Chapter Five
Astrid
“This dress is too tight,” I complained. “And the skirt is way too short.”
I sat in the passenger seat of Piper's BMW, trying to pull the hem of the skirt down while also trying to pull the top up to cover more of my breasts. She'd brought along a couple of outfits, hair products, and enough makeup to paint up every woman in a brothel.
When she was done, I'd looked at myself in the mirror and felt like the world's biggest fraud. Of course, the phrase that had immediately come to mind was “putting lipstick on a pig.” But I didn't say that in front of Piper – mainly because I didn't want to have to endure another of her self-help pep talks. I loved her to death, but that was definitely something I could have lived without.
“Please,” Piper said. “You look smokin' hot, Astrid.”
Smokin' hot was about the last thing I felt like in that moment. I wasn't stick thin like Piper. I wasn't the typical blonde, blue eyed, Southern California beach bunny that we were famous for. I was short, had full breast and hips, brown eyes, and pale skin. About my best – and only – asset was my long, red hair. Men seemed to like that well enough.
“Do you really think I'd take you out to a posh, trendy place like Heat if you weren't looking tip-top?” Piper asked. “I mean, I do have a reputation to uphold and all.”
She laughed, but I knew there was a little bit of truth behind her words. Not to say that she was shallow, but ever since she started working for a high-profile defense firm, Piper had become a little more image conscious than she used to be.
Not that I blamed her. She was often in the public eye and had to uphold a certain standard. Which meant that if I wanted to hang out with her – at least in public – I too, had to uphold that standard. Which was why I didn't often go out on the town with her. She was a lot better at looking hot and presentable than I was.
I remembered though, our days in college. All those nights spent in sweat pants and t-shirts, eating ice cream in front of the TV or at the coffee house. Unlike Piper, I didn't really know what I wanted to do with my life. She was focused and determined – she was going to be a lawyer. And to her credit, she powered through school and had done just that. And was apparently doing quite well.
I, on the other hand, was more or less directionless. Just sort of ambling by. I'd gotten my degree in Library Sciences and figured that with my love of books, it was just sort of a natural progression. But after a few years of working in a library, I realized that I was bored.
So, I'd used the inheritance my parents had left me to open my bookstore. And I had to admit, though stressful at times, I was enjoying it a lot more. I finally felt like things were right in my life. That the puzzle pieces had finally fallen into place and that I was where I needed to be.
I looked over at Piper and was struck, as always, how beautiful and confident she was. I was about the exact opposite of her, and it made our friendship all the more remarkable to me. We'd been thrown together in a dorm room and were more or less opposites in every way. We had few things in common, but I admired her for her dedication and laser-like focus to her education. In a lot of ways, that part of her rubbed off on me.
What had never rubbed off on me though, was her nature as a social butterfly. She was never short of men chasing after her and there were more than a few times I'd had to pretend to be asleep while she and her flavor of the evening screwed away in our dorm room.
But somehow, despite all our differences, we'd forged an ironclad friendship. We got each other in way nobody else did and we'd found that those differences actually complemented one another.
As we liked to say, she was the peanut butter to my jelly and I was the cheese to her macaroni.
“So, what is this place, anyway?” I asked. “Heat, was it?”
She looked at me like I'd lost my mind. Or was just an uncultured heathen – which, I admittedly was.
“Heat is only the trendiest, hottest spot in town,” she said. “It's where the A-List goes to be seen.”
“Well – is it like a restaurant?” I asked. “A night club?”
“Both,” she said. “It's one of LA's premier restaurants and it also has an accessible nightclub called Fire.”
“Heat and Fire,” I said. “I'm sensing a theme here.”
Piper laughed and shook her head. “We really need to get you out more often,” she said. “Show you that there is more to the world than just – books.”
“Hey, I happen to like my books,” I said. “Books never let me down. Never break my heart. The written word is magic.”
“Okay, that was a really nice way of me saying that I really need to get you laid,” she said. “And laid well.”
I laughed and shook my head. Piper was an uninhibited woman, and although I admired her for it, I knew that it wasn't the way I wanted to be. Or at least, the way I thought I could be. I just wasn't anywhere near as outgoing as she was.
We pulled up to a restaurant that looked – incredible. When I imagined places the LA elite went, this probably covered it. We pulled to the valet stand and our doors were opened for us. A long red carpet led from the curb to the front of the restaurant. Though the lighting outside was dim, there were torches on the columns that lined the walkway to the front door. Dense foliage stood behind the columns, giving it an almost jungle feel to the exterior of the place.
The doors were opened for us and we stepped inside. The interior of the restaurant was somewhat dark and foreboding. I knew they were there because there was an ambient glow about the place, but I didn't see a single light fixture anywhere. Instead, torches hung on all of the walls, there were multiple fire pits inside the restaurant, giving off more light than heat.
Black and a deep shade of red were the dominant colors in the restaurant, and there were several tall glass cases filled with lush, jungle-like foliage scattered throughout the dining area. The interior was a little warmer than I would have liked, but overall, it was pretty pleasant inside.
I had to admit, it was gorgeous. It felt like an edgy, hip, place. And as I scanned the faces of the other patrons – not easy to do with how dim the lighting was, I saw several faces I recognized. Actors. People I'd seen in television shows or movies. I was floored by the Hollywood royalty I saw having dinner.
I pointed to a man in a dark suit. “Is that –?”
“Yes,” Piper said, grabbing my hand and putting it back down at my side. “It is. Don't point and stare.”
I was a little stung by her tone. She'd obviously forgotten that this was her world and I was just passing through it. I didn't operate in this space and wasn't used to the rules and niceties it entailed. But I could understand her not wanting me to embarrass her – or make some celebrity uncomfortable – by freaking out when I saw them.
Still, she could have been a little less sharp and grabby with me.
We were taken to our table and as we wound our way through the dining room, I couldn't help but notice the number of celebrities that were having dinner. Nor could I help but notice that a few of the men in the restaurant were eyeing me up and down as I walked by their table. The scrutiny I was getting made me feel keenly uncomfortable. The shortness of the skirt and the fact that my breasts felt like they were about to explode out of my top only deepened that feeling of discomfort.
This was most definitely not my world.
We were seated at the table and Piper leaned forward conspiratorially, a gleam in her eye. “Did you see how many guys were checking you out when we walked through?”
“I think they were checking you out, Pip.”
She shook her head. “Oh no, I caught two or three looking at your ass,” she grinned. “And one of them just so happened to be somebody I know you had the hots for back in college. Or at least, you said you did after that one movie.”
I giggled and felt my cheeks flaring with heat. “Shut up.”
She shrugged. “It's true,” she said. “I saw it. You could have just about any man in this restaurant take you home tonight.”
“I'm going home with you, Pip.”
She grinned again. “That's fine, but I'm not putting out.”
I reached across the table and smacked her hand playfully. Honestly, it felt good to be with Piper, laughing and having a good time. It was a little bit flattering to think that some of the men in the restaurant had been checking me out.
I'd buried it in a deep, dark place a long time ago, but that want to be desired was still within me. I wanted to feel sexy. Wanted to be somebody's object of longing and lust. I pretended that I didn't and preferred my own company. And for the most part I did. But truth be told, there was a small sliver inside of me that wanted to be wanted. I'd just managed to lie to myself about it for so long that even I believed it.
I looked at the menu and was completely lost. And when I looked at the prices, I thought I was going to throw up. Business at the bookstore was good, but it wasn't that good. Piper snatched my menu out of my hand.
“My treat,” she said. “And worry not, I'll order us something good.”
“My life is in your hands,” I said.
The waitress came by and Piper ordered a bottle of wine and an appetizer with a fancy sounding name I'd never heard of to start. When the waitress came back, she opened a bottle of white wine, let Piper taste it, and when she nodded, poured us both a glass.
“I'll be back in a moment with your appetizer,” she said before turning and disappearing.
I raised my glass and looked at my friend. “Congratulations to you, Pip,” I said. “I'm so proud of you and know that your star is only going to shine brighter. I love you.”
She smiled at me and her eyes shone with tears. It melted my heart because Piper was usually so controlled with her emotions. She held herself tightly in check and rarely cried. Frankly, I couldn't think of the last time I'd seen her in tears.
She clinked her glass against mine. “I love you too, Astrid,” she said. “I've never had a better friend and I never will. And I just love you so damn much.”
The waitress returned and set a plate down that had some sort of food concoction sitting in the middle of it. The only thing recognizable to me though, were the shrimp.
“Let's dig in,” Piper said.
I was a little hesitant about trying it – I tended to stick with things I liked and knew were good. Change had never been my friend. But when I did, my mouth exploded with flavor. I chewed and felt my eyes roll back into my head as I savored it. It truly was one of the best things I'd ever tasted before in my life. It might have even been close to Pete's sub in terms of sheer gastrointestinal bliss.
“Good, right?” Piper asked.
“Amazing,” I replied. “Just amazing.”
The waitress came back again and Piper gave her our dinner orders. When she left, we continued digging into the appetizer. After a while, we got so deep into our conversation that I forgot completely about how self-conscious I felt in that dress. It was great catching up with her. Given how much she worked – as well as my penchant for avoiding human contact – I didn't get to spend a lot of time with her. So, some real quality time with her filled up places in my heart I'd forgotten even existed.
I loved Piper and knew that when she pushed me to do things like this, to step outside my comfort zone, it was because she loved me and because she wanted to see me happy.
I didn't even know how long we'd been sitting there talking, but when I looked up, our dinner plates were being cleared and our bottle of wine had been drained. I was feeling a little flushed – wine did that to me – but thankfully, not lightheaded or tipsy.
I was sad though, that our meal was coming to an end because I wasn't sure when I would get to see her again, let alone spend a good few hours with her – especially now that she was going to be made junior partner in her firm.
“So, don't look or anything,” she said. “But, there's this guy who's been eyeballing you really hard for the last ten minutes or so.”
I had to physically restrain myself from looking all around to see who she was talking about. It was a natural reaction when somebody told you not to look – you looked! But trying to avoid embarrassing her, I managed to play it cool.
“Who is it?” I asked, flashing her a grin. “You recognize him? Is he a movie star?”
“He could be,” she said. “The guy is hot and looks like he has an amazing body.”
“How do you know he's not staring at you?”
She gave me a smile. “Hon, I know when somebody's staring at me. I've been at this game long enough,” she said. “And he is most definitely scopin' you out.”
“What does he look like?”
“Tall. Short dark hair, dreamy black eyes,” she said. “Great body. Built like a linebacker. Very fashionable. Probably filthy rich. Very likely, amazing in bed.”
“What's a linebacker?”
She cocked her head at me and laughed. “That kind of description and that's what you come back with? That's the takeaway there?”
“I like words,” I replied, grinning. “I like learning new ones.”
“It's a football player. I think he's the throwy ball guy or something, I don't know. I'm not a football person,” she said. “My point though, is the guy is fit and rocked up – and he looks like he wants to have you for dessert.”
“Can I look?” I asked.
“Over your right shoulder,” she said. “Just a casual glance, though. Don't look too needy or too crazy. Just try to give him your best look of indifference.”
“Why would I do that?”
“That's how you play the game, hon,” she said.
I laughed and shook my head. A look of indifference wouldn't be too difficult. Most people saw me as cold, aloof, and indifferent anyway. I cleared my throat and rolled my shoulders, dramatically loosening up and making Piper laugh – which was the point.
I turned my head and looked behind me. Standing at the bar holding a tumbler of something was a man that looked exactly like how Piper had described him – and yet, he was so much more than that. He was a beautiful man. A really, really beautiful man. And as I looked at him – and he looked straight back at me – I felt my heart start to race and my stomach begin to lurch. He raised his glass to me and tipped me a wink, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
I quickly turned back around and stared at Piper wide-eyed. “Oh, my God,” I said. “He's gorgeous. And he was totally staring at me.”
“I told you,” she said. “I totally think you should go over there and talk to him.”
“I can't,” I said. “There's no way I could ever do something so – bold.”
“We need to break you out of your shell, missy,” she said. “Why not start here?”
“So not ready,” I said. “I'm a shut-in, remember?”
Her eyes lit up and her smile widened. Something was happening behind me and I was afraid to turn around to see what it was.
“Never mind about going over there to talk to him,” she said.
“Good,” I let out a long breath.
“He's coming over here,” she replied.
I felt my stomach drop into my shoes. “What? Are you serious?”
“Oh yeah,” she said. “This is going to be magical.”
My skin suddenly felt clammy, my stomach was in knots, and I wasn't sure if I was going to throw up or not. Yeah, this was going to be magical alright.