Read Skinnydipping for Free Online

obviously chosen to live in L.A.
    Brooke leaned in. “Faith, you’ve been here for three weeks.”
    “I know, but I haven’t met any other New Yorkers here yet. It makes me nostalgic!”
    “I know,” Brooke said. “That’s why I found Tony for you!”
    Tony leaned in toward me. “How about some X?” He held out his hand confidentially to reveal two brown pills with the word LOVE stamped on them.
    “OK,” I said. Let’s get the party started. I swallowed them with the last of my drink, hoping I wouldn’t regret it.
    “Do you want to dance?” Tony asked me.
    “Sure. Why not?”
    He grabbed my hand and led me to the dance floor and we started to dance, shoulder to shoulder with all the beautiful people. I liked that he wasn’t so perfect looking. I felt like we matched. We danced close, moving apart and back together. He began to brush his crotch against my hip. I could feel the beat of the music in my chest. I felt the intense need for another drink.
    The lights swirled around me and the whole club looked like a beautiful kaleidoscope. I grabbed on to Tony, feeling a little dizzy.I couldn’t stop smiling. I felt like I’d known him all my life and he was my best friend.
    He grinned at me. “Let’s get another drink.”
    “I need some water.”
    He nodded and guided me through the crowd. I felt like I was with the best man in the whole club. I wondered how successful of an actor he really was. At the bar, he raised his hand for the bartender. He was so tall, his arm extended above the crowd. “Two vodka martinis,” he said.
    Brooke slid beside me again and motioned for another sex on the beach. “How’s it going? Do you like him?” she stage-whispered.
    “We’re rolling,” I said.
    “Cool,” she said.
    Tony and I danced and drank all night. We were feeling passionate and thirsty and rubbing all over each other and making out to the waves of euphoria. Occasionally we collapsed in a booth and talked and made out a little. It felt casual and friendly. Then we’d talk some more, telling each other all our stories. He was smart and curious and articulate, in spite of the alcohol and drugs. It was a turn-on. There was also something inaccessible about him, which I took as a challenge. We definitely had sexual chemistry. I told him all about Susan and Donna, and how angry and embarrassed they’d made me. “You’re getting upset about what two immature little Hollywood soap opera actresses think about you? What kind of New Yorker are you, anyway?” he asked.
    “Good point,” I admitted.
    “Tomorrow they’ll be yesterday’s news. Longevity is the key. Once you hit it, never let it get away. That’s what I plan to do. It’s a rocket you hang on to, and I can guarantee those two don’t have a clue,” he said. “Besides, haven’t you noticed how wildly superficial everybody is in L.A.? They’re all big-timers and they’re all fronting. It means nothing.”
    “I guess so,” I said. “But they still made me feel like a piece of shit.”
    “Come here, I have an idea,” he said. He pulled me out of the booth and led me over to the bar, straight toward Susan and Donna.
    “No, no, no, no …” I protested, panicking.
    “Stop,” he said. “Trust me. Just pretend you don’t even notice them at all.”
    “OK,” I said doubtfully. I was starting to come down off the Ecstasy high and suddenly, everything wasn’t coming up roses anymore.
    He put his arm around me, then pretended to bump into Donna accidentally. He looked at her with complete disinterest. “Oh. Sorry. Whiskey soda and a cosmopolitan!” He called out the drinks to the bartender, who immediately stopped what he was doing to start making them.
    Donna Shannon turned, and the annoyance on her face melted away as soon as she saw who had bumped into her. Then she looked at me, and then at him again. Her eyes widened.
    “Oh,” she said, trying to sound cool. “Hi, Tony.”
    Tony ignored her. Her face turned just one shade