“Do you want to head to your place and order food?” She flags a cab.
“Is Nash in London?” Dinner sounds great, but if her man is still here, forget it.
“He leaves tomorrow.” The yellow taxi slows in front of us.
“No way to dinner. Go home and spend tonight with him.”
“I don’t want you to be alone.” She opens the back passenger door.
“Babe, I was born alone, and I’ll die alone. And that’s okay because I’m in luck, I happen to love my company.”
She wrinkles her brow, not liking my response even though she’s heard it all before.
Nash is her future, her forever, and I couldn’t be happier for them, but what she has isn’t what’s in store for me. I’m not the long-term relationship type. Marriage gives me hives. And kids? Forget about it.
“Come home with me.” She slides in, and I follow. “Join us.”
“Harley, not the threesome. Again.” I’m loud for the benefit of the driver who catches my eye in the rearview mirror. “Honey, I love you, and Nash is sexy, but I’m afraid once he’s had me that would be it for you two.”
She cackles and hugs me. “I love you. And let’s get one thing straight. If you had me, you’re the one who’d be done for!”
2
Eli
As limelight hungry as any groupie
“Bye, Gray. Daisy.” I shift with Crystal, my daughter, in my lap. She waves at the screen, and her blonde strands stick to the well-beyond-five o’clock shadow dotting my jaw. “Bye, bye, Henry.”
“Bye, honey.” Daisy smiles and waves.
Crystal blows a kiss, and my best friend and her godfather, Gray, pretends to catch it through cyberspace. His fingers wrap around nothing, and he brings his hand to his face, smacking his palm on his cheek.
She giggles, and Henry, three years old, in his dad’s lap, sprays a raspberry kiss at us. I flinch despite the barrier of time, distance, and the computer screen keeping us from the shower of his love.
“Bye, CeCe. Love you.” Gray pulls Henry back from slobbering all over the laptop.
Crystal slides off my lap and drops to the floor, picking up where she left off with her drawing before I made the call.
I talk or text with Gray at least once a week, and we try to video conference at least twice a month with our families. It’s hard being on opposite ends of the country, us in New York City and them in Los Angeles, but staying connected is important to us.
“All right, lovebug.” Daisy scoops up Henry and leans closer to the screen. “Bye, Eli. We miss you and Crystal.”
She blows a kiss, and her son tries once more to do the same. His mother scrunches her nose as he spurts her with his saliva, causing Gray and me to chuckle.
“Bye, Daze. And talk soon, buddy.” I wave before turning my attention to my best friend. “I got your wedding invitation. What’s this?” I hold up the three by five creamy, egg carton-textured invitation.
“It’s plantable seed paper. Weren’t the instructions in the envelope?”
I grin, nodding. “Yeah, but I wanted you to explain it. So I use it to plant a tree?”
He glances over his shoulder, checking to make sure Daisy isn’t in earshot. “She wanted to lessen our environmental footprint.”
I chuckle at the ingenuity and Daisy’s good intentions. “Creative. Nice.”
“To make things official because Daze will want to know…we’ll put you down for two or will it be three?” A sly grin creeps along his face.
He’s angling for details about my dating situation under the guise of his wedding and my RSVP.
Not too long ago, I joined an exclusive dating app only available to prominent public figures, the wealthy, famous or otherwise. I’d been asked to participate in the beta testing.
As an ex-rock star and actor, my movements and dating life aren’t simple. If I don’t want to be recognized, I wear a ball cap and sunglasses to go to the nearest bodega. It could be worse, but I’m not your average guy, and fame is a thing.
I simply can’t create a dating profile and start swiping. It would be a disaster and bring out all the crazies. Although, this app hasn’t been much better.
So far, I’ve had very few second dates with any of the women I’ve met through the app. These women are supposedly vetted, since they have similar concerns. Most are public figures or reputable in some way or another. But in my experience, they’re as limelight hungry as any groupie or fan.
They don’t want to talk about me, as a person, or even entertain the idea I have a daughter. Ah, nope. All they care about is my stardom.
I’m lost to thoughts of my disastrous dating, and Gray harshly clears his throat when I take too long to respond.
“You are coming to the wedding, aren’t you, Eli?”
I’m surprised by the question. Everyone we consider family lives in LA. We were last there over Christmas when one of my closest friends, Jared, and his now wife, Eva, got married. That’s when Gray asked me to be his best man.
“Of course I’m coming. I’m the best man. I wouldn’t miss it, but it won’t be for a week as originally planned.” I click the screen of my phone to bring up my calendar. “If we stay on schedule, filming of What Tomorrow Brings should wrap around then, but I’ll need to be back soon. I told Bryce I needed four days for LA no matter what. It’s all I can spare right now.”
“That’s cool.” Relief washes over his face. “Are you still good with us bringing Henry to you the following week? If not—”
They’re honeymooning in the Outer Banks, a string of barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia. It’s where Gray was born and spent some of his childhood.
“Yes. Henry is staying with us. I’ve even arranged things for them. It’s all good. Can’t wait.”
I offered to keep Henry so they could have alone time. Daisy’s sister or one of several other people in LA could watch him, but I want to do this for my friend and for Crystal. She adores Henry.
“Awesome.”
“Well, I better get going. Mia’s going to be here in a few to get Crystal.”
At the mention of my lawyer, one of the best at entertainment law, and also my friend, Gray furrows his blond brow. “Mia? Why?”
“My call time is four in the morning tomorrow, and Janet’s daughter went into labor today, so she’s off for a few days.”
“That’s rough. I don’t know how you do those early mornings. I’d be useless. Tell Janet congrats for me.”
“Yeah, it’s all part of the job.” I rake a hand through my unruly hair. “And I will. Crystal’s excited to see the baby.”
“Yes. Look what I made.” Her feet thump along the wooden floor as she rushes to my side, holding up a piece of paper with a drawing of a teddy bear.
“That’s an amazing bear. The baby will love it.” He proffers a huge grin, and she beams at him with pride.
“All right, it’s time for you to get ready.” I squeeze her shoulder, and she nods, once more waving and trotting off toward her room. “Talk later, G.”