That Blue Gibson: Another Round

nine

"God, I can't fucking stand her. She's like a bad Lady Gaga knock-off," Allison muttered and handed Liz a clear keg cup full of a light beer. "Here. It's O'Douls, drink up."

She did as she was told and felt the heat from the cameras light up behind her. "Which rag was that?"

Allison squinted into the press pool and rolled her eyes. "Buzzfeed. Expect a personality quiz based on what 'The Fabulous Liz Colbert' drank tonight."

Liz choked a laugh into her cup and threw her arm around her friend's shoulders. "Let's go find a green room and maybe a boy band to seduce while those two soak up the limelight."

*

"My fucking feet hurt," Liz whined just as they wandered into the main green room.

"Oooh! Gift bags!" Allison chirped and snatched two off the table beside them to dig through while Liz scanned the room and took another sip of her beer. It tasted horrible, but it certainly kept people from asking questions about her belly. They wove their way through the crowd to a small grouping of plush couches and sighed when they sunk down into them.

"Her real name is Jamie," Allison said suddenly.

Liz laid her head on the back of the couch and closed her eyes. "Whose?"

"Calliope," she mocked in a sing-song voice. "Taylor showed me her studio paperwork. Her name is Jamie Alexander."

"I guess everyone needs an angle," Liz muttered. She was in no position to judge someone for changing their name anyway. "Anything good in the bags?"

Allison watched her for a moment, reading her face before digging through the fancy tote bags. "There's chocolate and-"

"Give it," Liz demanded, making Allison laugh and drop a gourmet chocolate bar into her open palm.

They spent the next half hour eating fancy snacks and watching the elite of the Hollywood music scene mingle around them until an unmistakable accent rose above the noise.

"Elizabeth!"

She whipped around to Allison, who waved her off with a mouth full of candy, "Go. I'll wait here for T."

Liz practically ran across the green room and into Paul's arms, holding him as tightly as she could get away with as he laughed against her.

"You always remind me of Martha when you greet me, darling," he smiled. "You're like the happiest sheepdog in a designer gown."

Liz squeezed him even tighter before stepping back a little. "I haven't seen you since...," she thought for a moment and realized the last time she had seen him was the night Dave had ambushed her on the Sunset Strip.

"Yes, it's been far too long, love. Anything you need to tell me?" he asked, sipping on his lager and staring hard at her slightly protruding belly. 

"Several things," she said apologetically. "So many things."

He offered her his arm and brushed off the onlookers, quickly sneaking her into a private restroom while his security guard stood watch at the door. "Married and up the spout, Elizabeth?" he exclaimed as he checked the stalls for anyone hiding out. "I go to Britain for the holidays and come back to this?"

"It was all very... spontaneous," she admitted, feeling so guilty that she hadn't at least given him a call. "Except for these guys," she added and looked down at her belly. "These two were very much planned."

Paul's eyes went wide and his hand shot out to hold himself upright against the wall. "Two? Dave-"

"No...," she grabbed his arm to keep him from running out to congratulate the wrong person. "No, they're not Dave's, they're Taylor's."