Damn, this guy was my teenage dream. I had posters of him hanging in my bedroom. I’d go to bed thinking about him and all of the things I wanted him to do to me. I had a million and one fantasies, but now, just thinking about them makes my stomach tighten with disgust.
I finish my drink and place the glass on the counter.
If I’m honest, Tom Benning pales in comparison to the one man who’s been on my mind all night long. Tom can’t even come close to making me feel the way Bruce Lockhart does, with his piercing blue eyes and flashing grin. Even now, when I know Bruce doesn’t want me. Why did things have to end the way they did? I could mope about this forever, but more than anything, I’m a realist. Resolutely, I straighten my shoulders and dive back into the crowd.
18
Bruce
It’s the middle of the night. I’m just lying in bed, watching some rerun of an old World War II movie. Suddenly, my phone starts to buzz.
Jesse’s name flashes across the screen.
Huh? What is he doing calling me so late?
“Hey.”
“Bruce! You’re not going to believe this!” In the background, I can hear loud music that makes it difficult to understand what he’s saying.
“Where are you?”
“Club Echo.”
I roll my eyes. I honestly can’t understand everyone’s fascination with that place. It’s gross and classless. People are like lemmings, streaming to whichever place is deemed “hot” by the beautiful people that month.
“Anyway, listen to me, Bruce.”
“I’m listening,” I say as I get up, head downstairs to the kitchen, and turn on the coffee machine. At this point in my life, coffee does absolutely nothing in terms of keeping me awake; I just enjoy the taste. The stronger the better. It has a way of calming my nerves instead of amping me up, and I have a feeling I’m going to need it. After all, Jesse knows better than to call me at such an obscene hour like this.
“So like I said, I’m at Club Echo, and would you believe who I just saw?”
“Spit it out already,” I snap, starting to lose my patience.
“Okay, okay. Tom Benning. Oh, and just for the record, he’s supposed to give you a call later this week.”
“Is that really why you called me? To give me an update on my meeting with that dirtbag? Jesse–”
“No. No,” he cuts me off. “Get this. There’s a girl with him. Your girl.”
What? I guess I should have expected it. After all, they appear to be dating, at least according to the celebrity news cycle.
“Katie,” I say through my teeth.
“Mm-hm. Katie James,” says Jesse smugly.
Hearing her name makes me see red. “They still there?”
“Oh, yeah, they are. Tom’s making it a night, I can tell. And he’s got that young girl all kinds of drunk. I thought she didn’t drink?” he asks with confusion. “I swear, at that premiere about ten billion waiters came around offering us champagne, but she always turned them down.”
“She doesn’t.” A million thoughts go through my head. Either Katie’s completely changed when it comes to alcohol, or Tom’s forcing her to imbibe. Regardless, I don’t like it. My blood boils. I’ll be damned if he goes home with her tonight.
“Bruce? You still there?”
“I’ve got to go.” I hang up the call, already heading out the door. Luckily, I’m still dressed, so I don’t have to waste a second before getting behind the wheel.
I peel out of the driveway, my teeth clenched in anger. Well, alright, if that’s what she wants, then she can have it. If she wants to get drunk out of her mind and fuck Tom Benning –
I don’t even finish the thought. I can’t because it’s too painful.
You know she didn’t ask for that alcohol, the voice in the back of my mind keeps nagging at me. Deep down, I know it’s telling the truth. There was plenty of booze at my place, but she never asked for a drop. Her mother is or was an alcoholic, and no doubt, Katie has an aversion to it. But I bet the handsome Tom Benning – irresistible movie star as he is – talked her into it.
I reach the club in record time. I toss the keys at the valet and head inside. Immediately, I start searching for my girl. There are so many people. The smell of smoke is thick in the air from those damn fog machines, and it’s incredibly hard to breathe. Whoever thought of this invention was clear out of their mind.
Finally, I find her slumped in a chair. Off to the side, Tom is talking to some other girls, completely ignoring Katie and the state she’s in. The bastard. My anger surges, and I want nothing more than to drive my fist through his pretty little face, but right now, Katie’s safety is much more important to me. Fuck Tom.
