“She has to be willing to be seen in public with me. That’s a big one,” I said.
“Let me work on it. I bet I can find you someone,” Jeri said and then she shocked me. “Alright, this is the segment of the show where you have to take your shirt off.”
She said it with a straight face in a matter-of-fact way, like it was only natural that I would take my shirt off now. The women in the audience seemed to believe I should.
“I’m not sure my mom would approve of me taking my shirt off in public,” I said.
“Well, then it’s good that we talked to your mom before the show,” Jeri said. Then she played a clip of my mom giving me permission to take my clothes off for Jeri.
My mom was so dead! I stood up and acted as if I were fumbling with my buttons on my shirt.
“Can we get someone to help me?” I asked Jeri.
“Do we have any volunteers?” Jeri asked.
Two women burst onto the stage, startling both Jeri and me. I began to laugh as they worked together to get my sports coat and then shirt off. They soon had me standing bare-chested on national TV. I guess the women realized what they’d done and hurried back to their seats.
“Thank you,” I said and sat back down.
Jeri had her head in her hand as she checked me out.
“Then you take your pants off,” she said.
“I, ah …”
“Don’t make me call your mother,” Jeri warned.
“It’s not that. I think the audience should be rewarded in some way for having to witness it,” I said.
“Okay, if you take them off, the audience will win a prize.”
It looked like another girl was going to bolt onto the stage.
“I got this,” I told her.
I undid my pants and let them fall around my ankles.
“Alright, you’re all going to go home with gift cards from Range Sports, Jade, and Dakora, and tickets to David’s new movie,
◊◊◊
Fritz drove Caryn and me to the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel. I had to be at the TCL Chinese Theatre by six-thirty to meet the paparazzi and entertainment press. The studio had arranged a suite for me at the hotel because there was an after-party in the ballroom there after the premiere. Brook, Halle, and Rita would meet me there so I could change, and then we would take limos to the theater.
When I arrived at the hotel, Caryn got us our keycards, and we went to our rooms. Mine was the Veranda Suite, which was secluded on its own private floor on the highest level of the Wilshire Wing. I entered at the top of a marble and wrought iron stairway into a studio-style hotel suite. The room itself was nice, but what made this suite special was it had its own two-thousand square foot terrace. The terrace was furnished for outdoor living and dining and featured 270-degree views of Rodeo Drive and the Hollywood Hills.
I walked out onto the terrace to find Saul with his wife, Frank, Brook, Halle, and Rita, relaxing and having cocktails. I was happy to see there was food because I was starved and wouldn’t get a chance to eat before the premiere.
“David, you need to change,” Rita said after I’d grabbed a plate of appetizers.
Rita took me into the suite and showed me that Dakora had sent over a tuxedo for me to wear. It had a maroon jacket with black trim, white shirt, and black tie. There was a choice between maroon or black pants.
“Wear the black,” Rita suggested.
When I came out with Rita, it was time to go. I noticed that Halle’s dress was black with maroon accents that matched my tuxedo. When we arrived downstairs, two limos were waiting. There was one for everyone else, and one for Brook and me. Caryn was waiting for us and got everyone organized.
On the ride over, Brook appeared nervous.
“You okay?” I asked.
She gave me a weak smile.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“It’s all just a little overwhelming,” I said.
“I was okay until just now. How do you do it?” Brook asked.
“To be honest with you, all this makes me nervous, too. I guess I look at it like another role I have to play for the movie. I figure if I have to do it, I might as well have fun and enjoy it,” I admitted.
“That’s just it. Last night you got up in front all those people like you’d been doing it all your life. I can’t imagine myself doing that,” she said.
“I call bullshit,” I said, which startled her. “Since when are you shy? I’ve watched you strut around in front of crowds bigger than that.”
“That’s different. I’m part of a whole squad.”
“You forget that I know you. You don’t have a shy bone in your body. If you had, you could never pull off those silk sweats. I’ve seen you hold court and tease the male population in front of the school,” I said and saw her flush. “What’s really going on?”
“I had a long talk with Halle today. She told me that you really enjoy it here. I guess I’m worried that you won’t want to come home, and if you do, that you won’t be interested in me.”
