Over the last week, David had thought better of the plan because he knew that it took weeks to wear off. Girls tended to slather the stuff all over their bodies. He just imagined this happening to Pam or Tracy and what they would do to him. It might be an epic prank, but it would only escalate the war.
With the revised plan, the foursome would be able to be seen in public.
“That might get us in trouble,” Alex worried.
“Beating the crap out of them could get us thrown in jail,” David shot back.
“I still like the Lexi option,” Alex said.
“Do you want to owe her a favor?” David asked.
“Who’s Lexi?” Jamie asked.
“She’s David’s PA. In high school, she was the queen of the mean girls, and she knows Veronica and her group. I’ve never been in her direct line of fire but have been splattered by her fallout. I would never want her mad at me,” Alex said to enlighten them.
“She’s changed,” David said.
Alex barked out a laugh.
“Yeah, right.”
“No, really. Lexi’s not that bad anymore,” David said.
“Dude. You’re just saying that because you get into her pants,” Alex said.
He caught David’s look.
“Sorry, man, but it’s true.”
“I want to end this, not turn it into an all-out war,” David tried.
“So far, we’ve just been taking it. I say we try David’s plan, and if it doesn’t work, we call in Lexi,” Kirk decided.
“I hate to bring this up, but where’s Lindsey, and why doesn’t her room ever get hit?” David asked to voice his concerns.
“It’s because Veronica’s her roommate, and she wouldn’t do it to herself,” Jamie said to confirm David’s initial assessment.
“They could have pulled other pranks on her,” Kirk pointed out.
“What are you saying? Do you think she’s in on it?” Jamie asked, looking put out at David and Kirk for suggesting it.
“For now, let’s not tell Lindsey about the new plan,” David suggested.
“She’ll want to know what we’re going to do. She won’t buy that we wouldn’t respond to this,” Jamie said reasonably.
“Tell her that David’s calling Lexi,” Alex suggested.
“Yeah, that would work. It would also let us know if Lindsey’s a rat,” Kirk said.
“I honestly hope not,” David said.
Jamie was still frowning.
“I’m not happy we’re not including her, but I’ll let it go for a few days. I’m with David. As much as I hate the thought, I would hate even more to think we have a mole sharing our private stuff with Veronica and her posse. What would she get out of it?” Jamie asked.
“Have you seen their social media?” Alex asked.
David shook his head ‘no.’ He didn’t log onto social media for two reasons. The first was that he considered it a time-waster. The second was that half the time, it pissed him off. Internet trolls loved to tear people down online, and his celebrity made him a target. For the most part, that kind of stuff was kept to a minimum because David didn’t post much. The bulk was handled by his publicist.
Alex brought up Lindsey’s page and handed his phone to David, who flipped through the pictures. This weekend, the townies were on a yacht owned by a man involved with USC. His thoughts turned dark when he saw an older group of men and women partying with USC students. This was LA, and David had gone to parties where there were party hos.
He flipped through more pics, and they all had a theme. It looked like the townies spent all their spare time in clubs or hanging out at fabulous mansions. David started to see how Lindsey could be seduced to the dark side. If the pictures were to be believed, he was actually a little envious that they had the time to go out like that.
“I get it, but something doesn’t make sense to me,” David said as he looked up at the group. “How did all this get started?”
Jamie gave Kirk a meaningful look to add to the mystery.
“I dated Lauren for like two minutes,” Kirk finally said.
David suddenly understood why the girls in high school would get frustrated with him when he gave them partial answers.
“Tell him,” Jamie prodded.
“As I told you, I grew up in a home where my father’s a pastor. Some of that had to rub off,” Kirk said.
David understood. His mother had taken him to church regularly when he was growing up. When he’d gone off to act in his movies, he’d fallen out of the habit. David filed away a mental note that he wanted to get back into it and needed to make time for it. When, he had no idea.
“I was brought up in a strict Catholic household,” Alex shared. “I went a little wild when my dad moved us to the States, and we had more freedom.”
“Lauren wasn’t loose. There were enough women at the parties that she was never pressured. She even suggested that if I wanted to get laid, I should just ask one of them. Lauren assured me that she wouldn’t mind,” Kirk said, looking off into space.
“But you would,” David guessed.
“I would. If I’m with someone for more than a hookup, then I think there should be some exclusivity. The concept was foreign to Lauren; she’d grown up with a different lifestyle. I won’t go into details, but I understand her. I tried to explain my point of view. Lauren accused me of pressuring her and then made some accusations that got out. I reacted badly and called her on it in public.
“Things were said that can never be unsaid. I’m not proud of what happened,” Kirk admitted.
“It might have blown over if Veronica hadn’t gotten involved. Her favorite pastimes are spending money and judging people. The first stunt she pulled was a doozy,” Jamie shared.
“I’d rather forget it,” Kirk said, looking unhappy.
“They need to know what they’re dealing with. What was the exact quote?” Jamie asked. “Oh, I remember. ‘This is an intervention. We’re all here because we’re concerned about you, Kirk. This is a circle of trust, okay? You can talk to us without judgment.’”
Alex rolled his eyes.
“Mine started almost exactly like that. What was yours about?” Alex asked.
“I was mentally abusive to women. Veronica and her band of ... of...” Kirk stammered.
“Asshats ... uh, nitwits, weasels,” David listed off.
Kirk smiled at his effort.
“They staged this intervention at dinner, in the cafeteria, and put the word out to everyone that they were doing it. I was instantly the least favorite person in the dorm,” Kirk shared.
“What was yours for?” David asked Alex.
“My dad was convinced I was an alcoholic.”
“Puh-lease,” Jamie said as she threw her hands up in disgust. “You’re in college. Everyone drinks.”
“I was twelve,” Alex admitted.
This was why David’s parents got migraines. For fuck’s sake ... twelve?!? He had five little monsters to run him through the wringer.
“When I was twelve, my dad wasn’t too sure about me, either,” Kirk said with a smirk. “Believe it or not, I was banned from talking during church.”
“This is funny,” Jamie chimed in.
“We had a pretty big church. On any given Sunday, we could have upwards of fifteen hundred people. My problem was that I was terrified of talking in front of large groups,” Kirk acknowledged.
“I would have died if I had to do that when I was twelve,” Alex agreed.
“My dad knew it too, but he felt that if I did it enough, I would get comfortable and maybe someday follow in his footsteps. This particular Sunday, I woke up with a giant zit right between my eyes. Think back to how self-conscious you were at twelve,” Kirk said.
David had to agree that even he would’ve been mortified, especially if his dad made him talk to that many people looking like someone with a third eye.