Not for the Innocent

"The gossip sites say you're still single. Wanna end that?" She smiled shyly and looked cute as hell.

"Well, can we start it after next week? I'm going to Greece on vacation and planned to ruin my reputation."

"No," she groaned and slapped my shoulder. "I could meet you there. Spring break starts in a couple of days."

"Oh? No plans to let loose somewhere hot with buff frat boys?"

She laughed, "No. I was going to go home and see my parents. They'll understand if I go to Greece with you instead. Heck, my mom might fight to go along."

"Lisa," I started seriously and took her hands in mine, "can you handle being in the spotlight? As soon as we go out together, your picture will be all over the internet and on the covers of gossip rags. Your life will never be the same. Your family, friends, everyone you know will be hounded for information."

"I don't know, I guess I could forget all about you and go back to being a lonely college student." She leaned forward and kissed me before saying, "But where's the fun in that?"

I shrugged and said, "Okay, I'll have Kim get you plane tickets for Greece. You will be photographed by paparazzi, so you may want to keep that in mind when you pack your swimwear. Oh, I wouldn't plan on going topless either unless you want to shock your parents."

She giggled, "Who says I haven't gone to nude beaches with my parents?"

Images of Diana, Julia, and Lisa on a nude beach flashed through my mind, and I said, "You're terrible for giving me that mental image."

We kissed some more then made plans for dinner. While I continued my photo shoot, she left to change and get ready.

*****

"Are you sure you know what you're doing, Jimmy?" Kim asked as I was about to leave to pick up Lisa. "I mean, she can't seem to make up her mind about what she wants."

I laughed, "I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, Kim. I really don't. I could be making the biggest mistake of my life, or she could be with me until the day I die."

"You know relationships for celebrities have a shitty record of success."

I shrugged and said, "Yeah, but does that mean I should be alone forever?"

"No, it means you should be careful."

"Thanks for caring," I said and walked out the door.

While I waited for the elevator I wondered for the umpteenth time what it was about Lisa that drew me to her. Months earlier when I decided to move on from my infatuation with her, I chalked it up to her not wanting me. The old cliché of playing hard to get worked like a charm on me.

Now, she wanted me. Was it because I gave up pursuing her? Was it because I played hard to get? Could it have been because I was Jimmy Mace the pop star? The games of romance were stupid.

When the elevator door opened in the lobby, I saw Lisa sitting on a chair near the doors.

"Hi, Jimmy," she said as she rose.

"Hello, Lisa."

I looked at her from head to toe and thought she looked cute in her jeans and sweater. She was appropriately dressed for our date for pizza on that cool spring evening. I wanted something a little fancier for a first date, but she insisted on casual.

"I'm sorry to just pop up here, I thought it would be easier than having to deal with a gaggle of girls at my dorm."

"Probably so," I smiled. "Come on. My car is waiting outside, let's head out."

She took my hand and kept looking around the lobby as we walked through. I'm not sure what she was looking for, but it made me smile to think she was looking out for someone who wanted to get to me. I'd need to remember she was the jealous type.

When we were seated, I said, "We're gonna have a couple of security guards with us tonight."

"Why?" she asked. "I've never seen you have them before."

"Well, people know I'm here this time. If you'd have gone to the aquarium, you'd have seen them that time too. It's just a couple of huge linebacker looking guys. They'll escort us in and out but will sit at a different table near us."

She appeared worried, and simply said, "Okay."

The restaurant was crowded, but we were seated immediately. I had to pose for several selfies and signed a dozen autographs on the way to our table, yet Lisa didn't seem bothered by it. I would normally ask the restaurant for a private table, but I needed Lisa to get used to the fact she was with a celebrity. It could be tough for people to get used to the publicity.

After ordering, we sat in uncomfortable silence. After eating a bite of breadstick, I finally asked, "So, how's school?"

"Good," she answered. "My classes will be over next month, then I graduate."

"Nice," I said. "Any job prospects? What were you studying?"

"Accounting, with a minor in marketing."

"Sounds boring," I said with a snicker.

"I suppose on some level it is, but with both of my parents in business, I suppose I was drawn to it. Julia went the opposite way. She's going into law."

"Will you be working in New York then?"

"I guess. It depends on if I find a job there. I mean, it's where my family is too, so, you know, I have roots there."

"Yeah, I suppose you do. I don't have roots anymore; I don't have that concern."

"I'm sorry, Jimmy. It must be hard losing your mom so young."

"It was, still is, but her memory keeps me on the straight and narrow. I promised her I'd stop drinking, quit doing drugs, and generally stop embarrassing myself. She died shortly after that. I was making a record and wasn't even there when she died."

Over four years later, and I still got emotional over Mom. A tear slid down my cheek, and Lisa reached over to wipe it off.

"Sorry," I said. "I don't know why I still do that."

"Because you miss her, you Idiot," she said.

I nodded.

"Anyway--are you excited about Greece? My friends will be mad I'm bringing a girl, but they can bite me. I'm paying for the trip."

We laughed and the server set down our pizza.

"I'm not sure how to feel, honestly. I mean, I'm going to another country to meet up with a man I hardly know."

"Yeah, it seems like a silly thing to do, doesn't it?" I teased.

"Mm, I love this pizza," she said. "I haven't had it since my parents came into town last year."

"Yeah, your dad told me about this place when we met at that popcorn shop. I came her for lunch that day after doing a Beatles on a group of fans."

"Doing a Beatles?" she asked.

"Yeah, I ran. I ran through traffic, around cars, dodging people. It comes from the beginning scene of one of the Beatles movies. They were being chased by a mob of young girls through London. My mom was a big Beatles fan."

"Ah. I don't think I've seen the movie."

"Well, that'll give us something to do late at night out on the boat next week."

"I thought you rented a house?"

"I did," I said then dropped a scalding hot piece of pizza onto the little plate. "Damn, that's hot."

"Puddin' head," she giggled, pulling a string of cheese off of the hot pizza.

"I've got a boat for us as well. We can take it to other places in the Mediterranean."

"Sounds like fun to me," she said.

"I wanted to spend a month out there, but it just couldn't happen this time. Next time, I'll plan my schedule better."

Later that night, after a walk along the lakefront, we went back to my hotel.

We sat in the car and kissed for a bit before she said, "As much as I want to, I can't come up to your room, Jimmy."

"I'm fine with that, don't worry. And don't worry about feeling any pressure next week either. You'll have your own room, and I'll respect your boundaries."

"If you try to go past my boundaries, I'll just tell the press you have a tiny willie and cry when you cum."

I laughed, "Ouch. You're evil."

She kissed me once more and said, "Good night, Jimmy. Thanks for a lovely evening."

"Good night, Lisa."

I slid out of the car and watched as my driver pulled away to take her home.

*****

Four days later, I stood on the deck of my rented house sipping coffee. My friends were kind enough to listen to me and not bring anyone home with them from whatever bars they went to the night before, but they were passed out in their rooms. I didn't want Lisa to come in and find women laying around. I wasn't sure she'd believe I was innocent if there were ladies in the house.

I walked over to the breakfast my housekeeper put out and fixed a plate of fruit and bacon. The smell must've woken them because a minute later, my two friends were sitting across from me with huge plates of food.

"You can go get seconds," I teased.

Jack said, "Shut up, Superstar, I'm hungry."

Liam asked, "What time's your girlfriend supposed to show up again?"

"Her plane landed an hour ago. It could be any time now."

Jack teased, "She didn't text you yet? Are you sure she got on the plane?"

I looked up from my bacon and frowned.

"She texted me when the plane was taking off. That's the last I heard."

"That's because her phone died."

Our heads spun over to the sound of the voice, and there she was. Lisa was walking up the stairs.

"There she is," I said as I jumped from the seat. "Guys, this is Lisa." I kissed her deeply, then said, "That's Jack and the other ass is Liam. We've been friends since pre-school."

"Nice to meet you," Liam said. "Don't let him fool you. We only tolerate him, so he doesn't pull a Jim Morrison and die alone in a hotel room or somewhere choking on his own puke."

"Nice," I said. "Quit being a dickhead or I'll send you on the next plane home."

"Whatever," Jack added and shook Lisa's hand. "Nice to meet you. He's been talking about you nonstop since we got here."

"Aw," Lisa teased and hugged me.

I asked, "Are you hungry? We've got breakfast set up over here."

"I'm starving."

"Here," I said and took her large handbag. "I'll put that in the house. I assume John has your luggage?"

"I hope so, the driver carried my bags into the house and your security guys sent me back here."

"Good."

I came back out and she was fixing a plate. I took my seat and she sat on my lap.

"So, what are we doing on my first day in this beautiful place?" Lisa asked.

"Absolutely nothing," I smiled. "We're going to lay out on the private beach and get some sun, then at some point we'll have some lunch."

"Can we go into town later? I wanted to see some sights."

"Sure. Anything you want. I just thought you'd be tired after your flight."

She nodded, "I am, but a nap on the beach will hit the spot."

As she ate, I was afraid to ask, but I felt I had to, "Lisa, what was the fallout from the video of you and me on our date? Did you have any trouble?"

TMZ bought and released someone's cell phone video of us at the restaurant.

She shrugged, "I expected some, but no. They haven't identified me yet, so I guess there will be more fallout later."

Liam raised his eyebrows, and Jack nodded as if telling me to tell her.

I said, "Um, Lisa, take a look out there. See that white boat with red striping?"

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Look at it with those."

Liam handed her a set of binoculars, and she looked.

"Oh," she said as she handed them back.

"Our picture's probably on its way to whatever agency their working with."

"Well, they still don't know who I am."

"It won't take long. A good picture of your face will lead them to your social media pictures, and you'll be outed. I just wanted you to know so you're aware we're always being watched."

"Well, let's give 'em something to talk about, huh?"

She leaned over and kissed me deeply. I tasted the pineapple she'd swallowed moments before, and I didn't care about the man with the camera pointed at us.

When she broke the kiss, she said, "Being with you isn't for the faint of heart. I might as well jump in with both feet and get on with it."

I smiled.

"I like the way you think. Come on. Finish your breakfast and let's go out to the boat."

Liam and Jack fist bumped, and Liam said, "You're gonna love the boat."

She looked at the dock below and wasn't impressed. It was a decent sized boat but wasn't what she expected someone of Jimmy's money to have.

"If you say so," she said and scooped a mouthful of eggs.

*****

I stood on the dock and called the porter of the yacht I borrowed and let him know we were coming out.

When I hung up, I saw Lisa step on the dock in a yellow bikini and see-through wrap.

"I guess you like it?" she teased.

"I like everything about you, Baby."

I pulled her into a hug and kissed her.

"Ready to go?" I asked.

She looked disappointed as I helped her onto the small boat we used for fishing. I realized she didn't know we were riding out to the yacht. Liam and Jack were ready, and I drove us off.

"How do you like our boat?" I asked Lisa. Liam and Jack laughed.

"It's fine. Is it safe to take this long distances?"

I smiled, "Probably not, but that doesn't bother me."

"Jimmy, I don't..."

She suddenly stopped when she saw where we were headed. The large yacht was directly ahead of us, and the crew waved as we neared.

"Wow," she whispered. "Is that yours?"

"No, it's Fairleigh's. She's letting us use it while we're here."

Her eyes lit up at my mention of the biggest singer in the world. I was big, but Fairleigh was huge.

"Ahoy, Mister Mace. Welcome aboard," Charles the porter greeted.

"Hello, Charles. This is Lisa. She'll be with us for the rest of the week."

"Lovely to meet you, Ma'am," he said with his thick Jamaican accent. "Shall I let the captain know we're heading out?"

"No. Today we're just going to hang out. Lisa travelled overnight and needs some rest. We're going to relax and enjoy the sun today."

"Sounds good, Sir. I'll have towels and drinks brought out to the deck immediately."

"Thank you, Charles."

He sped off and I led Lisa to the rear deck where the lounge chairs awaited.

Later, Lisa sipped her margarita and sighed.

"You could get used to this, huh?" I asked.

"It's wonderful, Jimmy. Thank you for inviting me."

"Mister Mace, would you care for some lunch? Alice prepared a wonderful moussaka made with ground lamb. We'll serve it with the usual salad, various cheeses, and a lovely young Xinomavro."

"Sounds great, Charles. Thank you."

"What's moussaka?" Lisa asked.

"I have no idea what's in it, but it's amazing."

Later that evening, Liam and Jack went to a local club they discovered on our first night on the island. I knew they intended on bringing some girls back, and I didn't mind. They were young and good looking. It didn't hurt that they spent my money freely either.

I wanted a quieter night, but a well-rested Lisa wanted to see the local nightlife. We ended up at the same club as my friends, and Lisa ended up getting roped into doing too many shots and got sick. It was moments like those I was glad I quit drinking.

So much for our first night together.

*****

"Holy crap I'm hungover," she moaned the next morning when she walked onto the deck with a cup of coffee.

I laughed.

"Yeah, you had a great time last night."

She frowned and said, "How bad was I? I don't remember leaving the club."

"Fine, I suppose. You only threw up twice, then passed out. I carried you to bed."

"I'm sorry. I don't usually drink like that."

"Don't worry about it. It's nothing I haven't done myself."

"I feel awful. I never even thought about you and your sobriety. I shouldn't have done that."

"Don't worry about it. I'm used to it. You don't see Liam and Jack, do you?" I laughed. "They're worse off than you."

She sipped her coffee and looked at the breakfast spread. She wasn't sure her stomach could handle anything, but she knew she needed to eat.

"Start with some bread and jam," I said. "That'll take the edge off, and you can try some fruit."

She agreed and helped herself.

My phone dinged with a message from Kim.

"Lisa's name is out there."

I clicked on the link she sent me to a gossip rag's morning story. It wasn't bad. It was just some pictures of us dancing and one of us hugging.

I looked at her and asked, "Are you ready, Honey. You're name is out there now."

I slid my phone over and she read the article.

"Well, at least they didn't get any pictures of me puking."

She formed a sly grin and asked, "Can I snoop?"

"My phone?" I asked. "Sure. I've got nothing to hide."

She smiled and slid the phone back.

"I was serious," I said.

"I know. That's why I didn't look. If you had anything bad on there, you'd have said no."

"That's too bad. You could've called any number of famous people."

She looked at the phone in my hand and shrugged her shoulders.

As if on cue, my phone rang. It was Fairleigh.

"Hi, Fairleigh. I've got you on speaker with my new girlfriend listening."

"Yeah, I saw that you finally found yourself someone. You're beautiful, Sweetie. Don't worry about anything the jags in the press say about you."

"I won't, thank you." Lisa managed to say.

She had the 'I can't believe I'm talking to a celebrity' look on her face.

"So, what can I do for you this morning?" I asked.

"Your manager sent us your new single. I love it and want to do a duet remix with you."

I smiled and enjoyed the look on Lisa's face.

"Yeah, sounds great. Have your assistant contact mine and we'll see if we can make our schedules work. Otherwise, we can to it virtually."

"Sounds great. How's my baby?"

I laughed, "Your little boat is in great shape. Thanks again."

"Anytime. Talk soon, bye."

Lisa shook her head.

"I can't believe you're friends with Fairleigh."

"Yeah, she took me under her wing when I needed help straightening up. She doesn't party either. In fact, she's nothing like the assholes in the press say. She's still hung up on the guy she was with before she became famous. She talks about quitting music and settling down all the time. She even named the yacht after him."

Lisa looked at the boat and asked, "Forever, Braden?"

I nodded.

"That's the guy's name. She's a goner for the guy, I feel bad for her. He broke up with her so she could try and achieve her dream of being a star. Last time I saw her, she mentioned that he was her dream, and he didn't realize it."

"How sad," Lisa said.

"Yeah, I hope they end up together. She's one of the best people I know, and in this business, good people are hard to find."

*****

That evening, I wasn't feeling well, and Lisa felt better. I didn't want her to waste a night of vacation tending to a sick boyfriend, so I asked Liam and Jack to take her out with them.

It turned out to be a bad idea because in the morning, I woke to photos of Lisa dancing with both of them, and the headlines read, "Jimmy's new girl wanders already?"

I shrugged it off because I knew she was safe with Liam and Jack, but no one else knew that. The pictures didn't help as they showed her in a short skirt grinding on both of them with a glazed look in her eye.

I heard her phone ringing in the kitchen and followed the sound. She wasn't there, but I saw it was her dad calling on the screen.

"Hello, Mike," I said. "How are things?"

"Jimmy, where's my daughter? What the hell is going on over there?"

I laughed and answered, "Still sleeping I think. I haven't seen her yet this morning. I guess you saw the pictures."

"Yes. Our phone's been ringing off the hook."

"Well, you don't have to worry about anything. I wasn't feeling well last night, and she went out with my friends. She's not messing around with other guys."

"Those were your friends? Jesus, we were worried she did something stupid."

I laughed, "No, her virtue is still intact. I trust those guys with my life. They're my oldest friends."

I walked towards the bedrooms to give the phone to Lisa. I opened her door and couldn't believe my eyes.

"What the fuck!" I shouted and dropped the phone.

Lisa was nude except for panties on top of the sheets and Liam and Jack were asleep on each side of her.