Sunset Boulevard

Chapter 3

Delilah was clad in a slinky black dress that clinched in at the waist under her breasts, and flared out into a V shape to her mid-thigh. Her long blonde hair was styled into ringlets that fell down her front and back, and her fringe left full.

She grabbed her small black handbag, depositing her phone, lip-gloss and a few $20 bills, and slung it over her shoulder.

She ventured into the en-suite to check her make-up, of which she'd kept simple with foundation, liquid eyeliner and lip-gloss, and smiled at her reflection in a vain manner.

She was just walking to her closet when her phone vibrated in her bag. She unzipped and grabbed it.

"Hello?"

"Babe!"

She smiled and picked up a pair of strappy Manolo Blahniks.

"Hey, Johnny. Where are you?"

"Outside your house," she took notice of the booming music behind his voice. "Put it the fuck down, Jack!"

Delilah rolled her eyes. Obviously that wasn't directed towards her. "You wanna come in for a sec? The doors are open," she asked absentmindedly, as she slipped into her heels and checked them out in the mirror, turning this way and that.

His side of the phone was silent (figuratively - since his friends and the music were really very loud), "Sure, gimme a second."

Delilah ended the call and smiled to herself, shutting off the lights in the room as she left.

"Delilah?" she heard his voice before she heard the door slam shut. She walked down the stairs as Johnny wandered over to her. He raised a thick, dark eyebrow, "How have you not snapped your neck yet?" his eyes trailed to her heels, and then swept the length of the staircase.

"Years of practice, babe." She tossed him a cheeky smirk. "You look great."

And it was true. Johnny Saunders was a part-time model, standing at 6"1, with a handsome face that held a 3'o'clock shadow, and a head of dark cropped hair. His eyes were a dark brown, and lips a thin pink. Delilah had met him in her sophomore year, when Johnny was a senior, and had just been allowed back to school for his last year due to possession of drugs the year before. Delilah had a short on-off relationship with him during her junior year, but they mostly just made-out a lot.

"And you," he checked her out in an exaggerated manner, and she rolled her eyes with a proud smile, "Look very fit. As usual."

Delilah smirked. "I know, right."

He grinned at her. "Let's get going. We've got your drink in the back."

"Sounds good," she smiled. He turned on his sneaker wedge with a squeak against the marble, and Delilah followed beside him until...

"Delilah!"

...she came to a halt, cringing.

"Was that the...Oh." Mrs. Martinez stopped abruptly as she crossed over to the entrance from the dining room.

Delilah gaped for a second, but grabbed Johnny's arm, smiling brightly at the confused old woman.

"This is Johnny," he smirked, with a little wave at the introduction. "He's my escort to the fundraiser." She gave him a quick look that told him to be quiet, but he merely raised a brow.

"I..." Mrs. Martinez narrowed her eyes as she inspected Johnny's laidback attire of a plain white muscle tank and a pair of loose brown khakis, "...see."

Delilah gently tugged on Johnny's arm, and he got the hint, walking to the door and opening it. "We were just leaving. Being late is fashionable, but more than an hour is just rude," she smiled at the woman's slowly relaxing posture. "I'll call you later."