Lucky Me (4 page)

“I think this'll be fun,” Jack said, just as I was turning to leave. I stopped dead in my tracks, only turning my head back to face his grin.

Um. Could he not look at me like that please? I was already having trouble coping. I tried not to return the smile, but I think I failed in that department because my lips kind of twitched up anyway, purely out of nerves. The elevator doors began to move toward each other, but Jack caught one with his hand, and they parted once more. We stared at each other for a few seconds, neither of us blinking. I took a deep breath and turned on my heel, only exhaling when my back was turned.

“Yeah, well,” I said. “We'll have to see about that.”

Chapter Two

Day two of hating Jack began as a complete disaster. I woke up the next morning feeling like death, and looking even worse. In movies,
everyone
is a morning person. In real life, we're lucky if we look remotely human getting out of bed. Trust me, I have tried multiple times to wake up looking like Beyoncé. I failed, big time.

I almost broke my alarm clock with the force I used to turn it off, roughly brushed my teeth and jumped straight into the shower. Brendan was no doubt going to be outside the house soon, honking his horn with impatience. He hated it when I was late. For my sixteenth birthday, dad had gifted me a glossy black, convertible Beetle, a car I had wanted since I was five. I use it all the time for shopping and partying purposes, but my house is on Brendan's way to school. For the past seven months or so, since we had started dating, he'd been taking me to school everyday.

Tripping over my towel, I ran out of the ensuite and straight into my walk-in closet, commonly known as heaven. It's about the size of half my bedroom, smells like happiness and is completely stocked with an endless list of designer clothes and a fluffy pink beanbag that I never use. There are many people in Hollywood that complain about having to dress up. I am not one of those people. Sure, it can be a pain at times, but trust me, life tends to run a whole lot smoother when you're wearing a pair of Louboutins. Take it from someone who's grown up around human Barbie dolls. If you want to survive at my school, you've got to bring something to the table. Even your off days have to be red-carpet worthy.

“Gia! Are you ready?” I heard Dad call from the foot of the stairs.

“Almost!” I yelled back as his footsteps grew distant.

Confidence levels were running low, and time to contemplate outfits was even lower. I grabbed my American Apparel strapless jumpsuit off the hanger and threw it on without a second thought, slipping my feet into my heeled Jeffery Campbell boots. I hadn't even gotten a chance to reinspect yesterday's purchases; I had been too busy hoping the whole bodyguard thing would end quickly and painlessly. I had sort of hoped that I'd get to look like a complete knockout, blowing Jack away with my fabulous looks and sense of style. Unfortunately, that didn't look like it was going to happen. If only I had Mom's personal makeup artist here to help me.

I grimaced at the reflection of my long, brown hair in the huge mirror, pouting at how much of a mess it was. Straightening it would take too long but curling it would take even longer. I also secretly believed that my hair was often a good indication of my stress levels. If that theory had any strength, I was going to be Disney's new
Lion King
character before noon. I gave a frustrated sigh as I ran my fingers through it, hoping desperately that it would magically transform into a GHD advertisement. When it didn't, I gave up and tied it into a ponytail.

Thanks to Jack and his beautiful face, I would now have to look top notch all the freaking time. This was a major inconvenience, because it meant I wasn't allowed any of those off days I mentioned before. Heidi Klum could wear a garbage bag and still work it like a nine-to-five job. I, on the other hand, needed to put in a little extra effort. Clearly, crippling insecurity wasn't something people tended to advertise with the perfect Hollywood life. What a shocker.

“GIA! YOUR BOYFRIEND'S HERE,” Dad called out, sounding annoyed.

I did some mental pep talking and reassured myself that I looked fabulous, given my small time frame. Grabbing my science book and studded Balmain bag off my bed, I ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time. I jogged down the hallway, into the kitchen and straight into Jack, hitting against his arm. I gave a small groan as my hip dug into the tip of the kitchen island.

“Ow!

“Morning!” Jack greeted me cheerfully, still rooted in the same spot. He eyed me up and down, a smile appearing on his face.

I had chosen my outfit in a minute flat, my eyeliner wings were uneven, I had a little too much blush on, and I had a seventy percent chance of looking like a drag queen. If that smile was to say he liked what he saw, he was hopefully going to see a whole lot better.

“You're still here?” I asked, a little out of breath from running.

“Gia!” Dad said sharply, coming up from behind me. I gave a small jump, startled at his sudden appearance. “Jack is here to help you, remember? Be nice.”

“Oh, that's okay Mr. Winters,” Jack said, with a humble look. “I can understand that this must be hard on Gia. It's all a process.”

I glared at him so hard, I thought my eyes were going pop out of my head. What a kiss-ass.

“I'm going to go show Kenny how our security system works,” Dad said, his tone suggesting a warning to me. “Breakfast is on the counter, and your boyfriend is still waiting outside. Tell him not to wake the whole of L.A. up with his car horn.”

I silently watched Dad walk out of the kitchen before turning back to Jack the moment we were alone. He was watching me, leaning against the fridge and sipping coffee out of
my
favorite mug. It's pink and has a little Yorkshire terrier on it, just like Famous. Who, evidently, Jack thought was
interesting
, whatever that means.

“I just figured you'd have gotten the hint by now,” I said, shrugging casually. “It's not too late to book a flight back to New York.”

“I don't scare easy,” Jack replied, placing the mug down on the counter gently.

“Oh, really?”

Jack leaned in a little closer, as if he was about to reveal some huge government secret to me. My body stiffened, and I reflexively took a step back.

“No offense,” Jack said softly, and I raised an expectant eyebrow. “But I've dealt with a lot worse than a hostile teenager.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, crossing my arms over my chest. Hostile? Where did he get off calling me hostile? Okay, so maybe I was being hostile. And maybe that was kind of the point. But still! He didn't get to stand in my kitchen, drink out of
my
mug and call
me
hostile!

“Well . . .” I began, struggling to think of a decent comeback. “Good for you.”

Brendan had definitely caused some damage to his car horn from the amount of times he had pressed it. I checked the time on my phone. It was 8.07 am. That was
really
late for Brendan. That was beyond early for me.

“Where is everyone, anyway?” I asked Jack, referring to the lack of housekeepers, who were usually bustling around the kitchen.

“Somewhere around, I guess.”

“Where's my brother?” I pulled a plate of pancakes toward me. I took a mouthful, barely chewed and swallowed it whole.

“He left about five minutes ago. Chris drove him to school.”

“And you didn't go with them?”

“And give up an opportunity to spend quality time with you?” Jack asked in mock surprise, as if I had just suggested we start eating our feet. “Never!”

I watched Jack silently, fiercely chewing on my pancakes as Brendan continued to honk his horn outside. He was dressed in jeans again, and he was wearing a plain black t-shirt that was a little tight so you could tell he had perfectly toned abs. His hair looked like it hadn't been brushed, but not in a dirty and scruffy way. More in an
I always look this sexy
kind of way. Oh yeah, L.A. City Elite was going to love Jack.

“I have to go,” I said, leaving the food half eaten and swiping my bag and book off the counter.

I yelled my goodbyes out to Dad and Anya—even though I had no clue where she was—and kissed Famous on my way to the front door. Noticing Jack was right behind me, I turned to face him abruptly, slamming the front door shut.

“Don't you have your own car?” I asked hopefully, clutching the science book to my chest.

“Of course I do,” he replied. “But I have to ride with you and your piece of meat, or whatever your dad called him.”

My cheeks flushed. “Brendan is NOT a piece of beef!” I cried.

“That's the one.”

Clearly my dad had shared his personal views on my boyfriend with Jack that morning. I could only dare to imagine what else he had discussed with him while I was battling my bad hair day upstairs. Brendan, who was still furiously honking his horn, seemed to be having a fight with his stereo, and losing. He kept pressing all the buttons and yelling out “Damn you, track fifteen!”

“If we're going to do this then I'm going to set out some ground rules,” I said firmly, and Jack raised his eyebrows, clearly amused. It was like I was a skydiving instructor and we were standing on the edge of a plane. “Rule number one, no touching me. Like, ever. Not even by accident. Rule number two, no flirting.”

“Well that's not fair!” Jack protested. “If I'm not allowed to touch you then I should be allowed to flirt. It's all I've got!”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Was that supposed to be a joke?”

“Yeah,” Jack replied, looking at me expressionless. “Why, do you not have a sense of humor?”

“Not when it comes to you,” I replied. “Rule number three, minimal talking. People at school can get kind of crazy about a new student, and you're . . .” I trailed off, eyeing him up and down. “Just try not to talk to anyone.”

“What if they talk to me first? I can't
not
reply. They'll think I'm weird.”

“You
are
weird.”

“You read articles about people who sleep naked, and I'm the weird one?”

Oh lord. I felt my cheeks begin to blaze up, immediately grateful that my sunglasses were covering the embarrassment in my eyes.

“Just don't talk! Okay?”

“Do you give all your friends these rules, or—”

“Uh,” I said, cutting in. “We're not friends. Your time here has an expiration date, and it's coming up.”

Jack smiled. It wasn't a full grin or anything, but he was clearly enjoying himself.

“GIA! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, GET IN THE CAR ALREADY!” Brendan screamed, roughly pulling a CD out of the player.

“He seems nice,” Jack said. I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

“Rule number four, no insulting my boyfriend.”

“I wasn't.”

“Good, don't.”

“Should I be writing these down?”

“You got a pen?”

__________

The first half of the day had gone painfully slow, and by the time lunch came around I couldn't bear to introduce Jack one more time. I had told the cover story so many times, I was actually starting to forget why Jack was really around. I managed to find my short-lived escape when the lunch bell rang, bolting out of class and away from Jack before he could stop me.

Usually my friends and I would drive off campus at lunch, just to get away for an hour, maybe for a milkshake to brighten our moods. Not that we really need to, there's a Starbucks at school. With Jack around, I needed that milkshake more than ever, but no one was interested in leaving. People were fawning over Jack like he was actually a Calvin Klein model. Even my best friends, Aria and Veronica, were sitting opposite me at our usual table, wide-eyed with curiosity.

“I'm just going to say it,” Veronica began, and I looked up from my lunch. “That Jack guy is the most attractive person I've ever seen.”

“What about your boyfriend?” I asked, pulling my sunglasses off the top of my head and putting them on the table.

“What about him?”

“I don't think it's even legal to look that good,” Aria added, inspecting her heavily rhinestoned acrylic nails. “I couldn't stop staring at him in History. That boy is sex on a stick!”

“In more exciting news,” I said, desperately trying to steer the conversation in a different direction. “I've been dying to tell you guys something! It's going to blow your minds, but you have to keep it on the D-L.”

“Oooo!” Aria said, leaning in. “This sounds scandalous.”

“So Mom called last night . . .”

“She's dating Orlando Bloom?” Veronica said, looking hopeful.

“Even better,” I said with a grin. I paused momentarily, just for dramatic effect. “The Hollywood Foreign Press are considering me for Miss Golden Globe this year!”

Aria's jaw dropped and Veronica clasped a hand over her mouth in excitement. My smile widened. It was just the reaction I had hoped for.

“No!” Aria exclaimed. “Shut up! No way! That's amazing!”

I nodded and said, “I practically died! She said the person they chose had to back out last minute so now they have to find a replacement.”

“Which could be you!” Veronica finished.

I squealed in excitement, my friends joining in. Mom's phone call last night had started off as the perfect opportunity for me to complain about my dad's stupid bodyguard plan. But before I had even gotten around to mentioning Jack and the gross injustice I was facing, Mom had dropped the news on me about Miss Golden Globe, the coveted opportunity of a lifetime. Only the children of the very best stars are chosen for the chance to help hand out awards to the winners at the prestigious Golden Globe ceremony, and I actually had a shot! I had been so excited; I had completely forgotten to mention the bodyguards to my mother. I was too busy imagining what it would be like to get to hold the statues in my hands, looking like Grace Kelly, as I helped hand them out to the elite class of Hollywood. Maybe they would consider giving me an award just for doing such a fabulous job.

“So when do you find out?” Aria asked.

“I'm not sure, she didn't say. But it's already been delayed by a few months, so I'm guessing it'll be soon. There's no time to waste!”

“Hey guys,” Jack said suddenly, placing a bowl of salad down next to my chicken parmesan. “If I'm going to be your bodyguard,” Jack whispered, leaning in close to my ear. “I'm going to need a body to guard. Don't disappear again.”