This is essentially a modern day fairy tale. It is necessary to forget everything you know, everything you think you know, and believe that anything can happen in the land called Hollywood.

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Their bedroom was probably the largest in the house; the carpet a deep royal blue that swallowed each of Annah's steps, with one small window covered in drapes an even darker blue than the carpet. The bed was low to the ground, a California king with a sled style frame, the Oriental Print of the comforter matching the decor of the room perfectly. There was a door to the left, which Annah assumed was the bathroom, but when she walked in it looked like she could fit another bed in there.

There was a walk in closet to the immediate right in the bathroom, filled with clothes and shoes that belonged to Jordan and Rivers. Walking further into the bathroom were a Jacuzzi style bathtub, and a marble tiled shower, with six adjustable heads lining the shower from top to bottom . It was ridiculously opulent, and it seemed to be the one room that was truly so, but Annah decided that if she ever had that much money she would want a bathroom exactly like it.

Rivers joined the taller woman in the bathroom, and put her arm around her waist.

"You're looking like you've never seen this place in your life, Jordan. What's wrong with you?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, Rivers. I think I'd like to have a shower, if you don't mind."

"Can I join you," the smaller woman snuggled in closer to Annah, and there was no question as to her intentions.

"If you don't mind, I think I'll go solo this time around."

Annah could see the small hint of hurt in the blonde's face, but she couldn't bring herself to make that much of a sacrifice on Jordan's behalf, no matter how much she despised having to see the painful emotions that Rivers had obviously been going through.

After being left alone, with the shower jets pulsing over her very tired and stiff limbs, Annah decided that after the shower she was going to have to leave. It was getting way beyond complicated to be Jordan Allen, and she was reluctant to hurt Rivers any more than Jordan probably already had. It had been simple to become someone else, if only for the day, and while she knew that leaving and going back to her old life was the right thing to do, she didn't have to exactly like it.

When she came out of the bathroom she wrapped a plush towel around her large frame, as her clothes had been carted off by Rivers and put in the hamper.

"Do I have some sweats or something?"

Rivers lay in the bed; the covers pulled up to her chin, and pointed towards a set of drawers against the wall.

"In the bottom drawer. There should be some T-shirts in the top one. Since when do you wear anything to bed?"

"Since tonight. Listen, I have something to tell you Rivers," Annah began as she dropped the towel and began dressing. She had never been modest about her body, and while she had lost about 25 pounds by being out on the street, and was a lot thinner than she wished, she was sure that Rivers would notice that there was a big difference between her and Jordan.

There was a gasp from the bed as Annah disrobed, and blue eyes met darkened green. Annah knew that look, and for a moment she even thought about how nice it would be, to have someone to share that part of herself with, someone to hold, even if just for the night.

She sat on the edge of the bed, and held Rivers stare with her own.

" I can't stay," she began, but before she could finish, Rivers lowered the blanket that had been covering her body.

She was wearing aqua panties, cut high on her hip, with a matching bra that perfectly showcased her attributes. Annah noted the small mole, on the left side of her rib cage, and could imagine running her fingers across it, then sliding further down the perfect abs, to the small roundness of Rivers' hips.

"Don't leave me again, not when I need you," Rivers said softly, and as much as Annah's instincts told her to move, to get off of the bed and get out of the house, she once again met the verdant eyes, and could not refuse her.

Annah climbed further onto the bed, so that her body was lying along Rivers'.

"Can I just hold you, please? We don't have to do anything, I just want to feel you against me."

Rivers seemed pleased by Jordan's attitude, for cuddling was something that Jordan never wanted to do. The taller woman was often content to lay back and receive pleasure, often falling asleep before reciprocation, and Rivers was left feeling used and angry. It was part of their relationship that she had dealt with for almost six months, and despite how often she thought of leaving, she could not bring herself to do it. By staying as long as she had, she was left feeling anxious, like she was waiting for something that was never going to happen. She knew it, and Jordan knew it, it remained a question of who was going to leave for good, first.

Meeting Jordan at a party given by a mutual friend, she was immediately struck by the confidence and cockiness that the taller woman displayed. They talked well into the night, and after offering to see Rivers home, they found themselves back at Jordan's place, and that was it.

Things had gone well for about three months. Jordan was content to have Rivers around, and often said how comfortable the smaller woman made her feel. It wasn't long after that the long nights out started, and then the social drinking turned into a constant thing, and soon Jordan wasn't bothering to come home at all. Rivers kept busy, her career as an entertainment lawyer taking off and making her forget about some of the things that were going on at home, but it just kept getting worse. This latest episode, with Jordan being gone three days, and coming back looking thin and tired, only served to add to the long list of reasons why she and Jordan should no longer be together. What made it even worse was seeing a lot of these indiscretions in the tabloids and on the television. As much as Jordan told her not to believe everything she read, pictures were another story.

But there was something about the way Jordan held her on this night, like she was as special as the taller woman had once made her feel, that made her think that perhaps things would be all right, that in some way they could get better. It made her think that they could be close again, and that maybe the love that Rivers thought they once shared, wasn't so long gone.

***************************************************************

The buzz of an alarm clock brought Annah's senses fully on alert. Being on the streets meant you often had to find sleep wherever you could get it, and that meant keeping aware of all of your surroundings. She noted that the clean scent of the warm body in front of her was more than just a little soothing, and that Rivers' deep rhythmic breathing was enough to make her want to fall back to sleep. She knew that she hadn't had that good a rest in over 6 months, so she reached over and shut off the alarm, praying that one Jordan Allen wouldn't decide to show up and catch her in bed with her right arm curled protectively over her woman.

Hours later, Rivers asked, "You going to stay in bed all day, or what?"

The warm breath against the back of her neck tickled, and Annah found herself giggling, which was something she hadn't done since she was a little girl.

Growing up in Southern California was simple enough. She had two parents that loved her. Greek immigrants who struggled to make a better life for themselves than in their home country, and who had made every effort to give Annah the best that they were capable of. She went to private school right through high school, and while she never exactly had the finest clothes, or the best car (how she loved her old beat up '67 Mustang), she never felt that her life was lacking in any way. Her parents instilled a strong sense of pride, and self-respect, and Annah carried that with her everyday.

It was on the day of her high school graduation that her life took a tragic turn, and in some ways she had never recovered. While driving to see their only child receive her high school diploma, something that neither Ari, nor Athathanasia had ever achieved, their car was hit head on by a delivery truck. Neither of them survived. While it seemed so cliché, the only child left to fend for herself after the death of her beloved parents in a car accident, that was exactly the way it happened. There were no relatives alive to care for her, and Annah wasn't exactly going to use what money she did have to go to Greece to find some long lost cousins. She was truly alone.

Annah had never even applied to go to college, figuring she could work for a while and then go to school, and with her parents death, that plan was forced into action. The house she had grown up in was not paid off, so she was forced to move in with friends. Annah had no savings and couldn't collect on the small amount of insurance money until she turned 21, so she took whatever odd jobs she could find in order to survive. It had worked for her, and she had eventually been able to afford her own place.

Now 10 years later it looked like she was back to square one again. She had often wondered over the years how the gods that her parents used to tell her about allowed so much tragedy to befall one person, but as her mother used to tell her, "It's part of being Greek Annah, your life has to have drama."

"What's so wrong with staying in bed all day?" she wondered out loud, and was met with a playful smack to her bottom.

"Well, if you remember correctly, we have to go to that premiere in a few hours."

Annah sat up, and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, "Premiere?" she managed to croak out.

"Yes, premiere. Barry is sending a car for us in two hours, and since I know that it takes you forever to get ready, I figured I'd better wake you up."

"I can't go to any premiere," Annah began, thinking of ways she could escape when Rivers was otherwise occupied.

"What do you mean you can't go to any premiere? This has been planned for weeks, Jordan, you have to go. You know Johnson told you it was good to get out and start promoting your new movie. Since when are you not Miss show off?" Rivers teased.

"Since now? I feel like a new woman, Rivers, and I really don't think it's a good idea for us to go."

Rivers sobered, her face hardened, "Is it me? Do you not want to go with me?"

Annah grabbed Rivers hand, "Jesus! Rivers it isn't you! I should be thankful to have you on my arm anywhere I go, but I just don't think I can do this. Not today."

"Jordan, I just don't think you have much of a choice. With Barry and Johnson double teaming you, you have to go."

'Damn,' Annah thought, 'Will the real Jordan just please come home, it would be so much easier to have to explain all of this than to have to go to some stupid premiere. Maybe I can just sneak out when she isn't looking, but how in the hell am I going to get down this hill? She'd catch up with me before I got to the bottom.'

"Stop looking like you're going to hurl all over the bed, baby. You're a pro at this, remember? I don't think I've ever seen you look so scared," Rivers soothed, stroking Annah's freshly dyed and cut bangs back from her forehead.

"What am I supposed to wear?"

After settling on a dark blue Armani suit, which seemed to hang off of Annah's lanky frame, she and Rivers were picked up by Milo and driven towards Grauman's Chinese Theater. The place wasn't far from where Annah had been strolling when she initially found herself dragged into living someone else's life.

She couldn't help but wonder where the real Jordan was, and when she was going to come back and reclaim what was hers. Just the thought made her want to vomit. She rolled down the window just in case it came down to that.

The traffic was closed off to the general public, but that didn't mean that the streets weren't still filled with pedestrians trying to catch a glimpse of their favorite film and music stars. Limos were backed up for three blocks as the rich and famous strolled up the infamous red carpet and waved to the gathered crowd, as well as taking the time to pose for the assorted paparazzi.

"Damn, this is going to take all night to get through," Rivers complained.

"Let's walk," Annah offered, thinking the solution was simple enough.

" In this dress?" Rivers looked at Annah incredulously, her palm against her Versace clad bosom.

" Really Rivers, come on, let's walk. It will take a hell of a lot less time, and I don't just want to sit here and wait."

"Are you sick or something?" Rivers asked, feeling Annah's forehead for fever.

"No, I feel fine. I'll feel even better once I get out of this car."

After alerting Milo to their intentions, Annah opened the door of the limo and stepped out into the cool night. She reached out her hand for Rivers to climb out and they both began weaving through the line of waiting cars.

"Jordan, over here," a fan shouted, and at once cameras began flashing and a throng of people instantly became aware of the taller woman as she came walking through.

Annah figured that Jordan might be polite and smile or wave, but it wouldn't have been a smart idea to stop and try to mingle. She was increasingly aware that the crowd could easily come in on them and they'd be trapped. She knew she'd be able to get out, but it was Rivers' panicked look that made her think twice.

She increased the speed of her gait, and pulled Rivers along with her, until they were in front of the large theater that was a Hollywood landmark. She remembered all of the lonely nights she had stood in front of the structure and wished her life was as charmed as what she assumed the Hollywood elite's to be.

"There's Brooke," Rivers said, a little louder so as to be heard over the hoopla, and she steered the taller woman in that direction.

Before Annah could ask "Who?" she found a mic shoved in her face, and the lights of a television camera making her squint at the harsh brightness.

"Hi, Jordan, can we ask you a few questions before you go in?"

" Do I have a choice," Annah asked, and Brooke laughed, smacking her on the shoulder in a playful manner.

" Oh, you're always such a kidder. What are you and Rivers wearing tonight?"

Annah tried not to panic, thinking that she knew nothing of designers and where she got the clothes, only what Rivers had handed her the suit and said, "Wear the Armani." She decided to play it safe and with a grin turned towards Rivers, "Honey, why don't you tell Brooke what we're wearing?"

Rivers, shocked that Jordan would even suggest such a thing, recovered quickly and filled the interviewer in. Annah took the time to look around and noticed some of the stars she had seen on Hollywood billboards, and in movies, when she actually could afford to go to movies. It all seemed so far away, an elusive half dream that Annah still had trouble believing.

"So Jordan, tell us about your new film?"

Annah realized it was do or die, this would be her first big moment as Jordan, and she couldn't screw it up.

"We start filming in a week," she began confidently, hoping that her smile and demeanor didn't reflect how truly terrified she was. "I've gone for fittings, and met with the director. Things are coming along nicely. I'm very excited."

"Someone just told me that you two walked here?" Brooke asked, as she smiled. Annah noted that someone could have taken ad space on her large and very white teeth.

"No, well, we walked a bit of the ways because I thought it was silly to just sit there and wait. I know Rivers is going to kill me later because of the shoes she's wearing, but we'll live. There are people out there with more serious problems than having to walk half a block to a Hollywood premiere."

Brooke's smile faltered and for a moment Annah believed the brunette might be sick, what with someone giving her an answer that wasn't part of the Hollywood norm. No one talked about unpleasant things, except when presenting or winning at Awards shows. Everyone knew that.

"See you later Brooke," Rivers said, and dragged Annah towards the entrance of the theater.

"What in the hell was that all about?" Rivers whispered through her teeth, so that it would appear to anyone watching that she was smiling. If it was one thing that she knew Jordan hated, it was making a scene in front of reporters. Rivers had been told plenty of times never to cross that line with Jordan, and it was something that she always kept in mind when dealing with the actress.

"What do you mean?" Annah asked.

"Jordan, I have never seen you give an interview like that before. Since when do you care about anyone else's problems but your own?"

"How would you say my typical interviews go?"

" Well, you act like a cocky bitch and talk about yourself, and then I sort of get pushed to the side while you flirt with Brooke or whoever else you're talking to."

"Why are you with me?" Annah asked, meeting the smaller woman's eyes, the question out before she could stop herself. For the life of her, she could not understand what Rivers saw in Jordan, or why she would stay with someone who obviously had very little respect for her.

There was a certain amount of uncertainty in Rivers' expression, as though she wanted to say something, but was holding back.

"Now isn't the time to talk about this Jordan," Rivers said as she looked away.

"We should you know, talk about this," Annah said, taking the blondes hand in hers. A part of her wanted Rivers to be happy, and if that meant being with Jordan, than so be it. She certainly had nothing to offer the attorney, and it seemed as though Rivers genuinely cared for Jordan, though she didn't quite understand why.

"Let's go inside," Rivers said, and walked away, leaving Annah standing alone.

After the film, which Annah thought was boring, she and Rivers left quickly through the lobby.

"Jordan, Jordan!"

Rivers stopped the taller woman by pulling on her hand, and turned to face whoever it was that had called out to her.

Annah was sure she should know the woman, if only because of the way she smiled as she sauntered over to the couple, her red hair full of curls, and the way that Rivers stiffened and held onto Annah's hand tighter.

"I was hoping I'd get a chance to talk to you two. Hello Rivers."

Rivers nodded, a smile barely on her lips.

"You're coming to the party aren't you?" the redhead asked, the words dripping from her glistening lips.

Annah looked towards Rivers and the smaller woman looked away, obviously leaving it up to Annah to decide what to say.

"I'm sorry, but we're both really tired, and I think we need to just go home and relax."

The redhead looked shocked, but recovered quickly and pasted her smile back on.

"Jordan Allen home before 11? Someone better tell the papers," she said a little too sarcastically for Annah's tastes. She wondered what part of the puzzle of Jordan's life she fit into. On instinct alone, Annah knew that she did not like this woman, and was anxious to get away from her.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll handle all of that Gina." Rivers said cooly before she turned on her heels and pulled Annah out of the theater with her.

They found Milo easily, and were on their way home when the uncomfortable silence got to be too much for Annah to take.

"Are you going to talk to me?" Annah asked, and she noticed that Rivers had been staring out of the darkened window so as to avoid looking at her.

"What should we talk about?"

"Whatever is bothering you, for a start."

Rivers sighed, "I just keep wondering how many times I'm supposed to be faced with your indiscretions and keep my cool about it."

Gina. The way Rivers reacted, the coolness towards the both of us as soon as she spoke to me. The way she held onto my hand. Jordan slept with her, and Rivers knew about it; and stayed.

"I'm sorry," Annah offered, though the words sounded lame to her own ears.

"How many times have I heard this from you? How many more will I hear from you? Who were you with before you came back this last time?" Rivers turned towards Annah, and the tears made a slow path down her cheeks.

" I don't know what to tell you Rivers. All I can say is that there are some answers that I just don't have, and maybe there are some that you don't necessarily want."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Rivers asked, anger and hurt warring for dominance.

"I don't think anything is going to make you feel better, to be honest."

Rivers turned away and continued to stare out of the window, the fight gone out of her for the time being. The silence filling the car made Annah deperately wish for the simpleness of her life a few days prior.

Annah walked into the house and removed her jacket, then went straight to the bedroom and began taking the rest of her clothes off. She turned on the shower jets and quickly rinsed her body, the tension making her neck ache.

She wondered where the hell Jordan was, and what she was doing, and when the hell she was coming back. By her count, she had been gone for four days, and even though this was obviously part of her regular routine, it made Annah wonder when the shit was really going to hit the fan.

After toweling off, she wandered back into the bedroom to find Rivers packing a large black suitcase.

Annah walked over to her and grabbed the bundle of clothes that Rivers was about to place in the suitcase.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm taking back my life, Jordan. I've had enough, finally I have had enough. I can't let you keep doing the things that you've done and stay in this relationship. It was fun, and I admit that the fame factor might have kept me in it a lot longer than I should have, but this is it. You aren't going to change, and I want a wife and maybe eventually even a few kids. That isn't a part of your plan Jordan, and I guess I just needed to wake up and deal with it instead of being a desperate little wench who'll put up with anything you throw my way."

Annah looked at Rivers and had to stop herself from smiling. It was the first time that Rivers had actually stood up for herself, and Annah wanted to congratulate her. However, Jordan had to react, and Annah struggled with what she wanted to convey.

"Maybe this is for the best then, Rivers. Maybe we do need the time apart."

" How did I know you'd say that?" Rivers said, as she continued gathering more clothes.

" It really is all I can say. But I have a condition," Annah said, taking a seat on the bed. She noticed that Rivers looked down at her legs, eyeing the expanse of skin on display. As much as she hated to admit it, her heart began to beat a lot faster, physical sensations she hadn't felt in a long time suddenly resurging and screaming at her to handle her business.

"You really are in no position to offer conditions, but let's hear it." Rivers stood with her hands on her hips, and even though she was glaring at Annah, she looked as beautiful as ever.

"Stay here, I'll leave. I don't want to have to wonder where you are, or if you're ok. At least if you're here, I'll feel better. Please, do this for me," Annah looked up at a still standing Rivers and grabbed her hand and pressed it to her lips.

"This is your house Jordan, it was yours before I was in the picture. I don't want to be constantly reminded of you, especially when it is most important that I forget."

"No Rivers, I insist that you do. Where else do you have to go at this time of night?"

Annah could see that Rivers was considering it, and she knew that this would be her chance to get out of the mess that was Jordan's life.

"Where are you going to stay?"

"I don't know," Annah said, as she quickly thought about the few places she'd have to squat for the night.

" I'm only agreeing to it because I know that you have plenty of people that will offer you a bed for a few days. It shouldn't take me too long to get an apartment and I'll be gone, but I have a condition too," the blonde stated.

Annah nodded her head for Rivers to continue.

"Stay here tonight. It is way too late for you to go out, and I'd feel better if you did."

Annah knew that one more night in a real bed was going to do wonders for her body, and so she said simply and without hesitation, " I will."

To be continued...