Chapter Nine
About halfway through the premiere of the movie, I got tired of watching myself on screen. Plus, I had already seen the completed film once already. Mitch, Russ and I, along with a couple other of our co-stars, had recorded an audio commentary about a month ago. It is terrible watching yourself on screen. You notice all of your flaws and things you could have done differently. You are your toughest critic. At least, that’s how it is with me.
I stood up, grabbing my little gold clutch that Melanie had given back to me earlier after my walk up to the premiere. I tiptoed past Ethan and hastily left the theater. It was frowned upon for the movie execs, cast and crew to leave their seats before the movie was over, but I really needed a drink.
The lobby was unsurprisingly empty. Only a few theater staff and security, as well as a few scattered moviegoers, loitered in the immaculate lobby. I walked up to the bar where a bartender was washing dirty glasses. She looked up as I approached and immediately dropped the glass into the sink water and dried her hands.
“Miss Lewis,” she said in a polite, unfazed voice. She smiled professionally, though she had an edgy look about her. “What can I get you?”
“How about a Bay Breeze?” I asked, leaning against the counter. “I love a good Bay Breeze.”
“Coming right up,” she turned to prepare my drink as I slid onto a leather barstool. I pulled out my cell phone from my clutch and checked my messages. I had one from my mom and one from my brother. I clicked on the one from my brother, surprised to see his name on my phone. Brad and I didn’t really talk very much anymore. He said: Congrats on the movie, sis. Proud of you.
I smiled pleasantly surprised and clicked over to the message from my mom, which said the same thing, but with more exclamation points. I put my phone back into my clutch, making a mental note to remember to plan a trip home in the next few weeks if I could. Or at least figure out a way to get us all together. It’s about time I caught up with my family and saw my niece and nephew. I hadn’t been home in probably a year or more now.
My brother and I had never really been very close. Brad was older than me and we were far enough apart in age that it was lame to have your little sister hanging around. Still, we lived in the middle of country farmland in Alabama without many neighbors. So Brad and I often had no choice but to spend our childhood playing games with each other.
Brad had a rough upbringing. He was always causing problems in our small town – vandalism, breaking and entering, underage drinking. The police knew him by name and what he drove. When he met his wife, Terri, he turned his whole life around. Terri brought out the best in Brad. They became avid churchgoers; he went to college and got a law degree. I had kept my distance because I didn’t know how to interact with him anymore. First, when he was breaking laws and causing trouble – I didn’t want to get caught up in that lifestyle. I didn’t want to be associated with such a troublemaker. Then, when Terri changed his life, I just couldn’t relate to him anymore. He led a life that I didn’t understand and would never want for myself. So we drifted apart. It wasn’t something I was proud of. In fact, now that I was older, I wished there was a way that we could come together on common ground and get to know each other again. Maybe this upcoming hiatus I would be able to strengthen our relationship.
The bartender sat my drink down in front of me, interrupting my thoughts. "You look pretty distracted if you don't mind me saying," she said quietly leaning forward onto the counter, her cropped vibrant red hair swinging forward framing her face. She had great bone structure – she had to be a model. “Are you okay?” She had her brows creased in a concerned expression, tilting her head to her left.
I laughed, frankly surprised at her question. “You know, I’m not sure anyone has asked me that in a long time,” I said shaking my head, another lock of blonde hair slipping over my shoulder. “Anyways,” I said waving my hand. I took a sip of my drink and continued, “I’m fine. I’m great. This is an incredible night for me.”
The bartender smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Good,” she said. “You seem like a very down-to-earth girl. You should enjoy yourself tonight.”
“You’re right!” I said, between gulps. “I should. I mean how often do you get to star in a mega-hit like the Monument trilogy.” I paused, “Well, actually three times now for me. But for most people, that doesn’t happen.”
The bartender laughed and returned to cleaning the glasses in the sink. “Speaking of, you seem to be missing a big part of the movie,” she said.
I waved my hand dismissively again and placed my empty glass down on the bar counter. I stared at the empty glass for a moment trying to comprehend how I could have already finished my drink. It was a pretty small glass, I guess. “Seen it once, seen it a thousand times…” I mumbled.
"Would you like another?" the bartender asked cautiously as if she wasn't sure I should have one, but she was obligated to ask.
“Sure, sure,” I said. I pulled my phone out and checked the time. We had probably another hour left here before we would leave for the after party. This would need to be my last drink or I might not make it to the after party. I was a bit of a lightweight. I could admit that to myself.
"Elena," a voice spoke to me. I swiveled in my bar stool and turned to face Anthony standing behind me. He put his hand on the back of my stool, "I saw you get up. You're missing the movie." He had a half-smile on his face like he and I had a secret. My heart rate spiked.
“Anthony!” I said surprised. “Yeah, I was just talking to my new friend…” I turned back to the bartender who had a soft smile on her face while she sat my drink down in front of me. “What’s your name?”
“Roz,” she said shortly, tucking her fire engine red hair behind her ear again. "Yes, we were becoming fast friends." She softly laughed.
I nodded, “Roz! I love that name. Here,” I pulled out the stool next to me for Anthony. “Sit down.”
He sat down next to me with his body facing towards me but looking at Roz. His knees were just inches away from my thigh. “Nice to meet you, Roz. Could I get a whiskey on the rocks, please?”
Roz nodded and turned behind her to make the drink.
Anthony looked into my eyes, locking in on them, “The movie is great so far. You’re really missing it.”
I swatted my hand again, feeling like I've been doing that a lot lately. "I've seen it before," I said. "Mitch, Russ and I had to do a commentary a few weeks ago. It is a great movie. Maybe even an Oscar-worthy performance, some say. I don't. I hate watching myself on screen. I notice all the flaws and mistakes I made and how I should have done things differently. It's really tough. I don't even know how anyone can stand it. It's like when you hear – "
Anthony put his hand on my arm pulling my attention back to him, “Wow. You are rambling.”
I laughed and ducked my head, “Sorry, alcohol makes me talkative.” Roz slid a glass across the counter to Anthony.
Anthony nodded thanks in her direction, before turning those striking chestnut eyes back on me. “So why are you here instead of watching yourself on the big screen?” Anthony asked. He scooted his stool forward a bit and slightly more towards me, his knee barely touching my thigh. I swear, the area of skin underneath my gown where he touched me ignited.
“I don’t know,” I said uncertainly. “Sometimes I just get bored.” I took a long gulp up of my second Bay Breeze, praying it would give me liquid courage to not make a fool of myself.
“Ok,” Anthony said, a mischievous smile crossing his face. “Let’s make your night a little more interesting, then. Let’s play Truth or Dare.”
“Oh ho!” I laughed loudly. “I haven’t played Truth or Dare since I was in junior high probably.”
“I’m serious,” Anthony said. “Come on, I’ll go first. Ask me.” He stared at me expectantly.
“Ask you what?” I asked.
“Truth or Dare,” he said, waving his hand in a ‘come on’ gesture.
“Oh ok,” I said. “Truth, I guess…”
“No,” he laughed at me. “Ask me Truth or Dare!”
“Oh, shoot,” I took another sip of my drink, almost finishing it. “Truth or Dare?”
“Dare,” Anthony said, sitting up straighter. “I like a challenge,” he almost whispered in my ear, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I shivered.
“Oh, shoot,” I said again. “Now I have to think of a dare for you? I suck at this.”
Anthony leaned a little closer, “Come on, Elena. Be creative.”
I looked around the room as if trying to figure out something to do. Of course, the obvious dare I wanted to do, but would never ask, would be for him to kiss me. Right here in the middle of the lobby. Just the thought made my heart race. But that would be a disaster, no matter how badly I wanted to feel his lips on mine. An idea struck me. There were a few people in the lobby, not many but enough he could be put on the spot and embarrass himself possibly.
“Got it,” I said before downing the rest of my drink. “I dare you to sing me a full verse of the last song you heard before you got here. Loudly.”
Anthony shook his head, “Amateur.” He winked at me. “Let’s see, what was the last song I heard on the way here…” His smile drooped a bit. “Oh,” he said. “I remember.”
He scooted his chair back a bit, took a long sip of his drink, finishing it off, and stood up turning to me. He smirked a confident smile and opened his mouth, singing loudly turning heads in the lobby in our direction, “I hopped off the plane at LAX with the dream in my heart again. Welcome to the land of …something yes…Whoa. Am I gonna fit in? Jump in the cab, here I am for the first time. Look to my right and I see the Hollywood sign. This is all so crazy! Everybody seems so famous! That’s all you get, Elena.”
A few people in the lobby were laughing and a couple started clapping. I was damn near crying from laughing so hard. “Oh my god,” I cried. “You could give Miley a run for her money.”
Anthony remained standing, leaning his arm across the back of my stool, his hand brushing along my bare shoulder. I stopped laughing, getting extremely distracted by the electric shocks he was sending through my body. What was happening to me?
“Alright, Elena,” he said deeply. “Your turn. Truth or dare?”
I couldn’t do a dare right now. I didn’t know him well enough. What if he dared me to kiss him? What if he dared me to do something stupid like I just made him do? I can’t do anything like that at my own movie premiere. “Truth,” I said decisively.
He nodded, and without hesitating asked, “Tell me about your most recent boyfriend and why it ended.”
I raised my eyebrows. Oh boy. This wasn’t a question I even answered to the press. Not even when I was on Kelly fresh after my breakup with Sean. “Wow,” I said, uncertainly. “How do I know you won’t tell anyone? That’s not really something I share…”
He nodded, “That’s the whole point. You’ll just have to trust me.” He cocked his head to the side, his shadowed eyes gazing deep into mine. At that moment, I decided to tell him whatever he wanted to hear. What was the worst that could happen? My secrets appear all over the tabloids? That’s why I have Melanie, the best publicist I’ve ever met in all of Hollywood.
“My most recent boyfriend was Sean Rivera from the first Monument movie. We dated for maybe six months,” I stared down at my hands in my lap. “I don’t know, I guess I was just infatuated with him, his looks. He seemed like he really liked me. Who knows, he probably did at first. But as we spent more time together, I realized he only showed affection when we were in a crowd or at an event. He was using me to help his career. It actually hurt me a lot, so I haven’t dated anyone since.” I looked up into Anthony’s eyes and saw sympathy pooling there.
“Anyways,” I said, trying to clear the air. “I believe that answers your question. Your turn. Truth or dare?”
Anthony looked up at the ceiling as if he was thinking very hard. He ran his hand, the one that was not draped across the back of my chair, through his short hair. "Truth," he decided, looking me straight on. "I'm not sure I trust you now that you've made me embarrass myself in front of everyone. Truth, it is.”
“Ok,” I smiled, leaning back more into his arm. “Same question.”
“What?!” Anthony exclaimed, dropping his jaw. “You can’t do that!”
“Why not?” I asked laughing at his appalled expression.
“Because you can’t,” he said. “Haven’t you ever played this game before?”
I laughed spinning the ice around in my empty glass. “Yes, I have,” I said. “And there are no rules to this game except to tell the truth or do the dare.”
“No,” Anthony said stubbornly, moving intoxicatingly close. “There are always rules, Elena.”
“Just answer the question!” I laughed loudly. “Tell me about your last girlfriend and why did it end?”
Anthony takes a step back, removing his arm from the back of my chair. I missed it instantly. He sat back down on his bar stool and played with the buttons on the cuff of his suit jacket sleeve. “Elena,” he said, “I’ll be honest with you.” My encouraging smile faltered a bit as my anxiety about his answer increased. He sounded so grave, so serious. “I’ve dated only a few women, but never got serious with anyone. I’ve never really felt a strong connection with anyone. I’m not sure…” Anthony cut himself off as Ethan appeared next to us.
A shadow crossed Anthony’s face as we both turned to Ethan. “Elle,” Ethan said, coldly – disapproval evident in his tone. “Alyssa is wanting you to return to your seat.” He flashed his dark green eyes in Anthony’s direction. “It doesn’t look good, you being out here so long.”
I sighed and stood up, knowing he was right. “I know,” I said. I smoothed out my gown. “We just got caught up talking.”
“We can finish this conversation later,” Anthony smiled. I nodded, reaching into my clutch and pulling out a hundred dollar bill. I placed it in the tip jar for Roz and turned to walk back with Ethan, mumbling a goodbye to Anthony. Before slipping back inside the dark theater, I looked back, catching Anthony's eye as he followed several steps behind. With a wink, I turned back towards the theater to return to our seats, wondering what else he would have said during our Truth or Dare game if we hadn't been interrupted.