“Hello?”
I choke on my drink when the cougar speaks to us. I hit my chest, trying to clear my airway. I can hear Josie next to me trying to stifle a laugh.
“Hi,” Josie says for the both of us. I set my drink down and covertly wipe my mouth with my towel. I must look like a complete fool.
“Mind if I join you?” Josie and I share a glance, both of us conveying ‘what the hell’. Really? We are in a private cabana and she wants to join us. What about all the general population of chaise lounges that are poolside?
“Sure,” Josie says. I want to whack her upside her head.
The cougar sits down on my chaise, setting her oversized bag down on the ground. Now that I can see her more clearly, my earlier assumption of her age is far off. The woman sitting on the edge of my chaise is young, mid-twenties I’m guessing, but she’s been weathered, as my mother would say, one too many trips in the tanning bed. “So, I’m Alicia.” She extends her hand to Josie and then to me. We shake, and I offer up the fakest smile possible. We are supposed to be relaxing, not entertaining.
“It’s just so nice out today, don’t you think?”
Small talk too? I wonder if I can ask her about her personal life, act like I’m writing a book so I can get into the mind of a cougar and how someone can even hit on guy that doesn’t even look eighteen.
“Yes, it’s beautiful,” Josie says, appeasing our guest.
“So, Alicia, what do you do?” I ask, unable to bite back my curiosity. Different job scenarios run through my mind. I can’t see her married to an exec like Josie said because she doesn’t seem to carry herself as an uptight housewife.
“I lunch,” she says.
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I look quickly at Josie who shows no expression on her face. What does that even mean?
“You lunch?” I ask.
Alicia flips her two-toned blond and brown hair over her shoulder before tying it high on top of her head in a bun. She moves closer, dragging her bag with her. She sits next to me, acting as if we’ve been friends for the longest time.
I adjust and not discreetly. I don’t know what she wants, but she’s making me uncomfortable.
“I lunch, that’s what I do. I have a man that takes care of my needs and in return, I take care of his.” So I wasn’t too far off on my assessment. “But that’s not why I’m here. You see, we have a mutual friend or two.”
I laugh out loud and have to cover my mouth. There’s no way she runs in the same social circle as us. She reaches into her bag and pulls out some papers, holding them in her lap.
“I think you know him.” She hands me a photo and points to the man in the picture. The man just happens to be Harrison and the photo was taken last night. I look at Josie, whose lips are in a tight line. I don’t know what I’m supposed to think here. “I’m going to cut to the chase. You have something I want… well actually I own. Harrison and I have history… and you’re in the way.”
“Excuse me?” My tongue is thick, my jaw clenching.
“I think you’re mistaken here,” Josie says before Alicia… Alicia… I look at her full on. I study her face, taking in her the shape of her eyes, nose and lips. I gasp, my hand covering my mouth, my eyes watering as realization sets in.
“History?” I squeak out.
Alicia shows me picture after picture of her and Harrison. A few look like they were taken on the red carpet, but I don’t remember seeing her, but I also stopped paying attention to him for a few minutes. Another picture is of them embracing, backstage I’m guessing. He’s touching her like he touches me. Picture after picture of them together and not just from last night.
I shake my head. He wouldn’t do this. I know he wouldn’t. “You’re lying,” I say. “Harrison wouldn’t go anywhere near you.”
My words don’t seem to faze her in the least. “Is that what he told you?”
“Among other things.”
“Sweetheart, you should know never to trust a musician, they only want one thing. Besides, do you really think you have what he needs?”
I look away, not wanting her to see the affect she’s having on me.
“I think you need to go,” Josie says with conviction.
Alicia stands, leaving her pictures with me. “I’ll see you ladies in Beaumont. Harrison assures me I’ll just love his house. That’s the one you used to live in, right Josie?”