It’s bigger than any house I’ve ever been in. “Impressive.”
Suddenly, the sacrifices Lucy made to leave home for her dreams comes with more clarity. She didn’t just leave her family, she left a lifestyle. She works for tips at the Pie Whole and shares that tiny cottage with Maya. It’s an entirely different world.
I locate the address, a big house overlooking the ocean. I park the truck in the driveway. The cab of the truck is dark, other than the light from the front entry, even so, it’s impossible not to see how pretty she is.
My hand is on the door handle when she says, “So this is really a date.”
I nod, looking between her eyes and mouth. “I want it to be.”
“I wasn’t sure you saw me that way—not after those things you said that night in the alley.”
“About that—”
She shakes her head. “It’s fine. You were mad.”
I laugh. “I was embarrassed. I was about to ask you out when you hard rejected me.”
Her lips quirk up. “Yeah?”
“Oh yeah.” I scoot over. “I have a confession. What I said to Veronica that night, about seeing you on the show and wanting to meet you? That was true.”
“Really?”
“I didn’t recognize you right away at the Pie Whole, but I knew you looked familiar. I knew I’d seen that gorgeous face and those bright eyes somewhere. I’m not kidding when I say Emily and I watch the show. Every week. I saw the way everything went down and it was like something kicked me in the chest. And then running into you that night—literally.” I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear as an excuse to touch her. “My ego took a hit when you said no, but then I realized you were in a bad place and…I just wanted to make you feel better. To help you see yourself the way I do.”
She watches me as I confess. It may be a mistake. She could take it all wrong like I am a creepy stalker or a crazy fan, but we’ve held back our cards for too long. It’s time to lay it out there. Let her know how I feel.
She lifts her hand and I brace myself, thinking she may go for the door, but she doesn’t. She brings it to my face and touches my cheek. “Like everything else in your life, you accomplished your goal.”
“What do you mean?”
“You did make me feel better. You do make me feel better. Every day I get stronger and more confident.” Her face is close to mine—we’re very close together in the cab of the truck and my heart swells at her admission. But it’s what she says next that surprises me. “I’m ready for the competition. Dean, I’m ready for a lot of things now that I wasn’t ready for before.”
29
Lucy
The cab of the truck is small, private, and the cloak of darkness makes both of us brave. His confession that he’s liked me from the beginning brings my blood to a boil, and all the worries and second-guessing goes out the window.
If he can tell the truth, then so can I.
“I want more with you.”
“You do?”
My cheeks burn. “Yes.”
“Can I kiss you?” he asks, breath warm and minty.
I nod furiously. Nervously.
His hand gently slips behind my neck, grazing the fringe of my hair, and he pulls me to him, brushing his lips across mine. I feel the heat, the tingle of excitement on my mouth. Even in the dark I see the intensity of his eyes and I press my mouth against his again, eager for more.
His lips are warm, his mouth strong, and I run my fingertips under his sharply defined jaw. As in all things, Dean exudes confidence. There’s not an ounce of hesitation or insecurity and it’s easy to fall in line. I may be inexperienced, but I don’t feel like it, not with Dean. He kisses like a pro. Thoughts of going into the party vanish. Party? What party? I just want to be with him. Like this. Forever. Feeling him. Breathing him. Wanting him—
The blare of a horn cuts through the night, jolting us apart.
His eyes are wide with surprise. His lips red from kissing. I touch mine absently, reveling in how such a small, seemingly innocent move could create such an intense feeling.
“We should probably go in,” he says, running his hand through his hair.
Or we could stay here and keep doing this?
“Right,” I agree, reluctantly. “We should.”
“Stay there,” he says, opening his door. I pull down the rearview mirror and smooth down my hair. The passenger side door opens and I see his grin and his hand held out. I take it, stepping down from the cab.
Hands clasped together, we head down toward lights and people with the party, our relationship suddenly on a whole different level.
I’m not completely unfamiliar with celebrity, having been on the modeling show, but walking into Reese’s house is like something out of a fantasy. Lilliana is here, along with a few other faces that are so familiar from years of watching in TV and movies that I feel like I know them.
Then there’s Andrew Xavier, standing by the fireplace looking every bit as handsome as the posters that used to hang over my bed.
It doesn’t hurt that I’m floating on cloud nine from Dean kissing me in the truck or the fact he’s holding my hand.
“Do I have something to be worried about?” Dean whispers in my ear, sending a rush of shivers down my neck.
I look up at him and reach for that curl that drives me crazy, pushing it out of his eyes. It falls right back. “If I was twelve again, maybe. I had a pretty big crush on him back when he was on Double Trouble.” I admit with a small grin. “I’m more into the quiet, new guy now. You know, the next big leading man.”
His hand skims my lower back, threatening to make my knees weak.
The shift between us is both unexpected and ridiculously right. I’ve never felt so right; like Dean’s confidence transferred over to me when our lips touched. The funny thing is that although I’m feeling everything on a heightened level--his warm hand with all the gentle touches, his shoulder brushing against mine, his closeness, his scent--to everyone else in the room it’s perfectly normal, that is, if they are aware of us at all. Thanks to the gossip sites most everyone is, they already think this has been going on for a while. They have no idea that I’m fighting a tornado of butterflies in my stomach to remain calm.
“Dean! Lucy!” Reese calls as we walk into the room. She looks amazing, dressed in an all-white romper. I would spill my drink on that in a heartbeat. “I’m glad you made it.”
“Thanks for inviting us,” Dean says, giving her a quick hug. I get one, too.
She points in the direction of food and drinks, a bartender works across the room. Some of these people are over twenty-one. “You want something?” Dean asks.
“Just a water, thanks.” He squeezes my hand and heads off.
“You guys are pretty adorable,” Reese says, eyes lingering on him. “So filming starts on The Next Big Model pretty soon, right?”
“Yep.”
“Are you nervous?”
I exhale. “A little, but I feel better knowing what to expect, I guess.”
Reese nods. “You’re so brave. I can barely handle reading reviews about the show in case they have something negative about me. Going up there every week and having them critique everything.” She shudders. “Total nightmare.”
“It’s definitely an ego check,” I agree. My eyes catch Dean’s across the room. He stops talking to someone I don’t recognize, but he catches my eye and winks. Oh boy. “You have to have thick skin. Which I admittedly didn’t totally have the first time around. Dean’s helped me with that a lot.”
“Oh yeah, I think he’s got 'it.'”
I frown and look at her. “Got it?”
“You know, 'it,'” she uses her fingers to accentuate. “That thing that makes people a star. He’s got the looks, the body, the acting skills, but the biggest asset is confidence.”
I nod in understanding. “He definitely has that.”
“It’s sexy, too. People can feel that, like even through the screen.”
&n
bsp; Her face lights up and I look over my shoulder, seeing Dean walking through the crowd. He hands me a glass filled with bubbly water. “There he is. I was just telling your girlfriend how I think you’re going to be a huge star one day.”
He laughs and slides his arm around my waist. “We’ll see. Of course, Lucy’s going to go on that show and win the whole thing. Her face will be everywhere. Then I’ll be known as Lucy Harrington’s boyfriend.”
He plants a kiss on my temple and while my insides melt, my brain goes into overdrive. It’s one thing to hear Reese refer to us as boyfriend and girlfriend. She’s thought this for weeks now, but to hear Dean say it? Unreal.
“Has your agent talked to you about the convention yet?”
Dean shakes his head and I ask, “What convention?”
Reese pushes her long, enviable hair behind her shoulder. “During hiatus we always have to fulfill some promotional obligations. MegaCon, which is a fan convention in New York, is coming up and we always have a panel. It’s a big deal and tons of fun.”
“Yeah, sure,” I say. “I’ve heard of this.”
“No one has mentioned it yet, but that’s okay. It’s in a few weeks and I’m not really into traveling right now.” He looks down at me knowingly. We only have two weeks before the show starts. I want to spend as much of it with him as I can, too.
I nudge him and say, “We should let Reese get back to hostess-ing.”
“Ugh,” she says with a fake groan. “You’re right.”
“Again,” Deans says, “Thanks for inviting us.”
“Of course! You’re part of the Avondale family! Oh,” she grabs his bicep. His amazing and perfect bicep. “Don’t forget to head out back. This place has the most amazing gardens and ocean view.”
She releases him with a smile flashed at the two of us. Dean squeezes my hand. “Want to go check out the back?”
“Sure,” I say, thinking I may need some air. Did that girl just make me jealous? Is there a reason for it? Seriously, I need to get a grip.
I follow him through the living room to the doors that are already open and which lead to a porch with a stone floor and massive fireplace. People sit on couches surrounding the fire, their faces lit with a yellowish glow. Dean doesn’t stop though, he keeps walking down a lit path, past the pool house. The further we get from the house, the louder the ocean becomes, crashing on the shore below.
There’s a deck that juts over the side and we walk to the railing. I lean against it and Dean moves to stand behind me, arms wrapped around me in a hug.
I take a deep breath, inhaling the calm of the salty air.
“Do you miss living here?” he asks.
“That’s a complicated question.”
“How so?” I haven’t talked to him much about my family—birth or foster.
“Because I didn’t grow up here. I was placed here by my social worker after being pulled from my other life. The time I had with my mom? It was good. We weren’t rich, but we were happy. Then she died and that was taken away. The time I spent with my dad wasn’t good. He was just a wreck. It was a relief to move to the stability of the Girls' Home and it was nice moving out here. The Johnsons were good to me and my life was like a fairytale and for a brief period of time, I bought into it.” I stare out toward the water. “Going on The Next Big Model was me flying too close to the sun, Dean. It was me thinking that I could have my cake and eat it too. But what I learned is that fairytales aren’t real and they don’t last.” I squint, letting the wind dry any tears. His arms tighten around me and I lean against his strong chest. “Fiona showed me that. She yanked the curtain down and I fell apart.”
He rests his hands on my shoulders and turns me so that I have to face him, look at him, and the anguish reflected back at me cuts me to the bone. I exhale. “I don’t regret it, though. Being on my own, no matter how hard it is, feels kind of right, a relief, actually. I’m not reliant on anyone else anymore. This is my life. I’m in control.”
“Lucy, there’s nothing in this world you can’t accomplish, but I want you to know you don’t have to do it alone.”
I touch his cheek. “That day, at the Pie Whole, when you were going to ask me out? I had an inkling that’s what you were doing.”
He raises an eyebrow. “You did?”
“I knew you made me nervous. That I felt like you could see right through me. You called me on it that night. I was scared. But not just of being successful but of opening myself up to people again. Opportunities. I couldn’t risk losing anything else.”
He stares at me for a long moment. “I promise I won’t let you regret one I am so thankful you gave me.” His eye dart to my lips. “If you’d said yes right off the bat, there’s no way I’d have gotten the opportunity to get to know you like this. I never would have discovered all the amazing things about you and most of all, do this.”
He kisses me again, slow and perfect. His lips are warm and soft. This time there’s no worrying or wondering. It’s just me and the boy I’ve chosen, in the life I’m living, with our futures wide open.
30
Dean
“What was the first thing you acted in?”
“Annie.”
She tilts her head. “Isn’t that mostly girls?”
“Yes.” I narrow my eyes. “But I didn’t play a girl.”
“Daddy Warbucks?”
“Oh, you know the play?”
“I lived in a group home and foster care. Knowing the story of Annie and singing 'It’s a hard knock life,' even in jest, is kind of a standard.”
“Huh, well no, I didn’t play Daddy Warbucks.” I pick up a piece of bacon and pop it in my mouth. “You know how Annie’s best friend is a dog.”
“Sandy.”
“Right. Well the show had this perfect Sandy lined up, but it turns out she was pregnant and two days before it started—”
“She had the puppies.” Lucy’s eyes narrow. “Dean, are you telling me your first role on stage was playing a dog?”
I feel the smile curve my lips. “I was really good at it.”
She laughs. “I bet. Adorable, too.”
I grab her hand under the table. We left the party an hour before, tired of all the chit-chat. After driving around for a while, we decided to come to Davie's. Lucy got a stack of pancakes smothered in butter and syrup. I got a protein-packed omelet.
“You think I’m adorable.”
She rolls her eyes. “Back then. You were adorable then.”
“Then what am I now?” I love egging her on. She gets flustered and annoyed, not wanting to give me any compliments.
She holds up a fork filled with syrup-dripping pancakes, taunting me with what I can’t have, and says, “Whatever, you know you’re hot,” then takes a bite, chewing slowly.
I lean in and tilt her chin upward, stealing a kiss. “And you’re sweet. Like, literally.” I kiss her again, tasting the sugar on her lips.
She laughs. “What happened to all that willpower?”
“Between you and your lips and the syrup? I’m useless.”
We sit in the back booth of Davie's at midnight and kiss the night away. It’s complete and total PDA, something I’ve never been into, but this girl? She’s got me on the edge. I feel like I’m running at full speed, racing toward the sun, my brain and convictions turning to mush.
“Dude,” Tommy says at the gym one afternoon.
“Huh?” I glance up from my phone.
“You’ve got to focus.”
I pocket the phone and walk back over to the bench press. “Sorry. Lucy had a meeting at the studio today. I was just checking to see if she’d texted.”
“Didn’t you tell me you have a photoshoot or something this week?”
“Yeah,” I say, lying on my back. “Fit Men magazine.”
“And you really think now is the time to slack off on your workout?” He stands over me and taps the bar. I wrap my hands around the cool metal and lift it up. I push and grunt through eight reps b
efore racking it back on the stand.
“I’m not slacking off,” I say, breathing heavy. “I’m just…”
“What?” he asks, a knowing glint in his eye. When I don’t answer, he bends over and tosses me a twelve-pound medicine ball. I catch it against my chest with a grunt. “Look, Dean, I get it. You’ve found her. The girl. We all knew this day would come, but it sucks that it’s at the same point and time your career is taking off.”
I throw the ball back to him. “Why do you say it sucks?”
“Because you can’t afford to be distracted right now. You’ve got photoshoots, a new contract for more work, and all kinds of opportunities.”
“Actors are in relationships all the time. It’s completely doable.” I catch the ball again, this time more prepared.
But Tommy isn’t the only one riding me about this. My dad, after a report came in from my online school, appears in my bedroom doorway. There’s no doubt from the frown on his face that he’s unhappy.
“A D? In American Lit?”
“You know I hate Grapes of Wrath.”
“I know that you failing out of school isn’t part of the deal.”
“I had no idea three months ago that I’d be working this much.” The phone vibrates on the bed. I’d been in the middle of texting Lucy. Asking her favorite color (gray), favorite movie (Dirty Dancing), and dream vacation (somewhere cold.) I look down but my dad grabs it first. “Hey!”
He frowns at my tone. “Dean, I know things are looking up for your career but getting your diploma isn’t negotiable. You know how your mom feels about that.” The phone buzzes again and he looks down, no doubt seeing Lucy’s name. He gives me a long, knowing look.
“What?”
“Just thinking back to my first girlfriend.” He runs his hand through his graying hair. “I was a wreck.”
“I’m not a wreck,” I tell him, although I know it’s a lie. I feel like I’m caught up in a tsunami. “The grade isn’t her fault. She’s got an A in that class.”
He pulls out the desk chair and sits cross from me. “I get it. Everything is really exciting for you right now; your career is taking off, you’ve got this beautiful girlfriend that’s no doubt occupying a huge amount of your mental space. School doesn’t seem like a huge priority, but you can’t keep going like this, something’s gotta give.”
Lucy and The Love Pact: Young Adult Fake Romance (Love in Ocean Grove Book 2) Page 13