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Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from Istockphoto.com . ~Sephrena

Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

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Chapter 16 - Holliday Dinner

Dad, acting as our agent instead of my dad (I hoped), had made us reservations at an upscale restaurant.

I also found out that pulling a limo up to the door was not exactly the best way to keep from drawing attention. People were already staring before the car door was even opened!

I heard the feminine gasps as Josh exited the car. When he turned around and offered me his hand, all sound stopped. It took a real effort to work up the courage I needed to take his hand. I knew everyone was waiting to see whom he was taking to dinner.

Eventually I was able to swing my legs out of the door and he helped me out of the limo. Before I realized what was happening, I had taken the arm that he had offered me, and he was leading me into the restaurant.

The flash of cameras died down after we entered the door, and I wondered how long it would be before our picture had been distributed on the Internet.

“Reservation for Holliday,” Josh told the hostess. She grinned sexily at Josh, I noticed, just before she glanced my way, sneered slightly, and turned her attention to the screen in front of her.

“Of course,” she said and turned to another young woman. “Table 22.”

“Right this way, please,” the other girl said, but she couldn’t contain her giggle as she turned to lead us to our table.

All of the attention that Josh was getting was making me happy about my decision to live a double life. Triple life, I guess. I didn’t know how Josh could stand this much attention. I was very happy that I would be able to turn that attention off if I ever got as popular as he was. I’d have to thank Mary for her insistence that I have a normal life as a girl too.

We were led to a secluded table that afforded us some privacy from the gazing eyes of Josh’s admirers. Once we had been seated and the giggly girl was finally able to leave (she wanted his autograph), Josh turned to me.

“Sorry,” he said. “I’m afraid I have that effect on people.”

“How can you stand it?” I asked him. He looked at me like I was crazy.

“What do you mean?” he asked instead of answering my question.

“I mean,” I started to explain. “Do you ever get any privacy?”

“We’re alone now, aren’t we?”

He said that like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I don’t think he really understood my question though. “I guess.”

He grinned at me like he had just imparted some type of wisdom before he spoke. “You get used to it. I imagine it won’t be long before you have your own fans mooning all over you.”

He was smiling like that notion was the best thing that could happen to someone, but the thought only made me anxious.

Our waiter showed up at that moment. I wondered how many of the staff, or at least the female members, were mad that this guy was assigned to our table. It was, oddly enough, nice to have someone around who seemed to be paying more attention to me than he was to Josh.

“Hello,” he said. “My name is Tom. I’ll be your waiter this evening. Can I get you two something to drink?”

He looked first at Josh. “I’ll have a root beer.”

The waiter nodded at him and then turned to me. He smiled in a way that made me blush. “And for the lady?”

“I...” I started, still not able to contain the blush. “I’ll have the same.”

“Alright, I’ll be right back with those drinks if you want to take a look at the menu.”

He left and Josh and I turned our attention to the menus. I was so nervous that I wasn’t really hungry. I was thinking of just getting a salad.

“Don’t worry about the price,” Josh said. I hadn’t until he mentioned it. This was a very expensive restaurant, I quickly found out after glancing at the prices. “Don said he would pick up the bill.”

I nodded, but that didn’t make worrying about the price any easier. Learning that it was being paid with my family’s money didn’t make me feel any better about the expense. Now I was sure I was only going to get that salad.

We didn’t talk much before our waiter returned. I’d set my menu down, but Josh seemed to be having a hard time deciding what to eat.

“Ready to order?” Tom asked after placing our drinks in front of us.

“Almost,” Josh answered. “Sarah, if you’re ready you can order first.”

The waiter turned to me expectantly.

“I’ll have the Caesar salad,” I told him.

When it became apparent I wasn’t going to order anything else, Josh looked up at me. “That’s it?” he asked.

“Uh, yeah,” I said, wondering why that was a problem for him. “I’m not really all that hungry.”

He looked astonished at my response. “You can get anything on the menu for free, and all you want is a salad? If Don’s paying for this, it’s worth taking him up on his offer. He doesn’t do this often, you know.”

That answer definitely did not endear me to him. He was taking advantage of my dad’s generous offer. I really hoped that I never got to the point where I didn’t care about other people’s money like he apparently didn’t. Josh Holliday makes a lot of money, a small expense like this meal shouldn’t be that big of a deal to him. While my family was pretty well off and could afford the expense, I was happy to know that I was raised better than that.

I didn’t know how to explain that to him. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to even try. Instead I shrugged my shoulders. The look on our waiter’s face seemed to say that he agreed with me to some extent. Maybe he didn’t have a very good opinion of Josh.

Josh rolled his eyes at me and then turned back to his menu. “I’ll have the garlic sirloin, medium rare.”

“Ah, the most expensive item on our menu,” the waiter pointed out as he glanced my way. He smiled slightly, probably because of the slight frown that appeared on my own lips. “An excellent choice, sir. Would the two of you like any appetizers with your meal?”

I shook my head, but Josh dove back into the menu. After a short wait, he said, “No, I think this will do for now.”

I got the impression that he just couldn’t find anything he wanted to go with his steak.

“I’ll get the kitchen working on your order then,” Tom said with a smile, a fake one for Josh, and a more genuine one for me before he left.

“I don’t like that guy,” Josh said.

“He seems okay to me,” I replied.

Josh didn’t want to talk about our waiter, though. Instead he turned the discussion toward me.

“How long have you been singing?” he asked.

“Oh,” I said, blushing again. “I’ve been singing my whole life, but I’ve never really sung for an audience before.”

“Never?” he questioned with disbelief once again.

“No,” I said while shaking my head.

“How did you get a contract then?” He asked. “Olympic Records, right?”

“Yeah,” I replied to his second question first. “My friends...they dragged me to a party where there was some karaoke. I didn’t want to sing, but they forced me to. The guy throwing the party was a talent scout for Olympic Records.”

“That’s cool,” Josh said, but his tone and demeanor seemed to suggest it wasn’t. “I had to fight to get my demo heard by a record agency. Your way must be a much easier way to get it done.”

He was jealous! I could understand his expressions now. He’d worked hard to get where he was, but I had practically been handed a record contract on a platter. I didn’t think that telling him I was scared to death to become a pop star would make him feel any better.

“We’ll have to do a duet once your career is established,” he said, trying to break the tension that had developed between us. It didn’t.

I may have been enamored with Josh Holliday when he first showed up at my house this evening, but as I got to know him more throughout the evening my opinion had changed.

I didn’t like Josh Holliday! The realization hit me full force, and I heard myself gasp!

“Yeah,” Josh said, mistaking my gasp for what it really was. “I think it will help both of us out. I’ll talk to Don tonight when I drop you off and maybe we can do one in a couple of months or something.”

I wasn’t sure a duet with Josh Holliday was a good idea.

“Why are you staying at Don’s house anyway?” Josh asked. I was glad to change the subject, but this topic wasn’t any better.

“It’s a long story,” I told him, hoping it would be enough of an explanation.

“We’ve got time,” he said, which took that hope away.

“It’s something I’d rather not discuss,” I explained. I had started to become irritated. If he kept that up it was going to be a long night. We hadn’t even made it to the awards show yet!

“Come on,” he said. His tone seemed to indicate that he did not like being told no, and he was going to get the story out of me. Well, he wasn’t. I had no reason to tell Josh about my circumstances and why there was a Sarah Carerra room at our house. He was way outside of the inner circle.

“I’m sorry, Josh, but this is something I can’t discuss with you.”

Now he looked irritated. Good! It was about time that he realized this date wasn’t going to be more than a business opportunity.

He sat there looking uncomfortable for a few moments before he stood up.

“If you’ll excuse me,” he said. “I need to use the restroom.”

He didn’t get too far out of the small room we had been sitting in before I heard the feminine gasps and saw a few girls crowd around him. With a quick glance back at me he walked out of view, signing autographs as he went.

I sighed and closed my eyes.

“Date not going like you hoped?” Tom, our waiter asked. I screamed slightly at the sound. I hadn’t expected anyone to be there and he startled me.

“I’m sorry,” he continued. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s okay,” I told him once I had my breath back. “I didn’t hear you walk up.”

He smiled at me and I noticed he had my salad on his tray. “Caesar’s salad?” he asked.

“Uh, yeah,” I said and he placed it in front of me. “That was fast.”

“Celebrities usually get preferred service here,” he said. “Have you known Josh long?”

“No,” I replied. “I just met him tonight.”

“Did you win a contest or something?” He was a very nosy waiter, I decided.

“No,” I explained. He might be nosy, but at least he was more fun to talk to than Josh. He was kind of cute with his dark brown hair and brown eyes.

It had happened again. Why do I keep looking at guys now? Why do they look cute? What is happening to me?

“Are you okay?” he asked. He could probably see the confusion on my face.

“Yeah,” I told him truthfully. “But I’ll be better when this night is over.”

“I would have thought that a girl like you would be happy to be on a date with a guy like Josh Holliday,” he said with a smirk.

“It sounded like a good idea earlier,” I said. “But it was never my idea.”

“Then why are you here?”

I sighed, thinking how I had asked myself the same question.

“We share the same agent,” I explained. “I just signed a contract this week, and our agent thought that this would be good exposure for both of us.”

“Actor?” he asked.

“What?” I asked, confused. Then I realized what he meant. “Oh! No, I’m a singer too.”

“Oh cool,” he said, truly intrigued. “Anything I would have heard?”

“No,” I frowned. “My first single is supposed to be on the radio next week sometime.”

“Must be exciting.”

“More like scary,” I replied.

“Why?” he asked, being even more nosy. If he wasn’t so cute I might have been mad at him.

“Um,” I started. “I never really wanted to do this. I mean, I do want to, but I’m scared to sing in front of people.”

“Isn’t that required in the industry?” he said with a chuckle.

I chuckled too before replying. “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be scared to do it.”

He stared at me for a moment, making me uncomfortable. Finally, he gave me a genuine smile and said, “I like you. You aren’t like the other celebrities who come through here. Don’t change that.”

“Believe me,” I agreed with him. “If I ever start acting like Josh and stop caring about other people, I won’t like me either.”

He laughed at that, which caused me to laugh too.

“I’m Sarah, by the way. Sarah Carerra.”

“Catchy,” he said. “Stage name?”

I blushed, which probably gave the answer away. “No, it’s my legal name.”

I’d told him the truth. Dad had made me sign some papers that made Sarah Carerra a legal alias to Megan Campbell. It was the fact that I had also signed papers to change my real legal name to Megan Campbell that was more surprising. I hadn’t made up my mind if I would stay as Megan or not, but going back would mean a court visit to change it back. I still wasn’t sure how he was able to change it without one, but he mentioned something about his legal guardianship over me, or something.

Tom obviously didn’t believe it was my birth name, but I was pretty sure he would react badly if he learned that my birth name was Brett. At least he didn’t push the issue.

“Can I help you?” Josh asked as he approached the table. He looked upset.

“Just bringing the lady her salad,” Tom said with a smile. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll check on your steak.”

For a second I didn’t think that Josh would let him off that easily. It was pretty obvious that he had been doing more than just dropping off my salad. The waiter had been chatting up his date, and Josh knew it.

“I really don’t like that guy,” Josh said with a scowl as he slid back into the booth. “And you shouldn’t be flirting with other guys while you’re on a date!”

“Oh come on!” I nearly screamed at him. “You’ve had girls drooling over you all night, and I’m sure you didn’t make it to the restroom and back without a little flirting!”

He frowned, confirming my suspicions.

“Besides,” I continued. “We both know that this date isn’t going to be anything more than a business arrangement. You and I, we aren’t compatible.”

His frown deepened, and I knew he agreed.

“I’m sorry,” he eventually said. “But you are one hot girl, and I would have liked a chance.”

“You had one, Josh,” I told him. “I didn’t know what to expect tonight, but I was open for anything. We just didn’t click.”

He nodded, but he looked sad. I found it hard not to feel sorry for him, until I remembered how many girls would willingly slit my throat to be in my place. There were plenty of other girls out there for him to choose from.

Tom reappeared, slowly walking our way. I think he was trying to judge whether he could place Josh’s dinner on the table and get away without being killed. He seemed to think he could when Josh smiled at him.

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The rest of dinner was pretty somber. We chatted about small stuff, but it wasn’t the same. Josh was a nice guy, I had decided, and we could possibly be friends, but even that was sketchy. He seemed to feel the same way about me. We just didn’t have the same interests.

“How did everything taste this evening?” Tom asked when we were finishing up.

“Great,” Josh replied and I nodded in agreement.

“Good,” Tom said with a smile. It looked like he was anxious for us to leave. I think he was scared of Josh now. “Your check has been taken care of by Mr. Campbell. Is there anything else I can do for you tonight?”

Josh looked at me for confirmation before replying, “I think we’re okay for tonight. Thank you for your wonderful service.”

I could tell Tom wasn’t sure if he should believe him or not, but he smiled anyway.

“Have a wonderful evening then,” Tom said. “We would be delighted to have you back at any time.”

He smiled and walked away.

“Are you ready to go?” Josh asked me.

“Yeah,” I said while nodding my head. As eventful as dinner was, it was still only the beginning of the night. The scariest part was still ahead.

“Nervous?” Josh asked while we walked through the restaurant toward the exit. How could I not be nervous? I had my arm wrapped around Josh Holliday while everyone within view was looking at us. But I knew that wasn’t what he was talking about.

“Very,” I told him. “I don’t know how to deal with the public yet.”

“You’ll learn,” he told me. “And it does get easier. My first red carpet scared me to death, but the next one was easier to deal with, and eventually you learn how to cope with the anxiety that it brings.”

I smiled at him. That was the first truly heartwarming thing he had said all evening.

Perhaps there really was a good guy inside him somewhere after all.

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