Felix shut his mouth, a rueful grin tugging the corner of his mouth. Okay. You win, Bender. Gossip it is.
Thanks. Oh, but I will take you up on that raise, I added.
Again the slight wince, but he covered it well. Done. And in celebration of my star gossip columnist not only still being alive, but also getting us a story that’s sure to boost circulation by at last 20 percent, I’m taking you to lunch.
Wow. Felix offering to shell out cash twice in a row? Had Hell frozen over? Seriously? As in, you’re buying?
He nodded. Absolutely. Then he crossed the newsroom, grabbed the Swear Pig from my desk, and turned it upside down, dumping a pile of quarters onto his desk. There’s got to be at least twenty bucks here. Where do you want to go?
I couldn’t help but laugh. Tell you what, I have somewhere to be today. How about a rain check? Cool? I asked.
Felix shrugged. Suit yourself.
I turned to go.
Hey, Bender? Felix called.
I spun around. Yeah?
Nice work.
I grinned. Thanks, boss. And he’d better believe that I was going to cash in on that free lunch that I’d paid for.
But not today.
Today, I had other plans.
Griffith Park covers more than ten square miles at the east end of the Santa Monica Mountains. One of the largest parks in North America, it’s home to such attractions as the Los Angeles Zoo, the Griffith Observatory and Planetarium, and the famed Hollywood sign.
The merry-go-round was located near the Los Feliz entrance, close to the zoo. I found it easily by following the squeals and shouts of happy children carrying over the vast expanse of lawn. I walked around the perimeter, finding an empty bench on the south side, and sat down.
I jangled my knees up and down. I tapped my fingers on the armrest. I whistled off key along with the organ music being pumped in time with the twirling horses.
I looked down at my watch. 12:01. He was late. Okay, one minute late. Which was hardly anything. I decided to cut him some slack and waited.
I blew out a big breath, trying to calm my tightly wound nerves. I tried to tell myself this was nothing, that it would more than likely be a singularly awkward encounter, and we’d both be relieved to go home and forget about each other.
But I knew that was bullshit.
Black had become my best friend. My confidant. As screwed up as my feelings toward Cal were, they were just as screwy toward Black. I mean, how could you fall for someone inside a computer? You couldn’t. No more than you could fall for someone who was just doing his job, just looking out for you because he was being paid to, and then walked away as easily as anything when it was all over?
You couldn’t.
And I wasn’t.
I looked down at my watch. Black was still late.
I watched a kid fight with his sister over who got the gray mare. A couple of teenagers tried to share a horse, the girl falling off the back halfway through the ride, laughing. A guy selling ice cream from a little cart walked by, ringing a bell.
Twelve ten. Still no Black.
Well, hell. I’d been stood up.
Stood up by an internet loser.
Fabulous.
I was just about to take the walk of shame back to the parking lot and call a cab home when I felt a shadow fall over me from behind. I paused, something akin to hope fluttering in my belly.
Knock, knock.
My breath caught in my throat. Black.
My body suddenly froze, afraid to turn around and see the man attached to that voice. Instead, I made my own shaky voice answer, Who’s there?
Dewey.
Dewey who?
Dewey get to meet now?
Involuntarily, I let out a laugh, some of my built up tension escaping with it. I stood up and turned around to face him, hardly believing what my eyes were telling me.
And yet there he was. Finally real. So very real.
Hi, Cal said.
Hi. I shook my head, my brain not understanding what my heart was already singing at the top of its lungs. You’re ManInBlack72? I asked.
He nodded. Slowly.
But how?
He took a deep breath. Shifted from one foot to the other. God, was he actually nervous?
After we started chatting, I knew I wanted to meet you, but that you’d never agree. I knew from your profile that you worked at the Informer, so I went down to their offices to see you in person. I pretended I was there to see if they needed extra security in the building. Unfortunately, you were out, but Felix took my card. A few weeks later, he called me when you started getting threats.
So, you knew who I was all along? I asked.
He grinned. I’d be pretty crappy at my job if I couldn’t figure that out.
And, it was you I was typing with all this time?
Again, he slowly nodded his head. Disappointed? he asked, his voice low and gruff, as if the answer really meant something to him.
I bit my lip. And shook my head. No, I managed to get out, before my throat clogged with emotion. I would have been disappointed if it had been anyone else.
Cal’s face broke into a grin, his eyes lighting up in a way that lit my insides right along with them. He stepped around the bench, and I flung myself at him, wrapping both arms and legs around his middle as he lifted me off the ground.
I’m sorry, I said. About last night. I never meant to-
But he didn’t let me finish. Shut up, Bender, he whispered, then silenced me as his lips covered mine.
And then he kissed me. Long and hard and so all consuming that we were completely oblivious to everything around us until one of the teenagers on the carousel shouted at us to get a room.
I just have one question, I said when we finally came up for air. That night, with the margaritas. Did I…did we…I mean, I know I woke up in your bed, but did we… I trailed off, hoping he got my point.
He did, a devilish grin spread across his face. He delayed his answer just long enough to make me worry before saying, No. But that’s something I plan on remedying in the very near future.
I couldn’t keep back the ear-to-ear grin I felt spreading across my face. Coy I was not, and this was one time he was getting no argument from me.
Well, come on, Cal, I said with a wink, grabbing him by the hand and leading him back toward his Hummer. Let’s go get a room.
Epilogue
HOT HOLLYWOOD HEADLINES
JENNIFER WOOD’S TWEEN SHOW CO-STAR, LANI CLINE, APPEARED IN COURT FOR THE FIRST TIME TODAY, PLEADING NOT GUILTY BY REASON OF MENTAL DEFECT OR DISEASE TO SECOND-DEGREE MURDER AND KIDNAPPING. THE ACTRESS IS CLAIMING THAT YEARS OF LISTENING TO THE PERKY PIPPI MISSISSIPPI ARE ENOUGH TO MAKE ANYONE SNAP. THE TRIAL IS SCHEDULED TO BEGIN EARLY NEXT MONTH AND, DESPITE REPEATED REQUESTS FROM MS. CLINE, THE JUDGE HAS RULED THAT NO CAMERAS WILL BE ALLOWED IN THE COURTROOM. IT LOOKS LIKE HER PERFORMANCE OF A LIFETIME WILL GO UNTELEVISED AFTER ALL.
GOLDEN GLOBE WINNER KATIE BRIGGS WAS SEEN LAST NIGHT AT MR. CHOW’S WITH A NEW MAN ON HER ARM. WHEN ASKED WHO THE TALL, DARK, AND CLASSICALLY HANDSOME STRANGER WAS, KATIE RESPONDED THAT HE WAS AN ACCOUNTANT SHE’D RECENTLY MET ON MATCH.COM. RUMORS ARE THAT KATIE JUST BOUGHT A NEW HOME IN BEVERLY HILLS (COMPLETE WITH A STATE-OF-THE-ART SECURITY SYSTEM) AND IS MOVING THE NEW MAN IN ASAP. CAN A BABY BUMP BE FAR BEHIND FOR OUR FAVORITE DRAMA QUEEN?
EDWARD PINES, MOST NOTED FOR HIS BLOCK-BUSTER FILMS, WAS FOUND GUILTY IN AN L.A. COUNTY COURTROOM THIS WEEK OF POSSESSING PORNOGRAPHIC MATERIALS DEPICTING MINORS. HE’LL BE OFFICIALLY SENTENCED NEXT WEEK, BUT SUNSET STUDIOS HAS ALREADY PULLED ALL BACKING FROM HIS LATEST PROJECT. APPARENTLY, PINES’S CAREER HAS ALREADY RECEIVED A DEATH SENTENCE.
ANGSTY ROCKER BLAIN HALL CHECKED OUT OF THE SUNSET SHORES REHAB CLINIC YESTERDAY, SAYING HE WAS CURED OF HIS ADDICTION FOR GOOD. WHEN ASKED WHAT HIS PLANS ARE NOW, BLAIN SAID HE’S EAGER TO GET BACK IN THE STUDIO AND RECORD THE SONG HE WROTE IN REHAB TITLED, “I WAS A LONELY DRUID IN A WORLD OF SHAMAN TROLLS.” HE SAID HE’S DEDICATING THE SONG TO HIS NEW GIRLFRIEND, CHERRY CHASE, WHOM HE FELL IN LOVE WITH WHILE FENDING OFF FALSE RUMORS OF THEIR SECRET LOVE CHILD TOGETHER.