Chapter 22
Zack
It had been three weeks since Meredith's scene was filmed, and I knew that because it would be aired the next day, and they operate on a three-week delay. She and I were spending a ton of time together. It seemed like we'd seen each other every day for the past three weeks. Not because either of us felt like we had to, we were just comfortable in each other's presence. I'd been to the studio to see her a few times, and she'd come to the pool a couple times, but most of the time we just caught up with each other after work.
It was 7PM on a Tuesday, and I'd just picked her up. I made reservations at a place called Ellender's. I knew I'd easily blow five hundred bucks on dinner and drinks, but I wanted to celebrate.
"I had a meeting with Rachel and Joel today." I said. I reached out for her hand and she not only put her hand in mine, but also leaned over the console, stretching her seatbelt to the max so she could put a kiss on my cheek.
"I remember," she said. "They didn't tell you what it was about. What happened? It must be an ad they want you for, right?"
"Yeah, I sort of figured that going in, but I was surprised to see your brother and Ethan in Rachel's office. Actually, I saw Collin's truck in the parking lot before I ever went up to her office, but I was still surprised there were so many of us." I glanced at Meredith and she gave me that wide-eyed look that said she wanted me to finish the story. "Rachel's designing a new ad campaign that features all three of us. It's gonna be awesome. I saw sketches."
"She drew up sketches before they offered you the job?"
"They knew we wouldn't refuse. We'd be stupid to pass. Ethan and I both protested the amount Joel was willing to offer us. It's ludicrous. I called it charity, but Joel really wanted to hire us for the campaign and he'd already drawn up and signed paperwork with the amount he decided on."
"Which was?"
"A ton of money for a few hours of modeling and ten appearances."
"Don't want to jinx it?"
"I don't think it's possible since Rachel gave us cashier's checks today."
"Shoot, son, I got me a high roller!" she said. "Is that why you made me dress up? Where you taking me?"
"Ellender's."
"Shut up! How'd you get reservations?"
"I went ahead and had my agent do it like an official rock star, but I don't think it would have been that hard on a Tuesday night. Maybe I'm wrong. I just know my agent said it wasn't a big deal."
She giggled and played with my hand. "What's the ad gonna look like?"
"She had one of us on starting blocks and one that was out of the pool but we still had the goggles on. That one was heavy on the abs."
Meredith laughed. "Of course she'd want to use the abs. What else would she be paying you for? Your face?" It was an innocent slip, but Meredith quickly caught on to the fact that that could have offended me.
I smiled, knowing what she was thinking. "Actually, Rachel made a point of saying they wanted to highlight the scar. She said everyone would like seeing that I'm okay post-accident, and that it worked out because it happened to be aesthetically pleasing."
Meredith giggled. "She called it aesthetically pleasing? See, I told you. You gonna listen to me now that someone else says it? Is that how it is?"
I laughed. "No, I just think you're nice enough to lie to me."
"More like I love you enough to lie to you."
"You wouldn't!" I said.
"What? Love you or lie to you?"
"Either."
"I'd do both, but I'm not lying about the scar. It's hot."
"Mere?"
"Yep?"
"I don't want you to feel like I'm ignoring you. I know I feel something different with you, but I've never said that word to a girl before, and it's not something I take lightly."
"I know," she said, smiling and slapping at me like it was no big deal. "I didn't say that to make you feel guilty about not saying it. And I don’t want to make you feel weird either; I'm just being honest. Maybe I love easy, but there it is. I know you love me though, Zack." She was beaming, and we both knew she was right regardless of me not being able to say it.
****
The host gave us a two-seater booth in a mostly secluded hallway. Her dress had some things on it that sparkled, and if I didn't know better, I'd say there was some kind of glitter in her hair and maybe even her face. She was gorgeous and shimmering in the candlelight and I wanted to have her all to myself.
Imagine my surprise when…
"What are you two doing way back here?" a girl's voice said.
We turned to see Celeste's smiling face. I absolutely couldn't believe my own eyes when she proceeded to sit down next to me in the tiny booth, perching on the edge. Her butt cheek was definitely on me and I looked at Meredith with a helpless, regretful expression. I see you two patched things up. You're the one who's like a sister. Oh, my bad, did you say she was your sister? Anyway, any sister to Zack is okay by me." Celeste stuck out her hand to Meredith who smiled sweetly and took it without feeling like she had to confront her.
"I gave you the wrong impression the other night, I'm afraid. I shouldn't have said she's like a sister. Meredith's my girl, although I didn't quite know it at the time. But, no, definitely not my sister." I looked at Meredith from across the table for confirmation, and she shook her head with a sly grin, saying sister wasn't the word she'd use to describe what she was to me.
"Oh my God. Are you two? I thought she seriously was your little sister. How old are you?" She looked at Meredith, who picked up her glass of white wine.
"Seems I'm at least twenty-one."
Celeste stared at Meredith in disbelief for several long seconds before it finally sunk in that I was there on a date with her. "This is a, uh, shocker for me." She looked into the distance for another long, awkward minute before saying; "I guess I always knew I didn't stand a chance with you."
I cringed. "Aw, don't say that. It wasn't about you. No one really stood a chance."
She smiled at that. "Until her." She motioned at Meredith, both of them were smiling, and I was counting the seconds until that whole ridiculous encounter was over.
"Until her," I agreed.
"Lucky girl," Celeste said.
"Indeed," Meredith said. She picked up her drink again and tipped it to Celeste as she stood and walked off. It couldn't have gone much better as far as I was concerned, I was just hoping it wasn't one of those things where I thought everything went great, and all of a sudden, I get the wrath of the girl who had apparently had a completely different experience than me. In other words, I was just praying Meredith wasn't pissed about the whole thing.
"That was interesting," I said, once she was out of earshot.
Meredith laughed then smiled at me sweetly. "You called me your girl."
"You picked up on that?"
"How could I miss it? You proudly proclaimed it like a knight in shining armor defending his fair maiden's honor."
"It was pretty romantic, I guess," I said shrugging like there was nothing to it.
She laughed again. "Be still my heart."
Just then, our food arrived. I ate all of mine and some of Meredith's, and thought the reason the food tasted so good in these fancy places was because you were still starving for more of it when you left. Meredith said the portions were plenty generous and that I was just a big pig like her brother who was never satisfied at a nice restaurant. I told her I was satisfied fine with the taste of the food, I just wanted about three more servings of it. We laughed about pulling through the In and Out Burger on the way home.
"I'm gonna set your DVR to record the show tomorrow so I can watch it at your house if I want to."
I couldn't believe Meredith was just bringing up the subject of the show airing the next day. I'd been waiting until she brought it up for me to tell her, and I thought she never would.
"You have the day off tomorrow," I said.
At first, it didn't register what I was saying, but then her ha
nd went to her chest and she said, "You mean me? I have the day off?"
"Yeah, I talked to Max, he said he's gonna be buying more stuff from you. He joked that you couldn't do this every time, but he was happy to give you the day off so you can have your first screening with your friends."
"Are you coming home early to watch it with me?" she asked.
"I have the day off. I have to get the house ready, my mom offered to help, and I think we should think about letting her. There are about twenty people coming over to watch it with us."
I saw her eyes start to glaze over with tears, but she held them back. "I can't believe you're doing that for me. It's really the sweetest thing ever."
"I wish I could take credit, but it was your mom's idea." Meredith literally choked on the sip of wine she had in her mouth. It must have gone down the wrong pipe. It took her more than a minute to quit coughing.
"I'm sorry." She stopped to clear her throat again. "Did you say my mom?"
"Yeah."
(Another throat clearing.) "I didn't think my mom knew."
"I'm sure Collin or Rachel told her. Hell, if they wouldn't have, I might have done it myself. Your script's on TV for the first time. It's a big deal, Shorty." I smiled at her. "I think your mom's spending the night at Collin's."
"My mom's in this town right now?"
Zack smiled. "And she's coming over to watch your show tomorrow—her and about twenty other people. Including your dad."
"My dad's here too? Oh, crap, Zack, I'm really nervous now. What if it's cheesy?"
"It's a daytime soap. It's got to be cheesy, or we'd all want our money back."
"That's what I'm so afraid of. What if it sucks? Seriously."
"It won't suck. It made it through about twenty other people after you wrote it. I promise you, they won't produce junk. Besides, Caleb and Max all said what a good scene it was. You should just chill and enjoy watching it with your friends."
"And we're doing it at your house?"
I nodded.
"Thank you for getting involved," she said.
"I wouldn't think about not getting involved, if that makes any sense."
"It does." She gave me a thankful smile and thanked me again for working things out with Max and arranging the get together. I was so glad she was looking forward to it, and I found myself hoping everything went off without a hitch between her and her mom.
Meredith relaxed onto the back of the booth with a content smile. "I better be invited to that photo shoot when you, Ethan, and my brother have to show your abs. I'm seriously going to watch you guys. I’m sure Emily and Rachel will be wanting to do the same thing."
It didn't get past me that she put herself in the company of the significant others. That was fine by me since I considered her my girlfriend. I didn't mention it, though. I commented on the photo shoot instead. "Speaking of abs, I've got to start dieting if I'm gonna have to flash the six pack."
"Quit trippin. You look like an ad for Abercrombie."
"I'm bout to look like an ad for Perrin Goggles," I said.
"I know that's right."
I pulled out a small, cloth package from my back pocket and tossed it onto the table. It was a leather bracelet with a small metal plate attached. The word hustle was hand-stamped on it. It was something we said to each other all the time—her to me about rehab, and me to her about her work. I had it custom made by this local jewelry artist. She inspected it for a few long seconds before looking at me. "This is unbelievably sweet, Zack. I'm telling my brother how sweet you are."
I shrugged. "I don’t know. He's still giving me the evil eye when I mention you. I think he's having a hard time with the idea of us being together."
"That's my fault," she said. "I mean, I've hinted at something going on with us, but I didn't want to come out and tell him until we, you know, knew for sure, or whatever."
"Are you serious?" I said laughing. "You haven't told Collin we're together." I thought back to a few exchanges where I thought he was being unreasonable, but if he had no idea she and I were together, then I could see why he acted so funny. "What'd you tell him? That we just hang out every day as friends."
"I didn't really tell him anything. It's not like I talk to him every day. We're both busy with work."
"Meredith, you're telling you're brother we're together," I said. "Especially in light of what's about to go down at the cabin."
"You're saying you want me to tell him I'm your girlfriend?" She drug out the word girlfriend in a teasing tone.
"Yes, I want you to tell your brother that. Because that's what you are for one thing, and also because I'd like to avoid being hacked to pieces."
Chapter 23
Meredith
It was Wednesday May 20th, and oh, what a beautiful day it was in Los Angeles California. My scene was airing that day, and eighteen people and two dogs were crammed into Zack's living room to watch Paradise Island when it aired at 2PM Pacific Standard Time. They'd all gathered there to celebrate with me and I felt the love, let me tell you. Zack's mom got there early and helped us get things ready. They ordered some simple finger foods and his mom put the trays out along with everything needed to serve and eat. I couldn't believe all the trouble; I felt humbled. I was extremely nervous to see how the scene came out.
The night before, I sort of inadvertently told Zack my brother didn't know about us yet. I made sure Zack knew I was planning on telling Collin the truth if I had the opportunity while we were there to watch the show. I tried to think about how scared I should be of my brother, hoping it would somehow make me forget how anxious I was about watching my scene.
That wasn't all I had to be nervous about, either. We were just ten days from our night in the cabin. (Can I get an OMG?) Obviously, we hadn't told anybody what we were using the cabin for, but I did put my name on that night using the online calendar Gretchen had set up.
My mom and dad along with Collin and Rachel were the first to arrive at the little shindig. Taking in the scene, my mom acted for a second like she wanted to get a little passive aggressive about not being in on the planning committee. But just like that, God love her, I saw the switch flip, and I could see her resolve to go with the flow. She smiled and reached out to hug me.
"I'm so proud of you sweetheart," she said.
The burning pain of unshed tears hit me instantly and I held them back with all my might, trying to avoid a dramatic scene.
"Thank you, I'm nervous," I said, honestly.
"You shouldn't be," Rachel said, reaching in to hug me. I was glad for the distraction. My mother's proudness was almost too much for my tear ducts. I busied myself by getting hugs from my brother and dad then we all gathered around the kitchen, making introductions and conversation.
Everyone had arrived with ten minutes to spare before the show started. We stood around the kitchen and living room, hanging out and eating snacks. Zack's mom said something about the two of us being together as a couple, and when she did, I got some serious stares from my mother and brother. I just smiled and looked at Zack. "I mean, it's only really been official for, what, three weeks now?" I gave a nonchalant shrug as if it were old news.
"You and Zachary are seeing each other?" my mom asked formally. There were at least ten of us gathered in the living room, and up until then, people were talking amongst themselves, but at my mom's question, the whole room fell silent.
I looked at Zack and shrugged again trying to make it seem natural, but I knew I was red, I could feel the blood in my cheeks.
"Yes, we're seeing each other," Zack said. He pulled me in for an off balance hug, which earned us appreciative noises from the group. I hadn't realized how badly I wanted to hear him tell other people that. All along, I'd been wanting to hear him say it. When the words came out of his mouth, I could physically feel relief in my chest. Zack Larson had just made things official between us in front of our friends and family, and the most amazing part was… I still wanted him. Thank God Almighty my run-reflex was b
roken! In fact, wanting wasn't even the appropriate word for what I felt about him. I was giddy with anticipation about the night we had planned at the cabin, and I was so attracted to him, that literally every time we touched, even brief or accidental, my gut clinched and I felt a zap to my skin. I wanted Zack so badly, I felt almost delirious with desire.
The show had been on for a little while, but my scene hadn't aired yet. Zack and I were sitting on the couch together, and he got up during a commercial to grab a drink out of the fridge. He had on jeans that hugged the muscular curves of his legs. His shirts were usually fitted because with his broad chest, they just all fit like that. This one was no different. It was a simple white V-neck, but it fit him like a glove and that was a sight to behold. I sat there staring at him from across the room, wondering how I ended up with the most gorgeous guy there. I knew I looked good, but shit, there must have been a little luck involved with me catching one like Zack.
"You look happy, sweetheart." My mom's statement had me pulling my gaze from Zack so I could look at her.
"I am happy, Mom. I'm loving work, and now that I have Zack I'm starting to feel really comfortable here."
"Are you planning on finishing up school here in L.A. then?"
"I'm planning on taking it day by day right now. I'll see if I can keep up this momentum, if not, I'll fall back on school."
My mom murmured the words falling back under her breath, then said, "Going to school should not be plan B, Meredith. It should be plan A."
"Well, mom I don't know what to tell you other than for me, school is plan B, so you can just get over it. I'm sorry if my life makes you nervous."
"That does make me nervous, Meredith. I'm sorry, but it does."
"That's okay, mom. Just get over yourself enough to tell me good job when I make it."
We sat there in silence for a few long seconds, both of us being stubborn. "Sweetie, I'm sorry," she said. I glanced at her, and could see that she looked genuinely regretful. "I worry about you, and I just have to get my two cents in about it. I guess if I'd open my eyes, I could see that you are making it." She gestured to the TV. The commercial was over and Paradise Island was coming on again.
Three Months and You're Mine (In Too Deep) Page 16