#p:thesleepover

[jglwrites-blog]

The Sleepover (03)

The seconds of shock that illuminated Mary Elizabeth's face only served to worry Joseph. What if she thought the flowers were cheesy? What if she didn't like the gesture? Yes it was grand but Joe thought that since it was only flowers he could be grand. However at seeing her smile Joe was able to give a sigh of relief, she liked them. "I had to make up for the years somehow" he grinned watching as she delicatey played with one of the roses. Seeing the happiness on her face was honestly the best sight he had seen in ages. Especially knowing the fact it was because of him that she was happy. It proved to him that he could do better and still could get to her a little, he knew how ticked and it made him happy to see her in such a state.

Leaning over he gently pressed his lips to her cheek before giving her a grin "I hoped you'd like them and not think I was super creepy". Taking a step back he cleared his throat once more, forcing his probably too happy smile down as he ran a hand through the dark hair on the back of his head "Are you hungry?" he asked, tilting his head to the side, I have food. I got food before you arrived in case you were hungry, so I wasn't a bad host" biting his lower lip he took advantage of her silence to intently look her over once again. He wasn't really checking her out, it wasn't that because Joe was perfectly aware of how sexy she was, it was more taking in her beauty for the fact he was there.

Joe was never sure if he would ever be able to say that Mary Elizabeth Winstead was standing in his living room ever again. Their break up had been so sudden and they had been so distant as of late that Joe was never sure if they could recover. He had messed up and this was his second chance, maybe if he played his cards right. Mary Elizabeth was a rare type. She was not your normal girl, her talent blossomed from eeverything she did whether it was walking into the room or acting on the big screen. Yet she also was not your average actress. She was not haughty, nor did she demand a lot. Mary Elizabeth was not flashy nor did she bother with common luxuries like expensive makeup and excessive clothing. She was still the same girl he had met all those years ago who preferred flats and wearing her hair in a bun.

More actresses should take cues from Mary Elizabeth, that's how Joe felt. She cared less about herself and more about her roles. Though painful, Joe had watched Smashed hundreds of times intently zeroing in on her acting. She was a fantastic actress who bled the role she was given and that was why so long ago Joe felt the need to help her with her roles. If the people in Hollywood weren't so blinded by mediocre bimbos they would see the raw talent of his love. He was her biggest fan and not just because he was completely infatuated by her, but because she was such a great actress. The kind of actress he yearned to direct.

"I don't know if I said this already, but you look beautiful" he told her absentmindedly, his cheeks turning a light shade of blush. "You always look beautiful, but I think I prefer this look to that of the red carpet, truly". Before she could respond Joe had turned and left the living room, afraid she would scold him for saying such things, walking into the kitchen to prepare them plates. "We can eat outside in the gazebo, I have a table out there and the weather's nice". As he strated placing the food on the plates Joe paused and looked up at Mary Elizabeth in his doorway "Not turning vegetarian on me, are you?" he asked with a playful smirk, teasing, "If you are I do have bird food for you, always make sure I'm prepared".

[jglwrites-blog]

The Sleepover (02)

The moment she was in his doorway Joe barely had any time to process Mary Elizabeth before her arms were around him, sucking him in once more. The physical contact lasted no longer than two seconds tops and yet she had him hook, line, and sinker barely inside his front door. She was radiant, his front room glowing simply by her standing there, and his house felt like a home. Joe was very disconnected from houses, he was not one of those people who felt like his house was a home, to him a house was simply a shell to protect from the elements. Even his childhood residence had no emotional attachment and there were no heartstrings pulled when he sold one place to move to another. The house he was in right now, the apartment he spent the majority of his time in the city, and hotel rooms all felt the same. Mary Elizabeth had this gift to change the atmosphere and suddenly the shell no longer felt like a shell but a place where he belonged, she belonged, they belonged together.

For a moment they stood just staring at each other, taking each other in. Joseph didn't even have a sly comment as he felt her eyes search every inch of his body because his were doing the same to her. Sure he had seen her in the past ten years, quite a few times, yet it was different to see her now in normal clothes compared to gala gowns and excessive Hollywood-esque attire. He could see that she hadn't changed in height, still just an inch shorter than he, because he was still able to look right into her eyes without having to move a muscle. She had thinned out again, reminding him of the tiny ballerina that she was during their first meeting, and Joe wondered if it was for a role. She was so different than any other actress, or woman for that matter, he had ever had the pleasure of knowing. Unlike the others her porcelain skin barely held a scar or blemish and he recognized her far better in this state with barely any makeup than when she was all dolled up on the carpet. His Mary Elizabeth frowned upon excessive use of makeup, quite the opposite of the last few ladies he had worked with barely recognizing Zooey or Scarlett without ten pounds of makeup.

Joe could read her body language, processing that she seemed nervous as she tucked a thumb into the waistband over her jeans, tugging on them. He however forgot about her nerves as she absentmindedly flashed a hipbone causing his mind to get lost in the aching pain of wanting to reach out and touch, as he had many times before, and knowing it was not his place. Just like that she had his mind swirling and his heart racing, the overall appearance of doll like innocence figuratively bringing him to his knees in heartache. When he became aware of his staring Joseph cleared his throat as she began to ask about the house. Smirking slightly Joe looked down, shrugging idly, he couldn't give a straight answer. The real one was as soon as his manager had told him she was living in this town he had bolted to find a place of impressive stature, remodeling a home to fit his taste, in hopes that one day he would accidentally bump into her at the grocer. "About a year and a half" he told her, "I needed a place outside of the city and LA, Matthew Gubler suggested this place" okay that was a lie, but he doubted she'd actually look into that one. "I was surprised to find out you lived here too, weird coincidence". Oh he was so bad at this but it was a desperate attempt to save some sort of face.

"Let me show you around" Joe interrupted, hoping to get off the topic of why and how he had moved here, instead taking the lead of usher and explaining to her the various rooms and their uses. He knew she could care less about his editing studio, or his formal office space, but he couldn't stop talking in fear she'd excuse herself early from finding him boring. Goose bumps marred his arms and pulling down the sleeves of his shirt Joseph knew he had to find some sort of way to get himself to calm down every time she came within four inches of him or else the evening would end in her wondering what had happened to the cool and confident man she had once known. After the upstairs was completely toured he led her back down into his backyard, showing off his pool and gazebo, before leading her through the kitchen and finally into the living room. As they entered he remembered the thousands of flowers covering the room and he nearly had a stroke as she walked in anyway. "Uh..." he et out a nervous laugh a hand moving through his dark hair, "You were complaining about the red roses earlier, so I figured I'd get you enough flowers to make up for all my past faux pas" smooth, very smooth, he mentally patted himself on the back for being able to make up an excuse on the spot.

[jglwrites-blog]

The Sleepover (01)

Joseph wasn't quite sure why he invited Mary Elizabeth over in the first place. It the same mistake he made countless times before. Just as he was possibly ready to let her go he put himself in a position where it was impossible. It wasn't any fault of her own, no instead Mary Elizabeth was quite innocent to the whole ordeal, it was a mental thing. He would see her at some premiere, some party, or invite her over himself and they would begin to talk. It never moved past talking, maybe a hug if he was lucky, yet afterwards he would fall into a small depression of sorts. His mood would be sour for days after she left, a dark cloud hanging solemnly over his head as he pondered about the mistakes of his youth. He was twenty four when he lost Mary Elizabeth, barely an adult, and ten years later he still regretted everything he had ever done.

In Joseph's defense he was trying to be helpful. He had not realized how much his comments affected her. A casual "I can get you a role" was something he meant, he didn't like seeing her struggle with tiny roles that she barely liked, yet to her it was a shot at her talents. Joseph saw so much in her. He saw a world class actress, one that would win countless awards, and be remembered far after she retired yet she just needed a breakout role. At twenty four he was more than willing to get her that breakout role, he knew directors an he could sweet talk his way into getting her the perfect role. Joseph was established and on his word he knew a director would be more willing to take a chance on a practically unknown. Mary Elizabeth had wanted none of that, instead determined to do it on her own will. Ultimately it was what drove them apart. His asinine desire to help had really done the opposite and he paid the price for the ego trip.

That was ten years ago and now fifteen years after Joseph Gordon-Levitt had met Mary Elizabeth Winstead backstage at a Broadway show he was still sweating bullets getting ready for her to arrive. His mind told him to relax, his chest would not allow it as he barked commands at his housekeeper to phone in some favors for him and have a florist over with as many yellow roses as they could bring, he'd buy out their entire supply and pay top dollar and more if they would get to the house within the hour. Then it was demands to have food arrive because he was too nervous to cook dinner right now. His staff knew this was not like him, normally even tempered and kind with his words, it was his nerves pushing him to the brink of madness. It was when the flowers arrived that Joseph realized how big of a mistake he had made, he figured that their entire stock (it was only a local florist shop the size of his garage maybe) would be a few dozen, instead he was left with a few hundred, possibly thousands, yellow roses. Mary Elizabeth would think he tried too hard, but maybe he could get it to work in his favor his time was running out and he had no time to find homes for flowers that would be sufficient for twenty weddings.

After pouring thanks on everyone in his household he sent them all home; his personal assistant, the housekeeper, the cook, the man tending to his pool, and even all the security his manager required to perimeter the house at all times. He wanted no one there to ruin his evening and now his house was silent. Mary Elizabeth hadn't been to this home before, she had only been to his various apartments in the city and the small house he had in Los Angeles. He wasn't a man of many luxuries, feeling it was wrong for him to have so much while others had so little, yet this was one of his few luxuries. It wasn't a huge house, not by any means, but it seemed grand in comparison to the one man living there. Marble floors, a resort sized swimming pool, and the most modern of amenities incorporated under one room, he prayed she didn't think he had become a snob over the last decade. It was just a house, no reflection of character, and it so happened to be his residence in the same town she kept residence in. Some would call the coincidence creepy, Joseph preferred to think it as romantic.

Did he have time to shower? No probably not, she was to be here any minute. So his last few moments of insanity Joseph spent brushing his teeth and changing his shirt (she had told him once she liked him in blue) and putting on some fresh cologne. Yes he probably seemed like he was trying way too hard in retrospect but he couldn't help himself, she was the one who got away and Joseph needed to do anything in his power to at least impress her slightly. Just as he was debating if he should put on shoes or not the intercom sounded with the gatekeeper signaling that "Miss Winstead is on her way up the drive" causing Joseph to nearly die on the spot. Swallowing all fears and forcing himself to calm down he paced slowly, shaking himself so he could appear calm and collected for Mary Elizabeth. Yet the moment the doorbell rang he could feel all his confidence wash away, his acting skills would really have to come in handy this evening. "You can do this" he whispered to himself rolling his shoulders once more and opening the front door. The perfect hollywood grin was effortless the moment his eyes fell on the lanky beauty on his stoop "And to think I was starting you were going to stand me up".