“So the guys are coming tomorrow after lunch. Probably about 1 or so,” Brianna said to me as I walked into our suite at the hotel. I collapsed down on the bed, exhausted from a long day of filming.
“Did Ryan say who was coming?” I asked. I wondered if Corey would be in the group.
“No, just said him and about 10 of the guys,” she replied. I nodded and sat up.
“Okay, we’ll have to make sure to get them on a list to get in. Thankfully it’s an indoor scene tomorrow so we won’t have to worry about them standing outside in the cold to watch.”
“Are you hungry? I can get room service or call for something?” Brianna offered. I thought about it and realized my stomach was empty. I hadn’t eaten in over 12 hours.
“Yes, please. I’ll take anything right about now.”
She flipped open a folder I knew held menus from the area. After perusing through a few she placed a phone call as I changed into sweat pants and a sweatshirt. I walked over to the thermostat and cranked up the heat. Vancouver was freezing compared to Anaheim.
I sat down in the living room of the suite and turned on the TV. There wasn’t much on this late at night, so I stuck in a movie and settled in. Not long after there was a knock on the door and Brianna got up to answer it. She came back in holding Chinese. I smiled.
“You read my mind. I probably shouldn’t be eating this, but too bad. What’d you get me?”
“I got sesame chicken, general tso’s, and shrimp lo mein figuring we could buffet it.” My smile grew.
“You’re my hero,” I joked opening up the containers.
After pigging out on way too much of the food I got into bed knowing I had to be up early the next morning. The alarm went off way too soon and I groaned as I got out of bed. I hopped into the shower quickly and then threw my hair up into a messy bun before making my way back to set. A few hours later I was taking a lunch break before beginning to film another scene.
“Amelia, they’re here!” Brianna called into the trailer. I’d just finished my hair and makeup so I followed her outside. I saw Ryan leading a pack of guys over to me.
“Hey guys! I’m glad you all came!” I told them giving each of them a hug in greeting.
I made my way through the pack until I reached the last guy. I was a little surprised, but smiled when I saw that it was Corey. He smiled back at me as I reached out to hug him like I’d done with everyone else. It was the first time I’d been that close to him since I’d seen him again, and just the smell of him brought back so many memories. He still smelled the same.
“Nice outfit,” he commented looking down at my period piece. The rest of the guys laughed.
“What, not sexy enough?” I joked twirling around for them. He rolled his eyes at me, but laughed.
I brought them all inside and gave them instructions on where they could go and where they couldn’t. I made sure to tell them to turn off their phones and make no noise when the cameras were running or they’d be kicked out and there was nothing I could do about it. They all said they understood and I made my way onto the set.
Corey watched as the director gave Amelia, and her two co-stars instructions for the next scene. He’d seen her act in plays before in high school, but it was nothing like this. He would have honestly thought that they were inside an old cabin if he hadn’t just walked through a warehouse to get here. He was curious to see what she would be like now. When the scene started, he had to admit he was impressed.
“We will not let this farm fail,” she said in a voice that only vaguely sounded like her own.
“You expect me to believe that two women can successfully run a farm of this size?” her male co-star asked. He looked over at her other female co-star who was currently sitting in the background looking worried.
“Why couldn’t two women be successful?” Amelia demanded.
“Because you don’t know what you’re doing!”
“Well, we certainly aren’t going to sell to you!”
“You would if you knew what was best for you.”
“Are you threatening me, sir?”
“It is not a threat, just some friendly advice.”
“We may be neighbors, but we’ll never be friends. I think it’s time for you to leave.” The man let out a growl and stormed out a door and off of set. The other female playing the part of Amelia’s older sister finally stood up and made her way over.
“Do you think it was wise of you to speak to him like that?” she asked Amelia.
“He’s rude and intolerable. How dare he come in here acting like that!” Amelia raged.
“Maybe we should do what he says.”
“And where would we live?”
“We could go back home instead of living out here.”
“We would have to take the train and then there would be no money left to find a place to live when we got there. Be sensible, Mary.”
“But, Sylvia, we can’t do this!”
“Yes, we can. We can do anything we put our minds to. There isn’t going to be a man out here with a nice fortune that you can marry. Honestly, Mary, I think it’s time you grew up!” Amelia said with a huff before storming out of the room and off of set.
“Cut!” the director yelled.
Corey watched them repeat the same scene numerous times with a smile on his face before the director was satisfied with the readings and the camera angles. He realized at some point Brianna had disappeared and he wondered where she had gone. Oh shit, he thought when he saw where she had disappeared to.
I made my way back over to the group and they all began to applaud. I jokingly curtsied for them with a laugh. I noticed Brianna making her way back over to us and my smile faded when I saw who was trailing behind her. This was not good.
“Amelia!” my sister called out rushing over to give me a hug.
“Ticia, what are you doing here? I thought you, mom and dad were coming in for Christmas together in a couple days.” I glanced over her shoulder towards Corey and saw the worry on his face.
“Oh, I know, but they were really getting to me, so I decided to fly out early. Who are all these guys?” she asked noticing the group. Ticia was a notorious flirt.
“These are friends of mine, from Anaheim,” I told her. “Guys, this is my sister Ticia.” I didn’t get a chance to say any more than that before I saw her smile grow.
“Omigod! Corey!” she squealed running over to hug him. “What are you doing here?”
“Meels invited us out,” he explained. I cringed at the use of my nickname. Only he and my immediate family had ever called me that. Seeing Ticia must have brought it out of him. I saw the guys exchanging glances at the scene.
“Meels?” I heard Ebbett whisper to someone else.
“You guys are talking again?! That’s so great! Are you guys back together? I don’t know what happened between the two of you, but you were the most amazing couple. I still can’t believe that after four years together you guys just broke up.”
“Ticia!” I yelled in a panic, suddenly outed. I noticed the guys looking from Corey to me in shock. My eyes locked on Corey’s, and he looked just as worried as I did.
“Amelia is the ex you haven’t been able to get over?” Ryan asked in shock.
“I knew it!” Brianna shouted. I turned to look at her. “I knew there was more to the story than you were telling everyone. I should have figured it out and I can’t believe I didn’t.”
“It’s all starting to make sense,” Chris Kunitz said from behind her.
“What are you talking about?” Corey asked him.
“The arguing you two always did, how much you talked about her, the fact that even when you two were claiming to hate the other you couldn’t stop staring at each other,” he replied. I felt my cheeks turning red.
“Why the hell would you hide that you dated her? I’d be telling everyone I knew!” Bobby Ryan joked. Everyone laughed except Corey and me.
“I wanted people to hate my ex as much as I hated her. I didn’t want people to see that she was successful without me in her life,” he answered sheepishly. I managed a smile at him.
“Can no one say anything until Corey and I have a chance to break it to Jordan and Ileana, please?” I asked. They all agreed and Corey and I exchanged glances of dread.
We quickly changed the topic and the guys stuck around to see one more scene before they had to go. Ryan promised to leave tickets for the next night’s game against the Canucks since I had the night off from filming. Before he left, I apologized to Corey about the whole incident. He just smiled and shrugged before giving me a hug and walking away. I was not looking forward to the possible aftermath of the lie.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Chapter 9
I finished throwing some clothes into my suitcase and zipped it up. I was heading to Vancouver the next day for filming. I was nervous and excited at the same time. I looked over a note I’d written to myself about things to remember to bring and found that I’d checked everything off. Smiling to myself I rolled the suitcase into the living room and placed it by the door next to my other one.
I collapsed down on the couch and flipped on the TV. I absentmindedly scrolled through the channel guide, eventually stopping on TNT for a little Law and Order action. I’d already seen the episode, but that was fine. I wasn’t really concentrating on the TV anyway. Packing always made me tired. The only thing I hated more than packing was unpacking.
I’d gotten all that I needed to do out of the way, and now I just had to wait. Jordan had stayed the night last night, but had to leave early for an interview and I wasn’t seeing him again before I left. He promised to come to the set and visit at some point, but we made no definite plans on when. Brianna would be coming with me, so she was spending the afternoon with Ryan. It was a game day so I figured that meant eating pasta for lunch and then napping for a couple of hours. Then she’d stop by to pick me up. I’d agreed to go to the game with her tonight.
When the Law and Order episode ended I made my way into the shower and began to get ready for the game. For the first time I had no apprehension about going and risking seeing Corey. It was strange to think about the rollercoaster ride that had gone on between us. When we had dated we were inseparable, then I left and there was no contact between us at all. When we ran into each other again it was nothing but anger and pain, and now we were back on good terms. I shook my head as I looked in the mirror.
“When it comes to Corey, you’ve always been a real mess,” I told my reflection.
I finished my makeup and moved on to my hair. When I was satisfied with how I looked I made my way back into the living room and turned the TV back on. It wasn’t long until my doorbell rang. I grabbed my purse and slipped on a pair of heels before answering the door.
“Wow, you look nice,” Brianna commented looking me up and down.
“Why are you surprised?” I asked. She shrugged.
“I’ve never known you to get dressed up like this unless there was a good reason,” she responded. I looked down at my outfit. I was wearing yellow heels, skinny jeans, and a long blue formfitting shirt.
“Am I dressed up?” She laughed.
“Last game we went to, you wore baggy jeans frayed at the bottom, a baggy t-shirt, and sneakers. You looked like you belonged on one of those ‘what was she thinking’ websites. Now you look like a hockey wife, with the makeup and the perfect hair.” I rolled my eyes at her and got into her car.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I told her as she sat down in the driver’s seat.
“Sure you don’t. I saw you and Corey at the party last week. You guys were getting along for the first time. In fact, you were practically attached at the hip. Kind of a weird turn around from the arguments that were occurring every other time you two were in the same place.” I groaned and started playing with my phone, pretending I was looking at something.
“It was no big deal. We both just realized how dumb all the fighting was.” I kept my eyes on my phone.
“If I’d ever known you to lie to someone, I’d call you out on that statement. It looked like the two of you couldn’t keep your eyes off of each other. I’m starting to think there was more to the arguing than the fact that you dumped his best friend.” I shot her a look that told her to drop it.
“There isn’t.” She ignored the look I gave her.
“So you’re not dressing up for Corey because this is the last time you’re going to see him for two months?”
“Of course not!” I yelled at her. Was she crazy? She rolled her eyes at me but stopped talking.
When we arrived at the rink we parked in the player’s parking lot and walked in the back door, flashing our guest passes. We joined the other girls at the seats and fell into conversation with them until the game started. They were playing the Blues.
About halfway through the second a scrum started that turned into a fight. My eyes opened in shock when I saw that it was Corey. He hadn’t fought in juniors. I sat forward in my seat, intently watching. When it was over I noticed that Ileana was talking to Maggie and they didn’t even seem to know that there had been a fight. I turned to look at Brianna and she was shaking her head at me.
“Don’t even start,” I warned her.
“Were you scared for him?” she asked. I narrowed my eyes at her.
“I’ve never seen him fight before. It was just strange to see, that’s all,” I insisted. She gave me a look that told me she didn’t believe me.
The game ended with the Ducks winning 4-2. We waited for the crowd to clear out before making our way to the wives’ room. As we were seated in there I overheard some of the other girls talking about an upcoming road trip and what they were planning on doing during it.
“They’re going to Vancouver soon?” Brianna asked.
“Yeah, they play on the 22nd there,” Erin Morrison responded.
“Hey, maybe I’ll get to see Ryan while I’m there then!” she exclaimed. That got me thinking. We waited for the guys to come in, and Ryan was one of the first.
“I heard you’re going to Vancouver soon,” Brianna said to him. He smiled down at her. God, they were cute.
“Oh, yeah, I guess we are. You want to come to the game?” he asked. I interrupted before she could respond.
“Do you guys have any time off while you’re there?” I asked.
“I’m not sure, I’d have to check the schedule,” he replied.
“Well, if you do, you guys should come to the set and check it out. Brianna will be there obviously, and you could see what goes into making the movie,” I invited. He smiled.
“Yeah, that sounds great. I’ll talk to the guys when it gets closer and let you know.”
Corey walked out of the locker room flexing his hand. He’d landed a punch in the fight that had been murder on his knuckles. He headed for the family room to get Ileana. When he walked in, the first person he saw was Amelia. God, how did she always get his attention like that? She looked over at him and smiled.
“Nice fight,” she said to him. He smiled back, glad to see that they were still on good terms.
“I didn’t know you were coming tonight.” She nodded.
“I’m headed out of town in the morning and thought I’d come to kill some time. I didn’t expect to see you fight.”
“That’s right, you’ve never seen me do that before,” he said with a laugh. She shook her head.
“I was shocked. You did hold your own though. I was pleasantly surprised. I thought for sure you’d get your ass kicked,” she joked.
“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence,” he joked back.
“So, I already told Ryan, but you guys should visit the set of the movie in Vancouver while you’re up there if you have time,” she invited. He was a little surprised.
“Yeah, that would be cool.” He meant it. He’d always been curious about the behind the scenes stuff, and he was even more curious about what Amelia did for work.
“Corey, I’m tired. Can we go?” Ileana whined walking over to him.
“Sure, let’s go,” he told her. She called back a goodbye as she walked out of the room.
“I guess I’ll talk to you later,” Amelia said. He nodded.
“Have a good trip.”
He turned and followed Ileana out the door. She wasn’t even waiting for him, and was almost at the exit to the parking lot. Corey turned back to look through the door into the family room and saw Amelia laughing along with Brianna and Ryan. He squashed down the disappointment he was feeling at having to leave after only a short conversation with her.
I collapsed down on the couch and flipped on the TV. I absentmindedly scrolled through the channel guide, eventually stopping on TNT for a little Law and Order action. I’d already seen the episode, but that was fine. I wasn’t really concentrating on the TV anyway. Packing always made me tired. The only thing I hated more than packing was unpacking.
I’d gotten all that I needed to do out of the way, and now I just had to wait. Jordan had stayed the night last night, but had to leave early for an interview and I wasn’t seeing him again before I left. He promised to come to the set and visit at some point, but we made no definite plans on when. Brianna would be coming with me, so she was spending the afternoon with Ryan. It was a game day so I figured that meant eating pasta for lunch and then napping for a couple of hours. Then she’d stop by to pick me up. I’d agreed to go to the game with her tonight.
When the Law and Order episode ended I made my way into the shower and began to get ready for the game. For the first time I had no apprehension about going and risking seeing Corey. It was strange to think about the rollercoaster ride that had gone on between us. When we had dated we were inseparable, then I left and there was no contact between us at all. When we ran into each other again it was nothing but anger and pain, and now we were back on good terms. I shook my head as I looked in the mirror.
“When it comes to Corey, you’ve always been a real mess,” I told my reflection.
I finished my makeup and moved on to my hair. When I was satisfied with how I looked I made my way back into the living room and turned the TV back on. It wasn’t long until my doorbell rang. I grabbed my purse and slipped on a pair of heels before answering the door.
“Wow, you look nice,” Brianna commented looking me up and down.
“Why are you surprised?” I asked. She shrugged.
“I’ve never known you to get dressed up like this unless there was a good reason,” she responded. I looked down at my outfit. I was wearing yellow heels, skinny jeans, and a long blue formfitting shirt.
“Am I dressed up?” She laughed.
“Last game we went to, you wore baggy jeans frayed at the bottom, a baggy t-shirt, and sneakers. You looked like you belonged on one of those ‘what was she thinking’ websites. Now you look like a hockey wife, with the makeup and the perfect hair.” I rolled my eyes at her and got into her car.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I told her as she sat down in the driver’s seat.
“Sure you don’t. I saw you and Corey at the party last week. You guys were getting along for the first time. In fact, you were practically attached at the hip. Kind of a weird turn around from the arguments that were occurring every other time you two were in the same place.” I groaned and started playing with my phone, pretending I was looking at something.
“It was no big deal. We both just realized how dumb all the fighting was.” I kept my eyes on my phone.
“If I’d ever known you to lie to someone, I’d call you out on that statement. It looked like the two of you couldn’t keep your eyes off of each other. I’m starting to think there was more to the arguing than the fact that you dumped his best friend.” I shot her a look that told her to drop it.
“There isn’t.” She ignored the look I gave her.
“So you’re not dressing up for Corey because this is the last time you’re going to see him for two months?”
“Of course not!” I yelled at her. Was she crazy? She rolled her eyes at me but stopped talking.
When we arrived at the rink we parked in the player’s parking lot and walked in the back door, flashing our guest passes. We joined the other girls at the seats and fell into conversation with them until the game started. They were playing the Blues.
About halfway through the second a scrum started that turned into a fight. My eyes opened in shock when I saw that it was Corey. He hadn’t fought in juniors. I sat forward in my seat, intently watching. When it was over I noticed that Ileana was talking to Maggie and they didn’t even seem to know that there had been a fight. I turned to look at Brianna and she was shaking her head at me.
“Don’t even start,” I warned her.
“Were you scared for him?” she asked. I narrowed my eyes at her.
“I’ve never seen him fight before. It was just strange to see, that’s all,” I insisted. She gave me a look that told me she didn’t believe me.
The game ended with the Ducks winning 4-2. We waited for the crowd to clear out before making our way to the wives’ room. As we were seated in there I overheard some of the other girls talking about an upcoming road trip and what they were planning on doing during it.
“They’re going to Vancouver soon?” Brianna asked.
“Yeah, they play on the 22nd there,” Erin Morrison responded.
“Hey, maybe I’ll get to see Ryan while I’m there then!” she exclaimed. That got me thinking. We waited for the guys to come in, and Ryan was one of the first.
“I heard you’re going to Vancouver soon,” Brianna said to him. He smiled down at her. God, they were cute.
“Oh, yeah, I guess we are. You want to come to the game?” he asked. I interrupted before she could respond.
“Do you guys have any time off while you’re there?” I asked.
“I’m not sure, I’d have to check the schedule,” he replied.
“Well, if you do, you guys should come to the set and check it out. Brianna will be there obviously, and you could see what goes into making the movie,” I invited. He smiled.
“Yeah, that sounds great. I’ll talk to the guys when it gets closer and let you know.”
Corey walked out of the locker room flexing his hand. He’d landed a punch in the fight that had been murder on his knuckles. He headed for the family room to get Ileana. When he walked in, the first person he saw was Amelia. God, how did she always get his attention like that? She looked over at him and smiled.
“Nice fight,” she said to him. He smiled back, glad to see that they were still on good terms.
“I didn’t know you were coming tonight.” She nodded.
“I’m headed out of town in the morning and thought I’d come to kill some time. I didn’t expect to see you fight.”
“That’s right, you’ve never seen me do that before,” he said with a laugh. She shook her head.
“I was shocked. You did hold your own though. I was pleasantly surprised. I thought for sure you’d get your ass kicked,” she joked.
“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence,” he joked back.
“So, I already told Ryan, but you guys should visit the set of the movie in Vancouver while you’re up there if you have time,” she invited. He was a little surprised.
“Yeah, that would be cool.” He meant it. He’d always been curious about the behind the scenes stuff, and he was even more curious about what Amelia did for work.
“Corey, I’m tired. Can we go?” Ileana whined walking over to him.
“Sure, let’s go,” he told her. She called back a goodbye as she walked out of the room.
“I guess I’ll talk to you later,” Amelia said. He nodded.
“Have a good trip.”
He turned and followed Ileana out the door. She wasn’t even waiting for him, and was almost at the exit to the parking lot. Corey turned back to look through the door into the family room and saw Amelia laughing along with Brianna and Ryan. He squashed down the disappointment he was feeling at having to leave after only a short conversation with her.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Chapter 8
“Lia, you need to come,” Brianna begged.
“You’ve been around the girls for a long time now. I don’t need to be a buffer anymore. Just go to the party on your own,” I insisted.
She was trying to convince me to go to another party the team was throwing. After my talk with Ileana I wanted to avoid her and Corey at all costs. I hadn’t quite figured things involving Corey out in my head yet and I wanted to stay away from him as much as possible.
“So you’re going to abandon me?” she asked.
“You’ll be fine,” I assured her.
She hung up the phone a few minutes later in defeat. I walked back into the office for my wardrobe fitting. Filming was going to be starting soon so they had to get wardrobe done and figured out before then. It was kind of fun to wear the clothes from that time period. I couldn’t help but laugh at my reflection more than once. On my way home my phone rang again.
“Hello?” I answered without checking the number.
“Amelia, it’s Caroline Marchant,” the female voice on the other line said. I was caught completely off guard.
“Oh, hi. How are you?”
“I’m great, thanks. Brianna said you weren’t going to come to the party tomorrow night. Are you busy?” she asked. I shook my head knowing Brianna had gone pretty low blow on this one.
“No, not busy. I just didn’t want to intrude at all,” I explained.
“That’s ridiculous. You really should come. It’s at my place, so don’t bother arguing that the host didn’t invite you personally.” I sighed.
“What time should I be there?” I asked, giving in. Caroline gave me the details and I hung up the phone.
“You’re in a good mood,” Corey said to Ileana when he picked her up for dinner that night. She just smiled and shrugged.
“I talked to Amelia.” He hit the brakes harder than he intended to at the red light.
“Why would you talk to Amelia?” he demanded.
“I needed help.”
“You needed help on what?” he asked.
“I needed help with you,” she replied. Okay, now he was dying to hear what advice Amelia had given Ileana about him.
“What have I done?”
“You’ve been an asshole.”
He sighed. This was it. Amelia had said something to Ileana that was breaking them up. He wouldn’t put it past her. She didn’t like Ileana and if she saw that there was trouble, she’d stir it up. She’d wanted Corey to break up with Ileana anyway. This would be her perfect opportunity to ensure that it would happen.
“Ileana, I’m sorry. I’ve told you that.”
“I know. Amelia made me realize that your mood swings weren’t about me. She told me how seriously you take hockey and that it can really affect you. She made me understand that it would end eventually and our relationship would only be stronger because we made it through a rough patch.”
His eyes widened in surprise. Amelia had given Ileana good advice? He hadn’t seen that coming. He was also shocked that Ileana had admitted that something wasn’t about her for once. Of course, he wasn’t about to tell her the mood swings had been about Amelia and not hockey.
“She told you that?” he asked. Ileana nodded.
“Yep, she did. It really helped me a lot. I thought I was on the verge of losing you, but she made me see that I would only lose you if I let it happen. I’m glad I talked to her.”
Corey pulled his car into valet and got out, following Ileana inside. He still couldn’t believe Amelia had given Ileana advice to save their relationship instead of using the opportunity to sabotage it. Maybe he’d been wrong about the kind of person he thought Amelia had turned into. It was still tough for him not to know why she’d disappeared from his life three years ago, but he suddenly didn’t feel any anger towards her anymore.
I grabbed a couple of bottles of wine and headed over to Caroline’s house. I hadn’t told Brianna I’d decided to go, so when she saw me walk through the door she was pleasantly surprised. I gave Caroline the bottles and made my way into the living room where the majority of people were hanging out. I was greeted by everyone and made my way towards the area where the girls were talking.
“Hey, Amelia, I just wanted to thank you for the advice again. I talked to Corey and things are good between us again. Thank you so much,” Ileana said to me as I walked over. Brianna looked up at me in surprise, knowing how much I hated Ileana.
“It really wasn’t a problem. I’m glad I could help.”
I heard someone mention ordering pizza for dinner. I groaned inwardly knowing that pizza was hardly my ideal food to eat in front of a bunch of people. They always made fun of me. At the same time I hadn’t had pizza in months and couldn’t wait to have some. A short while later the pizza was delivered and carried into the kitchen.
“Hey, Amelia, this box is for you!” Ryan called over to me. I walked into the kitchen confused. He handed me a pizza box that had my name scrawled on the top of it.
“Did you have a special request or something?” Erin Morrison asked me, spotting the box.
I shook my head at her as I put the box down to open it. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I looked in. Sitting there was a whole pizza without any cheese with extra sauce and pepperoni, just like I loved it. There were only two people in this house that knew how much I hated cooked cheese, and that I would have had to pick it off of the pizza before I ate it. I also knew I’d been by Brianna’s side all night and she hadn’t had anything to do with the pizza order. I looked up and found Corey standing across the room. I jerked my head towards the box and he smiled and nodded.
“Thank you,” I mouthed over to him. He held up his beer to me.
“You’re welcome,” he mouthed back.
I grabbed a plate and stuck a couple of pieces on it. I walked back into the living room to find a place to sit and eat. I just couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact that Corey had made sure to place a special order just for me. Just days ago he’d hated me. What had changed?
“How’s the pizza?” he asked making his way over to me. The fact that he’d approached me to talk civilly surprised me even more.
“It’s good. Thank you so much for doing this for me. It was really sweet,” I told him.
“I knew you’d be bitter if you had to pick the cheese off of the pizza in front of everyone. You always hated getting made fun of for not liking it. I thought this way you could hide the fact that you’re a freak,” he joked. I laughed.
“I really appreciate that, thanks. I guess it also saves you the embarrassment of having me pick the pepperoni off of your slices because I feel jipped about losing toppings,” I joked back.
We smiled at each other for the first time since we’d run into each other again. We managed to stand next to each other for a good portion of the night talking and joking around with everyone else without a fight. Corey had been my best friend along with being my boyfriend, and I felt some of that connection coming back.
“I should also thank you,” he said to me later when we were separated a little from everyone else.
“Thank me for what?” I asked.
“The advice you gave Ileana. It really means a lot that you didn’t take advantage of that situation. I guess I was wrong about you. I’m really sorry for the things I said,” he apologized. So that’s why we were getting along now.
“I’m sorry too, Cor. I said a lot of things I shouldn’t have. I should just stay out of your business. It’s not my place to interfere anymore.”
We smiled at each other and I felt a mutual understanding pass between us. We weren’t together anymore, and it hadn’t exactly ended well, but we could still be civil. In fact, if this continued I knew that we’d be friends.
“You’ve been around the girls for a long time now. I don’t need to be a buffer anymore. Just go to the party on your own,” I insisted.
She was trying to convince me to go to another party the team was throwing. After my talk with Ileana I wanted to avoid her and Corey at all costs. I hadn’t quite figured things involving Corey out in my head yet and I wanted to stay away from him as much as possible.
“So you’re going to abandon me?” she asked.
“You’ll be fine,” I assured her.
She hung up the phone a few minutes later in defeat. I walked back into the office for my wardrobe fitting. Filming was going to be starting soon so they had to get wardrobe done and figured out before then. It was kind of fun to wear the clothes from that time period. I couldn’t help but laugh at my reflection more than once. On my way home my phone rang again.
“Hello?” I answered without checking the number.
“Amelia, it’s Caroline Marchant,” the female voice on the other line said. I was caught completely off guard.
“Oh, hi. How are you?”
“I’m great, thanks. Brianna said you weren’t going to come to the party tomorrow night. Are you busy?” she asked. I shook my head knowing Brianna had gone pretty low blow on this one.
“No, not busy. I just didn’t want to intrude at all,” I explained.
“That’s ridiculous. You really should come. It’s at my place, so don’t bother arguing that the host didn’t invite you personally.” I sighed.
“What time should I be there?” I asked, giving in. Caroline gave me the details and I hung up the phone.
“You’re in a good mood,” Corey said to Ileana when he picked her up for dinner that night. She just smiled and shrugged.
“I talked to Amelia.” He hit the brakes harder than he intended to at the red light.
“Why would you talk to Amelia?” he demanded.
“I needed help.”
“You needed help on what?” he asked.
“I needed help with you,” she replied. Okay, now he was dying to hear what advice Amelia had given Ileana about him.
“What have I done?”
“You’ve been an asshole.”
He sighed. This was it. Amelia had said something to Ileana that was breaking them up. He wouldn’t put it past her. She didn’t like Ileana and if she saw that there was trouble, she’d stir it up. She’d wanted Corey to break up with Ileana anyway. This would be her perfect opportunity to ensure that it would happen.
“Ileana, I’m sorry. I’ve told you that.”
“I know. Amelia made me realize that your mood swings weren’t about me. She told me how seriously you take hockey and that it can really affect you. She made me understand that it would end eventually and our relationship would only be stronger because we made it through a rough patch.”
His eyes widened in surprise. Amelia had given Ileana good advice? He hadn’t seen that coming. He was also shocked that Ileana had admitted that something wasn’t about her for once. Of course, he wasn’t about to tell her the mood swings had been about Amelia and not hockey.
“She told you that?” he asked. Ileana nodded.
“Yep, she did. It really helped me a lot. I thought I was on the verge of losing you, but she made me see that I would only lose you if I let it happen. I’m glad I talked to her.”
Corey pulled his car into valet and got out, following Ileana inside. He still couldn’t believe Amelia had given Ileana advice to save their relationship instead of using the opportunity to sabotage it. Maybe he’d been wrong about the kind of person he thought Amelia had turned into. It was still tough for him not to know why she’d disappeared from his life three years ago, but he suddenly didn’t feel any anger towards her anymore.
I grabbed a couple of bottles of wine and headed over to Caroline’s house. I hadn’t told Brianna I’d decided to go, so when she saw me walk through the door she was pleasantly surprised. I gave Caroline the bottles and made my way into the living room where the majority of people were hanging out. I was greeted by everyone and made my way towards the area where the girls were talking.
“Hey, Amelia, I just wanted to thank you for the advice again. I talked to Corey and things are good between us again. Thank you so much,” Ileana said to me as I walked over. Brianna looked up at me in surprise, knowing how much I hated Ileana.
“It really wasn’t a problem. I’m glad I could help.”
I heard someone mention ordering pizza for dinner. I groaned inwardly knowing that pizza was hardly my ideal food to eat in front of a bunch of people. They always made fun of me. At the same time I hadn’t had pizza in months and couldn’t wait to have some. A short while later the pizza was delivered and carried into the kitchen.
“Hey, Amelia, this box is for you!” Ryan called over to me. I walked into the kitchen confused. He handed me a pizza box that had my name scrawled on the top of it.
“Did you have a special request or something?” Erin Morrison asked me, spotting the box.
I shook my head at her as I put the box down to open it. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I looked in. Sitting there was a whole pizza without any cheese with extra sauce and pepperoni, just like I loved it. There were only two people in this house that knew how much I hated cooked cheese, and that I would have had to pick it off of the pizza before I ate it. I also knew I’d been by Brianna’s side all night and she hadn’t had anything to do with the pizza order. I looked up and found Corey standing across the room. I jerked my head towards the box and he smiled and nodded.
“Thank you,” I mouthed over to him. He held up his beer to me.
“You’re welcome,” he mouthed back.
I grabbed a plate and stuck a couple of pieces on it. I walked back into the living room to find a place to sit and eat. I just couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact that Corey had made sure to place a special order just for me. Just days ago he’d hated me. What had changed?
“How’s the pizza?” he asked making his way over to me. The fact that he’d approached me to talk civilly surprised me even more.
“It’s good. Thank you so much for doing this for me. It was really sweet,” I told him.
“I knew you’d be bitter if you had to pick the cheese off of the pizza in front of everyone. You always hated getting made fun of for not liking it. I thought this way you could hide the fact that you’re a freak,” he joked. I laughed.
“I really appreciate that, thanks. I guess it also saves you the embarrassment of having me pick the pepperoni off of your slices because I feel jipped about losing toppings,” I joked back.
We smiled at each other for the first time since we’d run into each other again. We managed to stand next to each other for a good portion of the night talking and joking around with everyone else without a fight. Corey had been my best friend along with being my boyfriend, and I felt some of that connection coming back.
“I should also thank you,” he said to me later when we were separated a little from everyone else.
“Thank me for what?” I asked.
“The advice you gave Ileana. It really means a lot that you didn’t take advantage of that situation. I guess I was wrong about you. I’m really sorry for the things I said,” he apologized. So that’s why we were getting along now.
“I’m sorry too, Cor. I said a lot of things I shouldn’t have. I should just stay out of your business. It’s not my place to interfere anymore.”
We smiled at each other and I felt a mutual understanding pass between us. We weren’t together anymore, and it hadn’t exactly ended well, but we could still be civil. In fact, if this continued I knew that we’d be friends.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Chapter 7
I sat reading over the script for my upcoming role. It still didn’t have a title, so I just called it “My Big Break.” I could already tell the movie was going to be unbelievable. If it looked anything like I was picturing in my head it would be anyway. Filming was starting soon and I’d been spending my time learning lines and researching what exactly life had been like back then.
I loved my character, Sylvia. She was the younger sister, but acted like the oldest. She was tough, sarcastic, and didn’t take shit from anyone. This had also kept her from marrying since guys back then didn’t exactly like girls that strong. Sylvia was someone I wished I was more like sometimes. I heard my phone ring and answered it when I saw Brianna’s number.
“Hey, Bri, what’s going on?” I asked.
“Have you seen the tabloids yet?” she asked back. I clenched my jaw, knowing that whatever was going on wouldn’t be good.
“No, I haven’t. What’s wrong?” She hesitated for a moment.
“There are pictures of Jordan in Vegas, with a lot of girls,” she responded. I rolled my eyes and sighed. This was nothing new.
“I’m supposed to be mad because he was around girls?” I questioned.
“No, of course not. You should be mad that there’s one with him and two girls taken through the window of his hotel room,” she replied. I took a deep breath.
“I’ll call you back,” I said and hung up.
I walked over to my computer and did a search. It wasn’t hard to find the pictures. They were basically on the front page of every gossip site. I shook my head and rubbed at the ache that was building in my temples as I scrolled through the pictures from his weekend. Brianna had been right. There were a lot of girls.
I also noticed one girl in particular. She was in almost every picture, including the one of him in his hotel room. It wouldn’t have been too big a deal if the pictures didn’t span all three days he’d been there. Who was she, and why was she with Jordan the entire time? My phone rang again and I saw Jordan’s number on the caller ID.
“What’s up?” I asked, trying to keep my calm as I answered.
“Nothing happened,” he said.
“Jordan, there are two girls in your hotel room.”
“Yeah, well what you can’t see is that there are about 10 other people in the room behind us. I wasn’t alone with them,” he explained. Could I believe him? “I’ll put Pete on the phone to tell you if you don’t believe me.” Pete was his manager and his best friend.
“That’s not necessary. I just don’t understand why you went on a boy’s weekend and spent all your time with girls,” I complained.
“You know some of the guys are single. What am I supposed to do when they invite girls around?” he asked exasperated.
“Hang out with the taken guys,” I retorted. He released a dramatic sigh.
“I’m sorry, Lia. I’m telling you nothing happened. None of those pictures captured anything more than me talking, right?”
He had a point, even if the cameras hadn’t been everywhere. He hadn’t exactly been hiding from the cameras and paparazzi during the trip. If he’d done something, he wouldn’t have allowed everything to be so public.
“It’s fine. I’m not mad. You just need to be more careful. People are going to take things the way they look, Jordan.”
He apologized again before promising to make it up to me. I hung up feeling pretty stupid. This wasn’t the first incident, and I doubted it would be the last. I wasn’t naïve, I didn’t think he was as innocent as he was claiming, but I had no proof. Anyway, what did it matter, he wasn’t my forever guy anyway.
“Honey, I think Jordan cheated on Amelia,” Ileana said to him from the living room as he ate lunch. Corey immediately stopped eating to look up at her.
“What makes you say that?” he asked.
“Come look,” was the reply.
He got up and walked into the living room. She had on some gossip show. He watched the TV as pictures flashed across the screen of Jordan in Vegas with a bunch of girls. He narrowed his eyes at the TV and had to fight the urge to punch something when he saw the picture of Jordan and the two girls in his hotel room. What an asshole.
“How could he do that to her? She’s so sweet and beautiful,” Ileana commented.
Corey didn’t respond. Nothing he had to say right now would hide the fact that Amelia and he had a past. He couldn’t believe she was with someone that could do that to her. He never would have come close to doing something like that. As he thought about murdering Jordan for hurting Amelia like that, he realized their past maybe wasn’t so past after all.
“Well, maybe nothing happened. Maybe she’ll forgive him. He is gorgeous, famous, and rich,” Ileana continued. Corey lost it.
“Is that all that matters to you? Looks, fame, and money?” he snapped. She looked back at him in shock.
“What is wrong with you?” she snapped back.
“There’s more to life than who has the most money. Having money and good looks doesn’t make you a good person,” he shot at her.
“Why do you care so much about what I think of Jordan?” she asked.
“Because it’s what you think of me! You’re with me for the money, Ileana. Don’t deny it.” He’d never actually said those words aloud before. Now that they were out there, he really started to realize how true it was.
“How dare you! There’s more about you than money that I like,” she defended herself.
“Like what?” he challenged.
“Well, it’s certainly not how you’ve been treating me the last month, that’s for sure! I’m getting out of here.”
Ileana snapped up her purse, put on her shoes, and stormed out of his place. He rolled his eyes and walked back into his kitchen to finish lunch. What the hell was he doing with her? Even as he asked himself that, he began to feel bad. He really had been an asshole to Ileana ever since Amelia had come back into his life. He didn’t know what to do.
My phone rang for what seemed like the 100th time that day. I didn’t recognize the number on the caller ID and considered not picking it up. For some reason I just had a feeling that I shouldn’t. I changed my mind when I realized it could be someone from the movie.
“Hello?”
“Amelia? This is Ileana,” I heard a familiar voice say. I smacked myself in the head for going against my gut instinct to ignore the call. How the hell had she gotten my number?
“Hi, Ileana. What’s going on?” I asked politely.
“I was wondering if I could talk to you about something. I don’t know who else to go to.” What the hell was this about? My curiosity got the best of me.
“Yeah, sure. What do you need?”
“Could I come over?”
She sounded upset. I wasn’t sure why I was the one she was turning to, but I felt bad, just for a moment. I gave her directions to my place and she said she’d be over in a little while. I kept an eye out for her. When I saw her get out of her car I pulled open the door.
“What’s wrong?” I asked when she pulled off her sunglasses. She looked like she’d been crying.
“I need some advice about Corey,” she responded. I immediately regretted inviting her over. Curiosity killed the cat, I guess. I led her into my living room and we sat down on the couch.
“What about Corey?”
“Well, you’ve known him for a while. He’s been really moody and angry lately. I don’t know what to do. He’s never been like this before. He says it’s hockey, but he’s said some really hurtful things. How can hockey do this to him?” I sighed knowing it wasn’t hockey that was the cause of the problems.
“He takes his career very seriously. Playing hockey was his dream ever since he was a kid. If he’s not playing well he gets upset. He doesn’t always know how to leave it on the ice,” I told her honestly. At least I didn't have to lie about that part.
“I get that, but I don’t know what to do. Nothing I say or do helps. I just don’t know if I can take it much longer,” she said sadly.
For a moment I wondered if maybe she did actually care about him for more than just his money. I knew that this would be my opportunity to say something that would end the relationship between them, but I couldn’t do it. Even if I thought she was all wrong for him, it wasn’t my place to make that decision for them. Instead I gave her the advice someone had once given to me.
“There’s really not much you can do. He’s not angry at you. That’s the only solace you can take out of all of this. Even so, it’s not easy to deal with. If you’re really that worried about it, you have a decision to make.”
“What’s that?”
“Can you ride it out or do you really want to end it? If you really care about him, you should stay. It’ll end eventually and although it will happen again, you’ll know that you can make it through. If you’re just with him for fun, then end it. It’ll be better for the both of you in the long run.”
She thought about it for a few minutes. While she was silent I had to battle back tears that were threatening. It was that advice that had been given to me right before I packed up and moved to LA. I’d been so sure about my decision back then, but I’d been questioning it lately.
“I really do care about him. I think I love him. Thanks for the advice, Amelia. I feel better. I’ll talk to you soon?”
I just nodded as she got up and left the apartment after giving me a hug. She loved him? I dropped my head into my hands and let the tears come. Today had just really not gone my way.
I loved my character, Sylvia. She was the younger sister, but acted like the oldest. She was tough, sarcastic, and didn’t take shit from anyone. This had also kept her from marrying since guys back then didn’t exactly like girls that strong. Sylvia was someone I wished I was more like sometimes. I heard my phone ring and answered it when I saw Brianna’s number.
“Hey, Bri, what’s going on?” I asked.
“Have you seen the tabloids yet?” she asked back. I clenched my jaw, knowing that whatever was going on wouldn’t be good.
“No, I haven’t. What’s wrong?” She hesitated for a moment.
“There are pictures of Jordan in Vegas, with a lot of girls,” she responded. I rolled my eyes and sighed. This was nothing new.
“I’m supposed to be mad because he was around girls?” I questioned.
“No, of course not. You should be mad that there’s one with him and two girls taken through the window of his hotel room,” she replied. I took a deep breath.
“I’ll call you back,” I said and hung up.
I walked over to my computer and did a search. It wasn’t hard to find the pictures. They were basically on the front page of every gossip site. I shook my head and rubbed at the ache that was building in my temples as I scrolled through the pictures from his weekend. Brianna had been right. There were a lot of girls.
I also noticed one girl in particular. She was in almost every picture, including the one of him in his hotel room. It wouldn’t have been too big a deal if the pictures didn’t span all three days he’d been there. Who was she, and why was she with Jordan the entire time? My phone rang again and I saw Jordan’s number on the caller ID.
“What’s up?” I asked, trying to keep my calm as I answered.
“Nothing happened,” he said.
“Jordan, there are two girls in your hotel room.”
“Yeah, well what you can’t see is that there are about 10 other people in the room behind us. I wasn’t alone with them,” he explained. Could I believe him? “I’ll put Pete on the phone to tell you if you don’t believe me.” Pete was his manager and his best friend.
“That’s not necessary. I just don’t understand why you went on a boy’s weekend and spent all your time with girls,” I complained.
“You know some of the guys are single. What am I supposed to do when they invite girls around?” he asked exasperated.
“Hang out with the taken guys,” I retorted. He released a dramatic sigh.
“I’m sorry, Lia. I’m telling you nothing happened. None of those pictures captured anything more than me talking, right?”
He had a point, even if the cameras hadn’t been everywhere. He hadn’t exactly been hiding from the cameras and paparazzi during the trip. If he’d done something, he wouldn’t have allowed everything to be so public.
“It’s fine. I’m not mad. You just need to be more careful. People are going to take things the way they look, Jordan.”
He apologized again before promising to make it up to me. I hung up feeling pretty stupid. This wasn’t the first incident, and I doubted it would be the last. I wasn’t naïve, I didn’t think he was as innocent as he was claiming, but I had no proof. Anyway, what did it matter, he wasn’t my forever guy anyway.
“Honey, I think Jordan cheated on Amelia,” Ileana said to him from the living room as he ate lunch. Corey immediately stopped eating to look up at her.
“What makes you say that?” he asked.
“Come look,” was the reply.
He got up and walked into the living room. She had on some gossip show. He watched the TV as pictures flashed across the screen of Jordan in Vegas with a bunch of girls. He narrowed his eyes at the TV and had to fight the urge to punch something when he saw the picture of Jordan and the two girls in his hotel room. What an asshole.
“How could he do that to her? She’s so sweet and beautiful,” Ileana commented.
Corey didn’t respond. Nothing he had to say right now would hide the fact that Amelia and he had a past. He couldn’t believe she was with someone that could do that to her. He never would have come close to doing something like that. As he thought about murdering Jordan for hurting Amelia like that, he realized their past maybe wasn’t so past after all.
“Well, maybe nothing happened. Maybe she’ll forgive him. He is gorgeous, famous, and rich,” Ileana continued. Corey lost it.
“Is that all that matters to you? Looks, fame, and money?” he snapped. She looked back at him in shock.
“What is wrong with you?” she snapped back.
“There’s more to life than who has the most money. Having money and good looks doesn’t make you a good person,” he shot at her.
“Why do you care so much about what I think of Jordan?” she asked.
“Because it’s what you think of me! You’re with me for the money, Ileana. Don’t deny it.” He’d never actually said those words aloud before. Now that they were out there, he really started to realize how true it was.
“How dare you! There’s more about you than money that I like,” she defended herself.
“Like what?” he challenged.
“Well, it’s certainly not how you’ve been treating me the last month, that’s for sure! I’m getting out of here.”
Ileana snapped up her purse, put on her shoes, and stormed out of his place. He rolled his eyes and walked back into his kitchen to finish lunch. What the hell was he doing with her? Even as he asked himself that, he began to feel bad. He really had been an asshole to Ileana ever since Amelia had come back into his life. He didn’t know what to do.
My phone rang for what seemed like the 100th time that day. I didn’t recognize the number on the caller ID and considered not picking it up. For some reason I just had a feeling that I shouldn’t. I changed my mind when I realized it could be someone from the movie.
“Hello?”
“Amelia? This is Ileana,” I heard a familiar voice say. I smacked myself in the head for going against my gut instinct to ignore the call. How the hell had she gotten my number?
“Hi, Ileana. What’s going on?” I asked politely.
“I was wondering if I could talk to you about something. I don’t know who else to go to.” What the hell was this about? My curiosity got the best of me.
“Yeah, sure. What do you need?”
“Could I come over?”
She sounded upset. I wasn’t sure why I was the one she was turning to, but I felt bad, just for a moment. I gave her directions to my place and she said she’d be over in a little while. I kept an eye out for her. When I saw her get out of her car I pulled open the door.
“What’s wrong?” I asked when she pulled off her sunglasses. She looked like she’d been crying.
“I need some advice about Corey,” she responded. I immediately regretted inviting her over. Curiosity killed the cat, I guess. I led her into my living room and we sat down on the couch.
“What about Corey?”
“Well, you’ve known him for a while. He’s been really moody and angry lately. I don’t know what to do. He’s never been like this before. He says it’s hockey, but he’s said some really hurtful things. How can hockey do this to him?” I sighed knowing it wasn’t hockey that was the cause of the problems.
“He takes his career very seriously. Playing hockey was his dream ever since he was a kid. If he’s not playing well he gets upset. He doesn’t always know how to leave it on the ice,” I told her honestly. At least I didn't have to lie about that part.
“I get that, but I don’t know what to do. Nothing I say or do helps. I just don’t know if I can take it much longer,” she said sadly.
For a moment I wondered if maybe she did actually care about him for more than just his money. I knew that this would be my opportunity to say something that would end the relationship between them, but I couldn’t do it. Even if I thought she was all wrong for him, it wasn’t my place to make that decision for them. Instead I gave her the advice someone had once given to me.
“There’s really not much you can do. He’s not angry at you. That’s the only solace you can take out of all of this. Even so, it’s not easy to deal with. If you’re really that worried about it, you have a decision to make.”
“What’s that?”
“Can you ride it out or do you really want to end it? If you really care about him, you should stay. It’ll end eventually and although it will happen again, you’ll know that you can make it through. If you’re just with him for fun, then end it. It’ll be better for the both of you in the long run.”
She thought about it for a few minutes. While she was silent I had to battle back tears that were threatening. It was that advice that had been given to me right before I packed up and moved to LA. I’d been so sure about my decision back then, but I’d been questioning it lately.
“I really do care about him. I think I love him. Thanks for the advice, Amelia. I feel better. I’ll talk to you soon?”
I just nodded as she got up and left the apartment after giving me a hug. She loved him? I dropped my head into my hands and let the tears come. Today had just really not gone my way.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Chapter 6
“Dinner tonight?” I heard Jordan’s voice ask over the phone. I smiled. He’d just gotten back from Vegas and I hadn’t seen him yet.
“Dinner sounds great,” I told him.
“Okay, I’ll pick you up at 7.” I hung up the phone, happy that I was going to get to see him. At 7 on the dot, he pulled into my driveway and I got into the car.
Jordan and I walked into the restaurant. We walked up to the hostess stand and they recognized us immediately. Just before we were taken to our seats I felt a blast of air and knew that someone had come in the door behind us.
“Amelia?” I heard someone squeal in delight. I cringed at the voice before turning around.
“Hey, Ileana,” I said. I saw Corey standing next to her doing his best to avoid my eyes. We hadn’t seen each other since the night at his house.
“You guys know each other?” Jordan asked from next to me.
“Yeah, Jordan, this is Ileana and Corey,” I introduced them. Ileana’s smile grew while Corey just looked annoyed as Jordan shook their hands.
“How do you guys know each other?” he asked looking over at me.
“Well, I’ve known Corey for years since high school. He also plays for the Ducks and when I went to a game with Brianna I met Ileana,” I explained.
“You guys should have dinner with us!” Ileana exclaimed. Corey’s head shot up in a panicked look.
“Oh, no, we couldn’t intrude on your night out,” I told her.
“Nonsense. It’s rude to turn down an invitation from friends. We’d be delighted,” Jordan cut in.
He turned to tell the hostess that we were going to need a table for four. She happily obliged. I rolled my eyes as I noticed Jordan checking out her ass as she walked away. When I looked back towards Corey and Ileana I could see Corey giving me one of those I-told-you-so looks. Gee, thanks, Jordan for doing that in front of him, I thought. We were soon seated at a table.
“It’s so funny that we ran into you tonight. Corey and I have never been here before,” Ileana said as we began to look over the menus.
“Well, you’ll definitely enjoy it. It’s one of my favorite places. I’d recommend a dish or two, but you really can’t go wrong with anything,” Jordan told her.
I kept my head buried behind my menu and I noticed Corey was doing the same thing. Ileana and Jordan kept the conversation going until the waitress took our orders. At that point Corey and I had nothing to hide behind.
“So, Amelia, Corey and I just went and saw Stay Classy. It’s not exactly Corey’s type of movie, but I made him take me. I loved it,” Ileana said to me. I smiled politely at her and tried to supress the giggle that was just below the surface when I heard she made Corey go.
“Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed it.” I glanced over at Corey who was focused on his glass of wine, no emotion on his face at all.
“She’s really great, isn’t she?” Jordan asked with a smile on his face. He took my hand in his and kissed it. Corey’s eyes shot up and he looked annoyed when he saw it happen.
The food arrived and conversation halted for a few minutes as we all began to sample our dishes. It didn’t take long for Ileana to start talking again. I noticed that she and Jordan really did all the talking. They were obviously flirting with each other, which was annoying. I threw in comments every once in a while, but Corey had said about two words the entire dinner.
“So, Corey, you’re from London just like Amelia?” Jordan asked him. Corey looked over at him for the first time all night and shook his head.
“No, I’m not. I just played juniors there,” he explained.
“So how did you two meet?” Jordan continued. Corey sighed and I wanted to stab myself in the eye with an ice pick. I’d be very happy if no one ever asked that question ever again.
“I moved there while I was still in school. We ended up going to high school together. She dated my friend Scott,” he finished.
I saw a tiny smile play on the corner of his mouth and I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing when our eyes locked. For just a second, all the anger I’d felt toward him since seeing him again melted. This was a look we’d shared many times before, secretly telling each other how we really felt without divulging it to the people around us. In that second I saw the anger and pain in his eyes fade as well.
Not long after the bill came and Jordan picked up the tab. We all got up from the table and made our way out of the restaurant. We said our goodbyes and I got into Jordan’s car.
“Corey’s not a real talkative guy. He didn’t seem to like me too much,” he commented. I shrugged.
“He never was much of a talker,” I lied.
Corey had been less than thrilled with Ileana when she invited Amelia and her boyfriend to have dinner with them. After the party at his house Amelia was the last person he wanted to spend any time with. Who the hell had she thought she was to judge his relationship with Ileana?
He wasn’t shocked by what she’d told him. Some of the guys on the team and their wives had made it clear they didn’t like Ileana, but it didn’t matter. Corey wasn’t going to marry her, he was just having a good time. It wasn’t like he was the only guy on the team dating someone like her.
He hadn’t even met Amelia’s boyfriend yet before he judged him. He just knew that he didn’t like him based on the shit he’d heard about him. He could care less about celebrity gossip, but Ileana loved it and so it was hard to avoid it all. Jordan was a playboy and he didn’t like that Amelia was with someone like that. She left him and ended up dating that asshole?
As they sat through dinner and he listened to Jordan talk he knew that his instinct had been right on. Before they’d even sat at the table he’d watched Jordan practically eye fuck half of the girls in the restaurant and Amelia seemed oblivious to it all. Then as he listened to the conversation he couldn’t help but feel that Jordan was as fake as they came.
In fact, Corey had the distinct feeling that Jordan had been hitting on Ileana the entire time. They did most of the talking and Jordan’s eyes never left hers unless Amelia spoke up, which she didn’t do very often. Corey had wanted to punch Jordan the entire dinner for both hitting on Ileana and for doing it in front of Amelia.
The only part of the night that didn’t seem like a complete disaster was when Jordan had asked him about how he knew Amelia. He’d mentioned Scott on purpose to see Amelia’s reaction. It was hard not to smile at the look on her face. For just that second he’d forgotten how much she’d hurt him.
“Corey, let’s go to bed,” Ileana called down to him from the bedroom.
He groaned, knowing just what she wanted. He wasn’t exactly in the mood. Even so, he knew better than to turn Ileana down. If he did, she’d throw a fit and he wasn’t in the mood for that either. He turned off the TV and walked into the bedroom. She smiled up at him from the bed and he suddenly wished he’d brought her home to her place before coming back to his for the night.
“Dinner sounds great,” I told him.
“Okay, I’ll pick you up at 7.” I hung up the phone, happy that I was going to get to see him. At 7 on the dot, he pulled into my driveway and I got into the car.
Jordan and I walked into the restaurant. We walked up to the hostess stand and they recognized us immediately. Just before we were taken to our seats I felt a blast of air and knew that someone had come in the door behind us.
“Amelia?” I heard someone squeal in delight. I cringed at the voice before turning around.
“Hey, Ileana,” I said. I saw Corey standing next to her doing his best to avoid my eyes. We hadn’t seen each other since the night at his house.
“You guys know each other?” Jordan asked from next to me.
“Yeah, Jordan, this is Ileana and Corey,” I introduced them. Ileana’s smile grew while Corey just looked annoyed as Jordan shook their hands.
“How do you guys know each other?” he asked looking over at me.
“Well, I’ve known Corey for years since high school. He also plays for the Ducks and when I went to a game with Brianna I met Ileana,” I explained.
“You guys should have dinner with us!” Ileana exclaimed. Corey’s head shot up in a panicked look.
“Oh, no, we couldn’t intrude on your night out,” I told her.
“Nonsense. It’s rude to turn down an invitation from friends. We’d be delighted,” Jordan cut in.
He turned to tell the hostess that we were going to need a table for four. She happily obliged. I rolled my eyes as I noticed Jordan checking out her ass as she walked away. When I looked back towards Corey and Ileana I could see Corey giving me one of those I-told-you-so looks. Gee, thanks, Jordan for doing that in front of him, I thought. We were soon seated at a table.
“It’s so funny that we ran into you tonight. Corey and I have never been here before,” Ileana said as we began to look over the menus.
“Well, you’ll definitely enjoy it. It’s one of my favorite places. I’d recommend a dish or two, but you really can’t go wrong with anything,” Jordan told her.
I kept my head buried behind my menu and I noticed Corey was doing the same thing. Ileana and Jordan kept the conversation going until the waitress took our orders. At that point Corey and I had nothing to hide behind.
“So, Amelia, Corey and I just went and saw Stay Classy. It’s not exactly Corey’s type of movie, but I made him take me. I loved it,” Ileana said to me. I smiled politely at her and tried to supress the giggle that was just below the surface when I heard she made Corey go.
“Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed it.” I glanced over at Corey who was focused on his glass of wine, no emotion on his face at all.
“She’s really great, isn’t she?” Jordan asked with a smile on his face. He took my hand in his and kissed it. Corey’s eyes shot up and he looked annoyed when he saw it happen.
The food arrived and conversation halted for a few minutes as we all began to sample our dishes. It didn’t take long for Ileana to start talking again. I noticed that she and Jordan really did all the talking. They were obviously flirting with each other, which was annoying. I threw in comments every once in a while, but Corey had said about two words the entire dinner.
“So, Corey, you’re from London just like Amelia?” Jordan asked him. Corey looked over at him for the first time all night and shook his head.
“No, I’m not. I just played juniors there,” he explained.
“So how did you two meet?” Jordan continued. Corey sighed and I wanted to stab myself in the eye with an ice pick. I’d be very happy if no one ever asked that question ever again.
“I moved there while I was still in school. We ended up going to high school together. She dated my friend Scott,” he finished.
I saw a tiny smile play on the corner of his mouth and I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing when our eyes locked. For just a second, all the anger I’d felt toward him since seeing him again melted. This was a look we’d shared many times before, secretly telling each other how we really felt without divulging it to the people around us. In that second I saw the anger and pain in his eyes fade as well.
Not long after the bill came and Jordan picked up the tab. We all got up from the table and made our way out of the restaurant. We said our goodbyes and I got into Jordan’s car.
“Corey’s not a real talkative guy. He didn’t seem to like me too much,” he commented. I shrugged.
“He never was much of a talker,” I lied.
Corey had been less than thrilled with Ileana when she invited Amelia and her boyfriend to have dinner with them. After the party at his house Amelia was the last person he wanted to spend any time with. Who the hell had she thought she was to judge his relationship with Ileana?
He wasn’t shocked by what she’d told him. Some of the guys on the team and their wives had made it clear they didn’t like Ileana, but it didn’t matter. Corey wasn’t going to marry her, he was just having a good time. It wasn’t like he was the only guy on the team dating someone like her.
He hadn’t even met Amelia’s boyfriend yet before he judged him. He just knew that he didn’t like him based on the shit he’d heard about him. He could care less about celebrity gossip, but Ileana loved it and so it was hard to avoid it all. Jordan was a playboy and he didn’t like that Amelia was with someone like that. She left him and ended up dating that asshole?
As they sat through dinner and he listened to Jordan talk he knew that his instinct had been right on. Before they’d even sat at the table he’d watched Jordan practically eye fuck half of the girls in the restaurant and Amelia seemed oblivious to it all. Then as he listened to the conversation he couldn’t help but feel that Jordan was as fake as they came.
In fact, Corey had the distinct feeling that Jordan had been hitting on Ileana the entire time. They did most of the talking and Jordan’s eyes never left hers unless Amelia spoke up, which she didn’t do very often. Corey had wanted to punch Jordan the entire dinner for both hitting on Ileana and for doing it in front of Amelia.
The only part of the night that didn’t seem like a complete disaster was when Jordan had asked him about how he knew Amelia. He’d mentioned Scott on purpose to see Amelia’s reaction. It was hard not to smile at the look on her face. For just that second he’d forgotten how much she’d hurt him.
“Corey, let’s go to bed,” Ileana called down to him from the bedroom.
He groaned, knowing just what she wanted. He wasn’t exactly in the mood. Even so, he knew better than to turn Ileana down. If he did, she’d throw a fit and he wasn’t in the mood for that either. He turned off the TV and walked into the bedroom. She smiled up at him from the bed and he suddenly wished he’d brought her home to her place before coming back to his for the night.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Chapter 5
I couldn’t even begin to contain my excitement. My career was about to really take off. I had just been offered, and had accepted, the supporting role in a Nelson Olafson movie. If you had a part in one of his movies, it cemented you in Hollywood. The movie was an epic drama much like Cold Mountain or Australia only this one was about two sisters left to fend for themselves when their parents die just after reaching the western frontier in the 1800’s.
Talk had only started by critics and fans about the movie and I was going to be in it. Okay, I’d been a replacement for the original actress casted who had broken her leg, but to be second choice was good enough for me. Filming was starting in the next month and soon I’d have to fly up to Vancouver to film some of the scenes. I threw my arms around Brianna when she showed up at my front door, squealing in delight.
“God, Lia, I’m so happy for you!” she exclaimed when we finally pulled apart.
“I can’t believe that this is happening!” After gushing for a while Brianna crushed my good mood, which had been happening so often for me lately.
“So there’s like a team party tonight. It was kind of a last minute decision, but I want you to come with me,” she explained. I shook my head.
“No way. I haven’t enjoyed myself a single time when I’ve let you drag me someplace that involved anyone with the team.” She groaned.
“Amelia, loosen up. And don’t give me the ‘I’m not a girlfriend’ bullshit. The girls all like you and they want you there. Just come celebrate the good news with me, your best friend. Jordan’s not around. Who else are you going to celebrate with?” She had a point.
“Fine, but if I don’t enjoy myself, this is the last time you’re suckering me into anything with them. And keep me away from Ileana. She’s obnoxious.” Brianna laughed and hugged me. I knew I was going to regret this decision.
Corey began to get things ready. The team and all the girls were coming over tonight. It was a rare night off with no practice the next day and the guys knew they had to have a party. Corey volunteered to host mostly because it had been a while since he had and he knew it was coming up on his turn.
Ileana showed up before everyone else and began to tell him where to put some things and how to arrange others. She was driving him crazy and he wanted nothing more than to kick her out and not have to deal with her. Unfortunately unless he wanted to break up with her, that wasn’t really an option.
A little while later the party was in full swing. There were people everywhere and some drinking games had begun. Ileana had narrowly escaped being strangled by him when the first guests arrived and she seemed to be having a good time. Not that Corey was surprised. Ileana never wasted an opportunity to drink and party, especially on someone else’s tab. He wondered if she’d ever slow down.
For some reason he felt the need to walk into the living room and check out what was going on in there. He didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary and was about to shrug it off when he saw her. Amelia walked through his front door behind Ryan and Brianna. He rolled his eyes and took a long gulp of his beer. It was just odd how he always knew when Amelia was someplace. He hated that after all these years he still had some weird connection with her like that.
It didn’t take long for Amelia’s eyes to find his. As soon as he realized she saw him, he took another swig of his beer and turned away. He made his way back into the kitchen where he finished the beer that had been full a minute ago and grabbed a new one.
“Amelia! I’m so glad you came!” he heard Ileana squeal.
He cringed at the sound. It really got to him that his girlfriend liked his ex that much. He just wanted to make everyone he could hate Amelia for what she did to him, but without fessing up to her being his ex, he couldn’t do that. Everyone knew how much his ex had hurt him, and the last thing he wanted was for them to know her, like her, and see that she was happy and successful without him. She didn’t exactly seem too excited to announce the relationship to everyone either. As far as he was concerned, it would stay between the two of them.
“Oh, Corey, I completely forgot! Why didn’t you tell me you knew Amelia from London?” Ileana slurred, obviously drunk a little while later. He panicked for just a moment. Had Amelia told people?
“I don’t know. I didn’t think it mattered,” he said cautiously. Ileana didn’t seem upset, so he didn’t want to say anything if he didn’t have to.
“Well, she only dated Scott!” Ileana exclaimed. Corey almost choked on his beer. Scott Sheppard? She hated Scott! He cracked a smile despite himself. Amelia would pull a prank like that.
“Yeah, sorry that I forgot to mention it.”
He noticed Amelia walk into the kitchen with Brianna and grab a drink. She was followed by Andrew Ebbett’s girlfriend Maggie, Bobby Ryan’s girlfriend Jaffa, and Brett Festerling’s girlfriend Carly. He tried not to laugh when he saw her entourage for the night. They were exactly the kind of girls Amelia had hated when she was with him. He figured there was some sort of justice in the fact that they’d pretty much attached themselves to her hip.
I walked into an empty bedroom and shut the door. It had been hell to get away from the group of girls that had suddenly decided they wanted to be my best friend. Every time I had a decent conversation going with one of the wives that I actually liked, Maggie, Jaffa, Carly, or Ileana would find me and interrupt. I was sick of talking about Hollywood couples and the newest celebrity gossip.
I looked around the room I was in. It was neat, but pretty plain. There wasn’t much color at all. I didn’t know whose place I was at, but this guy needed a personality. I looked at my reflection in the mirror and brushed some stray hairs from my face. I had gotten pretty drunk without meaning to. Since I wasn’t a big drinker, it hadn’t taken much. I hadn’t intended on having as much as I did, but being in the same place as Corey was driving me to drink.
“What are you doing in my bedroom?” I heard a voice rasp from behind me. I spun around and saw Corey standing in the doorway. Well, that’s just great.
“Sorry, I didn’t know it was yours. I’ll leave,” I told him making my way towards him and the door. To my surprise he closed the door before I got there.
“Well, maybe I’ll use this opportunity to have a talk with you. Maybe you can explain why you left,” he said. I groaned. I knew right then that this conversation wasn’t going to end until we’d both sufficiently hurt the other.
“It shouldn’t matter anymore. You have Bimbo Barbie now,” I spat at him. He narrowed his eyes at me.
“I don’t know what your problem with Ileana is,” he responded.
“My problem with her is that she’s all wrong for you,” I told him. He laughed.
“This coming from Lady Houdini,” he retorted.
“At least I actually cared about you!” I yelled. He laughed again.
“You sure had a funny way of showing it. And Ileana cares about me.” It was my turn to laugh.
“She cares about your wallet you mean,” I snapped at him.
“Don’t even start, Amelia.”
“I just spent a night with her a week ago. You know what she did the whole time? She bitched about you. She literally spent the entire game talking about how much you piss her off. I even overheard her say that she didn’t know why she was with you. She followed that comment up with one about your money though,” I explained.
“And I’m supposed to believe you? You just don’t want me happy. What did I do to you, Amelia? Did I ruin your life? Was I an asshole? Or maybe it wasn’t about me at all. Maybe you’re just a miserable person that needs to make everyone around them miserable as well.”
“We’re not talking about me right now. I don’t want you miserable. That’s why you need to break up with Ileana!” I yelled at him. I was really trying to protect him. Why wouldn’t he believe me?
“You’re the last person who should be talking about breaking up. I know the stories on your boyfriend. I’ve seen the ones claiming that he has a wandering eye and can’t settle down. I heard your big news about the movie. Where’s your boyfriend? Oh, that’s right. I heard you tell Ileana he was having a boy’s weekend in Vegas. Vegas, Amelia! Open your eyes!”
I glared at Corey, but couldn’t think of anything to say. There was nothing fictitious about what he had said. I’d been warned about Jordan before we’d started dating. I’d heard the stories about how he couldn’t seem to handle being faithful with anyone. I’d ignored them, because I wasn’t exactly looking for Mr. Right at the time. I was just enjoying life. That didn’t change the fact that it hurt that Jordan wasn’t here and that it would hurt if he did cheat. My heart was involved after all.
“I was only trying to warn you. I just wanted to help,” I whispered to Corey.
I averted my eyes from his and walked out of the room, fighting back tears the entire time. When Brianna saw me she grabbed our coats and drove me home. Thankfully she didn’t ask me what was wrong, because I didn’t know what to tell her. I couldn’t figure out if I was mad that Corey had called out my boyfriend or if I was mad that our relationship had turned into this.
Talk had only started by critics and fans about the movie and I was going to be in it. Okay, I’d been a replacement for the original actress casted who had broken her leg, but to be second choice was good enough for me. Filming was starting in the next month and soon I’d have to fly up to Vancouver to film some of the scenes. I threw my arms around Brianna when she showed up at my front door, squealing in delight.
“God, Lia, I’m so happy for you!” she exclaimed when we finally pulled apart.
“I can’t believe that this is happening!” After gushing for a while Brianna crushed my good mood, which had been happening so often for me lately.
“So there’s like a team party tonight. It was kind of a last minute decision, but I want you to come with me,” she explained. I shook my head.
“No way. I haven’t enjoyed myself a single time when I’ve let you drag me someplace that involved anyone with the team.” She groaned.
“Amelia, loosen up. And don’t give me the ‘I’m not a girlfriend’ bullshit. The girls all like you and they want you there. Just come celebrate the good news with me, your best friend. Jordan’s not around. Who else are you going to celebrate with?” She had a point.
“Fine, but if I don’t enjoy myself, this is the last time you’re suckering me into anything with them. And keep me away from Ileana. She’s obnoxious.” Brianna laughed and hugged me. I knew I was going to regret this decision.
Corey began to get things ready. The team and all the girls were coming over tonight. It was a rare night off with no practice the next day and the guys knew they had to have a party. Corey volunteered to host mostly because it had been a while since he had and he knew it was coming up on his turn.
Ileana showed up before everyone else and began to tell him where to put some things and how to arrange others. She was driving him crazy and he wanted nothing more than to kick her out and not have to deal with her. Unfortunately unless he wanted to break up with her, that wasn’t really an option.
A little while later the party was in full swing. There were people everywhere and some drinking games had begun. Ileana had narrowly escaped being strangled by him when the first guests arrived and she seemed to be having a good time. Not that Corey was surprised. Ileana never wasted an opportunity to drink and party, especially on someone else’s tab. He wondered if she’d ever slow down.
For some reason he felt the need to walk into the living room and check out what was going on in there. He didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary and was about to shrug it off when he saw her. Amelia walked through his front door behind Ryan and Brianna. He rolled his eyes and took a long gulp of his beer. It was just odd how he always knew when Amelia was someplace. He hated that after all these years he still had some weird connection with her like that.
It didn’t take long for Amelia’s eyes to find his. As soon as he realized she saw him, he took another swig of his beer and turned away. He made his way back into the kitchen where he finished the beer that had been full a minute ago and grabbed a new one.
“Amelia! I’m so glad you came!” he heard Ileana squeal.
He cringed at the sound. It really got to him that his girlfriend liked his ex that much. He just wanted to make everyone he could hate Amelia for what she did to him, but without fessing up to her being his ex, he couldn’t do that. Everyone knew how much his ex had hurt him, and the last thing he wanted was for them to know her, like her, and see that she was happy and successful without him. She didn’t exactly seem too excited to announce the relationship to everyone either. As far as he was concerned, it would stay between the two of them.
“Oh, Corey, I completely forgot! Why didn’t you tell me you knew Amelia from London?” Ileana slurred, obviously drunk a little while later. He panicked for just a moment. Had Amelia told people?
“I don’t know. I didn’t think it mattered,” he said cautiously. Ileana didn’t seem upset, so he didn’t want to say anything if he didn’t have to.
“Well, she only dated Scott!” Ileana exclaimed. Corey almost choked on his beer. Scott Sheppard? She hated Scott! He cracked a smile despite himself. Amelia would pull a prank like that.
“Yeah, sorry that I forgot to mention it.”
He noticed Amelia walk into the kitchen with Brianna and grab a drink. She was followed by Andrew Ebbett’s girlfriend Maggie, Bobby Ryan’s girlfriend Jaffa, and Brett Festerling’s girlfriend Carly. He tried not to laugh when he saw her entourage for the night. They were exactly the kind of girls Amelia had hated when she was with him. He figured there was some sort of justice in the fact that they’d pretty much attached themselves to her hip.
I walked into an empty bedroom and shut the door. It had been hell to get away from the group of girls that had suddenly decided they wanted to be my best friend. Every time I had a decent conversation going with one of the wives that I actually liked, Maggie, Jaffa, Carly, or Ileana would find me and interrupt. I was sick of talking about Hollywood couples and the newest celebrity gossip.
I looked around the room I was in. It was neat, but pretty plain. There wasn’t much color at all. I didn’t know whose place I was at, but this guy needed a personality. I looked at my reflection in the mirror and brushed some stray hairs from my face. I had gotten pretty drunk without meaning to. Since I wasn’t a big drinker, it hadn’t taken much. I hadn’t intended on having as much as I did, but being in the same place as Corey was driving me to drink.
“What are you doing in my bedroom?” I heard a voice rasp from behind me. I spun around and saw Corey standing in the doorway. Well, that’s just great.
“Sorry, I didn’t know it was yours. I’ll leave,” I told him making my way towards him and the door. To my surprise he closed the door before I got there.
“Well, maybe I’ll use this opportunity to have a talk with you. Maybe you can explain why you left,” he said. I groaned. I knew right then that this conversation wasn’t going to end until we’d both sufficiently hurt the other.
“It shouldn’t matter anymore. You have Bimbo Barbie now,” I spat at him. He narrowed his eyes at me.
“I don’t know what your problem with Ileana is,” he responded.
“My problem with her is that she’s all wrong for you,” I told him. He laughed.
“This coming from Lady Houdini,” he retorted.
“At least I actually cared about you!” I yelled. He laughed again.
“You sure had a funny way of showing it. And Ileana cares about me.” It was my turn to laugh.
“She cares about your wallet you mean,” I snapped at him.
“Don’t even start, Amelia.”
“I just spent a night with her a week ago. You know what she did the whole time? She bitched about you. She literally spent the entire game talking about how much you piss her off. I even overheard her say that she didn’t know why she was with you. She followed that comment up with one about your money though,” I explained.
“And I’m supposed to believe you? You just don’t want me happy. What did I do to you, Amelia? Did I ruin your life? Was I an asshole? Or maybe it wasn’t about me at all. Maybe you’re just a miserable person that needs to make everyone around them miserable as well.”
“We’re not talking about me right now. I don’t want you miserable. That’s why you need to break up with Ileana!” I yelled at him. I was really trying to protect him. Why wouldn’t he believe me?
“You’re the last person who should be talking about breaking up. I know the stories on your boyfriend. I’ve seen the ones claiming that he has a wandering eye and can’t settle down. I heard your big news about the movie. Where’s your boyfriend? Oh, that’s right. I heard you tell Ileana he was having a boy’s weekend in Vegas. Vegas, Amelia! Open your eyes!”
I glared at Corey, but couldn’t think of anything to say. There was nothing fictitious about what he had said. I’d been warned about Jordan before we’d started dating. I’d heard the stories about how he couldn’t seem to handle being faithful with anyone. I’d ignored them, because I wasn’t exactly looking for Mr. Right at the time. I was just enjoying life. That didn’t change the fact that it hurt that Jordan wasn’t here and that it would hurt if he did cheat. My heart was involved after all.
“I was only trying to warn you. I just wanted to help,” I whispered to Corey.
I averted my eyes from his and walked out of the room, fighting back tears the entire time. When Brianna saw me she grabbed our coats and drove me home. Thankfully she didn’t ask me what was wrong, because I didn’t know what to tell her. I couldn’t figure out if I was mad that Corey had called out my boyfriend or if I was mad that our relationship had turned into this.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Chapter 4
I checked out my reflection in the mirror and smiled. I looked flawless. The premier of Stay Classy was tonight and I’d enlisted the help of stylist Rachel Zoe to get me ready. She stood behind me smiling as well.
“You are a miracle worker,” I told her, turning to the side to check out my profile.
“There was no miracle needed here. That dress is amazing on you,” she replied.
Not long after I was being ushered into a limo to make my way to the premier. Jordan stepped out of the limo first and took my hand as I got out. Walking the red carpet for anything was still so strange for me. There were flashes all around, and people were always yelling your name, trying to get an interview. It was overwhelming.
After we’d finally made our way through we walked inside for the movie. It seemed to be pretty well-received, which made me happy. When it had ended, it was time for the after party. I collapsed down on Jordan’s bed hours later after mingling and drinking.
“You were funny in it. I liked it,” Jordan told me, referring to the movie. I smiled up at him from the bed as he changed into pajamas.
“You’re just saying that so you get laid tonight,” I joked. He laughed.
“No, I’m not. I mean it. I am still getting laid though, right?” I rolled my eyes and pulled him down to the bed next to me.
The next day I made my way to the gym despite my small hangover. If I missed a training session, my personal trainer, Macus, would kill me. Two hours later I felt better and made my way home. Just as I walked through the door my phone rang.
“So, how did it go last night?” Brianna asked.
“It went well. I think that people actually enjoyed it,” I told her.
“Good, so you’re in a good mood.” My smile faded.
“What’s going on?” I asked. She hesitated.
“Well, Ryan’s out of town on an east coast swing. The girls are all getting together and they invited me. I was wondering if you’d come with me.”
“Brianna, I am not dating anyone on the team. That kind of excludes me from the wives’ party,” I explained.
“No, it doesn’t. It’s at Maureen Kunitz’s house. She said she wants you to come.”
I argued with Brianna about it for at least 20 minutes, but she wouldn’t budge. Finally I gave in and agreed to go. That Friday I walked into the house behind Brianna carrying a couple of bottles of wine. We were greeted by Maureen and a few of the other wives. They led us into the kitchen where food and drinks were set out. I was shocked by the number of girls there. If I wasn’t mistaken, almost every guy on the team must have had a girlfriend or wife.
“Can I get you something to drink?” Maureen asked us. I spotted Ileana sitting at the end of the island in the kitchen.
“I could use a glass of wine,” I replied. I wasn’t a big drinker, but there was no way I was going to be able to handle Ileana any other way.
When Brianna and I had our drinks in hand we made our way into the living room. Most of the girls were in there and they were all introduced to me. I could tell immediately who was married and who wasn’t just based on the difference in demeanors. Unfortunately for me Brianna joined the group of the younger girlfriends. They may have been closer to our age, but I knew I’d relate better to the wives.
“So what is it like to be a celebrity?” one named Maggie asked me. I felt an immediate dislike to her, even though I couldn’t really explain why.
“It’s really not all that much different from what life was like before. I’m not really recognized all the time, and I try to keep a low profile to keep it that way. I still do the same things I always did. I just have to schedule them around interviews and work.”
“What’s Jordan like?” another named Jaffa asked. I wanted to slam my head off of the wall a few dozen times until I fell unconscious.
“When are you going to bring him around like you promised?” Ileana asked cutting in. She sat down immediately to my right. I clenched my teeth as I smiled at her.
“He’s pretty busy. We’ll have to see when our schedules both work and then we’ll see.”
“He’s so hot. You’re so lucky to be dating him,” a girl named Carly said. Didn’t these girls have boyfriends who were currently playing on the big screen TV in the room?
It didn’t seem to matter that I wasn’t giving long drawn out answers or that I was actually trying to pay attention to the game. The entire first period was spent focused on me and my life. It was awkward to say the least. I was grateful when the period ended and everyone made their way out of the room to refill drinks and get more food. Unfortunately the rest of the night didn’t go a whole lot better.
“Sometimes I just want to be a priority over hockey,” Ileana complained in the middle of a let’s-bash-our-boyfriends session. I wanted to strangle just about everyone involved in the conversation. How did they not see any of the stuff they were complaining about coming?
“I know exactly what you mean. I left home and moved across the country with you. Get out of the rink and come home at a decent time, you know? I’m so bored half the time,” Maggie joined in. Hi, get a job, I thought.
“It’s just always about Corey. We do what he wants to do all the time. ‘We can’t go on a weekend getaway. I have a game and practice.’ I just want a couple of days! Is that too much to ask?” Ileana continued. I could feel my resolve to let them bitch without interrupting starting to fail.
“Seriously, like I want to go to your stupid games all the time,” Jaffa threw in.
“I really should be priority number one in the relationship, not some stupid sport,” Ileana finished. I couldn’t help myself anymore.
“You want the guys to skip practice or games just so you can do something?” I asked. They all turned to look at me like I’d just broken some sort of code.
“Well, not exactly. I just hate having my life dictated by hockey,” Ileana responded.
“You realize that if it wasn’t for hockey, Corey wouldn’t be able to buy you all those things you’ve been talking about all night,” I shot at her. I heard Brianna’s sharp intake of breath at the insult, but Ileana didn’t seem to notice.
“I know, it just sucks. Make time for me when I want it, not when it’s scheduled. You’d understand if you’d ever dated a hockey player,” she commented nonchalantly.
“Amelia has though,” Brianna said.
I squeezed my eyes closed for just a moment. She was just trying to defend me, but it wasn’t helping. I’d basically intended on keeping whatever lie was being told between Corey, Brianna, Ryan, and I. Now I was outed in a way. This lie just grew enormously, and I still wasn’t sure why there was a lie to begin with.
“When did you date a hockey player?” Carly cut in.
“I dated one a few years ago.” I left it at that and hoped the subject would change. Brianna on the other hand didn’t realize I wanted the subject dropped.
“Yeah, he actually played in juniors with Corey.” Everyone’s attention was turned towards me in surprise.
“You knew Corey before this?” Ileana asked suspiciously. I nodded.
“He played junior in my hometown. I dated one of his teammates.”
“Who?” she demanded.
The first person that came to mind was the one guy I had hated the most on the team. Corey had been pretty close with him, but I'd never liked him. I knew Ileana would report back to Corey and I hoped he’d get a chuckle out of it.
“Scott Sheppard,” I replied.
Scott had been second in scoring behind Corey his one year in London and he’d been really cocky. I couldn’t stand his attitude even though he and Corey had been friends, so I’d had a good laugh when he couldn’t even crack an AHL roster the following year when he went pro. As far as I knew, he hadn’t turned out to be much of anything in the hockey world.
“Weren’t Corey and Scott good friends?” Ileana asked. I nodded and shrugged.
“That’s why you and Corey don’t get along,” Brianna said to me. I hadn’t thought about it, but I’d given the perfect cover without meaning to.
“Yep, that’s why. I broke his best friend’s heart.”
“Well, you’ve known Corey then. He’s just impossible. I get so pissed off at him all the time,” Ileana said changing the subject back to herself.
I bit my tongue the rest of the night. Ileana’s complaining didn’t stop until the game was long over. I was convinced that Corey shouldn’t be with her. Even so, I felt a little hypocritical when I criticized Ileana for complaining about Corey putting hockey first. That was exactly why I’d disappeared out of his life.
“You are a miracle worker,” I told her, turning to the side to check out my profile.
“There was no miracle needed here. That dress is amazing on you,” she replied.
Not long after I was being ushered into a limo to make my way to the premier. Jordan stepped out of the limo first and took my hand as I got out. Walking the red carpet for anything was still so strange for me. There were flashes all around, and people were always yelling your name, trying to get an interview. It was overwhelming.
After we’d finally made our way through we walked inside for the movie. It seemed to be pretty well-received, which made me happy. When it had ended, it was time for the after party. I collapsed down on Jordan’s bed hours later after mingling and drinking.
“You were funny in it. I liked it,” Jordan told me, referring to the movie. I smiled up at him from the bed as he changed into pajamas.
“You’re just saying that so you get laid tonight,” I joked. He laughed.
“No, I’m not. I mean it. I am still getting laid though, right?” I rolled my eyes and pulled him down to the bed next to me.
The next day I made my way to the gym despite my small hangover. If I missed a training session, my personal trainer, Macus, would kill me. Two hours later I felt better and made my way home. Just as I walked through the door my phone rang.
“So, how did it go last night?” Brianna asked.
“It went well. I think that people actually enjoyed it,” I told her.
“Good, so you’re in a good mood.” My smile faded.
“What’s going on?” I asked. She hesitated.
“Well, Ryan’s out of town on an east coast swing. The girls are all getting together and they invited me. I was wondering if you’d come with me.”
“Brianna, I am not dating anyone on the team. That kind of excludes me from the wives’ party,” I explained.
“No, it doesn’t. It’s at Maureen Kunitz’s house. She said she wants you to come.”
I argued with Brianna about it for at least 20 minutes, but she wouldn’t budge. Finally I gave in and agreed to go. That Friday I walked into the house behind Brianna carrying a couple of bottles of wine. We were greeted by Maureen and a few of the other wives. They led us into the kitchen where food and drinks were set out. I was shocked by the number of girls there. If I wasn’t mistaken, almost every guy on the team must have had a girlfriend or wife.
“Can I get you something to drink?” Maureen asked us. I spotted Ileana sitting at the end of the island in the kitchen.
“I could use a glass of wine,” I replied. I wasn’t a big drinker, but there was no way I was going to be able to handle Ileana any other way.
When Brianna and I had our drinks in hand we made our way into the living room. Most of the girls were in there and they were all introduced to me. I could tell immediately who was married and who wasn’t just based on the difference in demeanors. Unfortunately for me Brianna joined the group of the younger girlfriends. They may have been closer to our age, but I knew I’d relate better to the wives.
“So what is it like to be a celebrity?” one named Maggie asked me. I felt an immediate dislike to her, even though I couldn’t really explain why.
“It’s really not all that much different from what life was like before. I’m not really recognized all the time, and I try to keep a low profile to keep it that way. I still do the same things I always did. I just have to schedule them around interviews and work.”
“What’s Jordan like?” another named Jaffa asked. I wanted to slam my head off of the wall a few dozen times until I fell unconscious.
“When are you going to bring him around like you promised?” Ileana asked cutting in. She sat down immediately to my right. I clenched my teeth as I smiled at her.
“He’s pretty busy. We’ll have to see when our schedules both work and then we’ll see.”
“He’s so hot. You’re so lucky to be dating him,” a girl named Carly said. Didn’t these girls have boyfriends who were currently playing on the big screen TV in the room?
It didn’t seem to matter that I wasn’t giving long drawn out answers or that I was actually trying to pay attention to the game. The entire first period was spent focused on me and my life. It was awkward to say the least. I was grateful when the period ended and everyone made their way out of the room to refill drinks and get more food. Unfortunately the rest of the night didn’t go a whole lot better.
“Sometimes I just want to be a priority over hockey,” Ileana complained in the middle of a let’s-bash-our-boyfriends session. I wanted to strangle just about everyone involved in the conversation. How did they not see any of the stuff they were complaining about coming?
“I know exactly what you mean. I left home and moved across the country with you. Get out of the rink and come home at a decent time, you know? I’m so bored half the time,” Maggie joined in. Hi, get a job, I thought.
“It’s just always about Corey. We do what he wants to do all the time. ‘We can’t go on a weekend getaway. I have a game and practice.’ I just want a couple of days! Is that too much to ask?” Ileana continued. I could feel my resolve to let them bitch without interrupting starting to fail.
“Seriously, like I want to go to your stupid games all the time,” Jaffa threw in.
“I really should be priority number one in the relationship, not some stupid sport,” Ileana finished. I couldn’t help myself anymore.
“You want the guys to skip practice or games just so you can do something?” I asked. They all turned to look at me like I’d just broken some sort of code.
“Well, not exactly. I just hate having my life dictated by hockey,” Ileana responded.
“You realize that if it wasn’t for hockey, Corey wouldn’t be able to buy you all those things you’ve been talking about all night,” I shot at her. I heard Brianna’s sharp intake of breath at the insult, but Ileana didn’t seem to notice.
“I know, it just sucks. Make time for me when I want it, not when it’s scheduled. You’d understand if you’d ever dated a hockey player,” she commented nonchalantly.
“Amelia has though,” Brianna said.
I squeezed my eyes closed for just a moment. She was just trying to defend me, but it wasn’t helping. I’d basically intended on keeping whatever lie was being told between Corey, Brianna, Ryan, and I. Now I was outed in a way. This lie just grew enormously, and I still wasn’t sure why there was a lie to begin with.
“When did you date a hockey player?” Carly cut in.
“I dated one a few years ago.” I left it at that and hoped the subject would change. Brianna on the other hand didn’t realize I wanted the subject dropped.
“Yeah, he actually played in juniors with Corey.” Everyone’s attention was turned towards me in surprise.
“You knew Corey before this?” Ileana asked suspiciously. I nodded.
“He played junior in my hometown. I dated one of his teammates.”
“Who?” she demanded.
The first person that came to mind was the one guy I had hated the most on the team. Corey had been pretty close with him, but I'd never liked him. I knew Ileana would report back to Corey and I hoped he’d get a chuckle out of it.
“Scott Sheppard,” I replied.
Scott had been second in scoring behind Corey his one year in London and he’d been really cocky. I couldn’t stand his attitude even though he and Corey had been friends, so I’d had a good laugh when he couldn’t even crack an AHL roster the following year when he went pro. As far as I knew, he hadn’t turned out to be much of anything in the hockey world.
“Weren’t Corey and Scott good friends?” Ileana asked. I nodded and shrugged.
“That’s why you and Corey don’t get along,” Brianna said to me. I hadn’t thought about it, but I’d given the perfect cover without meaning to.
“Yep, that’s why. I broke his best friend’s heart.”
“Well, you’ve known Corey then. He’s just impossible. I get so pissed off at him all the time,” Ileana said changing the subject back to herself.
I bit my tongue the rest of the night. Ileana’s complaining didn’t stop until the game was long over. I was convinced that Corey shouldn’t be with her. Even so, I felt a little hypocritical when I criticized Ileana for complaining about Corey putting hockey first. That was exactly why I’d disappeared out of his life.
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