Chapter 16 - Alex

The next morning, Alex woke up to the faint smell of pancakes and the sound of Biscuit's barks from the bedroom floor. The curtains were pushed open, letting the sun stream in from the wall of floor to ceiling windows. She could see the sparkling blue lap pool and the city's skyline from where she sat on the bed.

On the night table was a selfie Alex had taken with Jordan's phone. She couldn't believe he'd actually printed her selfie and then framed it. Jordan was obviously sprung. He was in love with her even though she didn't initially trust him; and she was keeping their relationship a secret; and she'd stopped him the night before as things between them escalated.

When she stood at the front door after midnight and told him she was in love with him, too, she had given him her heart, but she really wanted to give him more. She didn't stop Jordan when he hoisted her up and wrapped her legs around his waist. She didn't push him away when he slid his tongue into her mouth, intertwining it with her own, before pulling it out to lightly bite her bottom lip. She never moved his strong arms or hands, which supported her hips and thighs as he carried her slowly up the stairs and into his bedroom.

It had been so quiet when Alex fell back onto Jordan's bed; Jordan silently moving above her. She remembered closing her eyes, as Jordan removed her top, and marveled at how soft his cool Egyptian cotton sheets felt on her skin. The only thing Alex could hear was Jordan's breath quicken as she pulled his shirt off and tossed it onto the floor. The same full lips that pressed firmly against her neck and collar bone, turned to feathers when they finally reached her breasts. She gasped as he lingered there, skillfully teasing her. A soft moan escaped Alex when Jordan grasped a fist full of her hair, with one hand, and slipped his other hand into her underwear.

"Jordan, wait!" She said, catching her breath. "We have to stop. I'm sorry."

Rolling off of Alex and lying next to her, Jordan exhaled. "Don't ever apologize for stopping me. I'm sorry if I was moving too fast."

"No, don't be. It's just that if we're going to take it there, I need to come clean about us first--with everyone who's important to me. I thought a lot about what you said...the whole thing with Damien...and it's not fair to you that we're creeping around. Not to mention I also hate lying to my mom. Besides, we haven't been tested, yet."

"Are you serious? That's what condoms are for."

"I am serious, and this is Hollywood, bruh. It literally takes five minutes and we can do it from home."

Jordan laid still for a few minutes, seemingly letting everything Alex said sink in. "Ok. It's whatever you want, babe." He then hopped off the bed and walked away.

"Hold up, are you upset? Where are you going?" Alex called out, pulling her blouse back on.

"I'm not mad," Jordan said giving her a genuine grin. "I just need to take a very cold shower, that's all."

I need to talk to my mom about Jordan ASAP, Alex thought watching Jordan's bare back muscles flex slightly with every step he took towards the bath.

Admiring Jordan's ten-foot bedroom ceilings, then turning her gaze back to the pool's glass like surface, Alex smiled to herself thinking, I can definitely get used to this.

"Good morning, beautiful." Jordan walked in barefoot and shirtless carrying a tray of food.

"Here you go trying to feed me, again."

"It's interesting how you always comment about that, but you never turn the food away," Jordan remarked. Looking at the plate filled with fluffy golden pancakes, Alex eyed them, skeptically.

"Did you actually make these?"

"Yup. I celebrate all special occasions with pancakes."

"Oh yeah? What's the occasion?"

"There are actually two things I'm celebrating this morning. The first is waking up next to you in my bed, for the first time. And the second is Sunday night's box office numbers." Alex shrieked throwing her arms around Jordan's neck and almost knocking him over.

"Babe, I'm so proud of you! That's amazing!" Just then, Alex's phone started to ring.

"What's Zee doing calling me this early?" Alex wondered, putting the phone on speaker.

"Hey girl, what up?"

"You know exactly what's up, Alex! I can't believe you would do this to me?" Zee sounded like she was on the brink of tears.

"Wait, slow down, what happened?"

"Is this why you canceled drinks with me, on Sunday night? Because you were getting ready to stab me in the back on Monday?"

"Stab you in the--tell me what's going on?" Looking to Jordan for some clarification, he silently shrugged indicating he was just as confused as she was.

"Hollywood Tonight, Alex! The studio canceled me and gave it to you! You know how much that meant to me!"

"But you just got that Sunday! My mom and I haven't had any meetings since last week when I first got added to the tour." Alex noticed a slight change in Jordan's face when she mentioned meetings. Was there something he wasn't telling her?

"Yeah, whatever. Stuff like this doesn't just happen. I trusted you...I thought we were friends! If I knew this is how you played the game, I would have never invited you to the Young Hollywood party, where you never would have met Jordan, because let's be clear; he's the only reason you've been getting any press, lately." Click!

Alex's throat tightened where a lump was beginning to grow. She didn't understand the entire situation, but Zee's last words cut her deep. If Zee was telling the truth and the studio did gave Alex the Hollywood Tonight time-slot, she hadn't earned it. She didn't deserve it.

It wasn't until Biscuit started barking again that she noticed Jordan's arms were wrapped around her and felt his hands rubbing her back. "This is all a big misunderstanding," he was saying, "she's just upset right now, but she'll come to her senses and realize you had nothing to do with any of that." He wiped a tear from her cheek.

Alex moved away from him, shaking her head in disagreement. "This is exactly why I didn't want to go public about us, because I'll never know, now. Zee is right!" She began to sob, loudly, "I didn't get invited to Hollywood Tonight because I'm on the A-List, I got invited because I'm with the A-Lister! My whole career is going to be about you, Jordan...my whole life's work...nobody will care about the years I've spent trying to catch a break. They will always give the credit to you! And I love you, I really do, but...I wanted to make it on my own...for me! For my dad...and for my mom!"

That strange look flashed across Jordan's face again and this time, she needed an explanation. "Jordan, what are you not telling me?"

Jordan looked down and placed both hands on his face. He sighed heavily, then looked straight into Alex's eyes. "Remember rule number four when I tell you this, ok?"

Alex couldn't begin to imagine what he might tell her that would cause her to want to give up on them, but she braced herself for the news. "Alright. Just spit it out."

"Ok...on Monday, after my morning meeting with the studio, I saw your mother in the lobby."

Alex listened calmly as Jordan divulged every detail of his exchange with her mother. She had always known her mother was fierce in business, but she'd never known her mother to be so aggressive outside of those meetings. By the time Jordan finished, Alex wished he had listened and let her handle her mother, but it was interesting to learn that her mother knew a lot more than Alex had thought.

"So, you think she got me the Hollywood Tonight, spot?" Alex asked, numbly.

"I mean, we don't know that for sure, unless we ask...but there's a strong possibility she did."

Her mom had never taken meetings behind her back, in the past. Or had she? Alex reflected on the last meeting they had with the studio. How eager her mother was to accept the press tour lead on Alex's behalf. How her mom had stopped her from informing them that she and Jordan weren't really in a relationship, at that time. Her mother also didn't seem surprised about the video taken in Sacramento. She hadn't even questioned Alex about it all.

What would her father want her to do, right now? She would have to get a handle of the Zee situation, and she still had to meet with Damien for prep, and Hollywood Tonight was coming up at the end of the week, so America would be watching closely, and the studio needed her to do a good job, and she had to talk with her mother about the meeting, and she needed to let people know about Jordan.

The room started to waiver and her head felt light. Jordan looked at Alex, his eyes full of concern when he realized her breaths were becoming shorter and her hand instinctively slapped onto her chest, like she was checking for her own heartbeat.

"Baby, baby, baby... breath!" He directed, holding her steady. "I need you take deep breaths! I know this is all very stressful; but why don't you eat something and try to relax...we're gonna get this all sorted out." Jordan said pushing the tray of food towards Alex and turning on the television. "Let's just chill for a second and get our minds off things. Then we'll figure this out."

Alex focused on Jordan's face and took several deep breaths. As the room went still again, she felt more centered. My mother is always in my corner. There a good explanation for everything...I just need to talk to her, and everything will be alright.

However, when Jordan and Alex saw Kitchen Kitty appear on the screen, both of their jaws dropped at the "Today's Hot Tea" headline.