By the time Andrea arrived, the party was in full swing. A hundred or so well-dressed people filled the second floor and outside terrace of Insomnia, a newly opened trendy club in Los Angeles. The dance floor was not very crowded yet (it was only 10 p.m.) but the sounds of various Latino pop songs filled the room, the strong dance beats setting the pulse of the party. Andrea walked in with her friend Natalie and looked around. She found it amusing that this party was exactly what she had imagined such parties to be like.
A year ago she had moved to Los Angeles to work on her book, about the perils of fame among musicians. Her background in psychology allowed her to theorize about how fame might either help or hurt musicians, but to write the book she needed to conduct interviews with actual people. Natalie was her agent who worked tirelessly to negotiate for the interviews, using her connections and reputation to foster trust in the project and reassure the participants that their privacy would be respected. It had been an uphill battle, but Natalie's persistence and Andrea's engaging manner had so far resulted in ten in-depth interviews with some of the biggest names in the music industry.
At times Andrea still found herself shocked by how well her project was going, how much her life had changed. She was far from rich and famous but she was living a glamorous lifestyle nevertheless. She had been to many parties like the one tonight, attended award shows in support of people she had met, spent days and sometimes weeks in a row visiting with a famous musician she was interviewing. Her curious and caring attitude had earned her respect. She found the work fascinating.
No one but Natalie knew how this project began. Many years ago, heartbroken after a painful break-up, Andrea escaped her pain through music. She accidentally discovered the music of Alessandro Suarez, a Latino pop singer, born in Spain but living in Los Angeles. Alessandro wrote and sang both English and Spanish songs and had achieved worldwide fame in his early twenties. He was now 35 and very successful, but had seemingly escaped the trappings of fame. He was living a simple life in Los Angeles, away from the limelight, except for his frequent tours. All this Andrea knew because from the first time she heard his voice, she developed a major crush on him. His songs struck her as both passionate and revealing of a vulnerability that appealed to her psychologist self. His music was both fun and evocative, the source of a myriad sexual fantasies for her. She had seen him perform in concert a few times over the years; these were euphoric experiences for her. Of course he was also gorgeous, tall and olive-skinned, with dark hair and brown eyes, so handsome in even the most casual of outfits. The kind of man that girls and women of any age would lust after.
So Andrea had followed his career closely and later began writing about fame as a way to channel her obsession in a less adolescent manner. As her heart healed, so did her infatuation, but Alessandro remained present in the background of her life: she'd listen to his songs and keep up with news of him from a distance. Men came and went in her life, the fantasy of Alessandro remained. When she first moved to Los Angeles, she could not help but wonder if she would manage to meet him, or even interview him. She told Natalie of her secret crush and was relieved that Natalie did not make fun of her. Natalie had actually met Alessandro several times and confirmed Andrea's impression that he was down to earth and unpretentious, despite his extraordinary talent and fame. But despite her best efforts, Natalie was unable to arrange an interview as Alessandro always refused, would not agree even to a meeting with Andrea. Very disappointed at first, Andrea soon became caught up in her work with other people and adjusting to her new lifestyle. She still thought of him from time to time but her actual life took over and the fantasy receded.
Tonight Andrea was attending the release party of an album by Pedro Nassa, a singer she had interviewed for her book. At other parties she had attended, she looked for Alessandro but never met him, and tonight she knew he was out of town. She came to have fun, to dance, and to hang out with Natalie who was newly single. Being an introvert, Andrea had been surprised to discover how much she had come to enjoy these parties, the VIP treatment, the delicious food and drink. Mostly she loved dressing up and feeling accepted in this very glamorous world. Natalie was her ambassador, introducing her to everyone. At first, Andrea relied on Natalie exclusively but in time she developed her own relationships with people. She and Pedro had especially hit it off and had become friends. There was a physical attraction between them though Andrea thought it might only be imagined by her.
At 32, Andrea was no match for the beautiful young women of Los Angeles. And Pedro, only 29, was quite the womanizer, the kind of musician who makes the papers every week due to some sighting with a model, or late night partying with an up and coming actress, and so on. It's true that Andrea was very smart, had a great sense of humor, and was quite stylish. And she did stand out in the crowd of very tall, slender, blonde, and tanned beauties of L.A. With her very fair skin, slightly wavy and longish dark red hair, green eyes, and a well-proportioned body, she was a woman among girls. But still she found the idea that Pedro would be attracted to her somewhat ridiculous despite his flirtation with her. Also, he was young and immature and she had no interest in a one night stand. She enjoyed his attention knowing that nothing would happen between them.
An hour after arriving, Andrea was feeling the effect of her large mojito and talking to Ana Lucia, a music producer.
"Let's dance" Ana Lucia suggested. "Let's show these young girls how real women dance" she joked. Ana Lucia was in her forties, a vibrant and self-confident woman.
They went down on to the dance floor and started moving to the beats of various songs. The third song was one of Alessandro's and Andrea, a bit tipsy under the influence of alcohol and loud music, was ecstatic. She let her body get carried by his sexy voice and the rhythm of the song, laughing and singing along. The next song was also one of his and she couldn't believe her luck. She found herself twisting and turning, allowing the sensuality of the music to dictate her movement. For one brief moment she looked into the crowd and thought she saw Alessandro, her heart skipped a beat. But then the crowd moved and she couldn't see him anymore. "Silly", she told herself, "he can't be here tonight". Two songs later, both she and Ana Lucia were exhausted and went back to one of the bars for more drinks. Exhilarated and out of breath, Andrea took her fresh drink and sat at a nearby table saved by Natalie when they first arrived. Ana Lucia stayed at the bar so that Andrea had a few moments alone. She watched the crowd, the place was even more packed now so that she could only see the thirty or so people who surrounded her. She gulped down half her drink out of thirst and enjoyed feeling her body relax.
Just as she was getting ready to resume mingling, Andrea saw Natalie walk through the crowd towards her, with a look of such excitement on her face that Andrea was instantly laughing.
"Okay, my dear" Natalie said as she sat down. "I have great news for you." She paused for effect while Andrea anxiously waited. "Guess whom I just ran into by the dance floor?"
"Who?"
"You tell me, who do you want to meet more than anyone else in the world?"
This can't be, Andrea thought. Could that have been really him?
"Not Alessandro, right, he's not even in L.A. tonight?" Andrea said incredulously.
"Yes, yes, yes, Alessandro Suarez, he is here tonight! I just talked to him!"
"But I thought he was doing some promotional appearances for his new single on the East Coast..."
"I don't know, all I know is he is fucking here tonight! Oh my God, I saw him and immediately thought how exciting this is gonna be for you. He doesn't go to a lot of these parties, you know." Natalie could barely sit in her chair and Andrea loved her for that. "So come on, I told him I want him to meet you, let's go!"
Andrea wasn't sure she could stand up. She felt completely sober all of a sudden and her heart began to race. After all this time, she would actually meet him. What would she say to him?
"Right now?" she stalled for time.
"Yes, right now" Natalie said impatiently. "Come on, the more you think about this, the worse it's gonna be!"
Okay, Andrea thought. Don't make a big deal out of this, be casual, play it cool. You'll probably get to spend five minutes with him, just be glad for the opportunity.
All these thoughts raced through her head as she downed the rest of her drink. Natalie was already on her way through the crowd and waving her over. It took them a few minutes to get through the crowd, minutes in which Andrea could feel her legs shaking, body tense, butterflies in her stomach. She was looking all around, hoping to see him from afar to prepare herself, but the place was so crowded that she could see only backs and heads nearby, had to focus not to step on anyone. For a moment, she thought she lost Natalie who was much more aggressively pushing people out of the way. But then she saw her. She was standing by the bar talking to none other than Alessandro Suarez.
Andrea could not believe the moment. As she made her way past the last few people in front of her, she watched him say something to Natalie who laughed. Andrea had seen his face so many times, in photos, in concert, in her imagination, but seeing him tonight took her breath away. He seemed relaxed and was smiling, touched Natalie's shoulder briefly as he leaned it to say something else. My God, Andrea thought, he is so fucking gorgeous! Andrea noticed he was wearing a black T-shirt and jacket but that's all she had time for, she had now reached them.
Alessandro turned his head slightly and looked at Andrea with a vague sense of recognition. All Andrea saw were his brown eyes almost staring into hers and she felt faint. She smiled feebly.
"Ah, there she is" Natalie said. "Alessandro, I want you to meet Dr. Andrea Petri, my favorite client." Andrea was caught off guard by the formal introduction and laughed nervously.
"Please, I'm Andrea" she managed to say and put out her hand.
"Alessandro, nice to meet you." He took her hand in his for a moment and smiled. "It was you I saw going crazy on the dance floor earlier, wasn't it?" he added.
Andrea remembered the moment she thought she saw him but was totally unprepared to hear that he had seen her. But, her anxiety aside, she was determined to behave like an adult here.
"Probably, I love to dance" she said with a mischievous tone in her voice.
"You looked good out there, it was impossible not to see you" he continued.
"Damn, Alessandro, you just met her and are already flirting?" Natalie joked. He laughed with her while Andrea was doing her best to remain present, because this whole interaction felt surreal.
"Some of those were my songs you were dancing to, did you know that?"
"I did, yes, I really enjoy your music" Andrea said in what had to be the biggest understatement of the year.
