Free Mr. Hollywood (Celebrity #1) by Lacey Weatherford

a
comfortable position. The medication Aubrey had given me earlier was helping a
lot with the tremors, but I still felt jittery and out of sorts about
everything.
    My encounter with Aubrey hadn ’ t helped my nerves any. I knew she ’ d be angry with me — hell, I was angry with me — but I hadn ’ t expected her to be quite so
bitter about it or willing to shut me out of her life completely.
    Now that I ’ d seen her again, I was sure of
only one thing. I had to fix things between us somehow. There was no way I
could leave things like they were; only I had no idea of where to even start.
It wasn ’ t like I could make up cheating on
her. There was no way to take that back.
    Dr. Wilson spoke, dragging my attention away from the
situation with Aubrey. “ Before we get started, I just want
you to know that everything you say to me in here is confidential. Nothing will
be shared with anyone else unless you sign off on it. You ’ ll only be asked to sign a release
if something you say during our sessions is pertinent to the rest of your care
and needs to be shared with another physician. Is that good for you? ” Picking up a clipboard and a pen
off his desk, he joined me in the seating area, sitting in the leather chair.
    “ Works
for me. ” I ’ d
do whatever they wanted me to do, just so I could get on with my life.
    “ Great.
So basically, we can talk about anything you ’ d
like. Our focus is to bring to light any underlying issues that may contribute
to your need to use substances. We want to teach you how to handle stress in a
healthier manner, so you don ’ t feel the need to rely on anything
outside of yourself for relief. Does that sound good to you? ”
    I shrugged, still feeling a bit obstinate. I knew what
my triggers were, but I sure didn ’ t plan on sharing all of them. Some things were better
left unsaid. “ Sure. Whatever. ”
    He smiled, in a friendly manner, not patronizingly. “ I get the impression that you don ’ t want to be here. ”
    A wry chuckle escaped me. “ You ’ re
good, Doc. ”
    “ Lester.
My first name is Lester. Feel free to call me that. We want you to feel like
you ’ re part of the family here. ”
    “ Well,
no offense, but it wasn ’ t my idea to come here. I was kind
of forced to do it by the studio who is producing my next picture. ”
    “ And
you feel their assessment of the situation is wrong? ”
    Sighing, I shrugged again. “ I don ’ t
know. I mean, I get that using hardcore drugs isn ’ t
really a great thing, but it ’ s not like I was actively seeking to
get strung out all the time — a lot of the time, yes. But I ’ ve still been working and being
productive, so why does anyone else care if I use drugs or alcohol to party and
take the edge off? As long as I ’ m getting stuff done, shouldn ’ t my private life be just that — private? ”
    “ Is
your private life private? ” Dr. Wilson asked, making some
notes on his clipboard and I was tempted to lean forward and try to read it. “ I ’ m
pretty sure I ’ ve seen your private life plastered
all over the media the last few days. ”
    Damn. “ There is that. ”
    “ Would
you call your recent behavior — speaking specifically of the night
club incident — normal for you? ”
    Scowling, I pondered his question for a moment. “ If you mean am I with a lot of
women, the answer is yes. ”
    He shifted a bit in his chair. “ I ’ m
actually getting a little more personal. Is it common for you to have sex in
public places? ”
    I laughed. “ Well, I ’ ve had lots of sex in public places
where we could ’ ve been caught, but no, I wasn ’ t ever trying to get on camera, if
that ’ s what you mean. It ’ s just kind of exciting to do it
somewhere that someone might see. ”
    “ So
would you say you ’ re seeking the thrill? ”
    “ Sure,
I guess so. ” What did this have to do with
anything?
    He made more notes on his chart.
    “ Is
that bad? ” I asked, feeling nervous about
what