The Last Second Chance by Lucy Score

26

With her dress securely stowed in the garment bag and a tasty lunch in her stomach, Joey was almost cheerful about the prospect of attending the premiere. She waltzed into their hotel room ahead of Jax and tossed her sunglasses on the marble topped entryway table.

Jax hauled her dress and a few other bags from their impromptu shopping spree inside and tossed everything over a chair. He reached for her, pulling her in.

“You know, we have some time before you have to start getting ready,” he hinted.

“Is that so?” Joey said, twining her arms around his neck. “I think I have a few ideas of how we could pass the time.”

Her mouth was a breath away from his when the knock sounded on the door.

“Yoo hoo!”

“Oh my God. I forgot about Didi,” Joey whispered.

“Just keep quiet, and maybe she’ll go away,” Jax suggested.

“Nice try.” Joey extricated herself from his arms and opened the door.

Didi, in all her platinum blonde glory, sashayed inside followed by a parade of people carrying boxes, bags, and what looked like colorful tackle boxes.

Didi whistled as she peeked around the room over her sunglasses. “Not bad, Jax. Not bad. Now which way to the bathroom?”

Jax pointed the way, and Didi clamped a hand on Joey’s wrist and tugged her along. “We’d better get started! You don’t even have your nails done yet.”

Joey looked over her shoulder and mouthed “help me” to Jax. But he just grinned and wandered toward the suite’s bar. “I’ll bring you ladies a drink,” he called.

In a matter of seconds, Joey found herself seated on a tufted ottoman in front of the mirror while some guy named Solomon in a muscle shirt sprayed stuff in her hair and Sylvia with the pink highlights furiously filed her nails. Didi chattered on as rock-star thin Becca started smearing colors on her face in a pattern that looked like war paint.

“Are you excited for tonight?” Didi asked.

“I am. I’ve never seen one of Jax’s movies before.”

Didi gasped, and the hair and makeup team froze. “Never ever?”

Joey shook her head. “I don’t have time to watch a lot of movies, and I kind of hated him for a few years.”

“Well, that makes sense. He’s really good. Like really good. There’s talent there under all those sexy smoldering looks.”

Joey felt weird talking about Jax with a woman who’d also shared his bed.

Didi must have picked up on the awkward vibe. “Sorry! I mean that in the most respectful way possible. We dated very briefly, and it was never anything close to serious. Now, you two? Well that looks like a very different story.”

“I guess,” Joey said, watching as Sylvia pulled out a bottle of lavender polish and started slicking it on her newly shaped nails.

“Puh-lease,” Didi snickered, puckering up for another layer of paint on her high cheekbones. “I think Jax has been pining over you since forever. In fact, after meeting you, I can see bits and pieces of you that he’s used in his leading ladies.”

Now that was enough to make a girl feel strange. Just what qualities of hers had he lent his characters? Hard-headedness? A mean, unforgiving streak?

Joey decided when she got back, she was going to have a Jackson Pierce Moviethon all by herself so she could pick apart the leads and see the parts of her that he decided to share with the world.

That squishy feeling was back in her stomach, so Joey changed the subject asking about Didi’s date.

Two hours later, Joey had been plucked, painted, and curled into a higher standard of beauty. She leaned forward in the mirror, turning her head this way and that, trying to identify with the reflection. The old Joey Greer was still there but more polished, she decided.

Didi leaned in next to her and snapped a selfie in the mirror. “Damn, we look good.”

“You look like a bombshell,” Joey told her.

Didi had poured herself into a white sequined gown that put her most noticeable assets on display. Her short blonde hair was done up Marilyn Monroe style. Red nails and lips pushed the needle into Old Hollywood glam.

She flashed a million-dollar smile at Joey. “Okay, now we have just enough time to practice standing.”

“I know how to stand,” Joey told her.

“No, you know how to hold yourself upright. I’m going to show you how to pose on the red carpet.”

She moved to the far end of the bathroom and paused, one hand on her hip, one foot kicked out. “Now, Jax is a writer, so you aren’t going to have to do the whole big press line. But you’ll still be getting your picture taken, and when you do, this is the way to stand.”

Didi moved toward Joey with the prance and attitude of a thoroughbred. “See, if you give your feet a little kick with every step, you move the skirt of your dress out of the way, and you won’t be as likely to trip.”

Joey hadn’t thought about falling. She hadn’t thought to worry about walking. She decided she wasn’t going to let go of Jax’s arm. If she went down, she was going to take him down with her.

“So it’s like a kick stomp?” Joey asked.

“Exactly. You give it a try.”

Joey mechanically kick-stomped her way across the marble, glad she’d chosen sparkly flat sandals rather than those icicle thin stilettos at the store.

Didi watched her intently. “I think you need to loosen up your hips more. You look like you’re marching into battle.”

Joey gave a little shimmy to warm up her hip flexors and tried again.

Didi nodded her approval. “Okay, now when you stop, I want you to think boobs out, tailbone in, hand on hip, and foot point.” She demonstrated and instantly looked half her size.

Joey frowned. “Boobs. Butt. Hand… and what?”

“Foot.”

“Okay, foot. I feel completely unnatural.”

“Then you’re doing it right.” Didi smiled. “Do the walk again, and then plant in this pose.”

Joey tried it a half dozen times before Didi was satisfied. “You’re going to look like a natural when they shove those cameras in your face.”

“Uh, yay?”

A knock sounded at the door. “Five-minute warning, ladies,” Jax said through the door.

“Yikes! I’d better call my car,” Didi said. “I’m going to go out first, and you wait a minute so you can make your entrance.”

“My mom isn’t on the other side of that door with a camera, is she?” Joey asked.

“Trust me, the entrance is the most memorable part.”

Didi slipped through the door, and Joey could hear her chit-chatting with Jax and the rest of the crew. She took one last look at herself in the mirror. She looked pretty freaking great. The makeup was all soft hues that played up her features without making her look like a drag queen or a reality TV star. And the dress. Oh, the dress.

She felt beautiful, maybe even a little stunning.

Joey counted to ten and took a few deep breaths before opening the bathroom door. Jax had his back to her, but she could tell the second he sensed her presence. That tingle of awareness at the back of his neck. He turned to her, a glass of scotch in his hands. The smile slid right off his face as his mouth fell open. He set the glass down on the edge of the table with a snap, almost missing it completely.

In his crisp suit, he looked every bit the leading man. He’d gone with a skinny tie instead of a bowtie, and he left his jacket unbuttoned. He looked debonair and dashing with that hint of rebel just beneath the slick surface.

“Wow,” she said.

Jax moved to her, his hands reaching for her, and she took them. They stood at arm’s length studying each other for a moment until Joey heard the click of a camera phone. Didi grinned at them from across the room. “Don’t worry, I’m texting it to y’all.”

Joey turned her attention back to the still speechless Jax.

“So what do you think?” Joey asked him, nerves fluttering in her belly.

“I think you look like a goddess,” he said, bringing the knuckles of her hand to his lips. “I’m still not sure I deserve you.”

Joey gave an unladylike snort. “Maybe you should stop trying to deserve me and just start enjoying me.”

“Maybe I should,” he agreed, reeling her in.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Didi cried rushing over. She put her hands between them. “Don’t you dare mess up her hair and makeup. She looks absolutely perfect, and if you put your big ol’ paws on her, she’s going to get to the premiere looking like a wilted flower.”

Jax’s eyes glinted, a hunter reluctant to give up his prey.

“Okay, posse, let’s head out,” Didi announced to her entourage. “Joey, you look stunning. Don’t let him wreck you until after the red carpet. Got it?”

Joey threw a mock salute. “Got it.” She surprised herself by wrapping Didi in a hug. “Thank you for everything, Didi.”

“Awh, aren’t you a sweetie. This one’s a keeper, Jax,” Didi announced as she made her way to the door with her team. “I’ll see you at the theater!”

Joey said her thanks and goodbyes to the rest of the crew, and then they were alone.

“You know, we could just skip this whole thing,” Jax began.

“No freaking way, Ace. I think the world deserves to see me in this dress.”

“But I’m the one who gets to take you out of it,” he told her.

* * *

When they settledinto the backseat of the car Al sent for them, Jax pulled Joey against him. She looked like a vision, one that he would never get out of his mind. When he saw her standing there in front of him in the hotel, all he could think of was how much he wanted this woman to be his wife. He could see her, standing in a meadow wearing that dress and saying the vows he’d longed to hear. How much longer would he have to wait before she was ready for that?

“Jax?”

“Hmm?”

“Didi said something that I was curious about.”

“You didn’t ask her about her boobs, did you?”

“No, but I saw her change. They’re totally real. She’s a freak of nature.”

He smiled, brushing his lips against her hair. “What did she say?”

“She said that you put pieces of me into your characters. Is it true?”

“It is. You’ve always been a muse to me.”

“What pieces did you use? I mean, are the women… hard or mean or—”

He laughed but weighed his words. “Is that what you think I see in you?”

“I’m not exactly the warm and fuzzy type.”

She was curled around him in the backseat of a limo. Where she got the idea that anyone would think her cold confounded him.

“I picked the brightest, shiniest parts of you, of which there are many. Your loyalty, your confidence, your uncanny ability to keep your cool when things are crazy.”

“And people like characters like that?”

He nodded. “People relate to characters like that. You’re real. And those pieces of you make my characters real.”

She still didn’t look thrilled. “I guess maybe I’ll watch some of your movies and then decide whether your portrayal is accurate.”

“That’s very fair of you. Have I told you how absolutely beautiful you are tonight?”

“Nice dodge, but we’re not done chatting yet,” she said. “Didi made it sound like people here know of me. Why is that?”

Well, he wasn’t going to get a better lead-in than that, and if he didn’t tell her now, he was a pathetic coward. “I’ve told our story before, and it seemed to resonate with some people. In fact, that screenplay I turned in a few weeks ago? That’s us. That’s our story.”

Joey pulled back and sat up. “What do you mean ‘our story’?”

“All of it. Starting from when we were kids and moving on through high school and after.”

He could see the thoughts and questions rise and waited for her to pick one to start with.

“How does it end?” she asked.

He could hear the concern, the distrust, and he wanted to make it all go away. Jax cupped her face in his hands. “How do you want it to end?”

The car eased to the curb in front of the theater. The tinted glass divider slid down. “We’re here, sir,” the driver announced.

“Thanks, we’re about ready,” Jax told him. He didn’t like leaving the car and walking into the evening with this hanging over their heads.

“Joey?”

She shook her head. “Let’s talk about that later. Let’s get through this first before we wade into a history of us and what you deemed fit for the big screen.”

He dropped his hands and squeezed one of hers. “I understand that you’re not happy about it, but I’m really grateful that you’re here. We’ll talk about this later, I promise. Are you ready for this?” he asked.

She was peering out the window and frowning.

“That is a lot of people out there. Why are they all screaming?”

“Because they all want a piece of you… or at least the stars.”

“Well, that’s sad and creepy. And it makes me happy that we’re just the little people here.”

“Me too, Jojo. Me too.”

* * *

Aisha Leigh scoopedthem up just as they stepped off the end of the red carpet. Joey looked shell-shocked. For the date of a writer, she’d gotten a bit more attention than either of them expected.

“Well, well. Look who didn’t blow off the premiere,” Al said, leaning in and giving Jax a peck on the cheek. Her rust-colored cocktail dress perfectly complimented her rich skin and dark, glossy hair.

“Beautiful as always, Al.”

His agent slid her neatly manicured hands down her hips. “Well, I’ve got to do something with all that money you make me, sugar. And you must be Joey,” she said, stretching her arms out.

Joey offered her hand and shook firmly. “I think we spoke on the phone when Jax was avoiding you.”

Al smiled in appreciation. “We certainly did, and now I know who to call next time I need this one to get things done.”

“That may have been a freak occurrence,” Joey warned. “So is there a bar around here?”

“You poor thing,” Al said, looping her arm through Joey’s. “Let’s get you liquored up so you can forget about that red-carpet experience.”

Al looked over her shoulder at Jax as they walked inside. Her perfectly sculpted eyebrows raised in approval. “Nice work,” she mouthed to him.

* * *

Jax sippedhis beer and scanned the crowd while two studio execs talked around him about yet another project. Joey had been confiscated by half a dozen people at varying points in the evening. Al had introduced her to half of the executives at the party. And judging from their reactions to her, he knew it was a calculated move on Al’s part to boost the interest in his script. Didi had rescued Joey after the screening when she and Jax were cornered by a producer and two screenwriters.

He kept catching glimpses of Joey through the crowd but hadn’t been able to get to her for the last forty-five minutes. Finally, the crowds shifted, and he spotted her, back to him facing a circle of enthusiastic men. He recognized a handful of actors in the mix and figured now was probably an excellent time to excuse himself from his conversation.

“Gentlemen, if you’ll excuse me, there’s a beautiful woman who needs rescued.”

He crossed the room and tapped her on one alabaster shoulder. She twirled around, and her face lit up when she spotted him.

“Jax!”

Her face wasn’t the only thing lit. Joey was clearly enjoying a very pleasant buzz, and her crowd of admirers was enjoying her enjoying it.

Joey Greer didn’t need rescued. She needed corralled.

He slid his arm around her waist and pulled her into him placing a very satisfying kiss squarely on her mouth. “Hello, beautiful.”

“Hi, Ace. We were just talking about you.”

Jax raised an eyebrow. “You were, were you?”

“We all thought the movie was great,” Joey gushed.

“Good. Great. Come with me,” he said, leading her away.

Joey waved over her shoulder at her new friends and let Jax drag her off.

“Someone’s been hitting the champagne a little hard,” he teased her, pulling her into a secluded corner.

“I’m celebrating,” she told him with a goofy smile.

“And what exactly are you celebrating?”

“My brilliant boyfriend, of course,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Okay, there’s something more than champagne going on in there,” he said, brushing a loose curl over her shoulder.

“What are you doing in Blue Moon?” she asked, toying with the ends of his hair.

“Chasing you.”

“Why would you give all this up? Everyone knows you here. Everyone freaking loves you here. They all want a piece of you. Also, there’s no snow.”

He laughed then. “Well, the weather is certainly a plus to west coast living, but there’s no Joey here. Believe me, I looked. Everyone knows me at home. I’m liked there too, and I think I’m pretty good at brewing beer.”

“You’ll give up all of this so you can brew beer and sleep in my bed?”

“It’s a nice bed. And I’m still going to write, and maybe I’ll still do some producing on occasion. But my heart belongs with you.”

“That is a very sweet, romantic thing to say.”

“I’m a sweet, romantic guy,” Jax agreed. “So what do you think of your first Hollywood premiere?”

She leaned in close as if to whisper, but her voice was still loud. “Well, I like Al. She loves you in like a family way. Like if anyone here tried to screw you out of something, I could see her showing up at their house with a chainsaw and a smile.”

Jax nodded. It was a very accurate assessment of his Al. “How about the rest of the evening?”

“This is like an alternate universe. Why is everything a question out here, and why is the traffic so bad? Did I tell you I met a model named, get this, Kale. She was a six-foot-tall Indian woman named Kale. Kale, Jax.”

He laughed and pulled her closer. “What do you say we get out of here and get some food in you?”

“Can we have burgers?” Her brown eyes looked at him with the hope and anticipation of a puppy.

He took her for burgers and fries, which they enjoyed in an orange vinyl booth under fluorescent lights still wearing their evening finery. They dissected the film together, and Joey gave him the colorful highlights of all the people she met, including Kale.

She showed him the picture Didi had taken of them in the hotel suite.

“Wait, this is in Blue Moon’s Facebook group,” Jax said, peering at her phone’s screen.

“Oh, yeah. I figured we might as well control the spin on this,” she said with a dainty shrug.

Jax grinned. Someone was getting more and more comfortable with the idea of being his girl again.

“Listen,” Joey said, gesturing with a fistful of fries. She was mostly sober now, but the red meat and soda kept her from reverting too far into her shell. “I’ve been thinking about something.”

He prayed it wasn’t the screenplay. If only she knew how conflicted he was to share their story. On one hand, it deserved to be told. On the other, there were things long buried that perhaps should stay that way for the good of many. He’d been compelled to write it and with the ending he’d had in mind for them all along. Now, whether reality would mirror the big screen remained to be seen. He couldn’t begin to anticipate Joey’s reaction beyond the initial pissed off phase. How many relationships would the truth damage?

He needed more time. Needed to find the right way to tell her why he left all those years ago. And why it would all be okay.

“That awards ceremony for the guild thing,” she continued, taking a bite of fry.

“What about it?” Selfish relief coursed through him. He didn’t have to ruin tonight with a run at the truth.

“I think you should take your mom.”

“My mom? Really?”

Joey gave an exaggerated roll of her eyes. “Jax, you would be her hero. A fancy dress, a weekend away. Famous people.”

“It would definitely shut up Frieda Blevins about her niece’s selfie,” Jax mused.

“Or you could do everyone a favor and take Frieda so she has something else to talk about besides duck face.”

“I like that you look out for my mom,” Jax said, trapping her feet between his under the table. “She told me what you did while everyone was at my dad’s funeral.”

Joey became very interested in her burger and didn’t respond.

“You’ve always been there for my family, even when I wasn’t.”

Joey swallowed hard. “Don’t be an idiot. You were there when they needed you, and you’re there now. I mean not now now because obviously we’re in L.A. So if something horrible happens while we’re gone, it’s totally your fault for not being there. But other than right now.”

“God you’re cute when you drink.”

“You’re cute like all the time,” Joey said through another bite of burger. “I really love you.”

His heart stuttered in his chest. Someday he hoped to have the words to tell Joey just what it meant to him to hear her say it.

“You realize you’ve only said those words when I’m inside you or you’re drunk, right?”

Joey shrugged. “Eh, baby steps. I’m going to read your screenplay, by the way.”