Book 1: Echoes Of The Past

Chapter 11 - Get Your Feet Off My Coffee Table

About half an hour later and everyone was tucking into some Thai food. Some of Jared's interns had come to join them, along with Emma, who Ivy found was very easy to get along with and made her feel very welcome and comfortable.

As per usual, Jared was at the centre of attention, gesticulating with flamboyance as he told everyone about a time when he nearly died whilst rock-climbing with his friend Alex Honnold when he had been climbing Red Rocks in Nevada.

"So, I looked up and I can see that the rock is slowly cutting through the rope I'm attached to and I'm hanging 600ft in the air!"

Ivy was trying to focus on what Jared was telling everyone, but currently in her line of sight, all she could see was Xenia sucking on Shannon's neck like a leech. She had; until now, been thoroughly enjoying her rice bowl.

She could see Shannon's hand and fingers slowly inching their way further and further up Xenia's thigh, up under the conveniently short skirt that she was wearing. Luckily Emma had suddenly asked her a question which had thankfully distracted her long enough to retain her food.

"So how do you know Jay and Shannon?" Emma asked her.

"Oh, my older brother, Bryce, went to school with Jared. Shannon was a couple of Grades above him.

I think they both bonded over their love for books. I seem to remember Bryce telling me that Jared lent him a copy of Herman Hesse's book, 'Siddahartha', and he said it changed his life."

"I know he does love to read. He's actually introduced me to some great authors. He told me he hadn't seen you in 10 years. What happened?"

"Oh, I was seeing someone. He cheated on me and I'd just had enough of everything really and decided to move all the way from Louisiana to LA to start my life over. We all just lost touch. I guess I missed some more than others." She chanced a glance in Shannon's direction.

Xenia had pretty much managed to crawl into his lap by now. It wasn't really an attractive view, she had to admit.

"Is he always like this?" Ivy questioned Emma about Shannon's current sexual exploits.

"He has his moments, I guess. I don't know who she is though." Emma wrinkled her nose at the mention of Xenia.

Suddenly, Ivy saw Xenia and Shannon get up from the seat they were sat in. No one else around her seemed to notice, it was almost as though this kind of thing happened all the time; maybe it did. She shuddered.

She turned her head back to Jared who currently looked as though he was preaching a sermon by the way everyone around him was sat; poised leaning forward, clinging onto every word as though their lives depended on it.

Xenia took Shannon's hand and led him towards the door where they both slipped out silently. Ivy didn't even want to know where they were going or what they were doing.

She finished the rest of her food, turning back into Jared's conversation which had slipped into the fundamentals of Global warming and the deforestation of the Amazon, and resumed her evening.

As the night drew on, she found herself enjoying things more and more, but wondered what the time was, because unlike Jared, Shannon and Emma, she wasn't used to staying up until all hours, and especially with the filming of the video tomorrow and not knowing exactly what to expect, she thought she should probably get an early night.

"Hey Emma. I-I think I'm going to head off. You know I'm going to be at the video shoot tomorrow, so think I should probably get an early night."

"Oh. OK. Sure. I'll be there tomorrow as well, helping Jared out on set. If you give me your address, I can have a car sent round to collect you and take you to the film site." She fished her phone out of her jeans pocket.