Present day Los Angeles, California…
It was Saturday morning, Scarlette was wearing a black vintage Chanel military style dress and standing in the middle of an empty living room. The room was very bright, especially since its matching French doors and two large windows, let the sunlight flood in and reflect off the white walls and carpeting. Her real estate agent was going on about the living room; and it’s magnificent view of the ocean and how nice the house is for a single woman.
Scarlette was paying no mind to the woman and just looked around the room; thinking. The heel of her black pumps sunk into the plush carpeting as she moved around the room. She ran her finger along the mantel above the fireplace and turned to her real estate agent. “Can you get me an agent that has listing for San Diego, in Old Town or Downtown area? As soon as possible.” Interrupting her mid-sentence.
The agent gave a blank stare for a moment then nodded. “Of course, I’ll make some calls now and see what I can do.” She got out her phone and began dialing numbers.
Scarlette walked into the foyer, slightly admiring the chandelier that hung in the middle. The house was too big for just her anyways, even though it was beautiful and European inspired inside and out. Two stories was a bit ridiculous for a single woman. She slowly moved up the stairs, letting her hand lightly glide along the oak wood of the banister. She had her back to the front door when it opened, she paused mid-step.
“Hello?” Sophia poked her head around from the door.
“Up here.” Scarlette then realized that there was someone else with her. As Sophia walked in through the door, she realized that there was more than one with her. Her eyes opened wide upon realization; she quickly recovered and placed a smile on her face. “What took you so long?” She leaned a hip against the banister.
Sophia smiled. “Sorry, breakfast ran a little late. I was going to text you, but I thought we were going to barely make it on time, of course, there was an accident on the freeway.” She gave Scarlette a weak smile. “So is this the house?” She was holding hands with one of her companions, who were looking around the foyer, waiting to be introduced.
Scarlette sighed. “Uh, no. Change of plans altogether actually.” She held an edge of irritation in her voice. “Aren’t you going to introduce me instead of being a rude ass?” She smiled.
“Oh, right, sorry.” She squeezed the man’s hand and gave him a look of being completely smitten. “This is Matt.” She gave a happy sigh, then nodded over her shoulder to the other man standing behind them “And this is David. Guys, this is Scarlette.”
Scarlette bowed her head slightly, smiling. “Nice to meet you two.”
They both did the same to Scarlette, smiling. Matt was the tallest of the two, he was probably almost five or six inches taller than Sophia; and she was almost five-ten. His hair was short and spiky, black with thin platinum highlights through out. He was wearing a black long sleeved button down dress shirt, black jeans, and black leather dress boots. His eyes were a piercing clear ocean blue and intense, as if he could peer into your soul.
As for David, he was about two inches shorter than Matt. His hazel eyes grabbed at Scarlette, causing her swallow hard. His hair was black and short as well, except for a faux that was colored a mix of teal, blue, and purple. Stubble but yet, eye catching. He was wearing a dark purple dress shirt that hung untucked from his relaxed fit black jeans. He stepped towards Scarlette, his black leather doc martens boots lightly thudded against the floor.
Scarlette stepped down a few steps before he met her; he took her hand gently and laid a kiss on her knuckles. “It’s lovely to meet you.” He gently gave her, her hand back.
Scarlette searched for her voice, coming up empty she gave a small curtsy and smile. Once she broke away from his gaze she looked at Sophia, who was flushed with glee; anger and irritation bubbled back up. “Sophia, can I show you something. I need a woman’s opinion on the bathroom.” She emphasized “woman”.
Sophia’s eyes widened. “Oh, of course!” She patted Matt’s hand and walked towards the stairs.
“Excuse us for a moment.” She smiled at David and Matt, then walked back to the top of the stairs. Sophia soon followed behind her; which Scarlette took her arm and unnoticeable to the men, dug her nails into Sophia’s flesh. “I am going to kill you!” She quietly spat through her clenched teeth and lead her through a hallway and into the bathroom; shutting the door behind them. She crossed her arms in front of her and looked at Sophia with crazed eyes.
“I just figured you should meet him anyways, change of heart?” She shrugged her shoulders and put her hands up.
Scarlette began to pace the large master bathroom; heels clicking against the tile. “I am so livid, it isn’t even remotely funny.” She growled. “How? Why? I told you I wasn’t ready for this!” She kept her voice low but the anger turned all the way up. “It’s not so much that he is here, it’s that this is a blatant set up. Not to mention that this is something I need just your support on and not share with two other strangers.”
Sophia was leaning against the marble counter. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think that this would be that big of a problem. Honestly.”
Scarlette closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. “I appreciate the thought, but no. I can’t do this, happy about the divorce or not. With all the changes that are going on and the ones that are pending, I cannot.” She put two fingers on her temples. Then there was a knock on the door, to which they both jumped to. Scarlette cleared her throat. “Yes?”
“I’ve found a few houses in your price range in San Diego, as well as a realtor who can show them to you on Monday.”
Sophia snapped her head to Scarlette and mouthed “What?” with a raised eyebrow and hand, palm upwards.
Scarlette closed her eye and shook her head. “Okay.” She walked over to the door and opened it. “Thank you so much.”
The realtor looked at Scarlette then at Sophia.
“Oh this is my friend Sophia, I was showing her how much I like this bathroom and how it should be something I look for in the other houses.”
The realtor looked at them both again and then nodded. “I’d show you the houses myself but I have appointments that day.” She handed Scarlette and card. “That’s my associates name, he’s going to be the one that will help you down in San Diego.” They all headed back to the staircase.
“Thank you very much for everything. I’m sorry this didn’t work out better.”
The realtor nodded. “It’s no problem.” She lead them back down to the foyer. “If you have any questions or change your mind, you have my number. Please don’t hesitate to call.”
Matt had opened the door for them. Sophia went out first with Matt and David following behind her.
Scarlette stopped and held her hand out once before she walked out of the door. “Of course.” She smiled.
The realtor smiled back and took Scarlette’s hand. “It was nice meeting you. I hope everything works out for you Miss Davis.”
“Thank you.” Scarlette walked out the door and down the stone pathway that lead to the circular driveway, past Sophia, Matt, and David.
“You should have told me you wanted to move to San Diego.” Sophia huffed behind her.
Scarlette shrugged and held an edge of sarcasm in her voice. “Sucks when things are just sprung up on you, eh?” She was getting her car keys out of her purse, she stood next to her car.
“Well, San Diego is pretty awesome.” David chimed in.
They both turned and looked at him.
He put his hands up and took a step back.
“What are you going to do now?” Sophia glared at Scarlette.
She thought about it for a moment then looked at her car. “I think I’ll go car shopping.” She smiled and hit the unlock button on the car’s keypad.
“So you want me to leave?”
She paused, with one foot in the car. “No, you guys can join. It can get pretty damn boring at a dealership without company.”
“Can I ride with you?”
Scarlette looked at Matt and David then back to Sophia.
“Do you want to follow us or you can just do your own thing?”
Matt shrugged. “I can do either.” Sensing the tension, he looked at Scarlette.
Scarlette shrugged. “If you want to be stuck at a dealership forever, fine by me.”
He smiled. “We can always leave.” He looked at David and laughed.
“All right, it’s settled. Let’s go over to the Land Rover dealership on Sunset.”
“I am totally starving.” Sophia held her stomach and whined. It was almost four hours later and Scarlette was just finalizing all the necessary paperwork for her brand new silver, supercharged, fully loaded Range Rover.
“Thank you very much.” Scarlette smiled brightly at the sales man has he handed her the extra set of keys to her. She turned and walked back to where Sophia and the guys were sitting. “Sorry to make you guys wait so long. Shall we get a late lunch, my treat?”
Sophia sat up a little straighter. “Are you done?”
Scarlette nodded. “Yes.”
She jumped up. “All right, let’s go.” She stretched. Matt and David stood up as well and the four of them headed towards the door. Matt took Sophia by the hand and David placed his hand on the small of Scarlette’s back. It took her by surprised, Scarlette looked over her shoulder at David and gave him a small smile. She told herself he was just being polite, even though she felt a shock of electricity between each other.
The dealership workers pulled the vehicle up to the front for Scarlette. “So were to?”
“I’m thinking… burgers?” Sophia licked her lips and rubbed her stomach.
“Models eat burgers, no way?!” Matt laughed and pulled Sophia closer to him.
Sophia smiled. “We’re not typical, obviously.”
“Burgers do sound good.” Scarlette nodded.
David shrugged. “Works for me.”
“To Patra Burgers!”
The guys looked at each other and shrugged. “We’ll follow.”
“You haven’t had a burger ‘til you’ve had one of these.” Scarlette walked to the driver side and got in.
“These were pretty good, not the best but good.” Matt leaned back in his chair and put his arms behind his head. “Shake Shack might be better.”
Sophia stuffed fries into her mouth. “That’s like comparing apples and oranges. East coast to west coast.”
Scarlette stifled a laughed and sipped on her ice tea.
“So what now?” David looked at Scarlette and smiled. “It’s been fun, even though it started off a little awkward.”
“Well,” Sophia began to get up. “Thank you for lunch Scar, but Matt and I are going to go walk off some of this grease and hunt down ice cream.”
Scarlette thought about how she’ll have to wring Sophia’s neck later.
It was just David and Scarlette sitting there for a while, not saying anything. Scarlette sipped on her tea and David looked around the restaurant. The awkward silence was getting unbearable when David cleaned his throat.
“I apologize for this seeming like an ambush.” He leaned forward a bit, unsure of what to do next.
She shrugged. “It’s fine. I mean, I was pissed at first but it’s not your fault… right?”
He gave a small laugh and nodded. “Sophia and Matt just told me that they were meeting up with a friend and asked if I wanted to come along. I had nothing else to do, and well, here I am.” He absently played with the straw in his soda.
“Well, not to be rude, since I’m pretty positive that Sophia didn’t tell either one of you; I told her the other night, that I wasn’t interested in meeting you or anyone for that matter. I just filed for divorce and I think I need a little me time. A little selfish phase before I get anyone involved.” She sighed. “Plus, I’m probably not in the best frame of mind right now, considering that, that relationship was going on for almost eleven years.”
He nodded. “I completely understand. I was there too once. But, I can’t lie and say I’m not attracted to you. As creepy as this may sound, I am very attracted to you. I would like to take you on a date and get to know you better, if that is okay with you.”
Scarlette lifted a corner of her lips and shook her head.
“We don’t have to call it a date, let’s just hang out and be friends.”
She paused for a moment and contemplated on that suggestion. “Maybe.”
“Sophia told me very little about you and I am not about to go and Google your name. I feel like that is cheating or would put me in the wrong frame of mind. Well, how about we hang out a few times more before I go on tour, email each other when I am on tour and then when I come back 6 months, I can take you on a date?”
“If it all works out, okay. That’s fine. I suppose I should make some new friends.”
David smile, letting his white teeth peek through his lips. “So, as a friend, tell me more about yourself.”
Scarlette smiled and began from the beginning. They went back and forth about school, music, career goals, interest, hobbies, and what they were reading. Soon they each went over their divorces, considering Scarlette’s was just beginning, she didn’t have much to talk about except for the events that lead to it.
“Well, I could handle the cheating and random hook ups, only because he wasn’t sleeping with me. But the drug and alcohol abuse, it’s a little ridiculous. It makes Lindsey look sober.”
“That bad?”
“If not worse now. He wasn’t always like that though.” She shrugged. “I just had been hope that the man I fell in love with in high school would some day come back. I can’t wait another ten years, hell, not even another ten days.” She shook her head. “The straw that really broke the camels back was the sex tape.”
David’s eye open wide, mouth slightly open. “You have a sex tape?”
She laughed. “Oh goodness, no.” She crossed her legs and straightened out her skirt. “He and some loose girl.” She made a face of disgust. “I’m sure her family is very proud of her.”
“That is pretty heavy.”
She nodded.
“Well, my divorce isn’t that exciting, although I did cheat once. It was rather stupid and typical. Booze and loose women just don’t mix. I felt so guilty I started drinking more. I was disgusted with myself and alcohol was the band aid that fixed it.” He too s drink of his soda. “My drug of choice was cocaine. I snorted so much of it, the Rolling Stones would have sent me to rehab. It was pretty bad, then I started to realize I was losing a lot of friends and family members, so I checked into a rehab facility in Sedona, Arizona.” He stared off into the distance. “I failed to realize that my relationship with my wife was forever damaged and even more so when she filed for divorce while I was in rehab. She said she didn’t want to deal with me if I relapsed which she said would bet large amounts of money on.” He gave a slight grunt. “It’s pretty sad when people who once cared about you already set you up, in their mind, for failure.”
“I have to give you a lot of credit for realizing your own mistakes and tried to correct them. I’m sorry you’re ex-wife didn’t want to give you a chance after rehab.”
He shrugged. “I deserved it and it’s for the best. I think she was pissed about her having to sober up and start working for herself; meanwhile, I was still having a blast all over the world. I’m smarter now, partying isn’t everything.”
Scarlette played with the strand of white pearls on her neck, for a moment. Staring at the table, thinking. “Do you still talk to her?”
He shook his head. “She’s remarried now and has two kids. Plus, I don’t feel like reminiscing about the past.”
Scarlette’s gaze had turned out to the window, to the cars that drove by. She saw Sophia and Matt walking across the street and back to the restaurant. “They’re coming back.”
He got up and moved behind Scarlette pulling her chair out as she stood up. “Thank you.” She smiled, has she ran her palms over the back of her dress to smooth it out. “It’s been lovely. Sorry, I was slightly stand-offish earlier.” They headed towards the door.
“It’s not a big deal. I would have been too. At least to turned out pleasant.” He gave her a smiled. “We should do this again soon.”
Scarlette smiled and nodded. “I agree.” Her heart skipped a beat at the thought, but had to hush it down. It was too early for this, if she wanted a healthy relationship, she had to wait. She didn’t want to rush into everything and have it come back and blow up in her face. Just then, she realized that flirting and conversation with the opposite sex came naturally to her. She sighed in relief, but this could turn out to be a problem instead. This was going to be interesting.
1 comments:
This is getting better and better with each chapter. There are a few grammar mistakes, but with it being rushed, they're don't detract from the story.
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