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Rose made her way through the sea of reporters camped outside her apartment, her dark sunglasses making her look like an idiot at this time of night but she was exhausted after a long days’ work and would rather not be featured in tomorrow's tabloids with dark circles under her eyes.
This was the part of fame she would never get used to; the constant circling of paparazzi. Watching her every move like the hungry vultures they were. Nothing was ever completely private until the doors off the elevator slid closed behind her and transported her to the penthouse: the only place in the world she could be completely herself.
She took off her sunglasses, dropping them in her purse as she let the persona of Rose Ruvelle slide off her until she was just Rose.
'There is Maxim's hottest woman alive!' a welcoming voice greeted her as the elevator doors opened right into her apartment.
'Hey,' Rose smiled, the wariness of the day fading a little as she wrapped Luisa in a hug, burying her face against the brunette’s neck, inhaling her scent.
'Everything okay?' Luisa asked as she rubbed comforting circles on Rose's back.
'Just tired,' Rose smiled as she pulled back from the hug just enough to kiss her girlfriend hello. 'I didn't know you were dropping by tonight,' Rose sighed as she pulled Luisa onto the couch with her.
'I had to congratulate you on your win. Although I always knew you were the hottest woman on the planet,' Luisa smiled, nuzzling Rose's neck softly. The lips brushing over her skin making Rose break out into goosebumps.
'Well, if they saw you I would drop to number two in a heartbeat. You are much hotter than I am,' Rose smiled as she pulled Luisa into her lap.
'Charmer,' Luisa grinned, pushing a lock of Rose's trademark red hair behind her ear. 'But you're right.'
'Of course I am,' Rose smiled, cupping Luisa's cheek. 'I love you.'
'I love you, too,' Luisa said, brushing their lips together in a slow but passionate kiss. Not meant to arouse, just to comfort. Luisa had always been eerily good at seeing through her actress' façade and knowing exactly what she needed.
'I got you a present,' Luisa smiled, as she slid off Rose's lap, reaching behind her to pull a small box off the coffee table.
'You know you really don't have to do that,' Rose smiled as she accepted the gift.
'Just open it,' Luisa said, almost bouncing up and down with excitement.
'Alright,' Rose laughed, pulling the bow off the box and lifting the lid. 'Uhm, Luisa?' she questioned as she tried to make sense of the gift nestled in the box.
'It's a collar!' Luisa said, clapping her hands.
'I can see that,' Rose said, nodding her head slowly, still not understanding. 'What for, exactly?'
'Wait and see,' Luisa grinned as she dashed off towards the bedroom.
Rose wasn't any closer to understanding what was going on until Luisa walked out of the bedroom with a squirming mass of black fur in her arms.
'You didn't!' Rose gasped as Luisa sat back down next to her.
'I did,' Luisa smiled proudly. 'Rose, meet Xena. Xena meet Rose,' Luisa said happily as the kitten poked its head up.
Rose smiled as bright yellow eyes met her own. 'Hey cutie,' she drawled as she took the kitten from Luisa's arms, putting it down in her lap to pet it. 'She's gorgeous, thank you.' She leaned over to peck Luisa on the lips.
'So you like her?' Luisa said after Rose had silently petted the cat for a little while, cooing and making little noises at it.
'I love her. And you,' Rose said as she leaned back against Luisa, who immediately reclined against the arm of the couch and wrapped her arms around Rose's waist.
'She's adorable, isn't she?' Luisa smiled as the kitten made itself comfortable in Rose's lap.
'She is,' Rose sighed happily. 'The collar makes sense now.'
'I thought she could use one, with a bell. So we know where she is in the apartment and we can kick her out when necessary,' she purred in Rose's ear.
'You don't think people will....' Rose said, she hadn't even finished her sentence before she heard Luisa sigh behind her.
'Owning cats is not solely a lesbian thing. Taylor Swift has two of them and nobody ever asked her if she was banging her "best friend".'
'I'm sorry,' Rose sighed. 'But...'
'I know; you're just being careful. And I understand. If word got out you were gay, no one would hire you anymore. But it's just a cat, Rose. She can be here for you when I can't,' Luisa said, a sad smile on her face.
'You did name her Xena, though. That's pretty damn gay, Lu,' Rose smiled as she put carefully put the cat down on the ground so she could turn around in Luisa's embrace.
'She reminded me of Xena!' Luisa said defensively. 'She is a fierce warrior princess! I mean, look at her!' Luisa said, pointing at the kitten which was now getting ready to pounce on one of Rose's kicked-off heels.
'Come here, let me thank you for being the most understanding girlfriend in the world,' Rose smiled, pulling Luisa closer to her.
'It's not hard to be the most understanding girlfriend in the world when your girlfriend is number one on Maxim's Hot 100 list. Do you still have that bikini?' she said as she plucked the magazine off the table, flicking to Rose's page.
Rose laughed. 'Maybe somewhere in the back of my closet. Want me to wear it for you?' she teased as she pulled Luisa to her feet.
'Yes, please,' Luisa husked, eagerly following Rose into her bedroom, kicking the door closed so there wouldn't be any feline interruptions.
'What's wrong,' Luisa asked, rubbing soothing circles on the naked skin of Rose's back.
'Mmh? Nothing's wrong,' Rose said, turning on her side so she could look at Luisa.
'I know that face,' Luisa said, smiling warmly as she stroked the slight crease between Rose's eyebrows with her thumb. 'What are you thinking about?'
'Why are you with me?' Rose sighed. 'You deserve so much more than I can give you. You deserve someone who can actually take you out on dates, someone who doesn't have to hide you behind closed doors.'
Luisa didn’t hesitate before answering. 'Because I don’t want someone else. I want you. I love you,' Luisa smiled, stroking Rose's cheeks with her thumbs. 'And of course I would like the world to know that I managed to bag Rose Ruvelle, the hottest, most talented actress in the world. But I also understand why you can't tell anyone. Does it suck? Of course it does. It is 2016, people should no longer pull endorsements just because you're gay. But the world sucks and I understand that.'
'I don't deserve you,' Rose smiled weakly as she wrapped her arms around Luisa's shoulders, burying her face in the crook of the other woman’s neck. 'You're too good for me.'
'Maybe a little,' Luisa teased. 'I mean, I am so much hotter, smarter, richer and more talented than you.'
Rose laughed. 'Why do I love you again?'
'Because, baby, I am the best. Girls can't resist this,' Luisa said haughtily, motioning to her body.
'True,' Rose smiled contently. 'I'll call Maxim to let them know they made a mistake,' she hummed sleepily as she hugged Luisa closer to her.
Luisa made herself comfortable in Rose's embrace. 'You can discuss it with them during your interview tomorrow.'
Rose blinked open her eyes. 'How do you know about that?'
'Jennie called your home phone when she couldn't reach you this afternoon. I was here taking care of Xena so I picked up.'
'Luisa...' Rose warned. It could have been anyone calling and it would be hard a hard rumor to suss out.
'I know. And normally I would have never picked up, but it was Jennie,' Luisa said. Jennie was Rose's agent and next to the two of them the only one who knew about Rose's preference for the fairer sex.
'Let's go to sleep,' Rose said. 'I can't look like my girlfriend had me up the whole night for tomorrow's interviews.'
'How many do you have?' Luisa asked, knowing how Rose loathed doing interviews because the only thing she was every asked was what diet she was on and what male actor she was supposedly seeing in secret.
'Too many. My phone has been blowing up all day. Everyone wants to know what I think of my placing on Maxim's list, plus I have some press junkets for the movie...'
'That's the price of fame, babe,' Luisa smiled, kissing the underside of Rose's jaw before closing her eyes.
Rose sighed, with every passing day she wondered if the fame was really worth the price she was paying for it.
Her answer was currently a soft “no” but began to lean towards a firmer negative as the following day was an absolute nightmare. Every interviewer asked the same "original" questions about her work-out routine, what dress she was wearing, if the rumors of her affair with the lead actor in her next movie were true and how she felt being the sexiest, most desirable woman on the planet for the next year.
She tried to answer all of them as politely and interestingly as possible. But they were all vaguely sexist and whenever the subject drifted to men she couldn't but think about Luisa, who would be at work right now saving lives and how much she would prefer to talk about her instead. But she couldn't. She never could.
The highlight of her day was when one interviewer for some online magazine asked her what she had done to celebrate her Maxim appointment and she got to bring up her new kitten. Even if calling Luisa "her friend" never sat well with her.
To top it all off, she didn't even get to see Luisa that night as there was some party that she was required to attend. But required to attend didn’t mean she had to actively participate, so she spent most of the night politely declining waiters who kept trying to force champagne on her and texting Luisa who was giving her a blow-by-blow of the TV show she was watching at home. Which was much more interesting than the long line of men trying to hit on her at the party.
Rose groaned as the shrill sound of her phone ringing woke her up way too early after the night she just had.
'What?' she barked into the phone; there were only a handful of people with this number and they were all used to her moods.
'Don't "what" me,' her agent’s voice sounded through the receiver. 'Are you still in bed?'
'Yes, of course. It is,' she looked at the clock on her bedside table, '7 AM.'
'Prime time for you to be hanging heaving over a toilet; the world seems to think you are pregnant.'
'What?' Rose barked out a laugh. That was the most ridiculous thing she'd ever heard. 'How did that happen?'
'Did you drink anything last night?' Jennie said knowingly.
'No, I don't drink. You know that.'
'The media seems to have caught on to that. And they seem to think your refusal to drink alcohol is because you are pregnant.'
'With whose child?' Rose asked.
'There is no consensus on that yet. All the Chrisses seem to be in the running. But there are some pictures of you in a dark corner texting, and they are convinced it is the baby daddy you're talking to.'
'Aren't they all married?' Rose asked, pinching the bridge of her nose. It was too early for this kind of drama.
'That has never bothered Hollywood before, sweetheart. You need to do some damage control. I got you on a local morning show. So rise and shine, we need to show the world that that healthy glow on your cheeks is not thanks to some parasite growing in your stomach.'
Rose groaned. 'Nice turn of phrase. And do I really need to address these rumors? They are based on nothing.'
'We can't have this so soon after the Maxim thing and before your movie. You're going,' Jennie said decidedly, hanging up the phone before Rose could protest.
Rose buried her head in her pillow and screamed. Once again she wondered what it was about fame that made all of this worth it, because today was not off to a good start.
'Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant with my child?' Luisa said with a barely contained grin as Rose walked stepped out of the elevator that evening.
Rose rolled her eyes and collapsed on the couch, kicking off her heels and awkwardly taking off her bra without removing her shirt. 'Not you, too,' she groaned as she leaned back against the plush pillows.
'Hello baby,' Luisa said, pushing up Rose's shirt and pressing her lips to her stomach. 'I am your other mother.'
'Luisa stop!' Rose laughed. 'You're tickling me.'
'So the new thing is you're pregnant?' Luisa asked as she sat down next to Rose, their thighs and shoulders touching.
'Yeah,' Rose sighed. 'It sucks.'
'You could just tell them it is anatomically impossible for me to get you pregnant,' Luisa purred. 'Because it is definitely not through lack of trying.' She pressed her lips against the shell of Rose's ear, kissing a trail down her jaw until she ended her tender exploration with a soft kiss to Rose's lips.
'I wish it was that easy,' Rose sighed, picking the kitten up as it wandered past and plopping it in her lap.
'You looked really good on Good Morning Hollywood,' Luisa smiled.
'You saw?'
'Of course I saw. I work with mother's to be; it is on 24/7. They all love you by the way. Pregnant or not. But if you are, they hope it is Chris' because he is the cutest.'
'Which Chris?' Rose asked, starting to smile as she watched Xena play with the tassels on one of the pillows.
'Does it matter? They all look the same anyway,’ Luisa shrugged.
'You're much cuter,' Rose smiled, tilting her head so she could kiss Luisa. 'Much, much cuter.'
'Will you put that phone away?' Jennie said, all but smacking the device out of Rose's hands. 'We have to discuss who you're taking to the premiere next week.'
'I thought we had decided I could take Luisa?' Rose said, slipping her phone back into her pocket.
'You can't. We just got over the pregnancy rumor, you can't take your OB/GYN friend with you to a premiere.'
'What? Why not?' Rose barked a laugh. 'She's my friend, not my gynecologist. No one will think that I am actually pregnant just because of Luisa's job. Who takes their OB/GYN to an event with them?'
'Who takes their "best friend" with them to the premiere of a romantic comedy? Everyone expects you to show up with a date. A male date at that.'
Rose bit her lip. She and Luisa had both been looking forward to this, Luisa still found premieres exciting and Rose could do without the fake date on her arm who expected to get laid that evening. It would have been a nice evening for the both of them. Even if they couldn't be as open as they wanted to be about the real status of their relationship.
'Wouldn't me taking Luisa subvert expectations or something?' Rose tried.
'Going alone would do that. But no one wants you to. They want you and some hot guy on that red carpet. Not you and your best friend. It's a romantic comedy you're promoting here, not some feminist solo female movie. You can't take Luisa.'
'Fine,' Rose bit out tersely. 'Find me date,' she said as she gathered her stuff.
'And where are you going?' Jennie yelled after her.
'To be with my OB/GYN best friend!'
Rose knocked on Luisa's door, taking off her sunglasses and hood as she waited for her girlfriend to let her in.
'Rose, hey! I wasn't expecting you here!' Luisa smiled, pulling Rose inside by the drawstrings of her hoodie and making sure the door was completely closed before leaning in to kiss her. 'I thought you were with Jennie?' Luisa asked when she pulled away.
'I was,' Rose said, running her hands up Luisa's arms.
'And? What happened?' Luisa said, looking at Rose with concern.
'I can't take you to the premiere next week. I'm sorry,' Rose said in one breathe.
'Oh,' Luisa said, the disappointment in her voice making Rose feel even guiltier. 'How come?' she asked softly, guiding Rose onto the couch with her.
'Jennie seems to think it would be weird for me to take my "best friend" to the premiere of a romantic comedy.'
'I thought she was okay with it?' Luisa asked, squeezing Rose's hand.
'I thought so too. But after the whole pregnancy thing she doesn't think I should.'
'Does it matter what she thinks? It's your movie, Rose. Your life.'
'She's my agent/manager. She knows what's best,' Rose said, not wholly convinced herself.
'So which lucky guy gets to take you?' Luisa sighed, her fingers tracing indecipherable patterns between the freckles on the back of Rose’s hand.
'I don't know. It doesn't matter anyway. I just want to take you,' Rose sighed, resting her head on Luisa's shoulder, bringing their intertwined hands to her lips to kiss Luisa's knuckles.
'Does that mean we are not going dress shopping this weekend?'
'We can still go; I love shopping with you.'
'No, it's okay. Not really looking forward to buying a dress I'll never get to wear.'
'Don't say never.'
'Something always comes up, Rose,' Luisa sighed. 'And I understand that. I am just, disappointed, I guess?'
'I am, too. And I wish it could be different. That I could take you, and not just as my best friend, but as my date.'
'I could wear a fake moustache if that would help convince Jennie in letting you take me to your events,' Luisa said, a small smile breaking through her frown.
Rose laughed, perfectly imagining that charade playing out. 'I love you,' she smiled.
'I love you, too. I just wish we could tell people about it.'
Rose nodded solemnly; she felt that way too.
Rose faked a smile as the cameras flashed, even now, on the red carpet reporters were yelling at her, asking if she was really pregnant and if the date on her arm was the father.
She didn’t answer, just smiled brightly. Her date, some reality TV guy Jennie had found for her after vetoing Luisa from attending the premiere with her, would never be the father of her child. She didn’t know him well, but from what she had learned about him she knew he was a sleaze and an asshole. Both were proven true when his hand dipped way below the small of her back and settled on her ass.
‘Remove that hand or I will remove it from the end of your arm,’ Rose said coldly, her eyes icier than her words. Luckily her date seemed to realize she meant it and quickly moved his hand to a safer space on her back.
After that, the rest of the premiere passed by in the usual boring manner. The movie was alright, even if the sex scenes in it made Rose cringe a little, even if no one else seemed to have the same feeling of unnaturalness about it as she did. She just wasn’t convinced it looked natural and like she was having a good time. Acting only got you so far.
She sighed as her date walked off with another woman. It was not like she cared; she was glad to be rid of him. But she couldn’t help but hear Jennie’s voice in her ear, telling her to sell the story, to appeal to the public. But she really wasn’t in the mood. She should have been here with Luisa, and now she wasn’t, she just wanted to go home and be with her girlfriend. To watch the footage of the night together and make fun of all Rose’s colleagues and what they were wearing.
Against Jennie’s express wishes for her to mingle with the crowd tonight and at least appear to be having fun, Rose stayed at the sides of the dancefloor ignoring the partying people around her in favor of texting Luisa. After not getting her usual instant reply from her girlfriend, she checked the time; it was late, but not late enough for Luisa to be asleep yet.
‘You don’t look like you’re having a good time right now,’ a familiar voice said.
Rose lifted her eyes up from her phone and met a pair of familiar brown eyes sparkling with mischief.
‘Luisa? What are you doing here?’ Rose asked, grabbing Luisa’s hand and pulling her into a dark corner.
‘Crashing the party of course,’ Luisa grinned.
‘How did you get in here?’ Rose asked, leaning in to kiss Luisa before remembering that they were in public and couldn’t do that. She pulled back with a sad smile, squeezing Luisa’s hand instead.
‘I told them I was your manager,’ Luisa smiled. ‘Now come on, let’s dance. Maxim’s hottest woman has been playing wallflower long enough.’
Rose laughed, following Luisa onto the dancefloor.
The party was a lot more fun with Luisa there to talk to and laugh with. And Rose didn’t care about what Jennie would say when she saw the pictures the following morning. Right now she was actually enjoying herself at a public event, and it was all thanks to Luisa.
‘I told you not to take her,’ Jennie said a she brushed past Rose and strode into her apartment.
‘Good morning, Jennie. Come on in,’ Rose said sarcastically.
‘What’s going on?’ Luisa asked sleepily, walking out of their bedroom wearing one of Rose’s robes.
‘Oh, you’re still here,’ Jennie said, looking less than thrilled.
‘’Morning, Jennie,’ Luisa yawned, accepting a cup of coffee from Rose before flopping down on the couch, pulling Xena into her lap, greeting the squirming kitten with a soft kiss to her brow that made Rose smile
‘I didn’t take her,’ Rose said. ‘I took that asshole you set me up with. And halfway through the evening he ditched me, which luckily is when Luisa showed up, otherwise I would have left early.’
‘Someone took pictures of you two dancing together and posted them on Twitter. They’ve gone viral.’
‘So?’ Luisa asked, Rose was always impressed with how calm Luisa remained when Jennie was icily glaring at her. ‘We’re friends; we can dance together at a party.’
‘A party she didn’t dance at with her date.’
‘He was dancing with some other girl. It’s not her fault he was a dick. And would you really rather have “Ruvelle gets ditched by date” as a headline than “Ruvelle dances with friend and has a good time?”.’
Jennie narrowed her eyes. ‘It is not about that. It is you two are getting more and more into the public eye, and if you want to keep your little love affair a secret, you,’ she said, looking at Rose, ‘need to hide your disdain for the male members of this species. I know it is difficult, they are all idiots, but you’re and actress and should know better if you want to keep being an actress.’
Rose bit her lip, Jennie was probably right. Just because they had gotten away with it this time didn’t mean they always would. And if she kept ignoring men to spent time with Luisa, it was only a matter of time before someone figured out the extent of their relationship.
‘So what do you suggest?’ Rose asked, Luisa glancing over at her with something akin to betrayal marring her features.
‘That you find a guy you can tolerate enough to go on a couple of dates with. I’ll alert the press every time so there will be plenty of pictures circulating of the two of you afterwards. After a while you can break up and you can take Luisa to a premiere and say you are done with men for a while.’
‘You’re suggesting she dates someone?’ Luisa said, a small crinkle appearing between her eyebrows.
‘Yes, I am,’ Jennie said coolly. ‘Do you have a problem with that?’
Luisa turned to Rose. ‘Do you want to pretend-date some guy?’
The answer to that was no, she didn’t want to. But she knew, intellectually, that Jennie was right. ‘If it clears the way for you and I to be friends openly, then I am willing to try it,’ Rose said. ‘But only if you’re okay with it.’
Luisa bit her lip, looking away for a second. ‘Fine, but no kissing. That is just something I get to do,’ Luisa said, forcing a smile.
‘Of course, I wouldn’t enjoy it anyway,’ Rose smiled, once again wondering what she’d done to deserve Luisa.
‘Great, so that’s settled then. I will go make a list of eligible Hollywood bachelors for you to pretend-date and you two can continue your closed-door relationship,’ Jennie said, brushing cat hair off her designer skirt as she stood up.
When the doors slid closed behind Jennie, Rose turned to Luisa. ‘You are really okay with it right?’
Luisa shrugged. ‘I have never been good at hiding who I am. So would I rather that you took me on dates instead of Chris whatever? Yes, of course. But I am okay with it. Really. I love you. And if it is important to you, it is important to me.’
‘It won’t be forever,’ Rose smiled, cupping Luisa’s cheek. ‘And he won’t get to do this anyway,’ she whispered as she leaned in to capture Luisa’s lips.
‘Let’s go back to bed,’ Luisa muttered as she rested her forehead against Rose’s. ‘Spend the morning in bed like normal people.’
‘I would like that,’ Rose smiled, pulling Luisa up off the couch with her. As they walked into the bedroom, Rose briefly wondered how different their relationship would have been if they were both normal people. If she wasn’t an international celebrity and just some lawyer like her mother had wanted. She and Luisa could have been openly together. She wouldn’t have been so stuck inside the closet, and she wouldn’t have forced Luisa back in as well. She had never really thought about it before, but by keeping their relationship a secret, she was also making Luisa lie to everyone around her. This wasn’t an issue that just affected her life, it also affected Luisa’s.
They were lounging in bed, hours later, Luisa’s head in her lap as she read a book, when her phone rang.
Luisa, who was closer, picked up the device and answered cheerily.
‘Rose Ruvelle’s phone, what can I help you with? Oh, hi Jennie,’ Luisa said, making sure Rose knew who she was talking to before she continued. ‘No, Rose can’t talk right now. Her mouth is otherwise occupied.’
Rose bit her lip to keep from laughing.
‘What do you mean keep it in the bedroom? We are keeping it in the bedroom. You just happened to call while we were in the middle of things. Oh god, babe, yes!’ Luisa added in a breathy voice and Rose had to clasp her hand over her mouth not to laugh and ruin Luisa’s fun.
‘Yes, I’ll tell her. Bye Jennie,’ Luisa said equally cheery as she hung up the phone.
‘What did she want?’ Rose asked, kissing the top of Luisa’s head as she hugged the other woman closer to her.
‘She emailed you a list of date candidates. You can pick one yourself.’
‘You know, you would make an amazing actress,’ Rose smiled. ‘That was a pretty good performance.’
‘Well, she’s setting my girlfriend up with some other guy. So I can at least make her a little uncomfortable over the phone.’
‘This is why she doesn’t like you,’ Rose chuckled, swinging her leg over Luisa’s hips.
‘I don’t care. The only one that needs to like me is you.’
‘I like you a lot,’ Rose said laying a trail of kisses down Luisa’s chest. ‘And I kind of liked the idea you had,’ she grinned.
‘God, I love you,’ Luisa smiled, spreading her legs to accommodate Rose. ‘So can I help pick my stunt double?’
‘Of course,’ Rose hummed. ‘But later, okay?’
‘Later is fine with me,’ Luisa sighed, fisting her hand in Rose’s hair and throwing her head back as Rose did exactly what she had promised to do.
Rose was sitting on the couch, flipping through a stack of new scripts when her phone rang. Her lips automatically curving up into a smile as she saw the caller ID.
‘Hey Lu,’ she greeted as she picked up.
‘You sound happy,’ Luisa said. ‘And you haven’t even heard my news yet!’
‘I am happy because I have some good news too. But you go first.’
‘Well, I am on my way to your apartment with takeout because they accidentally gave me double what I ordered.’
Rose sucked in a breath through her teeth. ‘I’m sorry, I can’t tonight. That was going to be my news. I have a date.’
‘Oh.’ She could hear Luisa’s face fall in that single word. ‘It’s okay. More for me. So you and Chris are finally meeting up, huh?’ She was trying to sound happy for her but Rose knew it was just an act.
‘Yes, he is taking me out to dinner tonight. You’ll probably be able to read about it tomorrow. Jennie already alerted everyone. But a raincheck on that takeout, okay?’
‘Yes, of course. You go have fun on your fake date. Just tell him to keep his hands to himself. You’re all mine.’
‘Telling him about us would kind of defeat the purpose, wouldn’t it?’ Rose said, smiling softly.
‘I know,’ Luisa sighed. ‘I must not be completely used to the idea that my girlfriend is seeing other people.’
‘It is not so different from me taking a guy to a premiere.’
‘It is though. You don’t call those dates. And you’re never excited about them.’
‘Hey,’ Rose said, immediately feeling like the worst girlfriend on the planet because she hadn’t realized how strange and uncomfortable this must be for Luisa. If it was the other way around she wouldn’t be happy either. ‘I am only excited because this means I can get started on the three dates I have to go through so I can dump him and we can go out together.’
‘Yeah, I know. Just a bit jealous he gets to eat in fancy restaurants with you.’
‘You know I prefer to have takeout with you, right?’
‘Yeah, I know. Well, have fun on your date while I eat all this delicious takeout by myself.’
‘If it is not too late after, can I come over? You know how small the portion in fancy restaurants are.’
‘Oh, you better not be home too late,’ Luisa warned teasingly. ‘Or I will be forced to hit him in his pretty face and incite the wrath of millions of teenage girls.’
‘That would probably be bad. So I see you tonight, yes?’
‘Yes, have fun. But not too much!’
‘I love you,’ Rose smiled.
‘I love you too.’
Rose smiled as she put her phone down. This would all be worth it in the long run.
‘Knock, knock,’ Rose said as she knocked on Luisa’s door at eleven that night.
‘Hey!’ Luisa said, her whole face lighting up as she saw Rose. ‘You look nice.’
‘Thank you. I brought you something,’ Rose said, handing the white box over to Luisa.
Luisa’s eyes went wide as she lifted the lid. ‘My favorite! Thank you!’ she said, pulling Rose inside before kissing her.
‘I thought you might want to share a dessert with me after I missed dinner.’
‘Oh, I am not sharing this,’ Luisa said, grabbing a fork and nearly sticking half of the piece of cake in her mouth at once.
‘Alright, I deserve that,’ Rose laughed.
‘So how was the date?’ Luisa mumbled around a mouth full of cake.
‘It was alright,’ Rose said, collapsing on Luisa’s couch, kicking off her heels. ‘He was nice and funny and didn’t try to get me to go home with him.’
‘That sounds more than alright,’ Luisa said between bites of her dessert.
‘He is still a man, Lu. You are the only one for me. I am just dating him to see a picture of us together in the magazines so the world can focus on that while I take you out to lunch tomorrow.’
‘I know,’ Luisa sighed, offering Rose the last bite of her dessert. ‘I’m still a little jealous of him. He is already a movie star. Who does he need to date my amazing girlfriend too?’
‘You shouldn’t be jealous. I could never love him like I love you. You should probably feel bad for him. I am actually using him for my own gain.’
‘Well, it is hard to feel sorry for him when he gets to go out in public with you,’ Luisa pouted, the speck of frosting on her lip making her look even more adorable.
‘I know. It’s just for a little while. And if it makes a difference, I think you are very hot when you are jealous,’ Rose purred, running her thumb over Luisa’s bottom lip to get rid of the smudge.
‘Well, that is the one good thing about this then, because I feel like I need to stake my claim a little,’ Luisa husked as she pounced on Rose.
Rose tapped her nails on the steering wheel as she waited for Luisa to get out of her office. After one disastrous lunch date where Rose had thought it would be okay for her to walk in to pick Luisa up herself, only to get accosted by twenty pregnant women who all wanted her autograph, they had decided it was better for Rose to wait in the car.
A knock on the window drove Rose from her quiet contemplation. She pushed her sunglasses into her hair as Luisa said down in the passenger seat.
‘Hey,’ Luisa smiled, leaning over the center console.
‘Hey,’ Rose answered, not closing the distance between them, instead taking Luisa’s hand and squeezing it.
Luisa sighed and leaned back into the chair, pulling her hand from Rose’s.
‘Sorry,’ Rose said, feeling immensely guilty as she saw the hurt look in Luisa’s eyes. ‘But you never know who’s watching.’
‘I know,’ Luisa sighed. ‘Just drive, I want to kiss you. And I am also hungry.’
Rose smiled sadly and started the car, after shifting the car into gear, she left her hand palm up on the center console as an offering but Luisa didn’t take it. A clear sign she was upset.
‘Where are we going?’ Luisa asked, turning to Rose as she drove past their usual lunch place.
‘I owe you a date, a real one,’ Rose smiled carefully.
‘You know that unlike some international superstars, I only have an hour for lunch, right?’ Luisa said, a small smile playing around her lips.
‘I know, and I planned for that,’ Rose smiled as she parked the car. ‘Come on,’ she said as she opened Luisa’s door for her. ‘Let’s have lunch.’
‘Are you sure they are open?’ Luisa asked, looking through the windows the see a completely empty lunchroom.
‘I am,’ Rose smiled, holding the door for Luisa. After a quick look out of the window, she pulled Luisa in by her hips.
‘What are you doing?’ Luisa asked.
‘Kissing my amazing girlfriend hello,’ Rose grinned, brushing her lips softly against Luisa’s. ‘And apologizing for being such a terrible girlfriend myself.’ She kissed Luisa deeper this time, her fingers digging into the brunette’s hips as Luisa quickly flooded the kiss with passion, her tongue delving deeply into Rose’s mouth.
‘You’re not a terrible girlfriend,’ Luisa smiled warmly, her hands linked behind Rose’s neck. ‘Just a little unavailable sometimes.’
‘I’m sorry for that,’ Rose said. She knew it was true. She was unavailable. She travelled a lot, worked long, odd hours and even when they were together, they couldn’t really be together together. ‘But let’s go eat, you said you were hungry.’
‘About that. Where are we?’ Luisa said, sitting down as Rose pulled out a chair for her. ‘And why is no one else here?’
‘I called in a couple of favors,’ Rose said, pouring Luisa a glass of water. ‘So this afternoon, the whole restaurant is empty for our use and we can have a date with no one looking in.’
Luisa laughed. ‘You rented out a whole restaurant for me?’
‘Too much?’ Rose smiled.
‘No, I kind of like it actually,’ Luisa grinned, looking around the empty restaurant appreciatively. ‘Thank you, for doing this for me.’ She reached across the table to squeeze Rose’s hand.
‘I know it is not the same as being out in public together, but for now, it’s the best I can do,’ she smiled.
‘I know. And I appreciate it.’
‘Good, so let’s eat,’ Rose smiled, happy Luisa was smiling once again.
‘So, do we order?’ Luisa asked, noting the absence of the wait staff.
‘As we only have an hour, I took the liberty of ordering beforehand.’
‘Good thinking, babe,’ Luisa said, starting to laugh as two waitresses walked out of the kitchen and placed their food in front of them.
‘How did you know this was what I was craving?’ Luisa smiled, taking a bite of her burger.
‘You always crave greasy foods when you’re upset.’
‘I wasn’t upset, not really, not with you anyway. Just with the situation,’ Luisa said, taking a sip from her glass.
‘So am I, that is why I wanted to tell you something,’ Rose paused for a moment, ‘I have another date with Chris tomorrow.’
Luisa raised her eyes from her plate. ‘Is that why you are charming me with lunch?’
‘No, not at all,’ Rose said, reaching across the table, taking Luisa’s hands. ‘No, this is because I love you, and I wanted to do this with you. And because I didn’t want to spring it on you like the last time.’
‘Well, thank you for the head’s up,’ Luisa said, the warm brown of her eyes conveying her appreciation.
‘And I will tell you now,’ Rose said, pulling her chair around to the other side of the table so she was right next to Luisa, ‘I will not nearly have as much fun with him tomorrow as I’m having with you right now,’ Rose smiled, her lips an inch away from Luisa’s.
‘And why’s that?’ Luisa husked her breath hot on Rose’s lips.
‘You are a much better kisser,’ Rose smiled, closing the distance between them, only to be stopped at the at last second by Luisa’s finger on her lips.
‘You better not speak from experience,’ she said, tracing Rose’s lip with the tip of her finger.
‘I’m not, I promise you,’ Rose smiled. ‘I would never do that to you. So can I kiss you now?’ she asked, playing with the soft strands of hair framing Luisa’s face.
‘Yes, definitely,’ Luisa smiled, finally closing the distance between them.
Rose popped her headphones in before getting out of the car. Jennie’s plan to get her and her date on the cover of every gossip magazine sold in the US was working. But it had brought forth an additional wave to the already never fading hoard of paparazzi. All shouting at her how her relationship with Chris was progressing and hoping to catch the two of them together. Even after one date, they had already been branded Hollywood’s hottest couple. And after not seeing Luisa for three whole days, she was a little fed up with her fake relationship and didn’t want to think about it.
Her doorman cleared a path for her and Rose managed to drawn out the paparazzi’s questions by the loud song playing in her ears.
Once alone in the elevator, her cool and collected façade fell, her shoulders dropping and the toll of the day finally showing on her face.
She just wanted to take a shower and talk to Luisa until she fell asleep, wishing she was in bed with the brunette instead.
‘Hey Xena,’ she greeted the cat winding itself between her legs. ‘Did you miss me?’ she asked, picking the ever-growing kitten up off the floor. Kissing the top of her head before taking her with her too the couch. Inelegantly collapsing on top of it.
She hadn’t even kicked her shoes off before her phone started ringing.
‘Oh great,’ she groaned as she read the name displayed on her screen. She briefly entertained the notion of just ignoring the call, but that would not serve her purposes. The sooner she picked up the sooner it would be over.
‘Hey, you,’ Rose said, cringing at her choice of words. But she really didn’t want to use any pet names with him, even if after the five dates they’d had this month she probably should. It just didn’t feel right.
‘Rose, hey. How are you? I didn’t call at a bad time, did I?’
‘No, not at all, Chris,’ Rose said, forcing a smile. This would never come natural to her. Even if Chris was the nicest man she had ever pretended to date. ‘I am fine, long day at work. How are you?’
‘Good, good. I wanted to ask you something.’
‘Go ahead,’ Rose said, petting the cat purring contently in her lap.
‘I have a movie premiere, this Thursday, in New York. And I was wondering if you wanted to go with me, as my date.’
Rose bit her lip. She was leaving on a press tour to promote her newest movie Friday, and Thursday would be the only day she and Luisa could spend together.
‘If you have something else already, that’s fine. I just wanted to ask because I would like you to be there,’ Chris said.
‘No, no. I would love to come,’ Rose said after a moment of hesitation. This premiere would be exactly the kind of exposure she needed to show everyone once and for all that she was straight. After that she and Christ could break up and she and Luisa could be open. As friends at least.
‘Great! Thank you,’ Chris said happily.
‘You don’t have to thank me,’ Rose laughed. ‘We are dating, remember?’ She sure had to remind herself of that fact every time they interacted.
‘Yes, of course. My agent will call yours and set up it.’
‘Great, I will see you then,’ Rose said, her smile fading as soon as she’d hung up. Now she had to explain to Luisa why she was blowing her off, again, to go on a date with Chris. In New York of all places. Meaning she wouldn’t get to see Luisa for another week.
‘Will you call her, Xena?’ Rose sighed, the cat sadly not answering.
Rose twisted the ring around her finger as she waited for Luisa to pick up.
‘Hey babe!’ Luisa greeted cheerily.
‘Hey,’ Rose said, Luisa’s voice simultaneously comforting her and making what she had to say so much harder. ‘Where are you?’
‘On my couch, eating takeout, watching one of your movies.’
‘You’re watching one of my movies? Why?’ Rose laughed, glad for the delay of the inevitable.
‘So it feels like you’re here with me. But I have to say, this is one of the more ridiculous movies you’ve done.’
‘Is it the one with laser eyes?’
‘Yes,’ Luisa said, and Rose could perfectly imagine her grin. ‘You look hot in leather.’
‘God, that is such an old movie,’ Rose smiled, momentarily forgetting she had called Luisa for a reason.
‘You look really good. I like the shorter hair. Can I convince you to cut it again?’
‘It isn’t me you need to convince, it’s Jennie. I have an image to maintain now and the hair is part of it.’
‘Good thing I like the long hair, too,’ Luisa smiled. ‘So why are you calling me? Or did you just want to hear my voice?’
‘I did want to hear your voice,’ Rose said, gathering her courage. ‘But there is something else as well.’
‘And what’s that?’ Luisa said, her tone suggesting she knew where this was going.
‘I have to go to New York Thursday.’
‘What? Why? I thought you weren’t leaving until Friday.’
‘It isn’t for that… Christ asked me to a premiere with him.’
‘In New York?’ Luisa said, sounding incredulous.
‘Yes, I thought it would be the perfect last date. Plenty of press, lots of publicity. So after that we could break up and you and I can go to my next premiere together.’
‘So this is the last date?’
‘Yes, definitely. He’s a nice guy, but he’s a guy. And I have to be so fake around him and it is so draining.’
‘I know. And if you say it is the last date, I will survive you blowing me off again to take some hot muscular man to New York.’
‘I am really sorry, Lu,’ Rose sighed. ‘After I get back next week it’s just gonna be you and me and tons of Chinese food.’
‘I am looking forward to that,’ Luisa said softly. ‘Can I see you before you leave?’
‘I don’t have any time tomorrow, I have a photoshoot for some magazine followed by Jennie torturing me for a few hours about image and that sort of thing.’
‘And Thursday morning?’
‘We will probably get an early flight. Lots of things to prepare before a premiere. And I don’t want you to miss work on my behalf.’
‘So when will get back?’
‘Next Friday,’ Rose said, chewing on the inside of her cheek.
‘So I won’t see you for another, ten days?’ Luisa said after taking a moment to count.
‘I am sorry, Lu. Things are hectic right now.’
‘Yeah, they are. I miss you,’ Luisa said, sounding sad.
‘I miss you, too. So much. And I will call you every day, and I will promise not to enjoy a minute of my time away from you.’
‘That does make me feel a little better,’ Luisa moped. ‘I will go pick Xena up Thursday afternoon then, take care of her while you’re away.’
‘She’ll like that. I love you, Lu,’ Rose smiled.
‘I love you too, Rose. And I guess I will see you on the red carpet. Wear something pretty.’
‘How about you pick something for me?’ Rose said, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. The least she could do was let Luisa pick her dress.
‘The red one. With the open back.’
Rose laughed. She knew Luisa was going to pick that one.
‘And you will wear that one for me when you get back home, right?’
‘Most definitely,’ Rose said, her voice getting deeper. ‘I could put it on for you right now if you want.’
‘Right now I would prefer it if you wore nothing,’ Luisa purred.
‘That can be arranged,’ Rose said, stripping off her clothes as she walked into the bedroom.
Rose put on her wide, fake paparazzi smile as Chris helped her out of the car. True to her word, she had worn the red dress.
As soon as she was standing, her red hair tumbling flawlessly over her shoulders all the eyes and lenses turned to them. The number one hottest woman with the number three hottest man was bound to draw everyone’s attention. Which was what she wanted. It was why she was here.
She smiled and waved, one arm hooked around her date’s as his hand was settled low on her back.
‘Give us a kiss!’ someone yelled as they halted to get their picture taken in front of a wall with logos.
‘Yes! Kiss!’ someone else joined in.
‘Shall we?’ Chris said, smiling charmingly.
‘Let’s give them what they want,’ Rose said, knowing her smile was not holding up. But it didn’t matter, within seconds Chris’ lips were upon her own.
Rose forced her eyes closed. This, this was what she had promised Luisa she wouldn’t do. And yet she had managed to convince herself that it was for the best. That kissing Chris in front of millions of viewers was what she needed to do. That it would be worth it.
She forced a smile as she pulled back, she could do this. It was just acting. And that she knew how to do. She could always fall back on the profession that had landed her at this event, with a fake date and without her girlfriend, in the first place.
Christ gave the press a thumbs up before leading her off the red carpet. The both of them signing a few autographs before disappearing into the theatre.
Rose hoped Chris wouldn’t ask her what she thought of the movie, because she had no idea what it was even about. Let alone if it was any good. Her mind had been somewhere else for the duration of the film.
Before the movie started, lots people had congratulated them, told them what a great looking couple they were. And while outwardly Rose smiled and nodded, she couldn’t stop thinking about Luisa. How much she wanted her here with her, how much she missed her, and how much this evening felt like a betrayal to their relationship.
‘Are you okay?’ Chris asked, taking her hand in his too large, too rough one as they made their way to the after party. ‘You have been quiet all evening.’
‘Yes, I am fine. Just a small headache,’ Rose lied smoothly.
‘Do you want to go to the hotel?’
‘I think that would probably be wise. Enjoy the after party,’ Rose said distractedly pecking Chris on the cheek before taking off, her mind to preoccupied to notice Chris looking at her in confusion.
Rose flagged down a car, giving the driver the hotel’s address before she went back to thinking about Luisa. She wished she had her phone with her so she could call her. She just needed to hear her voice. To hear something real. To know that not her whole life was one big act. That there was some sincerity left in her life.
So as soon as she walked into her suite she picked up her phone, noticing she had three missed calls from Luisa. Immediately hitting redial.
‘Hey,’ Rose started, but before the word was well and truly out, Luisa interrupted, her tone not one Rose was familiar with. Not on Luisa at least.
‘You kissed him?’
‘Well, yes. Just for the press,’ Rose said, a little taken aback
Luisa scoffed angrily.
‘Wait, are you angry that I kissed him? It meant nothing. I kiss men all the time, it is sort of my job,’ Rose said, surprise stripping her of her earlier thoughts.
‘This is not your job, Rose. This is your private life. And you decided to kiss him,’ Luisa said, her voice wavering a little.
‘Yes, I kissed him. But I would much rather be kissing you,’ Rose said, getting desperate. She had never heard Luisa sound this upset, this angry. And after everything she had just realized herself, she realized that while she thought of Luisa as the only true thing in her life, Luisa’s couldn’t say the same in reverse. ‘I don’t want to take him to premieres,’ she continued, ‘I don’t want to hold his hand and go on dates with him. I want to do that with you. Because I love you!’ Rose said, tears forming in her eyes.
‘Then why don’t you?’
‘Because I can’t. I can’t do that with you. Yet. But I will be able to take you out soon. And if Chris bothers you so much, I will break up with him right now. I will never kiss him again. I swear.’
‘It is not just the kiss, Rose. I don’t care about that! It is that I want what he has. He can take you out and I can’t. The whole world is talking about how adorable you two are together, and I want that to be said about us! Because you are my girlfriend. I love you and I want everyone to know,’ Luisa said, to sound of her voice breaking, breaking something in Rose.
‘I want everyone to know, too,’ Rose said, the pain in Luisa’s voice bringing desperate tears to her eyes. ‘But we can’t. Not right now. But soon, I promise. Things will be different from now on.’
‘Is it? Is it ever going to be different, Rose?’ Luisa asked. ‘When will it be okay for you to openly be gay? Because being friends in public is nice, but that is not what we are. I love you. So much. So when will I be able to be your girlfriend instead of your friend. In a month? In a year? Ten years? When.’
‘I- I don’t know. But this, this job. It’s what I have worked so hard for all my life. And I don’t want to lose it.’
‘I know, I know that,’ Luisa sighed. ‘And I would never ask you to give it up. But I don’t know if I can keep doing this, Rose. I don’t know if I can keep lying, can keep denying who I am, can watch you do the same. I am not a dishonest person, Rose. And being with you makes me so happy, when I am actually with you that is. But I almost never am. And when you’re away, or won’t hold my hand or kiss me in public I get upset. And relationships shouldn’t make you upset. And I just can’t do this secret relationship thing with you any longer. I’m sorry.’
‘Are you- are you breaking up with me?’ Rose said, the words squeezing past the lump in her throat, making them sound weak and breakable, like she herself felt.
‘Yes, I’m sorry,’ Luisa breathed.
‘Luisa, wait!’ Rose tried, but Luisa had already hung up. She called her again and again, but got no response.
Tears rolled down her cheeks. She understood why what had just happened had just happened. She had heard the hurt in Luisa’s words, had seen the truth in them. She had always questioned why Luisa was with her, why Luisa stayed with her after everything she put her through on a daily basis. Luisa was too good for her, she always knew that. And now she had finally pushed Luisa too far and she only had herself to blame.
She woke up the next morning after the worst night of sleep she could remember. Her thoughts to chaotic to be quieted by the lull of sleep. The pain in her chest to stabbing to allow her rest. But life went on, so at 7 AM on the dot, Jennie and her team of hair and makeup artists appeared, but she sent them all away: she was not in the mood for human contact today.
This was all her own fault. Her need for secrecy was why Luisa had broken up with her, the kiss with Chris had just been the final straw. But this breakup was a long time coming. She couldn’t give Luisa what she deserved. A real relationship. One where they didn’t have to hide. Didn’t have to be guarded all the time. Where they could just be together. She couldn’t even be mad at Luisa for breaking up with her over the phone. She had deserved that for the way she had put Luisa second to herself and her career.
Sadly, Jennie was in no mood to allow her to wallow in self-pity all day, and all but broke into her hotel room to get her ready for the day’s interviews.
So even though she had barely slept, and her eyes were still slightly red and puffy, she was on her way to the first in a long line of interviews for the day. Jennie said the distraction would help, but Rose wasn’t certain anything could distract her from the fact that she had just made the biggest mistake of her life and that there was nothing she could do to fix it.
She mechanically answered the questions posed to her and she tried to listen when her cast mates answered theirs, but her mind kept drifting back to Luisa. To how much she missed her and how she wouldn’t be able to see her again when she got home in a week. Because that part of her life, of their life, was over now.
‘My question is for Rose,’ a reported said. ‘Did you have a long night last night? You look like hell.’
Normally Rose would have laughed the incredibly rude and sexist question off, spinning it in some way she could answer it like it was a fun and interesting question. But today she was tired and upset, so before any of her colleagues could say something, she went off. This insensitive asshole’s question was apparently exactly what she needed.
‘You know what?’ Rose started, her hands flat on the table as she rose out of her seat. ‘I did have a long night last night. Not because of the reasons you are thinking, but because my girlfriend broke up with me.’ She noticed the collective gasp followed by stunned silence falling over the crowd, but she didn’t care. She should have made this announcement months ago, but right now she didn’t care about the consequences. ‘And you know why she broke up with me? Because I was too scared to tell all of you that I am gay. That I am a lesbian. Because people, many people, told me not to. That it would cost me my job. That no one would hire me if they knew. And I believed that, for much too long I believed that. And I could see the toll it took on my girlfriend, could see that it hurt her when I went on a date with someone else, when I wouldn’t hold her hand, when I had to pretend she was just a friend when in reality she was so much more than that. I should have said this months ago, but I do now. So screw you all! I am gay and I am proud of it. And if no one wants to hire me after this, fine. I don’t care. I don’t want to work for you homophobic jerks anyway. So yeah, asshole, I do look like hell. And if you’ll excuse me, I have to go beg my girlfriend to take me back. Because she means more to me than all of this. I love her.’ She pushed herself away from the table and walked off the stage, not caring about the bomb she had just dropped on half the nation. She just had to see Luisa and tell her how sorry she was.
Rose spent what felt like the longest flight she’d ever been on thinking about ways to make it up to Luisa. To tell her how very sorry she was for not asking how all of this made her feel, for being selfish, for being too scared to be herself, for all the lies she had to tell. She had a whole speech planned only to find out she didn’t need it.
When the door to Luisa’s apartment opened, she couldn’t even get one word of her planned apology out before Luisa’s arms looped around her neck and she was kissing her deeply.
Rose, who had not been expecting this turn of events at all, was too stunned to kiss back at first. But soon her body took over and she melted into the kiss, not caring about the tears rolling down both their cheeks.
‘I’m sorry. I am so sorry,’ Rose whispered breathlessly as she pulled back from the kiss.
‘You told them,’ Luisa said, her dark eyes so full of love Rose felt like she was drowning in them.
‘How do you know?’ Rose asked surprised.
‘I saw the interview,’ Luisa said, pulling Rose inside with her. ‘And you don’t have to beg me to take you back. I already have.’
Rose started smiling, taking Luisa’s hands in her own. ‘I love you.’
‘I love you too.’
Hours later, all curled up together, Xena napping at the foot of the bed, Rose sighed contently.
‘It was a very brave thing you did,’ Luisa said, kissing the palm of Rose’s hand before lacing their fingers together.
‘It wasn’t brave. I was just tired of being scared. And I meant what I said; you are more important to me than fame.’
‘It was very brave,’ Luisa smiled, resting her head on Rose’s chest. ‘And I don’t care what you say. I know how difficult it must have been for you.’
‘Things needed to change, I couldn’t continue living like this. It just took you breaking up with me to realize what was really important in my life: you. I couldn’t live without you.’
‘You’re sweet,’ Luisa smiled. ‘And no matter what happens tomorrow, I’ll be here with you.’
‘I don’t care what happens tomorrow. I don’t care if I get fired. If I will never work again. I just want to be with you now.’
‘You can, and who knows? The world might surprise you,’ Luisa yawned contently.
Rose doubted that. From a career point of view, coming out on live TV was definitely a stupid move, but she couldn’t regret it while Luisa was cuddled up against her. And it was not only that; she also felt more alive than she had in years. Not having to lie about who she was, was refreshing and gave her huge peace of mind. So whatever happened tomorrow would happen and she would be okay with it. That was the thought on her mind as she fell asleep: that everything would be okay as long as she had Luisa.
‘Rose, babe, wake up,’ Luisa whispered softly, stroking a lock of hair out of Rose’s face.
‘What time is it?’ Rose asked groggily. The smile on Luisa’s face curing her off that feeling; she had missed her so much.
‘Still early. But Jennie called.’
Rose groaned and buried her face in her pillow. ‘Let me guess? I got fired or she quit. Or both.’
‘Neither,’ Luisa smiled. ‘Just go talk with her.’
‘I don’t want to,’ Rose whined. ‘I just want to stay here with you and our cat and never go outside again.’
‘You know you told the world about us so we could actually go outside together, right?’ Luisa said, still holding the phone out to Rose, still wearing that same warm smile that made Rose’s insides feel like fire and made it hard for her to say no.
‘Yes, but it is so much nicer to remain ignorant,’ Rose sighed. Only accepting the phone after Luisa had all but pressed it into her hand while muttering “drama queen” under her breath.
Rose glared at her but finally, albeit reluctantly answered the phone.
‘If you’re angry with me,’ she said to Jennie, ‘I don’t care.’
‘Angry with you? Honey, the world loves you. I mean, not everyone does right now. But you stood up for yourself and I have been getting calls all night from people wanting you to be their spokesperson. You are currently bigger than Ellen! Who also called, by the way and wants you on her show. Twitter is trying to guess who your mystery girlfriend is. You are trending worldwide! I was wrong, coming out was the best thing for your career!’
Rose smiled. ‘Really?’
‘Have I ever lied to you? You did it! This little interview will never be forgotten.’
Rose smiled. ‘I will call you back later, okay? We can talk about doing Ellen. First, I just need to celebrate with my girlfriend for a little while.’ She didn’t wait for Jennie’s answer and just hung up. Her agent would understand, she had more important things to do right now.
‘Told you it wasn’t that bad,’ Luisa smiled, carting her fingers through Rose’s trademark red curls.
‘You were right,’ Rose smiled, wrapping Luisa up in a hug. ‘And as I haven’t been fired. Do you want to come to my next premiere with me?’
‘Like a friend?’ Luisa teased.
‘No, like my date,’ Rose grinned, pulling Luisa on top of her. ‘Because I love you and I want the whole world to know.’
‘Does that mean I can kiss you on the red carpet?’ Luisa asked, her eyes sparkling mischievously.
‘Yes, definitely,’ Rose said. ‘I think maybe we should practice that a little.’
‘Do you now?’ Luisa grinned.
‘Yes, I do,’ Rose husked as she pulled Luisa in for a deep, lingering kiss.
But all the practice kisses they shared were not nearly as good as the real deal; their first kiss on the red carpet. Rose had never seen a picture of herself she liked more than that one. She looked genuinely happy, and it was all thanks to Luisa, who seemed equally ecstatic to be kissing Rose in public. Sometimes things did turn out alright after all.
She put the magazine away and pulled Xena into her lap, smiling to herself as she heard the elevator doors slide open, the sound immediately followed by a huff and the clattering of sunglasses being thrown onto the side table.
‘I don’t think I will ever get used to being assaulted by cameras and invasive questions every time I come home.’
‘That’s the price you pay for dating the world’s hottest woman, babe,’ Rose teased as she got up to kiss Luisa.
‘Number two hottest woman,’ Luisa grinned. ‘I am number one, remember?’
‘How could I ever forget?’ Rose smiled, cupping Luisa’s face and drawing her in for a long kiss.
The End