#reachingperfection

“This outfit looks awesome! It’s simple and most of all; comfortable.”  He grinned, staring at himself in a wall length mirror. I stepped up beside him smiling proudly.

“You do look pretty damn good.”

Another grin, this time with a slightly different look in his eyes, “You look fantastic as too, we are gonna crash this party so hard!”

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I called for my black BMW to take us to the party; it was at some club in this city. Lenore said it was something like the Banana Peel, maybe? She sat next to me, legs crossed in a ladylike fashion. ‘She’s extremely proper, must be a southern bell thing.’

I remember the pageant girls in Kentucky, some of them were total bitches, but not any worse than the celebrity girlfriends I’ve had. I wouldn’t mind dating a girl not jaded by the spotlight.

“Holy shit, there’s a lot of people waiting to snap your photo, Josh.” Her eyes were wide; all the color had drained from her face. I remember my first time in front of the Paparazzi it scared me shitless as well.

“Don’t worry, just breathe and smile. I’ll handle all the talking.” The car door opened and the lights flashed as I stepped out. The crowd roared as I turned to help Lenore out of the car, she took my hand and graciously stepped out of the car. I stopped every now and again to pose with her and answer questions here or there. Finally we entered the club and I found myself alone, Lenore had apparently found a group of friends. I got myself a beer and mingled with each group of people. I even got to sit and chat with my co-star Jennifer.

Lenore sauntered over to the table I was sitting at and sat beside me, her face glowing. “I’m having a wonderful time, thank you for bringing me tonight.”

I flashed a megawatt smile “Well if it weren’t for you I’d be naked or in mismatched clothes. C’mon lets tear this party up Babe.”

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I had drank only 2 beers, so I was perfectly capable to walk the 2 blocks to my loft in downtown, but as the night progressed and the party got more intense I noticed Josh slurring his words a bit. I noticed his eyes getting glassy as I danced with him in the crowd, I knew then it was time to go. Somehow I was becoming his damn publicist too! He groaned when I whispered in his ear that it was time for him to get home, I had to practically drag him to the car. When I finally got him seated he begged me to ride back with him.

So I did, he was paying me 100 bucks a day, it was the least I could do. When we arrived at his apartment I helped him to his bedroom and shut the door. Just as I was about to leave Josh called out to me, and I realized I should stay to make sure he was alright. ‘Great babysitting a grown ass man all night.’ I sighed and went to aide him in getting into bed, when he was finally completely in bed I grabbed a pillow and lay down on his couch. Before I fell asleep I made a point to text my girl Veronica and let her know I wasn’t going to be home tonight, and that I may be a tad late to work in the A.M. She had a tendency to worry about me if I didn’t let her know what was up. 

“Hi, how may I help you?” I grit my teeth and smile as realistically as possible. I just want to get out of here and get this interview over with, so I head back to the office to chit chat with my best friend, and also my coworker, Veronica Moorhen. She’s a tough girl covered in colorful tattoos, but she made me feel at home when I moved to this strange, yet wonderful town.

“Hey Boo, you coming to The Get Down tonight?  Aaron and Jack will be there too!” She smiled up at me from the computer. “Nah, I wish I could make it, but I gotta meet a new client.” Her eyes lit up and she clapped excitedly, “I hope it goes well!”

“Me too, girl. Hey, do you think I could head out now so I can freshen up before I meet him?”

“Oh yeah, you’re good to go, just text me later and let me know what’s up.”

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“Shit! What am I going to wear to meet this chic?” I’m running around my penthouse loft trying to dress myself before my new personal stylist shows up for her preliminary interview. Finally I decided on grey wash skinny jeans and a white V-neck shirt, just as the doorbell rings I throw on my red cats snapback and swing the door open.

She’s standing there in this tan dress with black birds all over it; I can see a tattoo on her chest peeking out over the collar of her dress, also one on her foot. She’s much taller than me, but that’s because of the vibrant red pumps that match her hair perfectly.

“Hello, I’m Lenore Bigby” She extends a perfectly manicured hand towards me. I give her a show stopping smile, the same one that got me half my castings, and shake her hand. “Hey, Lenore, I’m Josh.” I step to the side to lead her to the formal living room.  Now that I’ve had more time to study her I notice a third tattoo on her calf, of a naked woman, I see that her hair is pulled into a perfect bun on the top of her head. Her nose is pierced in an odd spot, the septum piercing I think, and it glints in the sun shining in my window.

 I’m suddenly self-conscious, she is groomed to perfection, while my hair is a tousled mess under my snapback, and jeans are slightly wrinkled and I looked exhausted from celebrating my birthday for the last week.