Chapter 5
Chloe
We sat inside of Pierre’s with drinks in front of us, enjoying the atmosphere. A large fish tank with colorful fish swam around along the wall and bright lights flashed across the dance floor as men and women danced to the beats that pumped through the speakers. The server placed another round of drinks on our table, and with a smile, she left us to them. Jade took as sip of hers and nodded her head.
“The drinks are usually not super strong but the bartender is on fire tonight!”
“One of the bartenders must like you or something,” Mariah said as she kept her eyes on the different men in the building. “But I know one thing, I wouldn’t mind chatting up a few of these guys. Especially that one.”
She nodded her head to the left at a trio of men who had ordered drinks at the bar. One of them had a well-kept hipster beard and spacers in his ears. I could tell just by looking at him that he definitely had tattoos. His other two buddies were more clean-cut; no beards, or any facial hair at all, but they had smiles that could stop traffic. They were all super good-looking, but it had been a while since I even considered going out on a date. Back in New York, I was so focused on trying to get something started with my career that I put everything else on the backburner.
“So,” Jade said after she took another sip of her drink, “what are the plans for the night? Are we just going to chill here, or is there somewhere else you all want to go?”
She looked at me, then Mariah. “Well,” Mariah responded, “I know that there is an after-hours spot not too far from here. They are usually pretty generous with the liquor as well, so we might want to check that out. Some hipster place called Stitch & Dollar.”
They both looked at me. “I don’t know anything about this area, so I will just follow you all.”
I took a sip of my drink, and just beyond my glass, I saw two men sitting at a table near the bar. I squinted my eyes to make sure he was looking in my direction, and as soon as I confirmed it, I put my glass down and turned away. I hated intense stares and I could feel that it was going to turn into one of those fairly soon. A few minutes went by and as I kept him in my peripheral, I tried to ignore him at the same time. It wasn’t that he was unattractive; it was that he seemed to be a little too attractive for his own good.
Before long, he stood up from his table and started towards us. “Um, who is this coming our way?” Jade asked with a smirk.
“He looks good, whoever he is,” Mariah whispered under her breath.
He stood in front of our table and he was just as hot as I suspected him to be. He wore jeans with a tight-fitting t-shirt that showed off his pecs and the size of his arms, which were massive.
“Hello, ladies, my name is Hudson. Can I buy you all another round of drinks?”
“Absolutely,” Jade said, speaking for the rest of us.
I wrapped my lips around the straw and desperately angled for the last of my drink. It was more melted ice than anything else.
“Have a seat,” Mariah said, scooting to her left to make room for him.
He sat down beside her and then motioned for the waiter to bring more drinks to the table.
“So,” he continued, “who do I have the pleasure of sitting with?”
“Well, this is Mariah,” Mariah shook his hand delicately, “that is Chloe,” I smiled at him, “and I am Jade. Our friend Chloe just moved here from New York, so we are taking her out to show her the nightlife. We want her to get a taste of Los Angeles so she can be more comfortable with her decision.”
“I see.” He looked directly at me and I could feel him scanning my body for an answer so he wouldn’t have to ask certain questions. “How do you like it so far?”
“It’s fine. I love the weather and the people seem really friendly.”
“It is a wonderful city. I wouldn’t move for the world, though I know it is much different from the east coast.”
“Yes, very much so. I noticed that as soon as I got off the airplane.”
Just then, Mariah slammed her hand onto the table. “That’s it! That’s where I know you from!” she said, looking directly at Hudson. “You were in that toothpaste commercial.” She cleared her throat. “Conjurer’s Toothpaste gives you a magical smile,” she said, imitating the commercial. “That’s you, right?”
He laughed. “Yeah, that is me. I’ve done a few commercials here and there. That was one of my very first, actually.”
“I see. So, you’re an actor, huh?” Mariah asked with a grin.
Hudson chuckled. “That’s certainly my long-term goal, but time will tell. I am still new to it, so who knows what the future will bring.”
“You certainly have movie star looks,” Jade added. “If your talent matches up, I am sure you will make it in no time.”
“Why, thank you, Jade,” he said with a wink.
The waitress came back and placed our drinks on the table. Hudson didn’t take his eyes off me as the girls pulled their glasses closer to them.
“Hudson, man, who are these beautiful ladies? I go to the bathroom and come back to find you surrounded?” I didn’t even notice the other guy until he started speaking. I guess Hudson was distracting me.
“When you left, I just had to come over here and introduce myself. Keith, this is Jade, Mariah, and Chloe. Ladies, this is my manager, Keith.”
Keith, with a tacky, adolescent excitement, extended his hand to greet all of us. “It is a pleasure. I promise, whenever I am with Hudson, we tend to meet some of the hottest women in LA. He is just like… like a magnet for babes, I swear he is.”
Hudson cleared his throat, then stood up. “I wouldn’t say that,” he said as he put his hand on Keith’s shoulder. “I wouldn’t say that at all. But um, excuse us for a moment, will you? Keith, can I talk to you at our table?”
With that, Hudson put his arm around Keith and dragged him back to their table, Hudson’s face bright red with anger.
“Well, he was cute until his annoying ass friend came over and ruined it for him,” Jade said, laughing. “He immediately turned me off. That was a case of the right person having the wrong friend.”
“Exactly,” Mariah added. Then, she looked at me. “But Hudson was only focused on Chloe, anyway. He came over here for her.”
“Me? What? No. I mean, he was speaking to Jade more than any of us.”
“No, Jade was speaking to him. She initiated most of the talking, but I pay more attention to non-verbal communication than anything else and I could tell that he was zeroed in on you, girl.”
I shook my head and grabbed the drink off the table. The liquor was smooth on its way down and the mix had more juice than the ones we had before. “Wow, I can hardly taste any alcohol in this.”
Mariah laughed. “Yeah. I think the bartender probably suspected that Hudson was trying to talk to Jade, so he stopped being generous with the liquor. That’s usually how it goes,” she continued.
“Then I need to go over there and flirt with him a little bit so he can start pouring our drinks the way he was before.” Jade grabbed her glass and got to her feet. Her dress clung to her hips like it was soaked in static.
Mariah stood up with her. “I’m going to go with you. I think I want a few of these men in here to get a better look at me.” Her attention switched towards me. “You coming?”
“No, I’m just going to sit back and chill here. I don’t feel like getting up.”
“You sure?”
“I am positive. You two go and make sure our drinks are stronger than last time. I’ll be good until you all get back.”
“Ok.”
I took another sip of my drink as the Mariah and Jade walked toward the bar, and then I looked back at Hudson. His friend Keith had just walked away from him, and as soon as he did, Hudson was on his way back towards me. I took a deep breath. Stay calm, Chloe. Stay calm. He approached the booth, and with a smile, he asked if he could take a seat.
I nodded my head and sipped the drink out of my straw, still too nervous to say anything.
“So, what drew you out here to LA?” Hudson asked as he shook the ice in his glass.
I didn’t want to tell him about my aspirations of eventually starring in films because I felt like my story would be no different from anyone else’s who moved out here. I didn’t want to be lumped in with the hundreds of other girls he probably met every week. “I just needed a change of scenery. I was tired of life in New York and I figured that I would give the west coast a try.”
“I see. Well, I think you are going to love it, but I am a bit partial. I am an OC OG.” I wrinkled my eyebrows and slightly shifted my head to the right, equal parts confused and a little bit embarrassed for him. “Ugh, I am sorry, I was just trying to say I was born here. You know, Orange County Original?’”
I burst out laughing. “Oh. Yeah, ok. I get it now. That was… ridiculous.”
“Yeah. I’m sorry, I can come off like a total idiot when I am nervous and it doesn’t happen often.”
“Oh? You’re nervous? Why?”
“Because I’ve never a woman as beautiful as you and I feel like I’m tripping over my words.”
I laughed at his honesty.
“So,” he continued, “did Jade or Mariah invite you out here? Or did you know both of them before you moved to Los Angeles?”
“Jade has been my best friend for the last four years. We went to college together and she moved out here right after graduation. It took me a few months, but I finally followed suit after a little bit of convincing from her end.”
“I see. If you’re interested, I would love to show you around a little more whenever you have the time. I promise I am not a creep or something.”
I laughed at him again. “From what I just heard you are fairly well-known and I don’t think murdering anyone would be good for your career. Besides, you seem like an ok guy. But then again… so do most serial killers.”
He laughed. “Serial killer? Wow. That is a kind of a big jump from ‘creep.’ However, scout’s honor, I am neither a creep nor a murderer. As far as I know.”
“Good,” I said with a laugh, brushing a piece of stray hair out of my eye nervously.
A few minutes later, the girls came back to the table and Hudson and I had already exchanged numbers by the time they arrived. He seemed trustworthy enough for that much and although I had his number, it didn’t mean anything would come of it. If he didn’t call me, I probably wouldn’t call him, mostly because I was terrible at summoning up the nerve to do it. It was cowardly and resulted in a lot of missed connections and lost opportunities, but I just wasn’t good at making the first move.
During the car ride home, Jade and Mariah poked around to find out what happened between me and Hudson.
“Come on, Chloe,” Jade said as she drove toward the apartment, “the guy was sitting at the table with you when we came back. We know that you guys had to exchange phone numbers. That had to have happened at the minimum.”
“Ok, alright. Fine. He gave me his number, and that’s it. We talked a little bit, but I don’t think I’m ready to go out with anyone yet. You know why I came out to California. I want to get my career started. I need to focus. I don’t need to meet a guy and hook up with him just so my focus can be thrown off.”
“Jeez, Chloe! You make it seem like the guy is asking to marry you or something. He just wants to hang out.” She looked at me in the rearview mirror, her eyes intensely zeroed in on me like she was seeing me for the first time. “I want to ask you something. When was the last time you went out on a date?”
“Really, Jade? This again?”
“What do you mean, ‘this again?’ I am asking because it is important! When was the last time you were on a date? Was it Mark Taylor? The basketball player at NYU?”
“Maybe.”
She laughed out loud. “Maybe? That was at least two years ago, Chloe! That is ridiculous! How can you go this long without a fucking date?!”
Streetlights cascaded over us as we barreled down the street. “Because I was motivated to graduate, and then after that, I was trying to get my career going. You know, doing things to better my future. That don’t involve a man.”
“Um,” Mariah interjected, hesitantly, “now, I know we just met today, Chloe, so I don’t want you to feel obligated to answer this. But.” A few moments of silence went by as I waited for her to ask her question. “When was the last time you had sex?”
“Excuse me?”
“Sex!” Jade said out loud. “You know. The thing two people do when they are naked in a bedroom. Or sometimes a car. Or maybe an elevator if they can’t wait.”
I laughed and covered my face, embarrassed. “Probably the same amount of time since I’ve been on a date. I mean, I don’t just fuck random guys.”
“Damn it, Chloe,” Jade said, laughing. “Listen, it’s bad enough you went this long without a date, but I can’t fathom that you’ve made it the same amount of time without sex.”
“Shut up, you guys,” I said as they both laughed from the front seats of the car. “If I involve a man in my sex life, they’ll start to expect it all the time, and then they will think we’re in a relationship, and then they will try to control what I do. I don’t have time for it. I just don’t.”
We rode a few minutes in silence until Mariah spoke up. “Chloe has a point. A small one, but she still has a point. I’ve known some men to get extremely clingy once you sleep with them. So, yes, I can relate. But still, there are a lot men out there who don’t mind the ‘no strings attached’ sex.”
“Well, I am not in the mood to play Where’s Waldo for a fuck buddy. That is why I just stayed away from it altogether.”
“Now, this is my opinion, but I think that if Hudson asks you out, you should take him up on his offer. Life is not about work and nothing else. You have to enjoy it, Chloe. And besides, Hudson is cute, and with him being an actor, he just might have some connections,” Jade said over her shoulder.
She pulled into the parking lot. Even though it was late, the beach across the street was scattered with people. The moonlight reflected off the surface of the water, and it was so beautiful it was almost blinding. “Alright. I mean, I’ll think about it… that is, if he asks.”
“Good,” Jade responded, “That’s all I’m saying. Don’t bring it up, but if he asks, then I think you should take him up on his offer. Who knows what it could turn into?”
We’d just walked up to the stairs when Mariah jumped, and pulled her vibrating phone out of her purse. “And that’s my night,” she said with a smile. “My own fuck buddy is calling and I think I’m in that mood. You girls have fun tonight.”
She turned around on her heel and went to her car, then peeled out of the parking lot seconds later.
“Looks like I’ll be spending the evening with my boyfriend,” Jade said, before she winked at me. “That late night TV host I’ve had my eye since we were kids. Hubba hubba Jimmy. Don’t come knocking!”
I laughed and shook my head. “Yeah, thanks for the heads up.”
As soon as we got into the apartment, I went to my room and closed the door. My luggage was still completely unpacked, and the sheets and blankets were still stacked on the mattress. I really needed to start organizing things
I sat down on the mattress, then flopped backward as the fan spun methodically above me. I felt like I was going to nod off, when suddenly, my phone buzzed. It was a text from Hudson.
Hudson: Hey, just wanted to make sure you got home safely. It was good meeting you and I hope we can hang out again… soon.
My thumbs hovered over the screen, typing and then deleting words as I tried to figure out how to respond. Eventually, I just ended up closing the phone without sending a response his way. I didn’t want to seem anxious, so I was going to give it until tomorrow before I responded. As the silence flooded throughout the apartment, I listened carefully and could just make out the hum of the TV in Jade’s room. I suddenly began to feel lonelier than I had in years, locked in the silence of my undecorated, empty new room.
Instead of dwelling on it, though, I took a deep breath, grabbed my phone and decided to send a response to Hudson. Maybe it was time to focus on something other than work for a change.