Arrival in Los Angeles (#1 of California Dreaming): A Los Angeles Series by Andrew J. Smith

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About the author:

The Author

Lived in Italy, his country of origin, up to the age of eighteen. At the age of majority he decides to move abroad and travel the world; Australia, New Zealand, England, France. He embarks on an inner journey and at the same time practical, looking for himself. After four years, away from home and family, he returned to Italy and decided to jump into the world of writing. Achieved success already from his first novel "That place where dawn meets the ocean" climbing the charts and reaching the top in the top positions with 100,000 copies sold all over the world. The book has been translated into more than 19 languages and has won a position among the top 10 best-selling books in the top100bestseller of amazon, the third in the ranking in the bestsellers of Youcanprint and the ninth as more profitable. His novels usually relate to stories of love and intertwining that refer to the most classic references in the literary genre after 1945 and in modern literature.

Here is a short sample from the book:

1

ARRIVAL IN LOS ANGELES

 
James Alliston was sitting on the scheduled direct flight to Los Angeles.
Second-class flights had never had a good reputation, but always had the ability to depress it. Nonetheless , his agent ‒ and best friend for fifteen years ‒ Andy Jackson, had promised him that the breakthrough could not but help them: a long road to the unknown, with a cheap bag with a pair of dark jeans and a pair of pretty tight black T-shirts, shaving foam, razor blades, and a dress for elegant occasions. That at least was all he had time to grab before his ex-wife slammed him out of the house, accompanied by a barman mastiff lawyer with whom he had had the pleasure of many meetings for the duration of the divorce process.
Fortunately , he had managed to get the joint custody of Elizabeth, and twice a month she could see her three-year-old girl.
A bad break, so he had called Andy, his agent, even if the consideration received to date for the whole thing he had failed to take it in a manner properly serious. Perhaps , it was because everything had happened too quickly, but he had never been able to understand how much Karen and him had broken off. When had this happened? When he had to go to Los Angeles, to start working on the shooting of his novel? Karen had openly communicated his disagreement and the reasons were quite clear:«You can’t decide to leave so suddenly leaving me and your daughter here,» she had said. Still, what else could he do? He did not like the idea either, but what choice had he had at the time? Surely , that was not the triggering reason, but there were a thousand others, and to be exact, their names were Clarisse, Vanessa, Maggie, Barbara and many others to add to the list. In fact , he had never betrayed Karen with any of these, after all the advances by beautiful women like them, had not been enough for him to renounce Karen and his daughter. The fact was that after he had finished his book, he had not been able to write anything that would thrill him like a long time, and this for James had been the beginning of a long "literary depression", so Karen had called her.
Once the film was finished, he had returned to New York, thinking that everything from then on would be fantastic. In short, he had written a book that The New York Times had called "the new relational approach in the 21st century", and if many people read that magazine ‒ and many did ‒, the game was done: here, your novel started to sell one hundred thousand copies in just over two months.
Thanks also to the fact that his agent, Andy Jackson, had made this happen. From there, here is the arrival of a film proposal and the first real money as a writer.
Everything went beautifully, smoothly, and Karen was thrilled that her efforts were finally rewarded. Although, many people liked to praise his innate talent in writing, unfortunately he had never been able to see this with the same eyes. At least, this was his current state of mind, towards anything and not just writing.
When it happened, he wondered , as the stewardess passed through the narrow corridor of the plane with the food cart and offered each passenger with a smile that was more than dazzling. When had he lost Karen? This was a question that had been raised very often in recent weeks. Was it really impossible that he would come back as it once did and the two of them would rejoin again? The divorce papers were a more than eloquent answer, but he had always been a kind of happy ending, although he could not find such a dazzling idea that he could make sure he had a happy ending as it should be.
Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by the woman sitting next to him.
She was a charming woman, about forty perhaps, a pair of dark glasses covering her face and a slight sketch of wrinkles on either side of her mouth, because of her age.
The woman had not paid any attention to him until then. Probably , the flights had to put her in awe because, now, James, he noticed the continuous movement and agitation on the part of the woman, which, in fact, had not been stopped for a moment.
Next to her, there was a chubby man, who hardly could sit mixture over the narrow seats of the second class. It was all competed to see out the window exactly nothing, because even the plane was too high to be able to see a hint of earth, but now there were only white clouds surround them about ten thousand meters of altitude.
«Nervous for the flight?» He asked, turning to the woman with an open smile.
«Actually, yes.» She spoke, with a tight smile that showed her nervousness more clearly.
«Even my ex-wife was always agitated when it came to taking a plane.» He said, to make her understand that she should not be embarrassed about it.
Putting the fairer sex at ease, it was something that had always succeeded well; not only for his wisdom in speaking, but in his own self-confident ways he tended to attract women. This, evidently, pleased the woman, because she gave him a smile and held out her hand.
«My name is Caitlin Thomas."
«James Alliston.» He did. «Business trip?» He continued, noticing his elegant suit and tight skirt up to his gray knees.
«Good guess. This is an important interview with a law firm in Los Angeles.» She replied, confirming her suppositions.
«Ah, a career lawyer.»
«Well, not really in a career. I decided to move to Los Angeles to be closer to my mother, who is not in very good condition at the moment.» She confessed.
«Are you also specialized in medicine?» He said, winking at her.
«Let's just say a volunteer, and a daughter trying to make up for lost time with her mother.»
«Excellent opportunity, I would say.»
«I would say yes. But the city change is stressful, and I'm still not sure how the interview will go. We hope so well.» She said the woman, crossing her fingers.
«You will see that it will be all right, you have everything a lawyer should have.» He said, turning his gaze to the hostesses at the end of the corridor for a second, laughing at something he did not know existed.
«Oh yes. And what?» Caitlin asked, finally taking off his sunglasses and showing a pair of blue eyes framed by a veil of purple makeup.
«Charm, tenacity and a good heart.» He said.
«How can you say that? You do not even know me.» She asked, suspiciously.
«Well, the charm is obvious. Your tenacity and your cold blood I have noticed since the moment you got on the plane, but as much as you are scared, you did not want to be overwhelmed by your fears and kept cool for the duration of the flight, and for the good heart… » He paused, giving her a smile and looking her straight in the eye. «Who, if not a good-hearted woman, with a secure job in New York, without the slightest remorse would give up everything to be with the poor sick mother?»
She smiled at him amused. «You got it right, congratulations.»
«Nothing.» He said, «just have a little attention to detail.»
She glanced at him cautiously, putting the spectacle rod in her mouth to one side, while it was obvious that she was thinking about something.
«I bet you're a writer or something similar.» She said, suddenly.
«You see, it's not that difficult. Just know how to observe. What did you infer?» He asked.
«Uhm, let's see… » the woman began, «nothing, simply by the fact that I saw you on the latest New York Post magazine and on The New Yorker.» He paused. «I was not sure it was you at first, but looking at you better, I'm almost certain now.» The woman concluded, with an increasingly mischievous smile.
«Before you bought your book, I was a little skeptical, actually.» She confessed. «Reading it, however, I have in common we people is precisely the prejudice and the difficulties with which we struggle to relate to it, especially with the other sex.»
«A look, we do not need more to know a person.» He said, looking at the woman with her blue eyes and barely moving one of her blonde hair away from her face.
She smiled, and barely looked at him embarrassed . Specially, because he now was looking straight in the eye. Then she approached his ear and whispered, «I'll wait for you in the bathroom in five minutes.» Then he stood up and smoothed his dress, passing him in front of him and heading down the narrow corridor of the plane.

Once he got off the plane, James walked through the long corridor that would take him to the terminal.
Beside him there was the beautiful woman known on the plane, and although it was unthinkable, she had told him in practice all of her life in New York until this day.
They both set off in the airport terminal, and as she continued to insist that they should see each other again, he did not think he wanted to. It was nothing personal, but after the whole process with his divorce he did not have the slightest desire to throw himself headlong into another relationship ‒ probably complicated ‒ with a lawyer from Los Angeles; surely he would not have won it if there were any problems in terms of loyalty.
The two stopped right in front of the airport waiting room seats, where they would have to greet each other and go their own way. After all, he had been quite honest with Caitlin, and he had mentioned a marriage that was not quite in the best ways, but evidently the affair on the plane and its profound appeal must have struck her, because she was not giving up.
«We should, I do not know… do something one of these days. After all, we're both new here, and having some more friendship will not hurt either of us.» The woman said, emphatically.
The problem was just that, and having new friends like Caitlin did not seem like a good idea at all. How could he have said it without hurting the good heart of a sweet Samaritan woman who had come to Los Angeles to take care of her mother.
Fortunately , his agent solved the question, appearing behind them and calling him out loud.
«Hey, James!»
He and Caitlin, turned in the direction from which the voice came, and saw his agent coming in their direction. He wore sunglasses in his hand and a cell phone in the other, with his usual bluetooth ear-cuff, as a real self-respecting agent. Probably, people didn’t know that the only customer who had remained at the time, it was him, and not just for sexual vicissitudes that many times saw him as a protagonist, despite his agent had never cheated on his wife, and until by then he had been more than an excellent husband: loyal and affectionate towards, Michela. At least, it had been more than him.
However, being catched in a film with a greedy secretary of your seat as Agent, while "care" about you in a way that not befitting a good agent and husband, she was not good publicity, and this could easily ruin business. Michela, fortunately, had believed that what had happened in that video was just a long plan designed to make it possible for her to blackmail her agent, so as to make him have a promotion, and even if he had not initially taken it in an optimal way, so as to make Andy sleep out of his house for a whole week, after calming down and forgiving him, she had welcomed him back, repentant and ill-placed; after a long week in a fourth-class motel.
Andy was really a great agent, and if it wasn’t for him, James would never have achieved success with his novel. And besides, the fact of being close friends for fifteen years, he had to count for something.
«I was looking forward to you.» Andy said, with a smile on his face.
The two men embraced fraternally, forgetting for a moment about Caitlin, who was watching them.
«What a horrible man, let me introduce you to Caitlin.» He did, after the long hug, looking at the woman.
The woman, he reached out and presented himself with a friendly smile.
«The pleasure is all mine.» Andy did, kissing elegantly Caitlin's hand, who blushed a little for the gallant gesture.
«I was just about wondering how long it would take James to break into another woman's heart.» His agent said, with a mischievous smile.
The woman started to answer, but Andy preceded her.
«Unfortunately, you must know that we don’t have time for this, and above all he is too much involved in matters that are decidedly complicated at the moment.» He made a fake smile and continued. «Come on, James. What are you waiting for? Take your suitcase and let's run to the studio. I have tons of cards to sign you, organize presentations and interviews that can’t wait.»
The man turned to him with a stern look, moving busily as he picked up his bag and didn’t even look at Caitlin, at the moment puzzled and open-mouthed. So, he literally dragged him away, while the poor woman stood there with a furious look while she watched the two men go towards the exit of the airport.
Once outside, the hot air of Los Angeles hit him in the face.
He had almost forgotten about the dry weather in the city, and the memory of the last time he had been there came into his mind.
«This is the last time I've saved you from a sexy horny lawyer, is that clear?»
The words of his agent brought him back to reality. He returned to himself, and turned to Andy with a sly smile.
«Oh, come on. Does this consist of your work, or not?» He said, «defending me from the attackers who want to compromise my creativity, and make sure my attention is not diverted from my literary self.» He concluded.
«I admit it would have been a nice distraction. This does not mean that you could at least repent to make her hope.» Andy replied, serious.
«What are you talking about? I have done absolutely nothing. Just a little talk on the flight until here.»
The agent looked at him skeptically.
«Yes, but as you crumpled your shirt and your open flap, I can imagine how it ended.»
He looked down on the jeans zipper. Then, still with his usual little smile, he looked at his agent.
«I had no idea, I swear! I thought she was only interested in my book, and in fact most of the time we talked about it.» He said, and in part it was also true.
«Yes, of course.» He did his friend. «Listen, what we have to do here is serious stuff. You have to get back into the game, okay? My cell phone does not ring for a month now. Not even a small interview from some university student … do you know what that means?» The man asked reproachfully.
«Come on, calm down. I'm here on purpose, isn’t it?» He said, while looking from behind the dark glasses two young girls who passed by, while they were seems interested in him.
Andy ran a hand over his face. «Hey, I'm here if you didn’t notice.» He sighed, and said, «you see, that's what I was talking about. In my opinion, you don’t take the thing too seriously.»
«Sure, of course I take it seriously.» He said.
«You know, that's why your wife left you.» The agent said. «You didn’t take her and your daughter too seriously.»
«I did it, instead.» He replied, coming back suddenly. «I made a mistake, that's true, but I still love her and above all I love Elisabeth."
«I know, my friend. I know.» The agent said, sighing and looking up at the tall skyscrapers in Los Angeles, past the airport.
«If she's not as good as she is, it's a problem with her.» He concluded. «I will show to everybody that I am a changed man and definitely more mature and responsible. When I finish here, I'll convince everyone, you'll see!» He exclaimed, self-assured.
«I don’t know how many chances you have, but this is the right spirit.»
«Now, though, let's go eat something.»
«By the way, how do we move? I don’t see your Grand Cabrio anywhere.» He said, looking left and right to recognize the agent's Maserati.
«Oh, did not I tell you? I wanted to give you a little thought to welcome you to Los Angeles, my friend. A bit to recover even from the ugly blow double.» That said, pointed with the finger the new vanguard Mustang v8 with the convertible top in front of them.
«Fantastic, this is a gift.» He said, bending to look at the circles that reflected beautifully his image, as they were shining.
«Well, your wife took the car, and actually , she took everything, including the house. The fact that he allowed you to see Elizabeth twice a month surprised me.»
«Yes, I like it.» He confirmed.
«Obviously , the price will be deducted from your next check, which will come to you through your new book contract.»
«What would it be, was not it a present?»
«No, I said it was a little thought, not a present.»
«It seemed too good.»
«Don’t worry, if my predictions are right, your next contract will make us earn even more money than your old novel.»
«Hey, try to be respectful, I considered it history, not old.» He accused him.
«Forget it, I have some people to let you know and then you'll understand why I'm talking like that.» He closed his friend with a smirk, sure of himself.
So , the two men got into the car, after putting their bag over the back seats, and headed for the busy streets of the city, as the sun hit the buildings and the hot air of Los Angeles filled their lungs.

***

They arrived in front of the gates of the villa late in the evening, after spending the entire afternoon in the studios of Cross n' Sweeny, the famous literary agency in which Andy worked, to show him the amount of work that awaited him.
Not that it frightened him: he knew well the long course he would have to undergo once the new novel had begun. The problem was that he still had no idea what he was going to write, or what argument or would have discussed his next book. Nothing, total emptiness.
To hear his agent, something would come to his mind in the end, and this was what he hoped too.
The gates opened under the touch of the small gray remote control that his agent had in his hand and the v8 echoed his powerful noise, lazily moving toward the driveway of the house, right by the pool illuminated by the spotlights inside. The lights were on, and he imagined Michela, in her double bedroom, choosing the most suitable dress for the evening that would await all three.
Actually it was an evening to four, and despite the significantly behind communication from his agent, he couldn’t refuse now.
As they descended from the car, he, pulling himself shouldered his bag of black leather, turned to Andy.
«Are you absolutely sure I can’t refuse this four-way?» He asked, knowing what the response from his agent would be.
«Exactly, and as I've already told you, Greta is a famous actress who likes to know talented writers like you. And this, as you can well understand, remains an excellent opportunity to advertise if, as expected, they will release the film of your next novel.»
He was skeptical about it, but when it came to sniffing good chances, he had to admit that his agent knew what he was doing.
Despite this, he did not in fact to dine out with an actress full of herself that he would not stop a second to talk about their latest professional activities in film.
He was tired, and after that long day he wanted to lie down on a bed and sleep until the next day. On the other hand, persuading Andy was just as hard as it was to keep her away from young students with customary hormonal storms.
They headed down the stone driveway until they came across a huge, double-armored, solid wood door.
«You have a lot to hide in here.» He said, serious.
«Security is never too much, you know.»
He looked at him sideways.
«Oh, come on. You're in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Los Angeles, here the cops are just waiting to be filmed by a camera while they kick some criminal trying to break into one of the luxury villas in the area.»
«I would like to be rich as they are, my friend.»
He knew, roughly, the economic situation of his agent, and even if he did not know how much he had on the bill, a single customer did not have to bring enough income to maintain a two million dollar villa, a hundred and seventy thousand car and vices ‒ that he knew perfectly too ‒ of Michela.
But basically life was like that: sometimes there are the highs, and you're fine, and sometimes you have to hold on when things don’t go the way you want. He was definitely the second case.
When they entered the house, Andy switched on the lights of the atrium , which gave the view of an immense, and clean living room, with a long white leather sofa in front of an unlit black marble fireplace. They started towards the kitchen, even the latter so clean as to be close to obsession. He remembered his apartment, however, for those months that had been there in Los Angeles, at the premiere of his film, and certainly the cleanliness, without Karen around to keep the house, was not the best. The moments spent with Karen and her daughter came back to him: when he was writing, late at night, after putting Elizabeth to bed, and Karen approached from behind without wanting to disturb him and gave him goodnight. Or, when the morning they woke up all three and ate breakfast together, as a family or at night, when in bed he and Karen were embraced and made love all night and then fall asleep in each other arms. A tremendous sadness enveloped him, as he tasted certain memories but with the knowledge that they would not be back soon.
Andy took a bottle of wine from under a kitchen cabinet, then reached for one of the drawers and took a bottle opener. He uncorked the wine and took three glasses from above a cupboard, at the top he stood .
«Micky! Come down, I'm with James.»
«I'm coming!» Michela answered from the floor above, probably intent on making up her face.
Andy started pouring wine into one of the glasses and handed one to him.
«To your future success.» The man said, solemnly.
«And at the beginning of our adventure here in Los Angeles.» He replied, equally serious and solemn.
He took a sip, then he heard the sound of Michela's heels descending one after the other the steps of the staircase that led downstairs. He turned and saw the woman, set up for the evening.
«Hey! How long is James that we don’t see each other.» She said excited, approaching and hugging him warmly.
He returned the hug, and the three of them, after drinking their glass of wine, set off outside the house, heading for the restaurant where his agent had booked that afternoon.
It took about twenty minutes to get to the restaurant, which was exactly in the heart of L.A.
One of the rather elegant ones, no more or less than most of the locals in the city center.
It took him a little over ten minutes to find the parking space, while, Andy, as usual, was more fortunate to find parking.
They had decided to go each on their own so that, later, he would first reach the hotel he'd stayed in that afternoon , being a few blocks from there, but Andy and Michela had insisted so much that he would stop at the less for that night, at home .
He, however, had expressly refused, a bit for cuteness, and a little because he did not have the slightest desire to feel the reality of marriage between a married couple. He remembered thinking of the young secretary in fishnet stockings and bra, in the video that saw both she and his agent as the protagonist.
Probably, Andy likes all the mailboxes full of piercings, but he couldn’t understand how he could, when he had a wife like Michela. It was still decidedly attractive. Boredom, perhaps, to enter a monotonous marriage, had pushed him to do what he had done? He had never had these problems with Karen, and despite all those years of marriage, he still found her irresistibly sexy and attractive.
After placing the new fireball in a parking lot, about five hundred meters from the restaurant, he got out, and putting on his jacket he walked along the sidewalk. At that moment, the cell phone vibrated.
He took it from his pocket and read the message.
It was from his agent, who asked if he had finally found parking and that they were already sitting at the table with Greta.
Perfect, he thought.
His desire to sit at a table and dine as if there were nothing more fantastic in life, depressed him even more. Nothing personal to the woman, but he was not in the right mood and despite having warned his agent, the latter had deliberately ignored him. So, now he was forced to entertain a conversation for hours, pretending to be amused. All right, he could do it, or at least he would try.
He entered the restaurant and headed for the tables. It was a completely colored room, and even the waiters had trouble not to confuse them with the red and black upholstery of the place. He finally arrived at the table, and it was time for presentations.
«He's James Alliston.» Announced his agent, introducing him to Greta.
She was a rather charming woman, about forty. Nothing special, but after a quick glance, he concluded that surely, with the mature face she had, she was the kind of woman who knew how to make you have fun in bed. She smiled warmly at him.
«I finally make your acquaintance.» Said, Greta. «I must admit that you are much more handsome live than on the back of a cover.» The woman continued, hairless on her tongue.
He smiled and sat at the table.
«So, why did you decide to move here to L.A.?» Asked Greta, waiting for the waiter to order.
«I found it was a rather remarkable source of inspiration. Beautiful beaches, warm weather and charming women.» He replied. «A winning mix, in short.»
«Obviously, he omitted some reasons, such as his ex-wife and a marriage that ended up behind him, a betrayal, a way in search of righteousness and full evenings where the only friends were alcohol and loneliness. It was not the type to unbutton on the first date, even if that seemed quite different.
Andy answered in his place.
«Exactly. You must know, Greta, that this strange guy sitting next to me, even though it may seem quite different, is an excellent writer. In fact, it happens that he has some plans in mind to get an extraordinary book out of his head.»
He was not exactly of the same opinion, neither on the innovative idea nor on his talent. But in any case he didn’t even want to contradict Andy in a completely shameless manner.
«It's not entirely true.» He spoke, devoid of emphasis.
«Oh, yes it is.» Confirmed, Michela. «He's a fantastic writer, Greta.»
The woman looked at James.
«Your reputation precedes, I fear. You must know that I have read your last novel and whether you believe it or not, I found it very fascinating.» She gave him a look that he considered without a shadow of doubt persuasive. Maybe, it was old age, but it made you pose towards men in a more limpid and direct way, probably. Perhaps, was only his ability to be able to read in the behavior of women to turn out Greta a poor spinster of forty years in search of his last victim to chained to himself. As if reading his mind, his agent shared this thought with the woman.
«You also need to know that she has an innate talent for communicating and reading people's behavior.» Andy said , sure who knows what he's saying.
«Oh, really?» Said the woman, fascinated.
«Not exactly. I only have a good eye.» He concluded, penny.
She looked at him sketched. «Come on, show me.» She said, even more soothingly, now.
The two looked at each other for a moment, and even before opening his mouth he knew exactly where the conversation would end. He took a deep breath and started talking.
«Let's see, my ability is to know how to observe people's behavior. And from what I could see… » he paused. «You are a middle-aged woman desperately looking for a partner who will give you back that little bit of self-esteem that has remained, after having passed from bed to bed and being discharged by the umpteenth man, you just have to throw yourself headlong in new and exciting relationships to be able to still feel attractive, because of an asshole that has given you up for a girl younger than you. Unfortunately, I cannot help you, which is why I did not want to accept being here for dinner tonight.» He concluded with a regretful smile, but that was the truth.
The woman's eyes were a mixture of awareness combined with the bitterness she felt toward him at that moment. She didn’t even shed a tear, but took his glass of wine from above the table and threw it on him, before getting up wildly and heading for the restroom of the restaurant.
«Excellent move, champion.» His agent said.
Michela scratched herself behind the back of her head and coughed. «Well, it didn’t go so badly.»
«Excuse me, but now it will be better if I go.» He said, and then stood up.
«All right, we'll talk over the phone.» Concluded, Andy.
He headed out of the restaurant, his shirt smelling of wine. When he got to the car, he set off and headed for the hotel. He made a first stop at a discount store. He parked and turned off the engine before going down and entering in the small shop. He took a cart and stepped into the corridors lighted by neon lights. He put some precooked food to be heated in the microwave and went to the alcohol department. He examined some bottles before choosing one of the many poor wines put on display. He opened it and started to take a big sip. Then, he headed for the candy department and began to put in the shopping bags of candy and lollipops. After that, while he paused to examine some snacks that Elizabeth liked so much, irremediably a sense of nostalgia hit him in the stomach. At that moment, he saw a girl along the corridor who put a pair of candy bags in her purse. He stayed where he was, and turned to her.
«You know it's a crime, don’t you?»
«She turned to him, looking at him intently with her blue eyes.
«Of course, that's why I was careful that the cameras wouldn’t recover from me.»
«Come on, you don’t need to steal.»
«You believe?»
«And even if it were, you cannot do it anyway.»
«I don’t think you know me enough to say what I need.»
«I'm sure you need a good spanking from your father. What would he say if he caught you stealing here?»
«You can try asking him in jail, if you want.»
«Or maybe you'll tell him when they arrest you.»
She pretended to think about it. «All right, I just wanted to see what happened if I did it.»
«Don’t you dare, my girl. The consequences could be devastating if you're not careful about what you do.»
«In truth , I was waiting for a person like you to come and get me redeemed from all my sins.»
The young girl took the bottle from him and took a long drink.
All right , he thought skeptically, this situation is not taking a good turn .
«Come on, I'll pay for it.» He did. «If you promise me you will not do this again. Prison is a bad place for young girls like you.»
She smiled and the two walked to the counter.
After putting his stuff in the bag and paying for the young girl's candy, they set off the discount store.
«Wow, nice ride.» She did, looking more closely at the car parked in front of them.
«Yes.» He answered, putting the bags in the back seat.
«So… » he began to say. «Try not to get in trouble.» Then, got into his car and started the engine.
«Wait, I'd like to pay somehow.» She said, leaning her arms on the passenger door.
«It doesn’t matter.» He did, shifting the gear ready to go.
«Seriously. Unfortunately, now I have no money with me.» She concluded her with a guilty smile.
«Really, I don’t mind.» He reiterated, but having the feeling that the girl would not give up.
«Do you live around here?» She asked suddenly.
A smile appeared on her face, and it was not the typical smile of a fresh and jovial girl. Rather, a different kind of smile. One of those smiles that will certainly put you in trouble.
They arrived at the hotel, and after entering the room, the girl sat down on the sofa while he went into the kitchen to put the discount bags. When she returned, she looked at him mischievously and showed him the small enclosed cigarette in his hand.
«Do you smoke?» Asked then, the girl.
«Usually, no. But I don’t despise.» He made it short, him.
He also sat on the sofa and let the girl light the joint, then, after a couple of shots, he passed it to him.
In short, this was reduced his life: smoking joint with a decidedly attractive stranger whose name he still didn’t know, while his ex-wife was with his daughter in New York, God knows what was doing. Nothing unseemly, he hoped. But now he didn’t want to think about her, so he gave a couple of shots and leaned back in the sofa. After a few seconds of silence, she saw the stunning signed electric Stratocaster resting near her suitcase.
«Oh my god, this is… » she said, excitedly.
«Correct.» He confirmed.
She took it carefully and examined it more closely.
«Can I?» She asked, and he nodded.
She approached the sofa again and sat down on the carpet in front of him, before starting to sing some chords. After that, she made some sound from the mouth.
«You're not bad.» He said, passing the joint.
She took a long shot and passed it back. «My father taught me to play.» She confessed.
Who knows what his father would have thought now, knowing it in a stranger's house. After all, he was not a bad person and events sometimes could not be controlled as planned.
Minutes passed, and the girl played and hummed a few pieces of the Beatles, a pair of Jimi Hendrix and one of the Blue Violet. Then she put the guitar carefully on the sofa and sat next to him, closer this time. It didn’t take long for the joint to take effect, and their inhibitions would vanish. They slipped slowly away, like silk sheets, delicately, second by second. Then, she turned to him and leaned close to his lips. Then, he rose and the two of them let themselves go completely, kidnapped by that moment and without thinking in the least to the future or to the past. She took off his shirt and he untied his bra. Then it was the turn of the denim shorts. At the time when certain things happened, there was very little that could be done to control them, James found himself thinking. How delicately all the others escaped fears and uncertainties, letting go to a night full of passion, as soft as the skin of that young girl by the name still unknown and sensual as the curves of a young maiden met in the discount store around the corner. Was this the life waiting for him there in Los Angeles, and how would Karen find it right? His head was more clouded than usual at that moment, and his reasoning suddenly no longer mattered; he simply allowed himself to go to the events and to what would bring him.
Andy Jackson was headed to his villa along with Michela. Lately , James's thinking had been one of his main priorities and he knew he had to take off as soon as possible, or the car loan and financing would not be paid for on their own. His wife was there beside him, staring at the street lit by street lamps on the side of the road .
«Poor James.» She said suddenly, Michela. «Left like that, and without the slightest warning.» With a hint of regret in her voice.
«You bet. Although in truth, I always thought that he and Karen never had much in common.»
Michela turned, looking intently at him. «I think they did a perfect couple instead. Those few times when I saw them together were so lovely, and it was so romantic when he looked at her.»
At that moment, the woman just widened her legs and his gaze fell right on the crack of the dress, which showed a good portion of naked thigh.
He tried to stay focused on driving, even if the desire to possess Michela grew disproportionately.
Remained a very attractive woman, even though she had just turned forty. Despite this, she still managed to give birth to a mad desire in him. Even then, if he had not been driving, he would have taken her where she was, would have lifted her skirt off her dress and taken off her underwear, after which they would have made love for hours. Perhaps, he have had some skirmishes with a secretary or two, which didn’t take away that he felt a strong affection for Michela, and after all it was normal, since they had been married for almost eleven years. In spite of everything, his fixed nail remained James, and all the work that awaited them.
They arrived home around one o'clock, and once he parked the car, they both got off. He looked at Michela for a moment, moving towards the driveway and towards the main door, with those high heels and that tight-fitting dress. The desire rose again, and once in front of the door of the house he threw a slap on her back. She screamed, and he was further excited. She giggled and looked at him with her dark, deep eyes, with a fake-innocent look, in order to provoke him. Once inside, he couldn’t resist his impulses. He approached Michela and held her close to him, as he dragged her dress's zipper down so that her back was completely naked. She gasped, and her breathing became labored as she let herself go to his rough, strong hands. She slipped her dress on the ground and in a moment Michela was naked, except for her bra and underwear. He had her spread out on the sofa and slowly began to kiss her calf, then her thigh and gradually higher and higher. Then he lifted off and took off his shirt, then he opened her legs so hard and after removing her underwear ‒ only the lower one ‒, took her thighs and began to push, then increase the speed while she moaned in an increasingly stronger and screaming from pleasure.