Elle lay in her bed, staring up at her ceiling, remembering everything that happened the night before – the good and the bad. Nothing put a bigger smile on her face than the fact that Julian was still there in the morning – he didn't run away.
Holy hell. What did they just start?
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her door. And a wide smile turned up her lips at the thought of Julian. Maybe he changed his mind about leaving. Maybe his meeting got canceled. It didn't matter to her as long as she got to see his face again.
She wrapped her blanket around her naked body and dashed for the door.
"Did you forget something?" Elle asked, opening the door, only to find her best friend Sofie holding a disposable drink carrier with two Starbucks coffee cups in it, and a small brown paper bag with the infamous logo on it.
"Did who forget something?" She asked, smirking at Elle curiously.
It took her a minute to realize Sofie had absolutely no idea of the events that transpired the previous night. She wasn't even aware Julian was at the club with her. Elle ran out of there so fast, and with no explanation. Sofie was completely in the dark.
"Ooh, you brought coffee," Elle said, stepping out of the way to let her in, changing the subject intentionally.
"Elle," Sofie shot at her in a warning tone to hint that she better spill the dirt.
Elle snatched the bag from her hand and looked inside with a smirk on her face.
"Ooh, and bagels," Elle cooed through a smile, ignoring Sofie's warning.
"Are you naked under that blanket, you little hoe?" Sofie asked playfully with her own smirk, tugging at the fabric.
"Maybe. Back off," Elle laughed, pulling away from her.
"Who the hell was here? Who did you spend the night with?" Her eyes were wide with anticipation.
Elle moved toward the small kitchen, setting the bag of bagels on the counter before she walked back to the bed, discarding her blanket on it before walking to her closet to dress quickly.
"You little hooker," Sofie laughed playfully at her, seeing that Elle was, in fact, naked under the blanket.
Elle chuckled as she pulled a tank top over her head and slipped a pair of pajama pants up her legs before she walked back out to the kitchen where Sofie was already toasting the bagels.
"So spill it," Sofie demanded, watching her as Elle sat down on the stool in front of the kitchen counter.
Elle eyed her, not even knowing where to start. She wasn't going to believe her anyway. Elle didn't know if she even believed it happened. It was absolutely insane.
"Elizabeth Rose, spill your guts," she pressed on, slightly aggravated as she side-eyed Elle.
"You won't believe me anyway," Elle told her matter-of-factly, pursing her lips together defiantly.
"Try me. You're driving me crazy right now," Sofie laughed, rolling her eyes.
"Julian Reed," Elle spit out.
Sofie stared at her with no emotion on her face. She just stared, waiting for Elle to say 'just kidding' or 'yeah right' or something.
"Julian Reed?" She questioned evenly.
"I knew you wouldn't believe me," Elle said, taking a sip of the coffee with her name on it.
"You mean to tell me you hooked up with Julian Reed last night?" Sofie asked for clarification.
"Mm-hmm," Elle confirmed, setting the cup back down, turning it idly on the countertop with her fingers.
"Julian Reed, Julian Reed? Like Mr. Virgin movie star, could possibly be gay, Julian Reed?" She asked in one long breath.
"He's definitely not gay," Elle said, raising her eyebrows as she picked up her cup to take another drink.
"You hooked up with Julian Reed!?" She asked more firmly.
"Mm-hmm," Elle hummed through a mouthful of coffee.
"You're just... you're just too calm for this. You're screwing with me. Tell me the truth," Sofie demanded, narrowing her eyes at Elle.
"I am telling you the truth," Elle laughed as she shook her head, because she knew Sofie wouldn't believe her.
"Proof or it didn't happen," Sofie shot at her.
"I don't have proof," Elle told her evenly.
"Didn't happen," Sofie said, shaking her head as she pulled the bagels out of the toaster and started to smear cream cheese on them.
"It did. Oh, hey, wait!" Elle said, getting up from the stool.
She padded across the floor to her front door where her phone still sat on the small table. She checked her most recent text message and opened it, letting the butterflies go wild in her stomach at the thought of her phone number now being a part of Julian Reed's contacts.
Hey, it's Julian. Here's my number.
"I have a text from him," Elle told her, walking back over.
"Hand it over," Sofie said, grabbing the phone. She stared at it for a long moment before handing it back.
"How do I know that's really him?" Sofie eyed her, causing Elle to laugh out loud.
"I don't really care," she said, shrugging her shoulders passively.
"You hooked up with Julian Reed?" Sofie asked once again, still eyeing Elle skeptically.
"Yeah. His DNA is in the condom somewhere if you're really concerned about it," Elle said evenly, taking another drink of the hot coffee in front of her.
"Okay. One more time and I'll believe you. You hooked up with Julian Reed last night?" Sofie eyed her questioningly.
"Yes," Elle said with a nod, giving her a slightly annoyed look.
"Oh my god! Spill. Fucking spill now!" Sofie freaked out like she should have the first time Elle told her she hooked up with him.
Elle spared her of the most intimate details, but told her about how Julian sought her out at the club and bought her a drink. How he practically seduced her on the dance floor, and followed her outside. Elle even told her about Liam and how he snapped picture after picture of the two of them on the sidewalk as she and Julian argued with each other about why she was leaving the club. And Elle told her how Julian got in the cab with her and practically told her how he didn't care how many paparazzi came at them – that he was going to pursue her anyway.
Sofie was pretty much flipping her shit by the end of the small re-cap, and Elle couldn't help but laugh. It was so ridiculous that any of it happened. She still couldn't quite wrap her mind around it.
"How did this even happen?" Sofie asked, wide-eyed.
"I don't even know," Elle snickered under her breath as she shook her head.
"You're supposed to be like, his enemy. The evil camera-whore," Sofie beamed, clamping her hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter.
"I guess he doesn't see me like that," Elle said with a shrug, taking a bite of the thoroughly prepared bagel Sofie slid in front of her.
"Are you... are you going to keep taking pictures of him?" She asked tentatively, making Elle really question it in her own mind.
"Uh, probably not. Not when the only pictures people are going to want of him now are ones with me. Liam is going to blow this shit up. I just know it," Elle scoffed, rolling her eyes at the thought of Liam.
"So are you like... dating him then?" She asked curiously.
"No. I mean, we spent one night together. The bed is barely cold from the two of us. We're just... we're having fun," Elle said, trying her damndest not to get her hopes up. That was the last thing she needed.
"Wow," Sofie breathed out in awe of the situation her best friend was in.
"Besides, I don't even know if we're going to like, even see each other again," Elle said, looking down at her cup, feeling slightly idiotic for gushing about a guy she had no real ties to.
"You just told me how he was the one who wanted to pursue you," Sofie pointed out.
"Yeah, but... I mean, he got what he wanted, right? I gave it up," Elle told her, feeling slightly self-deprecating.
"Shut up right now. Remember all the times you went on rants to me about how great of a guy he is whenever anyone printed anything bad about him?" Sofie reminded her, making Elle's cheeks heat up immediately.
"I didn't rant," Elle told her sheepishly.
"You kind of did," she laughed, giving her a sympathetic look.
"Well, he is a great guy," Elle protested once again, her words coming out almost breathlessly.
"Then what makes you think he's just going to walk away?" She asked, smiling optimistically at her, really giving Elle something to ponder.
Elle didn't want to believe he would just walk away, but she didn't want to get her hopes up either.
...
When Elle received a text from Julian that night to tell her he was thinking about her, she had a mini freak-out as she lay all alone in her bed. It immediately forced her to believe things weren't over between the two of them. She honestly couldn't get the smile off of her face even if she tried.
The next day, Elle met Charlie for lunch like they usually did during the week.
"So Elle, I need to ask..." He started, his lips twitching up into a smile.
"I know what you're going to ask," Elle huffed, rolling her eyes as she feigned annoyance.
"Julian Reed," he said, pursing his lips together, giving her a questioning look.
"Liam," Elle growled under her breath, hating that guy even more because she knew he had to have already released the pictures of her and Julian outside the club.
"He's in negotiations with his footage as we speak," Charlie informed her, like he could read her mind.
"God damn it," Elle scoffed.
"Did you think he wouldn't?" He chuckled, giving her a sympathetic look.
"I don't know. Maybe. Professional courtesy," Elle murmured, feeling like an idiot, because she knew Liam just as well as Charlie did.
"When has Liam ever shown anyone any professional courtesy?" He asked her with a knowing look.
"He's such a fucking snake," she scoffed, feeling the annoyance wrap around all of her senses.
"I tried to get him to just let it go – to just give you a little bit of privacy, but you know him," Charlie told her with a hefty sigh.
"I do know him," Elle growled, shaking her head.
Liam was the equivalent of stubbing your toe repeatedly on a really hard piece of furniture. Elle absolutely despised the man.
"Hey, not to change the subject or anything – but, do you feel like getting out with me tonight? I know you wanted to take a little break, but I was going to hit up downtown L.A. tonight. It might help you get your mind off of what may or may not be printed about you by morning," he snickered, giving her a look of quiet apprehension.
"Oh, thanks," Elle scoffed playfully, rolling her eyes at his last comment.
"No, but I'm serious," he laughed blithely.
"Yeah. I guess so. Where you headed to?" She questioned as she took a sip of her water.
"All around, I guess," he said as he shrugged indifferently.
"Yeah. Sounds good. Pick me up?" She asked with a questioning cock of her eyebrow.
"I'm there," Charlie said, smirking at her.
...
Elle dressed in her usual paparazzi garb – jeans, a random t-shirt and her Converse sneakers. She also grabbed a sweatshirt before leaving her apartment to meet Charlie for work. They hit up Katsuya – a popular Japanese restaurant – when they got wind that Aaron James – a young basketball star – and some friends were dining there.
"Why is it that we always target young Hollywood?" Elle asked Charlie after he parked the car and they set off toward the restaurant with their cameras in tow.
"Because their fans have the biggest demographic. Sure we can take pictures of older celebrities, but this is where the big bucks lie. Get a picture of a young celebrity slipping-up and you're making bank," Charlie explained, smirking at her.
"Makes sense," she said with a nod, realizing in the real world, it was money that reigned supreme to just about everyone – especially the paparazzi.
There was already a group of paps scattered around outside the restaurant, waiting like vultures – which was really what you needed to do as a photog. The job called for a lot of patience. If you didn't have it, you weren't going to make it.
"This place is already swarming. Do you want to go somewhere else?" Elle asked him quickly as she looked around at some of the familiar faces she saw on a daily basis.
"Where do you want to go?" He asked her as he too weighed the scene.
"I don't know. Anywhere where there aren't already fifteen cameras at the ready. We're not going to get anything here," she said with a shrug as her fingers gripped tightly around her camera.
"You're learning," he said with a smirk, a look of pride in his eye.
"I've learned that magazines and websites don't give a shit about pictures that have already been offered to them time and time again," Elle told him matter-of-factly.
"Bingo," he said, smiling at her.
Right as they were turning to leave, a black SUV pulled up and their fellow cameramen all swarmed in to get their shot at a celebrity sighting.
"Well, who is this?" Charlie inquired curiously as he pulled his camera out in front of him, stepping toward the group.
Elle did the same, gripping her camera in her hands, ready to snap away. When the driver pulled open one of the back doors, Elle watched as a big bulky man pulled himself out. Her heart began to beat wildly in her chest because she recognized the man. Her eyes stayed glued onto the opened SUV door, watching as a recognizable but not famous dark haired male got out, followed by another dark haired male.
Julian.
"Elle," Charlie said, looking back at her with wide-eyes.
Another guy followed them out of the SUV, but her eyes were glued on the only man in the vicinity she ever had sex with. Elle dropped her hand down that held her camera as all the other photographers – including Charlie – snapped away.
Her eyes followed Julian as he talked and laughed with his friends as they moved toward the front entrance of the restaurant. Just as he was passing by where they were, he looked up and their eyes connected. His smile dropped immediately as his feet didn't know whether to stop or to keep going.
Elle just stared back at him, watching as his lips curled back up into a smile, wider than before. She found herself smiling at him, but knew they couldn't be seen like that... again. So she gave him a nod toward the restaurant and he nodded his head in comprehension, and proceeded on toward his friends. He gave one last look back at her before going inside.
"What was that?" Charlie asked her, snapping Elle out of her daze.
She looked around bashfully, noticing some of the other paps noticing her. She really didn't want to be known as the girl who fell for her subject, but that was exactly what was happening.
"Oh my god," she said, bringing her hand up to her forehead, feeling overwhelmed as she turned down the sidewalk, walking the opposite way of the group.
She felt a heightened level of embarrassment, because she knew the exchange between her and Julian could have easily been captured by any number of cameras in the vicinity. It was the last thing that either of them needed.
"Elle, what the hell?" Charlie asked, jogging after her as she continued down the sidewalk.
"Are you okay?" He asked as he caught up to her.
"I'm fine," Elle said, looking both ways before she crossed the street, heading toward the car.
"What is going on with you two?" He asked, trying hard to keep up with her.
"Nothing," she answered quickly.
"Nothing? Really? He just fights with you on the sidewalk and gets into your cab the other night, and then tonight looks at you like he loves you – in front of many, many cameras, might I add," Charlie scoffed at her.
"I don't know what's going on," Elle said, stopping in front of the passenger door of his car.
"Well, with the way he was looking at you, I can tell exactly what's going on," he laughed amusingly.
"What?" She choked out, shooting her eyes to his.
"You're falling for the movie star and he's falling for the girl that stalks him," Charlie laughed as he unlocked the car and got in.
His words left her speechless, because she knew he was right – at least about the first part. And the thought of it made her stomach queasy.
As soon as she sat down in the passenger seat of the car, her phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw Julian's name. The smile she wore couldn't have been helped. And it only got bigger when she read his text.
Julian: You look absolutely beautiful. Can I meet up with you later?
The butterflies that pillaged her stomach made her feel thoroughly sick.
"It's him, isn't it?" Charlie asked, smiling at her.
"Mm-hmm," she hummed, nodding her head.
"I knew it," he laughed, starting up the car.
Elle: Yes. My place?
Julian: Give me an hour? I'll give my boys an excuse and sneak away.
Elle: I'll see you in an hour.
Julian: Yes you will.
Elle looked over at Charlie, ready to make up her own excuse.
"I'm not feeling so well. I think I just need to go home," she told him, giving him a slightly guilty look.
"Uh-huh," he vocalized, smirking knowingly at her, but didn't ask questions as he brought her back to her apartment.