As amazing as my time in Nashville had been, there was the inevitable flip side to things. Courtesy of Marty O'Brien. Just after we'd wrapped things up in Nashville he called us with a last minute offer of photographing a private gig Tigress was doing in Chicago. Chris decided to head home and let me do this one myself. What seemed like a great idea wasn't. The flight out there was lousy, the weather in Chicago was no better. And the gig ended up being cancelled. I knew when I got back home Marty was gonna get it from me. As I landed at LAX it was in the middle of a monsoon rainstorm. I felt miserable, and it didn't look like Chris was gonna make it to the airport to at least give me a ride home like he'd promised. So I was stuck waiting for a downtown shuttle bus. And the rain wasn't letting up, in fact it was getting worse. I started hearing people talk about washed out roads and scattered flooding that was causing gridlock everywhere. I was all alone sitting on a cold bench wondering what my next move would be. Amidst the gradually diminishing car traffic around the airport I saw a large black car making its way towards me. It went by me, then in the distance I saw it turn around and make its way back towards me. It slowed, and the drivers' window slid down and I heard a woman's voice yell out;
"Hey! Hey Jim!" she called.
I looked around to see where the voice was coming from, for a moment I thought maybe Chris had sent an emissary to pick me up. I looked closer and could see a raven haired woman shouting from the black car 3 lanes over from me.
"Jim! Over here!" she yelled.
I took a few steps forward, hoping I wouldn't get a sudden drenching. But I did. I was soaked to the skin instantly as a roof suddenly collapsed and drenched me.
The dark haired girl screamed, then got out of her car and dashed over towards me, getting drenched herself. Once she got to me I recognized her instantly.
It was Kim Kardashian.
"Oh my god Jim! Oh come on, let's go to my car."
She grabbed my leather carryon bag and hustled me to her black Bentley sedan. As Kim got in I saw in the passenger seat was another woman I didn't recognize at first.
"Oh my god what are you doing here?" Kim said as she got back behind the wheel. "It's awful out there!"
I shook whatever water I could out of my hair and jacket and acclimated myself to the sudden luxury I was in.
"Were you waiting for your car?" Kim asked.
"No, my ride home. Chris was supposed to meet me here but that looks unlikely." I said.
"You just got yourself a ride, baby." Kim said firmly as we drove away.
"What are you doing here, anyway?" I now asked.
"Same thing as you, picking up Adrienne." Kim said gesturing towards her passenger.
"Hi, Jim. I'm Adrienne Bailon." She said turning around and extending her hand over the passenger seat.
"Hi, good to meet you, little wet I'm afraid." I said. "Have I seen you somewhere? You look familiar."
"Well, I was a Cheetah Girl." She replied. "Kim's brother and I used to date."
"Oh, right. Now I remember."
The Bentley headed out of the LAX complex and towards the highway. The traffic started to get heavier, and Kim's phone rang.
"Hello? Oh hi, Mom...uh-huh...oh god, you're kidding...I'm not sure I'll have to check the GPS...OK I'll call you back when I know." Kim turned to Adrienne;
"Mom says the highways are completely blocked up with cars and flooding, I don't think I can make it home. Any ideas?" she said in a worried voice looking at me as well.
Kim pulled the Bentley over and we started to check her GPS system for alternate routes as she called her Mom back. It soon became apparent that the most obvious routes were out.
"How far is your place Jim?" Kim asked.
I checked the maps and that looked like our best bet.
"We're off to your place, then." Kim said as she steered the Bentley back onto the highway.
We all tried to be positive as the rain poured down and the big car navigated the highway. And we breathed a collective sigh of relief once we found my exit. Immediately we headed for a McDonald's drive-thru and stocked up on burgers and fries, then made the short drive to my condo.
"Probably would be best to stay here and see if the rain lets up any." I said.
"Good idea." Adrienne replied
Kim nodded in response.
It was dark and quiet, but felt great to be inside my condo.
Then I suddenly realized why it was so dark when I tripped over Smokie the cat, making him yowl out.
"Oh great! The power's out!" I said.
Kim and Adrienne fished around for their cellphones and used the display lights to find their way around.
"OK, I've got a flashlight." I said.
"Got any candles?" somebody said.
"Yes, over..." I said as I crashed into a chair.
We all laughed at our predicament but luckily found some candles, lit them and finally got to settle down. The rain continued outside. Kim called her Mom and reassured her we were fine and would leave when the rain stopped.
"So how do you and Kim know each other?" Adrienne asked.
Kim smiled, and I told how Chris and I had done photos for her clothing line.
"You left out one little detail 'Mr. Hollywood'." She said.
"Huh?" I replied
She looked at me with a naughty smile.
"Well, Adrienne...Jim has an interesting nickname, you know." She said.
"Oh, really, what?"
"He's Hollywood Jim." She said.
Adrienne's eyes lit up.
"No way!"
"Oh, yes. This is the guy I told you about."
"The one in Hawaii?" she said, still surprised.
"Uh-huh, this is him." Kim said as she sat close to me and gently stroked my chest and smiled at me lovingly.
I was too stunned to reply. Kim started to giggle at what she'd just said and done. Then she started to explain.
"OK, yes, Jim is the guy I met in Hawaii. He's a sweetheart, right, Jim?"
"Oh, uh, yeah, sweetheart. Yeah, that's me." I said in a quivering voice.
Kim got closer to me.
"He's also...a very good lover." She said a she gently wrapped her left arm around me and placed her head on my shoulder. I could smell her perfume, so nice.
"Oh, my!" Adrienne said with a look of curiosity.
Kim started to laugh as she looked at me, knowing how embarrassed I probably was.
"He won't admit it, will you Jim?" she now said. "Well, he is."
"Maybe since I'm single I should find out for myself." Adrienne said.
"Oh, you should!" Kim said excitedly. "A's been kinda lonely lately, haven't you?" she said with a smile.
"Kim!" Adrienne said, shocked and covering her mouth. "I can't believe you'd say that!" she said, clearly embarrassed at Kim's bluntness, but smiling slightly.
