I wake, someone shaking my shoulder.
Luke is still sitting beside me, the remote to my TV in his hand.
“You’re on StarLife,” He says, pointing to the TV screen. I sit upright, suddenly feeling awake.
“Melissa Martin. Girlfriend of our very own Luke Green. We’ve gotten some calls from people in her local town who have given us some very interesting tidbits about this mystery girl. The first thing we were told was that she did not enter the drawing herself. Her best friend, Ashley Miller, signed her up for the drawing. She’s a lucky girl to have a friend like that. We also were told that she works at a nice little coffee shop, run by her mother, Always Time for Coffee. Hmmm, coffee sounds good right now. I think I’ll take a trip down to Always Time for Coffee and check it out.”
I gasp, hoping that the woman speaking on screen is kidding. I mean, StarLife is filmed in San Francisco. Would she really come to Los Angeles just for coffee and gossip?
“We should head over to Always Time for Coffee,” Luke mutters, tossing me my jacket.
“Why?” I whine, already pretty much knowing the answer.
“Because she really is on her way to get coffee. She wasn’t kidding.”
Luke and I pull up to Always Time for Coffee and I’m shocked by the number of News-20 and StarLife vehicles parked out front. We push our way past the people huddled outside. I walk in, smelling the sweet smell of coffee. I have never seen my Mom’s shop this crowded. Not ever. Every booth is full. There’s not an extra seat in sight
“There they are!” Mom shouts, looking frazzled and worn out. She sends me an apologetic smile.
Luke tries to block me from the reporters as much as possible, putting his arm around me.
“Don’t want us to see her?” A reporter shouts.
“Luke Green the jealous type?”
“Maybe she’s just a nobody!” Another yells. That one hurts a bit, and I dip my head, hoping to hide my discomfort.
Luke tears away from me, heading to the last reporter who spoke. He rips the man’s mike out of his hands, tossing it to the ground.
“I hope I just heard you wrong,” Luke growls. “You did not just call Mel a nobody.”
Luke’s voice is cold and edgy and I can’t help but think of that date at the restaurant. Well… outing… not technically a date.
“Ah, there’s the Luke Green we know and love,” The reporter we had seen on TV says, taking a sip out of a Styrofoam cup.
“Can’t you leave her out of this?” Luke asks, pointing at me. “It’s not her fault she’s in this mess.”
“We aren’t bringing her into this,” The reporter counters. “You are.”
Luke gulps, wrapping his arms tighter around my shoulders. He can’t really believe it is his fault, can he? The reporters have turned this against him, but it really isn’t his fault.
“You guys can’t help but have a story can you?” I say, my voice barely a whisper.
”What was that?” The reporter asks, her strawberry colored lips curling into a smile. “I couldn’t hear you.”
“I said, you can’t help but have a story,” My voice comes out much clearer this time. “You don’t care how deep you go, or how many people you hurt, as long as it gets people to watch StarLife, you don’t care. That’s horrible. Celebrities are people too, and they deserve the privacy that everyone else gets.”
The reporter looks shocked by my sudden outburst, but she quickly recovers.
“Sweetie, we don’t pry. We don’t hurt people either. We just publish the truth.”
Her words make me sick.
“If that’s what you believe, then you are even worse than I thought,” I spit back.
I turn to leave the shop, Luke following close behind. I hear mom trying to push everyone out the doors, telling them they can’t stay.
“The life you live,” I say. “It must be rough.”
Luke nods, running his hand along his jaw.
“The reporters are usually the least of my concern. Melissa… they won’t go away. They’ll stay with you for at least a couple of years even after this is over.”
I nod, having known that would most likely be the case.
“I just wish I had never brought you into this,” Luke groans.
“I don’t think you mean that,” I say. “I mean I have to be better company than those reporters.”
Luke laughs.
“You are. I just think this would have been so much easier if they hadn’t become involved.”
Luke’s right. It would be easier. But life’s not meant to be easy. Life would be boring if it was easy.
“We should go,” Luke says, grabbing my arm, heading towards his car.
A/N Sorry this is so short! Thoughts on this book so far? Favorite character?
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Celeb Date
RomanceWhat would it be like to win a date with Hollywood's best looking actor? But there's one problem. You don't even like him. All characters are mine. This is just a story I came up with. Enjoy! And tell your friends. As of February 24th 2015- #90 in C...
