6
CHAPTER SIX
Eight Years Earlier
“I’m soglad you’re here with me.” Elle wrapped her arm around Beth’s shoulders and squeezed as they walked along the shore, the water lapping at their feet.
Elle’s parents, Danny and Tanya, moved her and Mark from their small town in Georgia to sunny Southern California a few years after Jeff and Devon went off to college. A modeling agency signed Elle at twelve years old after her mother submitted headshots in a competition Elle had read about in a fashion magazine. As thrilled as she’d been with the possibility of having her dream career, she knew what she’d miss most about Georgia were Devon and Beth. But her parents had concluded the once-in-a-lifetime chance was too good of an opportunity for their natural beauty to pass up.
Elle’s thick, long blond hair was naturally wavy, and it perfectly framed her big hazel eyes, high cheekbones, and symmetrical facial features. Her teen years had ticked by with Elle gaining more and more popularity. Requests for magazine covers, cameo spots on established television sitcoms, and contracts to be the face of major name-brand designers poured in from her agent. By the time she’d turned twenty, her name was instantly recognized across the entertainment industry.
“What do you want now?” Beth asked, arching her eyebrow with a sideways glance at Elle. “I’ve been here with you for two years.”
“I just found out I have to go to Miami for three weeks,” Elle began explaining.
“Yes, I can see how that would be a hardship on you. Such a difficult and terrible life you live. Three weeks in Miami Beach. Photoshoots, bikinis, sun, sand, and salt water. Yes, I feel your pain.”
“You’re about to feel pain, all right,” Elle laughed. “You’re such a smartass. Before you so rudely interrupted me, I was going to ask if you can go with me. Now, I’m just not sure I want such negativity to taint my trip.”
“Believe me, if I could get away to South Beach for three weeks, I would definitely taint your trip. I would taint the shit out of it. But the agency just contacted me about a small production that begins next week. You are looking at the newest member of the hair and makeup specialist team!”
“Congratulations, Beth! I’m so happy for you. Not that I ever had a doubt. I just know how hard it is to get in.”
“Well, doing your hair and makeup and using those pictures in my portfolio didn’t hurt my chances. With you being a hotshot supermodel and all.”
“Supermodel. That’s so funny, like I wear a mask and cape, parading around the city to fight crime. Maybe they’ll create a comic book character based on me,” Elle joked.
“I’m so glad fame never went to your head,” Beth replied, her tone rife with sincerity. “You’ve never adopted the diva mentality no matter how much success you’ve achieved.”
“You’ve never let me. You always remind me where I came from, and that you’d kick my ass all the way back to that small town in Georgia if my head got too big,” Elle laughed.
“So, you could say I’m your brain trust. Your driving power behind the scenes.”
“Let’s not get carried away, Beth.”
“Seriously, I wish I could go with you. What’s the trip for and why will you be there so long?”
“I’ve just been selected as the new face of Kylie Rae Romano. Her new clothing line will be revealed soon, and they want me there for it. So over the next three weeks, they’ll fit me, shoot me, and use me to help promote it. All while they useherstatus to promoteme.”
“Sounds like a lot of work.” Beth scrunched up her nose in disagreement. “All work and no play.”
“Beth…” Elle hesitated, capturing Beth’s undivided attention. “Devon is in Miami. Jeff mentioned to Mom he’d talked to Devon the other day. I’m going to call him while I’m there.”
“Elle, you’ve always had a crush on him. You know I’m all for having a good time, and hell if you don’t need to let your hair down and have fun for once. You’ve worked since you got that first contract when you were twelve. But I know you. A fling with Devon wouldn’t just be a fling to you.”
“You’re getting a few miles too far ahead of yourself, aren’t you? How does seeing him again after all these years mean I’ll have a fling with him?”
Beth stopped walking and turned to face her friend. Concern masked her face and burned in her eyes. “You didn’t have the typical high school experience, Elle. You were homeschooled while you shuffled from one photoshoot to another. From LA to New York and everywhere else in between. Your parents sheltered you, as they should have in this industry. You’re twenty, riding high on your modeling career, but you’ve never really dated and had that whole experience of heartbreak, letdowns, and the occasional orgasm that makes up for it all.”
Elle’s cheeks flared red. After years of being on one set or another, with everyone looking at her with a critical eye, very few things embarrassed her at that point in her life. Her sex life, or lack of one, was one of those things that mortified her more than anything.
“I just haven’t seen him in a long time, and this is the first chance I’ve had. He’s been in the Army or something—and stationed all over the world. How can I not see him when we’re finally in the same city?” Elle argued her point.
Beth smiled sadly, knowing she couldn’t dissuade Elle from her course. “Just be careful. You’re my best friend, Elle. I know you—I just don’t want to see you hurt. So, when do you leave?”
“Saturday—three days away. Kylie Rae is a huge name in fashion. This will open so many doors for me—even small parts in more television shows and movies.”
Elle’s excitement was contagious, and soon, dreams of the movie parts were in both their eyes. “That would be so amazing, Elle. To see you on the silver screen and announce to the world, ‘That’s my best friend!’ I wish I could be in Miami with you when this new era of your career kicks off. You can bet your ass I’ll be on the set with you when you do your first major show—TV or movie.”
