Episode 24: Afterparty
afterparty: a party for invited guests held after a main event.
The statue weighed eight and a half pounds, yet it felt luxuriously heavy in Tallulah’s grasp. How the streetlights bled through the tinted window and caught against the trophy’s metallic skin left her mesmerized.
All her life, she had wanted to hold this, and here she was holding it. Even though it wasn’t hers. Yet Nick had told the entire world that it was more hers than his.
“I told you,” she said. “I told you so.”
Nick’s deep-chested chuckle rumbled against her back.
“So, you did.” He brushed aside Tallulah’s tresses and kissed along her bare shoulder. “I can’t wait for you to rub it in my face when we get home.”
Tallulah closed her eyes, moaning through a smile.
“We’re not going home just yet, Nick,” she reminded him. “We have to go to the Vanity Fair afterparty, and then we have to go to two more afterparties.”
Tallulah couldn’t figure out how A-listers crammed so many parties into one night. She often wondered how that worked. Did they just show up, kiss a few cheeks, and then head off to the next shindig?
She didn’t know.
But tonight was a better night than any to find out.
She wanted to celebrate with him. She wanted to dance the night away until her feet hurt in her high heels, and she wanted to chatter and laugh until her throat grew hoarse.
“Or we could go home,” Nick proposed.
Tallulah turned her head slightly and pouted.
“This is my first Oscar afterparty ever. Can we go to just this one, and then we can go home?”
He peppered kisses along her neck and then nipped at her shoulder cuff. She whimpered, biting her lip.
“Just this one, and then we’ll celebrate in our own way at home, Desiree,” he replied.
Victorious, she pumped a fist in the air. “Yes!”
When the limo pulled up to the Wallis Annenberg Center, she could already see the bulbs of lights flashing and the paparazzi shouting commands at the celebrities as they made their way down yet another red carpet of the night.
Tallulah handed the trophy to Nick and slipped off his lap as the door opened.
He was the first to exit, offering her his hand. As she stepped out, a wave of screams hit her in the face as clamoring paparazzi shouted:
“Congratulations, Nick!”
“Job well done, Nicky!”
“Look here, over here!”
Walking down the red carpet, they paused occasionally, allowing the hungry paparazzi to get their fill before they moved on.
They encountered several nominees and their partners in the lobby, exchanging hellos and praise. The party took place in a gigantic room, draped from head to toe in lush red, black, and gold, with eclectic furniture, decorations, and gold mood lighting.
People sat on the lounge sofas, love seats, ottomans, bar stools, and at the dinner tables skirting a dance floor pulsing with Hollywood’s best of the best.
Waiting staff wandered around with champagne glasses and hors d’oeuvres.
A heavy, deep bass pounded the air, rattling through Tallulah’s body.
For once, she didn’t feel out of place. She felt like a little kid in a candy store, glancing around in awe. She should have grown accustomed to the luxuriousness of being the partner of an A-lister, but she still couldn’t, no matter how hard she tried.
Familiar, famous names congratulated Nick, giving him handshakes, pats on the back, and cheek kisses.
Tallulah beamed at him, loving how he finally got the recognition he deserved after years of playing an archetype Hollywood thought he only had the range for.
An archetype he played into to survive in the industry.
Because when enough people tell you something they believe to be true about yourself, you believe them after a while.
After a steady stream of people gave their regards, Nick took her hand and weaved through the crowds into a courtyard filled with patio furniture, lush green plants, and a gushing, trickling fountain. He set the Oscar on a patio table before he plopped down into a cushioned wicker chair, tugging her into his lap.
Her gown hiked slightly, revealing more of her exposed leg.
All night, he had chatted, grinned, and laughed his way through conversations and cheesy jokes, but in his eyes, she could see that he had had enough.
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “What’s wrong?”
Nick rested his head against her cheek. “They have every type of alcohol imaginable at this party, and I’m trying very hard not to have a taste.”
She blinked at him in surprise, her jaw dropping. “Why didn’t you tell me you were struggling?”
“Because you were enjoying yourself.”
“Is that why you wanted to go home after the ceremony?” she frowned, guilt cutting deep into her chest. “Not because you’re an insatiable horndog?”
“Oh, I’m most definitely an insatiable horndog.” Nick smirked, running his tongue along his teeth. “But I hate afterparties. The only way most people can get through them is if they drink enough. It’s easier to deal with others, easier to deal with the fake smiles and empty congratulations. It makes it easier to put up with the jealousy and hatred.”
Her face softened. “I didn’t even realize...”
But the word realize didn’t quite capture what she’d done tonight. So blinded by the veneer of the glitz and glamor, she lost sight of what mattered most: supporting Nick.
This was, after all, his night.
Yet, on her watch, she failed to see his discomfort about the liquor or smiling haters.
“That’s what I love about you, Desiree. You never do. Because you always see the good in people. This industry hasn’t corrupted you yet. That trophy,” Nick said, grazing his fingers along her bare thigh, “is an accomplishment. I’ll make more money. But I’ll also earn more enemies than friends.”
“Oh, fuck that,” Tallulah said, her tone firm and defiant. “The Academy voted for you. They saw something in you they didn’t see in the others. I told you, Nick, you were gonna win. You were that damn good. And they would have been absolute fools not to give you the award for Best Actor.”
“That, or aggressive studio campaigns and lots of fucking money helped them along,” he replied.
This industry fed on insecurities and fears. It thrived on competition, enemies, and alliances. Hollywood had a hierarchy. Even those at the very top could fall from grace without notice. No matter what bright eyes, perfect smiles, and pricey fashion they wore, it was only armor and costumes to hide what they didn’t want the world to see: the real them.
Tallulah pressed her forehead against his.
“I’m ready to go home,” she said.
“You sure?” Nick arched an eyebrow.
She nodded slowly. “I’m absolutely fucking positive. But first, I have to go pee.”
Nick laughed.
As he sat in his spot, he used his hand as leverage to help her stand up. She glanced at him over her shoulder before she re-entered the party. Once in the women’s restroom, it took will and determination to scrunch up her couture gown and shimmy down her panties to pee.
Once done, she exited the stall.
Most had cleared out of the restroom by then. After soaping up her hands, she washed them in the sink and glanced into the long mirror. Her gaze veered off to a stall several doors down in the reflection.
As it opened, Naomi emerged.
Briefly, Tallulah froze as their gazes connected in the mirror. She bowed out of the staring contest and resumed washing her hands. Though an entire row of sinks was available, Naomi took the one directly beside hers.
Tallulah reached for the paper towels to her right once the water stopped its flow and yanked out a few to dry her hands.
“I just wanted to say you look absolutely gorgeous tonight,” Naomi said over the rustle of water.
Tallulah paused in drying.
“Thank you,” she replied, ironing the nervous quaver out of her voice. “I can say the same.”
“How’s Milo?” Naomi asked, casting her a glance.
“Wonderful,” she said. “And Julissa?”
Naomi’s shoulders shook as she laughed. “She’s still a spoiled brat. Whatever she wants, she gets, but we’re trying to do it within reason. But it’s worth it.”
“The things we do for their happiness.” Tallulah balled up the damp paper towels, throwing them in the trash can.
A heavy silence drifted between them.
“And thank you,” Naomi said, fully turning to her.
She cocked her head in confusion. “For what?”
“Thank you for knocking some sense into me,” Naomi said, her smile thin, weak, and regretful. “You and Nick were right. Julissa and Milo were way too young to be dating. They must have an actual childhood instead of pretending to be grown-ups.”
Her eyes glittered with unshed tears.
“I grew up quickly and thought that by letting Julissa do the same, I was giving her independence and choice over her life. But I realized I gave far too much. Her behavior has improved since you and Nick helped me and my parents realize that.”
Naomi’s remorse evaporated with a sniffle and a few blinks as a toilet flushed. A woman left the stall, claiming a sink at the far opposite end.
Tallulah then bit her bottom lip as she regarded Nick’s ex. In those moments, she realized Naomi lived a tragic life. Her daughter only knew her as an older sister, and her parents had to raise the little girl all because of the choices Naomi made as a little girl herself. All because Naomi’s parents didn’t give her the attention, love, and childhood that she deserved. From a very young age, she had graced TV and movie screens.
Hollywood raised her in the same way it did Tallulah’s mom.
With an unforgiving, cold hand.
“I’m glad it worked out for the better.” Tallulah offered a polite smile, turning to leave. “It was good seeing you.”
“Likewise,” Naomi replied.
As she walked out of the restroom and into the corridor, she heard a “wait.”
She halted.
Moments later, Naomi hurried out of the restroom.
“Wait, Tally,” she said as she grabbed Tallulah’s hand and led her down the dim corridor, out of earshot. “I need to tell you something.”
After a deep breath, Naomi confessed, “I also wanted to say that I think you are so brave to come out and support Nick on a night like this after everything that happened over the weekend. It is so admirable that you showed the world you aren’t afraid.”
The redhead gave her hand a sympathetic squeeze.
Tallulah’s tongue lay useless in her mouth.
Disbelief spiked through her chest.
As a trickle of partiers handed to the restrooms, Naomi drew closer, her voice falling to a whisper. “I also wanted to say that you are so good for Nick. I’ve never seen him happier. I’m glad you’re in his life again. Last year, you should have seen him at the VF Oscar afterparty. He drank himself silly, and it took a lot to get him into the limo so we could go back to his house. I haven’t seen him with a single drink in his hand tonight. That’s a big deal.”
Tallulah didn’t even know what to say except: “Yes, I’m so proud of him.”
And yet, even then, it felt wrong to say those words to Naomi, of all people. Even though, of all people, Naomi knew Nick’s personal demons too.
“As am I.” Naomi leaned in to kiss Tallulah’s cheek, then sashayed away, leaving her behind to figure out what the fuck had just happened.
