Sip of Assistance

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

I should have known that at some point I would run into someone I knew from my old life. I just didn't think it would be so soon.

Ever since I fled from LA to the safe confines of London, I had been having cravings for a specific cup of coffee from one particular coffee shop downtown. It was a best kept secret how amazingly delicious their coffee was. However, I should not have been surprised that the person who initially introduced me to it may be there as well.

I parked right in front of Café St. Clare and stepped out wearing a black leather jacket, my favorite jeans, pale loose-fitting and holey and my all black converse. I was happy to be out of that stuffy suit and into my attire. I was preoccupied with thoughts of whether or not McCalman would be lenient about assistant dress code if he hired me. Maybe I should have noticed the black tricked out range rover, but then, those are all over LA and my mind was somewhere else.

I pulled open the glass door to the café and stepped inside. It only took a few moments to recognize the familiar face that I had not seen since the night Jon and I kissed. A guilty pain pulled at my stomach. In front of me stood Paul Maddox with his brother Dyer and the bassist and drummer of their band, Mad Street, Shawn and Eric. Paul was looking right at me while Dyer looked at him shaking his head looking amused. Shawn and Eric didn't seem to notice me. They were having a heated discussion about whether or not a certain song was pure genius or total spoof as they stared at the menu on the wall behind the counter. Several people were in front of them in line.

I looked up at Paul's always smoothly shaven face, noticing his dark hair styled into a slight faux hawk. In his black t-shirt, both of his completely tattooed arms showed revealing some new artwork. I noticed Oliver- his son's name- now on his forearm in flowing cursive surrounded by stars, quotes, clouds and more complex designs. When I glanced at his big round dark chocolate eyes set in his now-tan skin I froze remembering when I met him and how we ended up here...

Mad Street had recorded one of their punk-pop songs on the soundtrack of a movie Jon had been the lead in. They even had a cameo in the film. I first saw Paul on the set when Jon was filming. I was sitting at a small table just outside the studio reading a compilation of Robert Frost's work when I heard a long crash coming from across the lot where the trailers were sitting. Then the door from the nearest trailer flung open out walked identical twins Paul and Dyer, laughing as a stream of curses trailed from behind them. Dyer stood out to me first in a white tank top, shoulders and arms covered in tattoos, lip pierced and jet black hair spiked. Once I had taken in Dyer's extreme look, I saw Paul. He wore a hoodie, much more appropriate for the cool weather, no tattoos showing, no piercings on his face, his short black hair neat on his head. I had seen him before on television and in magazines with his band so I knew he had several tattoos under his clothes. I also knew he had a child with a famous actress and that he and said actress had recently broken up. I thought he was handsome in that wounded sensitive bad boy bad kind of way.

A huge smile was plastered on his face and his chest moved with his laughter. They walked to a table covered in food and each picked at the snacks that lay out. Just as they stopped laughing, Paul looked my way and smiled at me. I looked back down at my book and reminded myself I was here to work and that I needed to stay away from musicians because they were most certainly trouble. The next time I glanced up he was walking towards me, half the distance already covered. He came right up to my table at the same time Jon came up behind me.

"Hey, Paul, how's it going?" I nearly jumped out my seat. I hadn't heard Jon coming at all. I smiled awkwardly up ay Jon as he laughed at catching me off guard. He was forever trying to scare me and it was rare that he succeeded.