Star Struck (pm first)

When I first opened my hobby shop I was worried that opening it on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood California would be a bad idea. I mean what rich Hollywood type would want a bunch of nerdy games and comics? As it turns out, a fucking lot of them. Business boomed in a way I couldn't possibly have predicted. Soon after opening, I had all kinds of people coming in to play games at my table area, hold tournaments and spend a lot of money.

For the most part people were fairly nice, however there were always a couple of lawyer type dicks who very curtly came it to buy stuff and leave quickly. Whatever though, their money spent the same.

I ran the store with a couple of friends of mine. Scott and Derek. Both were nearly identical to each other in the way they acted and thought about things. You could assume they were brothers if they didn't have different skin colors.

So I suppose I should tell you my name, I'm James Hanoit and I run the shop called "All Things Game".

The shop isn't really the point of this story. No the shop is simply a catalyst for something crazy that happened a few months after I opened the doors.

IT started with a customer of mine that came in literally every single Monday. A movie producer named Kevin Miles. Nice guy, and a huge Magic the Gathering fan. He and I always spent a lot of time shooting the shit whenever he came in. He asked about games and tips and tricks for the card game he loved, I would ask about life among the stars.

One day in December Kevin and I were talking about nothing unusual when he suddenly said, "So James, there is a party Friday night at Seth Rogan's house. A little Christmas gathering, you should come with me."

I blinked and looked up at him, "A party? At Seth Rogan's house, are you sure I would even be allowed?"

Kevin smirked, "Okay man I got a confession to make. I don't fucking play Magic, but Seth does, he heard about this shop but he hardly ever has the time to come the shop. So I do the guy a favor and come learn about the game and buy him booster packs. When this party came up he told me to invite you so he could get a chance to meet the mastermind behind the, and I quote, 'Coolest shop in L.A.'"

I was floored and I just looked at him. "Well okay then. I guess I got to buy a better looking shirt."

Kevin laughed and shook his head, "Don't worry about that man, were a comic shirt and Seth will fucking love you. There will be celebrities there man, but Seth keeps things super easy-going and casual. You'll be fine."

How could I turn down a chance of going to a party like that. I got flashbacks of that movie "This is the End." Who knows, I might get a chance to meet some of my favorite actors.

Seth's house was bouncing as I walked up to the door. The huge building seemed to be shaking with the music booming within. Unbelievably Seth jerked open the door with a huge grin on his face. "Kevin! What the fuck is up man? Good to see you!" He turned to me and then back to Kevin, "This the guy?"

KEvin nodded and clapped me on the back, "This is guy."

Seth grinned and pulled me into a hug unexpectedly, "Dude you have no idea how much of a fan I am! Your store is a fucking lifesend." He laughed, "The moment I get some free time I am coming into that store and I am going to kick your ass in MAgic man."

I smiled and chuckled, "You are welcome to try."

Seth laughed, "This fucking guy! Dude come on in! Hey you ever met James Franco?"

"How the hell would I have met James Franco?" I asked.

Seth nodded, "Touche motherfucker. HEY JAMES!"

Franco sure enough came walking over with a smile. "What up Seth?"

"Meet James the owner of that game shop I told you about."

Franco smiled and shook my hand, "Hey nice to meet you bud."

I nodded, "Yeah you too man."

Seth pointed around. "Look James I want you to feel free to mingle alright. The bar is over there," he pointed, "I gotta do some mingling myself, you know suck up to people and shit, but I wanna talk to you about games later."

He moved away and I was left alone in a room full of people I knew in theory. I mean I've seem a lot of these people on TV and movies and I didn't even know how to begin to talk to them. Nevertheless it was awesome to just be in the same room as them, and I gently made my way past people in order to get to the bar.

That was when she came up beside me......

(BumpING for interest)

Anna walked into the party loving the sounds of music and laughter. She had a figure flattering red dress on with flat to match. They had a glittery red bow on them which made her really love them. She knew it was silly but she still loved glittery sparkly things. If anyone had anything to say about it, they could rightly kiss her ass.

She mingled through the party and saw a lot of new and old faces. There was always a hodge podge of people at these things, she never knew what new face Seth would bring in next. She saw Craig Robinson over in the corner and chatted with him for a while. He always cracked her up and always had some crazy song her would sing at her.

She eventually moved to the bar and got a drink. She decided to keep it simple and poured herself a Malibu and coke. It tasted like candy to her and she could knock back a few of them without getting wasted.

She turned around to go chat with Craig when she bumped into one of the new faces, splashing a little of her drink on him.

“Oh my God, I’m sorry!” she said, smiling and laughing a little at her silly mistake. She grabbed a napkin and patted the spots her drink had left on the guy’s shirt. She then looked up at his face. It seemed friendly and not at all bad looking. Then again, Seth very rarely had assholes at his party.

“I’m Anna, what’s your name newbie? I haven’t seen you at one of these before.”

I jerked back as her drink spilled across my shirt. So much for looking nice. But almost as quickly as the drink hit me, there where soft girl hands patting me down with napkins. It took me a moment to realize who the person was. Even as she was speaking to me in her wonderfully soft voice it didn't hit me until I got a good look at her. I felt my breath catch in my throat as Anna looked up at me with a dear look of apology acres her brow.

I think I could have met any other celebrity and been fine with it. Maybe a little star struck, but able to speak without my tongue falling out. Any other person except Anna Kendrick. I had such a crush on her it was stupid and sad really. Yet here I was being cleaned by the girl of me dreams. What is a guy supposed to say to that?

So when she introduced herself and asked me who I was I just laughed, I spun toward the bar and fell against it, leaning on the wood as I laughed at her. "I can't believe I'm here." I said through my laughter. "James your celebrity crush just spilled a drink on you. You are at a party with Anna Kendrick at Seth Rogan's house."

I looked at her and saw how lost she looked and my laughter died. "Shit that probably wasn't the best first impression was it?" I shook my head and said, "Hi Anna my name is James and I am a huge fan." I said holding out my hand for her.

Anna smiled sweetly at the guy. She remembered when she first came to a party like this, she felt the same way.

“That’s so sweet of you to say.” She said genuinely. “It’s thanks to guys like you that I am where I am now, so thank you! Why don’t we get you a drink?” she said and turned around towards the bar.

“You strike me as a beer man.” She said, grabbed a beer, and then expertly popped off the cap on the edge of the table.

“Here ya go!” she smiled and then sipped her drink and looked around. “Have you seen the place yet? It’s pretty cool.” She smiled, wondering if he was game for a small tour.

I watched her expertly handle the beer bottle, cracking the top off on the side of the counter and smiled. This had to be the coolest girl on the face of the Earth. Beautiful, funny, and great with a beer bottle. I took the beer form her and took a big drink as she asked me about the house.

I moaned in mid swallow and nodded, "Well, I saw the front door, and then this bar." I told her with a smile. "Is there more?"

Suddenly a thin but rather tall guy zipped past us, completely naked. Immediately followed but a massive, in comparison, Seth Rogan chasing him. "Goddamnit Cera, I told you to keep your fucking clothes on you creepy little fuck!" Together both men disappeared into what appeared to be a giant kitchen, then hallways beyond.

I glanced at Anna, "Did I just see a penis? Because I really don't want to have seen a penis." I took another big drink from my beer, half the bottle gone in to swallows. Luckily for me the warmth was started to spread from my belly.

I took another good look at Anna, she looked far more stunning in person than I could have ever dreamt, plus whatever perfume she wore made her smell amazing. IF only I could think of things to talk to her about.

“Well technically yes…I would classify it as oversized clit, but that’s me.” She smiled and then looped her arm through James’.

“Let me give you a tour.” She said and walked him around the house. “I’m not going to take you up there because it’s mainly just Seth’s bedroom and bathroom and in all honesty, you never know what crazy stuff you’ll find up there…it’s usually not pleasant. Meaning I think he’s fucking dorito bags or uses them as a post coital snack, I have no idea.” She told him, laughing a bit.

She then showed him around the rest of the house, the kitchen, the dining room, the downstairs rec room and theater, and then ended up by the pool. She sat down on one of the lounger chairs and sipped her drink.

“It’s pretty out here tonight. You can actually see the stars…well a little.” She took another sip of her drink and then looked at James. “So, what kind of stuff do you do to pay the rent?”

I tensed a little as Anna took my arm, her body pressed lightly against my side as we walked. I had pictured this moment with her more than once, and I felt the fool for letting it bother me to have it actually happening. Walking with her was nice, and it was nice to get away from the bulk of the party as she took me to different rooms, and I even laughed as she joked about Seth fucking Dorrito bags.

Soon we were at the pool, sitting in chairs next to each other. I had long since finished my beer and had left the bottle sitting on the glass table in front of us. Anna still sipped on her drink, seemingly taking her alcohol intake slowly.

She asked me what I do to pay the bills and I looked at her. "Well I own a hobby shop off Sunset Boulevard. It's in Hollywood and kind of how I ended up here. Apparently has been buying stuff from me via some assistant and invited me here to thank me for opening a, and I quote, 'Kick ass shop'." I explained.

"I have to admit, this is a little overwhelming for a huge nerd like me. But," I looked at her, "I got to meet you, and I would have eaten fire to meet you." I gave her another smile, for some reason I couldn't help but smile whenever I looked at her.

Anna smiled brightly as James spoke about his shop. “Well that’s cool! I’ll have to stop by sometimes, I totally love to craft…not that I have much time these days, but I try.” She smiled and then laughed a bit. “I even knit like someone’s granny or something.” She giggled.

She smiled sweetly when he told her how excited he was to meet her. She leaned over and kissed his cheek and then smiled again.

“You’re sweet James. Most people just try to fuck me or use me for something, but you’ve been nothing but a gentleman. That’s a very rare thing indeed.” She said as she finished off her drink.

“I’m going to have to go soon, I have an early interview for some new station on the east coast. They’re going to satellite me in but I still have to get up at the ass crack of dawn. Maybe we can chill again sometime. What’s your number?” she asked as she pulled her phone out from her small purse. Once he gave it to her she texted him:

Hope you enjoyed the dorito porn tour. Anna xoxo

“Now you have my number. I guess I don’t have to tell you to please keep it private. I hope we meet again soon though!” she smiled as she got up. She gave him a hug and another kiss on the cheek before heading off.

I sat there for a long time staring at the text on my phone. MY cheek tingling from her lips. Did that just happen? It couldn't have right? I mean it all must be a dream, any moment I'm going to wake up and my phone will not have a text from Anna, nor will anyone know anything about me being at a party at Seth Rogan's house. None of it.

When I looked up Anna was gone, but I was still clearly at a party. In fact Seth was walking up to me shaking his head. "I"m going to fucking kill that little Cera dick fuck. Little nudist asshole. See if I invite him to shit again."

He came up to me and looked down at me, two beers in his hand. "Hey man, here you look like you need a beer."

I took it and nodded, "Thanks."

He sat down beside me. "Hey sorry I didn't have time to show you around much man, fucking naked people in my house."

I shrugged, "That's cool man, Anna showed me around."

Seth's eyes widened, "Yeah I saw that, way to go bro. You guys seemed like you got along."

"She....She's very nice."

Seth looked at me and gestured to his chin, "You're drooling a little man, might wanna wipe up."

I jerked my hand to my face and wiped my chin quickly to which Seth laughed loudly. "I'm fucking with you man! Relax it's cool. Anna's a cool chick, and good news for you, I hear she's single so maybe you got yourself a chance there."

"Yeah right, what could she want with me?"

"OH don't get that celebrity bullshit in your mind dude, chicks hate that shit. You're a guy, she's a girl. You two can totally fuck! Just because she's famous or whatever doesn't mean she can like a regular guy. Look at all the celebs that married regular fuckheads. Britney Spears married a fucking back up dancer."

"Who drove her insane." I pointed out.

"OKay, Jessica Alba married that Cash Warren nobody."

"Wasn't his family worth billions?"

Seth slapped me across the chest. "You're missing the fucking point dude. It can happen, you just gotta be yourself and you might be surprised with how much Anna will like you for it."

I sipped the beer and shrugged. He was right I guess. After all, she did give me her phone number. That had to mean something, as I didn't think she would just give it to any random guy.

Seth pulled out a deck of Magic the Gathering cards from his pocket and set it before me, "Okay man check this shit out. I think I got a good theme going."

For the next two hours Seth and I shot the shit, I helpped him fix his deck and we talked strategies until late and everyone had cleared out. It was four am by the time I hit my bed, but it had all been worth it.

The next day I stood behind the counter at my store staring at Anna's text, wondering on if I should text her back and if I did, what should I say? Finally after an hour I had managed to type in....Good morning, hope the interview went well. Had fun last night.

And I hit send.

Anna jumped slightly at the sound of her phone going off. She had had to be at the studio at 3 am to make the east coast satellite connections and she had come directly home and fallen asleep. She picked up her phone and looked at it, hoping it wasn’t her agent trying to get her into that horrible film he had given her the script for. The money was good but the story was terrible. She just had no desire to be in it.

She was pleasantly surprised that it was from the guy last night…what was his name…oh right, James. She smiled a bit and then took a picture of herself making a funny face. She sent it to him with the caption: “Feel like a zombie….want brains…coffee will suffice.”

Changed into her jeans and a shirt and hopped in her car. Seth had raved about this little shop forever so she had the address. She parked in front of the shop and then got out. She walked in holding two cups of coffee.

“Hey there!” she grinned. “I brought caffeine, and also some croissants, though they’re under my arm, so if you don’t want to eat pit pastry I get it.” She chuckled and then unloaded on the counter.

“I got you regular coffee…I didn’t know what you’d like…but there’s tons of creamer and stuff.” She grinned and then kissed him on the cheek. She then looked around the store for the first time.

“This place IS pretty bad ass.”

was exhausted, having slept really weird after that party but still needed to be awake to open and run the store. My phone buzzed as I was counting down the register to make sure the starting cash was right. I dug my phone from my pocket and glanced at the message on the front of the screen and giggling like a girl. Anna had replied, with great humor on top of all of that. God she seemed so much better in real life than I ever expected her to be.

I typed a quickly reply, I hear ya, just opening the shop then going to get an IV of Redbull. Then I hit send before finishing the count.

Once the register was set up I turned on all the lights and flipped the sign to annouce to the world that I was open for the day. I had to run the store alone for a few hours, since it was Monday and would be slow first thing in the morning. Scott would be in to work the afternoon shift and give me a little bit of a break. In the mean time I was all alone.

I was flipping through a comic book when I heard the door open. I looked up and gasped as in walked Anna carrying coffee and something she called "Pit Pastries". She gave me a coffee cup and I grabbed it quickly, even as she apologized for it being plain.

"No it's perfect. God I love you." I said taking a good sip of the still hot drink. "Oh yes coffee, never leave me again baby." I said pretending to flirt with the cup.

I watched Anna look around and smiled, "Yeah I like it. I've always been a very big nerd and I figured that what better job than to run my own nerd store." I said coming around the counter to follow her around as she looked over the colorful comics, and glass cases with figurines inside. "I'll teach you to play something if a game catches your eye. I'm no expert on everything but I at least know basic rules for everything here." I explained as I continued to sip from the cup.

"Oh so were you able to get your interview done? I bet you were great." I asked her, glancing toward her. I really was excited to have her here with me, alone.

Anna giggled as James made “eye love” with his coffee. She could certainly empathize. As she looked around he asked about the interview.

“Oh yeah, they went great. Everyone was super nice, it’s just tough getting up in the middle of the night to do them and NOT look tired.” She looked around the shop and found some magic cards.

“You know, I don’t know anything about this game, but I love the art on the cards. I think there was a vampire one once right?” she asked as she walked over with a deck of cards.

“How does this work?” she asked and then reached into the bag with the croissants and pulled on out. She pulled a piece off and put it in her mouth.

“Where’s the Star Wars stuff?”

I laughed as I pictured her frantically getting up at three am to look pretty for what was basically a Skype call. I killed my coffee and ducked behind the counter again to toss the empty paper cup into the trash. When I popped back up, Anna was walking up to the counter with a deck of Magic cards.

I chuckled as she asked about there being a Vampire card once. "Yeah once....well I think they've made over 700 vampire or vamprie themed cards so far. But it's been out over 20 years so you tend to run out of ideas after that amount of time." I took the package from her and tore into it to remove the cards.

I laid out the different types of cards and began to explain how the game worked as best as I could. Make sure to point out the her why Seth Rogan was wrong in how he played the game. After a while she asked about Star Wars stuff and I looked up. "Well I have some figures over in the corner there, and there are a couple Star Wars themed board games in that section. Star Wars is one of those things that's everywhere."

I took a pastry from the bag and tore it in half, taking a bite out of the half I picked. "So was that early interview all you had for the day...." I took a breath and paused, was I really about to do this? "I mean I get to close up early tonight. I was thinking if you weren't busy we could maybe....get dinner perhaps?" I asked, groaning inside with how unsmooth I had just asked her out on a date.

In the middle of looking through a deck of cards, James asked her out on a date. She smiled brightly. Most guys were too intimidated to ask her out. She wasn’t much for celebrity dating, most of the time American actors were to vain for her liking.

“I would absolutely love to!” she smiled, blushing a little bit. “I don’t really have much to do today, I’ll have to head out in a bit for an appointment, but, well I’d love to hang out with you tonight.” She smiled. She grabbed a piece of paper on the counter and wrote down her address for him.

“I’m sure I don’t have to tell you not to share this with anyone.” She said as she wrote and then looked up at him. “How should I dress for our date tonight?” she smiled, excited for the date.

I swallowed hard as I stated at her address. She had said yes. I couldn't believe she had said yes. Holy shit how was I going to take a celebrity out of any kind of date to impress her. I looked up as she asked how she should dress for the night and suddenly it hit me. I knew where to take her.

"Wear something comfortable. I would suggest jeans and a decently warm top." I told her as a slow grin spread across my face. I folded up her note and tucked it quickly into my pocket. "You are gonna love what I have planned."

The rest of my day went awfully slow. Eager to see Anna again I couldn't contain myself. Nobody at the store believed who I was dating tonight, but I didn't care because I knew tonight was going to be awesome.

I picked up Anna, who looked stunning as ever and drove. I didn't tell her what we were doing until we pulled into a parking lot of a mini golf course. "Surprise!" I said with a grin.

Anna got a few things done before she got ready for her date with James. She wore a pair of skinny jeans, a cute pair of purple suede flats with a flower on top and a matching Marilyn sweater that wrapped around her shoulders.

When James drove up, she got inside and kissed him on the cheek.

“Heya handsome!” she smiled and then buckled her seatbelt. She sang along with a few songs on the radio as they drove and then lit up when he stopped at their destination.

“How did you know I love mini golf!” she smiled and leaned over and hugged and kissed him on the cheek again. Most guys tried to impress her with fancy restaurants, but she was a fairly simple girl. She liked the small things, like mini golf.

She got out of the car and looked around. “Do you think they have hot pink balls? If they do, I want that one.” She smiled and then looped her arm through James’ as they walked towards the booth.

Damn how much better could I hit the nail on the head? I didn't know she liked mini golf but apparently my gamble had scored big time. Frankly I wanted to do something that would take away from the typical date routine and thought of nothing better than a little fun.

We got to the booth Anna cradled against my arm. I got us two clubs and told the clerk, "May I have a hot pink ball for my beautiful date. It is her favorite color." The clerk smiled and slippEd a pink ball toward me. Then the guy winked as if telling me he agreed how beautiful she was....but probably not using those words.

I got a blue ball for myself which I think was a metaphor of some kind. Together Anna and I walked hand in hand toward the first hole and I glanced at her. "Alright ladies first." I gestured toward the tee spot. I watched Anna hit her first shot, admiring the way her ass stuck out a little and her hair came cascading beautifully over her shoulders. She was way too beautiful for me, what did she see in my stupid ass.

I stared at her too much because I didn't see where her ball went and I saw her turn and grin. "Did you....did you just hole in one?" I asked stammering.

Anna grinned as she got her pink ball and chuckled a little at the blue ball James got for himself. He did have a sense of humor and she liked that in a guy.

She positioned herself to take her first swing, wiggling her butt a little and then hit it. To her shock she got a hole in one and jumped up in down.

“I got a hole in one!” she said excitedly and then jumped up and hugged James in her excitement, giving him a firm smooch on the mouth before letting go. She then skipped a little towards the hole and pulled her ball out.

“Let’s see what you’ve got big man!”

I turned a little red at her kiss. I could feel it but I don't think she noticed thankfully. She was excited about her hole in one but I stepped forward shaking my head. "How is a guy suppose to impress his date with his bad ass mini golfing prowess when his date scores a hole in one right off the bat?" I asked looking at her.

I dropped my ball and lined up to hit it. Raising my hand toward her, "Now now. No cheating you hear me. I don't want you flashing no butt nor belly nor tits toward me For my will is like a tank. Strong and unforgiving." I hit the ball and watched it go straight toward the hole only to stop less than an inch away.

"That counts right. That should totally count." I demanded looking at her.

Anna chuckled at him as he asked how to impress her. “I don’t know , I think you’re doing a pretty good job so far.” She smiled softly at him. “And I promise to behave myself while you putt.” She winked.

She watched the ball come close to the hole but was an inch away. She tapped it with her foot and then jumped up in excitement.

“You got a hole in one too!” she grinned as she bent over and picked up his ball. She handed it to him letting her fingers linger on his hand a moment before blushing a little herself.

“Let’s hope our luck keeps up huh?” she smiled and went to the next hole.

Anna was a great shot at some holes and terrible on others, but it didn’t stop her from having a good time. In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she had laughed so much. As they putted the last hole she smiled up at James.

“You’re a really great guy, you know that?”

God it was fun. The mini golf went exactly how I had hoped, I wanted us to relax and hang out and laugh our asses off at each others failed puttS. I don't think things could have gone any better. As we turned in out putters I turned to Anna and saw her smiling at me.

She told me how great of a guy I was and I blUshed. If there was ever a chance to make a move, this was it. I stepped toward her and pUT my hands on her hips to pull her close to me. "I have a great girl with me to help make me great." I told her softly and then kissed her. Her lips were soft and silky against mine, the warmth of her body burned against me. I felt my blood begin to boil just being this near to her.

She was surprised at first at this intimate move, but as her lips touched his, everything felt so right. Her arms wrapped gently around his neck as she kissed him back, sighing softly into his mouth. After a few moments she pulled away and looked deep into his eyes, her eyes smiling into his.

“I could get used to this.” She told him softly as her hands moved down from his neck and to his chest. “Where shall we go now?” she asked, hoping that the date wasn’t over.

I smiled, still holding her close. Anna was literally a dream in my arms and I didn't want to let her go. She looked into my eyes and asked what next which only made me smile wider. "Well we can go eat. Or we can go do a go kart race before dinner." I told her. "Depends on if you wanna eat my dust or not." I teased her giving her a little tickle in her sides.

I was having a blast with her. She was so cool and so down to Earth that it was easy to forget she was famous. She was just a pretty girl on a date with a guy who really wasn't pretty enough to be seen with her. I imagine everyone seeing us together would assume I either had a shit load of money, or a huge dick. I don't have either of those things...at least i don't think I have the dick one.

“Oh buddy, you can’t lay down a challenge like that and not expect me to take it!” she grinned at him. “Prepare to get your ass smoked!” she told him and then grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the go karts. Once they were paid up and in the go karts she revved her engine and grinned at him.

“Get ready sucka!” she teased him and then peeled out as soon as the light turned green. She did pretty well through most of the course until her breaks stopped working. She panicked for a moment and tried to rub the side of her wheels against the side of the course, however, she ended up spinning her car around into a dead stop.

While she was ok, it had scared her a little and she felt a little disoriented.

“James?” she called.