Glitter on the Web by Ginger Voight Page B

derision. I would not be tempted. Not now. Not ever. I grabbed my oversized bag, which was filled with bottles of water and some fresh fruit. I could feel his eyes scan over me like a laser beam, assessing the data from top to toe. I likewise wore a faded T-shirt, paired with a comfortable pair of leggings, having tied my newly two-toned hair into another ponytail. There was no product in my hair, just like I wore no makeup. It was just 100-percent me, and he was going to have to be okay with that.
    I led the way back to his car waiting downstairs, where, of course, more paparazzi waited. An exotic foreign car like his was built to get attention. In this town there were always some worthless souls who had nothing better to do with their day than stalk my apartment, just to snap a photo of it whenever it happened to park there, even for a minute.
    Neither of us bothered speaking until the doors were shut behind us. “Do I finally get to know where we’re going? Or do you want to drive?” he asked. “You do have experience working a shift, right?”
    I glared at him. “Since I was fourteen,” I answered, though I didn’t clarify whether or not I meant a standard transmission or the obvious sexual double entendre.
    He grinned as he adjusted himself in the seat, drawing attention to his lower body. “My kind of girl. You can drive my car any day.” I rolled my eyes and he laughed “So where are we heading?”
    “To hell if we don’t change our ways,” I quipped. It was what my granddaddy had always said. In this case, though, it was totally true. Finally I answered. “Lake Hollywood Park.”
    He programmed our destination into his GPS system and away we went, blaring his music, as usual, but it was a welcome distraction. The last thing I wanted was more conversation.
    Alas, he turned down the music before the first song was over. “We got company. Just give me the word and I’ll ditch ‘em.”
    I realized he was staring in the rearview mirror. “We’re being followed?” I echoed as I turned to look behind us.
    “Are we still trending?” he asked. With a drop in my gut, I checked my phone. Already someone had posted the photo of us leaving my apartment, and already #TeamRhonda had made a comment about how Eli was “slumming” it these days with his new bargain basement girlfriend.
    Everyone was still trying to piece together our relationship, which sprang up out of nowhere like a weed in the sidewalk. We remained a top news story, particularly since I was the first big girl that the Big Girl-loving crooner had ever actually dated. Their curiosity was insatiable.
    “If we can use it to our advantage, I say let them follow. Throw them bones here and there. Nugget by nugget, they’ll keep us in the news, which keeps me on the charts.”
    I thought about the day I had planned for us. I hated to bring the press into it, but he was right. I could definitely use it to my advantage, and that had nothing whatsoever to do with Eli. He wasn’t the only one who could use press anymore. Finally I shrugged. “Let them watch.”
    Eli grinned and gunned the motor, heading straight for the Hollywood Hills.
    Most of my gang had already arrived to the park by the time we got there. I directed Eli to park beside the funky VW bug that Clem had painted a deep, royal purple. There were bumper stickers all over it, my favorite of which was, “If you’re going to ride my ass, at least pull my hair first.”
    It was Clementine to a T.
    Eli snickered when he saw it. “I can’t wait to see who that car belongs to.”
    I spotted my bestie, who was already warming up with Antoine. She wore shorts and a cami, and she didn’t give a fuck what anyone had to say about it. I pointed her out, and it made Eli chuckle even more.
    “That does not surprise me at all.”
    “Listen,” I said as I grabbed his sleeve. “That’s my best friend. And there isn’t enough money in your bank account to buy the right to be mean to her. You