Vice (H.S)

CHAPTER 9 - TOUR GUIDE

I've always loved driving through Los Angeles. Tall, aging palm trees set against clear, blue, sparkling skies. The whir of bumbling trolleys. Small Spanish-style houses with gardens of colorful wildflowers. Sleek, shiny Cadillacs glinting in the mid-morning sunlight.

This time of year, late September, the summer crowd has migrated back to the east coast, and cottages lay vacant until the spring. I like to imagine the people that drift in and out of town, what sort of lives they lead, and what sort of jobs they occupy their time with. I envy them, their ability to flit in and out of a town like this one. I envy their anonymity, their private lives safe from prying eyes. Career men and women who travel the world and settle down in a town they're in love with, living out their lives with spontaneity and autonomy.

My driver pulls up to the gates of the Paramount Studios, speaking briefly to the gate guard before proceeding into the lot slowly. Once stopping fully, my door is opened by an unfamiliar face.

"Miss Banks." I take his hand, stepping out into the bright daylight, smoothing my skirt. My driver promises to return in a few hours, sooner if I call for him. In the distance, I spot Peggy's beau chatting with a pair of women dressed like air hostesses. He smiles when he catches my eye.

"Johnny!" I wave to him from across the lot and he jogs over towards me.

"How are you, gorgeous?" he greets me casually, bending to kiss my cheek. The lot is bustling with energy. Production assistants jog around with racks of sequined costumes, feathers and leather and velvet. A man walks by with an enormous silk sunflower, another carrying a larger-than-life plaster skull. It's delightful.

"Pretty amazing, isn't it?" he crosses his arms, surveying the scene.

"Everything is so beautiful. It's like another world."

"Wait until you see the film sets. They're a real work of art." We head towards one of the buildings, light sandstone with thick Greco-Roman columns. I follow Johnny inside, coming to a halt at the desk of a receptionist.

"We were supposed to meet a few minutes ago," he sighs, looking at the time. "I'm so sorry he's running late."

"Who?" I inquire politely.

"Your tour guide," he smiles, checking his wristwatch once again.

"You aren't showing me around the studio?" Embarrassment floods my face; of course he's too busy to show me around.

"No, Peggy set it up. She thought it would be a nice surprise."

My skin grows cold. "I'm sorry, I don't understand. What do you mean 'surprise?'"

But I hardly need to ask. I already know. My heart races.

"Elwin." The deep timbre of his voice gives him away immediately. "It's so nice to see you again."

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Posted this chapter a little early just because I felt like it :) Enjoy! Thank you for 600+ reads and keep commenting! Things are about to heat up...