A far cry from the way I’d been feeling for some time beforehand.
I turned over. The police officer that I only knew as Colby – and I had no idea if that was his first or last name – was lying next to me. His face was smushed into his pillow and his dark lashes, long enough to almost brush his cheeks, were perfectly still. I studied his face as he slept. Beautiful. That was what he was – absolutely beautiful – and a really nice, caring bloke, too. The fact that he was attracted to me was just the icing on the cake. He sure as hell hadn’t pinged my gaydar – and I was usually pretty good at spotting gay guys – but once we’d gotten back to his place, it became obvious, pretty quickly, that he was as into me as I was him. I hadn't actually planned on staying over at Colby's place but somehow or other we'd cajoled each other into thinking that it was a good idea. On reflection, it was a particularly bad idea. He was a police officer and I was a flaky, struggling actor who'd been sexually assaulted by a guy who turned out to be the producer of a new show I was starring in. If I made a fuss, I was out of a job - and if I didn't, he was going to continue in the same vein as he always had and would continue to sexually harass, assault and rape young men whilst putting on show of being a really good, upstanding pillar of showbiz. I didn't need to draw Colby into my sordid world. Therefore, I shouldn't have slept with him... So, now I was wondering how to get out of his bedroom, and out of his life, without him noticing.
The phone wouldn’t stop ringing. It was driving me mad. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I just wanted it all to go away. I wanted to go back to this time a couple of weeks ago when I was riding high on the idea of being in one of Woods Orson’s productions. Now, though? Well, now I just wanted to die.
A knock on the door made me just about jump out of my skin. Who the hell was that? Josh had a key and he wasn’t due back for hours, yet.
“Who is it?” I called out.
“It’s me,” Said a familiar voice, “Parker.”
I let all of my breath go in one massive puff. Parker and I were friends. We’d made out a couple of times in the past, when we were much younger but things hadn’t really worked out between us and we’d agreed to remain friends but nothing more than that, “Coming.” I called out, “Just give me a second.”
I crossed the room on slightly shaky legs. I just didn’t seem able to pull myself together.
I opened the door. Parker was stood there. He smiled as I opened the door but then he got a better look at me, “Christ.” He said, his smile slipping, “You look bloody awful.” He said, “I thought I’d drop by and let you know that I’ve been to the police about that bastard, too.”
I blinked, “About Patrick Woods?” I asked.
He nodded, “He assaulted me when I was fourteen.” He said, “I’ve never been able to tell anyone about it before – but your tweet just made me think, to hell with him. He’s not God. He’s just a guy in a powerful enough position to think he can do as he likes – well, he can’t.”
I nodded, “You’re right.” I agreed, “But it’ll go to court and he’ll have the best lawyers…”
“And you’ve got about a thousand witnesses to call on. Have you seen twitter this morning?”
I shook my head. He grinned and fished out his phone, “Take a look.” He said, “Even Oprah’s lot have started to tweet about it.”
Holy shit…
I read on. “Casting couch… is it such an outdated practice? #askpatrick
I looked up at Parker, “Oh, my God.” I murmured.
He nodded, “Yeah.” He said gleefully, "that hashtag is trending at the moment."
I shook my head, “This is awesome.”
Parker nodded, “And look at this.” He tapped his phone screen a couple of times and pulled up something from another online magazine. “It’s a bit of a biography – but not the sort he’d want you to read. They’ve talked to everyone.”
He handed his phone to me and I started to read. Clearly some people’s experiences were better than others – but each and every one of them purported to him being, at best, a sex pest – and at worst, a rapist.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing. There, stood in the middle of the dance floor were Parker Robinson, Eden Makepeace and Josh Shaw with some other guy - a really handsome one with his arm in a sling. Wow. Could he be the bodyguard that was almost assassinated?I turned as I felt a presence behind me. I smiled. It was Matteo.
"I told you my cousin Colby was the man, didn't I?" he said with a smile.
I nodded, unable to make my mouth work. Eden Makepeace and Josh Shaw were both idols of mine. Particularly Josh, since he'd been in TV shows and movies for longer - but Eden just had screen presence that blew my mind. And in the flesh they were even sexier than they were on TV...
"You have to let me meet them." I breathed, "I've been in love with Josh Shaw since I was about twelve!"
Matteo chuckled. "I'll take you over in a minute." he said, "Let's just get the drinks in, first."
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