Good In Bed Part 28

"It's not like that."

"Oh, no?"

"He seems kind of... lonely."

"Hmph. Well, remember, he is an actor." She thought about it. "Well, actually, a comedian who makes movies."

"We're just going for a walk," I said, feeling desperate not to upset or offend her, but even more desperate to get back to Adrian.

"Whatever," she said airily. She scribbled her number on a napkin and held out her hand for the cell phone. "Give me a call from wherever you are."

I handed her the phone, tucked the number into my purse, and rolled my eyes. "Oh, right. I'll be off seducing him. It'll be very romantic. We'll be snuggling on the couch, and I'll kiss him, and he'll tell me he adores me, and then my unborn child will kick him in the ribs."

Maxi stopped looking sulky.

"And then I'll film the whole thing, and sell the rights to Fox, and they'll turn it into a special. World's Kinkiest Threesomes."

Maxi laughed. "Okay. Just be careful."

I kissed her on the cheek and, unbelievably, found that Adrian Stadt was still waiting. I smiled at him, and he led me to the elevator, down and out the door, where we found ourselves standing in front of what looked like a highway. No benches, no gra.s.s, not even a lowly bus shelter, or a sidewalk to stroll on.

"Huh," I said.

Adrian, meanwhile, was looking even more tipsy than he had in the Star Bar. The fresh air didn't seem to be having the sobering effect I was hoping for. He grabbed at my hand, managing to get my wrist instead, and pulled me close to him... well, as close as my belly would allow.

"Kiss me," he said, and I laughed out loud at the absurdity of it. Kiss me! Like a line from a movie! I was looking over his shoulder for the inevitable bright lights and milling extras and director ready to yell "Cut!" when Adrian took his thumb and traced it along my cheek, then down over my lips. It was a move that I was pretty sure I'd seen him perform on screen, but I found that I didn't much care. "Cannie," he whispered. Just hearing him say my name was making me throb in places I hadn't expected to feel anything until the baby came. "Kiss me." He brought his lips down to mine, and I tilted my face up, and my body away, as his hand curved behind my neck and held my head like it was something precious. Oh, so sweet a kiss, I thought, and then his lips were back on mine, harder, his hand more insistent, as the traf-fic rushed by us and I felt myself melting, forgetting my resolve, my history, my name.

"Come with me," he offered, raining kisses on my cheeks, my lips, my eyelids.

"I'm staying at a hotel...," I murmured weakly, realizing as soon as the words were out of my mouth that it sounded like the cheapest come-on ever. And what was going on here, anyhow? Could he really be that lonely? Did he have a thing for pregnant women? Was this perhaps his idea of a joke? "Do you want to maybe..." I tried to think quickly. If I were in Philadelphia, if I were standing on a street being groped by the ultimate object of my desire who was very very drunk, what would I suggest? But, of course, I couldn't think of a thing. Nothing in my life had even come close. "Go to a bar?" I finally offered. "A diner, maybe?"

Adrian reached into his pocket and produced what I figured must be a valet ticket. "How about a ride?" he said.

"Can we..." I thought quickly. "Can we go to see the beach? It's such a beautiful night" Which was not exactly true. It was an extremely smoggy night, but at least it was warm, and there was a breeze.

Adrian rocked back and forth on his feet and gave me a sweet, slightly dopey grin. "Sounds like a plan," he said.

First, though, there was the not inconsequential matter of getting him to surrender the keys.

"Ooh, a convertible," I cooed when a small red car arrived at the curb. "I've never driven one." I shot him my most coy and charming glance. "Could I drive it?" He handed over the keys without a word, then sat beside me quietly, not saying much except to tell me where I should turn.

When I glanced over he had his hand pressed to his forehead.

"Headache?" I asked. He nodded with his eyes shut. "Beer before liquor?"

He winced. "Ecstasy before vodka, actually," he said.

Oof. I guessed if I was going to stay in Hollywood, I'd have to get used to people casually confessing to recreational drug use. "You don't look ecstatic," I ventured.

He yawned. "Maybe I'll ask for a refund," he said, and glanced at me sideways. "So, you're, um... when are you..."

"I'm due on June fifteenth," I said.

"So your, um, husband's back in..."

I decided to end the game of fill-in-the-blank. "I'm from Philadel-phia, and I don't have a husband. Or a boyfriend."

"Oh!" said Adrian, sounding like he felt himself to be on firmer ground. "So, your partner's back there?"

I laughed. I couldn't help it. "No partner, either. Just your cla.s.sic single unwed mother." I gave him the briefest bare-bones outline of the story: me and Bruce, our breakup and twenty-minute-long reconciliation, the pregnancy, the screenplay, and my flight to California a scant twelve hours ago.

Adrian nodded, but didn't ask any questions, and I couldn't look at him to read his face. I just kept driving. Finally, after a series of twists and turns I knew I couldn't hope to remember, let alone repeat on my own, we found ourselves parked on a bluff overlooking the ocean. And in spite of the smog, it was magnificent: the smell of salt water, the rhythmic sound of the waves on the sh.o.r.e, the feel of all that water, all that power and motion, so close to us...

I turned toward Adrian. "Isn't this great?" I asked. He didn't answer. "Adrian?"

No movement. I leaned toward him slowly, like a big-game hunter approaching a lion. He didn't stir. I edged closer still. "Adrian?" I whispered. No murmured endearments, no inquiries as to the subject of my screenplay, or the nature of my life in Philadelphia. Instead, I heard snoring. Adrian Stadt had fallen asleep.

I couldn't help but laugh at myself. It was a cla.s.sic Cannie Shapiro moment: out on the beach with a gorgeous movie star, with the wind whipping the waves and the moonlight gleaming on the water and a million stars in the sky, and he's pa.s.sed out.

Meanwhile, I was stranded. And getting cold, too, with the wind blowing off the water. I looked in the car in vain for a blanket or a stray sweatshirt. Nothing doing. It was four in the morning, according to the glowing green hands of my watch. I decided I'd give him half an hour, and if he didn't wake up and start moving I'd... well, I'd figure something out.

I turned the engine on so I'd have heat, and music from the Chris Isaak CD he had in the CD player. Then I sat back, wishing I'd worn a jacket, keeping one eye on Adrian, who was snoring to beat the band, the other on my watch. It was... well, pathetic, really, but also a little bit funny. My big trip to Hollywood, I thought ruefully. My romance. Maybe I was the kind of girl who deserved to be mocked in magazines, I thought... then I shook my head. I knew how to take care of myself. I knew how to write. And I had one of the things that I wanted most in the world- I'd sold my screenplay. I'd have money, comfort, some measure of fame. And I was in Hollywood! With a movie star!

I glanced to my right. Said movie star was still not moving. I leaned closer. He was breathing harshly, and his forehead was covered in sweat.

"Adrian?" I whispered. Nothing. "Adrian?" I said in a normal voice. I didn't see as much as an eyelid twitch. I bent over and shook his shoulders lightly. Nothing happened. When I let him go he flopped bonelessly back into the bucket seat. Now I was getting worried.

I slipped one hand into his pocket, trying not to think of the potential tabloid headlines ("Sat.u.r.day Night! Star Molested by Wannabe Screenwriter!") and found his cell phone. After a little fumbling, I produced a dial tone. Great. So now what?

Then it hit me. I reached into my purse and pulled Dr. K's business card out of my wallet. He'd told us in one Fat Cla.s.s session that he didn't sleep much, and was usually in the office by 7 A.M., and it was later than that on the East Coast by now.

I held my breath and punched his numbers. "h.e.l.lo?" said his deep voice.

"Hey, Dr. K. It's Cannie Shapiro."

"Cannie!" he said, sounding happy to hear from me, and not at all alarmed by the fact that I was calling long-distance in what was, for me, the wee hours of the morning. "How was your trip?"

"Just fine," I said. "Well, so far so good. Except now I seem to have a problem."

"Tell me," he said.

"Well, I, um..." I paused, thinking. "I made a new friend," I said.

"That's good," he said encouragingly.

"And we're at the beach, in his car, and he's kind of pa.s.sed out, and I can't get him to wake up."

"That's bad," he said.

"Yeah," I agreed, "and it's not even the worst date I've been on. So normally I'd just let him sleep, except he told me before he'd been drinking and also taking Ecstasy..."

I paused, and heard nothing. "It's not what you think," I said weakly, even though I had no real idea what he was thinking, except that it was probably some combination of my name and words like "flaky."

"So he's pa.s.sed out?" asked Dr. K.

"Well, yeah. Basically." I sighed. "And I thought I was being fairly amusing."

"But he's breathing?"

"Breathing, but sweating," I elaborated. "And not waking up."

"Touch his face, and tell me how his skin feels."

I did. "Hot," I reported. "Sweaty."

"Better than cool and clammy. We don't want that," he told me. "Try this. I want you to make a fist..."

"Done," I reported.

"Now rub your knuckles along his sternum. His breastbone. Do it pretty hard... we're trying to see if he reacts."

I leaned over and did as he instructed, pressing hard. Adrian flinched and said a word that might have been "mother." I re-settled myself in my seat and told Dr. K. what had happened.

"Very good," he said. "I think your gentleman caller is going to be just fine. But I think you should do two things."

"Go ahead," I said, tucking the phone under my chin and turning back to Adrian.

"First, turn him on his side, so in case he does vomit, he won't be in danger of aspirating any."

I nudged Adrian until he was semi-sideways. "Done," I said.

"The other thing is just to stay with him," he said. "Check on him every half hour or so. If he turns cool or starts shaking, or if his pulse becomes irregular, I'd dial 911. Otherwise, he should be fine in the morning. He might feel nauseous, or achy," he cautioned, "but there won't be any permanent damage done."

"Great," I said, cringing inwardly as I imagined what the morning would be like, when Adrian woke up with the mother of all hangovers and found himself beside me.

"You might want to take a washcloth, dip it in cool water, wring it out, and put it on his forehead," said the doctor. "That is, if you're feeling merciful."

I started laughing. I couldn't help it. "Thank you," I said. "Really. Thanks a lot."

"I hope things improve," he said cheerfully. "But it sounds like you've got this situation in hand. Will you call me and let me know how it turns out?"

"Absolutely. Thank you again," I said.

"Take care of yourself, Cannie," he said. "Call if you need anything else."

We hung up, and I considered. Washcloth? I looked in the glove compartment and found only a car lease agreement, a few CD jewel boxes, and two pens. I looked in my own purse: lipstick that Garth had given me, wallet, keys, address book, a panty liner that What to Expect When You're Expecting told me to carry.

I looked at Adrian. I looked at the panty liner. I figured that what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him, so I got out of the car, made my way carefully to the water, dipped the panty liner, walked back up, and laid it tenderly upon his forehead, trying not to giggle while I did it.

Adrian opened his eyes. "You're so sweet," he slurred.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty!" I said. "You're awake! I was getting worried..."

Adrian appeared not to hear me. "I bet you'll be a terrific mother," he said, and closed his eyes again.

I smiled, settling myself back in my seat. A terrific mother. It was the first time I'd really thought about it- the actual act of mothering. I'd thought about giving birth, sure, about the logistics of caring for a newborn, too. But I'd never given much consideration to what kind of mother I, Cannie Shapiro, age almost twenty-nine, would be.

I cupped my hands around my belly as Adrian snored softly beside me. A good mother, I thought, bemused. But what kind? Would I be one of those cool mothers that all the kids in the neighborhood liked, the ones who served sweetened fruit punch and cookies instead of skim milk and fruit, who wore jeans and funky shoes and could actually talk to her kids, instead of just lecture them? Would I be funny? Would I be the kind of mom they'd want to be the room mother, or show up on Career Day? Or would I be one of those worried mothers, always hovering by the door, waiting for my child to come home, always running after it, clutching a sweater, a raincoat, a handful of tissues?

You'll be you, said a voice in my head. My own mother's voice. I recognized it instantly. I would be me. I had no other choice. And that wouldn't be so bad. I'd done all right by Nifkin, I reasoned. That was something.

I leaned my head against Adrian's shoulder, figuring that he wouldn't mind. And that was when I thought of something else.

I plucked his phone out of my purse, then dug out the napkin with Maxi's number, and held my breath until I heard her bright, British, "h.e.l.lo."

"Hey, Maxi," I whispered.

"Cannie!" she cried. "Where are you?"

"On the beach," I said. "I'm not sure exactly where, but..."

"You're with Adrian?" she asked.

"Yes," I whispered. "And he's kind of pa.s.sed out."

Maxi started laughing... and in spite of myself, I started laughing, too. "So help me out. What's the etiquette here? Do I stay? Do I go? Do I, like, leave him a note?"

"Where are you, exactly?" asked Maxi.

I looked around for a sign, for a light, for something. "I remember the last street we were on was Del Rio Way," I said. "And we're right on a bluff, maybe twenty-five yards over the water"

"I know where that is," Maxi said. "At least, I think I do. It's where he shot the love scene for Estella's Eyes."

"Great," I said, trying to remember whether anyone had pa.s.sed out during that particular scene. "So what should I do?"

"I'm going to give you directions to my house," she told me. "I'll be waiting."

Maxi's directions were perfect, and in twenty minutes' time we were pulling into the driveway of a small, gray-shingled house on the beach. It was the kind of place I might have picked out, given my druthers, and probably several million dollars.

Maxi herself was waiting in the kitchen. She'd swapped her dress and updo for a pair of black leggings, a T-shirt, and pigtails, which would have looked ridiculous on 99.9 percent of the female population, but looked adorable on her. "Is he still pa.s.sed out?"

"Come see," I whispered. We walked back to the car where Adrian still lay in the pa.s.senger's seat, his mouth gaping open, his eyes sealed shut, and my panty liner still perched on his forehead.

Maxi burst out laughing. "What is that?"

"It was the best I could do," I said defensively.

Still giggling, Maxi grabbed a copy of Variety from what I took to be her recycling bin, rolled it up, and poked Adrian in the arm. Nothing. She moved the magazine lower and poked him in the belly. No response.