"Beth get the door," I grumble from under the covers of my bed. For a while, I could've sworn the pounding was from my head. It took me a minute to get out of my slumber.
In a way, it reminded me of an annoying alarm you could not turn off until you got up and turned it off yourself.
"You get it!"
"Why me?" I yell back across the hall. Beth doesn't answer, and the knocking continues.
Checking my phone, I notice a handful of messages from Leo asking to meet up after his photoshoot. He sent them at six in the morning. It was now one in the afternoon. I slip on my fuzzy bear slippers and cover myself with a blanket.
"I'm coming!" I shout, opening the door for Leo.
He looked just as weird as I did. If this is what he thinks "blending in" looks like, he was far off.
"Estrella!" he says cheerfully, tipping his baseball hat with a smile and removing his expensive sunglasses.
I glower at him, placing my hand over my eyes from the rays of sun poking past his broad shoulders. Shoulders that would create an entire sea turtle shell, that is.
"Are you hung over?" he asks, leaning close to my face, moving my hand out of my eyes. I made sure to look unbothered as his smile would likely grow if I displayed any sign of being flustered.
Me? Flustered? Over Leo?
No way.
I don't answer his question, instead, I gesture for him to come in as my squinting eyes attempt to adjust themselves.
"You know, you're a very difficult person to reach."
"I was sleeping," I grumbled, wrapping the blanket around me tighter as I felt the winds of the outside. "What did you want to discuss?" I ask, shutting the door behind me. Leo notices the wine bottle on the kitchen counter and makes a small chuckle.
"I would say we could talk about our story to tell our parents, but it seems like addressing your alcoholism is a better option."
I scold him, vouching that I was indeed not an alcoholic and that it had been Beth who drank most of the bottle. Hence, the red lipstick stains on the tip of the bottle. Personally, I don't use anything simply because I don't like the way it feels on my face. It's more of a sensory issue if anything, I'm usually easily overstimulated. Such a shame, too, because it would complement me nicely.
As we sit on the couch, we get right back to business, laying out the story of our relationship. Leo spilled some details he shared behind my back. According to him, as far as our parents know, we have been dating for a few months after running into each other at a local event he had in Irvine.
"Isn't that a little too basic?"
"It was enough for them," replies Leo.
Together, we craft plausible details of the specific location where we apparently reunited, to get out any possible missing pieces we may need to cover.
"What are you planning to wear to the event?" he asks me, leaning on his knees with his elbows as if he were crouching. He flashes one of his show-stopping smiles at me.
"A dress."
"What color?"
"Why do you want to know? Don't tell me you're planning to match me." I joked, tossing my head back.
His cheeks rise as the corners of his lips do. Fox-like is one way to describe his grin as if he enjoys knowing what he is thinking.
"Absolutely not."
"I knew you were going to say that, so I have prepared you an option." He types a message on his phone and lifts himself out of the couch. He waits at the door as if he is expecting a visitor. Coming inside is his butler, Stefan, holding a runway-worthy carpet dress. He delicately places the dress on my lap for me to see.
"How did you get my size? Don't tell me you asked my mother."
"I didn't. It was Beth who told me."
I turn my head to the corner and notice dark hair peeking through the hallways. Higher up from her head poking out are fluffy panda ears I am far too familiar with. While I could've shouted her name, I decided not to. I will deal with her on my own later.
"How much did it cost you?"
"The dress or Beth?"
"Both."
"It is a gift. As for Beth, fifty dollars. She decided to go easy on me after the one-thousand ordeal."
Running my hands through the fabric, I was in awe of the small details it had, such as the intricate embroidery of the flowers at the lower half of the dress, while the top had white fluttering butterfly wings present. Lifting the dress into the air, I could tell there was enough tulle for the dress to have some volume and shape to give. In terms of color, it faded into a nice ombre as the white at the bust faded into a subtle red at the bottom. Specks of glitter shone throughout the dress as if it were to be ripped out of a fairytale.
"I can't take this." I hold it out for Sir Stefan to retrieve. He doesn't take it away from me. Instead, he smiles and tells me to keep the dress for Leo's inconvenience.
"No returns. You can decide if you'd like to wear it to match me or wear the dress you set out. I am giving you the option as I won't force you to wear something you're uncomfortable with. I'll be wearing a red tux as I am taking on a character in my newest show."
It was something Leo was known for. From what I've seen on magazine covers, he often came to his premieres wearing something inspired by the character he plays. It would make sense for his new 'girlfriend' to be matching him. Though, this event wasn't a premiere but rather a celebration party for his newest project.
He told me was going to be playing a devious character in a mystery show in which there is a serial killer on the loose in the fictional university his character attends. Based on the way Leo describes the plot, either he is going to play the killer, or someone who is accused of being the killer but really isn't. He'll be working alongside a famous Latino director, which I am personally fond of.
Eduardo Jimenez.
He was known for directing and producing some of my favorite telenovelas I watched unsupervised in my early adolescence. He was an advocate for diversity and breaking out of the common Latino stereotypes.
Leo assured me this event was going to be small and that Mr. Jimenez, along with the rest of the cast, would be there. It was going to take place somewhere in downtown LA at a hidden venue. His security guard, Omar, would pick me up and escort me back home in his car.
Omar was briefly introduced to me when Leo called him into the apartment, carrying a small red box in his hands. In terms of appearance, on his ear was a single piercing in the helix of his ear and another on his nose. He had short, curling, neatly trimmed hair and Arabian-decent genetic qualities to him.
I eyed the box with great suspicion of the next 'gift' I would receive. I haven't quite asked Leo for any compensation yet, here he was having these people bring an array of items.
"For you, Miss Stephanie," he awkwardly stretches out his arm, as he too seems to be new to his sudden tasks.
I don't take the box, and he keeps his hand in a stable position.
"No thank you, Omar."
"Please, Miss Stephanie, he's going to have me hold it out for you until you take it."
I snap my head at Leo and see him smirking. Next to him, Stefan frowns in disapproval but does not intervene.
Feeling guilty for Omar, I open the box, and inside it is a small woven bracelet you'd find in Mexico, with the exception that there is a small star charm dangling in the center.
Leo lifts his sleeve and shows his matching bracelet similar to mine but his charm is of a turtle.
"Matching bracelets?"
"Matching is the way to go. As I said, you can choose not to wear the dress, but to prove our relationship to our parents, I suggest we wear at least these. Besides, the estrella suits you." He steps closer to me and pulls the bracelet out of the box.
I hold out my wrist, and he carefully clasps it on my hand.
This is it.
It was the official indication of our relationship.
I was his star, and he was my turtle.