Off Script

by Anna Paige

  “No, I’m not,” she admitted. “I don’t know why, but I don’t feel like I need to right now.”

  I slid my sunglasses off, eyes not wavering from her sweet face. “How about now?”

  “Nope.” She reached out and took the glasses from my hand. Our fingers brushed and the contact sent a jolt all the way up my arm. “Tell me, did you take these off to see me better or so that I could see you? Are you still hiding, Mr. Hollywood?”

  Her question threw me because I realized it was both. I desperately wanted to see her but more than that, I needed her to see me. And that was something I’d never experienced, not since getting into the business anyway. Every time you talked to someone, you had to try to decipher their motives. So many people mishandled what they knew about you, bent it and twisted it to use as ammunition against you later down the line. It was cut-throat sometimes, which meant not letting anyone in, not letting them see who you really were.

  So why did I care now?

  Why did it feel like I didn’t have to guard myself with her or decipher her motives?

  I had no idea what it was about this girl, but she made me want to be seen, if only by her.

  “No hiding. Not from you.”

  She blinked slowly, nodding. “And you don’t know why either, do you?”

  “Not a damn clue.”

  Her smile widened and she nodded. “Guess we get to figure that part out together.” She shifted around to face forward and pointed down the street. “Let’s see if alcohol helps, shall we?”

  “Couldn’t hurt,” I agreed as I pulled away from the curb.

  As it turned out, the liquor store was only a mile or so away, so we got there in no time. When we arrived, Kaiti held up the sunglasses she’d been holding onto and said, “You can have these back, but you’ll have to take them off before you go in. No sunglasses or hoodies allowed inside.”

  I shook my head. “Nah. It’s not far and I’ll keep my head down. The hat stays, though, because hat hair is a bitch.”

  “No rule against hats, lucky for you,” she chuckled.

  I reached into the back seat and grabbed one of my spares. Without asking, I put it on her head and grinned. “Lucky for both of us, you mean.”

  She reached up to take it off and I grabbed her wrist, stopping her. “No, don’t take it off. You look great in a hat.”

  “I highly doubt—”

  I pulled down the visor so she could see herself in the mirror. “Like I said, you look great.” I was being goofy and playful, something I hadn’t done in…hmm…I couldn’t remember the last time.

  She tugged her wrist from my hand and straightened the cap on her head, fidgeting with her hair until it hung just right. “Okay, it’s not the worst I’ve ever looked.” She flipped the visor up and sighed, shaking her head. “Now, can we get our hooch and head back, I’m in desperate need of a stiff drink.”

  The twelve-year-old boy in me chuckled. And apparently, the twenty-three-year-old on the outside did too, because she blushed and shoved my arm. “Shut up, Gavin.”

  Damn, I loved the way she said my name. “What?” I asked, hoping she’d say it again.

  “I said shut it, you perv. I know what that little laugh meant.”

  Dammit, she didn’t say it.

  “Sorry, I’m being a goofball, but in my defense, I rarely get like this so it’s probably your fault more than mine.”

  “Oh, whatever. It’s not my fault you’re immature.” She rolled her eyes, laughing softly, and unbuckled her seatbelt before reaching for the door handle. “You coming or what?”

  Dammit, she still didn’t say my name and now she’d gone and fed my inner tween by asking if I was ‘coming.’

  Yep, definitely gonna be a night for the record books.

  Kaiti

  “We bought way too much liquor. You know that, right?” I asked as we unpacked the bags.

  “No such thing. Besides, we needed variety. Options are always good because different drinks go with different moods.”

  I snorted and looked at the line of bottles on the counter. “Well, we’ve got enough to run the gambit, that’s for sure.”

  “When I asked the clerk if they had a bigger cart, he didn’t even crack a smile.”

  “He probably thought you were about to rob him. Your hat was pulled so far down, your eyes were totally covered, and the way you kept your head down basically screamed ‘hiding from the surveillance cameras.’”

  “Point taken. But still, I was being hilarious and he didn’t even appreciate it.”

  “I laughed, does that make you feel better?” I asked as I began making a batch of Junior Mints—a combination of peppermint Schnapps and Kahlua over ice.

  “I was doing it specifically to make you laugh, so yes, it does.”

  “Why be silly just for me?” I shook my head. “I knew you were immature before we went in there, so it was wasted effort, don’t you think?”

  “Nothing that makes you smile is wasted effort, Kaiti,” he said.

  My God, was he flirting with me? It felt like he was flirting.

  “You’re really something, you know that?” He was so close I could feel the heat of his body; our skin was not quite touching but close enough.

  My heart jumped a little as I turned and met his gaze. He was watching me again, assessing and studying.

  “Something good or something bad?” I could barely breathe under his scrutiny, and not because of my anxiety.

  “Something amazing. And feisty. And beautiful.”

  Beautiful.

  I forced a swallow, having a hard time keeping my eyes off his mouth even as I considered that his words rang false. “You don’t mean that.”

  He frowned. “Excuse me?”

  “You spend every day of your life surrounded by the most beautiful women on the planet. You’ve dated more models than I can count. How the hell could you look at that all day and still think someone as plain as me is beautiful?”

  “You can’t be serious. How do you not get told how gorgeous you are all the time?” He looked genuinely appalled that no one was gushing about my looks.

  The mere thought of that happening made my palms sweat.

  I shook my head and sighed. “Just forget it, okay.”

  “Fine, but I have to say, this is a first.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning most of the women I’ve encountered would have appreciated the compliment, not been offended by it.”

  “I’m not offended. Just wary.”

  “Of me?” He put a hand to his chest. “Why?”

  “Because guys use compliments like that when they want something. And I know you came here wanting something, so it feels… insincere.”

  “I can assure you that I meant what I said. And I don’t want anything from you, Bryce does. He’s the one who asked me to come, to talk to you about auditioning, but I have no intention of coercing you into something you don’t want to do.”

  “Then why are you still here?” I didn’t mean it as rudely as it came out, but I didn’t understand what made him want to stay or why I found myself so happy that he had.

  He shrugged. “It’s nice here. Quiet and comfortable. And it’s nice to be around someone who doesn’t want anything from me aside from my company.”

  “And my company is enough for you?”

  “Absolutely.” His smile was genuine and sweet. A moment later it disappeared as his phone started buzzing in his pocket. “Dammit,” he muttered, pulling it out and placing it face down on the counter without looking at the screen. “Sorry about that.”

  I nodded to where it was still vibrating. “I guess I can understand why quiet is so appealing to someone like you.”

  “You have no idea.” He adjusted his hat, lifting and tugging it back down a few times until he was satisfied with how it felt. “I’m not supposed to turn the phone completely off—my publicist freaks out—but I do occasionally forget to charge it so that it’s dead for a few hours.”
/>
  “Good strategy,” I smirked.

  He touched his pointer finger to his temple, winking. “See, Kaiti-fucking-Oliver, I’m not just a pretty face.”

  “Beauty and brains, you really are the whole package,” I said as sarcastically as possible.

  “Hold it. If I can’t comment on your beauty, you can’t comment on mine. It’s only fair.”

  “I didn’t…” I trailed off. “But I only said it because you… Dammit, why do I feel like I was set up?”

  “I merely left the opening, you’re the one who stepped through it.”

  “Jerk,” I grumped, crossing my arms.

  “Beautiful,” he countered, adding a long, slow wink just to be facetious.

  I wanted to argue further but I couldn’t stop smiling long enough to feign annoyance. I wasn’t imagining it. Gavin-fucking-Lane was flirting with me. “Drink?”

  A look of triumph on his face, he nodded. “Please.”

  I went to set the pitcher on the counter so I could grab our glasses but I was a little distracted by the way Gavin was looking at me and accidentally set it down too forcefully, sending some of the contents sloshing out of the pour spout. I snatched his phone out of the way before the liquid could reach it and watched as Gavin’s quick reflexes kicked in.

  Before anything could run off onto the floor, he had one of my kitchen towels in hand, mopping it all up.

  “Shit, sorry,” I muttered, wiping the front of his phone down my thigh, in case it had gotten wet.

  “No biggie. It wasn’t that much.”

  “I don’t think it got your phone,” I told him, still wiping it on my jeans.

  “Wouldn’t matter if it did. Seriously, it’s okay.”

  Relieved, I turned it over to double check that it was dry. The screen lit up in my hand and I froze at the message there.

  Bryce: Did you win her over yet, slick? Play it like I told you to and we’re golden.

  “Where do you want me to put this?” Gavin said, indicating the wet towel. When our eyes met, his smile vanished. “What’s wrong?”

  I swallowed thickly and handed him the phone. He dropped the towel onto the counter as he frowned down at the screen.

  “Get out.”

  His head jerked up. “What?”

  “Get. The. Fuck. Out,” I choked out, on the verge of tears.

  Dammit. He’d been playing me this whole time.

  “Kaiti.” He held up the phone. “This isn’t what you think. He’s just—”

  “I don’t want to hear it. Just go.” I marched over to the door and opened it wide, stepping aside so he had no reason to touch me on the way by. “Beautiful, my ass. I fucking knew it,” I muttered mostly to myself as I waited.

  He tried to argue with me even as he complied and made his way out the door. At the last second, he turned and placed his palm flat against its surface. “Kaiti, please, I wasn’t trying to—”

  I cut him off, pushing a little so he’d move his hand. “Goodbye, Gavin. Tell Bryce I said to fuck off. And you can feel free to join him.”

  With that, I slammed the door and locked it, angry tears gathering in my eyes.

  How could I have been so gullible?

  I went back to the kitchen, pacing back and forth from the stove to the doorway. Tap, tap, tap. I stopped and glanced at what was left of the pitcher of drinks. I didn’t even bother with a cup. I just picked the pitcher up with one hand and drank right out of it.

  My free hand was far from idle.

  Tap, tap, tap.

  Stupid, stupid, stupid.

  Gavin

  “What the hell just happened?” I muttered as I stared at the door that had so recently slammed in my face. Glancing down the hall, I felt totally alone and that was such a strange thing for me—almost as strange as having a woman tell me to fuck off without batting an eye. I was rarely this shocked. And even less frequently cussed out.

  Guess there’s a first time for everything.

  I hadn’t had anyone look at me like that in…shit…ever. Sure, not all of my experiences with women ended amicably—but that was more because of their need for drama than anything I’d done.

  No, the way Kaiti had dismissed me was something I’d never experienced in my life.

  She was just so…

  I didn’t even know if there was a word to describe it. She was everything I’d said—amazing, feisty, beautiful—but there was something else. She was genuine. Fearless.

  And pissed off at me, which I found oddly unsettling. I didn’t want her to be angry with me, and I didn’t want her to think I was playing her. Any other time, I’d shrug it off and walk away, not giving a shit one way or the other, but this was different. She was different.

  I glared at the phone in my hand and thought seriously about slamming it against the fucking wall. Bryce and his stupid, shitty timing. Instead, I turned it off—my publicist could kiss my ass if he didn’t like it.

  I kept glancing at her door and thinking about how hurt she’d looked when she saw that text. Her expression, the way she shut right down, it reminded me of…me.

  Maybe I should have come on my own, foregone the flowers from Bryce and just shown up to shake the hand of the woman who had hilariously threatened to taser a major Hollywood icon for being a pompous ass and ruining her lunch.

  I should have been me from the beginning.

  Too late for that now. Now she’s convinced that it was all an act, something I staged to get her to work on the show. Dammit.

  For the next few minutes, I lingered in the hall, grateful that none of the doors had peepholes so her neighbors wouldn’t think I was some crazed stalker. I paced and pondered, ground my teeth and considered my options until I was worried I’d wear a groove in the carpet if I didn’t stop this shit and make a decision.

  Staring at her closed door, I scratched at the scruff along my jaw—the stubble was required for the show but annoying as hell—and decided I wasn’t going to let her slam her mask back in place, and I wasn’t letting her force me back into mine either.

  I stepped over and knocked on the door.

  There was no immediate response, but I thought I heard movement from inside. Instead of knocking again, I spoke through the closed door. “Kaiti? It’s me, Gavin-fucking-Lane. You know, the guy you told to fuck off for something someone else texted him? Well, I have something to say.”

  The shuffling sound grew closer and I heard a long, tired sigh. “Decide to run a new con, did you?” Her voice was weary and annoyed.

  “Nope. I decided you owe me an apology.”

  “What?” I could almost see the incredulous look on her face.

  “You owe me an apology,” I told her in a slow, measured tone. “It would also be rude to deliver said apology through a closed door, so how about opening up and looking me in the eye?”

  “You’re insane.”

  “What? I can’t hear you through this giant slab of wood between us. Maybe you should open up so I can understand what you’re saying.” No response. “Aw, come on… You can even make a snarky remark about the ‘giant slab of wood’ comment. I know you’re dying to,” I teased.

  “You know nothing. And I have no interest in discussing any allegedly giant slabs of wood with you.”

  I chuckled despite myself. “How about a compromise? I won’t make you apologize for cussing me out, and you get to keep the hat you were still wearing when you tossed me out on my ass.” No reply. “We can start over.” Crickets. “I won’t ask you to audition. I won’t mention Bryce in any favorable context. Hell, I won’t even tell you you’re beautiful. But you can’t call me hot, either, or all bets are off.”

  “Why would I call you hot?” She was so close to the door I could see the shadow of her dainty little feet.

  “You already did, remember? When I first arrived with the flowers? And if I remember correctly, I didn’t tell you to fuck off or anything. I simply took the compliment and moved on.”

  She still didn’t open the
door, but she hadn’t walked away yet, either.

  “C’mon, Kaiti.” I leaned my forehead against the door and tried to sound pitiful. “If you don’t let me in, you’ll have to finish that whole pitcher of drinks alone, and I’ll have to go back to that liquor store to get my own supply of booze. You and I both know that clerk will call the cops if I come in there again tonight.”

  I could feel her fumbling with the door, so I stepped back, hoping there wasn’t a red spot on my forehead where it had been pressed to the wood.

  Kaiti opened the door and motioned for me to come in, muttering, “Fine, but only because you wouldn’t last two minutes in jail.”

  “Because I’m just that hot?” I offered a cheesy grin.

  “No, because your piss poor attempts at humor would surely get you shanked.”

  “This stuff tastes like toothpaste,” I grimaced, looking into my glass.

  “It does not. It tastes like mint ice cream but better because it gets you drunk,” Kaiti argued as she sipped her drink, her dark eyes on my glass. We’d settled at the dining table after she poured us both a glass of the minty atrocity I was now forcing myself to swallow.

  “Agree to disagree,” I offered, giving her a smile.

  We’d had to push the flower arrangement aside so we could see each other around it, but now Kaiti’s eyes fell on the full blooms and her own smile slipped.

  “What are you thinking?” I asked, watching as she carefully ran her fingertips over a few of the soft pink petals.

  “A lot of things.” Her voice was soft, distant.

  “Care to discuss any of it?”

  She turned to meet my gaze and gave me a sweet smile. “Not really.”

  I nodded, trying to hide my disappointment. “That’s okay. I don’t expect you to—”

  “I’m sorry, Gavin.”

  Her words threw me off for a moment, and I shook my head, not understanding.

  “You were right. I do owe you an apology for being so rude before. I overreacted. You can’t control what Bryce says or does, something I know from my own limited experiences with him. And I believe you when you say you weren’t trying to manipulate me when you called me beautiful.” Her hand started to move across the table toward mine, but she stopped, pulling it back before wrapping her arms around herself as if she were cold. “Clearly, I don’t know how to take a compliment.”