"Fan mail...fan mail..fan mail...stalker mail..fan mail..ooh, look, another script--and this one's a musical!"
Without even bothering to look up from the text message she was reading, Christina absentmindedly told Stacey to put it in the pile with the rest of them. "I'll read it the next time I want a good laugh."
Noticing the frown that was starting to take over the other woman's face caused Marshall to lift up his hand; silently asking if he could see the manuscript--a request which Stacey approved of.
"A small-town girl ventures to Los Angele's and finds her place in a neo-burlesque club run by a former dancer--hell, if anything else, you got to give them points for creativity," Marshall commented to himself, while continuing to read what the movie was about. "Sounds interesting. Why don't you want to read it--at least to find out what it's about?"
Feeling two sets of eyes on her caused Christina to look up and shrug her shoulders slightly in annoyance. "I'm just tired of reading these scripts that people send me about some small town girl who, after realizing she can't make it where she is, decides to pack up her things and move to the big city to become an actor, singer, or--in this case--a dancer. I want something different. I want something real. I want something less--"
"8-Mile-ish?" Marshall interjected, causing Christina to quickly say "yes," but then after realizing what she had just said, she quickly objected to the older man's statement.
"No, I was going to say Cross-Road-ish....your movie, while it did feature the stereotypical small town guy lands big time deal plot line, it worked for you because that was your life. That was your story--I just want something that is real to me, too. Something that is true and something that hasn't already been done before. Is that too much to ask?"
After taking a second to think about it, Marshall had to admit that no, it wasn't too much to ask. But knowing that how Christina was feeling at the moment was the exact same way he had felt when he got offered the lead role in 8-mile caused him to ask Christina to reconsider it. "Look, I'm not saying you have to take the first role that someone offers you--cause that's stupid--but you shouldn't be so quick to throw an idea away without at least reading it over to see if you like it or not. Just look it over and if you don't like it, fuck it..if you do, then do the damn thing. That's all I'm saying."
Well, when you put it that way...
Christina didn't want to admit it out-loud, but the man beside her did have a point. There was no guarantee that she was going to like the script--no one could ever guarantee her that much--but at least if she took a second to read it and hated it, then she could at least throw that back in Marshall and Stacey's face at a later point in time.
And on the off-chance that I do end up liking it...well, then we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.
With that thought in mind, Christina took the script from Marshall's hands and placed it on her lap; outwardly telling the two of them that she'd read it when she got the chance.
A fact that must have pleased Stacey greatly since she threw Marshall a grateful smile, before continuing on with the next order of business. "Okay, once we reach the hotel, you have two phone interviews you have to do for a TV and radio station here and then after that, I made reservations for you and Marshall at La Corral de la Moreria. It's supposed to be one of the best flamenco restaurants in Spain so I'm sure you'll both love it."
Although Christina was usually never one to pass up food--especially not Spanish food--the thought of having intimate dinner plans alone with Marshall caused her to open her mouth to protest it--a movement that Stacey noticed.
"I know-I know, like you said, you two aren't really dating--but Marshall's been with us for about a week now and it's about time you two did something together besides work out and go to your sound-checks together."
"At least if not for him, then do it for me---if I can't get any again on this tour, then at least someone needs to let me live vicariously through them...I mean..."
What..?
Realizing what the other woman just said caused Christina to quickly open her mouth to ask who on the tour had her assistant been sleeping with. But before she could even get the first words out, Marshall--having noticed the younger woman's embarrassment--just as quickly replied: "I'm down, if you are."
A comment which diverted Christina's attention from Stacey...at least, for the moment, anyway.
Trust me, this conversation is far from over, Christina inwardly told her assistant, who was at the moment looking anywhere but at Christina and Marshall right now.
"That's fine, but only if you're paying."
9pm
Unfortunately for Christina--but fortunately enough for Stacey--Christina's phone interviews had gone a lot longer than expected. So, by the time Christina had finished the last one, it was time for her to take a shower, get dressed and get ready for her date with Marshall Mathers--leaving her with no time to interrogate her assistant about her huge slip-up in the car earlier.
"Don't think I forgot what you said earlier...we're going to have a long talk when I get home, Missy. I want every last detail. I'm not playing with you," Christina managed to get out before the other woman practically forced her into the car they'd be using while they were in Spain and telling Christina to have a great time at dinner.
"And drink responsibly."
"Don't worry, we will," Marshall had said in amusement, before the door to the car was closed beside them and Marshall and Christina were finally on their way to the restaurant of Stacey's choice.
"Welcome to La Corral de la Moreria. My name is Nathan and I will be your server for the night..can I start you two off with something to drink or an appetizer while you look at the menu?"
Having just sat down a second ago caused Christina to open her mouth to tell Nathan that they needed a minute. But before she could even get the first words out, Marshall asked if they could have a bottle of Absinthe for starters.
Absinthe?
"Good choice, sir. I'll be right back with your order."
After waiting until the waiter was out of ear-shot, Christina spoke her concern. "What's Absinthe? I've never heard of it."
"It's this herbal wine Dre hooked me on to a couple of months ago. It's pretty good, you'll like it. I promise."
Not really believing that she would, but not wanting to argue with the older man--at least, not yet anyway--caused Christina to just nod her head and turn her attention back to the menu in front of her, until Nathan appeared a few seconds later with the Absinthe in one hand and two wine glasses in the other.
"Ladies first," Nathan commented, while first pouring Christina a glass of the green liquid and then one for Marshall, as well. "Enjoy."
That's easy for you to say. You're not the one drinking this stuff...Christina commented to herself, before following Marshall's movements of picking up the glass, and then--after a second--hesitantly bringing the cup to her lips.
Mm, this is not bad...not bad at all.
"Surprised?" Marshall asked, with an amused smirk on his face.
"Maybe," Christina joked, before taking another sip out of her now almost empty glass and then turning back to the task at hand, "So, since you're one for one so far, what do you recommend we eat for dinner?"
"Uh-uh," Marshall commented, while closing the menu that was in front of him and pushing it towards the middle of the table, "I chose the wine, now you choose the food...I have faith in you--just nothing that is still mooing when it comes to the table, all right?"
After taking a second to laugh at this comment, Christina agreed with Marshall's terms and then, after a minute of studying the menu in front of her, she got the attention of their waiter telling him that they were ready to order.
"Okay, what'll it be then?"
"For the appetizer, we'll have two Mediterranean salads with fresh cheese and king prawn mousse. For the entree, I'll have the sauteed lobster with scallops while he'll have the grilled prime steak with padron peppers. And for dessert, we'll both have the chocolate coultant and Tahiti vanilla ice cream--oh, and can you also bring us another bottle of the Absinthe wine. We'll probably be finished with this one by the time you come back with our entrees. Thanks."
After practically having to use two sheets of notebook paper to jot down Christina's entire order, the waiter finally looked up, with an impressed expression on his face, and replied that he'd be back in a minute or two with their appetizers.
"So, where were we?" Christina asked, after the waiter had left the table; causing an amused Marshall to chuckle slightly. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing.." Marshall began, but then after a second he continued with: "I was just thinking you ordered all that food and you probably aint even gonna eat half of it."
He must not know who he's talking to... Christina inwardly commented to herself; knowing that in her small group of friends she was known as the human garbage disposal.
With that thought in mind, she opened her mouth to argue with the man, but at the last second, she stopped and let a slow smile start to spread across her face as she casually replied: "Wanna bet...? Loser pays for dinner."
Never one to back down from a challenge, Marshall quickly replied:
"You're on."
Two hours later
"So, how does it feel to lose, not once, but twice to a girl half your size?" Christina jokingly asked Marshall as they began their trek down the hallway towards their respected hotel rooms.
"Whatever, I still say you cheated somehow. There's no way you could have eaten all your food and half of mine, along with dessert and not have something physically wrong with you--you have a tape worm in your stomach, don't you?"
Without even bothering to hide the laugh that threatened to escape her mouth, Christina replied that she indeed did not, and owed it all to her fast metabolism.
"Fast metabolism, my ass. I still say you cheated," Marshall joked back, before slowing his movements down as they finally made it to Christina's room. "Well, I can honestly say that this is the first date I've ever been on that ended way before midnight. This has gotta be a record somewhere."
"Maybe," Christina continued to joke, while taking the key to her room out of her purse and meeting Marshall's gaze with a pointed stare of her own, "but you have no one to blame but yourself for our early return back here tonight--I have to go to bed twice as early now just to keep up with you and Stacey in the morning. I don't know how you two can be such morning people--that's just not normal."
"No, you and your tape worm are what's not normal," Marshall joked, before extending his hand out for Christina to shake, and telling her to have a nice night.
"You too, Marshall." Christina replied back, before turning around and making her way into her room; forcing herself not to scream as, once she fully made it into the room, the lights were suddenly flipped on and she noticed Stacey seated on her bed with a huge smile on her face. "Jesus, Stacey, you scared the crap out of me."
"That was the plan," Stacey jokingly commented, before pulling Christina down towards the bed and saying she wanted to know everything. "Start from the beginning and don't leave out any details."
After rolling her eyes playfully at the other woman's eagerness, Christina inwardly told herself she guessed the other woman really hadn't been lying when she said she had made the reservations so she could live vicariously through Christina and Marshall that night.
Now I really want to know who she's been sleeping with at night...
With that being her last thought, Christina did just as she was asked and started from the beginning. She told Stacey how Marshall had pretty much been a perfect gentleman for the entire evening: he had pulled out her chair for her, ordered them wine and then paid for both their meals--after losing, the bet, of course. He had been the perfect gentleman and hadn't made her regret the evening once the entire night.
"See! I told you-you two would be able to get along the entire evening without either bodyguard or me present there, as well. I don't know why you were being so silly to begin with in the first place."
Having to admit that it had been silly to think that Marshall and her wouldn't be able to get along just because others weren't present around them caused Christina to nod her head in agreement, and then after telling Stacey she was right, she quickly switched the conversation to one that she was more concerned with. "But enough about me, onto you--what was up with that little slip-up of yours earlier in the car? You been holding out on me?"
As if she knew there was no way around it anymore, Stacey let out a small sigh before saying, "Yeah...I was going to tell you eventually, but it never seemed like the right time with Ron and Justin always being around, and now Byron and Marshall, as well."
Justin...? Wait, he hasn't been on this tour for almost five weeks now--which means she's been keeping this a secret from me for over a month now.
Taking Christina's silence as permission to keep going, Stacey continued with: "It started out as nothing more than just some harmless flirting, more on his part than mine anyway. But then after a couple months out on the tour we found ourselves becoming more and more attracted to one another. And then, the night of the E.M.A's, after you told him to take me back to the hotel, we ended up spending the night together."
I told him to take her back to the hotel..? I never told anyone to--
As sudden realization hit her, Christina had to throw one hand over her mouth after she loudly blurted out: "You slept with Trace?"
If Stacey hadn't already been blushing before, Christina's loud outburst would've caused the other woman's face to turn scarlet red.
"Yes, I slept with Trace--but could you scream it a little louder next time, I don't think they quite heard you clearly outside."
While apologizing for her indiscretion, Christina couldn't help but start to laugh a little. "I'm sorry, but I just never pictured you with Trace--you always seemed to like those pretty boy types and Trace is....well, Trace."
Not knowing if she should be offended or not by this comment caused Stacey to throw a glare at the still laughing Christina, but then a second later, she couldn't help but slowly start to laugh as well. "Screw you, Chrissy."
"No, that's Trace's job," Christina joked, but then after a second of trying to get herself to calm down, she continued with: "But in all seriousness, what's up with you two now? You guys planning on getting together when we get back to the states or was it just a one time only thing?"
After taking a second to think about it, Stacey let another small smile slide across her face as she replied: "I don't know. We text one another pretty much everyday, but neither one of us has mentioned what we're going to do when I get back home--I hope it wasn't just a one time thing for him 'cause it wasn't just one for me."
Well, I hope not either...Christina commented to herself, with a smile; having not seen Stacey this happy-go-lucky in a very long time.
Cause if he hurts her, I'mma have to kill him.
***
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