My Life With The Movie Star (9 page)

“Someone had a fun weekend,” Melanie exclaimed.

“I
t was fun. You will never believe this, but I need time off in August. He has asked me to go with him to the MTV Movie Awards.”

“You’re kidding? What are you going to wear?”

“He said that his stylist would have some dresses picked out for me when I arrive, so all I have to do is choose one, and remember who the designer is,” I replied.

“I always told you that prince charming was out there.”

“B
ut this is more than I ever hoped for. I really am setting myself up for a broken heart. How could I ever date a normal guy again?”

“You will figure it out. Maybe he’s the one.”

“After one weekend? Be serious,” I said. I looked at the pictures of us on my camera. I worried that someday he would take a look at himself. He is this the sexy, beautiful
creature, and I'm just Miss Plain Jane, next to him. Maybe he would decide he needed to find a mate with similar genes.

After talking to Melanie, I started my normal workday. I tried to focus on my calls, but my mind kept drifting to the past weekend. It had gone by in a blink of an eye. I truly wanted to call Grayson and thank him for the flowers, but it was much too early his time. He was also going to be extremely busy getting ready for shooting on the next
Texas High
movie. Why did this have to be a series of books? I had never read the
Texas High
books. They were written for young adults, but I soon found myself on Amazon ordering all five books and paying the extra money to have them sent overnight to my work. I had to know what the storyline was for the sequel – and for the other movies that would be coming up.

While I was on Amazon, I searched for merchandise from
Texas High
. I could not believe all the items it returned. You could buy almost anything with Graysons face on it: mugs, pillows, T-shirts – the list went on and on. I thought about purchasing a Mrs. Edwards tee shirt, but I figured that might border on being an obsessed fan. I did not want to jinx myself in this relationship, or have items to throw out once it’s over.

Lunch came and went, along with the rest of my day. When I got home, I decided to take Thor out for a run. I was determined to lose twenty pounds in three weeks. I knew this was a lofty goal, but I would work hard. I figured with all the temptation in Hollywood, I needed a fair chance at keeping Grayson.

Thor and I started out with a slow pace towards the bluff. I was starting to get the runner stitch I always got and Thor
had dropped way behind me. I stopped to see what he was doing. He just looked up at me with his cute brown eyes. I could tell he was not enjoying my attempt at running. He had always been more of a lap dog than a dog who wanted to be active. “O
kay
, we’ll go home,” I said to him. I would try again tomorrow and leave him at home.

The hours seemed to crawl by. I waited until 10 p.m. to call Grayson. I figured that it would be 8 p.m. his time. I paced as the phone rang on his end. It went to voicemail. Darn, I thought, but at least I still could listen to his voice. I left a brief message for him saying I would be up for the next couple hours. I tried to sound cool, as if calling him was no big deal, but I was a mess on the inside.

Before I knew it, my alarm went off. I had fallen asleep on top of my bed, waiting for him to call. I stretched out and sat up; trying not to panic that he hadn’t called me. I was sure he was just busy going over his script at the last minute.

I made my way down to the office again, eager to open my box from Amazon. It showed up a little before 10 a.m. I promised myself that I would keep it sealed until lunchtime.

The series of books was about a group of highschool kids. Even though I had seen the movie, I decided to reread the first book. It was mainly about a group of friends and their freshman year of high school in Texas. The main character was Scott, played by Grayson. Scott was a rebellious kid from the other side of the tracks, a loner who secretly fell in love with the head cheerleader, Becky. Becky’s parents were wealthy, and she was expected to date Derrick, the quarterback of the football team. Becky was frustrated with her parents controlling her life and secretly started to date Scott, who her parents would never approve of.

I wasn’t sure why all the teenagers were fascinated with the series of books. It seemed like this topic had been done before, but with all the hot stars, they put in the movie – mainly Holly and Grayson – the book sales had nearly doubled and the books ended up on the New York Times bestseller list. The movie had left off with a dramatic scene between Becky and Scott, where he decided to leave town so the conflict in Becky’s life would be over. Their last scene was Scott telling Becky that he hated her and that she should be with Derrick, who loved her. He had stormed away and then driven off on his motor cycle, leaving Becky crying on the pavement. The movie continued to show Becky going to prom with Derrick.

It made me happy to think that most of the second movie might be centered on Becky and Derrick’s relationship. Or maybe it would show w
h
ere Scott went. He was just a freshman in high school, so he would probably have to go live with some relatives? I honestly didn’t care; I just wanted to find out whether Becky and Scott got back together. I was sure they will, since the series was centered on them, but I could hope that maybe Scott would find someone else.

Or maybe I didn’t want that. Right now, I thought, I can only focus my energy on being jealous of one actress. I didn’t want to add any new love interest
s
into Graysons life. He clearly did not like Holly, but maybe he would like someone else? I had never thought that I would spend so much time day dreaming about the
Texas High
series. I had to force myself to focus on work.

Lunchtime finally came. I quickly grabbed the book and ran to my car; I was much too embarrassed to read it at my cube fearing I would be teased forever. Luckily, the books
were meant for teenagers, so I was able to polish off the first chapter quickly.

Texas High

Chapter 1

             
It was a hot, humid Texas afternoon. Becky sat staring out of the window of her algebra class. This was the last period of the day. As soon as the bell rang, Becky darted from her chair and raced down the hall to her locker. She knew that if she was fast enough, Scott would pass her by on the way to his car.

             
Becky scrambled, pushing a few freshmen out of the way, hoping that her plan would work. Just as she was rounding the corner, she saw him walking down the hall. Becky stopped to reposition her cheerleading uniform to make it look like she was carelessly walking to her locker. She opened it to check out her hair and makeup in her locker-door mirror. This way, she was able to see in the reflection whether Scott was looking her way.

             
Becky was the head cheerleader on her high school team, and she was immensely popular. It wasn’t like her to get all nervous over one boy, especially not a boy from the other side of the tracks, so to speak. Her mother would die if she found out that Becky had a crush on a mechanic’s son. Her father was a prominent attorney, and her mother was a Texas socialite who had once competed in the Miss USA pageant as Miss Texas. Status and wealth meant a great deal to her family. Becky’s parents expected many
things out of their daughter, and one of them was that she would date and eventually marry a boy of the same status as her family. Her father was already planning her big debutant ball, and he had handpicked Derrick, the high school quarterback, as her date.

             
Derrick was perfect
,
handsome, rich and had considerable breeding. Scott was not; he was the opposite. He lived alone with his father, as his mother had left them years before. They lived in a double-wide trailer on the other side of town. Scott didn’t play sports or participate in extracurricular activates; he had to work to help put food on the table. Becky doubted that he would be able to afford to go to college. But despite all this, Becky could see he had a heart of gold, and she was drawn to him.

             
Becky took a deep breath and slowly turned around at just the right time to bump into Scott, dropping all of her books on the ground.

             
“I’m so sorry,” Becky said and bent down to gather her things.

             
“No problem,” Scott said and gave her a hand. “Hey, aren’t you in my US history class?”

             
“We have Mr. Winslow together,” Becky said. She could feel her cheeks turning red. Her plan had worked; she was impressed. “Are you ready for the test on Friday?”

             
“No. No time to study,” Scott stated and looked at the ground. “I’m sure you are. Don’t you always get A’s in that class?”

             
“I guess. History is one of my favorite subjects. I can help you study if you like,” Becky offered with a bit more hope in her voice than she should.

Scott suddenly jumped back and handed her books back.
             
“No, I don’t need your help! Next time, watch where you’re walking.”

Becky watched him sulk off to his car. What suddenly made him so angry? She didn’t have long to wonder. Her best friend Jessica bounced over to meet her at her locker.

             
“Hey, Becky! Did that Scott guy just knock your stuff down?” Jessica asked. She was also on the cheerleading team with Becky and fussed with her skirt a bit.

             
“No, I was a klutz and bumped into him,” Becky said, hoping that her friend would not see through her story.

             
“What a loser,” Jessica said. “He barely had enough courtesy to help you. I bet Derrick would have carried your books out to your car.”

Derrick was the guy most of the girls in school dreamed of when they thought of boyfriends. He was tall, muscular and devilishly handsome. He had bright brown eyes, and soft dark hair. Every girl in school was jealous of Becky because Derrick had chosen her to pursue. Becky knew she should be happy with Derrick, but there was just something about Scott.

Jessica pulled Becky out of her daydream and back to reality. “Come on, Becky! If you daydream all day, we’ll be late for practice. You know how much Mrs. Johnson hates that!”

Jessica was right; Becky was head cheerleader, and she had to set the precedent for everyone to be on time. The crucial game was on Friday night. Her school, Winslow High Westerners, would be playing the Houston High Oilers for a chance to go to the state championship. The stands would be packed, and her squad had to be ready for the crowds. This was no time to be distracted by a boy.

             
“Hi girls, glad you could make it,” Mrs. Johnson said sarcastically. She was looking over her clipboard, which was always in her hands.

             
“It’s not Becky’s fault. Scott Thomas made her drop all of her things and didn’t stop to help her pick them back up,” Jessica said defensively.

             
“Now Jessica, Becky does not need you to speak on her behalf,” Mrs. Johnson barked. “O
kay
, girls, let’s get in our first formation. We have to be on fire Friday night!”

The girls practiced their various positions and pyramids, tosses and catches. Finally, practice was over. Becky made her way to her little silver Porsche. Derrick had beaten her to it and was waiting there with a single rose.

             
“Hi, Derrick. I thought you guys were done with practice and were resting up for the big game,” Becky said and walked over to the driver’s side of her car.

             
“We finished early so I ran out and bought you this perfect rose,” Derrick said. “You still haven’t answered my question about going to the Homecoming dance on Saturday.”

             
“I’m just not sure I feel like going. That’s all,” Becky lied. She truly wanted to go, but she desperately wanted to be in Scott
’
s arms instead.

             
“Come on, everyone from the team will be there. If we win, you will be required to go. Might as well have a date,” Derrick suggested.