Author's Note: This book is about Juliet for a reason, and this chapter is one of the most important in furthering that. There is more to come with her and Melanie, but the purpose here is to give a first in-depth glimpse into what the future holds for our charming Hollywood starlet.
* * *
We all needed a full day's recovery after Juliet's birthday orgy. It had been an insane night and, well, most of the next day. But Juliet had planned ahead. She ordered a mobile nursing unit to come administer IVs to us at noon on Sunday. Before you knew it, we were on the path to normalcy. That was essential for me, in particular, because I had to pack. Juliet, Melanie, and I were going on a camping trip to Joshua Tree.
Camping really wasn't the appropriate descriptor. While the national park itself only had rudimentary campsites, Juliet had arranged for something different. The loophole was that you could hire a third-party company to set up camp for you. And that's what we had done. Calling it glamping probably was an undersell. After an uneventful two-and-a-half hour drive from the Hollywood Hills, we found ourselves staring at an immaculate glamping setup.
We had an astonishing, large Airstream waiting for us. It held a king-sized bed, which I didn't know was possible, a surprisingly serviceable kitchen with a stocked refrigerator and a wine cooler. The bathroom had a small shower that had great water pressure. This was hardly camping. It was so much better.
"I'm in awe," I said after we surveyed the setup.
"Okay, maybe I undersold the notion of 'camping,'" Juliet said. "I'm too much of a girly girl to get too down and dirty."
"It's also just so much less fun to have sex in sleeping bags," Melanie said with a laugh.
The girls had billed this as a spiritual and sexual retreat. And I was starting to learn just how deep their connection was. Juliet and Melanie genuinely had a special bond, and I felt quite moved that they wanted to share it with me.
"Let's get one rolled and spark it up," Juliet said to Melanie. "John, can you find us a suitable bottle?"
"Sure," I said.
It wasn't hard. Juliet had ensured the wine fridge was stocked with favorites, from Dom Perignon and Cristal to top-notch white Burgundy. Seeing the array of bottles reminded me of the first time I had met her. Kat had arranged for us to meet at the Mansion at the MGM Grand in Vegas through Kelly. Initially it was just a lark in a game she and Jess played to make each other jealous. Who knew it would turn into so much more? I pulled out a bottle of Puligny-Montrachet and fingered the label.
"Hey, isn't this," I said, turning around and bumping into Juliet.
"It is," she said, pressing herself against my chest longer than necessary.
It was the same bottle wine and the same vintage we had drunk on that first meeting in Vegas.
"I love this wine," I said.
"Me, too," she said, the magical sparkle emanating from her eyes.
"I'm kind of flattered you remember," I said.
"Well, it was a really good bottle," Juliet said, a flirtatious and teasing tone in her voice.
I unfolded the knife on the corkscrew and turned the bottle to cut the foil. As I put the worm into the cork, I looked over at Melanie. She used delicate, deft hands to roll a perfect joint. Juliet saw me staring.
"She is the tightest roller this side of Snoop Dogg," she said, and we laughed.
"I mean, I like smoking weed," Melanie said playfully. "I want to be good at it!"
I poured three glasses of wine. Juliet held hers up to me, and we enjoyed the long, melodic clink of fine crystal that seemed out of place in an Airstream.
"Cheers," I said.
"I am really excited to share this with you," Juliet said. "Like, really excited."
"I'll be honest," I said, my eyes never leaving hers. "I'm really honored you both included me."
"Melanie thinks the world of you," Juliet said.
"I'm right here, babe!" Melanie shouted.
Spirits were high. And we were about to be, too, because Melanie stood up and showed off the joint she had rolled. Bob Marley would have been envious.
"That is so beautiful," Juliet said, suggestively running a finger up and down the length of it. "Almost as beautiful as you."
They kissed, and it hit me for the first time the depth and intensity of their connection. It was so obviously powerful and open, an easy and potent feeling that I knew all too well. Seeing it made me happy.
"Come on, John," Juliet said with a beckoning finger.
Melanie produced a Zippo lighter and sparked up the joint. She took a short double puff and passed it to Juliet, whose strong inhale blazed the bright orange tip and took a quarter inch off the spliff. She held the smoke in her lungs and offered it to me with her eyes closed. I followed suit and held it out to Melanie, who locked her eyes on mine, smiled, and made sure her fingers lingered on mine as she accepted the joint.
"Joshua Tree is the best," Juliet said, her bubbly enthusiasm standing in contrast to the mellow buzz I started to feel from the weed.
"This place is magical," Melanie said. She let languidly exhaled smoke between her teeth and didn't relent on the goofy smile she directed toward me.
"The first time we came here," Juliet said, turning her attention to me, "it was totally on a lark."
"And we didn't plan ahead," Melanie cut in.
"Which was a huge mistake," Juliet continued.
"But we got so lucky," Melanie said.
"Because I had just wrapped up some table reads for this next movie that's going into production," Juliet continued their back-and-forth narrative. "The one that hit the delay. Anyway, my co-star, who is such a chill guy and legit just loves his life, overheard me saying I was going to Joshua Tree. And he asked if I had shrooms."
"And, of course, she said no," Melanie said.
"He looked so hurt, it almost made me laugh!" Juliet said. "And told me to meet him for drinks. So I did, and he passed me a little baggie of dried mushrooms. He said I should take those an hour before sunset on the first night in Joshua Tree, and my whole life would change."
She exchanged a knowing glance with Melanie as I took another hit off the joint.
