The Showtime network was holding a gala party, with many of its stars in attendance. Somehow, I had the connections to attend as well.
After some polite, courteous small talk with the friends who got me in, I went star gazing. Given that most of the stars were already talking to others -- and probably tight lipped on spoilers -- there wasn't much else I could do. Yet there were two notable exceptions.
I managed to talk for a minute or two with Emmy Rossum from 'Shameless' for starters. I don't know how well I came across, but I didn't do too much gaping at her silver dress, her big brown eyes or her bigger smile, so I counted that as a victory.
I used the same standards, almost down to a tee, when I had a few words with Lizzy Caplan from 'Masters of Sex.' The main difference was that she had a purple dress I managed not to gawk at, and the eyes I managed not to get too deeply lost in were green.
I snapped out of it and hung around for the next several moments, not finding any more famous people in my section of the crowd. Yet when I looked over to the section nearby, I saw Emmy and Lizzy fairly close to each other, although they hadn't noticed it.
On impulse, I went over to get their attention.
"Excuse me!" I called out to the both of them. When they noticed me, I could talk quieter. "Sorry to bother both of you again. But do you mind if I get a picture of you two together?"
Now that it was too late to take it back, I started to actually think it over. "I mean....I don't know if you actually know each other...."
"Oh, we've met. Showtime makes it hard not to," Lizzy informed.
"Well, in any case, if I'm bothering you....more than I already have," I offered a way out. But I also added, "I mean, you two are my favorites here. Even before I officially met you. It'd be that way even if you weren't the only actors I've spoken to here." I wondered if that spoke worse things about me than I wanted.
"Well, we were gonna do it anyway, but now you took out the wiggle room," Emmy said. Once she laughed and I saw Lizzy's own blinding smile, it made me more relieved.
Not pressing my luck, I got my phone out and set it up as Emmy and Lizzy stood side by side. I didn't need to give them any instruction to smile, so I snapped it as soon as I could.
"One down. Who should we get to snap the next one?" Emmy asked. Addressing me, she said, "You wanted to come between us for a shot too, right?"
"Um, well, if you've got time," I answered, brushing past the unique way she phrased it. Lizzy got someone to take my phone, setting it up as I stood in between her and Emmy. I wasn't sure if I could or should try to reach out and touch them, though.
When they each went up against my shoulder, however, I took a breath and lightly put a hand on their backs. I smiled and they didn't break their smiles, as my phone froze them all in time.
Once I saw it was frozen perfectly, I let the ladies take their leave and headed away. I spent much of the rest of the party looking at those pictures, remembering them, and filing them in my personal memory bank. But I wasn't quite ready to do all that at home when the party died down.
I walked off and went down the streets of L.A., stopping at the first nice bar I tried to look for. I got in and sat at a table, not bringing myself to order anything yet. Instead, I took one more look at my pictures before vowing to put them away until I got home.
Perhaps it had a greater effect than I thought, though. When I put the phone, I could have sworn when I looked at a nearby booth....
"Oh hey, what do you know?" I thought I heard at a nearby booth. "Look who's there!" I thought it looked and sounded like Lizzy Caplan, with Emmy Rossum sitting next to her. But....wait, I hadn't even taken a drink in here, and I didn't stumble out of the party. So then....
I managed not to stumble as I made my way to their booth. "What are you two doing here?" I asked, perhaps with less decorum than I should have.
"Well, for once, I'm not here for character research," Emmy said.
"If it was me doing some, then....ah, it's easier if you come up with the obvious sex joke. There's still too many for me to choose from," Lizzy joked.
"It's not like you're more naked than I am. I'm sure someone's done the research to prove it. How far sex research has come from your show's day," Emmy retorted.
"Have you been making fun of your shows for long in here?" I got back into the conversation.
"We did more than that at the party after you left, I'll have you know," Lizzy declared. "But you can't hold us accountable for that. Not just because we're celebrities, mind you."
"What she means is, after you left with your pictures, we didn't leave each other," Emmy said. "You pretty much set us up, and we've been hitting it off ever since. Ironically, that led us all here, it seems."
"Hitting it off, huh?" I repeated. Before they could take that the wrong way, I added, "So that's my fault?"
"Well, being fellow Showtime actors loved by critics and nudity lovers helped too," Lizzy qualified. "We just didn't spend much time comparing notes at other parties until this one. Probably would have at some point, but you sped it along, so thanks."
"Anyway, least we can do is let you help us close this place down. You left us hanging at the last one, so you technically owe us. The pictures are a good guilt trip too," Emmy reminded. I couldn't argue with that, so I stayed put.
The two actresses were aware enough not to get drunk, in case there were TMZ spies or bloggers on a late stake out near tonight's parties. I helped make sure we didn't consume much, but they were level headed enough to look out for themselves. Much like their characters, when their writers don't need to put them in downward spirals.
We stayed out of big trouble by playing darts and other games, getting caught up in Emmy and Lizzy sharing gossip with each other from their sets, and sharing non-spoilery gossip with me. I didn't have as much dirt on my own life, yet they were nice enough to listen anyway.