HELLO BEAUTIFUL

Chapter 15

Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic)

They had traveled to Santo Domingo with Valentino and Renee and the four of them were going to spend a week there. The purpose of the trip had been to find locations for “Hannibal” and aside from that, Vin was interested in making some investments in some resorts all over the coast.

It’s not every day that a famous actor and celebrity like Vin Diesel visited the country, showing real interest. So as a direct consequence, the Government gave him an unexpected welcome reserved until that moment only to high authorities from other countries.

Vin felt a little overwhelmed, but at the end there were many millions on the table, and he was enjoying the unusual attention he was receiving from the Dominican’s authorities endlessly.

The private villas were situated at a distance from the main hotel complex. There were five in total and all of them had their own private swimming pool and small garden.

Vin Diesel’s villa was separated into two big suites, joined by a hallway made of glass. Each suite had two bedrooms with their own bathrooms and a salon connected them. Inside the villa there was a kitchen and another big salon, and the building was surrounded by a big terrace that led to the garden and the swimming-pool area.

Vin had left Mike and Steve in LA for the whole week because the government had assigned a protection detail of eight men, four local bodyguards and four ex-military. They didn’t want Vin Diesel having any kind of trouble during his visit in the country.

Nevertheless, Vin Diesel was still Vin Diesel, and he had spotted her while shopping with Valentino on the first day they had arrived in Santo Domingo. They had left Renee and Luna at the private villa located inside of the big resort, lying under the sun by the swimming pool. When they came out of the shop, Vin saw a girl and, just like that, he decided then and there that he had to fuck her.

Vin spent almost the entire week trying to make her spread her legs for him, letting Luna know about his plans concerning the girl, even asking Luna for her point of view. In response, Luna cursed herself silently, but she swallowed her pride and self-esteem one more time, giving him her opinion and even a couple of useful tricks.

It didn’t matter that Luna had made up her mind, thinking seriously about her feelings for Vin. She was still in love with him even if she insisted on denying that fact to everyone including herself.

Vin laughed with Luna, telling her that he would be lost without her and that he had never been so happy before she came into his life. Luna smiled broadly, but Vin was so consumed by himself that he didn’t realized that not even one of her smiles were reaching her eyes anymore.

The chick had been playing with him, saying that she wasn’t a slut and that she only wanted to be his friend, avoiding the final encounter. Vin had chuckled at that, rolling his eyes.

He already had Luna in that role in his life; he didn’t need another woman as his friend. What he wanted was someone to fuck. Who was with this chick anyway? It wasn’t that she had caught his attention because of her brain now was it?

Vin had finally fixed a date with the girl because she was just like the rest. The only difference was that this girl definitely knew how to play the game and she had been using her best friend to keep Vin interested and curious about her.

——————-

Renee and Luna were lying in the sun and chatting about Roberto, Val’s cousin. Vin and Val had gone for a few hours, they said something about they had to do a guy’s thing. Both women had rolled their eyes chuckling, but they were more than happy to be alone for a few hours. They hadn’t spent too much time together lately and they had a lot of catching up to do.

The four of them had been dining with Roberto, Val’s cousin, the night before, and Roberto had seemed interested in Luna. They had been talking for almost the entire dinner under the close gaze of Vin who wasn’t so excited about the guy at all. In fact, Vin didn’t like Roberto a bit, but he wasn’t going to say that aloud, much less considering that Roberto was Val’s cousin and a prestigious cardiologist.

“So…what do you think about Berto, NJ?” Renee asked as she pulled her hair into a ponytail, looking over the top of her sunglasses that rested in the middle of her nose. Luna grinned wickedly.

“Jesus, Renee! He’s a sexy hot latino, woman!” Luna exclaimed, laughing hard as she made herself comfortable in the hammock. Renee knit a brow, staring at her, trying to find out if Luna was serious. “I bet that he’s more than just good concerning sex.” She added, waggling her brows as she removed the top of her bikini.

“Well, hon. He’s Val’s cousin. If blood has something to do with sex, then he has to be fucking great, sweetie.” Renee retorted as she removed her top too, winking, causing both of them to burst out laughing. After a moment, Renee went serious, still giggling and looked at Luna. “Ok, now talking seriously. How is everything between you and Vin?” Renee asked, grinning. Luna’s smile died on her lips as she heaved a hard sigh.

“What do you mean?” She replied, avoiding Renee’s intense gaze. In response, Renee narrowed her eyes as she sat on the big hammock, taking off her sunglasses.

She was starting to be more than just a little tired of Luna’s attitude, avoiding any direct answer concerning her relationship with Vin. It had nothing to do with being discreet or with being secretive. Even though Luna was acting, as always, Renee knew better, she was sure that Luna was suffering in silence.

“Don’t play dumb with me, Luna,” Renee retorted, her voice tinted with concern. Luna snapped her head up, holding her best friend’s gaze. “You’ve been pretending that you’re happy and all that shit, but you’re not that good at it, sweetie.”

Luna chuckled at that, shaking her head. “I’m ok, Renee. We are good friends now,” Luna paused, swallowing hard and then continued as she turned over in her hammock. “We are not meant for each other as a couple, like you and Val, but we are doing great as friends.” She explained, turning her head, not looking in Renee’s direction.

Renee sighed hard. Trying to pull out information about what was going on inside of Luna’s head was a more difficult task than she thought at the beginning and the fact that Luna was clearly avoiding eye contact with her made Renee’s suspicions grow stronger.

“I visited the unofficial website the other day and I noticed that you’re not updating your fan fics anymore.” Renee said, turning over as well, adjusting her sunglasses.

Maybe if she faced the matter from a different angle, Luna would finally open to her.

“Are you running out of ideas again?” She asked, supporting her torso on her elbows. “Or is there another thing that is stopping you?” She asked absently, playing with the hem of her towel.

Luna frowned, still not looking in Renee’s direction, feeling more nervous with every second that passed.

“Dunno. Maybe it’s time to get over that shit too,” Luna answered, shrugging her shoulders. “No point in spending my time with those stories anymore,” she paused for a heartbeat, swallowing again and continued. “I’m not making money off them and I’m really busy with the new script, so now I’m concentrating all my energy and talent on something more worthy.” Luna explained as she reached for her pack of cigarettes, pulling one out.

Renee narrowed her eyes in suspicion, cursing silently. She always had known how Luna loved those stories and how involved and serious she was concerning her story lines and plots.

“So, you decided one day that you’re not interested in them anymore?” Renee asked, pulling out a cigarette for herself.

Luna nodded ‘yes’ lighting up her cigarette, taking a long puff and exhaling the smoke through her nose. Renee lit her cigarette.

She suspected that probably Vin had something to do with Luna’s unexpected decision.

“Just like that? No pressure of any kind?” Renee paused as she played with the lighter between her fingers. “From anybody?” She pointed, tightening her jaw.

Renee had no other choice but to be straight with Luna if she wanted to know what the hell was happening, and she plunged ahead.

“I mean, Vin didn’t tell you to stop writing them, did he?”

Luna’s head turned so fast that Renee jumped, slightly startled.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Luna hissed through clenched teeth. Renee’s eyes widened behind her sunglasses as she took a deep puff of her cigarette. “It was my own decision.” She added as she got to her feet, picking up her bikini top. “If you like them so much. Why don’t you write one?” She asked, holding Renee’s gaze.

Renee got to her feet so fast that Luna stumbled on her feet and moved a step backward.

“Listen to me, Luna; you’ve been acting weird since Vin’s last party. I know you’re hiding something from me, and so is he,” Renee hissed as she moved forward, facing her. “There’s no way in hell that from one day to another, Vin is acting all nice around you, working his ass off to make you feel like his most precious possession.”

Luna gasped shocked by Renee’s words, and swallowing hard she blinked furiously.

“Don’t you dare judge me, Renee,” Luna replied, putting her cigarette out in the ashtray. “You don’t know anything about me.” She muttered as she turned to leave, her voice strangled and hoarse. Renee grabbed her arm and pulled Luna to her.

“You’re my best friend, NJ and I’m worried about you, honey.” Renee said as she let her go, her eyes fixed on Luna’s. “We both know that Vin can be really convincing when he’s interested in something….and I know for sure that he’s not exactly excited about those stories”

“What?!” Luna exclaimed, her eyes wide open. “Just because he’s not in love with me, doesn’t mean that he’s controlling my life,” Luna retorted, feeling her heart beating fast inside her chest and her hands closing in fists. “Just because he’s not as perfect as Valentino, doesn’t mean shit,” Renee blinked as she moved backward.

“Luna, I do care for you, love. I don’t like seeing you suffering,” Renee said, trying her best to keep calm and relaxed.

She knew full well that Luna was losing her temper and it wouldn’t be a good idea if she let her own temper free as well.

Luna took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down and continued.

“You said you care for me, then prove it and leave me the fuck alone.” Luna said, staring at Renee’s eyes. In response, Renee sighed hard and nodded ‘yes’.

Without another word, Luna moved ahead, passing Renee and headed toward her suite. Renee turned her head and looked at Luna, narrowing her eyes and cursing herself silently.

The way they had been acting lately was ever more confusing. Renee had never seen Vin so interested in someone else other than himself and she had the suspicion that Vin was trying in some way to turn Luna into someone she wasn’t. Like he was taming her, controlling Luna’s life, not only professionally, but also her feelings and emotions.

Renee felt her stomach clenching painfully and she couldn’t push aside a bizarre idea. It seemed to her that Vin was killing Luna’s spirit and self-confidence, but what was more disturbing was the suspicion that Luna was aware of it, that she was letting him, or was she completely oblivious to that fact?

Renee heaved a hard sigh. Please, God, let me be wrong, she prayed silently as she grabbed her bikini top and put it on, she headed toward her own suite, lost in thought.

————-

Vin glanced at Val from the corner of his eye, grinning. Val knit a brow. “Now what? Are you going to make fun of me again?” Val said, pretending to sound annoyed. Vin nodded ‘no’, smirking as he climbed into the black SUV. “Let me tell you something, Vin,” Val continued as he followed him, climbing into the vehicle. “Some day, you will find someone special and unique, and then I’ll be laughing my ass off in your face, bro.” He added as he made himself comfortable, smiling. Vin chuckled at that.

“Don’t think so, Val. I’m not the marrying type.” He replied, looking absently through the window, his gaze lost on the boulevard while the driver took them back to the villa. “Not anymore. Not after that bitch.” Vin muttered through clenched teeth.

Val narrowed his eyes and after a moment, he started to play with the little box between his fingers, turning it. He suspected that Vin was talking about Tess.

Vin was lost in thought, wondering why he had said that to Val when they both knew that they had a deal concerning Tess. It was after her that Vin changed his mind about women.

He had always wanted a beautiful wife and his own kids. Just like his brother. But after Tess, he decided that no woman was worthy anymore or good enough for him. Only Judith had been that close to him and not even then, had she been up to fulfilling his expectations. Later his lifestyle had been so different from before that the women he was dating were never more than a quick fuck.

“I don’t deserve her anyway, so…” Vin whispered to himself, tightening his jaw.

Val glanced at him from the corner of his eye, noticing how Vin’s voice sounded as he said those last words and wondered if Vin was thinking about who he thought, but kept silent, pretending that he hadn’t heard him.

Right now Val didn’t know if Vin was talking about Tess or Luna. But he shivered at the suspicions that started to grow in his mind.

—————-

The four of them were going back to LA the following day, and that last night, Vin was hosting a private party at one of the most exclusive clubs in the city. He was ready and able to display his charismatic personality with the girl. One single goal in mind. Fuck the shit out of her.

The girl had been waiting for him at the main reception of his hotel’s complex with a couple of her friends for more than three hours, saying that they were there just to have his autograph and nothing more. But Vin knew that she was playing, trying to be original and mysterious. It was fine with him though, a challenge only made the game more interesting.

Vin was watching a movie with Luna in their suite. He wasn’t going to come to the hotel lobby early just to sign an autograph; much less when he was having the time of his life, laughing with Luna while they watched porn together. The night was young and Vin had plenty of time to make the girl melt for him.

Vin had been joking with Luna, making fun, telling her that if she wanted him to, he was more than available to produce a porn movie, casting the actresses, if she had the balls to write a good script for it. Luna had punched his arm playfully as she had retorted that she was more than capable to create a serious story line if he was going to be the main actor, but with one condition, she had to cast him first.

Teasing. Joking. Playing with fire, that was true. But, what was life without a little risk?

Vin knew how to play the game and he was much more than just damn fine at playing also. He could play in two different playgrounds at the same time; he had a lot of experience with women.

Vin knew that he was using Luna, but he was determined to fuck that chick six ways from Sunday, and nobody was going to get in the way of his dick’s whim. Besides, it seemed to him that Luna didn’t care to be used, so everything was fine.

But, Vin was oblivious to the fact that Luna had caught someone else attention too, and that she had been thinking non-stop about her current situation with him. And of course, she did care about being used.

Finally, Vin, Luna, Renee and Valentino showed up at the Hotel lobby, and they joined the three girls along with Val’s local friends, his cousin and the bodyguards.

Vin gave the girl a once over, winking at her and continued walking to the car with his bodyguards, his arm around Luna’s waist.

Vin had been so absorbed in his own plans that he didn’t noticed how Roberto, Val’s cousin, was staring at Luna and how Luna smiled at him with a smile that actually reached her eyes.