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  She smiled at the guy sitting closest to her and he immediately got up and offered her his seat. "Thank you," she cooed. Making a show of arranging her skirt under her, she slid onto the chair. She crossed her long legs and gave him an uninhibited view of tan thigh. The guy was short and dark, with a scruffy beard and wearing dirty work clothes. He offered to buy her a drink.

  "No, but there is one thing you could do for me. If you do it right now I might do something for you." Karen ran a finger down the front of her shirt and pulled it down, exposing more cleavage.

  The little man moved closer and Karen, breathing through her mouth so she wouldn’t catch a whiff of him, whispered into his ear.

  Outside, Nina fell against Joseph and pushed him against the side of the building. She burrowed her face into the material of his shirt and Joseph put his arms around her.

  "Are you using my shirt to wipe off your sweat?"

  Nina breathed in the smell of him—laundry soap, warm skin and smoke—and said, "Yep."

  "Thought so." He held her close.

  "By the way, are there any parties we can take Trish to?"

  Joseph smiled, "Yes, my agent is having people over Thursday night."

  "You sure it won’t be too much with taping the same day?"

  "No, not really. But I do want you to run lines with me tomorrow, okay?"

  "Of course I will. You want to go back inside or you want to go home?"

  "Let’s go in and get some nachos."

  Together they walked back into the building and parted ways inside the door so Nina could use the restroom. At the sink she wetted some paper towels to wipe the sweat from her face and neck. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement and watched the reflection in the mirror as a very beautiful, tanned blonde appeared beside her.

  "Gets hot up there, don’t it?" The blonde dug in her purse for a tube of lip gloss and started to carefully apply a deep, pink shade to her full, luscious lips.

  Lunchmeat lips, Nina thought idly, thinking of Trish. Chew them up. Trish was a big fan of Angelina Jolie and had coined the phrase to describe the beautiful star’s mouth.

  "Yeah, are you up on stage tonight?" Nina’s eyes were drawn to what seemed to be a shimmering snakeskin like material that encased the woman’s slim, boyish hips. Are they shorts? No. A very short skirt. Butt skirt, lunchmeat lips and a boob top, she recited to herself, taking stock of the white, plunging, off-the-shoulder silk blouse that didn’t do much to cover enormous breasts. Boob job, boob job, warning! Things are not what they appear! But wait, they are strangely fascinating in a freak show kind of way. And Nina was fascinated. So far she hadn’t met any celebrities or seen many of the foretold beautiful people of California. Is she famous? Who is she? The woman turned to look her full in the face and Nina was struck by how perfectly sculpted her bone structure was.

  "No, I don’t sing but I do work in the music business. I’m Ronnie." She held out her hand and Nina shook it.

  "Hi, I’m Nina. I would take you for an actress. You’re very beautiful," she said.

  The woman smiled, showing a set of white teeth that Nina could only envy. The kind of choppers behind full, ripe lips that sprang out at you and made you want that person to smile again.

  "Why, what a nice thing to say! You know I work with a very well-known agency, perhaps you’ve heard of Suckmyass Music? I’m here scouting talent and I think you might have what I’m looking for. You have a lovely voice. Have you ever considered singing jingles in commercials?"

  Nina stared at the woman feeling like she had stepped into some kind of weird vacuum. Did she say ‘suck my ass’? Nina wasn’t sure, it might have been succotash. Was there such thing as an agency that scouted voices for commercials? In a bar? Something was trying to push itself to the forefront of her mind. There’s a red flag here, her instinct was telling her. The woman continued smiling at her, beaming her white caps expectantly.

  "I, no, I don’t. I’m not." Nina stammered. "I only sing for enjoyment. I’m really not interested in doing it professionally."

  "Well, you should!" The woman exclaimed. "You must have done some kind of professional work. Are you retired from the business?"

  "No, I’ve never sang professionally."

  "Where do you live? Are you from LA?"

  "I’m here visiting friends," Nina said vaguely, seeking a way out of the conversation.

  "Are you married, divorced?" The woman asked around the smile that was starting to look forced and a little clownish.

  "Excuse me." Nina walked past her, anxious to leave.

  "If you don’t do this professionally, how do you make a living? Are you on welfare?"

  "What?" The woman was still staring at her with that fixed smile on her face, her blue eyes glinting. And then it clicked in Nina’s mind.

  "Karen." She'd purposely avoided seeing any photos of Karen. She didn’t want to cause herself any more pain when she first found out about her, and then she didn't want to put a face to anything that might come between her and Joseph.

  She felt trapped. She backed up against the bathroom door but was unable to swing it inward because Karen came closer and laughed in her face. "Bingo!" Karen hooted joyfully. "You got it! It seems you’ve heard about me?"

  "What are you doing here?"

  "Well, it’s a free country, ain’t it? I can go wherever I please. Sorry about the little scam. I just couldn’t help myself. The look on your face!"

  Without saying another word, Nina pulled the door open and squeezed through it. She walked quickly over to their table where Joseph was speaking to a waitress and reached for her jacket on the back of her chair. As her hand touched the collar of the blue suede she noticed something gleaming. She snatched her hand away as if it was burned. A large glob of mucus slowly streaked its way down the sleeve of her jacket.

  "Joseph!" She plunged her hand into the pocket of her jacket and retrieved her driver’s license and debit card, thankful that they were still there. Joseph looked up, startled at the tone of her voice.

  "Someone spit a hocker on my jacket!" she said.

  "Huh?" Joseph turned to look at the jacket. "What the hell?"

  Nina looked around the bar, close to tears now. A few people were looking in their direction, the waitress was standing at their table, but made no effort to help. She stood there looking from Joseph to Nina and then back to the jacket as if she couldn’t wait to see what would happen in the little drama playing out before her. Nina’s eyes shot to the back of the bar where the bathroom was. Karen stood near the door, arms folded across her chest, looking in their direction with a satisfied smirk on her face.

  Nina looked back at her jacket. There was no way she was going to make a scene for that bitch. Smiling angelically at the waitress she said, "Thanks for the wonderful service!" She did an about-face and headed for the exit door she and Joseph had come through ten minutes earlier, leaving her four hundred dollar jacket behind.

  "Nina!" Joseph got out his wallet and gave the waitress two twenties. Hooking Nina’s jacket off the chair, he held it at arm's length and followed Nina out to his SUV. She stood with her back turned to him by the passenger door and he switched the remote to unlock it for her. He walked around the truck as Nina climbed in and slammed the door. Joseph folded the jacket inside out and laid it in the back seat.

  "You think I’m ever going to wear that thing again?"

  "Jesus, Nina! I didn’t do it! Why are you so pissed off at me?"

  "Would you get me out of here please?" Nina said through clenched teeth.

  Joseph pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards home.

  "I’m sorry, Nina. Someone must have done it while we were both outside. Probably some punk," he said. "Some people are just assholes, you know? Some guy had to spit and he decided to be mean and stupid and do it on your jacket as he walked by."

  Nina was seething. "I saw your girlfriend Karen in the bathroom."

  "What!" Joseph turned onto a dark residential street a
nd pulled over to the curb.

  "She's the one who ruined my jacket! I know it was her! If you want to go back, drop me off here please, I'm not going with you. And if you go back there and make a scene, I don’t think I want to be with you anymore," Nina said, "I want no part of this stupid little game you’ve got playing out here."

  "I’m not going to leave you here by the side of the road! It wasn’t my fault! I’ve told her over and over that I don’t want to see her anymore. What did she say?"

  "Does she hang out at that place?"

  "Hell, no! That kind of place is beneath her, she was here with me once over a year ago. This is not one of Karen’s clubs."

  "Then she only came to see you, because this is one of your clubs. And you know what? It is your fault. If only because you were stupid enough to get involved with someone like her and actually stay in a relationship with her for two years. She’s like this freaking cold, unfeeling…, she was acting! She was performing the whole time. Reciting lines like a robot. She was awful! How could you?" Nina had never felt so angry. This was the second time she'd been humiliated because of him! She looked at him disgustedly and felt herself pulling away, putting emotional distance between them.

  "What did she say to you?"Joseph asked again.

  "She told me all your secrets, Joseph. Is that what you’re worried about? She acts like you two are still together!"

  "No!" Panic was clear in his voice. "Look, Nina. Me and Karen had an on-again off-again relationship. We attended events together. I was always her escort. Sometimes I wouldn’t see her for weeks at a time. People just assumed we were an item and I didn’t see any reason at the time to deny it. But I do now. I’ll make sure that everyone knows that we, you and I, are an item. I won’t let her get away with this. I’ll figure it out."

  "Whatever."

  "I’ll buy you another jacket, a nicer jacket."

  Nina mumbled something unintelligible and turned her face to the window.

  "What did you say?"

  "I said I want to go home. My home. In Seattle."

  "No! Nina, I’ll fix this. I promise! I’ll see a lawyer and get a restraining order against her."

  "Don’t you have to prove that she’s some kind of danger to us? We’ve only seen her once. Restraining orders don’t really work anyway, do they?"

  "I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. Don’t let her do this to us!" he reached over and slid his hand through her hair, turning her face towards his.

  "Baby. Don’t leave. You’re my girl, right?" He gave her a little peck and then another, coaxing a response from her. Nina felt herself give in a little. She allowed the kiss to turn into a full blown lip lock and then lost all sanity as the kiss turned into making out. She scrambled over the middle console, across the gear shift and straddled him in the driver’s seat.

  "How do you do it?" Nina whispered, dismayed that he could play her so effortlessly. "See what you do to me?"

  Joseph groaned and flipped the seat back to the full recline position while Nina struggled out of her jeans. She unzipped him. "Give it to me," she said urgently, "you want it?"

  "Ah Nina, yes!" He groaned again as she slid him inside her. The world disappeared from their thoughts as they focused only on each other.

  Afterward, Nina hopped back to the passenger seat and Joseph helped put her panties back on. She fought with her jeans in the confined space and remarked, "Wow, car sex. Think of the possibilities."

  Joseph smiled back at her in perfect contentment. "The future looks pretty bright. Can I take you home, now?"

  "Yes, take me home."

  Karen watched from the exit door as Joseph and that woman left Willies. What a wimp! That's right! Run away, you ugly little tramp! Joseph hadn't seen her in her new outfit, but that was okay. This was going to be easier than she'd thought. She heard a step behind her and turned to face the dark little man who had supplied the spit.

  "Alright. You can look for sixty seconds, but no touching. Understand?"

  He followed her into the alley where she set the timer on her cell phone for one minute. She lifted up her shirt and started the clock. The man jammed his hand down his pants and started rubbing as she fondled her breasts. The alert sounded at the end of the minute and she pulled down her shirt, covering herself. Karen started laughing as he crazily turned one way and then the other searching for a place to unload. Then he made a mad rush back inside, apparently to the men's restroom so he could finish the job.

  SEVEN

  THE next morning Nina awoke to the sound of music. She threw on her robe and went out to the front room to find Joseph slumped on the sofa in his boxers watching Gilda Radner singing "Goodbye Saccharin" on an old Saturday Night Live rerun that he'd found on TV.

  "What’s for breakfast?"

  Nina went to the fridge to see what was available.

  "We got any eggs?" Joseph yelled from the couch, his eyes on the seventy inch, flat panel TV mounted on the wall.

  "Yes, my lord and master." Nina rooted around looking for some bacon.

  "We got any sausage? I love those little frozen sausages."

  "No sausage. How ‘bout a tomato and mushroom omelet?"

  "Sounds good." Joseph came into the kitchen. He took a bag of mushrooms from Nina, washed some in the sink and then sat down on a stool at the island to chop them. Nina got out a pan, turned on a burner and plopped a pat of butter in it to heat up. She began breaking eggs into a bowl while Joseph turned his attention to slicing tomatoes. Nina watched him out of the corner of her eye. She loved this closeness between them. He was one of the few people in the world she could be completely herself with.

  Joseph slid the cutting board close to the stove so she could dump the mushrooms in to sauté. He came up behind her and put his arms around her while she cooked. He pressed his lips against her ear and said softly, "I love you, Nina."

  Nina caught her breath, "I love you too," she breathed out on a sigh.

  He kissed her cheek and stepped away from her to get some rye bread out of the cupboard. "Wanna go for a swim later?"

  "Sure," Nina said around the lump in her throat.

  After breakfast they spent an hour in the pool and then took a shower together in the large stall off the master bedroom. The shower had a built in seat which was convenient because after Joseph washed Nina’s hair for her she put one foot up on the seat so he could gain entry into the tight folds of her sheath. He gripped her by the neck under her chin and thrust his tongue into her mouth as she stood splayed against the shower wall, enthralled against him.

  They spent some time rehearsing lines for the show. Nina played the Chief of Police to Joseph’s character Vince, who'd been undercover for several months. The scene Joseph was reading for involved a conversation where Vince begged the Chief for a break and tried to convince him his cover was blown.

  Nina became exhausted with speaking the part over and over, so she begged off and went into the office to get on the computer while Joseph continued with his lines. His voice echoed in various rooms as he paced up and down the main hall. Later, they ordered a pizza, got into bed with it and watched Fargo on HBO.

  Thursday morning Nina saw Joseph off, and headed to the airport to pick up Trish. She drove in circles around the arrivals loop until she finally saw Trish standing at the curb. She expertly pulled her Jeep into a vacant space and hopped out of the car to help with the three suitcases.

  "No wonder it took so long! You had to check all this baggage!"

  Trish gave her a hug and held on tight.

  "Trish, honey. I’m glad to see you too."

  They stood hugging for a moment and then Trish said, "Where’s Sir Galahad?"

  "At the studio."

  "Cool. Did he find a party where I can rub shoulders with some famous people?"

  "Yes, we’re going to a party his agent invited us to. A lot of schmoozing. A lot of beautiful people who talk and talk about acting."

  "Wonderful. Can’t wait! You’ll have to
help me decide what to wear."

  "Can’t wait," Nina mimicked. "It should take us hours to go through your bags."

  They left LAX and Nina made several turns to get onto I-405 towards Long Beach. Spring was just turning into summer and it was a balmy seventy-three degrees. At the gate to the housing community where Joseph lived, the guard waved her through without stopping her.

  Trish said, "I feel like we’re in the opening scene of some movie. Perfect weather, palm trees, a drive amongst the homes of the privileged. Have you been to the star walk thingy yet? I have to see that before I leave, okay?" She turned to Nina and clicked a picture with her cell phone camera. "You looked tanned and healthy, are you happy?"

  "Joseph has a pool, so you know I like that. Yes, I’m happy here."

  "You don’t sound too convinced. Does the pool make you happy then?"

  Nina laughed, "Yes, I’m happy Trish! Lay off will you?"

  "Nina, I’m your friend right?" Nina nodded. "There’s something you’re not telling me. Either you spill your guts right now or turn around and take me back to the airport. You look like you need someone to confide in. If you can’t confide in me who are you going to talk to? I want to help."

  Nina pulled into the drive at Joseph’s house and said, "Okay, okay! Let’s get inside. I’ll show you the house and then we can talk."

  Joseph's house was one of the rare houses in that area that had a basement built into the hillside. Nina gave a tour of the sunken living room, the kitchen with the large island, the two well-appointed bedrooms and the den. Then they went downstairs where there was a rec-room with a bar and a wall of glass looking out on a long patio flanking the sparkling blue pool. The entire house had tiled floors and strategically placed area rugs. Ceiling fans wafted a cool breeze throughout each room.