“Well, I’ve been reading some scripts, meeting with some people and I’ve definitely got some ideas lined up,” Jake said. He had such a charisma when talking to her, such an easy give and take of sharing and withholding all at the same time.
“Well we’re definitely looking forward to hearing what you have planned for us,” she said, excitedly. “Now, McKinley, we all want to know? What’s it like?’
“What is what like?” I asked, confused, but continuing to smile and lay on the charm.
“Dating this handsome man over here?” Lavonne asked, laughing.
“Oh!” I laughed. “Well, you know, we’re just hanging out, having fun!”
“Oh sure, sure,” Lavonne said, winking at me. “I think we all know better than that! But we’re all just dying to know everything about you! It’s not every day that Jake brings a girl out to a red carpet and we all saw those steamy pictures of you at that gas station.”
I felt myself blush a little at the mention of those pictures but immediately recovered myself. I tossed my hair a little and waved her off, laughing. “Oh, I’m just a regular girl, you know. Nothing special about me. You’d all just be bored to tears.” I smiled broadly, laying on some thick charm.
“Nonsense!” Lavonne cried.
“We’ve got to move on,” Adrienne said, coming up from behind me.
“Oh, Adrienne, do they have to?” Lavonne asked, playfully.
Adrienne smiled, regretfully. “I’ll give you a call, Lavonne. We’ll set something up!” She gently steered Jake and I away from Lavonne and further down the red carpet. “Photos, guys, ready? And try to look like you’re together okay? You guys are the talk of the town right now!”
I looked up at Jake, and before I could stop myself or second-guess what I was doing, I took his hand in mine, interlacing our fingers. He looked down at me and smiled, happily, his real smile, the one meant for me and not the cameras. I knew the paparazzi were eating this all up.
Later that night, after we’d sat through the show (Jake won Best Male Actor in a TV show Drama) and had made an appearance at an after-show party, we finally made it back down the 101 to Calabasas and to Jake’s house. I collapsed on one of the comfy couches in the living room, exhausted.
“I have no idea how you do it,” I said, running a hand through my hair, which had officially lost control. “I’m so tired.”
Jake came over and sat next to me on the couch, taking off his blazer and setting it across an armchair. “I don’t know. I’m just used to it, I guess. My life is pretty non stop.” He brushed some of my wild hair out of my face. “They loved you though. You rocked it tonight.”
I laughed lightly, shaking my head. “It was so unreal. People were shouting my name and taking my picture. And some of the questions they were asking me!”
Jake lowered his voice in an impression of a serious news reporter. “The world wants to know, McKinley Evans, do you prefer Coke or Pepsi?”
I shook my head, still smiling. “It just all seemed so silly.”
“Well,” Jake said, coming a bit closer to me, “it is a little silly. But damn, did they love your dress! You’re going to make vintage a fashion statement on the red carpet.”
I smirked. “So does this mean you can admit you were wrong about my dress?”
Jake glared at me, jokingly for a second. “Oh okay, I was wrong. You completely rocked it, in a sexy, June Cleaver, housewife way. But you had fun right?”
I stared at him for a moment and then gave in. “Okay, yeah, it was totally fun.”
“I can’t believe you wouldn’t take anything from the gift parties!” Jake said, a grin on his face. “You looked like you were in shock.”
“I was in shock! How could I take all that free stuff?” I laughed. “I felt so greedy; I wanted everything!”
“Well, that is the point of that stuff being there. Companies practically beg to give their stuff away at award shows; it’s a chance to say that so-and-so has their product. It’s super worth it to them,” Jake explained.
“So they can brag that Jake Kennedy uses…” I paused as I peeked into his bag. I made a face at him. “Look at allll those video games. Jake Kennedy uses XBOX!”
“And McKinley Evans uses Iphone!” Jake countered back, tossing me something. I caught it automatically before realizing that I was holding a brand new Iphone in my hand. I stared at it for a moment and then looked up at him. “I figured since you wouldn’t actually take one, I’d grab one for you. Especially since it’s partly my fault that your old one got smashed.”
I stared down at the phone and then back up at him. “You are so weird. You just gave me a phone!”
“Well, technically, I got it for free and just passed it along to you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Like that makes it any less absurd.” I pulled myself out of the comfy couch and stood up. “Let’s go upstairs; I really am super tired.”
“Here,” Jake said, standing up as well. “Jump on my back.”
I shook my head. “Oh, no, no, not in this dress! I’ll walk upstairs like a lady.”
“No, I think,” Jake said thoughtfully, “I think I want to carry you upstairs! Come here!” He lunged at me, laughing. I laughed and ran out of his reach. He leapt over the couch and came at me.
“Oh, no, you don’t,” I said, turning to run up the stairs. He came chasing after me, both of us laughing in the loud and echoing house. I slid across the wood floors as I turned the corner and burst into his room. Just then, he caught me from behind and lifted me off my feet. My stomach ached from all the laughter. “All right, all right, I give up!”
“Good,” he said, putting me down and turning me around to face him. “Now, no more talking.”
My breath caught in my throat as I felt his hands slip my zipper lower down my back and run across my bare spine. “Right,” I agreed. “No more talking.”
Chapter Six
“Good morning, McKinley.”
I turned around from washing some dirty coffee mugs and smiled as Dave walked into the café. I felt like I hadn’t seen him in ages; his youngest son, Kevin, had caught a wicked case of the chicken pox, keeping him at home at all times. “Dave, hi!” I came out from behind the counter and gave him a huge hug. “How’s Kevin? Feeling better, I hope?”
Dave smiled, looking tired. “Oh yeah, much better,” he said, taking a seat at the front counter, a few stools away from Iris’s seat. “Can you set me up with the usual?”
“Of course,” I smiled, writing out Dave-usual on a notepad and sliding it across the steam window to Cameron, who was prepping tomatoes for the day. “How’s everything else been?”
“Good, good, great,” he said, waving me off. “Now I want to talk about you, little missy. I saw you on TV the other night, at the fancy teen award show.”
“Oh that,” I said, brushing it off. “It was no big deal.”
“No big deal? Girl, everyone is talking about you. McKinley Evans, small town girl dating big shot Hollywood guy Jake Kennedy,” David said, teasing.
I rolled my eyes. “Of course they would call Brea ‘small town’. And seriously, it’s no big deal.”
Dave smiled in thanks at the coffee I slid across the counter to him. “That’s not what I’ve heard. Kammie has been going nuts, saying Auntie Kinley is famous!”
“Man, he is not lying,” Cassandra said, walking in through the front door, covering a yawn with her hand. “You were all over Entertainment Tonight the other night. You charmed the hell out of those reporters at the Teen Choice Awards…and completely rocked it with that Anne Fogarty dress. Which was super cute, by the way.”
“Thanks,” I said, looking at both of them. “But seriously…”
“I’ve had to call the cops three times in the last few days to get the paparazzi away from the diner so I can serve customers,” Luke said, coming downstairs.
Cassandra, Robert, Diane, Frank and Dave all turned to look at me. I smiled, devilishly and turned around to grab Dave�
��s food off the counter. “Okay, so maybe it is a little bit of a big deal. I guess being Jake Kennedy’s friend is kind of exciting.”
“Kind of?” Iris said, from her corner. “Girl, people have been queuing in to get your autograph. I can barely get any work done.”
“Well, I am certainly sorry for that,” I smirked. “Maybe, just maybe, you should make it into the office some days instead of just hanging out here with me.”
Iris paused, as if giving it some thought. “Nah. Then I’d miss all the excitement!”
I laughed, shaking my head and turned to my laptop, perched on the counter near Iris’s, available for me between orders to work on my homework and, yes, to Google myself. I opened my email and felt a little fizzle in the stomach when I noticed I had gotten an email from my grandma. I took a deep breath and clicked it open.
Hello McKinley!
I was so very happy to hear from you! I hadn’t gotten anything on the line in awhile so I was worried maybe it got lost.
John just told me emails don’t get lost and it’s called online. Oops, I’m sorry. Sometimes my technology skills just aren’t that good.
I’m glad to hear that things in California are good. Going to school is always a great plan and I’m sure working at the diner is offering some great leadership training for you. I’m so grateful, knowing that Luke has taken such good care of you since Corinna disappeared.
Oh, I was watching some TV the other day while working on the plans for a benefit we’re doing at the club in a couple weeks and I swear that I saw you on TV with that handsome Jake Kennedy! You guys just made the sweetest couple!
Anywho, I’m going to be wrapping up this email because I have so much work to do right now but please write back soon and hopefully we can talk about a trip for you out here. Or I could even go out there! It’s been awhile since I’ve taken a trip out there; my friend, Marsha, has been bugging me for ages to come out.
I’m so glad we’re talking and that I’ve finally found you.
Olivia Trent Evans.
I smiled a little at the email. She sounded absolutely ridiculous but in a way that I couldn’t mock it at all. She just sound a little naïve but curious. It felt weird talking to her. The email I had sent her had given her the blandest of details of my life. I told her about Luke, life at the diner, going to school and that was about it. I stared at the email. Of course she’d seen Jake and I at the Teen Choice Awards. Who on the whole damn Earth hadn’t seen me then?
“Why do you look like you suddenly have to throw up?” Dave said, looking up from his eggs and hash browns.
“Email from my grandmother,” I answered, sighing.
“Yeah, Luke told me about that. Sounds pretty awesome,” he answered. I looked at him. “Really, McKinley, it’s awesome that she found you. She’s your family.”
“You’re my family,” I retorted.
Dave smiled at me. “Of course, we are. But blood, blood is always good to have around too. You have to figure out where you come from, McKinley. You don’t have your mother anymore and that’s her fault. But your grandma is making an effort and that’s awesome.”
I thought about that for a moment. “I guess you’re right. And I mean, it can’t hurt to email her back. She’s just curious and I am her granddaughter.” I turned back to my computer and after a couple minutes of thinking, typed back a quick response.
Hi Olivia,
It was great hearing from you. Things here in California are still good. Weather is getting a bit colder but I’m sure it’s not half as cold as it is over there. The semester is winding down, thank goodness, it’s been a long semester. I’m looking forward to my birthday at the end of the month, then finals, and then I’ll be on vacation for a month.
Yes, you did see me on TV with Jake Kennedy. I met him at Disneyland a few months back and we’ve become really good friends. We’re not dating though, just friends. It has been a lot of fun though.
I’m really glad that you were able to find me too; I’m sure that it wasn’t very easy. I hope that we can start to get to know each other through these emails and sure, perhaps I can make a trip out there one day.
Hope to hear from you soon.
McKinley Evans
My mouse hovered over the send button. Why was I so nervous to send an email? Simple. I was too nervous to let this strange woman, grandmother or not, into my life after twenty-two years of no contact. It was hard for me to let her in, though at the moment, sending emails was the easiest step. Actually getting on a plane and going out to North Carolina was a completely different step. I clicked on the send button and shut my laptop. That was good enough for now.
* * * * * *
A few days later, I found myself in Jake’s dressing room, on the set for Crime Scene. I was helping him to rehearse a scene and I was sincerely losing my patience. Jake had no idea how to interact with this new character, Charlotte. Charlotte was a new recurring character, brought in as the sister of a crime suspect and staying to stir up some conflict between Mikey and Maggie.
“Okay, let’s try it again,” Jake said, putting the script on the table in front of us. He cleared his throat. “Charlotte, you need to tell me, you do understand that, don’t you?”
I winced a little. Mikey was supposed to be impatient, not kind. He pissed at Charlotte; she was withholding information to protect her brother and he couldn’t make her talk. I cleared my throat. “Listen, Mikey, I’ve told you. I’m not going to tell you. There is literally nothing you can say or do or promise that will make me say anything.” I paused. “Who is playing Charlotte anyway?”
Jake looked up from his script. “Her name is Isabelle Monroe. She’s done some small roles in films and scored this part. Rumor has it though that she’s been quite the diva. Anyway, moving on. Please, please, Charlotte, you don’t understand. This information that you have…it could be the most important thing in this case and the most important thing that helps your brother.”
“Don’t you understand, Officer,” I said, spitting out the word officer, “you can’t help my brother. No body can help him but me. I’m the only one who has ever been able to help him.”
“Charlotte, you’re not the only one who cares about your brother,” Jake pleaded.
“Okay, I’m sorry,” I said, putting down the script. “ I can’t do this anymore. Jake, you’re reading it all wrong.”
“Wait what?” he said, looking up. His face was the perfect description of confusion. “I’m reading it wrong?”
“Yes,” I said, trying to control my patience. “Look, you’re reading Mikey as if he is trying to reason with her…patiently, like he cares. And, I mean, he does care but he’s pissed and impatient and he just wants her to talk already. He’s trying to stay calm but he’s losing his temper.”
“Seriously, McKinley?” Jake looked kind of annoyed, and he put the script back on the table. “I think I know how my character feels.”
I took a deep breath. “I know, I know, I’m not an actress and I definitely don’t know your character as well as you do. I’m just saying, Jake, you need to read the lines they way the were meant to be read.”
“Meant to be read?” Jake asked, raising his eyebrow. “Did you write this script, McKinley? Are you aware of exactly how this is supposed to be?”
I felt my temper flare up a bit but I managed to reel it in a bit. “Do you?” I shot back.
He glared at me. “Seriously, you’re kind of pissing me off right now.”
“You know what? Three months ago, when we met, you told me that you wanted to be more than just Jake Kennedy, hot TV actor. You wanted to do something that mattered and you wanted to become a better actor,” I said, folding my arms across my chest.
“I do,” Jake said, defensively, crossing his own arms against his chest.
“Well then,” I said, “I’m just trying to help you.” And I just can’t live knowing that I didn’t stop you from subjecting the world to your over the top, terrible acting anymore. “B
ut if I’m ‘pissing you off’, I can just go.” I grabbed my purse off the couch, and made to leave. Empty threat, of course. I didn’t even have my car with me and I wasn’t paying for a cab all the way back to Brea.
“All right, wait, stop,” Jake said, wrapping a hand around my arm and pulling me back. “I’m sorry. You’re right.”
I turned around, my face blank. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
Jake gave me a wry smile. “You’re right, McKinley. Go on.”
I smiled triumphantly. “And don’t you forget that. I’m right most of the time.”
“Shut up and just show me how the scene should go,” Jake remarked, rolling his eyes.
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