Palm Dreams

Down Low

You're my best kept secret
Yes, you are
You're my best kept secret

Tonight?

James looked at the text from the unknown number. He smiled.

I'm off at 8.

He texted back. The reply came back a second later.

Usual place?

He texted an address instead. He had something else in mind.

James put down his phone and leaned back in his make up chair while Mac went to work on his face. He was already counting down the hours until this shoot was over, until he could see her again.

~

They had to meet in secret. No restaurants or malls or bars or clubs. The fans would lose their shit if they knew. Sometimes James hated it. He hated the oppressive scrutiny of his private life, he hated not being able to date who he wanted, he hated being dictated what to feel and who to feel it for.

But then there were times when the secrecy, the sneaking around and hiding made it all the more exciting. The thrill of the forbidden made for a powerful aphrodisiac. Not that James needed it, not when it came to her.

He drove to the meeting spot and parked the car. He spotted a security guard, rolled down his window and waved him over. The guard didn't recognize him but knew from the car and the look of James that he was someone willing to pay. James explained that another car was coming and it needed to stay here, safely, overnight. He handed the guard a thousand peso bill for his trouble. And then another one, for good measure. James knew his girl and she would kill him if anything happened to her car.

The guard grinned, pocketing the money. "Ako bahala, Bossing."

The car in question came speeding into the garage. It pulled into the space beside James' car and the guard nodded and gave him a brief salute before walking back to his station.

She stepped out of the black vehicle wearing a ballcap pulled low over her eyes, her hair tucked back into her overlarge sweatshirt, worn over a dress. She moved smoothly into his passenger seat, buckling her seatbelt as James pulled out of the parking spot.

They didn't say anything. No words of greeting, no small talk. James didn't even look at her, just concentrated on the road ahead. They met traffic as soon as they were on the street and he turned up the Chris Brown song that was playing. She turned her head and stared out of the window. James could see her reflection on the dark tinted glass but the hat covered her eyes and he couldn't read the mysteries hidden behind that beautiful face. He never could.

~

He drove for three hours, took them far out of the city. She didn't protest even though James knew she had an early call time the next day. They turned off their phones. James tossed his carelessly over his shoulder, not caring where it landed. He'll find it in some dark crevice of the car later on. For these few hours, the outside world doesn't exist.

They reached the beach resort James had made a reservation at earlier in the day (under a fake name, of course) and he parked the car in front. They get out of the car with nothing but the clothes on their back. James doesn't reach for her hand and she doesn't even look at him. He walks up to the desk and checks in, paying the full bill in cash. She waits on one of the lobby sofas, her back to the front desk, making sure she's not seen.