Beautiful People - Chapter 9: Chapter 9

Restless white sunlight curled fingers through the weave of the thin curtains. Outside, cars hummed sleepily down the road; on the floor beside the bed, the room service tray held only empty plates and a skiff of coffee in the bottom of a chipped ceramic mug. Popping the last fat strawberry into her mouth, Vera finished scheduling a post and snapped her laptop closed before shoving it aside.
She had dreamed about dark skin bejeweled by fairy lights, her hand welcomed by the curve of a generous hip, a sweet pink tongue that promised things it couldn't deliver. She woke wishing she had said something more to Sharise. Flirted back, instead of staring like a dumbass. Invited her up for a drink after the conversation with Carmen.
Vera had talked her way into working for Carmen fucking Juarez, but when a beautiful woman flirted with her she could only think of all the reasons it was a bad idea? It was embarrassing, really. She was a disgrace to bisexuals everywhere.
With a huge yawn, Vera stretched both arms up above her head until her back cracked. Then she settled against her mountain of fluffy pillows and reached for the remote to turn up the volume on her TV.
On the screen, the three morning show hosts finally sewed up their banter, and the unnaturally blonde woman smiled a blinding, toothy smile. "And here she is! Star of Never Enough Smiles and the beloved classic Our Family Tragedy, it's Carmen Juarez!"
The studio audience applauded, and as the goofily oversized door opened and Carmen appeared, Vera squealed with excitement in her hotel room.
Beaming, Carmen gave a small wave as she sauntered across the stage. She was rocking the plaid. A single button held the simple white blouse together at her tiny waist, where the shirt was tucked loosely into the wide-legged pants. Teases of matching plaid bra peeped through as she moved. Jay had given her a high, pin-straight ponytail that swung playfully between her narrow shoulders, a subtle eye, and a dark red-brown lipstick. Her eyes sparkled. She knew exactly how incredible she looked.
Vera wriggled in her seat and texted Jay: SHE LOOKS AMAZING.
Our girl cleans up nice, Jay replied. We make a good team.
Settling gracefully onto the black leather sofa across from the hosts, Carmen crossed her legs at the ankles, drawing attention to her brocade ankle boots, and blew a kiss at the still-cheering audience.
When the applause faded, the hosts welcomed her. Carmen laughed a musical laugh and responded playfully to their practiced jokes, making them sound stilted in comparison. In the brilliance of her smile, Vera saw no trace of the girl who had cried and ranted and thrown things, breakable things, in her hotel room for nearly an hour the night before.
Vera and Sharise had spent that hour parked outside Vera's hotel, trying and failing to comfort Carmen. It had been a strange experience. Sharise was so practical about the whole thing ("Do you really wish you were dating someone who treats you like that?") that Vera had been reminded again, strongly, of Ivy and her rational-and-supportive-but-also-extremely-unhelpful response when Vera had told her about Alex. Heartbreak couldn't be rationalized. It just had to be experienced. Sometimes that required a little screaming.
Wishing she had more coffee, Vera resettled the pillows behind her back. On the show, the hosts transitioned smoothly from purposeful small talk into a discussion about the upcoming Teen Taste awards.
"How does it feel to have your kiss nominated as one of the sexiest of the year?" the blonde woman asked, her smile barely flexing.
"I like to think everything I do is the sexiest," Carmen said with a slow wink for the audience, dark lashes brushing her golden cheek to invite them in on her joke. "No, in all seriousness, Never Enough Smiles was such a fun film to work on. I think everyone who worked on that movie felt it. We all became such good friends; cast, crew, everyone. So if people think Troy and I are sexy together, that's a success for everyone who put their energy into that film."
Even though Vera had seen Carmen do press like this before, she was still impressed. Carmen could sell terrible movies with all the earnestness other actors saved for their passion projects and never seem like she was trying not to cringe. And she had dropped Troy's name without flinching, which was just god-level impressive.
The dark-haired host leaned forward in her seat eagerly, her smile as toothy as that of a shark circling its prey. "Carmen, I have to ask. You two had such chemistry in that movie. Some people even thought you might be dating for real." The audience hooted.
Her smile never wavering, Carmen nodded. Vera found herself nibbling nervously at her thumbnail, forced herself to stop.
"I know this is gossipy, but our audience is dying to know. Did you two ever date?"
Carmen's laughter was like water over smooth stones. "Troy and I are friends," she said, and if Vera didn't know better she would have believed her. "I know people want to think we were in love, but we've never been anything more than good friends."
Tossing back her sheets, Vera slipped off the bed and padded across the sunny room to look at the coffee machine. She couldn't watch any more. Her stomach hurt for Carmen. At least when Alex had cheated on her, she hadn't had to go on TV and claim to the whole world that she had never loved him.
The night before, after Carmen had cried herself dry, Sharise had asked, "Do you want me to tell them not to ask about Troy?"
Sniffling, Carmen had said, "No. What if it got out? If the gossip blogs start saying I'm refusing questions about him, that'll just confirm that it's true."
"But at least you won't have to talk about him tomorrow," Sharise had said, and Vera had seen in the set of her jaw how worried she was for Carmen, even if the only way she could express it was logistical.
Carmen had blown her nose with a sound like a goose honking. "I can handle it. I have to."
Squinting against the too-bright morning sunlight, Vera tore open a package of hotel-brand coffee, finding inside the foil a tea-bag-like object that perplexed her for a moment. Behind her on the TV, one of the interchangable hosts continued.
"We've all heard the news about Troy and Marina Taylor. Have you heard?" she asked the audience. "Troy Dicks and Marina Taylor went official last night with a super cute, lovey-dovey post. Can we get Troy's post up on the-- Thank you."
There was whooping and applause. Someone wolf-whistled.
"Oh my God. Aren't they so cute?" Carmen said, bubbly voice containing nothing but enthusiasm.
The blonde host laughed like a hyena. "Adorable," she agreed. "Tell us the truth, Carmen. We're all friends here. You aren't jealous at all that your two best friends fell in love with each other?"
"Jealous?" Carmen sounded shocked. "Of course not. They're so, so good for each other. I honestly couldn't be happier."
It was a masterful performance. She deserved an Oscar.
"I wish my friends were as supportive as you," the third host said, and all three tittered.
"Well, Carmen, we've got a game to play with you," the dark-haired host said. "Things might get a little silly. And then you've got a brand new project we can't wait to talk about. After the break."
Vera snapped the coffee maker shut and turned it on. She hoped Troy would see the interview and feel guilty, but if he was as much of a fucking guy as Alex he would probably believe that Carmen really was happy for them.
She wondered what Sharise thought of the interview.
Shaking off the thought, Vera got to work. She spent the day multi-tasking: catching up on her blog, finding a laundromat to solve her lack of clean underwear, going through her photos and footage of Carmen to put together some mockup posts for approval by Sharise or Carmen because she was ready to test that unauthorized social posts clause.
Mostly, though, she watched Carmen's press.
The response was as good as any of them could have hoped for. The first gossip blogs had stories up as soon as the morning show ended, setting the tone for the posts to follow: juicy bites about Troy and speculation about their presumed ex-relationship dominated the headlines, but every article included some (mostly) positive lines about the Merry Sanders project, and every one led with photos of Carmen outside the studio: carefree smile, ponytail blowing in the wind, the long coat worn open to complete the outfit.
As the day progressed, several outlets commented specifically on the styling, most praising it, a few hating it. A hashtag appeared. In giddy disbelief, Vera read posts from people claiming to have already bought themselves the look.
The plaid moment was happening.
Before she got on the plane home, Carmen posted to her own channels a full-length photo taken in a glitzy hotel lobby. Framed in gold, hands casually in her plaid pockets, chin tilted up like a challenge. So deliciously extra. The caption read too much for you, a jab at Troy obvious enough to inflame her fans but vague enough to allow plausible deniability. Links to Vera and Jay followed.
That was like pouring gasoline on a fire. Carmen's fans were devout. They read that caption and scurried to do her assumed bidding: flooding Troy's mentions with passive-aggressive comments, then doing the same to Marina. But it wasn't all war. Vera's follower count jumped. She soon lost track of her notifications.
When reports began to surface of look-alike plaid pieces selling out online, Vera was no longer entirely sure she wasn't dreaming. It felt like she had stepped off the edge of a cliff without checking if she was wearing a parachute.
And still she kept thinking about the night before, in the car. Sharise saying, "We can try to keep this a non-story," and Carmen saying, "Fuck that."
To distract herself, Vera went out to have dinner in a cheap cafe under flickering fluorescent lights where she could get a rice bowl and try not to think about Sharise and those chopsticks while she ate it.
Walking into Carmen's that night felt like walking into a celebration after a battle: adrenaline still high, tense jaws but a buzzing in the air like they had won something.
Jay swept her into a tight hug and they swung around giggling. When he let her go, Sharise said, "Carmen wants everyone in the living room."
There was no hint of a smile on her lips. Something squeezed a little between Vera's ribs.
As Jay went ahead, Vera said, "Hey, Sharise, can we talk for a sec?"
Eyes flickering away, Sharise ran her hands over her hips. "Later."
"Look, last night, I--"
"This isn't the time, Vera."
"Is there gonna be a better time?" Vera stepped closer and looked up, a long way up, trying to catch Sharise's eye. She could feel her pulse heavy in her throat, but if she could make a style moment happen for Carmen, she could talk to a beautiful woman who was into her. "You're the one who asked me out on a date, remember?"
Sharise let out a small, quick breath, and Vera thought that maybe she was a little flustered despite how calm she was trying to appear. "Carmen's waiting for us. Please."
If Sharise was saying please, Vera really couldn't argue. There was a stitch of thrill in the knowledge that she could make imperturbable Sharise lose her composure--and a lacy mess of desire in wondering what it might take to unravel her completely. Right then Vera was sure she was capable of it. Right then she very much wanted to.
Holding that thought between her teeth, she followed Sharise down the hall.
In the living room, Carmen stood looking out at the tracks of the moon rippling through her pool, flipping her phone from hand to hand. Jay had taken the armchair, resting his perfectly manicured fingers elegantly along the arms, and Sharise leaned against the wall. Vera sat on the white padded seat and kicked her toes along the ground, wishing Sharise had sat on the couch because she had this silly urge to sit beside her, to feel her warmth even if she couldn't touch her.
At last, Carmen turned to look at them, her face shadowed. "Troy Dicks is in all my fucking headlines," she said.
Sharise shifted, crossed her arms over her chest. "You asked them to pay attention, with the show you two have put on for the last year."
"Yes, Mom, I know, it was my choice to use my personal life to sell my work," Carmen bit out.
Sharise stared back at her, expressionless.
Carmen bared her teeth slightly. "I fucked up when I trusted him. And I fucked up by introducing him to Marina, that backstabbing bitch. I have to walk the fucking Teen Taste carpet with that asshole in two weeks."
"We can cancel Teen Taste if you want," Sharise said.
"No no no no!" Jay held up his hands. "Vera and I are already working on some unforgettable looks. Canceling would be a tragedy."
Carmen tossed her still-straight hair back over her shoulders. "The biggest film of my career is coming out this fall. I'm not about to start dropping promo spots because of some dumbshit who gave up this for Marina fucking Taylor."
She looked at Jay, then at Vera. Vera found herself grinning at the fierce glint in Carmen's eyes.
"Drama gets them talking, but your look got me just as many words." Carmen waved her phone in the air before she tossed it onto the coffee table with a clatter. "Without your plaid bra I might not be going viral." Draping herself on the couch, she spread her arms out along the back and stared at them all like a queen surveying her domain from her throne. Her intensity was contagious. Vera's heart was racing.
"I want more of that. Every day. I've got the biggest bitches on my team now. We're gonna keep this momentum going. Troy wants to use my moment. I'm gonna use him right back. Any talk is good talk, right, Vera?" Leaning forward, Carmen pressed her fingertips together and looked at each of them in turn, slowly, holding their gaze until each felt the full weight of her honed anger. Jay smiled a devilish grin. Sharise stared back solemnly. Vera bounced her foot in excitement.
Carmen said, "I'm gonna walk down that carpet with Troy and accept that stupid award for that kiss with him, and I want every single fucking headline to be about me. Troy Dicks is nobody. He's less than my fucking shadow. Next year I'm gonna win a fucking Oscar and no one will even remember him because he's nothing."
Surging to her feet, she stalked across the room like a war goddess who had found her true purpose. Her footsteps had faded down the hallway before the echo of her ferocity dissolved.
"Carmen out for revenge is my sexual orientation," Vera said to no one in particular. Jay laughed a stunned sort of laugh, and Vera looked at Sharise, who was staring out the window at the pool with her lower lip caught between her teeth. "Do you think this means my trial period is over?"