“And you think it should be Lucy?” I ask, feeling my defenses rising.
“I didn’t say that. I just think that even though you’re living the life of an almost adult, you’re still a teenage boy with more hormones than your brain can handle. You can pretend you’re not overwhelmed, but I can see it. Your mother can see it. Even your sister notices.”
The thought of giving up anything to do with Lucy makes me feel like I’m going to have an anxiety attack. I already know my time is limited with her. She’s heading to that model house in a few days and after that—who knows?
“I’ll get the grade up, okay?” I say, reaching for my lap top. “There’s some extra credit I can do.”
He pats my knee. “Good idea.” At the door he stops. “I don’t blame you for any of this, you know that, right? I wouldn’t want to give an inch on anything in my life either, but if you don’t watch out and find a way to balance it, something or someone in all of this is going to get the short end of the stick. I don’t want that to be you.”
His point is made and I turn in my extra credit the next morning before I head to a meeting with Marissa. I call Lucy on the way.
“My parents are all over me about my grades.”
“I’m not surprised. You’ve been slacking.”
“Tommy, my dad, they all think I’m losing focus.” I say it because I wonder if she thinks so, too.
“I think you’re pushing your boundaries, Dean, and it can be a little scary. For everyone.” She pauses. “But if you’re really distracted, we can pull back a little bit. As much as I hate not seeing you every day, I understand. We have been a little…consumed with one another.”
It’s a relief to admit it and that it’s not just me. “You feel that way, too, huh?”
“You’re a very convincing and persistent man, Dean Turner.”
I stand outside Marissa’s office. “I’ve got a meeting but I guess it’s not a big deal anyway, you’re about to head off to the model house for a month.”
“Monday. I can’t believe it’s finally here.” There’s a nervous energy to her voice.
My phone beeps and I know it’s Marissa’s secretary. “Gotta run. I’m late.”
“Well if you need me, I’ll be slinging pizza at the restaurant.”
“Good to know.”
“Bye,” she says.
The words I want to say cling to my throat. I know how I feel. What she means to me, but it’s way too soon. “Bye, Luce, be safe.”
I’m not sure what Marissa called me in for, but I’m hoping it’s not another lecture. I’ve had enough of those lately. I doubt it, though. Things are going well on the acting front and Marissa is the one that suggested I link up with Lucy in the first place. That’s why what she says when I sit down in her office hits me like a ton of bricks.
“There are rumors you and Reese are dating.”
I lean forward. “What? Of course we aren’t dating.”
She tosses me a glossy magazine and a picture of me and Reese hugging is in an article. It obviously taken at her party. In reality, Lucy is a few feet away, but she’s been cropped out.
I shake my head. “You know better than anyone not to believe what you see.”
She picks up the magazine and looks at the photo again. “What if, as your manager, I like what I see?” She taps the picture with her finger. “Reese is a very popular actress.”
“So?” I’m not sure where this is going.
“She could be beneficial to your career, especially since you’re going to be in a relationship on the show.”
“I don’t know about that. I haven’t seen anything saying we go beyond flirting.”
She leans back in her seat and smiles. “True, but all that is about to change. I have some amazing news. I just heard back from the show runners. They want you in as a full-time cast member starting after hiatus. As Reese’s love interest.”
I hop out of my seat. “Really? Full time?”
“Yes!” she cries, pumping her fists. “You nailed it. You’ve done everything right. You’re friendly and professional. You’ve upped your social media game. You’re accessible to fans. All the stuff the network is looking for right now.”
My mind spins. The first thing I want to do is call Lucy and tell her.
“Because of this,” Marissa says, “they’ve asked that you attend the MegaCon panel this weekend.”
“This weekend?” I instantly think about my plans to spend the whole weekend with Lucy before she leaves.
“Yep. It’s an amazing experience with interviews, autograph signings, photoshoots, plus a bunch of parties. The network wants to announce the expansion of your role while you’re there.” She grins like she’s won the lottery. In a way, we both have. “Pack your bags, kid, you’re headed to New York!”
She stands and walks around the desk, giving me a hug. “You’ve worked hard for this, Dean. Don’t be scared to enjoy it a little.” She pulls back and gives me a stern look. “But not too much. The network will be watching.”
“Right,” I say, overcome with a million emotions, from pride to sheer excitement and then dread, knowing I’m going to have to leave Lucy sooner than I wanted.
31
Lucy
“The people at table three have been sitting there for two hours. I mean, the guy spends half his time on the phone! Can I kick them out?” Jennifer says, walking in the kitchen. “You just know they’re going to leave me a terrible tip.”
“Unfortunately,” Irving says, giving her a smile, “you can’t.”
“What about calling a tow truck and having their car removed? That’ll get them out, right?”
“I’m not sure that’s worth the expense.” He wraps his arm around her shoulders and gives her a little hug.
“Grrr…” she growls, annoyed at the customers—not at Irving. I’ve been watching the two of them escalate their banter for weeks now. I think he may finally get the courage up to ask her out.
“Lucy,” he says, handing me two sandwiches for my table, “I saw your friend on the news the other night.”
“What friend?”
“The boyfriend—you know, the actor.”
“Dean?” I ask, grabbing extra napkins to take out with the meal along with two fresh sodas.
“Dude,” Jennifer says, cutting her eyes at him. “That wasn’t the 'news', it was GossipTV and none of that stuff is true.”
He frowns. “But you said—”
“Nothing. I said nothing.” She pushes me and my tray out the kitchen door. “Please trip and spill that on table three. I’ll pay you.”
It takes me ten minutes to get back to the kitchen and Jennifer spends most of it hovering over table three trying to get them to leave. When they’ve finally left and we’re both back in the kitchen, I say, “Spill. What were they saying about Dean on TV?”
“You really haven’t seen it?”
“No.” I’ve learned not to follow the gossip sites too much. I don’t want to see myself and frankly, I can see Dean in person. I don’t need to rely on blurry photos of him walking in and out of the gym.
She makes an apprehensive face and my conviction wavers. “Let me see it.”
It takes her a minute to find it on her phone and Eric chastises us for messing around. She holds it up. “Here. I mean, it’s not a big deal, but I’d want to know what they were saying.”
I instantly recognize the scene. It’s at Reese’s party and it’s of Dean and her hugging. I hand it back over. “This is dumb. I was standing right there. Whoever posted this cut me out.”
“Okay. Cool.” She pockets her phone. “I just don’t want you to be surprised or anything.”
“Jen, you were the one pushing us to hang out more! Now that we’re actually dating, you have a problem with it?”
She holds up her hands, her ponytail swinging behind her. “No, definitely not. I think you guys are great together. I guess I just got protective.”
I smile. “Aww, you were w
orried about me.”
She shrugs. “A little bit. I just know you’re vulnerable and you’ve worked really hard to get things back together, you know?”
“I know. Thank you for looking out for me.” I give her a hug. “I trust him, Jen, I really do. He’s smart and kind and hardworking and—”
“Super hot.”
I laugh and pull back. “So hot.”
The front door swings open, followed by loud voices, and we both peek out the cut-out between the kitchen and the dining room. Jennifer squeezes my arm. “Speak of the devil.”
The feeling inside me when Dean and his friends stroll into the restaurant feels like the biggest rush. A rush of giddy happiness and nervous excitement. It’s something I’ve never really felt before outside modeling—and even this feels bigger.
“Girl, you should see your face right now. You’ve got it bad.”
I can’t even argue and I’m propelled forward, eager to greet him. I push through the kitchen door and I see him searching the room. His eyes light up when he sees me.
“Hey,” he says when I reach him.
“Hi.”
“Hey, Lucy,” Tommy says. Adam and Chris wave.
“Hey, guys.”
“Uh,” Dean says with a frown. “Can we talk real quick?”
“Yeah, sure.” I gesture to Jen. “Can you seat them? I’ll be back in a minute.”
She grabs the stack of menus and winks at Tommy. “Follow me.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I feel a thrill when Dean slips his hand in mine, pulling me out the front door. The night air is cool but the sky is bright. He walks me around to the side of the building, toward the alley for privacy.
“What’s going on—” He cuts me off with an expert and toe-curling kiss.
My fingers twist in the fabric of his shirt and my stomach flutters when his hands grip my waist. The kiss is perfect, yet too short. He leans his forehead against mine. “I’ve been wanting to do that all day.”
I smile. “Yeah?”
“Definitely.” He pulls back. “Listen, I have some big news and wanted to tell you before you heard it anywhere else.”
The butterflies in my stomach turn to lead. Is this about Reese?
“Okay,” I say uneasily.
“Marissa called me in today. I got offered the full-time role after hiatus. I’ll officially be part of the Avondale cast.” His smile is as big as the sun and all my worries evaporate.
“Dean!” I jump into his arms to give him a hug. “I’m so proud of you. This is epic!”
“Right?” he says, eyes starry. “It’s big. Really big.”
The way he says it hits me like a wave. It is big. Life-changing big. Like me and TNBM, and it’s all crashing on us at once. I push past any fear. “You’re going to be amazing, you know that, right?”
He grins and runs his hands through his hair. “They want to announce it at MegaCon this weekend, during the panel.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Wow, really? In New York?”
He reaches for me again, pulling me close. “Yes, New York, and they want me to go. Not just want—insisting. I don’t have a choice.”
It takes me a minute to process what he’s saying. He’s leaving town for our last weekend together for at least a month. “Oh, okay. So you’re leaving on what? Friday?”
That gives us two days.
He grimaces. “Thursday.”
One day.
Suddenly, despite telling him I was okay having a little distance so we could focus on our other obligations, I’m very much not ready to be away from him, but I don’t want to ruin his excitement. It’s not fair to him after he’s worked so hard. He takes my face in his hands. “We’ll spend tomorrow together, okay? The whole day.”
“I’d like that.”
He looks like he wants to say a million things, all caught between his eyes and mouth. Instead of speaking, he acts, kissing me again, this time harder, deeper. He leads me, until I’m backed against the building, palms planted flat on either side of my head.
I meet his intensity with my own. Want crashing into want. Fear and excitement mingling. His kisses are strong, making my heart jackhammer in my chest, so hard, so loud…surely he could hear it. Energy sizzles between us, igniting a fire I’d never felt in my life. When his lips traveled down my neck to my collarbone and I exhaled shakily, I blink and press my hands against his chest, pushing him back. His eyes are dark, deadly, and we’re both breathing heavy.
“I think I need to get back to work.”
He takes two steps back and swallows. “Right. Right. Yes.” I smile at his incoherence and he grins in response, then says, “Go in the back door. I’ll walk around front.”
“You can come in with me. Eric won’t care.”
His nose wrinkles. “I may need a minute to cool off.”
To have that effect on him? Dean Turner? I felt a strange sense of pride capturing the attention of this boy.
I push the curl off his forehead and kiss him quick before heading back into work. Jennifer raises an eyebrow when I walk back in, smoothing my hair. “Looks like he gave you quite the hello.” She touches her lips and I wonder if mine look as red and swollen as they feel.
“Not a hello,” I say, taking over the food prep. “It was more of a goodbye.”
She frowns. “What? What are you talking about.”
I tell her his news, including the fact he’s leaving early. Her face twists in a mixture of excitement and worry. “Oh babe,” she says, pulling me into a hug. “I know that stinks about him leaving early, but you both have big things on the horizon. Really big things.”
“I know. I just hate that we just figured this out, you know?”
There’s hollering from the front and I walk in to see Dean at the table with the others. His cheeks are still flushed but he’s obviously just told his friends the good news. They eat and drink long after closing but Eric’s cool with it, knowing it’s a celebration. At the end of the night Dean waits as we lock up, hands in his pockets leaning by my car. When I reach him, I say one thing I’ve been holding onto all night.
“The other day, when I told you I was ready for new things? I was serious about that.”
His eyes darken a shade and he swallows before asking in a strained voice, “Uh, what are we talking about here?”
I blink, trying to figure out his mood shift. It hits me.
“No!” I say, holding out my hands as my cheeks redden. “Not that. I’m talking about seeing my parents—well, my foster parents. I think it’s time and I’d like you to go with me.”
“Ah, the last thing on our list. I was going to let you off the hook.”
“And I almost let you, but you’re right about Fiona. She’ll use this against me.”
“Then we have one day to get it done,” he says. “Will that work?”
The nerves I feel are overwhelming but I fake it, pretending like I’m okay with it. “It’ll have to.”
He links his fingers with mine and kisses the back of my hand. “Then we’ll do it. Tomorrow.”
“Thank you,” I say.
“I’ve got a workout early. Can we meet after that?”
“Yeah, how about at the pier? We can go in the gate together. The pass on my car should still work.”
He releases my hand. I want to kiss him again but I know better and he does too. There’s a fire burning between us, fueled by the ticking clock. He opens my door and I get inside, shutting it behind me before either of us can start up again.
As I drive away, hope blooms in my chest. Not just for the two of us but for tomorrow. Going to see my family is an important part of the process and after accomplishing so much in the past few weeks, I don’t want this to be the thing I let slip away.
I’m just thankful I have a supportive, amazing boyfriend to help me through it.
32
Dean
My phone rings under my pillow, jerking me out of sleep. I search for the phone in the dark
and blink at the screen. What in the world is Marissa doing calling me at 6 a.m.?
“Hello?” I say.
“Dean! So sorry to call you this early but there’s been a change in plans.”
“Change in what?” I sit up, trying to get my bearings.
“I need you to be ready for the car to pick you up at seven for New York.”
“Seven? Tomorrow?”
“Today.”
“Today?” Suddenly I’m wide awake. “Marissa, I have plans today.”
“Cancel them.”
“I can’t.”
“Yeah, Dean, I think you can.” Her voice is a mix of irritation laced with excitement. “I’ve got you a photoshoot lined up with Entertainment Monthly. They have a rising stars issue coming out in conjunction with the convention and they specifically asked for you.”
EM is one of the biggest magazines still left around. They sell millions of copies and their rising star feature is a launching pad for new faces in entertainment. I don’t need Marissa to explain to me why this is a big deal, but she does anyway, yammering in my ear. “Throw some clothes in a bag, they’ll dress you for the shoot and you can shop for whatever else you need.”
She hangs up and I flop back on the bed. Lucy is going to kill me. I would kill me. I took our three days together and shrunk it to one. That, she tolerated. But now? And with going to see her family today?
I pick up the phone to call her but unsurprisingly get no answer. She’s still asleep, snug in her bed. I don’t leave a message, wanting to talk to her myself, and then head down the hall to let my parents know about the change of plans.
If I’m learning one thing about show business—and it’s something Lucy already knew—is that I have very little control over my life anymore. She understood that there are always sacrifices.
Lucy and The Love Pact: Young Adult Fake Romance (Love in Ocean Grove Book 2) Page 14