"Oh!" my best friend Jenna gasped, looking hard over my shoulder.
"What?" I asked, sitting up quickly and starting to look around.
"Don't look!" Jenna hissed at me, dropping her head down.
I leaned over and sent her an inquiring look.
"Don't look now, but Arnold Schwarzenegger is sitting at the table behind you!" Jenna whispered.
"Really?" I asked, wanting more than anything to look for myself.
"Yes, really!" she exclaimed, kicking me slightly under the table in her excitement.
"Well, if it really is Arnold, then he is used to being stared at." That said, I sat up and took a quick glance over my shoulder. And sure enough Arnold Schwarzenegger was sitting at the table behind me, and he caught me looking at him. I turned back around quickly and giggled.
Jenna and I had graduated high school a month before and had moved out to Los Angeles to attend UCLA. We had stopped in at The Palms restaurant just to say we did it. We were having iced tea and sharing a sandwich for lunch since the prices were outrageous.
"I am going to go over and say hello." I announced, standing up. Jenna, I am sure, would have tried to stop me but she was too shocked at my audacious behavior to say or do anything before I was up out of my seat and standing at the next table.
"Hello!" I said, smiling brightly. Arnold looked up at me, appearing very annoyed at first, but then he seemed to pause, and I could feel his eyes traveling over my voluptuous figure and then making contact with my sparkling green eyes. I was definitely not your typical Hollywood waif, and I guess he found that intriguing.
"Hello." He said, reaching out to shake my hand. I stood there dumbly for a moment after that, unsure of what to say next. I just smiled again and stammered out something about really enjoying his films. He still had not released my hand.
"It is always good to hear from a fan." Arnold said, smiling up at me. "Would you care to have a seat?"
"Uh...uh...." his fingers were caressing the inside of my wrist now. "I'd be...uh...delighted. But my...uh...friend..." I sort of waved with my free hand to where Jenna sat staring open-mouthed.
"Of course." Arnold said, grinning. "She will join us. And please, call me Arnold." He waved for Jenna to come on over to his table and the waiter brought two more chairs.
"We wouldn't dream of interrupting your lunch." I managed to get out, noting that he was eating by himself.
"You are not interrupting, do not be silly." Arnold replied releasing my hand so I could sink into the chair the waiter had placed behind me.
I'd like to say we chatted about this and that for the next hour, but Jenna and I were not exactly brilliant conversationalists even when speaking with our friends, let alone a Hollywood star. So, Arnold talked and Jenna and I hung on his every word. Finally lunch was over. He insisted on paying our tab as well, and we were profuse in our thanks.
During lunch, he had managed to get out of us that we were new to Los Angeles and that we were going to be studying at UCLA in the fall. As we stood up, I was awed by just how large Arnold was. I am not a short girl; I stand 5' 10" in bare feet. And Arnold towered over me.
He looked down at me and then at Jenna. Jenna is very nearly my complete opposite. She has short blonde hair, while mine is dark and falls to my waist in gentle waves. She is also fairly short, just 5' 2", so I appear to tower over her. I am voluptuous, while in comparison; Jenna has a more boyish figure. Arnold's eyes seemed to light up, as he looked at the contrast the two of us made.
"Now, you will come with me and I will give you a tour of Los Angeles." Arnold said, leading our way out of the restaurant. Jenna and I followed quickly, not once thinking of declining his offer. Arnold paused at the door, waiting for us, while the restaurant owner held the door open. As we reached him, Arnold placed one arm across my shoulders and the other around Jenna's shoulders and led the way to his waiting limousine. I glanced at Jenna as we were handed into the back of the vehicle, and she looked as thrilled as I felt.
We spent the next several hours riding around the city, enjoying the sights and chatting. Arnold plied us with champagne and soon we were chattering like we had known him all our lives. As the afternoon wore on, Arnold asked if we would like to see where he lived. Jenna and I both nodded that we would.
"You have no specific time to be home, I hope?" He asked, leaning back against the plush leather and again devouring us with his eyes. We shook our heads no and giggled. We were single girls on the loose in Los Angeles and it was party time! "Good. I will make sure you get home safely. Bruno, my driver, will take you home later."
Arnold lived high up in the Hollywood Hills, in a house that extended out over a canyon. The view was breathtaking. Jenna and I stood at the gigantic picture windows, watching as the sun sank and the lights slowly flickered on in the city below. Arnold walked up wearing a terrycloth robe and handed us both more champagne.
"I am going swimming. Would you care to join me?" Arnold nodded to the invitingly lit pool to the right of the panoramic windows. Chairs and little dim lights surrounded it. Off to one side was a bubbling Jacuzzi.
"I'd love to." I answered. "But I haven't got a suit."
"You can swim without one, if you wish." Arnold replied, striding toward the sliding glass door. "I often do. There are robes in the guest bathroom if you would like one." He gestured down the hall, to where a light was burning. He stepped through the door and let his robe fall to a nearby chair. He was completely naked underneath. And his body looked like one that should belong to a Greek God. Jenna and I stood there, gaping as he dove into the pool.