I am Hollywood

Chapter 12: You're Really Shameless



[Chapter 12: You're Really Shameless]

"Eric, do you think I should... should I lose some weight?" Aniston, sitting in the passenger seat, blushed slightly as she faced the window, seemingly contemplating the stream of cars passing by. She casually tossed the question out there.

Eric pursed his lips and gathered his thoughts before responding, "Jenny, in my eyes, you'll always be the most beautiful no matter what. But if you want to make it bigger in Hollywood, you should at least aim for around 100 pounds."

"Hmph! You're such a two-faced jerk! You couldn't help but say it, could you? You think I'm fat!" Aniston huffed lightly, her tone lacking real anger and instead carrying a hint of playfulness.

Eric felt speechless -- she was the one who asked, after all.

"Alright, I apologize. To make it up to you, how about we grab some Italian food?" he offered.

Aniston hesitated for a moment and then softly suggested, "Why don't we just go to my place? I just learned a couple of new dishes, and you can help me taste them."

Without a second thought, Eric replied, "I'd be honored!"

...

This was his first visit to Aniston's cozy little apartment, a charming one-bedroom adorned with warm decor and stuffed animals that made the space feel welcoming, filled with the subtle fragrance unique to a girl's place. Eric intended to help out, but Aniston shooed him out of the kitchen, leaving him to idly flip through her fashion magazines in the living room.

An hour later, Aniston emerged with the last pot of soup, placing it on the dining table and proudly clapping her hands. "So, what do you think?"

Eric sniffed the air and praised, "It's fantastic! It smells so good; I can't wait to dig in!" "Hey, thanks, Eric!"

They skipped the formalities and settled down to enjoy the meal. Eric had to admit, Aniston really had a knack for cooking. Midway through, she suddenly stood up and said, "Oh, Eric, I saw something about you when I went downstairs to buy some spices. Let me show you!"

Excitedly, Aniston stood up, retrieved a newspaper from her carry bag, and returned to the table, spreading it out in front of her.

Eric was just curious about what Aniston was doing with the newspaper when she began reading with a hint of self-satisfaction. "Eric Williams in Jurassic Park creatively showcased a highly operational concept for reviving dinosaurs based on genetic engineering and embryonic theories. Through the hand of Dr. Hammond, a shocking Jurassic dinosaur park was established on Isla Nublar. However, this is just the beginning. The arrival of chaos theorist Malcolm brings us into another realm of possibilities..."

Once she reached that part, Aniston skipped over much of the review, jumping straight to the end: "Even more surprisingly, the author of the novel, Mr. Eric Williams, is only eighteen years old this year. According to our sources, this genius boy has had quite a troubled background..."

Eric barely suppressed the urge to cover his face. No doubt, the next part was the great American dream, of course, he had added a classic segment from reality TV that involved the strongest sob story. He pulled the newspaper from in front of Aniston and said, "Alright, Jenny, that's enough."

Aniston frowned and waved her tiny hands, trying to reclaim the newspaper. "Hey, hey, we're getting to the good part! They're praising you! Wait, why does your face look so strange?" "Actually," Eric crumpled the newspaper into a ball and tossed it into the trash bin beside the table. "If you want to hear it, I can recite it for you."

"Oh," Aniston's mouth dropped open as she glanced at the newspaper in the bin. "So, you've already read it, huh? But I haven't! Eric, you're terrible!"

"It's not like that; actually, I wrote the article."

Aniston was shocked. "Wow!"

Eric felt a bit sheepish. "The novel has been released, and for promotion, publishers usually hire someone to write reviews for the papers. A few days ago, Michael approached me and said no one knows my novel better than I do, so he asked me to write a few reviews to be published. Coincidentally, the article you just saw is one of them."

"Wow!"

Eric shrugged and boldly added, "It's really not a big deal, Jenny. It's just a regular marketing tactic. Everyone does it."

"Eric..."

"Yeah?"

"You're just... so shameless." After saying that, Aniston finally couldn't hold back and burst into laughter, disregarding her image as she sprawled out on the dining table.

As expected, there wasn't any lingering ambiguity. Citing her pure heart being sullied by Eric's shamelessness, Aniston promptly kicked him out of her place after they finished eating. Well, it wasn't entirely a loss for Eric; at his insistence, Aniston shyly planted a quick kiss on his lips before swiftly shutting the door behind her.

...

Three days later, Aniston wrapped up her scenes at school, leaving only a couple of party scenes to shoot, which had to wait until the school filming was complete. So, she temporarily returned to her job at the convenience store.

Meanwhile, Eric noticed that Aniston seemed a bit out of it lately. After he asked, he found out that she had started dieting and her tiredness was due to hunger. Eric advised her not to be so hasty as it could harm her health, but it didn't seem to help.

Additionally, Drew had been giving Eric these lingering looks on set, resembling a hungry little kitten that might pounce on him at any moment; it was a classic scene straight out of a horror film that left Eric feeling unsettled.

Moreover, when Aniston wasn't paying attention, Drew would subtly flirt with him. Although she fancied she was being discreet, had Eric really been an eighteen-year-old boy, he might've been hooked already. Unfortunately, at his core, he was basically an older guy. While older guys might find young girls attractive, Drew didn't look like one regardless of the angle you viewed her from. When Drew mocked Eric's performance on their first shooting day, he simply laughed it off; even if she continued that way, it didn't bother him.

But observing Drew's current demeanor made Eric wish he could ask, "What sort of twist is this, lady? Can we skip to the knife-twist already?"

The day after Aniston left the set, it was time to film.

"Hey, Eric, do you want some water? I can grab you a bottle!" Drew sweetly asked during an/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

break.

Eric instinctively declined, "Ah, no thanks, Drew. I'm not thirsty."

Drew didn't press the issue. She turned and swayed away, only to return shortly after with two bottles of water, tossing one to Eric. "Here, take it."

With no choice, Eric accepted it. Drew sat down on the chair next to him and subtly nudged her seat closer to him, practically leaning against him.

"Uh, Drew, maybe we need to talk," Eric said, wanting to know what was going on. "You know

I have a girlfriend." Actually, these words were merely an excuse for Eric; the main reason was

Drew's age and her chaotic lifestyle did nothing to pique his interest.

"It's simple -- I like you!" Drew leaned in close and declared.

Eric sprayed water from his mouth at the surprising directness of her confession.

"But I... but I..." If he said he felt nothing upon being confessed to by a beautiful girl, that would have been overly dramatic. Eric found himself at a loss for words.

Now that the cat was out of the bag, Drew felt free to lay it all on the line. With Aniston gone from the set, Drew could boldly make her move.

Directly pressing her soft body against Eric, she rubbed her gentle curves against his arm.

Drew whispered, "Eric, can I be your girlfriend? Actually, I've only had one boyfriend before,

and it wasn't as... terrible as everyone says."

"Drew, don't do this," Eric was trying to figure out a way to turn her down when suddenly, the melodious voice of Penny Marshall interjected, "Hey, you two little ones, stop with the flirting! Get ready for the next scene!"

Eric quickly responded and pulled away from Drew, heading towards the filming area. Watching him go, Drew's flirtatious demeanor evaporated, replaced with a subtle bitterness on her face. "Aniston, just you wait. I'll make you watch me take away the one thing you cherish most. Call me a pity case, and we'll see who ends up being the real pity case."

*****

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