STAGESTRUCK - The Complete Series (24 page)

“That was amazing,” he said with a smile. He lightly kissed the top of my head and then jumped out of the bed. “I’m going to get a snack, do you want anything?” He asked as he moved towards the door.

“No thanks,” I smiled.

‘I’d like a fucking orgasm.’ I thought to myself as I climbed out of the bed. I searched the floor until I found my bra and panties. I pulled them on quickly and stepped back into my dress. I remembered kicking my shoes off by the couch so I smoothed my hair and set off for the living room.

Dylan stood in front of the open refrigerator, thoughtfully studying its contents. “Why are you dressed?” He asked when he looked up and saw me approaching. “Aren’t you going to spend the night?”

I shook my head. “My family is coming over early in the morning for breakfast.” I explained. “They’re flying home after, so I can’t reschedule.”

“Okay… I’ll call Peter and have him take you home.” He offered.

“No, I can get there on my own. It’s the middle of the night, I don’t want you make Peter get out. Besides, this may be one of the last chances I get to walk the streets unrecognized.” I reminded him with a smile.

I fastened my shoes, pulled on my coat, and then Dylan walked me to the door. “You really did do a fantastic job tonight,” he told me as he leaned in for a kiss. “On stage and off,” he added with a smile as he pulled away.

“You weren’t so bad yourself.” I replied. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” I gave Dylan a final kiss and backed out of the doorway. He closed the door behind me and I took my time walking to the elevator. I couldn’t help but hope to see one of the building’s famous residents, but I made it outside without seeing another soul.

I stepped out onto the sidewalk and decided to walk to the subway station instead of hailing a cab. It was the middle of the night and the streets were quiet. The crisp air helped clear my head and I decided that Dylan might be right. Maybe I DID deserve all of the good that was happening in my life. Maybe this was my payback for all of the years I’d spent feeling like I didn’t fit in. Maybe, I’d finally found where I belonged.

I arrived at the subway station and fumbled in my purse for my pass. I swiped it to move through the terminal; I hadn’t checked the time when I left Dylan’s apartment and I was relieved to find that the Sunnyside bound train was just about to leave the station. I hoped on board just before the doors closed and took a seat near the back of the car. There were two other people on the train: an elderly man reading a newspaper and a middle aged woman focused on her Kindle. They were both dressed in worn clothing and baggy overcoats and I looked completely out of place in my gown; neither of my companions noticed.

Twenty minutes later, the train pulled in to the Sunnyside station and I quickly hurried out onto the sidewalk. I was tired and ready to get home to enjoy a few hours of sleep before I had to wake up and cook for my family.

I stepped into the building and wearily climbed the staircase to my floor. I arrived on the landing and noticed a small, white envelope propped up against my door.

‘Janette must have left me something.’ I thought as I bent down and retrieved it. I held the stiff envelope in one hand while unlocking the door with another. I walked into my apartment and tossed everything onto the sofa. I shrugged out of my coat and added it to the pile before taking off for the bedroom. I stripped out of my gown, kicked my shoes off into the closet, and decided to take a quick shower before turning in. I wasn’t sure if anyone would be able to smell sex on me, but I didn’t want to take the chance with my family.

I grabbed a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt before setting off for the bathroom. I turned the water as hot as I could stand it and stepped under the spray. I washed my hair and then relaxed under the water, reliving the night in my head. Sex with Dylan was the only part of the evening that hadn’t been completely perfect. He’d seemed attentive and generous at first, but selfish at the end. It was the first time I’d ever been with a man who didn’t seem to care whether or not I got off and I wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

‘Maybe he thought I DID cum.’ I thought, playing devil’s advocate. But I knew better; I’d squirmed around a little but I’d in no way acted like I’d reached my release. But then again, my first thought HAD been about Max, so I decided to let Dylan off of the hook. ‘The next time will be better.’ I told myself.

The water began to turn cold so I turned off the tap and stepped out onto the tile floor. I dried off quickly, wrapped my hair in a towel, and pulled on my pajamas. I returned to the living room to grab my phone from my purse and remembered the envelope I’d brought in from the hallway.

‘I wonder what they’ve done now.’ I thought, sure that the envelope contained another congratulations gift from my friends. I opened flap and slid out the contents; I was shocked when a picture of Dylan and I fell into my hands.

I carried the picture into the kitchen and flipped on the fluorescent lights. I knew immediately that it had been taken just a few hours before; Dylan and I were standing hand in hand in front of the Dakota, about to walk through the door. I flipped the picture over, hoping to find some sort of clue as to where it came from. Instead, I found a menacing note written in bright red ink. My mouth went dry as I read the message.

“The papers will have this shot by morning and the whole world will know how you got that role. Enjoy your stage time while it lasts, BITCH.”

The message sent chills through my body; I opened the junk drawer, buried the picture beneath a pile of bills, and slammed the door shut again. I didn’t know who had taken shot or why, I just knew that I couldn’t look at it for another second.

I glanced at the oven clock and saw that I only had 2 hours before I had to get up and start making breakfast.

‘Whoever did this is trying to get to me and I can’t let that happen.’ I told myself. I turned off all of the lights, rechecked the locks on my doors, and set off for my bed, determined to get at least one hour of sleep.

Instead of an hour of sleep, I got twenty minutes. The excitement of the evening had been pushed out of my body and replaced by paranoia as I wondered who’d taken that picture and left it by the door. The list was short, since Serena was the only person at the theater who knew where I lived. I finally drifted off, only to be jolted awake at six when Janette knocked on the door. I slid into my slippers and shuffled into the living room.

“Good morning,” Janette yawned as she stepped into the apartment. “How was your night? I wasn’t sure if you’d be here.”

“We had a great night.” I told her. “But I cut it short. I knew that if I fell asleep at Dylan’s place I’d never wake up in time to get breakfast ready.”

“That’s why I came over early.” Janette laughed as she started a pot of coffee. “I figured if you didn’t answer your door, I’d call you until you woke up or track Dylan’s address down somewhere. What’s his apartment like? I bet it’s really classy.”

“It’s impressive,” I told her. “And masculine, he has lots of wood and leather furniture. The place is also full of expensive looking artwork, but I didn’t recognize any of the artists.”

“Can you imagine living like that?” Janette asked. “Living in a luxury apartment and buying anything you want?”

“I can’t imagine it at all. But who knows? We may be on our way to that type of life… though I’m not sure that I’d ever get used to having that kind of money.”

“Says the trust fund brat,” Janette joked.

“I may not have to worry about rent on this place for a couple of years, but I’m a long way away from living like Dylan.”

“I know, I was just teasing you.” She smiled. “And like you said, we may very well both be on our way to having everything we want. I start recording next week and the schedule has been grueling. Have you given any more thought to my moving idea?”

Last week, Janette had suggested that she and I find a place to share in Manhattan. The idea made sense because we’d both be closer to work, but I’d been hesitant to commit to that kind of rent expense. After my debut performance, that hesitation was gone.

“I think it’s a great idea. Let’s compare schedules and see when we’re both free. Then, we can call a real estate agent.” I told her.

“Oh, Kate this is going to be so fantastic! We basically live together already, nothing will really change.”

“Except Paul,” I reminded her.

“I’ve been thinking and I’m not sure that Paul and I are ready for such a big step.” Janette sighed.

“Trouble in paradise?”

“No, nothing like that, I just think that it may be too soon. We’ve only been dating or a little while, what if we hate each other next week?”

“Janette, does this have anything to do with me and Max?” I asked. I moved around the kitchen gathering the equipment I’d need to make breakfast. “I know that you and Paul got together around the same time that we did. I hope that you’re not doubting your relationship because mine fell apart.”

“No, that isn’t it at all.” She quickly replied. “If Max doesn’t have the decency to let you explain that kiss he walked in on, he doesn’t deserve you. And I think that you and Dylan might be good for each other. You may ground him a little and he can teach you how to loosen up.” She laughed.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” I smiled. “Dylan is fun, but we both know that he’s not boyfriend material.”

“I don’t know, stranger things have happened,” Janette told me. “He seemed pretty determined to win over your family last night. I don’t think he’d have done that if he didn’t have serious feelings for you.”

“Do you really think so?” I asked hopefully. I was relieved to realize that at least one of my friends thought that Dylan and I made a good couple.

“Why not?” She shrugged. “Like I said before, tons of costars get married. A bunch of them even STAY married. Maybe Dylan has just been waiting on the right woman to settle him down.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking!” I exclaimed. “I’m not saying I’m going to start picking out china patterns but, in a way, I think we’re perfect for each other.”

“I can totally see it.” Janette smiled. “But if you do keep seeing him, you need to keep it quiet for awhile. The last thing you want to do is give credence to Serena’s gossip.”

“Oh my GOD,” I gasped as the terror of finding the photo last night filled my body. “I have to show you what was waiting for me last night. I can’t believe I forgot about it.”

“Kate, what the hell are you talking about?” Janette asked.

I opened the junk drawer and removed the ominous envelope. “This,” I said as I passed it to her.

Her mouth dropped as she opened it and read the message. “Oh my GOD! Do you think that this made it into any of the morning papers?”

“I don’t know. How did I forget about this for almost an hour?” I asked, frustrated with myself.

“Kate, last night was crazy in so many ways: the show, the party, Dylan, this picture. Any one of those things would have been overwhelming on their own and you went through all of them in a matter of eight hours. It’s only natural that you blocked the bad part out. I’ll run down to the newsstand and grab this morning’s papers. I’m anxious to read your reviews anyway. Do we need anything else for breakfast? I can pop into the corner store.”

“No, I got plenty at the market the other day. I’ll get everything started, just don’t take too long. They’ll be here in an hour and I want to have time to read everything before they get here.”

“I’ll be ten minutes, tops.” She promised.

Janette left and I stood in the kitchen, staring at the picture. I debated whether or not I should call Dylan and let him know about the late night delivery and decided against it. If it made the papers, he probably already knew and if it hadn’t, the news could wait until I saw him at the theater.

As promised, Janette returned less than ten minutes later armed with all of the morning papers. She smiled as she deposited them on the kitchen counter. “I pulled out the theater sections on my way back. You’re on the front page of all of them but no one ran the picture. I’ll start breakfast, sit down and bask in your praises.”

“Thanks,” I said as I eagerly grabbed the papers and spread them across the table. I read every word as I sipped a mug of coffee; while the articles focused mainly on my performance, the pictures they ran were of Dylan, my family, and I arriving at the after party. All of the journalists referenced Poppy Martin’s interview and admitted that it did look like Dylan and I were involved. But all of the journalists also pointed out that the romance was the only part of Poppy’s story that proved to be true. They all raved about my performance and insisted that I was much more suited for the role than Poppy had ever been.

“Did you read any of these?” I asked Janette with a broad grin.

“I read the Times review. Are they all that good?”

“Some of them are even better.”

“I told you that once you took the stage, everyone would know that you deserved that role. Oh what I’d give to be a fly on the wall when Serena reads these articles. No one’s going to believe her bullshit now.” Janette said.

“Speaking of Serena, I was thinking that she may have been the one who took the picture and left it on the door.” I confessed.

“I wouldn’t put it past her. But from what I read, the industry seems to like you and Dylan together. That pretty much takes the power away from whoever was behind it. If the picture does end up at any of the papers, they’ll just run a story about what a great couple you make. I wouldn’t worry about it anymore.”

“You’re probably right,” I agreed. I stood up and pulled a carton of eggs out of the refrigerator while Janette turned sausage in a skillet. “But when we talk to the real estate agent, I think we should ask for a building with doormen.”

“Why not?” Janette agreed. “We’re certainly going to be able to afford it.”