"You'll be fine Ed," a voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I had completely forgotten where I was or where I was even going. My mind was racing with so many thoughts yet still happened to be blank. The cold sweat on my back was one of the things that reminded me of the annoying tuxedo I was currently wearing. Maybe I should have stayed and sent in a thank you video. It would have saved me from the flashing lights and cameras.
"I hope so," I said softly to Pablo. He simply smiled and gently squeezed my shoulder before looking out the window. I glanced over to my supportive friend; he did not have to be there but he wanted too. I think we both knew I was still a mess. In the past year Pablo had looked the same besides the tiny wrinkles at the corners of his eye. He insisted he should get Botox to make them less evident but according to my sister it made him hotter.
Whatever that meant.
He was dressed in a maroon tuxedo but chose to not wear a bowtie and just wore a white button up shirt with the first few buttons undone. He was a great Spanish artist and sure he was use to the glitz and glam. Although he avoided the spotlight to maintain his sanity. At times I wished I could have made that chose for myself but hey, we all knew I enjoyed the attention way too much.
Slowly the street started to reveal more and more people as the limousine pulled up to the venue. The Oscars were one of the biggest events of the year and I had been nominated three times for the three major blockbuster movies I was involved in. I had attended the Oscars multiple times but tonight would be the first time I was actually nominated. This was a big moment for me but a part of me wished that the very person who had my heart was next to me for this moment.
I was snapped out of my depressing thoughts as the car stopped and the flashing lights of the cameras became more apparent. I took in a deep breath and prepared myself for what was next. Our body guards opened the doors and quickly Pablo and I were out smiling and waving as we made our way on to the red carpet. Pablo and I separated briefly since he was also here for his own reasons. When I looked over my shoulder I noticed a reporter had snatched him up.
The laugh that bubbled in my chest was threatening to break free. He looked anxious even though he put on a friendly smile and answered the questions; he really hated interviews. My publicist had me pose for a few pictures and even though I begged to avoid interviews I was still forced to take at least three. The first two were pretty routine but the last… well you would find out soon.
"Mr. Coleman!" a young blonde reporter called out to me as I was close to the exit. I sighed and tried to ignore her but the death glare from my manager had me thinking twice.
I forced a smile on my face and walked over to her with a calm exterior. I felt the exact opposite inside.
"Hi," I smiled flashing her my teeth. A small blush crept onto her cheeks as she stared at me. Who ever said good looks were a curse lied.
"Mr. Coleman thank you so much for letting me interview you, it is truly an honour," she smiled and held the mike towards me.
"The honour is all mine," I chuckled.
"So I can imagine how it must feel to be nominated for three different categories. Tell me, what was the first thing that went through your mind when you found out?"
"Well at first it was shock. I have been in the industry for ten years now and I never thought I would make it here so soon. I know actors who have been in this longer than I, so it is truly a humbling experience. I can only thank my fans. The directors and my team for all of this," I smiled hoping this would be one of the last questions.
"I must admit your films a true tear jerker," she laughed and I joined her, "But truly the most important thing is that we have noticed you came solo. No beautiful date. How have things been since you and the beautiful Selena Hendez broke up? "
Her very question felt like a punch to my gut, "Well um there's nothing to say," I answered wearily. The very question shook all the pride, confidence and ego I had left.
"How does it make you feel knowing she was spotted with another man just a week after your breakup?" the reporter pressed. It literally felt like my world had shattered as soon as the words slipped out of her mouth. The information was new to me and it made me feel… angered yet terribly used. Had she really moved on that quickly?
"Mr. Coleman will you answer the question?"
"Maybe you should learn to respect people's boundaries," I snapped at the green eyed reporter. Her eyes enlarged and her hand trembled. Before I knew it I was storming off the red carpet completely ignoring the reporters' apologies and my manager and publicists calls for me. I knew this was a mistake.
I avoided the crowd of people and rushed off to the restroom. I desperately needed to calm down before facing more celebrities and cameras. Luckily when I entered the restrooms it was empty giving me enough time to splash some water onto my face. My heart was still thundering in my chest. It felt like everything was caving in, in a blink of an eye.
The door suddenly opened and I held my breath but gratefully it was only Pablo.
"Are you okay? I saw what happened back there," he leaned against the vanity next to me as I dried my hands with a paper towel.
"Yeah. I guess I just wasn't expecting that," I sighed, "Come on lets go," I increased my pace of walking to avoid the speech Pablo would give to me about acceptance and grief. For the next hour we mingled with others and were seated to our respective tables. Pablo was on the same table as me so it made things a lot easier.
When my first nomination came up I could feel the palm of my hands sweating. As the cameras focused on me and the six others it made the air around me very tense.
"And the award for best male actor in a historical film goes too," the actress opened the gold envelope as the room went silent, "Edward Coleman!" a huge smile spread across my face as everyone started clapping. Pablo was the first to congratulate me and everyone else on my table followed. I walked up to the stage and kissed the actresses cheek as she handed me the Oscar. I stared down at the beautiful statue suddenly overwhelmed with pride. I had worked so hard for this.
"Thank you. Thank you everyone," I said into the mike as the clapping started to calm down, "I prepared a speech in case I won but now that I am up here the words can't compare. When I started my career in acting everyone thought I would not last. I was a rich playboy who was not good with commitment but as the cameras rolled. I knew this was not temporary. My goal is to be able to tell a story to connect with someone out there. To help someone realize they are not alone and this proves my efforts are worth it. This would have not been able to happen without my fans, the directors, my managing team and most importantly my family. I love you all and thank you."
The clapping and music began again as I walked off the stage, backstage and eventually back to my seat. I did not win the other two awards but to be honest one was truly an achievement. Pablo and I agreed to only stay for a few minutes for the after party since I had to leave the country first thing tomorrow morning. I was more than fine with it since my anxiety around people was unsettling. I did not know if I could handle someone mentioning Selena once again.
Pablo mingled with a few friends whilst I went over to the bar to get myself a drink. I ordered some whiskey and sat down on one of the bar stools whilst I enjoyed my drink. Hastily I looked down to my watch, a few more minutes and we would be leaving. I just had to hold on. I barely paid attention to the figure that sat a seat away from me yet a flicker of dark hair caught my attention. For a second hope sprung in my heart even though it was highly unlikely.
My eyes casually looked over to the woman next to me and I was intrigued. She had dark brown hair and tanned skin. Her body was small and slender. She was beautiful, almost like Selena.
"Hello," I smiled and turned my body slightly to her direction.
She stared at me with slight shock and smiled, "Hi, interesting seeing you around," she teased.
"Well I did win an Oscar after all," I laughed. Her eyes were brown and plain, not like hers.
"How could I forget? Billionaire Edward Coleman now an Oscar winner too. What's next noble peace prize," she giggled. Her accent was clearly American much to my disappointment.
"You know so much about me and I did not even catch your name," I took a sip of my whiskey.
"Bethany Adams," she blushed knowing full well I would recognize her surname. Her father was a director that I once had the pleasure of working with. Instantly I recognized her face. She was nineteen the last time I saw her she had definitely changed in the span of ten years.
"I could tell I knew that beautiful face," I winked. Bethany use to have a crush on me when I was twenty five but I was smart enough to know not to pursue my directors' daughter.
"Still a flirt I see," she grinned. My eyes looked at her red lips and slowly trailed down to her exposed cleavage to the long,red ball gown she wore. She placed her hand on my thigh and gently traced it across. "How about we head out? You know, to catch up," she had definitely become a lot bolder too. By now the whiskey had my head fuzzy, so even though my gut was telling me not to leave my head nodded. It had been a few months since I had gotten any action anyway.
With that we stood up and casually made it past the crowd. Just before we exited Bethany put her hand in mine as we passed a group of reporters. Immediately I rolled my eyes at her childish antics. By tomorrow morning it would be all over the media that we left together. A wash of irritation flooded my body till my eyes caught her round arse. 'Worth it' I thought to myself as I bit my lip staring at her.
Definitely blossomed over the years.
We hurried through a few hallways till we reached the back entrance and there was my driver with the limousine.
"How did you…" I asked him as he opened the door for us. She slid in first.
"Pablo told me," the man smiled. I grinned 'He knew me well.'
Bethany gave him her address as we got comfortable in the back. She suddenly reached over and pressed the partition button so we could have some privacy.
"Someone's eager," I chuckled as she straddled my waist.
"You're irresistible," she purred into my ear and gently nibbled on my lobe. I groaned slightly at the feeling, everything was so much more intensified with the alcohol. Our hands barely kept to ourselves as we touched every inch of each other. The night was filled with sloppy kisses, love making and a black out from both of us at 3 a.m.