The next morning light was shining through the window and birds were chirping outside. I opened my eyes and was face to face with my beloved. I lied there staring at him, gazing at his beautiful face, the face I loved. In the midst of my gazing he opened his eyes and suddenly I was staring into a pool of lovely dark brown. I melted like I did the first time I looked into his eyes.
"Morning love." He whispered to me.
"Hi baby." I told him back. He leaned up to give me a kiss and I met him halfway.
"How'd you sleep?" I asked lacing my fingers with his. I felt safe here, in his arms it was like nothing could touch me, a feeling of invincibility.
"Fine, just fine." He said looking down to me. God I loved those brown eyes. "So did Leila get in okay?"
"Oh ya she's just fine, I think she's sound asleep still. What time is it? I asked trying to look over him to the clock.
"It is, 10:46 in the AM. Why?" He asked with a great curiosity in his eyes.
"No reason." I laughed and smiled up at him. He moved one of his hands and started to tickle me. I was extremely ticklish. "Hey stop it." I started laughing aloud. I started squirming around in the bed like a child. Suddenly there was a knock at the door.
"Yes?" I answered the call, still in the middle of my laughing fit. The door opened and Leila appeared.
" So I understand sex is a natural thing but can you guys, I don't know keep it down a little. I'm trying to sleep off a hangover." She said with a slight irritation and complete drowsiness.
"Sorry there girly." Corbin said. I giggled under my breath and Leila shot me a look with her killer hazel eyes. " If you want I can whip a little something up that will get you up and running?"
"Okay sure. Anything to get me away from the Peach Schnapps." She said.
"Oh baby, I hope you don't mind. I opened the bottle of Peach Schnapps." I said to him I grabbed one of the blankets from the bed and covered up as I grabbed the robe that was on the chair from the night before.
"Its no problem. I can always buy more." He said looking over to me. "Oh Mark," I looked up wondering what he meant. "I didn't want you to find that until later."
"Wait? What?" I asked him.
"I had your name put on the back of it." He said. I looked at the insignia on it. I wanted to jump his bones in gratitude and Leila picked up on it and cleared her throat, which snapped me back into reality. I led Leila out of the room and Corbin told me that he'd be downstairs when his phone rang.
The rest of day was spent taking in the sights of LA. Corbin and I had a double date with Luke and Leila. During the date we talked about the possibility of moving out to California permanently and having a transfer request to California Disney. After dinner we headed home had a couple of drinks and went to bed, Luke stayed the night as well.
The next morning I borrowed on of Corbin's cars and Leila and I went to the Casting Center in Anaheim. Corbin had work.
"Is this really happening to us or am I dreaming?" I asked pulling onto a busy highway trying to keep my eyes on the GPS and the road at the same time.
"You mean the Prince Charmings that we just so happened to fall upon. Sounds like a dream come true if you ask me." She said. Adjusting her bra under he blouse so she didn't come off too slutty.
"He is so, so handsome and to think of how it came along." I said, my eyes following the twist and turns of the highway to Anaheim. "All this time of heartbreak and disappointment and I finally found the love of my life. AND he's a celebrity of all things. How did I end up with him?" I asked, I began to tear up and I took one hand off of the steering wheel and wiped my eyes.
"Sweetie you deserve him. He loves you. You've gone through all sorts of nasty break ups and really harsh conditions. You deserve everything he has to offer. Did you tell him about your past relationships, yet?" She asked, now adjusting her skirt.
"No, I have'nt. I mean, I wouldn't know where to start." I said. I was trying desperately to push the conversation out of my head.
"I think you should. Call him up and ask him to dinner tonight and tell him then. You like the beach take him there. I know you are a lot calmer and you think clearer." She said.
"I should, shouldn't I?" I picked up my phone and dialed his number. "Hello, Corbin?"
"No, this isn't Corbin. It's Zac." The man said over the phone. "He's a little busy at the moment." Zac giggled a little under his breath. And whispered a word of 'stop it'.
"Umm well. Could you give him a message for me?" I asked politely.
"Yea, sure. What's the message?" Zac asked in an equally polite tone.
"Just tell him that Mark called and I want him to call me back." I told him.
"Am I to assume that this is Mark, the fabled boyfriend around these parts? This is going to get good. Alright, I'll give him the message." Zac said sounding a little preoccupied, then I heard a familiar giggling in the background. I could have sworn it was Corbin.
"Thanks" I said as he hung up. I put the phone down and pressed on the gas, going a little faster than I was supposed to. The sound of sirens and the rotating glow of red and blue followed us.
"Christ." I said. I pulled over into the break down lane and put on the hazards. The cop tapped the window and I rolled it down.
"License and registration, please." The cop asked. He was about 40, 5'8, and balding. He was wearing dark aviators so I couldn't tell his eyes. I pulled my wallet from pocket and drew my Florida license. Leila handed me the registration from where Corbin said it would be. I handed it to the cop. "Sir you were speeding. I clocked you doing 70 in a 55. Care to explain that?
"I'm sorry officer, I'm not from around here, and neither is my friend here. I didn't know the speed limit until you just told me."
"This vehicle is registered to a Mr. Corbin Bleu. Is there something you want to share with me? He said his eyes darting to Leila.
"What? No! He is a friend of mine. How dare you!" I said in outrage.
"Sir, I am just trying to do my job." He said calmly.
"Officer, this car is not stolen. This car belongs to my boyfriend." I told him. He sighed and under his breath I heard him mumble. 'I always get stuck with the fags'. I looked over to Leila and I knew she heard him but I put my hand on her knee and shook my head. The cop came back to the car with his sunglasses off.
"Okay look, here's the deal. I'm gonna let you go with a warning. Don't let me catch you speeding again." The officer said he handed back the license and registration to me.
"Thank you officer." I said. I started the car up again and peeled off of the side of the road and continued on our way.
"What was that about?" Leila asked me, obviously disturbed about what just happened.
"Some prick of a cop that has ignorance as a first impression."
"Not that, Mark." She said looking at me. " I'm talking about the phone call. Is something bothering you?"
"I'm fine." I lied through my teeth and she out of anyone could pick up on it like a bloodhound on a fox.
"Don't lie. Something is bothering you because, you were speeding. "
"Lei, someone else picked up his phone." My eyes began to water.
"You don't think he's cheating on you?" Leila asked with the deepest concern she could muster.
" I don't think he would but the thought of it just kinda makes me wonder.
"Sweetie I know you trust him. It's going to be okay." She said.
The rest of the ride was silent until we got there at about 10:30. The ride was about 45 minutes long excluding the cop stopping us. When we got there Leila went to the receptionist and she waved me into the waiting room. I sat down while Leila retrieved the forms. I looked on the table and saw a stack of magazines and I began shuffling through them. I saw an old copy of People Magazine, Corbin was on the cover an arm around a guy about his age and height with short hair and crystal blue eyes the head line read:
Corbin and Zac: More than just friends
I opened to the table of contents and tracked down the article and read a little bit of it.
Corbin Bleu and Zac Efron, two stars of Disney Channels High School Musical Series was seen partying hard at Silver, a gay bar in LA Saturday night. They were seen making out in a more than friendly way. Blame it on the alcohol, I think not
Leila arrived with the forms and I handed off the magazine to her.
"Oh honey, this is a tabloid magazine don't believe anything it says, just don't okay" She said putting the magazine down. "Here fill these out." I took the papers, and began to fill them out.
The rest of the day went off without any problems and we were pretty much guaranteed a job. The woman did mention however that we would need a letter of recommendation from our Area Manager and manager first to get the job Of course that was no problem.
"Corbin! Babe you home?" I yelled for him. I loosened the tie I had on and went into the kitchen and found that the answering machine had one message on it. I make it a habit to listen to messages and jot them down when I get a chance. I pressed the little red button before rummaging through the fridge for something to drink as well as pulling out some ingredients to cook with for when Corbin comes home.
"One new message: Hey Baby, I gotta work late tonight. We just got surprised with a pop choreography test. So I wont be coming home until maybe midnight, so don't wait up. You know where the list is for delivery food. I love you and I'll see you later. And Leila Luke says he misses you already. Bye. End of message, to save it press.." I went over and pressed the button off. I was in the midst of chopping vegetables.
"Guess these will have to wait huh?" I said to Leila who was watching lifetime in the living room.
"I want Chinese tonight." Leila said. That was the same thing I was thinking so I broke out the delivery list.
We made our order and waited an hour for it. When the food got to the house we ate faster than we have ever eaten before, even on the busiest days with labor for 7 hours until break. We fell asleep watching our favorite movie, The General Days of my Children. When we heard to the door slam shut. I opened a weary eye and saw the mop of curly brown hair and straightened up.
"Hey baby, how was your rehearsal? I got you some food if your hungry." I told him.
"It was okay, it was really tiring. Thanks, but I'm not hungry the gang and I grabbed a bite to eat after we left. I'm gonna head up. Okay?" He said. Corbin dropped his things at the door and sulked up the stairs to our bedroom. I followed him upstairs and into bed.
"Hey baby? I wanted to have a romantic evening. Just you and me. Sound good?" I asked him.
"Yea, that's fine. Does 8 sound good?" He responded. He had his clothes off and was in his boxers and climbed into bed.
"It does." I said climbing into bed next to him. I kissed him good night.