Shutter

Chapter Seven

Elle didn't see Julian for four days. He was out of her life for four days. And to be particularly honest, she actually missed him quite a bit. They didn't even cross paths around Los Angeles, and that was saying something. He was around, she knew that much. He didn't jet-set off to some obscure country with another girl or anything. He was just busy. There were a few casual text conversations, but there was no real talk of getting together to see each other, no talk of continuing what they started.

...

"Elle, you're bringing me shit," Erica, her agent, told her after she handed her some snapshots of Jason Ryan and Cara Young – two up-and-coming actors – having a lunch date together days after he proposed her hand in marriage.

"I've been out. There's just nothing, okay," Elle told her dryly.

"There's always something," she said, giving her a look of bullshit, tossing the photos down in front of Elle.

"Erica, I'm serious right now. This is the shit I am getting because this is the shit that's out there," Elle said, sliding the pictures back across her desk toward her.

"And what about that boyfriend of yours?" Erica pointed out.

"What boyfriend?" She asked, trying to keep her composure as visions of Julian spun around her head. He was not her boyfriend by any means, but Elle knew where Erica was going with the question.

"That abstinence pusher. What's his name – Julian?" She asked, cocking her eyebrow at Elle.

"One; He doesn't do those abstinence PSA's anymore. And Two; He's not my boyfriend. I barely know the guy," Elle told her, hoping the blush in her cheeks wasn't going to give her away too easily.

"You barely know the guy? Okay. Explain to me every piece of footage I've seen of the two of you in the past couple of weeks," Erica scoffed, eyeing her knowingly. Eric knew she had her. Elle knew she had her.

"It's... it's nothing. I mean, god... I don't even know the guy," Elle told her, speaking half-truths.

Elle and Julian knew each other pretty well when it came to sharing orgasms, but there wasn't a whole lot of time they spent getting to know each other personally in the span of their... friendship.

"Lie to me some more," Erica said, pursing her lips together.

"Okay, so... he wanted to like... I don't know. He was trying to pursue me, but I-I turned him down. I-I haven't seen him in a while," Elle told her, her words stammering out of her mouth, because again, she was only speaking half-truths.

"That's perfect!" Erica snapped her finger, having a 'eureka!' moment.

"What?" Elle asked, looking at her almost horrified.

"You date him!" She said wide-eyed.

"What?" Elle asked again, feeling her mouth go dry.

"You date him and you get the story. I mean, you don't really have to date him. Just pretend," Erica suggested.

"No!" Elle challenged. There was no way she was going to get a story from Julian. She would never betray his trust like that.

"Elle, do you see this shit?" Erica asked, tossing the pictures of Jason and Cara at her once again.

"I'm not doing it," Elle said, shaking her head, standing her ground.

"You will do it. You're the photog who blurted out what everyone wanted to know. Is Julian Reed gay? And he responded to you - to you, Elle. He responded to you in more ways than one, honey. The lustful look in that man's eyes when you were talking... mm-hmm. You will do this," Erica told her.