Ch10: The Other Woman

The driver of the Mercedes was none other than Gina D’Angelo, a staple of the Hollywood celebrity scene. I couldn’t tell you what movies or TV shows she’d appeared in; she wasn’t much of an actress. Instead, she seemed to be famous more for whom she was seen with and what she was wearing.
I’d seen pictures of Luke at some clubs and restaurants, although never with Gina. And although the tabloids sometimes tried to link Luke to other starlets, it didn’t seem he dated any of them long term. I knew he’d had a high school sweetheart who broke his heart, but beyond that, hadn’t been linked to anyone seriously, especially anyone as frivolous and fame hungry as Gina.
Luke limped up to the car and leaned on the passenger side window. “Thanks for the ride.” He smiled at Gina which made the hair on my neck stand up. He opened the door and looked back. “Come on, Stella. Want a ride?”
For the second time that day, my instincts kicked in. “No. You go ahead,” I said. “Be sure to rest and stretch. Ice - 15 minutes on, 15 minutes off.”
“Will do. Are you sure you don’t want a ride? Gina here won’t bite.” Luke nodded toward Gina.
“But I do have claws,” she said brandishing a manicured hand with finely painted designs on each nail. Her slender fingers looked like they’d never washed a dish; they were the opposite of man hands.
“I know the way back. I want to finish the run,” I explained.
“OK, boss.” He turned to Gina. “Stella here is tough.” He got in the car, and they drove away.
I ran back to Luke’s house where I saw Gina’s Mercedes already parked out front. While I didn’t really want to see them together, I knew I should be professional and check on Luke. I walked up to the door and rang the bell.
Gina answered, looking ravishing in a modern white jumpsuit, perfectly accessorized with gold jewelry. I, on the other hand, looked more like a sweaty mess with hairs peeking out of my ponytail, my shirt wet and sticking to my body.
“I just wanted to check on Luke. Make sure he’s OK,” I said. She let me in, and I headed over to Luke who was lying on the couch.
“I’m good,” Luke said. “I’m icing like you said, boss.”
Gina smiled a satisfactory grin. “Anything else?” she asked. “I’ll make sure he’s a good patient.” She patted his head and threw him a seductive smile.
“No.” There wasn’t anything else I could do. Luke just needed rest, and it seemed he had someone to play nurse, so I took that as my cue to leave.
***
I was peeved about the sudden appearance of Gina D’Angelo, especially after my near kiss with Luke. I ran back to my car, furious and dejected. I drove over to Sunset Fitness Club to talk to Daniel. Now that Luke injured his leg, I needed to rethink our workout plan. I found Daniel at the squat rack, and I went over to talk to him. In between sets, I relayed my story.
“What do you expect, Stella?” The way my cousin said my name didn’t sound nearly as smooth as the way Luke said it.
“I know, I know,” I said. “I’m keeping it professional. It’s just that…” I helped him rack the bar, although he managed pretty well already, even with the cast.
“I don’t want to hear any more about the fire in your loins for Luke. Stella, this is good news. Luke can recommend us to other celebrities like Gina.” He picked up a dumbbell in his good arm.
“No, people like Gina don’t work out. They’re just naturally thin. That bitch.” I shook my head in mock disgust.
“Maybe not Gina, but Luke knows other celebs and Katie manages a few.”
“I know. I KNOW.” I made a fist. I really didn’t know what I wanted more, to keep the job so Daniel and I could at least afford cable or eat Ramen Noodles for a year and date Luke Mulligan. It really was a toss up. What wasn’t fair is that Luke would probably buy me a few dinners if we were dating, and Daniel would be left out.
Of course Daniel wanted me to keep the gig. Looking at him struggle to pick up a dumbbell in his other hand, I knew I had to put my personal feelings aside and complete the job. Tinseltown could be particularly unfriendly to those without money and classic good looks.
“So what do you think I should do about this swimming dilemma?” I asked him.
I worked out a plan with Daniel and headed home for some rest. My days with Luke were physically exhausting not to mention the emotional roller coaster. And now with the appearance of a lithe starlet, my confidence had been shaken.
***
Later that evening Michelle found me in our tiny kitchen choking down a salad for dinner. All we had was some lettuce and a red bell pepper. Plus, we had run out of my favorite vinaigrette so while I tried to make my own, it tasted more like a spicy garlic paste than a zesty salad dressing.
“I don’t know why you do this to yourself,” Michelle said as she watched me take a bite and crinkle my nose in disgust. She looked in the fridge and grabbed a cheese stick.
“I can’t afford fancy food. It’s this with a can of tuna.” I indicated the open tin beside my bowl.
“Stella, you look great. Ryan probably wouldn’t even recognize you.” She nibbled the end of her cheese.
“This isn’t about Ryan,” I said. “It’s about Luke.” I took another bite. “And his stick figure girlfriend,” I said with my mouth full.
“I didn’t think Luke had a girlfriend. How’d he keep it a secret from the tabloids?” She took another bite.
I shrugged and swallowed. “It’s Gina D’Angelo.”
“Gina D’Angelo?” Michelle repeated. “That media whore? What’s he doing with her?” She leaned against the kitchen counter. “I mean she’s beautiful and all, but vapid. I thought Luke had more brains than that.”
“Me too.” I put my fork down, now thoroughly disgusted with the salad. “But she picked him up today in her shiny Mercedes. I felt like such a fool.” I put my head in my hands.
“OK, so she picked him up? So what?” Michelle came over to my bowl, picked up my fork and took a bite. She coughed and spit out her mouthful. “That’s disgusting.” she said pointing to the bowl.
“I know.”
“So what happened?”
“We were running, and Luke got this cramp in his leg. He fell over, and I started rubbing his hamstring. Then I accidentally fell on top of him, he sat up, and we almost kissed.” I stared off, thinking about Luke’s beautiful full lips just inches from mine.
“You know he likes show tunes? He’s adorable when he tries to sing.”
“If he’s singing in front of you, that means he’s comfortable with you. This is starting to sound more like he’s into you than this Gina chick.” Gina took another bite of her cheese stick.
“But then he said I have man hands.” I raised my hands turning them this way and that. She laughed and again coughed out her food.
“Really? That’s what he said?” She raised her eyebrows.
“Ugh. It was because I rubbed out his cramp. I just thought he was, you know, interested for a moment.” I shook my head in disgust. “I got it wrong because as soon as he was OK, he texted his wafer thin friend, Gina, to come pick him up.”
“This guy,” Michelle said. “Reeling you in,” she mimicked holding a fishing rod and pulling herself closer to me. “And throwing you back out.” She cast the make believe rod with her arms.
“Right now, I’m out. Gina’s in. And if that’s the kind of girl he’s into, I’ll never have a chance. She’s thin and beautiful and famous.”
“Ahh, but she doesn’t have something you have.” She waved the last bit of cheese stick in my face.
“What’s that?” I asked, giving her my best pouty face.
“Your tenacity.” I shrugged at her answer. “He hired you to swim, didn’t he? No one else has the perseverance you do.”
“That’s another thing. We’re going to have to start swimming, and I can’t let Luke see me in a bathing suit. Not now that I know he’s into the Gina D’Angelo body type.” I sat back and crossed my arms.
“Stella,” Michelle stared at me. “Sexy is a mindset.”
I rolled my eyes at her like I did at Daniel. In some regards they were both right. I took the job so I could teach Luke how to swim. I needed to stop focusing on my ego and rise to the challenge.
“At the very least you’ll look better than you did in a wet country club uniform.” And that gave me an idea. I might not be able to avoid Luke seeing me in the pool, but I sure could avoid letting him get a good look. Being in the pool where I was dominant and he was the weakling was the perfect place to stage my plan.