“In the meantime, I’ll submit your application today, and I’ll be in contact with your case manager on Tuesday,” Mr. Morris said.
“I signed documents to allow Mr. Morris to act on your behalf with the NCAA,” Dad said.
“Good, just let me know if there are any problems,” I reiterated.
We said our goodbyes.
“Maybe we should have submitted your information freshman year like we were supposed to,” Kendal said.
“It’s probably lucky we didn’t. Back then, I would have messed up and not had Mr. Morris to help me. I’d be looking for an academic scholarship and going to the local JC.”
◊◊◊
Sunglasses money allowed me to upgrade Kendal to first class with Pam and me. I’d have to talk to Caryn about that in the future.
Pam was looking forward to her trip to New York since she’d never been there. While she wasn’t a novice to a big city, since she lived in LA growing up, New York was a completely different story. LA was spread out over a wide area. New York seemed to go straight up, and the concentration of people was greater. What I loved about New York was that you could walk out your front door and get almost anything you wanted in a couple-of-block radius.
“David?”
“Hmm?”
“Is it really okay that I’m coming on this trip? I mean, you’re supposed to work, and I don’t want Adrienne mad that you brought me along,” Pam said.
“Why would Adrienne be mad?” I asked.
She looked out the window, clearly worried. I took her hand and had her look at me.
“Would I ever put you in a situation where you’d feel uncomfortable?” I asked.
She bit her bottom lip.
“No.”
“Remember, Adrienne’s the one who got you all the nice clothes.”
“Yes, but she’s … she’s … Adrienne.”
“I think she knows that,” I said with a smile.
She got quiet for a moment and then gave me a weird look.
“Is it wrong that I think she looks sexy?” she almost whispered.
I had to bite the inside of my mouth to keep from smiling because I could see Pam was worried about this.
“Can I tell you a secret, and you promise not to tell even Tracy?”
She nodded.
“You need to be careful around Adrienne,” I said solemnly.
“Why?”
“She’s into girls. I suspect she’s a lesbian. And I know she’s tried to turn Kara into one as well. I’m worried she might try to convert you this weekend.”
“Really?”
I waggled my eyebrows.
“You just have to promise me something: if she does try to convert you, you have to let me watch.”
Pam thought about it for a moment and then punched me.
“Jerk!”
Kendal, who was sitting across from us, must have heard me because she chuckled. In fact, several other people seemed to be eavesdropping.
“You’re supposed to be nice to me,” Pam pouted.
“I know. I’m sorry,” I said as I leaned over and kissed her forehead.
She grabbed my hand, and we got comfortable for the long flight. I put in my earbuds and was listening to music when Pam squeezed my hand. She leaned close, so I took out my earbuds, and she whispered in my ear.
“I might like it if Adrienne turned me into a lesbian.”
Mr. Happy must have ‘mom ears’ because he stood up. Pam stuck her tongue out at me and returned to reading her book. The problem was all I could do was visualize Pam and Adrienne in bed together. Then Kara and Tyler would join in. What if Hannah Minacci showed up? Fuuuudge … I was hard for the rest of the flight.
◊◊◊
After we made it out of the secure area and headed towards baggage claim, I noticed paparazzi began to show up. I wondered at first who they were looking for, and then one of them spotted me.
My first reaction was to put my arm around Pam and pull her towards me to protect her. She stopped walking when the first one began to take our picture.
“Keep walking,” I told her.
The paparazzi multiplied from one to three to eight in mere moments.
“Kendal!” I called.
“Don’t worry, I got her. I’ll get the luggage and meet you at Adrienne’s,” Kendal said.
“Hey, guys. What’s going on?” I asked, stepping to the far side of the concourse to allow Pam and Kendal the opportunity to get away.
“You’ve been named one of the twelve finalists for the Star Wars Han Solo project.”
“Really? That’s great,” I said as I watched Pam and Kendal disappear into the crowd.
“What do you think your chances are?” another one asked.
“Offhand, I’d say one in twelve.”
“Who was with you?”
“Part of my management team.”
I gave them ten minutes and then told them I had to get going. Of course, the paparazzi had drawn a crowd, and I spent the next fifteen minutes taking pictures with fans and signing stuff. Then Hollywood Central showed up, and I gave them a couple of minutes as I walked through the airport.
I made it to the cabstand and saw several people try to figure out who I was. I flashed some cash and suddenly jumped the line and was gone.
Being at home had left me with a false sense of security. Yes, we had people show up at the house, and random girls hit on me, but I’d forgotten there was a whole industry built around celebrities. My uncle’s warning seemed to be coming true. Now that it had started, there was no putting the genie back into the bottle.
I also wasn’t stupid. Someone had tipped the paparazzi off that I would be on that flight. My immediate thought was Frank, but that didn’t feel right. This seemed more like something Saul would do. If he were worried I might not make the cut, I could see him leaking that I was on the list to force them to add me. Being around Saul and Frank, I’d heard some of their war stories about getting their talent jobs.
“Caryn,” I said after I speed-dialed her number.
“Yes?”
“Why was I ambushed at the airport?” I asked.
“Hang on … what did you just say?”
“We got to New York, and paparazzi were waiting for me,” I said.
“David, they hang out at the airport.”
I took a deep breath.
“No, they were there specifically looking for me. I made the top twelve for the Han Solo movie.”
“I didn’t know that,” she said, and I waited. “Oh.”
“Do you think it was Saul?” I asked.
“Yes. He called and wanted to know when you were getting into New York. He wanted to call you once you landed,” she said.
“Funny, Saul hasn’t called.”
“I’m going to tear his … I mean, have a talk with him.”
“Oh, and Princess … I need security.”
The ‘Princess’ shot was to remind her what a jerk Saul could be. I wanted her in battle mode when she called him.
“I’ll call Tyler and see if they can help with that,” Caryn said.
“Okay. I’d forgotten what it could be like, and with Pam along, I don’t want to take any chances,” I explained.
“Yeah, I hear you. We should have thought of that,” she said.
“I didn’t either, so don’t sweat it. Being at home has spoiled us.”
After I hung up, I received a text from Kendal saying they were at Adrienne’s. I sent her one back that I was hungry. I looked at my watch, and it had set itself to East Coast time. It was nearly eight o’clock. I hoped Adrienne could get us in somewhere last minute. Everyone met me at the front door of her building.
“I hear you got ambushed,” Adrienne said as she stepped forward and hugged me.
Kara and Tyler both hugged me. Adrienne had anticipated that a teenage boy would be hungry and made reservations. We went to a steak house, and I ordered a bottle of red wine. Adrienne gave me a suspicious look because that was how I’d gotten her into bed the last time. Sue me. It was the best sex of my life.