Page 3 of The Starlet

“Nice. It’ll be good to reconnect with him. Anyway, I live here in California now, but I’m from New York originally. I went to school at NYU, where I studied communications and theater.”

She narrows her eyes and tilts her head to the side, examining me. Her perfectly polished finger settles over her pouty lips in thought. Her eyes pop open, then her smile spreads into a toothy grin. She points her finger at me excitedly.

“You played that guy who had the ability to jump through people’s dreams, didn’t you? Noah? FromAltered Reality, right?”

I duck my head, hiding behind my cup, and laugh. “Yeah, that was me.”Oh, God, why did she have to remember that one?

“I know that movie has lousy reviews, but I love it. It’s one of my favorites. Definitely a guilty pleasure movie.” She hums and smiles to herself, her fingers dancing along the lip of her cup.

I zeroed in on her fingers the moment she pointed at me. I can’t help the thoughts that run rampant through my mind. I want to know what such small fingers would feel like on my body. Would they be as soft and gentle as they look, or would she dig her nails in—leave love marks on my skin? She then traces her finger along her lip, drawing attention to her perfect pouty lips.

Fuck me, I need to stop thinking about her like this.

“Actually, I was going to watch it today to relax.” She chuckles and shakes her head, looking up at me again. “That’s lame. I probably shouldn’t be telling you that.”

She’s going to watch me to relax? “Well, thanks. Glad to know there’s at least one person that likes it.” I notice she glances at my left hand, and I splay my fingers, showing her I don’t have a ring.

“Do you have a girlfriend?” she asks.

“No.” My response is clipped, leaving no room for discussion.

I didand she was perfect. I was going to ask Jasmine to be my wife. We both wanted to focus on our careers first though. She was a lawyer in a small firm which worked with low income families. Most of her clients were illegal immigrants that came here hoping for a better life for their families. The majority of her work involved filing paperwork and appearing in court to keep families together. She loved every minute of it.

She had one client that was infatuated with her. He started calling her personal cell at all hours of the day, and even found our home address. She was the sweetest person in the world and didn’t think badly of anyone, so she wouldn’t let me put a restraining order against the guy. She was convinced she could help him—even after I begged her not to. I tried to make her understand that he needed help she couldn’t give him.

In the end, it turns out I was right.

He showed up at her office after she told him there was nothing else she could do to help him, and he shot her in the stomach. She died before the ambulance could even reach her. The police arrested him, and he’s currently serving jail time, but that doesn’t change the fact that he stole her from me.

She speaks again, bringing my attention back. “I didn’t mean to be so forward. Sorry if it offended you,” she says and takes a sip of her coffee.

I shake my head, pushing the memories to the back of my mind. “You didn’t. I don’t have time right now. Too much going on to think about getting serious. How about you? Do you have a boyfriend I need to worry about?”

“Nope. Nothing official anyway. I’ve been hanging with Caleb a lot, and most people assume we’re dating, but that’s not the case.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard rumors of Hollywood’s party boy. Glad he has someone to keep him company.”

Conversation flows freely between the two of us. Each covered topic is met with enthusiasm and interest. I feel as if I could spill my whole life story to this girl and she’d be on pins and needles to hear more. It’s exciting to be around someone so energetic and interested. Most women in Hollywood only want to talk about themselves. She doesn’t though. Every time I ask her a question about herself, she redirects it back to me.

No wonder everyone loves her.

She looks at the time on her phone and sighs. “Listen, I’ve gotta get going. I have a few things on my plate today. Why don’t you give me your number? We can catch a bite to eat tomorrow or sometime this week. I like to get friendly with people I’ll be working closely with.”

She hands her phone to me, and I type my number in. Our fingers brush for the briefest of moments as I hand her phone back. The electricity coursing through me from that incidental touch has me pulling back quickly. I look at her as she types a message.Did she not feel it, too?My phone buzzes in my pocket.

“Now, you’ll have mine.”

I guess I’m alone in this feeling. After saving her contact information, the two of us part ways. I have five missed calls from Sandy, my manager. I call her back, and she answers on the first ring.

“Where the hell have you been?”

“Having coffee with a beautiful woman to celebrate me getting the part of Zach Petrov.” I laugh as she squeals on the other end.

“Get your butt to the office now. Your contract arrived. We need to discuss it and have you sign it.”

“All right. See you soon.”

We hang up, and my phone buzzes with a message from Elena.