Guarded

27

I avoided talking to Harry for all of Friday evening and all of Saturday - but it was only 3 so who knew how many times he would call. Our conversation on Friday must have held him over because he hadn't been sending overly apologetic or sappy messages.

I had showered and was sorting out what to wear and quite honestly freaking out. I felt really guilty and felt like I probably shouldn't be doing this but my mind justified it again with the whole just friends logic.

I finally decided on a pair of white shorts and a long draped orange loose knit sweater. I added some tan sandals and let my hair dry naturally so it was a bit wavy. I kept my make up minimum. As long as I dressed like I was hanging out with a friend, that's all it would be.

And at exactly 6 on the dot, the buzzer for the main gate rang and I looked in the camera to see James. I buzzed him in and opened the front door with him. He greeted me with a sweet smile and a handful of flowers, wrapped artfully with colored string.

“I hope you like daises,” he said.

“They’re lovely! Let me just put them in some water and we can be on the way.” I disappeared into the kitchen and put them in a vase, glancing a little too long at the bouquet of roses from Harry that outshone James’ handful of daisies. Friends didn’t bring friends flowers.

We got into his car and headed into the direction of West LA. “Where are we headed to tonight?” I asked.

“Santa Monica Pier,” he responded. “I thought it would be fun to play some games and go on some rides. You know, just kind of let loose.”

“Sounds wonderful.” I enjoyed the car ride and by the time we arrived, we had established a playful banter and I was happy to finally just be free from all reservations for once. I didn’t have to worry about the paparazzi or what I was wearing. I felt completely carefree. It was nice and long overdue.

We play various games, battling each other on the basketball challenge. I won during the horserace watergun game and he knocked over all the pins at the pitching stand. We rode the roller coaster and the bumper cars and couldn’t between popcorn, cotton candy or pizza so we got all three. The sun had set and I had barely noticed because I was having so much fun. It felt so easy and natural and James didn’t seem fazed if a fan came up to me for a picture. I realized it had been one of the first times in a very long two weeks that I had actually had fun.

We strolled along the beach, listening to the waves crash along the shore, our feet getting kissed by the cool ocean water. We walked forever while James told me about his parent’s divorce after they moved to Los Angeles and how his mom had ended up working so much he had helped raise his little sister. He told me how he always wanted to be a police officer for the simple reason that he would be doing something good. He was so nice and good – it was so refreshing to be with someone who wasn’t caught up in all the drama of Hollywood.

I told him how I had moved to LA with my aunt and got into acting and now here I was. I left everything else kind of vague. I assumed he knew about the kidnapping and Cost’s death but I didn’t mention it. It was too good of a night to put a damper on the evening with the talk of such depressing topics.