last night was a big deal. I’m just trying to process it.” Thankfully, her cup was finally full. She took it back to the couch as Chris shadowed her.

“Okay,” Chris said, jumping on the couch and crossing her legs, Indian style, as if settling in for a fireside story, “tell me what happened.”

She recounted the date, telling her about the nice dinner and the exciting spectacle she’d experienced at the club. Maybe it was her lack of sleep, but it was as if she were describing someone else’s night. She felt out of her body and a little overwhelmed.

“And then what?” Chris seemed transfixed.

Paige got up to refill her coffee.

From the couch, Chris said, “Did you…?”

“Yes, we did.”

Chris looked toward the bedroom as if ethereal remnants of Avalon and her were still visible.

“Not there. We went to her place.”

“How was it?”

She rested her hip against the counter and rubbed her eyes, still swimming in the feel of Avalon’s body. A jolt of exhilaration erupted inside her as she recalled the way Avalon had stared into her eyes when she came. She’d never experienced that before. The connection they’d made was complete and absolute.

“It was…amazing.”

“Wow.” Chris paused, then said, “So why do you look like the ice cream just fell off your cone?”

She picked up her coffee mug and returned to the couch. “I’m just blown away, I guess. I mean, I’ve never had sex with someone this quickly.”

Chris stared at her like a child who’d just seen a picture of boobies. “You had sex with Avalon.”

“Yeah. And I don’t know what it means. I don’t know if it was a one-night stand or not.”

“You like her.”

“I do,” she said slowly.

“Then just see what happens.” Chris patted her knee. “You had an extraordinary night, and who knows? Maybe you’ll be the next Ms. Randolph.”

“I don’t want to go there, Chris.”

“Look, everything will work out fine. And you should get some sleep. You look like death warmed over.”

“I was headed to the shower when you came by.”

“So, do you wanna go to Venice Beach? You could get some shut-eye on the sand.”

She had to sort through the photos and write some text, but the way her head felt, she wasn’t sure she’d make much sense of anything. Avalon wasn’t filming that day so she didn’t have any set work to catch. Her phone rang. She spoke into it and then mouthed to Chris, “It’s Dee Jae.

“Hi, Deej. What are you up to?”

Chris pointed to the phone, shaking her finger. “Ask her if she wants to go.”

“Chris wants to know if you want to go to Venice Beach with us. Yeah. In an hour?”

She hung up and said, “Okay. Just give me a few to shower and change.”

Chris reclined back on the couch. “I’ll be right here, imagining Avalon and you. Well, not you, you’re my best friend. I’ll just sit here and think about Avalon.”

“You need a checkup from the neck up.” Paige pushed off the couch and headed toward the bathroom. But she knew Chris wasn’t the only one who would be thinking about Avalon. She opened the shower nozzles to full blast, and when she disrobed, she turned toward the mirror. Her body didn’t look any different than it had the night before, but her insides had been altered significantly.

A shiver of vulnerability vibrated throughout her body. She’d slept with Avalon. No, more than slept with her. She’d made love to her.

She’d opened the door to a level of pleasure and intensity she never thought possible. It penetrated so deeply into her soul and psyche that she considered slamming the door shut before she got hurt. But doing that now, after she’d shared a bed with Avalon, was as difficult as trying to shove a bullet back into a fired gun.

*

Dee Jae waved to Paige and Chris as they stepped onto the sand at the junction of Wave Crest Avenue and Ocean Front Walk. Venice Beach was fairly crowded, as it usually was, but they found a nice area away from some of the more bizarre overly tan musclemen, transvestites on roller skates, and homeless people in Hawaiian shirts.

Paige and Chris hugged Dee Jae and set up their beach chairs.

“You smell like summer,” Paige said as she and Chris peeled off their shorts and shirt.

“Coconut and piña colada,” Dee Jae said as she handed her a bottle of lotion. She wore a sundress to hide what she said was her plumpness, but Paige thought she was beautiful. They’d met when Paige attended a play that Dee Jae produced. She was the head of a women’s theater company in Hollywood, and their friendship had developed immediately. Any time she needed framed pictures for props, Paige happily supplied them.

Paige adjusted her bikini, sloshed some sunscreen on her arms and legs, and handed it to Chris. “How are things at the theater?”

“Going well. We go dark next month and I teach a writing workshop after that.”

“What’s your next play?”

“I’m considering a few but haven’t found anything that really strikes me, you know? Maybe something will come from the workshop. At the end I’m producing a showcase for my students’ writing.”

Chris handed the lotion back to Dee Jae. “Ask Paige who she’s dating.”

“Chris, geez.”

“Who?”

Paige shook her head and then slouched back in the chair.

“Avalon Randolph,” Chris said.

Dee Jae slapped Paige’s stomach, the soggy sound of the lotion smacking loudly.

“Ouch.”

“You star fucker, you.”

“Dee Jae!”

“I’m just kidding,” Dee Jae said. She looked at Chris. “But are you kidding?”

Chris shook her head, grinning like a maniac.

Paige moaned. “No, but I wouldn’t call it dating.”

“Tell me all about it!”

Paige stood and moved her chair to the side. She straightened out her beach towel and lay facedown. “I’m going to take a nap, ladies.”

As she closed her eyes and felt the tiredness pulling at her brain, she heard Chris say, “Well, I’ll tell you about it.”

“No, you won’t.” Paige’s voice was muffled from the towel but she knew her words were clear enough.

There was a pause and then she heard Chris whisper, “Avalon…
fuckin’ A
!”

“That’s enough, Officer Bergstrom.” She still hadn’t shaken the vulnerability she felt. She didn’t want to hear Chris go on about Avalon until she could have more time to sort through her feelings.

*

Avalon unzipped the fifth dress that had been handed to her. She was in the wardrobe department at the studio, getting alterations on the clothing she was supposed to wear for upcoming scenes. Two wardrobe assistants measured and pinned while she stepped in and out of a curtained-off area near the sewing machines.

Michele D. had arrived right after Avalon but had spent half the time on her cell phone and the other just watching them work. A brooding cloud seemed to be hovering over her frowning face.

One assistant took the dress from Avalon while the other searched for the next.

“What’s with you, Michele?” Avalon finally said. “Did you accidentally sit on your gold-plated Montblanc?”

“Funny.”

“What is it?”

“As your manager—”

“Wait a minute. Every time you start with ‘as your manager,’ you end up telling me something’s for my own good. And it usually isn’t.”

“I simply saw the way you were interacting with Paige.”

Avalon bristled at her tone. “And?”

“Come on, I know you, Avalon. She’ll be in your bed before the light at Hollywood and Vine turns green.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” She felt the hot flare of infuriation ignite her cheeks. “You’ve been on my ass since I broke up with Jessica. I’m single now and it’s nobody’s business what I do.”

“In case you forgot, which it seems you did, it
is
my business.” She put her hand on her hip, which made Avalon roll her eyes. “You put me in charge of plotting the course that leads you toward your ultimate goal, which is to become Hollywood’s highest-paid actor. Remember that? I know exactly who you are. I know your strengths and weaknesses. And women are one of your weaknesses.”