Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 90598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
“Like I said, I’ll deal with that if it comes up, but I doubt it’s going to.”
“You’re acting like you haven’t been in the spotlight for basically your entire life. Where is my realistic friend? I don’t like this optimistic side of you.”
“I’m being realistic. I don’t have to be constantly paranoid that what I do will end up in the papers.”
Mason rolls his eyes. “You do because it does.”
“Can you just drop it?” I ask a little too harshly. “I’m sorry, man, I just don’t want to talk about Candy anymore. Let’s just try and have some fun,” I say.
“Okay, yeah. Candy can’t ruin our night.”
“Good. Now, I think I need another shot or two. What do you say?” I’m still on edge as the alcohol starts to wear off.
Mason grins. “Once again, you’re speaking my language. This round is on me, though.”
He heads off to grab our shots, and I keep my eyes out for Candy. She isn’t with the paparazzi in the corner anymore. I scan the crowd and don’t find her. With a sigh, I finally start to move along to the beat again. Everything is going to be fine. I mean, I have the best girlfriend in the world, and I’m going to start making moves in my career; I can feel it. One kiss from Candy in a crowded club isn’t going to ruin that.
Mason returns with another round of four shots, two for each of us, and two beers.
“To not worrying so much all the time,” I say, holding up a shot glass. We do the shot, both of us cringing from the alcohol. We don’t bother with a toast for the second shot, simply downing the shots as quickly as possible.
“I needed this,” I say. “I’m glad we came out tonight.”
Mason laughs. “Yeah, I am, too. We’ll do it more often.”
“Yes, absolutely.”
The music moves through my body as I sway to every beat. Or maybe it’s the alcohol that has me feeling loose. Either way, I really did need a night like this. It’s nice to unwind. I’ll get back to looking for my next movie or TV show tomorrow. Tonight, I get to enjoy the loud music and the beer Mason brought me with the shots.
The later it gets, the more I think about Leila and how I hate being apart from her. Sure, it’s a good idea to do separate things, but I want to be around her. If anything, Candy’s little stunt made me realize just how much I care about Leila.
We continue to hang out and drink until close to midnight, but I can’t take it anymore.
“I want to go to Leila’s.”
“I was just thinking that I need to get home and see if Malia is there waiting for me. This whole spending time apart thing isn’t for me. Can we do an epic double date next time?”
“Yes, please.”
We close our tabs and finish our last beers before heading out of the club. It takes a while for our rideshares to pick us up since it’s a Friday night in Los Angeles, but finally, our cars arrive, and it’s time to head out.
Mason is going back to his house, but I need to go to Leila’s.
Chapter Thirty-Three - Leila
Malia and I agreed that our next girls’ night would involve some of her other friends, and Malia didn’t disappoint. She invited me out for a spa night tonight, and while I have enjoyed the last week of nonstop Spencer, it’s kind of nice to be seeing people other than him since I don’t get to do that very often. It’s the biggest thing I miss about home. I didn’t think it would be this hard to make friends in Los Angeles, but tonight’s spa treatment hopefully will help change things.
At the very least, I still have Malia.
I walk into the spa and find Malia is already there, flanked by two beautiful women who must be her friends. One has purple hair cropped to just under her ears and bright blue eyes that look at me with kindness, while the other is a brunette like me, except her hair goes all the way down her back, and her brown eyes look at me with aloofness.
“Leila!” Malia says, pulling me in for a hug. “These are my friends Shea and Carly. We’re so excited for tonight!”
I shake hands with the two girls, knowing even without Malia’s introduction which one is which. She’d already told me that Carly is the friendlier of the two, while Shea takes a while to warm up.
I make a mental note to tell Spencer about how I could tell the difference between them so easily. Then, I try to force Spencer out of my mind. The whole point of today is to spend some time apart and thinking about him the whole time will defeat the purpose.