12. Hollywood Entertainment News

The sun was beginning to come up.

They dug their toes in the sand. Zipping up their wetsuits, the three of them jogged towards the water. Except for a lone walker who had headphones in and sought a piece of serenity that morning, the secluded beach remained lifeless despite the crashing waves. Finding a private beach was like finding a hidden gem.

An hour passed by effortlessly.

Then another.

Now floating near the shore on their surfboards before it was time to dry off and head back to the city to tackle another day, Beau, Sonny and Rocco talked. They all withheld a portion of themselves they didn't feel comfortable enough to bring to light. But, why? Weren't they friends?

Rocco never could fully relate to Beau or Sonny because they were tied down to women who believed they wore the pants in the relationship. Did they? Often, he wondered, how dumb could they be? Pussy wasn't that important for him to dive headfirst into a trap, like marriage.

Sonny splashed Beau. "What's with you? You barely said anything all morning."

Sonny liked to think he was the confidant of the group, but he wasn't. He had the biggest mouth in Malibu. He lived for the gossip. Bryson would tease him, saying he carried the soul of a woman.

Beau ran a hand through his wet hair and cupped the back of his neck. He didn't know where to begin – or if he should.

"I'm not as happy as I thought I'd be."

Wow. There it was. Allowing those words to bare weight of their own after leaving his mouth felt unfamiliar and unreal.

"With what?" Sonny pressed.

"With V."

A sharp knife was twisting into the side of his abdomen. What he meant to say was, "I love V, but I don't love marriage." However, for one reason or another, he didn't correct himself.

Beau continued. "We fight every night. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed sex with her because of the tension between us. It's not the same."

"What do you guys fight about." Rocco asked. Genuinely, he was concerned about his friend despite how self-centered he usually was.

"Boston. She wants to be closer to her family."

Beau searched the water around him, hoping to see a shark's fin emerge from beneath the surface, coming at him to permanently remove him from the world. And he'd let it. That would be easier than filing for divorce.

"Boston doesn't sound so bad. It's not like you'd be stuck there. You have to make appearances all the time. Being a flight away isn't life-or-death." Sonny enjoyed playing devil's advocate. After all, marriage was about compromise and he knew that subject well.

"Nah. My life's here. If she doesn't want to be with me in Malibu, why should I be with her in Boston?" Beau glided his tongue over his teeth. He was disgusted with himself for wanting to throw in the towel.

His throat tightened and his mouth watered. He could puke at the thought of V finding another.

Rocco waged his legs in the water some, not knowing what to say to Beau to make him feel better about his situation. Re-locating seemed like a nice change of pace. "So, what're you going to do?" He asked.

Beau exhaled the decision he didn't necessarily want to make, but knew other possible options were exhausted. There wasn't any room for hope in his voice when he replied.

"I guess file for divorce."

Sonny's eyebrows arched. "You guess?"

"Yeah. I'm done talking about this."

And Beau made that final.

Sonny's eyes widened in abhorrence as he changed the subject.

"Bryson's taking that new chick out tonight."

"Who?" Rocco pondered. He knew it was Camryn, but, then again, it could've been anyone. California newbies were never in short supply.

"Camryn." Beau answered. There was just something off – something about her that never interested him to entertain any conversation that mentioned her name. But he couldn't put his finger on it.

Sonny was indifferent. He didn't know her. "She seems alright" he decided.

"I'm not buying it." Rocco shook his head in disbelief that she was still going to be a part of the show. "Bitch."

"Who cares? Bryson's hunting for a rebound." Beau attempted to defend his buddy's obvious poor decision. "He just wants to fuck her."

Rocco smirked at the idea of her looking like the fool after getting played – on national television, nonetheless.

Sonny now pried into Rocco's personal life. "What's going on with you and Brooke? She was all over you last night."

"She's all over everybody." Beau added and laughed, thinking her behavior the night before was comical.

"Brooke has something I like, but she comes with a warning. You know what you're walking into before you walk into it. I could have her if I wanted her. I just don't want her thinking something will come of it when it won't." Rocco replied cockily.

Beau thought his arrogance was amusing. Rocco reminded him of a younger version of himself.

As the morning progressed, Camryn sat on the couch, in her temporary home, and began typing the first paragraph. Looking through the notes she typed in her phone as they came to her randomly throughout the day when she was with her fellow castmates, she tried making sense of the living messes that she was slowly growing familiar with. She wondered if elaborating about the intimate details of another's private life would somehow damage her own while her cup of coffee on the end table was still steaming. The door that led to her small oasis of a backyard was cracked open some and the sound of the beach crept in and brought comfort. It wasn't difficult to love this kind of life.

Her deep auburn hair swung down her back in loose curls thirty-five minutes later. Her makeup was simple. A long-sleeved, black dress accentuated her every curve. Black was her power color. Not wanting to admit it to herself, she needed to feel powerful; unmoved and unbothered. She wasn't necessarily trying to play a part, but she was. She struggled to figure out how to act until she remembered what she told the panel during the audition.

Roger, her driver, opened the car door and she plopped in with a tote that held her basic essentials clenched at her side. Having a stranger in the driver's seat wasn't new to her having lived in big cities her whole life. Taxis and Ubers were common means of transportation.

She emailed Diana. It was a daily priority to ensure her boss of the article's progress. In the meantime, she was tasked to complete small, easy assignments.

Traffic surprisingly hadn't been as bad as it usually was. Roger pulled into a private parking space behind the studio at a reasonable time.

Hollywood Entertainment News always filmed earlier and had the edited segment ready to air by that evening.

Upon entering, Camryn noticed every worker wore a headset and was rushing around like crazed rats.

Within moments, a man asked for her name and then directed her to a room after she gave it.

The voguish room was quite larger than she'd imagined it'd be when she walked through the doors and saw the others. They looked at her. She was the last to arrive. Could you blame them? Awkwardly, she smiled just as Brooke came over to save the day.

Hooking an arm with her own, Brooke guided Camryn to a lavish spread of delicious snacks and non-alcoholic beverages arranged beautifully for the cast. Camryn wouldn't mention Brooke's subtle snub the night before at Raz. It was just too damn early to rock the boat.

Callie approached them.

"Good morning, ladies," said Callie as she reached over and grabbed two carrots. "You disappointed me last night." She nudged Camryn coolly with her bony elbow, indicating she was speaking to her. Her blonde hair was pin-straight, and her purple eyeshadow drew a lot of attention to her lovely eyes.

Camryn wondered if she was going to purge the snacks she was shoving into her mouth at the sight of her size. Having interviewed several models over the past few years, she was very familiar with what bulimia looked like in its victims.

"What do you mean?" Camryn ran a hand through her lustrous locks, exposing a clearer look at her perky boobs. Bryson couldn't help but gawk like a thirsty dog, which was the whole point of her doing so.

"I was hoping you'd let loose, girl. Alcohol makes people talk and I've been dying to hear your story."

Camryn couldn't tell if Callie's grin was genuine or rehearsed.

"I wasn't feeling it. But the night will come – don't you worry."

Camryn had to guarantee no one would pick up on her scheme.

"Hey, is everything okay" asked Brooke, flat-out, once Callie had gone to sit next to Tatum.

"Yeah. Why?"

"I don't know. We haven't talked much since your plane landed." Brooke's eyes expressed a little concern. She didn't want Camryn to resent her by making her feel forced to audition for the show. She was super against it when it came up at Breadbasket. What changed her mind?

"And why is that?" With a hand on her hip, Camryn had a way about her that could make others figure out what they were doing wrong without having to say a word.

"Did I do something to piss you off?"

Playing dumb was always Brooke's go-to.

Out of the corner of her eye, Camryn noticed Paige eavesdropping on the couch.

"I'm not pissed. I thought, since I don't know anyone, you'd be right at my side. And you haven't been." She was never this bitter towards her model friend, or desperate for her attention.

"Okay. I get that. I'm sorry. Can we please, just, move past this so we can have fun again?"

Brooke's plea caused her to smile.

"Fine."

Bryson casually appeared from behind, breathed her in and gave Brooke a look that asked if she'd excuse herself. It was his turn.

His chest rubbed up against her left shoulder and Camryn knew it was him by his scent that drove her mad.

"When should I pick you up tonight?"

His dimples drew her in faster than she was allowing.

"After the sun goes down."

Paige continued to listen in without being too obvious to the others. Wearing a black camisole that was tucked into a short leather skirt that matched a thin choker, she undoubtedly gave Camryn a run for her money.

The cast had five minutes to make their way to the set.

Just after the announcement was made, Camryn accidently bumped into her tote that sat on the table, which spilled most of her things onto the floor.

Paige saw a window of opportunity to distract the pair from furthering a conversation she wasn't fond of hearing.

Interrupting rudely, she insisted he escort her while everyone was making their way out of the room.

Brooke, on her knees helping Camryn throw her personals back into the tote, was instructed by Camryn to stop.

"Really, I got it. I'll be there in a minute."

Being the organized freak that she was, Camryn had to put every little thing in its proper compartment before continuing to go about her day.

The room quickly cleared.

She could feel her face getting warmer as she saw his shoes come closer and closer to where she knelt.

Knowing his time was limited, he bent down on one knee and stayed quiet until she made eye contact with him.

"Can I help you?" Camryn asked. How did he already know the way to make her feel uncomfortable despite his young age?

His heart pounded, which made the thickest vein in his neck pulsate. "I know why you're here."

She was caught.

"Quit now before you make things worse for yourself."

Rocco hit the tote out of her hands, which made everything crash to the floor harder than they did the first time. He stood and walked away, leaving her speechless and angry.
__________________________________

The twelve of them were arranged to sit on the couches, which rested on three different platforms. Freddie reminded them all to keep it brief and causal. They weren't to give too much away. A tall man with a shaved head emerged from behind the cameramen with an assistant that followed close by. It made Camryn think of Bianca. What ever happened to her?

Shaking each of their hand, the host thanked them for showing up and reviewed the normal expectations before a woman in front of them began counting down from ten.

"Good evening and welcome to Hollywood Entertainment News. I'm your host – Dave Stratham – and tonight we'll be introducing you to the cast of a new reality show set to grace your screen this October."

Dave, with notecards in hand, turned and beamed at them.

"How excited are y'all to begin this project?"

Brooke answered first.

"I think it's safe to say we're all pretty anxious to see how our summer is going to go with a camera crew following our every step. But besides that, I believe our viewers will be able to relate to at least one of us. Despite sharing similar backgrounds, we're all very different from one another and not many people get to see who we really are. They're used to assuming what we're like from the tabloids."

Camryn was impressed by her answer and Tatum, who barely knew Brooke, shook her head in agreement.

"Let's start from the top." Dave meant literally and figuratively. "Why One Way In? Why that name for the show you think?"

No one really knew the answer, except for Camryn. She spoke up confidently. "Because maybe there's no way out."

Paige followed her lead and asked, "What do you mean?"

Ignoring her hands that she sensed were clamming up, Camryn remained calm and fixated on the camera in front of her. "Because I'm new to this group..." she mentioned before anyone else could, "...it seems like my fellow castmates, whom I hope to get to know better, are trying to let people in so the judgements stop. Once you let the public see that you have a platform, you open yourself up to criticism. Can you ever really escape that?" She now glanced back at Paige who was sitting behind her.

Paige's cheeks were close to magenta. Her goal was to put Camryn on the spot, which clearly didn't work out in her favor.

"And what about you?" Beau intervened. "Do you ever criticize people, Camryn?"

Camryn's cheeks were now pinker than the blush she used that morning. She hated how karma worked sometimes.

"Sure, I do. Unfortunately, I think it's human nature. Whether we intend to or not, criticizing is engrained in who we are. However, there is a difference between criticism that hurt others, and criticism that offers insight to the truth that most people can't handle."

Her eyes then met Rocco's, telling him that she'd never take back what she said about him. That spoiled, little rich prick.

The segment, which lasted no longer than ten minutes, concluded with a brief introduction of each cast member. Camryn wondered if her biological parents were watching and if they saw a piece of themselves in her and recognized that she was their child that they gave up twenty-nine years ago. She made sure to leave that bit out. Not even Brooke knew about her family history, or lack thereof, and Camryn wanted it to stay that way. Being on national television was like being lost in a dream.

Brooke insisted on riding back to her house to spend the afternoon together by the pool. With Bryson picking her up at 8 p.m., a few margaritas were just what the doctor ordered.

While on the way home, Diana filled Camryn's inbox with more emails discussing side projects that needed to be completed within the next couple of weeks.

Right.

This wasn't a time for leisure.

This was her job and she wouldn't allow herself to forget that. However, taking the afternoon off was the only way she was going to recharge her batteries.