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“You drive me crazy,” he whispered as he pulled away.
London laughed as she stood, shed the robe and unveiled her nakedness. “Will you return the favor?”
“Girl!” Ace backed away. “Nothing but trouble. Just like I said. Let me get out of here while I still can.”
* * *
As the limo pulled up to the condo, London noticed lights inside. She hurriedly thanked the driver, barely giving him time to open the door before she was out of the car and through the unlocked door.
“Quinn!”
“We’re in here!”
London walked down a short hall to a sitting room. Quinn Taylor-Drake looked around and screeched. “Oh, my goodness… Your hair!”
Trent Corrigan, who’d been sitting next to Quinn, jumped up and ran over. “All right, girl,” he purred as London swung the now-dry hair she’d let down in the car. “You’d better work those ten packs of hair, girl.”
“Ha! More like twenty.”
“I love it, London.” Quinn came over, too, and fingered the long locks. “They did this for the shoot?”
“Yes, and after sitting in that chair for almost two hours, I am determined to wear them for more than a day.”
“You look totally different,” Quinn said.
“She looks totally hot,” Trent added. “Where are we going to shake it up tonight? I’m ready to par-tay!”
The three went to dinner at a restaurant run by one of Trent’s friends. It was in the Castro, one of the first openly gay neighborhoods in the United States. Located near the highly trafficked intersection of Castro and Market Streets, Pride & Good Prices was as much a place to socialize and meet up as it was a spot where one could get gourmet-quality international cuisine at reasonable prices. Reservations were highly encouraged, but you could always get seated when you were friends with the owner.
After a complimentary glass of wine during their ten-minute wait for a table, during which notice of London produced selfies galore, the three were seated in a corner booth.
“We don’t need menus,” Trent told the cute bald waiter who had skin smoother than London’s and whose makeup was on point. “Just tell the chef to serve up some good food.” And then he turned to London. “I can’t get over you and all that hair, honey. I think the last time we partied, you were wearing a Halle Berry cut.”
“If you saw my hair that short, it was a wig. Either way, it was a long time ago.”
“She tried to act like she didn’t remember you,” Quinn said. “But when I mentioned Cannes, fireworks, chalet and champagne in the same sentence, the memories flooded back.”
Quinn and London were the same age and had both spent their high school years in Swiss boarding schools, but Trent was how they’d eventually met. He’d dabbled in modeling and through a connection had been offered a chalet during the film festival in Cannes. He’d invited Quinn, his best friend, to come, too. When he saw London, whom he’d done a show with just weeks prior, he’d invited her to a party at the chalet. The luxury villa was seated on a hilltop, with stunning views of the sea and city. Dom Pérignon had flowed like water. At midnight, a loud, gargantuan fireworks display had shocked and delighted the revelers from their unobstructed view.
“Remember what you said, Trent?” Quinn asked, once Trent had recalled his version of the story. “‘The trumpets have sounded. The heavens have opened. Let the skinny-dipping begin!’”
“I almost recreated that scene earlier tonight,” London said, laughing.
Quinn’s eyes widened. “You posed nude?”
“Not quite.” London told them about shooting in the rain and being inspired to make the most of it.
They made quick work of all-American entrées and continued to chat. Trent hailed a taxi for the next place he’d planned for them, a private club with a sign at the entrance: Only Wild Child Allowed.
And wild it was. As London’s eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, her thoughts went to one of the co-owners of Incomparable, her modeling agency, a former model who’d spent her teen years at the New York disco Studio 54. What London saw now was how she’d imagined the antics shared about the popular seventies’ disco. Outlandish costumes. Artistic expression. Various phases of nudity. Everyone happy and having a good time.
