Chapter 32
By December 30th I felt beyond comfortable with the whole family. William and I had spent time together watching obscure films I loved but had never heard of previously while James was bonding with his mother and Nana. Other times Caroline and Nana taught me –hands on- the recipes to some amazingly delicious foods that just so happened to be James’ favorites. We had wine and talked as we prepared a multitude of meals. Even Olivia and I had hung out some, though she still seemed to be probing me the whole time.
We had one day left because we had plans to go to a party on New Year’s Eve back in Los Angeles. Most of our time had been at the house or out to a few places for groceries or dinner so James thought the two of us should go out and have some drinks so I could see more of the locals. Being our last night, he insisted we hit up some clubs or bars even though he rarely ever ventured to those establishments. I agreed.
It was still cold out so I dressed in a pair of tight dark jeans, some tall high heeled black boots that reached just below the knee, and a glittery gold halter top underneath a tailored black leather jacket. I made sure to put on gold bangles to match my top. My long chocolate hair was down in loose waves and I put on more makeup than normal to give myself the smoky eye effect I saved for night time outings.
I knocked on James’ door and it opened to reveal his tall muscular body clad in a black and white flannel under a black hoodie with light jeans and converses. He looked handsome as always, but what caught my attention was how he was looking at me as if I were incredibly sexy. I blushed and headed for the living room with my passport and money zipped in my jacket pocket. I heard him follow behind and I swayed my hips infinitesimally more hoping he would notice but it wouldn’t be noticeable that I was trying.
“The taxi just called, he’s right out front. Don’t you just look beautiful, Holly dear! And James you look handsome!” Caroline praised as she hugged us. Olivia was smirking in our direction, but at what specifically I wasn’t sure.
We went outside and got in the cab. James told him where to go. We were heading only about ten miles away into the town to a new club called ‘Sounds’ which I thought was a ridiculous name, but James had talked to Tony earlier and he’d insisted we had to go because apparently it was ‘all the rage’.
When we arrived James grabbed my hand and pulled me up to the front of a long line of scantily clad women and flashily dressed men. I felt overclothed and James seemed underdressed compared to everyone else. Tony had gotten us on the list so we went straight in and were immediately taken to a V.I.P. spot. It wasn’t like the American V.I.P. spots I’d seen because it wasn’t private; we went about six steps up and behind a rope but that was all that separated us from the rest of the hundreds of people in the loud crowded club.
Generally it wouldn’t matter to me, but James was famous –even more so in Britain because that’s where he was from- so I was in assistant mode, worried about fans. James must have sensed that because he pulled me to the couch and looked me in the eyes.
“Don’t worry about anything. Remember you’re on vacation, let’s just have fun.” The bass started booming louder than before and people were screaming so I just nodded in agreement.
He ordered me a black velvet and a grog for himself. When the drinks came I sipped mine and it tasted like a sweet beer. “What is this?”
“It’s got beer and sparkling wine in it.”
“Mmm, it’s really good,” I said as I sipped some more. We surveyed the room and tried to talk when the music wasn’t blaring until finally I decided I wanted to dance so I asked James to join me. Before he could answer a group of three girls came barreling up the steps to the rope where a security guard stood. They were screaming and asking for pictures and autographs. James complied because he rarely said no to fans when they had such simple requests. Eventually they left, but not long after, more people took their place. Before we knew it a man with a heavy duty professional camera was taking pictures.
I looked across the room towards the door for an easy escape but when it swung open to let more people in I saw flashes from paparazzi trying to get something. I knew that someone had let James’ whereabouts slip. We had to get out of there or we’d be overcome with fans and photographers which was not the plan for our fun-filled outing.
We finished our drinks, clearly having the same idea. James tossed money on the table in front of the couch and told the security guard we needed to get out and the front wouldn’t work. He called another guy over and they escorted us to a back employee entrance.
We peeked out the door and once the coast was clear we hustled out into the night in search of a more low-key place to hang out.
Only a few blocks away in a more deserted area we stumbled upon The English Foxhound and decided to peek inside. Besides an older man behind the bar and a middle aged couple playing darts up front, the place was empty. The wood floors were uneven and dull and the light fixtures were all in a primary green glass, projecting light that gave off a mellow vibe. The booths and tables were worn with age and the walls were covered in drinking memorabilia and foxhound portraits in various styles.
“Perfect,” James said, guiding me to the bar. He ordered us beers and we took them to a booth in the back.
It wasn’t long before we were joking and laughing as we told embarrassing stories from the past. The beers were flowing as well and I was feeling good.
“That can’t be the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you,” James accused.
“Hmmm… probably not, but that was pretty bad. Quite a few people saw.”
“Come on! I told you mine.” James was pushing for me to tell him more stories about my klutzy adolescence. To be fair he had told me about bombing auditions in front of major stars.
“Fine, well you know I can’t sing at all, tight?”
“I do know that,” he replied in a serious tone as if we were discussing a worldwide problem.
“I used to want to sing so in junior high I was in choir.” Already James was laughing.
“My terrible voice isn’t even the embarrassing part. We had a big end of the year performance for our family and friends. Everyone was there. We had a fifties theme so we were wearing jean capris and oversized white t-shirts –don’t ask me why- and we had dance moves to go with songs from that era because it was all about a fun celebration. Well my jeans were ridiculously tight; I could barely bend my legs. Oh and it just so happens that I was at the very end of the top row where I stuck out. No one was in front of me to block. So we’re singing and doing a dance move where we turn to the left. I turned and missed the platform I was standing on and fell –not completely off and behind us though because there’s a big white thing that was behind the risers which is made to project our voices towards the audience."
James was listening intently, chuckling.
"So my leg gets caught between the riser and that and I can’t pick myself up because my pants are so tight. My best friend at the time was next to me and she was laughing so hard it took forever for her to help me up. To make matters worse the whole boys’ choir was standing behind the risers and the big white thing where the audience couldn’t see them because they were next and they could see my leg sticking out all crazy and kicking. Even worse was the fact that there were microphones pointed at the audience so that when they clapped it sounded way louder… and so their laughs were magnified as well. It was awful,” I laughed, thinking of how mortified I was at the time and how silly it all seemed years later.
James was laughing, holding his stomach and bent over his face going red from lack of oxygen. I joined in because the sight of him was hilarious.
I glanced up and my laughter stopped short. A man with a camera in his hand was looking around the bar. Luckily he couldn’t see James from where he was standing. I pulled out my wallet and threw some money on the table. “We’ve got to get out of here, they’re about to see you,” I nodded my head towards the man. James pointed to a back door. When the guy was turned away from our table completely I signaled James to go and followed behind him. We burst outside and started walking briskly.
Only a few minutes later we heard footsteps and turned to see three men with cameras following us. It was actually kind of fun trying to evade them and when I looked to James he had the same idea; we both started running towards the nearest intersection. It was late and no one else was around so we made a left and kept running. I noticed apartment building and pulled James towards it. We rushed up the stairs and tried to open the door, but it was locked. Frustrated I turned around and noticed there was a small alcove on both sides of the porch we were on that couldn’t be seen from the streets. They were just big enough so I grabbed James and pulled him behind me. I slid in and turned around, backing up as far as I could. James followed and squeezed in front of me so we were facing each other.
That’s when we heard the men’s rushed steps coming closer. I grabbed James’ sweatshirt and pulled him to me so he wouldn’t be seen. Since he was in black I reached up and pulled his hood over his blonde hair as an extra precaution. The footsteps were even closer. James opened his mouth as if to speak so I moved one hand from his hood and pressed my pointer finger over his lips, shaking my head to warn him. I nodded towards the sounds and that was when we heard the voices; I froze, hands on his hood and lip.
“Which was do you think they went?”
“I dunno, you think maybe they went into one of these buildings?” I gulped, my adrenaline kicking in.
“I doubt it; you have to have a key to get into these buildings. Let’s try over that way.” I pondered which way he meant.
We stood still listening to the sound of their retreating steps. I was breathing heavy and once I became aware of that I noticed James was too. I tilted my head and looked up at him, noting how close we were and realizing my finger was still on his lip. I slowly slid it down his chin neck and chest, stopping there, our eyes locked because suddenly I was aware that his hands were on my hips. When had he put them there? One of them moved to the small of my back while the other reached up and stopped at the back of my neck pulling me closer.
I stood on my tip toes letting his hands pull my body and face closer to his. Just before our lips touched he stopped and I looked into his sparkling pale blue eyes losing the last shred of self-control I’d been maintaining. I closed the distance between our lips and the kiss was slow and lingering as I tried to hold onto every second of it. There was more passion behind it than in any kiss I’d ever experienced. My body heated up from the core and I couldn’t get enough, couldn’t touch enough. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer. His arms wove around my waist as he pushed me up against the wall of the alcove. I pushed his hood down so I could grab his hair and I felt myself moan into his mouth when he reached down to grab my ass. I could feel the corners of his mouth turn up at the sound and he squeezed it tighter.
We kissed until I couldn’t breathe and when I pulled away slightly for a quick breathe I heard the sound of a light rain. He breathed deeply before crashing his soft lips back on mine and sliding his tongue in my mouth feeling no resistance. I was done resisting. I was done worrying about the past or what people might think.
James pulled down the zipper of my jacket and opened it before holding me closer. I kissed him back letting all of the desire I’d kept hidden show through. The sound of rain pouring down heavily interrupted the moment and I reluctantly pulled my lips from his, coming up with an idea. He tried to kiss me again but I spoke, “Do you hear that?”
He shook his head and kissed me. I let him but pulled away after. “It’s raining, listen.” It was pouring so hard that it was impossible to not hear, which spoke volumes on how focused he’d been on me. Realization flickered across his face, but it quickly turned into a seductive smile. “Guess we’ll be here for a while.”
I laughed, tempted to stay and continue. Logic overruled, however. “Actually I was thinking we should take advantage.” His smile grew wider and cut him and his train of thought off, “The paparazzi have cameras so they’ll be out of the rain trying to stay dry. If we go now and get a cab we’ll get wet, but they won’t see us.”
He nodded grudgingly, clearly not wanting to stop what we were starting. “If we stay and get caught up then they may stumble upon us after the rain stops and really get some good photos,” I warned. He laughed and nodded, then unzipped his hoodie and took it off. We walked out of the alcove and he made me put it on, zipping it up tight and pulling the hood over my head. He grabbed it like I had and kissed me firmly. It felt like he was telling me that he didn’t want the kiss to be something we claimed just happened in the moment in a tight space, but rather something real.
He grabbed my hand and we headed out into the heavy downpour in search for a cab.