"And apart from Carly's return, there's other interesting developments… love-wise!" The studio erupted again, and I had to resist covering my ears. At least the question wasn't for me; I'd had enough spotlight for one day. I knew my comeback was perfect for the press, but after weeks of being centre stage, I was starting to wish either Dan or Raph would jump into a scandalous affair again, just so I could get a break. Thus, I was quietly relieved when Gale, the host, prodded into the others' lives for once.
Dan stifled a snort beside me. I didn't have to look to know he had watched me relax, so I gave him a quick elbow.
"We'd all love to know who those new people by your side are?" Gale teased.
Ben leaned forward, coughing theatrically. "Well, my girlfriend just dyed her hair - she'll be thrilled you noticed, Gale…"
A smirk curved Dan's lip. I bit back a laugh, remembering the fight Ben had sparked when Mia went blonde and he hadn't noticed.
"Blonde! Your girlfriend went full-on blonde. And you asked if she cut it!" Lucy groaned. "You are so lucky you still have a relationship." The mostly female audience cringed in sympathy while Ben tried and failed to defend himself.
After the theatrics, Gale wrapped the show. I exhaled in relief. That had been the last appointment of the day.
Outside, our old driver Preston greeted us with a warm smile, half-hidden by his white moustache. We piled into the minivan, everyone sinking into their usual seats. Eric, our PR agent, sat behind Preston, scrolling through his tablet, and greeted us with what sounded more like a snort than a real hello. When he spoke, Preston immediately turned down the radio, earning a huge eye-roll from Raph, who'd clearly wanted the sports news.
I hid a smile and watched palm trees streak past the window. Back home, people were trudging through snow. Here in California, you barely needed a jacket.
"Carly, I'll brief the next interviewers you're not answering personal health questions anymore," Eric said. "It's getting old ... and too private."
I stiffened. Yeah, that one answer about my eating habits had been a mistake.
Dan crossed his arms next to me. "Since when is Gale such a fuckface? What did he think she was gonna say? Oh yeah I just loooove to deal with the aftermath of fucked up Hollywood body image pressures?"
"Language," Ben and Eric scolded in unison, but Dan only shrugged, unapologetic. I shot him a quick, grateful smile. Using the silence, Lucy asked Eric for tomorrow's schedule. Both Raph and Dan groaned. Eric ignored them and launched into the timetable, which took him nearly two red lights to get through. All of our faces turned sourer by the second.
"Oh, don't you lot complain! I cleared your morning until eight - that's two extra hours more than normal. You're welcome!" Eric scratched at his strawberry-blond hair and noted something down.
"And we are very thankful for it," Ben called from the back, and we were all quick to nod along.
Almost all of us.
Dan crossed his arms. "Pah. I didn't request that two hours off. I just want to watch TV in peace tonight. It's the others with hot dates who need more time for… you know."
Right. For the first time in our history together, more than half the group was dating. A buffet for the tabloids and a migraine for security, especially after it got out that not only Ben was in a relationship, but Lucy and Raph, too - or at least it seemed like it, you could never fully be sure with Raph.
Bottom line was - we had been granted a rare late morning. A privilege that we had only been given shortly after my departure a couple years ago. Management really did panic after I had eventually cracked under the pressure too and finally loosened their schedule war on us a bit. Much to Eric's dismay, who hated nothing more than schedule changes.
"And you will get your free time, " I said. "Kira and I are going to try out a new restaurant." I looked forward to finally seeing my on-screen villain and off screen best friend again.
"Thank fuck. Well, then it's just me and the TV, nice!" Dan smiled, until Lucy, Ben, and Raph suddenly shifted uncomfortably in their seats and traded worried looks. Oh oh. Poor Dan.
Thirty minutes later, I stepped out of the shower just as my phone lit up with a text from Kira. Wrapping myself in the fuzzy bathrobe, I scanned over the message:
Can't make it tonight – PMS is murdering my intestines. So sorry ☹
My heart sank. Damn it. I'd been looking forward to this all week. I quickly wished her a good night and eyed the outfit laid out on my bed. It would be a shame to waste both the clothes and the pizza.
"Fuck it, I'm going alone," I muttered, texting Preston for a ride as I got dressed.
On my way to borrow one of Lucy's handbags, I skidded into the living room and stopped. All the couples had decided to stay in for a sports night, effectively ruining Dan's plan for a solo evening. He sat wedged among them, looking mildly tortured.
Oh how the tables had turned. Now karma came to bite Dan in the ass for all the scandalous affairs he had dragged home during his wild phase.
Said reformed bad boy spotted me first. "When's Kira coming so I can excuse myself to the bathroom?"
"Relax, she's not coming. She's sick."
"Oh. Sorry to hear that. You can join us, Ben, move over," Mia cut in, shoving her boyfriend until he bumped into Dan. His scandalized expression made me stifle a snort.
"No need. I'm going out alone. Can't waste a good outfit. Lucy, wheres that cute little brown bag you bought in Verona?"
She sent me back to her room upstairs with a wink, before focusing back on her girlfriend's cheekbones. Okay, maybe Dan wasn't being overdramatic. This love fest was getting a little too much. I was halfway out of the living room when Dan's voice stopped me.
"Wait, you're going out alone? In that… uhm weather?"
Raph snorted. "What are you talking about? It's not even raining!"
"Yeah, yeah," Dan cut him off. "Where are you going? Who's driving?"
"I called Preston. I'm not letting that pizza slip away from me. Like a strong independent woman!" My sarcasm earned a round of chuckles.
When I came back down the stairs, I nearly collided with a very familiar chest in the doorway.
"Jesus! You scared me." Dan leaned on the door frame, looking uncharacteristically hesitant.
"I know you wanted your independent-woman night, but the love fest in there is killing me… so…?" I sighed, half-smiling already. "Fine, you can come. But you have to dress up. It's fancy."
Dan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Give me five minutes." He was halfway to his room before turning back. "Oh, and cancel Preston. We're taking my car."
"Typical German, so car obsessed..." I muttered, heading back downstairs to put on my heels.
Even though Kira being sick had bummed my mood, the evening turned out to be one of the most relaxed and fun I'd had in a long time. Not even the paparazzi outside the restaurant could dim my laughter after Dan cracked one stupid stupid joke after the other.
The place was fancier than I'd anticipated, not something I would've chosen, but Dan quickly befriended the waiter and lit up the mood at our table. He really did improve the night, so I slapped his hand hard, when he attempted to reach for the bill.
When we pulled into the driveway, the lights in the house were still on. We listened to the game report on the radio, and he smiled at the announcement of the winner. As we exited the car and Dan reached for the doorknob of the garage door leading inside, I stopped him, grabbed his sleeve and pulled him through the back door into the garden.
"It's such a nice night," I said, dropping into one of the lounge chairs. "And my feet are killing me."
I kicked off my heels and dunked my feet into the pool. God, that felt amazing. Dan settled next to me, staring into the water.
"Thanks for coming tonight," I said.
"I'm the one who has to be thankful. You saved me from… that," he nodded toward the house.
"Why aren't you inside? Watching the Super Bowl, with someone by your side too?"
"The lovefest kills the mood for football - and also, I would ask you the same question if you weren't such a sports heathen..."
I snorted and slapped him lightly on the arm, then mumbled: "You know I don't date here. There's no use in falling in love when I don't plan on staying forever...If my hiatus taught me one thing, then that Vienna is my safe space. As much as I love L.A's weather... Vienna is just..home."
Dan hesitated, then nodded slowly, then snorted when he noticed my raised eyebrow and impatient expression that urged him to answer my original question. "I just don't want to date for the sake of it. Finding someone actually worth a long-term thing in this town is hard," he sighed and dropped his head back so he could watch the starless night sky.
After a while, Dan's voice floated softly through the silence: "You wanna go back inside?"
I shook my head and slumped against him.
"Good," he murmured. "Me neither."
The next morning, I was surprised to find all our friends' partners gone when I came into the kitchen. Everyone else was already gathered around the breakfast bar. My greeting turned into a yawn.
Lucy peered at me over her espresso. "When did you two get home last night?"
Dan looked just as tired as I felt, our poolside chat had stretched past two a.m., and simply shrugged, taking a sip of water. For some reason, my mouth outran my brain.
"Yeah, well, the car sex took longer than expected."
The words cut through the quiet morning like a grenade.
Laughter from Raph, shocked gasps from Ben, wide-eyed disbelief from Lucy, and violent coughing from Dan filled the room. I slapped my hand over my mouth. Yep, my brain was not fully online yet.
"What the fuck?" Raph snorted, then went right back to spooning his porridge while I tried to calm down Ben and Lucy, who still stared at me.
It wasn't like anyone seriously believed Dan and I would hook up, in a car … of all places, but it had been the first time I'd made such a blatantly dirty joke about the two of us.
I almost couldn't meet Dan's gaze, but then, his easy chuckle settled the stirred-up morning air, "Ha, nice one, Carls," and patted my shoulder. Feeling my cheeks heat up, I dropped onto my usual stool and let the others laugh at my embarrassment.