Exposure

by Morgan

  David and Shaunna tried not to make a big deal out of the fact that it was his first time at her place, but Nathan couldn’t help but pick up on the nervous energy between them.

  After a quick tour that included a small but stocked library and a sun porch that looked on to a spacious and blooming backyard, the girls wandered into Shaunna’s bedroom to talk shoes. The boys gravitated back to the large cinema room, complete with custom shelves for a massive movie collection.

  The television was big enough to make David feel like he was poised on the bridge of the Enterprise. Only the walls, which were covered with framed movie posters from the seventies and eighties, distracted him from the fantasy.

  “Cool!” Nathan exclaimed after examining her limited edition Matrix box set. “What a woman!”

  “Yeah,” David said, distracted. He was standing in the home of the woman he loved and realizing he knew so little about the things that made up her life. “I had no idea she was so eclectic. Did you see the carved totem pole in the front room? And the stained glass dragon window in her kitchen?”

  “You’re right. Who has cool shit like that? Sounds like she’s the one that got away?” Nathan tested him, attempting to subtly perceive David’s reaction out of the corner of his eye.

  David immediately tensed. “Look, Nathan, I know what it must look like—”

  “Really?” Nathan didn’t know until that moment how much he had been waiting for this conversation to happen. He approached David and pushed forward with enthusiasm. “Because it looks like you were falling in love with Shaunna until Michelle and Kyle called it quits. Then you jumped ship quicker than Molly Brown. And now, while the whole world is watching you and Michelle, you’re flirting with Shaunna worse than Big Brother contestants the first night the producers give ’em booze.”

  David stood with his mouth open. He felt naked. Worse, he felt transparent.

  “Relax.” Nathan placed a large warm hand on David’s shoulder. “I see now that you and Michelle were only ever playing at being in love, but you could have trusted me. In case you’ve forgotten, I have a vested interest in all of you.”

  “I know. And believe me, we aren’t seeking to deceive anyone. Well, maybe Kyle at first, but then circumstances kind of…trapped us.”

  Nathan laughed loudly and turned to investigate an Electric Dreams movie poster. He waited for David to gather his thoughts while he strolled past Shaunna’s collection. He passed by an Enemy Mine poster and paused in front of Westworld while David told him everything.

  Nathan turned to face him, an uncharacteristically grim look on his face. “I completely understand about your living situation. In fact, I’m kind of glad Michelle has someone staying out there with her. Between you and me, I think Kyle has violent tendencies.”

  David pictured the constellation of stars he saw when Kyle punched him in the head. “Yeah. Lucky for me, he’s as terrible at fighting as he is at acting.”

  Nathan wasn’t surprised by Kyle’s ever growing list of inabilities. Then he completed his warning to his friend. “Listen, if you’re going to keep hiding your relationship with Shaunna, you’ll regret it. It won’t end well,” he advised. “And she will resent you eventually.”

  “But it’s her idea to keep appearances the way they are. Not mine,” David informed him.

  Nathan considered this revelation carefully before speaking. “Then you’ll wind up resenting her. Either way, it’s eventually gonna suck.”

  “Thank you for your honesty.” David sounded stiff, but sincere. “Actually, I’ve been having second thoughts about it all, and I guess I needed to hear someone else say that it was a stupid idea to begin with.”

  “It is a stupid idea to begin with,” Nathan dutifully supplied. “It’s only a matter of time before the studio puts in their two cents about it. And I’m worried that Shaunna is already getting hurt by all this. She’s been through too much as it is.”

  David shook Nathan’s hand. “It means a lot to me that you care for Shaunna like you do. You’re a good friend to her, and to me. I really owe you. Thanks, man.”

  “You’re welcome, and don’t worry. I’ll play dumb about all this. It’s my best trick.”

  David chuckled before responding. “Thanks again, but I will be sharing this conversation with Shaunna. She needs to know.”

  “I understand.” Nathan sensed it was time to change the subject. “I admire you a lot, David, and I fucking love that Wolfmobile!”

  “Good. Are you planning on making any deals with Gus?”

  “Oh no,” Nathan denied as he led the way out and into the front room. “But I brought twenty-five thousand in cash just in case.”

  Gus was in the back of his immense stucco mansion, tending a grill that looked more like a time machine. There was a wide assortment of burgers, dogs, chicken breasts, steak strips, and oysters available, along with what could only be corn on the cob wrapped in tinfoil. Gus was trying a new recipe with the vegetable in an attempt to replicate the chili lime corn on the cob that Shaunna frequently enjoyed at Disneyland.

  His backyard was on the edge of a cactus-filled valley, but he had a large, leveled deck and a sunken hot tub that could seat the cast of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.

  “Come on over, you guys!” he called out when he heard the patio glass door open. “Grab a plate and dress your buns!”

  Michelle tried to look shocked by Gus’s greeting. He flashed her one of his charming grins, and she accepted his proffered hug.

  “I hear you’re dating some young hot shot actor I just hired,” Gus urged as he released Michelle and looked somewhat cautiously at David. Gus’s responsibilities were such that he didn’t have time to visit his sets often, and he’d actually not spoken directly with David since their initial meeting in Houston.

  Michelle shook her head. There would be no lying to Gus Noble. “David and I are just friends. You know how it looks just because a young stud is living in my house.”

  Gus furrowed his eyebrows while Shaunna stepped forward and hugged her father.

  “David and I are dating, Dad, but we don’t want to make everything worse by adding me into the mix.”

  Gus looked surprised by Shaunna’s quick exposure of her involvement with David. She usually refrained from discussing her boyfriends with him, particularly in mixed company.

  “We have to keep it secret for the time being,” she implored him. “I’m toxic right now.”

  David opened his mouth, presumably to object, but Gus beat him to the punch.

  “That’s not true,” he said, warmly but loudly. “But I get what you mean. How did all this start?”

  Gus casually nudged a few wieners and flipped a steak strip while he listened to his daughter retell a story the three of them were all sick of.

  “It’s simple,” Gus announced. “David needs to get a place of his own. He can afford it. But as long as he’s in that house, what do you expect everyone to think?”

  Michelle frowned slightly, and the producer saw it. Gus turned his attention to Michelle. “Why don’t you want David to leave?”

  She looked down, but everyone heard her. “I’m lonely. Hearing his music at night and smelling his fancy coffee in the morning…It’s the little things that keep me sane and feeling safe.”

  Gus nodded. “What all of you need is an exit strategy.”

  “I know,” Shaunna muttered. “I’m still looking for one.”

  “It’s not so difficult,” Gus concluded. “When Michelle’s ready to move on with life, she and David will need a breakup story. Preferably one that will make it look like Michelle actually set the two of you up together and one that would make sense to the outside world. I assume you’re in Malibu a lot.”

  Gus looked at Shaunna, who blinked and broke eye contact with her father.

  Gus inhaled sharply through his nose before finishing his thought. “If the public thinks that Michelle is genuinely happy for your new relationship and even encouraged it, she can s
tep out while maintaining her dignity.”

  No one spoke.

  “That’s perfect!” Shaunna was relieved. Having been so mired down in the problem, she’d been struggling to devise a solution.

  “Thank you.” Gus turned and regarded first his daughter and then the director in the silver shirt, who was holding an empty plate. “I believe I have some cars to show you after we eat.” Gus punctuated his offer with a wink.

  “Yes, sir. Thank you.”

  Nathan ate fast and then opted for seconds. He ate that portion fast too. He was on his third Dr. Pepper and had already endured a Forrest Gump ribbing from Michelle when the conversation dulled. With plates emptied, everyone stood up from the patio table to stretch.

  Gus and Michelle walked together, and Shaunna overheard her father telling the newly single actress that she was welcome to come by once she had formally ditched the pretty boy. Shaunna felt mildly uneasy by the idea of her father dating one of her friends, but calmed her nerves when she remembered Michelle’s reaction to Sly a few days before.

  Gus’s car collection was colorful, and each car was perfectly polished and parked at a flattering angle. From the outside, his garage looked like a lackluster barn, but the cool air-conditioned breeze and the smooth cement floor resembled a museum. There were well over forty vehicles in the room, representing eight countries and just as many decades.

  Still, there was no denying that Gus had a thing for muscle cars.

  “Wow!” David was quite possibly more excited than Nathan. “I bet these are just the good ones too!”

  Gus and Shaunna laughed together. “We’ll show you the morgue later,” she promised.

  Gus glanced at Michelle. “Which one’s your favorite?”

  Challenge accepted, Michelle began strolling through the garage. She liked the 1970s brutes, especially the ones with flames.

  Nathan peered inside a black Charger while David investigated a convertible Cougar that was the deep blue color of the early morning sky.

  “What year is this Mercury?” he asked Gus. “Seventy-one?”

  “You got it,” Gus confirmed.

  “Lucky guess,” David confessed with a laugh. “I’m only consistent with Corvettes.”

  “He’s got plenty of those,” Shaunna said over her shoulder while walking off to sit in her favorite of the bunch, a 1965 Pontiac GTO. It was hers, given by Gus as a gift on her sixteenth birthday. It was only driven occasionally because, like her father, Shaunna cradled a good investment. Gus was also all too happy to keep it safe for her while it appreciated.

  David followed in Shaunna’s direction, slowly studying the cars as he went. He couldn’t resist smiling at a bright green Chevelle, decked out with two fat black skunk stripes. He could hear Nathan and Gus clearly as he passed between a white Mustang and a red Camero.

  “I hear you have a car collection yourself,” Gus inquired of the young director.

  “Yes, well…” Suddenly, Nathan felt silly about his small and quirky collection. “It’s nothing compared to this…”

  “Son,” Gus interrupted what was surely going to be a ramble. “There’s nothing like this outside of Leno’s garage.”

  “I just have half a dozen cars that were in movies I like. That’s all.” Nathan spoke simply, not wanting to make a big deal out of it.

  “Oh yeah?” Gus looked around for Shaunna with a smirk on his face, but he couldn’t see her because she was sitting in her Goat. “Have a look around. Then we’ll meet at that far door and head out back.”

  Black leather welcomed David with a squeak as he sat down next to Shaunna. “Hi there.”

  “Hey.” Shaunna sounded deflated.

  “Are you okay?”

  Shaunna nodded her head, but lowered it at the same time. “I’m sorry I got you into this, David.”

  David nearly sighed in relief. In his mind, an exposure of their relationship, even in such a vulgar way, would ultimately end the stalemate with the press. He understood that no one would believe him if he told the truth, and lying would only get them in deeper. But he longed for a way out of the pulp purgatory he endured in the weekly pages.

  “You knew it was a bad idea, and you almost talked me out of it,” Shaunna continued. “I should have listened.”

  David was concerned once again. He dreaded the thought that Shaunna might want to walk away from him, that she might decide he really wasn’t worth all the trouble she was going through.

  “I don’t regret anything,” David stated, turning his whole body to face her, his knee resting on the seat and earning more squeaks. “I think it’s time to change tactics anyway. Kyle may have something on us, but maybe it wouldn’t be such a shock if everyone already knew that we were in love.”

  “In love,” Shaunna repeated. She went to Texas, went to jail, and wound up in love. Now she was sitting in one of her favorite childhood places and listening to the noises of the garage outside her window. She couldn’t hear the radio anymore, but Nathan’s occasional hoots of excitement bled through.

  “What do you want to do?” Shaunna asked.

  “How about I take you to the Sling Shot premiere?”

  Shaunna gaped. It was a flashy way of coming out, which wasn’t necessarily her style, but given the circumstances, it might be exactly what they needed. “The only way we could possibly consider it would be if Michelle also had a date and we all arrived together as friends.”

  “Exactly what I was thinking.” David beamed. “If Kyle is there, I don’t want either of you facing him alone.”

  “Actually,” Shaunna mused, “I think the restraining order will prohibit him from attending.”

  David’s hands flew up, and he whacked the roof of the car. “I hadn’t even thought of that!” He sat in thought for a moment. “He’s going to be pissed.”

  “I know,” Shaunna replied devilishly. “But he deserves it.”

  “So, will you be my date to the premiere?”

  “It’s still a long way off,” she said darkly. “We could be a laughingstock by then.”

  “Then we’ll laugh with them.” He took her hand. “We’ll get through this together. And the Malibu house will be just the protection we need for a while.”

  Shaunna shook her head. “The house doesn’t give me protection. You do.”

  She rested her head on David’s shoulder, savoring the moment until Gus began honking the horn of a gold Plymouth at the other end of the building.

  “We’re heading out back,” Gus called.

  Shaunna poked her head out the driver’s side window. “Go on ahead. We’ll be right there.”

  Gus responded with a grumble and led the rest of his guests out a white door with a heavy deadbolt.

  The couple sat alone amongst the sleeping metal beasts. Shaunna flicked at the keys hanging from the ignition and felt like it would be a memorable moment if only she had something memorable to say. She took David’s hand and squeezed it. A basketball game could be heard from the small radio near the big red mechanic’s toolbox Gus used as a place to store his cigars.

  “I’m hopelessly in love with you, Shaunna,” David finally breathed into the still air. “Except it’s not hopelessness I’ve felt since we met. It’s faith, and joy, and a sense that I found a part of myself in your heart.” He leaned his head back against the cool black seat, and his eyes gleamed with honest resolve. “I continue to find new ways to admire and adore you, and I know we can’t go to Disneyland together right now, or even hold hands in public, but if that’s the biggest problem we ever face, we’ll be living very charmed lives.” He took a breath and tightened his face in renewed focus. “I want you forever, and I’ll do anything to make it happen. We can get through this.”

  “Thank you,” Shaunna replied in a whisper. “I want that too. I’ve never wanted anything more in my life, and I love you, David. I’ve known that for a long time now.”

  With their heads cradled by the car seats and their eyes dancing in the dim space, Shaunna and
David beheld each other and traded smiles.

  “If we find our way out of this mess, we could go outside together.” David stated what he had been thinking for the past month.

  Shaunna nodded her head. “I think it’s time we start going with your instincts.”

  “Is that a yes?” David was surprised at her response.

  “Yes, but if we do this, we have to do it after we find Michelle a date.”

  “That shouldn’t be too hard.” David chuckled.

  He leaned toward her, and they began kissing. Shaunna slid her chilly hand up under his shirt to stroke his chest. He breathed in quickly, but liked the cool rush along with the light touch of her fingers. He tested the temperature of his own hands against his cheek before dipping one under her shirt to cup a firm round breast. She sighed into his mouth and leaned her head back to encourage him to kiss her neck, as well.

  The distant cheering on the radio and the occasional tick from one of the settling steel machines near them drifted into the car like smoke. Shaunna wanted to unzip David’s pants and caress him, then take him into her mouth and suckle him until he exploded with pleasure and called her name against his steamy window. He was squeezing first one breast and then the other, but his kisses were tender. Soon, the lust she felt was replaced with the gentle romance of the moment. She scratched his back lightly up and down as their lips met again and again.

  David’s other hand found the back of her neck, and he began pressing her into him, intensifying his oral attack. She reconsidered her original position on where this rendezvous was leading, and when she stopped to look down at his slacks, she found a repressed bulge sticking up like a submarine’s periscope.

  She freed him quickly with both hands, despite his squawks of half-hearted resistance, and lowered her mouth onto his upright offering. She worked with purpose and used her hand to follow the progress of her lips, which led to awe-filled groans and a thunderous pulsing beneath her palm.