Fantasized by You

by Steph Nuss

  “This’ll make you feel better,” she said with a smile. She handed me the glass and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Did you see a flash or hear anyone take a picture of you two?”

  “No,” I said, shaking my head. “But that doesn’t mean they didn’t.”

  “Yeah,” she said, taking a drink.

  I sat there staring at the amber liquid, wishing I was back home with Maverick. Bringing the glass up to my lips, I took a sip, and the whiskey burned down my throat. I usually wasn’t a whiskey drinker, but I’d take anything right now. Anything to keep me from killing my best friend across the hall.

  A chirp came from Imani’s bag, and she looked over at me reassuringly. “It’s probably just an email about our flight tomorrow.”

  She set her glass on the nightstand and retrieved her iPad. I watched nervously as she tapped around on the device. She enlarged whatever she was reading and then shook her head. “You’re gonna want to finish your drink before you read this.”

  “What!” I exclaimed, jumping off of the bed. My stomach tightened as I scurried over toward her. “What is it?”

  She looked at me apprehensively and eyed the drink in my hand. “Seriously, drink that.”

  “Ohmigawd,” I groaned, tossing the drink back. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “It’s bad isn’t it?”

  “It’s not good,” she cringed. She handed the device over to me, and I quickly skimmed the article.

  Jen Harper Caught Kissing Another Man!

  The relationship between fashion designer, Jen Harper, and Marvel’s latest hero, Maxton Waters, appears to be on the rocks after photographs of Harper kissing another man surface.

  The photographs show Harper locking lips and getting cozy with personal trainer and gym owner, Maverick Jones. A rep for Jones could not be reached for comment. A rep for Harper had no comment.

  Despite the evidence of infidelity, Waters and Harper were spotted kissing at L’Avenue after attending the Paris premiere of his new movie, Secret Warriors. However, a witness says, “They didn’t look happy.”

  It’s hard to say where their relationship will go from here. A source close to Waters says, “He’s hurting.”

  Harper is set to show at New York’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week next week. It’ll be interesting to see which hunk will be by her side.

  After reading the article for the tenth time, I looked up at Imani with tears streaming down my face. The article included photos of Maverick and me kissing outside his building after I spent the night at his place, as well as photos of Max and me kissing at L’Avenue and posing on the red carpet at his premiere. Worry balled in my throat at the thought of Maverick reading the article, and I went from feeling crushed to pissed in a nanosecond.

  “I’ll be right back,” I said. I flung the door open, hitting it hard against the wall, walked across the hall, and banged on Max’s door.

  When he opened the door, I marched in waving Imani’s iPad at him. “Have you seen this?” I pointed at the screen and glared at him, seething. “They wrote that I’m cheating on you! You kiss me, and I’m the one who gets shit on! My real relationship with Maverick is the one that’s ridiculed!”

  Wrapping my arms around my stomach, I shook my head as tears soaked my cheeks. “I can’t be around you right now. You can catch a different flight home because I don’t want to be seen with you. I don’t want you to come to my show next week. I don’t want any more press about you and me. I’m in love with Maverick and now I have to go figure out how I’m going to explain to him the lies in this fucking article! Thank you for that. I appreciate it.”

  “Harper, wait,” he said, following me to the door.

  “No,” I said harshly, looking back at him. “I’ve waited my entire life to fall in love with a man like Maverick, and I’m not going to let one more moment with you screw it up.”

  When I got back into my room, I collapsed on the bed and started sobbing. Just when I thought everything in my life was going perfect, all hell broke loose. I felt awful about the article even though I knew it was all lies. I didn’t want Maverick to think I was cheating on him after seeing the photo of Max kissing me. I also didn’t want people to think I was cheating on Max, even if we weren’t in a relationship. I wasn’t the cheating type. I was the hopeless romantic, the girl who just wanted her happily ever after.

  In this industry, though, nobody was ever accurately portrayed. The do-gooders were assholes; the assholes were saints. The cheaters were lovers, and the lovers were cheaters. It was screwed up how they twisted things around just to entertain the public and make money. That’s what bothered me the most about the tabloids; it was all for entertainment. They didn’t care about your feelings or if they printed the truth. They just wanted to sell magazines.

  Once I calmed down and could breathe again, I sat up against the headboard and grabbed my phone. I opened the article again and scrolled through the comments. Most of the readers felt bad for Max. Some of them thought I was a heartless bitch, and others thought Maverick was hotter than Max. There was even a poll where readers could vote for which guy they wanted me to be with. It was ridiculous, but I smiled weakly when I saw that Maverick had the most votes so far.

  “Um, Harper?” Imani said, walking back into the room. She had the same distraught look on her face as when she’d shown me the article.

  “What now?” I asked, tilting my head up. What else could life throw at me tonight?

  “This was just delivered to your suite,” she said, handing me an envelope.

  There was an “H” written on the front in handwriting I was all too familiar with. “No.” I shuddered as worry rushed through my veins. Ripping the note out of its envelope, I opened up the paper and saw more of that crazy bitch’s handwriting.

  Stay away from Max or else. —D

  “Do you think she was here?” I asked, looking up at Imani.

  “I don’t know. It just arrived,” she replied, shaking her head. “I’m going to alert Max’s security and then go check the hotel’s security footage.”

  “Okay,” I said, slipping the note back into the envelope. I handed it to Imani and wiped away a tear. “As if the article wasn’t bad enough, now I have to worry about her, too.”

  “I know.” She slipped the note into the folder she kept in her bag. “We’ll get it figured out, just like we always do.”

  “But first I need to call Mav.” Scrolling through my contacts, I found Mav’s name and pressed call, saying a silent prayer that he hadn’t read the article yet. As the call went through, ringing continued blaring in my ears. Come on, baby, pick up. Please, pick up. I need you to pick up.

  Chapter Twelve

  Maverick

  Monday night, I joined the gang at Judge’s Bar for a few beers. It was our favorite spot to hang out and relax after work, and it was better than sitting at home, missing Harper. Tonight was Max’s movie premiere, and the thought of him walking her down some red carpet made my stomach churn. Tomorrow couldn’t get here fast enough. I wanted her home next to me where she belonged, not in some lovey-dovey city with him. Besides, I went and saw his movie last night and it wasn’t even that great.

  Okay, it was better than great, but only because it’s Marvel. Marvel movies were the best.

  I took a drink of my beer and tried pushing all thoughts of Harper with Max out of my mind. Iowa State and Oklahoma State were on, and we all had bets on who’d win the basketball game. When I heard a phone ring, I looked down the bar at Paige, knowing it was hers. It was always her phone that rang while we were at the bar. She practically had the damn thing stuck to her ear most of the time. I turned my attention back toward the TV, but a few seconds later I felt a tap on my shoulder.

  “Mav,” Paige said, smiling weakly.

  “Yeah?” I asked, swiveling around on my barstool. “What’s up?”

  She looked down at her tablet and worry crept up my throat.

  “Well, since I’m your PR person for the gym, I have
a Google alert out for you because you’re my client, so—”

  “If anything is posted about me, you’re alerted,” I said, furrowing my brows. “What is it?”

  The rest of our friends turned to listen in on our conversation. Paige sighed and then handed me her tablet. “This was posted online about thirty minutes ago.”

  A scowl hardened on my face as I read the article about Harper cheating on Max. Rage boiled through me seeing the two of them together and kissing over dinner. My knuckles went white as I read further and saw pictures of us together and the fucking poll.

  I handed the device back to Paige and took a deep breath. “Were you contacted for a comment?”

  “No, I swear,” she said, shaking her head. “That’s what the tabloids do. They say a rep couldn’t be reached when they didn’t even try contacting them. It’s a lie. The whole article’s probably a lie.”

  Fletcher took the tablet out of Paige’s hand and the rest of my friends read the article. He gazed up at me ingloriously. “Man, I was just joking about her going to Paris and cheating on you. I didn’t think she’d actually—”

  “She didn’t cheat on him,” Elly snapped, slapping Fletcher’s arm. She looked at me and shook her head. “She wouldn’t do that.”

  I didn’t think she would either, and the anger I felt wasn’t directed toward her. It was toward Waters. He saw us together before they boarded the plane. He saw me kiss her before they left, and he still had the balls to kiss her when he knew she was mine. I wanted to kill that little bastard after seeing his mouth on her.

  Downing the rest of my beer, I stood up. I wanted to be alone. The article would be the topic of the rest of our evening, and I didn’t want to sit around and listen to my friends dissect my relationship with Harper. I wanted to talk to her.

  “I’m gonna go,” I said, throwing a couple of bills on the bar. The seven of them insisted I stay, but I shook my head. I knew they meant well, and I appreciated it, but I was more concerned about my woman right now. “Guys, I’m fine. I just want to go home and call Harper.”

  “If you need anything, just let me know,” Paige said, comforting me. “This is what I do.”

  I nodded and left. The cold air burned my lungs, but I felt like walking. I needed the smoggy New York City air to think. Harper hated the tabloids, so I knew talking to her wouldn’t be easy. She’d be upset, and what sucked the most was that I couldn’t hold her and comfort her the way I wanted to. I wanted to kiss her and make all of this bullshit go away, but I couldn’t.

  “Maverick!”

  I turned around and found Carter striding toward me. He stopped in front of me and blew into his hands for warmth. “Look, I know my sister. She isn’t the kind of girl who cheats. She’s the kind of girl who falls in love and stays there.”

  “I know,” I smiled, patting him on the shoulder. I pulled my phone out of my jeans to check the time and saw two missed calls from her already. Shit, she’s probably freaking out.

  “Just hear her out,” he continued. “The article’s already hurt her enough by telling lies about her, and if she doesn’t get a chance to explain it to you, she’ll be even more devastated.”

  “Carter, I’m in love with her. I don’t give a fuck what some article says about us. All I care about is her. If I could fly to Paris right now to be with her, I would. But I can’t, so I’m going to go home, and I’m going to try my best to comfort her over the phone.”

  He smiled. “Okay, then, I’ll let you go.”

  I laughed and shook my head. “Later, man.”

  *

  When I got home, I removed my clothes and then jumped into bed. I was just turning off the light when I heard Harper’s ringtone. I relaxed back against my headboard and smiled at her picture she’d assigned to herself.

  She’s so fucking beautiful.

  Sliding my finger across the screen, I answered. “Hey.”

  She sighed on the other end. “Ohmigawd, thank you for finally picking up. I get it if you’re mad, but please—”

  “It’s okay.” God, I could hear it in her tone how upset she was. I just wanted to reach through the phone and caress her face. Hearing her sniff back tears, my chest ached at the thought of her crying.

  “What?” she asked, warily.

  “Baby, I’ve already seen the article,” I said, trying to alleviate her worries.

  “Mav,” she breathed, “It’s not what it looks like. He kissed me, but what the picture doesn’t show is me pushing him away. He told me he had feelings for me, and I told him that I love you. I. Love. You.”

  I smiled, and the need to kiss her grew even stronger. “I love you, too.”

  “You do?” she asked, sniffling.

  “Of course, I do,” I said, scooting down to the pillows. “I don’t care about what some article says about us. All I care about is you. We know the truth about our relationship. You told me Max was just a friend, and I believe you. Was I pissed when I saw him kissing you? Yeah, but I wasn’t mad at you. I was mad at him. That little fuckwad saw me kiss you at the airport, he knew we were together, and he still had the balls to make a move on you when I wasn’t around. That’s what upsets me the most. I love you, and I don’t want anyone or anything getting in the way of what we have.”

  “I don’t want that either,” she said, sounding happier. “I wish I was there with you right now.”

  “Me too,” I sighed. “What time do you leave tomorrow?”

  “We leave at two o’clock New York time, so we’ll probably land a little after nine in the morning,” she replied. “Are you going to be able to pick us up at the airport?”

  “Yep, I took the whole day off tomorrow,” I said, grinning. I had plans for us when we got back to her place. I wanted to spend all day with her in bed … or wherever she wanted to have sex. Now, after the clusterfuck she had to deal with in Paris, I wanted to spoil her even more, to prove to her how much I really loved her.

  “You didn’t have to do that.”

  Oh, yes, I did. I missed her like crazy.

  “I’m the boss,” I quipped. “I can do whatever I want.”

  She laughed softly, and then I heard her take a deep breath and exhale.

  “How are you holding up, babe?” I asked, wishing I could hold her in my arms. “Talk to me.”

  “I’ve been better,” she answered, choking back tears. She blew her nose. “I thought everything was going great. I thought I was keeping a low profile. And then this happens! I’m so pissed off at Max. He had years to tell me how he felt, but the minute he finds out I’m in love with you, he decides it’s the right time to tell me? And he did it in public! He just doesn’t understand that he can’t do that type of shit. Someone is always watching or listening or taking a fucking picture.

  “But I feel like a hypocrite. I ripped his ass tonight for kissing me without thinking about the consequences when I practically did the same thing to you. I never once thought about the paparazzi when you and I were together, and now you’re all over the tabloids because of me.”

  “I don’t care about the tabloids, remember?”

  “I know, but I care,” she replied, tenaciously. “I just want this shit to stop. I want my privacy back. I don’t want articles written about me anymore. I don’t want paparazzi following me around. I don’t even want to do Fashion Week next week. I’m thinking about backing out of it.”

  “You can’t do that,” I said, calmly. “You can’t let them control your life. You can’t hide away just because you want privacy. Fuck the consequences. I say, do whatever you want and don’t worry about the media. Let them write their lies and bullshit, and you just do you. Don’t let them stop you from doing something you love. You love fashion, and you’ve been preparing for your show for months now. You back out now, you’re just adding fuel to their fire.”

  “I know,” she sighed.

  “I understand you want your personal life to stay private, and I want that too. But I also want to be able to kiss you whe
never and wherever I want. I don’t want us censoring our relationship for anyone.”

  “Me either,” she cried.

  She was sobbing now, and my stomach twisted in agony for her. I wanted to do more than comfort her with words. I wanted to kiss her and wipe away all her tears.

  “I just feel like I lost my best friend tonight,” she said in a shaky voice. “I mean, I’m mad at him for kissing me and for not telling me how he felt sooner, but I was such a bitch to him. I even told him to catch a different flight home, Maverick. I told him not to come to my show. I said I didn’t want to be seen with him.” She took another deep breath, in an attempt to calm down.

  “I feel bad that I treated him like he was nothing. He’s always been there for me, and tonight I wasn’t there for him. I was too busy being upset with him to even consider how much I hurt him by telling him I was in love with you.”

  Dammit. Now she had me feeling bad for the bastard, too. “It’ll be okay. Just apologize and tell him he can fly back with you.”

  “I’m sorry,” she breathed. “I know you probably don’t care—”

  “Harper, I care because I love you,” I said, trying to ease her mind. “I know how important he is to you. If this happened between Elly and me, I’d feel the same way you’re feeling right now. Your friendship might’ve changed tonight, but you didn’t lose him. If he’s a good friend, he’ll forgive you and move on.”

  “So, you’re not going to kill him if you see him tomorrow?” she questioned.

  I laughed lightly and then dramatically sighed, in an attempt to humor her. “I guess he can live.”

  She laughed loudly into the phone, and I imagined her face lit up and smiling. Just hearing her laugh made me relax a little bit. Was I going to forget about him kissing her? Fuck no. But I certainly wasn’t going to upset her any more by beating the shit out of him.

  “Well, I guess I should go apologize to him,” she said, reluctantly.

  “You’ll feel better after you do.”

  “I know,” she said, and I could hear the smile in her voice. “Thank you for listening and for being so understanding about all this.”