Falling in Love With the Potential Prey

“So, what do you do?” He asked me after about a half hour of small talk, “Obviously you know what I do,” he laughed lightly as I smiled and nodded, “There’s no reason to talk about me.”

His question did catch me off guard because I didn’t want to tell him what I really did. It would probably be a real deal breaker if he knew that I was a gossip columnist, I already knew he preferred to keep his private life private, therefore he probably wouldn’t want a thing to do with someone like me.

“I’m a writer,” I told him, it wasn’t a lie, I was a writer, “I write articles here and there for magazines and such,” I went on, “Nothing too fascinating.” I tried to sound as convincing as possible so that he wouldn’t press me too much about it and I didn’t want to flat out lie to him.

“Ah, so you’re smart too,” he said coolly as I smirked, “That’s great, the world needs more writers to enlighten the minds of the average person,” he took a swig out of his drink, “If I didn’t go on to acting, I probably would have become a writer myself, either that or an English teacher.”

“You made a wise choice,” I told him honestly, “You’re a very talented actor,” he smiled, “However, I don’t doubt that you would have succeeded with whatever you went with.”

He shrugged, “I’m happy with my choice, I’ve always been a movie buff,” he explained to me, “So, it made sense that I went into this direction, I just wasn’t expecting to become…” He pondered for a word.

“Famous?” I finished for him with a laugh which he followed.

“Yeah…famous,” He said finally, “I don’t like to think of myself like that though, but I guess that word is inevitable,” I couldn’t believe he was this modest, “What got you into writing?”

“Nothing specific really,” I answered him truthfully, “I just love being able to escape for awhile, when I write I don’t think about my problems so it’s a great stress reliever,” I took another sip of my drink, “I’m also quite fond of the idea that my words are being read by a stranger and that they’ve meaning,” I began to laugh, “Sorry, that sounded really cliché.”

It was true before I was a gossip columnist I wrote for newspapers and before that I wrote for a publishing company that published short stories into a series of different books.

He smiled at me warmly, “Don’t apologize, that’s a great answer,” I sighed in relief, I didn’t want to sound corny, “I know most women get offended when they’re asked their age but my curiosity is getting the best of me, I’m thirty six, by the way.” That came as some sort of a surprise to me, he looked about to be in his late twenties.

“Nah, I’m not offended,” I replied, “I’m twenty six, you don’t look thirty six,” his smile widened, “I thought you were younger and I’m not saying you’re old either.”

“Thank God, I was about to just quit while I was ahead,” he laughed, “The reason I asked was because you look rather young, I just wanted to make sure you weren’t too young.”

I rolled my eyes playfully, “Oh, please,” I could help but laugh. I couldn’t help but think about the fact that I knew his last girlfriend, Renee Zellweger, was almost twenty years older than I was; that alone was extremely intimidating.

“I wouldn’t be too upset if you didn’t leave me completely alone, asshole,” the voice came from behind Bradley, we both looked at the same time and noticed it was his friend, Zach, “It’s back to my one man wolf-pack.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the Hangover reference, “Sorry, man,” Bradley told him as he placed his arm around his shoulder, “I was just talking to Jewel,” he then looked at me, “This is Zach.”

“Hi,” I said as I smiled politely.

“Is the same Jewel that you met at Starbucks?” Zach asked brightly, Bradley was about to say something but he continued, “The same one that you called like ten times and then complained that she didn’t call you back for three days straight?” My cheeks began to feel very hot, it was flattering though.

“Was that really necessary?” Bradley said to him with a glare as I watched his tan cheeks become bright red, Zach only smiled confidently, he then sighed, “But to answer your question, yes, it’s her,” he shook his head and then looked at me, “Now that he’s completely embarrassed me…”

My smile widened, “Don’t be embarrassed,” I told him sweetly, “It’s flattering and cute,” I watched him as he sighed in relief with a smile on his face, I might as well make him feel better about the situation, Martin would have done the same to me if he had the opening, that’s just what friends do.

“You should have blown him in the bathroom,” Martin told me later that night as we drove back to Los Angeles, it was only a twenty minute drive, I rolled my eyes, “Seriously, that would have been a real night to remember.”

“You know I’m not like that, besides I’m barely getting to know him,” I said to him, “The long conversation that we shared tonight was more than I could ask for,” I switched lanes, “He’s so smart and charming.”

“Gag,” he said as he looked at his phone, I laughed lightly, “So, what did he say when you told him you wrote for OK!?” I remained silent and then he looked at me, “You didn’t tell him?”

I sighed, “Of course not!” I told him as I sighed, “You know very well that he’s one of those that prefers to keep their life private,” I put a lose strand of my blonde hair behind me ear, “I wasn’t about to ruin the night by telling him I was a gossip columnists,” I went on, “I didn’t lie to him though, I told him I was a writer.”

“No, you didn’t lie but you weren’t honest,” he pointed out as I sighed again, it made me feel slight guilt, “If he finds out somehow it’s going to bite you in the ass,” he said confidently, “He’ll probably hate you.”

“Thank you for the moral support,” I exclaimed sarcastically as he laughed, “He won’t find out, I mean, there’s no way for him to find out,” I reassured myself, “If things escalate between the two of us then I’ll tell him eventually, I’ll work it in somehow, just not right now.”

“I just don’t want you to fuck it up because you’re not honest, y’know?” he told me, “I see what you’re saying though, he seems like an easy going guy,” he began looking through his phone again, “I’m sure whenever you decide to tell him that he’ll understand why you waited.”

“Yeah, but things might not even go anywhere,” I said in a monotone, “His last girlfriend is an Academy Award winner, I probably don’t even stand a chance,” I continued, “I can’t compete with that.”

“You’re an idiot,” Martin told me, “You don’t have to compete with her, they’re done, they broke up back in March, there’s no competition,” he boosted my self esteem, “Of course you have a chance, the guy obviously finds you interesting, he wouldn’t have spent an hour and half talking to you if he didn’t.”

“Maybe he’s just nice?” I proposed.

“Maybe you’re just blind,” he laughed as he said this, “You better not underestimate yourself or him about this; you could really be passing up a good guy and not mention the fact that he’s Bradley Cooper.”

“That has nothing to do with anything,” I said honestly, “If he wasn’t famous I’d still find him amazing,” Martin opened his mouth, “And not because he’s gorgeous either.”

“You know me too well,” we laughed together, “Also, if it doesn’t work out and he breaks your heart or something, you can write the most amazing story on him and get paid even more because you have an inside scoop, you’ll win either way.”

I glared at him, “I’m not going to write about him, ever,” I said to him sternly, “That would be the worst thing that I could ever do, whatever happens is going to remain private,” I then stared at him, “I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t take advantage of the situation either.”

“No promises,” my face was cold and then he smiled, “Alright, fine, but seriously, if he fucks you over or something, don’t think I won’t do something to make him look like a complete prick and I’ll make sure that everyone knows about it.”