Away From the Spotlight (67 page)

We
were served
a
sorely needed
late dinner
after all the alcohol
we’d
imbibed
thus far
and
then
we
proceeded to
consume
quite a bit more
before the embarrassing part
of the evening
started.
  I texted Will as I w
aited for my “surprise guest.”

“Hope ur having fun.  Miss u. 
ILY
.”

The response came back quickly.  “Just drinking w/
mates
.  2 much tho.  If I’m drunk l8r, I’m sorry.  Hope ur having fun.  B good. 
ILY
2
.”

My tall, blond
,
and well-built stripper
arrived
dressed as a policeman and stripped down quickly leaving almost nothing to the imagination and
,
as he played around with what little he had covering him, it left nothing to the imagination.  Although he was very careful not to touch me in a certain way
and vice versa
, I
was
certain
that
the pictures my friends were taking would no
t make that clear.

I had to remind Kate and Gemma, “Remember,
‘
what happens in Vegas . . .
’
”

Kate finished my sentence, “
‘. . .
stays in Vegas.
’
  Yes, we know.  Despite how much fun this is, I don’t think the boys would appreciate it.”

Gemma nodded
guiltily
.

After
the stripper
finished
his
performance and the embarrassing
“games,”
some of which in
volved
whipped cream, the embarrassment continued. 
Rachael
had
delegated to
Annie the task of buying the cake.  What I wouldn’t have given to have seen
that
transaction taking place because the cake was obscene.  I really hoped that Will would
never
see any of the pictures.

After that, it was time for the embarrassing lingerie.  I
was
expecting it to be bad and I wasn’t disappointed.  Although I managed to receive a few pretty silk things, almost everything else was
somewhat
vulgar
.  I received handcuffs and other
sex
toys, edible massage oils, obscene
ly
-shaped pasta, and lots of interesting lingerie, including a sexy
m
aid’s uniform and completely see-through neglig
é
es.  I knew with certainty that Will was going to make me model
them
and I blushed just thinking about it.  Maybe I would be lucky and they wouldn’t fit.

When we were finished, we returned to the limo
for
more bar-hopping around Santa Monica.  Some of my friends got pretty
hammered
.  I was glad that
none of them
would be behind the wheel tonight
.  T
he limo
usine
driver was taking everyone home
and Kelly to a friend’s apartment
.

Kate, Gemma and I finally got home around three in the morning to find that Will, Stephen and Colin had
returned
before us.  They were all still awake and waiting for us in the family room. 
It was quite clear that
Will had been drinking heavily as he had mentioned
in his text
. 
He looked like he was ready to pass out. 
Stephen and Colin appeared in better shape.

“Well?  How’d it go?” I looked
over
at Stephen and Colin.

“Lots of drinking,” Colin replied,
clearly
not
wanting
to elaborate.  “How about you girls?”

“Lots of nice gifts,” I replied, not
wanting
to elaborate either.  Kate and Gemma didn’t help my case when they giggled.  “You all had water and aspirin, I hope?”

“Done,” Stephen replied.  “Where’d you girls go?”

“
Royalist
,” I replied.  It sounded tamer than it actually was.  “You?”

“Uh
,
to a place in West L.A.”
  Colin replied sheepishly.

I knew exactly where they had been.
 
Colin
looked guilty.

“Seen it from the outside
.  I figured as much.  How was he?”  I nodded at Will
, who looked barely conscious.

“We promise
h
e was good.  Just
pissed
, that’s all
, and that was our fault
,” Stephen said.

I had to remember for a second that “pissed” in British English meant
“
drunk
”
rather than
“
angry.
”

“
Well, l
et me get him to bed.”  I grabbed Will’s hand and led him down the hall to
the bed
room.  He was in pretty bad shape.  I could hear Kate and Gemma asking Stephen and Colin if they had been good too
as
I entered our bedroom
. 
I
closed the door before I could hear the responses.

I tried to get Will to drink a little more water before he passed out.  I got him undressed and into bed as well. 
H
e was not going to feel good tomorrow
at all
.  He passed out almost as he hit the pillow.  I then got myself ready for bed.  My new lingerie would have to wait for another night
, which
didn’t bother me one little bit.  As I crawled into bed,
I
spooned into him.

I woke up when I heard Will moving around in the morning.  Considering how bad off he had been, I expected him to be out
cold
most of the day, but it was only mid-morning.  After running the water, brushing his teeth and some general banging around in the bathroom, he rejoi
ned me in bed.

“How do you feel?” I asked tentatively
, n
ot wanting to speak to
o
loudly.

“Like I’ve been hit by a
lorry
.”

I couldn’t help but laugh although his pain wasn’t funny.  “How much did you drink?”

“A bit, but I don’t think it was the quantity that killed me.  They were making me drink all kinds of things.  I think it was the mixing.”

“Were you sick?”

“Before you came home last night, yes.”

“Well, at least you got some of it out of your system.”

“Did you drink more water and take more aspirin this morning?”

“Yes.

I was curious and couldn’t help but ask,
“So how was your evening?”

“It was good to see my
mates
.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know. 
It could have been worse.  In England, they probably would have put me in a dress and makeup.  At least I was spared that.”

“Lap dances?”

“They tried.  I wasn’t interested.”

“Hmmm.”

“You don’t sound like you believe me.”

“No, I do.”

He tried to change the subject. 
“How was
your
evening?”

“Embarrassing.  May you never see the pictures.”

“Did you
receive any
interesting presents?”

“Yes.  I’m glad you’re not feeling well enough for me to model any of
them
.
T
here were some interesting toys as we
ll.”

“Such as?”

“How do you feel about handcuffs?”

He laughed and I could tell
that
it hurt.

“Why don’t we talk about this later when you’re feeling better?”
I suggested.

“I’m sorry
.  I
think I’m probably down for the count today.  Do you mind looking at houses today alone? 
I
can go see the ones you liked
on Monday
when I’m in a little better shape.”

“Are we in that much of a hurry?”

“I just want to get the process going.  I want to be behind gates before word gets out that we’re married.”

“
What
?  Y
ou think they’ll have me on baby bump watch or
s
omething?”
  I really had read too much of th
at
tabloid
garbage.

“Probably.”

I met with the realtor as scheduled, but alone, in light of the fact that Will was not up to it.  The realtor was in her late 30’s, blond, and looked like she had
some
work done on herself to preserve a perfect appearance.  She was dressed to the nines, in keeping with the high-end clientele with whom she dealt.  She drove me around to the various homes in a high-end silver Mercedes.  I half expected her to look at me strangely, wondering how someone like me, and at my age, would be looking at homes of the caliber she had lined up for me to see.  She didn’t. 
There must be a little acting abi
lity required in her profession
too
.

She ha
d
been briefed by Will that our first priority was privacy and a view of the ocean was second.  Every property she
showed
me was enormous, as she probably thought that it would have been what someone of Will's celebrity would expect.  Of course, the extravagance embarrassed me.  I really had no interest in a house the size of a small hotel.

There was one house that appealed to me though.  It was too large for my sensibilities, but the view and the backyard that overlooked it were spectacular.  It was a newer home at the end of a gated winding private lane that wasn’t visible from the street and the
gate
was barely visible from the road.  It would be difficult to find
even if you were trying hard.

The two-story exterior had more of an East Coast Hamptons kind of feel, which I liked, and a lot of windows, making the place light and airy inside.  It had
five
bedrooms
in the main part of the house
,
and
in-law quarters that were attached to the main part of the house with a separate entrance.  It was an awful lot of house for two people, but it seemed the most suitable in that it met our objectives of location, privacy, and view.  Thankfully, the realtor didn’t mention the
price tag
.  I’m sure I would
’
ve had a heart attack.  Will had already discussed financial matters with the realtor so I was certain
that
it was within our range
,
whatever that wa
s.

I was happy that I had found the right house
.  At the same time,
I felt guilty, wondering how I could possibly deserve something like th
at
, particularly when my income, though very good for someone my age, would be a drop in the bucket, if that, in terms of paying for
it
.  I could hear Will arguing with me in my head that we had no choice,
and
that something a little more downscale wouldn’t be private enough.  Although I recognized the logic in th
at
argument, I still felt u
ncomfortable.

When I
returned
home later in the day, I found Will
still
in bed.  He must have been asleep as I appeared to wa
ke him when I entered the room.

“How’s the patient?” I asked when I noticed
that
he was awake.

“Better.  How
’
d it go?  D
id you see something you like?”

“I did.  It’s a little big, but then all of them were.  Other than that, it seemed perfect.”  I described it to him and he seemed pleased.  “Do you want
me to let you sleep some more?”

“No, I want you to join me.  Just give me a minute and I’ll be right back.”

While
I
put on one
of the normal nightgowns I had received at last night’s party, I heard Will jump in the shower qu
ickly and then brush his teeth.