Laguna Nights (22 page)

H
e wasn’t exactly certain how Madison had pulled it off, but they were sitting in an ocean front suite, enjoying a bottle of champagne and a fruit and cheese plate in front of a roaring fire. If this is what the pit of failure looked like, he supposed it wasn’t as bad as he’d expected. Although he knew this moment couldn’t last.

Madison sat beside him on the couch, staring at the fire. She hadn’t asked him a question, nor had she forced him to speak. She didn’t seem mad at him, either, which she should be for sucking her into this mess. God, he even got her mom sucked into this mess. All for his own vanity. For his need for fame and celebrity.

A fool’s dream.

He turned to look at her, and she must have felt his gaze because she shifted on the couch and was facing him. She was beautiful, dressed in light blue silk, framed by the open sliding doors and the bright blue sky. Her eyes completed the blue palette. His gaze dropped to her mouth, her lips full and perfect. He knew he needed to say something; to explain himself. He also knew he could not lose her again. The desire to lean over and press his lips to hers was overwhelming, an easier route than trying to explain the unexplainable.

He imagined what it would be like to just hold her in his arms, taste her, carry her through the suite to the king-sized bed in the other room.

“We need to talk,” Madison said, a soft smile on her face. “I know you’ve had a big shock today.”

“We both have. I’m so sorry Madison. I don’t even know what to say. I guess I’m still in shock that Laura played me so well,” Josh said, leaning forward resting his head in his hands, elbows on his knees.

“And that she pulled your dad into it, and my mom. And Annie, and well, it was very well planned. She’s good at getting what she wants,” Madison said, the irony of her statement coursing through both of them.

And then, suddenly, Josh had the proof he needed to show Madison that it was her he’d wanted all along.

He grabbed the controller and turned on the huge flat screen TV mounted on the wall above the fireplace.

“I’m not in the mood for TV Josh,” Madison said.

“Of course not. Just give me a minute,” he said. Josh clicked through to what he wanted and pulled up
Laguna Nights
, revealing a shot of all of the cast on the beach at sunset, Madison on Josh’s lap on the sand, Laura standing in the foreground, the queen bee. It was the poster for season two.

“No, Josh, not now,” Madison said. Her voice was wavering and her hands were shaking, even after all of these years. “Please.”

Josh reached for her and pulled her to his side on the couch, draping his arm around her shoulder. He could feel her shaking. “I don’t want to hurt you again, I just need to show you something you may not have seen before.”

“I’ve seen it all, too many times,” Madison said.

“Give me one last chance,” he said, clicking on season two, episode four. As the credits began to roll and the opening theme song came on, Josh fast-forwarded to the end. “It’s me and you now, just the two of us. Trust me.”

Josh pushed play and it was night, the camera focusing on a bubbling pool of water illuminated and surrounded by a lush garden. It was Laura’s hot tub, perched on the edge of the mountain with an incredible view of Laguna Beach stretched out below. Laura came on screen, smiling at the camera, primping, putting her long hair up into a high ponytail and then Josh appeared in the shot, a shock to fans who were watching the show back then, and to his then girlfriend, Holly.

“No,” Madison said next to him and tried to pull away.

“Please, one more second,” Josh said. He knew he had to force her to watch the scene. On the screen, Laura sauntered into the hot tub and Josh began to follow. Before he walked down the second step, he had turned, looked at the camera and turned his back again, revealing his hand, fingers crossed. “Look,” Josh said, pointing to the screen where he’d frozen it. “That was for you. But you never saw it, did you?”

He looked at Madison then, the tears streaming down her cheeks. “That was my sign, my reassurance that nothing was happening. That it was all for the show. That you were the only one who truly held my heart. The only one who holds my heart,” he said, and dropped to the floor at her feet, bending on one knee, “Please forgive me.”

Madison had tears streaming down her cheeks, but she smiled. “I do. I forgive you. I never saw that. All I saw was Laura. The two of you together. I’ve watched it a million times,” she said.

Josh stood up and then held out a hand to her, pulling her to standing. He felt her heart beating in her chest as he held her close, the familiar stirring in his crotch, the undeniable pull between them. He placed his hands on either side of her face and gently tilted her head up to face him.

“I love you. I always have, I always will,” he said, before she reached for his head and pulled it down on hers, sealing their lips together. Her mouth opened beneath his, his tongue plunging into hers as hers pushed back in a hot tangle. He tilted her head back further to deepen the kiss. He felt her hands slide down his arms, her body pushing against his, the thin fabric of her dress concealing nothing of her fabulous body. He grabbed her butt, pressing her against him as she moaned. He was going to lose it. He bent and picked her up in his arms as she broke their kiss.

“I think it’s finally time,” she said. “I’ve been waiting for fifteen years.”

“Oh my god,” he said, pressing his lips back onto hers, carrying her into the bedroom and lowering her slowly onto the bed, never breaking their kiss. She fell back on the bed as he dropped down beside her. He reached under her dress and rubbed his hand up her smooth thigh, finding the top edge of her panties, slipping his fingers under the lace as she writhed beneath him.
How could they have never had sex?
She was the sexiest woman he knew, and the only one he’d ever truly loved. What was wrong with him all these years?

“I’ve missed you so much,” he murmured. He pulled his hand out from under her skirt and cupped her beautiful breasts with both hands, rubbing her nipples through the thin fabric of her dress and her bra. He plucked at them and felt his erection grow as they hardened. He needed to get the dress off of her.

“Zipper, in back,” she moaned, rolling to face him on her side, sitting up unsteadily as he reached around behind her and tugged the zipper down, pulling the dress roughly from her shoulders, pulling it over her hips.

He stopped and admired her, entranced by her, their eyes locking. She wore a simple white bra barely covering her erect nipples, and white lace panties. She was gorgeous, his body was shaking with desire. He unhooked her bra and found her right nipple with his mouth, sucking hard and biting it, feeling her arching beneath him.

“Please, Josh, I want you,” she said, her voice soft, needy.

“Soon,” he said as he nipped her other nipple and she writhed in his arms. It was everything he could do to not plunge inside her, but he needed this to be special. Their first time. He would hold on even as she drove him crazy. Her hand was reaching for him, sliding over his jeans, tugging at his waistband. She was driving him crazy with want as he pulled at his jeans with her, even as he still suckled her breasts. He looked up and they stared at each other, both breathing hard, crazy with desire.

“Now, Josh, now,” she said, her voice demanding and sure. “I need you inside me.”

He grabbed his jeans, found a condom in his wallet and pulled it on in record time. Madison spread her legs wide, her eyes were begging him to give her what she wanted. He plunged a finger inside her, a wet and ready entrance, as she trembled in anticipation. Taking himself in his hand, he kept his eyes locked with hers and thrust inside her as she groaned.

“Ok?” he said.

“Oh my god,” she said by way of an answer, biting her lip and rolling her head back and forth on the bed, her blonde hair a wide fan behind her.

“You feel so good,” Josh said, thrusting into her as his mouth sealed over hers again. He felt her fingernails clawing into his back as her center seized as she came, and then, he felt himself let go, too, shaking in release. He fell on top of her, the most intense orgasm he’d ever experienced in his life. He rolled to his side slowly, pulling her into his side, holding her and not ever wanting to let her go.

Unable to do anything but breathe and cradle her next to him, Josh finally relaxed, letting go of the morning’s drama. The world had become complete with just the two of them, on this bed, together. He would be fine if that was all the world ever was again. He would be happy as long as Madison was by his side, he knew.

Finally, when he could form a complete sentence, he propped himself up on his right elbow and said, “I suppose we need a plan?” The fingers of his left hand traced circles on her stomach and Madison shuddered. He leaned forward to kiss her gently on the lips.

“A plan. Yes,” Madison said. “Your turn.”

“Yes, it is my turn,” Josh said. It was up to him to figure out this mess. One thing was certain. His life had begun again today and his future must include Madison. She would be fine without him, he knew, returning to her high-profile job, her charming cottage, her mom. But he wanted to be a part of her life, more than he’d wanted anything else. But he also knew he wouldn’t intrude on her perfect life unless he had something to add. He would never take anything away from her again.

He pulled the soft blanket up from the end of the bed and gently covered her.

“Take a nap. I’ll make a few calls. I’ll be right out here,” he said, kissing her cheek as she smiled.

“Don’t let me sleep too long,” she murmured.

“I won’t,” he said, closing the door to the bedroom behind him. It was time to make a plan.

He picked up his phone and pushed Marty’s contact. Marty answered in one ring.

“Where are you? We have a shoot under way, a shoot you’re under an air-tight contract to honor,” his manager said, the words tumbling hard and fast from his mouth.

“Well, we are all going to need to do a little give and take,” Josh said. He walked to the closet and found a robe, pulling on the plush comfort as he dropped onto the couch. “I need to see all the footage shot so far. A screening of sorts. Then I want a run down with the editors of the proposed money shots, the secret footage from the hidden cameras, any pre-caps you shot with Annie or Francine or Laura for that matter. And if you filmed the scene in the trailer after lunch, you better be damn sure I see all of that, too.”

“It’s not going to happen, Josh. Laura controls the footage and she’s happy with what she has. She told Roger she doesn’t even need another day with you all,” Marty said. “I’m begging her to let us have some closure, some reality footage of everyone getting back to normal after she blows out of town.”

“What does that leave me getting back to, exactly, after she blows out of town, Marty?” Josh asked, as the other end of the line grew silent.

“I think we both know it’s over after this, kid,” Marty said. “I’m sorry, but you had a good run. Maybe motivational speaking, teaching a course on television at a community college. Hell, there might even be a documentary company that could use voice over talent. There are plenty of avenues for you. I’d just hang up the acting dream.”

And there it was in a nutshell, Josh realized. His dreams of a comeback were over. If it hadn’t been because of Laura, it would have been his anxiety. Ironically, he had watched a natural at work – Madison – and he knew he didn’t have anything near her natural star power.