He was on top of her, increasing his speed, his moaning getting louder. His hands were everywhere, his mouth working on her neck, breasts or lips. He didn’t notice that she was distracted thinking about how to do her hair up that evening, or how her dress would look. She decided to scream with him as he spilled into her, making her legs shake a bit to make it more believable.  

He panted into her ear, kissing her a final time before he rolled over, pulling her into his embrace. She waited for him to fall asleep so she could create some distance between them and lay down on the other side of the bed.   

She was almost fully dressed when he woke up, just putting her sweater on and putting her hair in a ponytail. 

-“Good morning, baby” he said sleepily and smiled, and she smiled back. 

-“Good morning, Leo. You gotta get up; I’m leaving in a few minutes” 

-“Sure, give me ten. Hey, do you wanne go together tonight?” She sighed and sat down at the bed. 

-“I don’t think that’s a very good idea. People may think we are actually together.” 

He pulled her down to him and kissed her passionately. 

-“Would that be so bad? We kinda are, though, right?” 

She shook her head and got up, she looked a bit annoyed. 

-“No, we’re sleeping together, that’s all! No strings attached, remember?” 

She could hear him sigh, but she couldn’t be bothered to confront him. She had been nothing but honest to him, it wasn’t her fault he expected more from her. 

She brought out a bag of white powder and lined it up on the dressing room table before she snorted it, scratching her nose and holding the bag out for him. He shook his head. 

-“No, not tonight, I want to stay clear.” 

She shrugged and put it back in her handbag. 

-“You know, I really have to go, I’ve got an appointment with the hair dresser in an hour, and I need to pick up my dress at D&G first. You can lock yourself out, right?” 

-“Sure” He got up and walked over to her, trying to kiss her again. She pulled away. 

-“You’ve got morning breath” she said, walking out of the hotel room and out to the limo that was waiting for her.     

It took hours to get the hair and make-up done, let alone the manicure and pedicure, even though three people were working on her the entire time. It was a necessary thing, though, on a night like this. She had to look her absolute best.

  By the time she got her dress on it was almost time to leave. She took out the powder from her handbag again, snorted another line to be able to survive the night. 

As she walked out of the limo and waived to the thousands of people waiting, there were flashes everywhere. She stopped to waive and smile, posing for pictures back and forth. It was almost like walking on a catwalk, all eyes were on her, and she had to concentrate to make her dress look as good as possible. She knew she would be judged in the papers in the morning. People were yelling and screaming her name, calling out how beautiful she looked. She knew she looked great, she had spent months picking out the dress, a vintage white Dolce & Gabbana, with a diamond necklace and earrings she couldn’t remember who gave her anymore. Her shoes were Manolo and her little silk purse was Gucci. Her whole outfit cost more than her father made in a year. She smiled a little at this fact. 

She had to stop by several reporters on her way down the red carpet, answer their question as charmingly as possible. This had never been a problem for her; she knew exactly how to win people over. Be who they want you to be, be down to earth, be courteous, be fabulous, but be humble. This is what she did, that’s where her true talent was; in faking it.  

She wasn’t sure she was looking forward to tonight. She wasn’t nervous, just a bit bored. This was all the same, wasn’t it? She had been to millions of these events before, the same kind of people, the same kind of attention… It started to get old. But somehow it at least got her out for the night, out of her house, out of her life. She was surrounded by people who adored her. She tried to tell herself this as she continued walking. No, she was bored, she could imagine places she would rather be than here. All the reporters annoyed her, the place was too crowded, the spectators were too loud. And she was all alone, pretending to be someone she wasn’t; her alter-ego. But you would never know her feelings by looking at her. 

She greeted everyone with her famous smile and a kiss. For everyone else it would seem like these were her friends, but she knew none of them. She knew of them, like they knew of her. Some of them she had worked with, some of them she had slept with, some she had just met at parties. Some people she just pretended to remember, she had a thing about making people feel special. And that made her one of the most popular women in the room tonight, like every other night. 

It was nice to get recognition, nice to be liked, but she always knew it wasn’t real. This would only last until the next big thing arrived, so she wasn’t about to be sucked into a self congratulating state. She knew the industry so well, and she knew how to work it.      

She was sitting in her seat watching the stage, sometimes commenting and talking to the people next to her. She clapped and laughed every time she knew there was a camera on her. When it was her time to take the stage she did it gracefully, saying her lines without hesitation, looking excited to congratulate the winner before she was back in her seat again.The show was nearly over, and she got ready to face the camera again.  

As they called her name, she put her hands over her face to sort of hide the surprise, a surprise she almost didn’t need to fake. People were standing up clapping, they all held out a hand for her to congratulate her. She stopped by several people to accept a kiss on the cheek, all the time with a happy smile on her face. She walked up the stairs to the stage without falling, accepting the award before taking a stand by the microphone. She had to wait for quite a while before the applause calmed down. She had rehearsed for this many times. 

-“Thank you so much, people, please sit down! You’re embarrassing me!” They all laughed. “This is a moment I never dared to dream about, never even thought about when I first started to make movies. I would like to thank the Academy for this amazing surprise, thank you for appreciating what I do. My director, Martin Scorsese…” she held out a hand to point him out in the seat next to where she just sat “…you are amazing, you have taught me so much, and I would never stand up here if it wasn’t for you!” the crowd started cheering again. ”To my co-stars and everyone else working on this; I love you! My family, my friends, everyone who believed in me when I didn’t…This one’s for you! Thank you very much!” She raised her arm with the award. 

The crowd went wild when she got escorted backstage.  Well, now it was over.

She had done well.        

She was standing in the crowded bar, people coming up to her all the time to congratulate her on her award. She took her time to talk to every one of them, pretending to appreciate their kind words. She didn’t know how long she would stay at the after party, she just knew that she didn’t want to be alone tonight. She could always hook up with Leo again, but he started to become a bit needy and demanding and she could definitely do without that. 

She noticed the guy standing by the bar, looking just as lost as she felt. His blond curly hair and tall figure made him stand out, and his awkward expression made it obvious he didn’t belong here. He looked cute, looked like someone who could be a nice comforter for the night. She walked over to him. 

He was ordering another scotch when she approached him. She looked absolutely stunning as she always did, and he just stared at her. It looked like she was smiling to him, but that couldn’t be…

He looked around, but Trace was the only other person standing there, so it had to be him. She stopped in front of him and leaned against the bar. 

-“Hey…” she just said, still smiling that amazingly beautiful smile of hers. 

-“Hey” he said back, trying to not look as confused as he was. 

-“Congratulations on your award” she said. 

-“You too” he answered, not knowing what else to say. What do you say to the hottest movie star around? 

-“Don’t you find it funny how we both got an Oscar for the same movie, yet we’ve never met?” She had a way of making him feel at ease, making him feel like he was on her level, even though they both knew he wasn’t. 

-“I guess” he smiled a bit shyly. “I never made it to the premiere, I was on tour” 

-“So I heard. I just wanted to come over and introduce myself. Since we kind of have something in common tonight.” She moved a bit closer and brushed her hand against his arm. If he didn’t know better he would have thought she was hitting on him. 

-“Ok, I’m Justin Timberlake” he smiled and extended his hand to shake hers. 

-“I know. Jordan Callister” she answered, holding his gaze. Her eyes were hypnotic and it took strength to not stare at them like an idiot.  

-“I know” he laughed, and she laughed as well, a soft, sexy laugh.

She turned to the bartender and ordered two glasses of champagne, giving one to him.  

-“I guess we have reasons to celebrate” she said and he just nodded.

A photographer approached them and she took her arm around him and smiled as he took a picture, before turning back to him again. 

-“So, is this bigger or smaller than all your Grammy’s?” she asked. 

-“Wow, difficult question. It’s different, although this award is also for music; it is a bit further away from what I do than the Grammy’s. I always dreamt about getting a Grammy, but I never in my life thought I’d ever get an Oscar. So, I guess maybe this is bigger…” 

-“Your song is great, though. But so are all your songs” 

-“Yeah? You know my music?” he was impressed. She didn’t look like someone who listened to his type of music. She looked more like a woman who listen to classical stuff. Or maybe blues or jazz or something. Something more sophisticated. 

-“Got all your cd’s. I love a man who knows how to work a body like you do” 

-“Thanks, that’s…Thank you.”  

None of them said a word for a moment. He tried to find something to say that wouldn’t be totally lame, but his mind went blank. 

-“You were great in the movie, by the way” Oh, God, that was stupid. She laughed a little again. 

-“Thanks, I hope you’re not going to say you have all my dvd’s at home” 

-“I don’t, but I have a couple.” He knew he was blushing, and she laughed in that cute way again. He looked around, trying to figure out if Trace was still standing behind him. He was gone. 

-“Are you her with someone?” she asked 

-“Oh! No, just my friend Trace! I was just looking to see where he went” he explained. 

-“Trace having problems finding his way around without you?” she smiled 

-“No, I just…” 

-“Trying to find an escape route? Am I keeping you from something?” 

-“God, no, I’m happy you came over, I was a bit bored earlier. Now, you’re making things a bit more interesting” he started to be confident enough to flirt back.

She grinned in an almost shy way, looking down at her shoes before she looked up at him again. 

-“So, Justin, where are you from?” 

-“Born and raised in Tennessee” he said proudly. 

-“Yeah? Big family?” 

-“Two families. Two half brothers, both a lot younger than me” 

-“Oh, let me guess; the kid from a broken home who got everything he ever wanted just so he wouldn’t feel neglected when his parents were too busy with their new families?” she laughed, but she wasn’t mocking him, he could sense a bit of teasing and a whole lot of flirting in there. 

-“Something like that” he laughed back, letting her think whatever she wanted. If she wanted to kid herself into thinking she’d figured him out, he’d be more than happy to help her out. 

-“Do you still get everything you want?” she asked raising her eyebrow, biting her lower lip, standing even closer to him now. He held his breath, not sure how to behave. It wasn’t like he wasn’t used to women hitting on him, just not someone like her. Maybe she was just a natural flirt, maybe she didn’t mean anything by it? Maybe he read her wrong? 

-“You want to know a secret?” she asked, but didn’t wait for an answer before she leaned in whispering in his ear. “I’ve never been comfortable at parties like these” 

He smiled at her revelation.  

-“Me neither…” 

She pulled back a little. 

-“Wanne get out of here?” 

He didn’t read this wrong, he was sure about that now. She was definitely hitting on him. Her eyes told him that when he looked into them, and the way she licked her lips left him in no doubt. He just nodded and put his hand on her lower back guiding her out.

She had to stop a couple of times on the way to talk to people, he just kept to the background, not knowing any of them.  

-“Where do you wanne go?” he asked as they walked out of the door. 

-“You stay in this hotel?” she asked, and he nodded. “So…” she shrugged and they both went towards the elevator.

He didn’t usually bring women home after a few minutes of chatting, but he guessed he could make an exception for this one. Besides, it was a hotel room, not his house. And if you can’t get laid after winning an Oscar, you’d never get laid.      

He woke up the morning after stretching his arm as if to see if she was still there. No surprise, she was gone. It had been a strange night, they had gotten to his hotel room, grabbed a couple of drinks, before she was all over him. It had started out fine, but somehow he got the feeling she wasn’t totally into it. He had tried his best, done all the things that usually made women go crazy, but he couldn’t shake off the feeling that she was faking the loud moans and the short breath.  

It made him feel like a horrible lover, she was probably used to someone better than him, and she didn’t want to hurt him by letting him know, hence the faking. He was so worried about his performance that he had a hard time getting off himself. He felt almost annoyed when she called out his name and scratched his back, pretending to cum. He managed to close his eyes and fantasise to be able to cum himself, but he couldn’t get himself to pull her into an embrace afterwards. When she turned her back to him and fell asleep, he just wanted her to leave. This wasn’t him; he could do a one-night stand okay, but completely without passion? Why was she throwing herself at him if she wasn’t attracted to him? Was it a rebound thing? He knew there were rumours that she was seeing Leo DeCaprio, but he assumed that was over by the way she acted last night. 

He started laughing to himself. So what if it was an awkward experience, so what if he didn’t perform at his best, he had just had sex with Jordan fucking Callister! He picked up his phone to call Trace.