Читать книгу The Fame Game, Starstruck, Infamous: 3 book Collection - Lauren Conrad - Страница 20

“What about these?” Madison asked, thrusting a pair of slim, indigo jeans in Kate’s direction. “These are J Brand.”

They were in American Rag, the first stop on their scheduled shopping spree, which Kate now knew was also step one in a Kate makeover plotline, although that wasn’t exactly how the day was panning out. The cameras had filmed Madison modeling a spangly frock and a pair of Rochas leopard-spotted mules, then a silky Chloé jumpsuit with strappy gold sandals. According to Laurel’s texts, it was time for Kate to do a little shopping herself.

IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE YOUR MAKEOVER, REMEMBER? Laurel had written. HAVE SOME FUN.

Kate took a few steps closer to inspect the jeans. The wash was so dark it was almost black. She touched the seam lightly, then saw the price tag. “Oh my God,” she said. “They’re like two hundred dollars.”

“I know! They’re a steal!” Madison repeated, brushing a golden lock of hair from her face impatiently.

“But they’re just jeans,” Kate said.

Madison barked out a laugh. “You’re so funny, Kate.”

“I don’t see what’s so funny about that,” she said, turning to look at a pretty printed blouse. The price tag on it was a mere $135. A bargain!

Madison came around the rack of clothes and snatched the blouse away from Kate. “No prints,” she said firmly. “Not yet. We’re going to start with the classics, but updated, with a twist.”

“You sound like Lucky magazine.”

“Mmmm,” Madison replied. She was distracted, thumbing through the racks of shirts and skirts. “I actually consider leopard print to be a neutral,” she mused, more to herself than Kate. “And you’re supposed to be sort of a rocker. . . .”

Kate hadn’t ever thought of herself as a rocker, that was for sure. But she didn’t protest. She took a long, fuzzy sweater off the rack and held it up. It was cream-colored and impossibly soft, and Kate could imagine curling up in it on her couch. She pressed it to her cheek. It felt like a teddy bear.

“Gaaah,” cried Madison, snatching it away. “What is this? A Snuggie?” She tossed it onto the padded daybed in the corner of the shop.

“But it’s a neutral,” Kate pointed out.

“It looks like a potato sack,” Madison said. “You’re not buying it.”

“Okay,” Kate said meekly. She decided not to touch anything else. She’d just let Madison, who was clearly the expert, handle the selections.

She was actually kind of enjoying herself, though. She was drinking a delicious chai latte, it was a lovely July day, and she was relaxed from the pedicure they’d gotten before the shopping began in earnest. Madison was being bossy, but in a helpful way, and frankly it was about time someone got Kate to shop somewhere besides the Gap. If Trevor thought the world would want to see a nice Midwestern girl go Hollywood fashionista, well, she was reasonably happy to oblige him.

“Just get me stuff that I can wash,” she called to Madison. “I don’t want to have to deal with dry cleaners.”

Madison looked up over the racks of clothes just long enough to roll her eyes.

Kate snickered. No one would ever accuse Madison of not having an opinion.

As Kate watched her castmate amass an armload of clothing for her to try on, she wondered if Madison was being nice because she felt like it or because she was supposed to, for a story line. Could her friendliness be genuine? Carmen would argue no. But Madison hadn’t been getting texts from Laurel, as far as Kate could see, telling her to pretend like she cared about someone besides herself. (Meanwhile Kate was getting them with embarrassing regularity: SMILE! And CAN YOU LOOK LESS BORED? And PULL HAIR AWAY FROM FACE.)

She’d surreptitiously glanced over at Laurel, who grinned and gave her a thumbs-up sign. Kate liked Laurel. And even more than that, she liked feeling that she had an ally behind those big black cameras.

Madison pranced over and thrust a silky navy sweater, skinny jeans, a gold belt, and a pair of dove-gray ankle boots at Kate. “Here,” she said. “Try these first.”

Obediently Kate rose and slipped into the dressing room. She pulled on the various pieces of the outfit and twisted her hair up in a loose knot to avoid any future blocking issues. When she pulled back the curtain and stepped out of the little room, Madison clapped her hands gleefully.

“Look at you! I wouldn’t recognize you. Skinnies and some booties and oh my God, it’s like you’re all grown up all of a sudden.” Madison looked pleased with herself.

Kate turned toward herself in the mirror and saw that Madison was right: She looked strikingly different. Sophisticated. Polished. Pretty. “Wow,” she said. “I feel like Carmen or something.”

Madison sniffed. “You’re much prettier than Carmen. It’s just that she knows how to maximize her assets, and you don’t. Not yet. But I’m going to teach you.” She held out another outfit. “Now try this one.”

Madison definitely had a good eye, Kate thought. As the clothes piled up on the dressing room benches she began to feel a mix of elation and dread. On the one hand, she was finally going to look like she had a sense of fashion. On the other hand, her bank account was going to take a serious hit.

And so it went for another two hours, with Madison selecting the clothes and Kate dutifully putting them on. After the first hour, Laurel and the crew were satisfied they’d gotten what they needed and had packed up to go film Gaby walking out of her dressing room a dozen times. Laurel said that was approximately how many takes it took for Gaby to get something right. To Kate’s surprise, Madison hadn’t bolted as soon as the cameras were gone.

“The boys are going to love you in that,” Madison said, nodding at the sea-green shift dress that Kate had donned. “It makes your legs look amazing.”

Kate blushed—both at the mention of boys and her legs.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Madison demanded, smirking. “Did you meet someone?”

Kate sighed. “I might have met someone at Whisper the other night. After you and Sophia left.”

Kate looked to see if the mention of her castmate’s sister elicited any kind of reaction, but Madison simply raised an eyebrow in interest and said, “Do tell.” God, she was good at pretending like nothing fazed her. Kate guessed that a couple seasons of being on reality TV could do that to a person.

Kate shrugged. “I don’t know that much about him, really,” she said. “But he’s an actor and he plays the bass, and he might be the cutest guy I’ve ever seen. His name is Luke, and he has these green eyes. . . .” She lost herself in remembering Luke’s charms. The way they’d found themselves talking and laughing about their childhoods. The way he gleefully agreed when she said that Justin Timberlake’s best work was that Liquor Mart song he’d performed on Saturday Night Live. The way he had put his hand on the small of her back when they were leaving the club. The way he—

Madison waved a hand in her face. “Whoa, hello?” she said, smiling. “I think we lost you there.”

“Sorry,” Kate said. “I was just thinking. . . .”

“Is he famous? Would I know him?”

“Not likely,” Kate said. “Sounds like he’s still trying to make it.”

“So you only met him once,” Madison said, and Kate nodded. “Well, we’ll have to change that immediately.” She paused. “Did you tell him about The Fame Game?”

“No. It didn’t occur to me,” Kate admitted. The cameras had been gone by then, and Kate hadn’t given them another thought. And it was such a weird thing to tell someone. Yeah, I’m a runner at this restaurant Stecco but secretly I’m about to be a reality TV star. She could never imagine saying something like that.

Madison nodded approvingly. “That’s definitely for the best. If he knew, he might not be into it. I mean, actors sometimes think that what we do isn’t legit. They think that memorizing lines makes them better than us.” She shook her head, as if in disbelief. “And if he is into it, then you have to wonder: Does he like you for you? Or does he like you for the camera time that you represent?”

Madison was kind of blowing Kate’s mind—and bursting her bubble. As if meeting guys in L.A. wasn’t already difficult enough!

“Trust me, Kate, you want to let this develop naturally.”

Let what develop naturally? Kate wanted to know. She wasn’t even sure she’d ever see Luke again. He might not call her, and she was definitely not the type to make the first move. “Okay,” she said uncertainly.

“You’re still a nobody,” Madison said gently. “And I mean that in the nicest possible way. But when the premiere airs? Say good-bye to anonymity and everything else you thought you knew about your friends and your family and your life.”

“Wow,” Kate said. “You make that sound sort of . . . scary.”

“It’s not,” Madison assured her. “It’s amazing. But it’s crazy, too. Anyway, do you have this guy’s number?”

“Yes, he put it in my phone before he dropped me off.”

“Good,” Madison said. “Can I borrow your phone for a second?”

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Kate said. “What for . . . ?”

“Thanks.” Madison quickly snatched the proffered phone, typed into it for a moment, and then returned it to Kate. “You have a date,” she said. “Tonight.”

Kate felt her mouth drop open. She had to hand it to Madison. That girl did not mess around.

When the knock sounded on her door, Kate still wasn’t ready, even though she knew her time was up since she’d just buzzed Luke into the building. She’d spent two hours trying to figure out which one of her new outfits to wear, but she couldn’t remember which jeans Madison had paired with which top and shoes. Did the ankle boots go with the skinnies, or was she supposed to wear the ballet flats? She just wanted everything to be perfect. She should have had Madison make her a cheat sheet.

The knock came again, louder this time.

“Come in,” she yelled. “I’ll be out in one second—” Maybe she should just give up and wear that old Gap sweater, the one with the stripes.

“I’m a little early,” Luke called. She could hear him coming into the living room. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she called back. She loved the way he talked. Was there anything cuter than an Australian accent? A baby koala, maybe. “Really, I’m almost ready.”

She hurried over to the mirror and was surprised to see that she’d actually managed to pull one of her new outfits together. She quickly ran a comb through her hair (Madison told her their next outing would include a trip to the hair salon), and then she went to find her date. Or whatever he was. She wasn’t actually sure.

“Hey,” Luke said, smiling at her. “You look great.”

“Thanks,” she said. “So do you.” He had on faded jeans and a leather motorcycle jacket. His longish brown hair looked tousled and windblown.

“Do you have a coat?” he asked.

“What for? It’s, like, eighty degrees outside.”

His grin stretched wider. “You’ll see. Just grab something warm.”

She went to the closet and grabbed an old leather jacket. (Too bad today’s shopping extravaganza had not included any new outerwear.) “Okay,” she said, pulling it on and hoping it didn’t totally ruin her look. “Jacket donned.”

She followed him down the hallway and out to the front of the building. The sun was beginning to set, and a warm breeze was rustling through the leaves of the potted bamboo that bordered the parking lot.

“Where are you taking me?” Kate asked.

“You’ll see.” He stopped and turned back to her. “Your chariot awaits,” he said.

She looked at him in confusion. Where was his car? Was he talking about the cab across the way? Then she noticed that he was standing in front of a gleaming black BMW motorcycle. “That?” she said. “You came here on that?”

He laughed. “Sure did.” He reached into a compartment on the bike and pulled out two helmets. He handed the smaller one to her. “Here you go,” he said.

She shook her head. “No way.”

He made a pouting face, revealing dimples. “Surely you’re not afraid of a motorcycle.”

“No, but I’m afraid of my mother, and her number-one house rule was no motorcycles,” she said.

“Let me tell you something interesting about a motorcycle,” Luke said. “You asked me where we were going. And I’ll tell you that it doesn’t even matter where we’re going, because you’re going to have the time of your life getting there.”

Kate felt her heart pounding lightly in her chest. It could have been the bike or it could have been Luke, it was hard to say. She took a deep breath, reached out, and reluctantly took the helmet from him.

“Now climb up and hold on tight,” he directed, slinging his leg over the leather seat.

Kate scrambled on behind him and leaned forward. Her arms wrapped around his waist. It felt strange and thrilling to be this close to him. She tightened her grip as he pulled out of the parking lot and into the street.

The wind whipped her hair as Luke took winding curves upward into the hills, and the sky turned brilliant shades of pink and violet as they passed Spanish mission–style homes and classic California bungalows surrounded by pockets of rustling palm and madrone trees. At first she tried yelling questions at him over the noise of the engine and the wind, but each time he turned his chin toward her, shook his head, and yelled, “I can’t hear you!”

She was nervous for what felt like ten miles, but by the time he turned right, pulled through a cluster of trees, and slowed the bike to a stop, Kate was ready to invest in a motorcycle herself. Although, she reflected, her own motorcycle would unfortunately not come equipped with a gorgeous driver.

Luke put the kickstand down and turned toward her. “Ever been up here before?”

“I don’t even know where we are.”

“Look behind you,” he said.

Kate turned around, and there, glowing in the fading light, was that iconic symbol of fame: the Hollywood sign. “Oh!” she exclaimed.

“Here, come on.” Luke grabbed her hand and they made their way to the edge of the turnout. The hill dropped steeply away toward the valley, but makeshift stairs had been carved into the rocky dirt and led to the giant white letters.

“There’s a place to sit down that way,” Luke said.

A few moments later they were close enough to the H to reach out and touch the whitewashed metal.

“This is so cool,” Kate said, turning her gaze between the giant letters and the sparkling grid of Los Angeles below them. She could see the Capitol Records Building and the lights from The Grove. She couldn’t see the ocean, but she knew where it was, because that was where the lights stopped and the darkness began. “Do you come up here a lot?”

“Not much anymore,” Luke said. “I used to, when I first moved to L.A. four years ago. Being up this high makes it all seem—I don’t know”—Luke scrubbed his hand through his hair—“more manageable or something.”

Kate nodded in complete agreement. Even with some success (and especially without any), L.A. could seem so overwhelming. Everyone here wanted something: money, fame, success; a starring role, a record contract; a chance at making his or her dreams come true. And it seemed like most people would do just about anything to get it.

“Do you ever wonder what it would have been like if you’d stayed in Australia?” she asked.

“You mean, what if I was okay with being Australian successful instead of trying to be Hollywood successful?”

“I guess,” she said.

“I do wonder. My mother certainly doesn’t, though. She’s completely sure I made a horrible decision coming here. She thought that after things didn’t work out with Fight or Flight, I should’ve gone back home immediately.”

Kate had never heard of that movie when Luke told her about it the other night. Luke explained that of course she hadn’t because before it was released the star (who Kate definitely had heard of) was arrested for drunk driving and apparently said some completely misogynistic stuff to the female cop who’d pulled him over. And someone had filmed it. His name was poison after that and the movie went straight to DVD.

“Sometimes I even wonder what it would be like if I’d just gone to university, gotten a job, got a promotion, and settled down.”

“Yeah?” She sat on a step and Luke crouched next to her.

“It does seem like it would be easier sometimes,” Luke said. “Don’t you think?”

“Maybe, but you don’t get a view like this in Ohio.”

Luke was gazing intently at her, his green eyes smiling. “Yes, the view is definitely better around here,” he said.

She gave him a little punch on the arm. “Shut up,” she said.

He laughed. “I was just testing you. I want to make sure you don’t fall for any corny old line.”

“I’m not a total innocent,” Kate said. But she wondered how true this was. Ethan had been her first and last boyfriend; it wasn’t like she was chock-full of romantic experience. But did this, right now, count as romantic experience? Luke was flirting with her, but maybe he was just that way. She had Googled him earlier and saw him on the red carpet with a few different girls. Maybe he was one of those guys who got off on making girls like him. She really had no idea. She’d wanted to ask Carmen about him, but she didn’t want to bother her—Carmen had told her she was sequestering herself for a few days to prepare for some big audition.

Kate gazed out over the glittering landscape. “I want to be somebody,” she said suddenly, as if informing the lights of L.A. itself. “I want to write songs that matter to people.”

“Do you hear that, L.A.?” Luke yelled. “Kate Hayes is going to take you by storm! And so am I!” He stopped and smiled, then added, “Whenever I can get away from the GEICO commercials, that is.”

Kate laughed. “There’s no shame in a commercial,” she said. Thinking: And there’s no shame in reality TV, either. Right? “I mean, whatever pays the rent. And keeps your agent returning your calls.”

“Something like that.” Luke reached over and took her hand. He looked at her fingers as he spoke. “So, I didn’t ask before, but is there someone back in Ohio?”

Kate flushed, thinking of Ethan, whom she still emailed almost daily. When she was lonely, she missed him. Or was it just that she missed her home and everything that was familiar?

“That’s sort of a long pause,” Luke said, interrupting her thoughts. “Does that mean—”

Kate shook her head vehemently. “No,” she said. “There isn’t anyone.”

Luke smiled. “Good,” he said. And then he leaned forward and kissed her, with all of L.A. laid out at their feet.