Chapter 18 -- Here, Hold My Beer
Sunday January 1
We all came out of the terminal to find a bigger plane than I expected. Brook and I had sprung for a charter flight to LA from our local airport. With us were all our friends who were staying for the week.
"I thought we were getting something practical," I said.
"We did, but Rita James is flying back with us, and she upgraded us. It's an Airbus A318 Elite, configured to seat 18 and feature sleeping quarters for eight," Brook explained.
"I could use a nap," Tami said.
She did look a little hungover after last night.
"Mile High Club," Wolf said as he high-fived Tim.
"Are you planning to do each other?" Sarah, Wolf's girlfriend, asked her boyfriend and Tim.
"I like her," Cassidy announced as my two friends scowled at Sarah.
"I'm sure David has done it," Wolf whined.
"I'm sure David has earned frequent flyer mileage doing just that. It doesn't mean I'm going to," Sarah warned him.
Wolf had sent me an Internet link to suggest a destination for spring break. There was a resort called 'Sex Island' in the Caribbean where they provided you with two hookers and all the drugs and alcohol you could handle for the week. I'd read that almost half the guys who signed up were married. One had even brought his wife. Somehow, I didn't think Brook was up for something that over-the-top.
Wolf had pointed out one of the 'special' activities was a chance to spend sixty minutes with 30-plus women. I personally didn't think that sounded all that enjoyable until Tim sent a text back to Wolf.
'
FIFY -- spend sixty minutes
seconds
with 30 women.
'
Wolf wasn't nearly as amused with Tim as I was. Tim gave him the big shrug.
"Hey, I really did Fix It For You. What are you complaining about?"
I was afraid Wolf and Tim thought this week was going to be something like 'Sex Island.' We told the parents that boys and girls would be in separate rooms to calm some reasonable concerns. We even assigned roommates. Personally, my parents hadn't bought that for a second. I figured that if there ended up being some room swapping, it wasn't up to me to say anything about it.
The current room assignments were Tim and Wolf, Sarah and Tami, Brook and Cassidy, Tracy and Pam, with Lexi and me having our own rooms.
Cassidy had decided not to invite her boyfriend, Don. She was just dating him casually and didn't want him to get the wrong idea. Plus, Fritz had asked her to assist with security to help Manaia.
Speak of the devil: I saw Fritz lead Rita, Halle, and Stewart Thatcher out of the terminal.
"What are you all standing around for? Get on the plane," Rita ordered, playing the role of den mother.
I agreed because it was a little chilly standing on the tarmac.
"I see who wears the pants in your relationship," I teased Stewart.
"David, get on the plane," Brook ordered with a smirk.
Stewart and I just smiled and did as we were told. When I got on, I saw that the interior was completely decked out to resemble a classy lounge, complete with a bar. I went to the back, picked out one of the sleeping rooms, and stretched out. We hadn't gotten home until almost three in the morning, and I was running on about five hours of sleep. I figured if I goofed off, I might not get a bed to sleep on.
I dozed off as the plane left the ground.
---
"Scoot over," Pam said.
The beds weren't any bigger than twin size. I hadn't planned on sharing but was half-asleep, so I didn't argue. Pam crawled in next to me, and I put my arm around her as I lay on my side.
"David," Pam said softly.
"Hm."
"I heard what you said to Kent and Chuck last night."
"Uh, huh."
"You're a really good guy."
"I love you too," I said.
"I know," she said and snuggled down so we could get some sleep.
---
I had about a ninety-minute power nap and felt great. I slipped out of bed, taking care not to wake Pam. When I went out into the main cabin, I found many of the others had followed my lead and claimed sleeping berths. I found a nice, comfy chair and pulled out my phone.
While I'd slept, I'd received several messages and texts. Brook had sent one with my share of the flight cost. With Rita's help, it was about four times what I would pay for a first-class ticket. The upside was I didn't have to drive to Chicago and go through their security, saving me several hours of travel time. I was also able to bring my friends in luxury. It was something I could see doing as a special treat every once in a blue moon. I might get away with it more often now that Caryn was leaving her job as my conscience.
Ari sent a text about the box office numbers for
The Royal Palm
through Saturday. We'd reached that magic threshold where we'd actually made money. To date, every film I'd been in had done just that. Ari said he'd received more scripts that were perfect for me, and he'd sent them to my managers to look at. At least he'd learned not to buck the process. I was sure if he were to find anything outstanding, he would hand-deliver it.
The text I received from Lexi shocked me. I had jokingly suggested that she look into getting us the yacht her dad had invited me on. He'd done that to help sway me into signing up for the next two
Star Academy
movies. Her text said we were good to go for tomorrow, and the studio was picking up the cost. We could invite thirty people. I was about to become very popular. There was a note that one of the guests was Lexi. I was reminded once again that I was blessed to have her working for me. I sent her a text back to confirm and assure her she was going.
I sent a text to Mr. Otsuki, my director, to inform him about what Lexi had arranged and to invite him and the cast for the day if he could fit it into his shoot schedule. It didn't take him long to accept. Tsuyoshi, my mentor, had clued me in that Mr. Otsuki had mentioned he might want to come with us when we did American activities. Tsuyoshi suggested that I not go skinny dipping if he joined us. Tsuyoshi thought he was funny. I gave Mr. Otsuki the details and asked that he invite the cast.
That accounted for about two-thirds of the slots. I had to reserve one for Manaia and another for Halle. I sent a text to my other Hollywood friends and soon had the trip's guest list filled.
I sent another text to Lexi to arrange for us to take a commuter helicopter from Malibu to the heliport close to where the yacht was docked. When I went last time with Rita, it had been very reasonably priced. I just knew it would save us a ton of travel time. Plus, I wanted my friends to get the full experience while they were there.
I decided that after that, I would cut back on spending money. I knew Wolf was touchy about it, and I didn't want my friends to think I was an ATM.
Brook came out and sat down on my lap. She looked refreshed from her nap.
"You need to talk to your boys. They seem to think you've planned a 'Girls Gone Wild' type of week."
"Why am I responsible for that?" I asked.
"Because they take their lead from you. Someone has a reputation for doing outrageous stuff," she reminded me.
"I haven't gotten too far out of hand this year. Every time they've wanted to do something over the top, I've said I wasn't going to get involved," I reminded her.
"Sarah is uncomfortable," Brook clued me in. "She said you announced something about 'anytime, anywhere' when you went to model camp with her. Wolf keeps telling her 'right now and right here.'"
"Are they not doing the deed?" I asked, suddenly confused.
