“You are anything but normal, Mallory,” he says, plucking a pepperoni off his pizza and popping it into his mouth.
“Yeah, well, I think he meant it as a compliment. He really hasn’t contacted you?”
“Nope.” He narrows his eyes at me in thought. “Did you tell him about us?”
“I didn’t tell him, but he guessed,” I say.
“Did you tell him why we broke up?” he asks, looking guilty.
“I didn’t think it was any of his business.”
“Good. It’s not. None of it is. He lost his right to our business when he became the dick that he is.”
“He was actually pretty nice, Julian.” He looks at me like he’s going to spit out hateful words, so I put up my hand to stop him. “We’re not BFFs again or anything, so don’t get your panties in a wad. I just think maybe you should give him a chance.”
“Is that what you’re doing, giving him a chance?”
I’m not sure why Julian is so upset about this. I mean, he stayed friends with Chad far longer than I did. “I didn’t say that. After all, I turned down his invite to dinner so I could be here with you.”
He looks slightly placated. “You did?” he asks, smiling.
“Yes, so eat up before it gets cold.” I take a drink of my wine and start on my second piece of pie.
“He won’t call me, you know,” he says, with his mouth half full.
“Why not?”
An expression of extreme satisfaction crosses his face. “Because I dated you and he didn’t.”
I laugh. “Is this about that silly pact you guys made?”
“You knew about that?” he asks with wide eyes.
“Not until last night.” I lean over and swat his arm. “You never told me you both had a crush on me.”
“Would it have made a difference?” he asks.
I chew my food, thinking about it for a minute. “I guess not. I mean, we had a good thing going and two of us hooking up would have ruined that.”
“Exactly,” he says. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to get into your pants now. You know, just to one-up me.”
“One-up you?” I ask.
“It’s what guys do,” he says, washing his bite down with wine. “Especially arrogant movie stars who are jealous of childhood friends.”
I roll my eyes at him.
“We fought over you back then,” he says. “Even when we were in middle school. I’m just not sure we ever realized why we were doing it.”
“You did?”
He nods. “Remember the one Halloween when you wanted to be Beauty?”
“Belle,” I say, smiling at the memory. “I loved that costume. I was ten and I wanted you guys to dress up as characters from the movie.”
“That’s right. Well, we both wanted to be the Beast. Chad said he should get to do it because he was bigger than me. I told him that because I had dark hair, it should be me. His mom walked in and found us fighting about it. She called my mom and together, they conspired to make us outfits that would go with yours.”
“So that’s how you ended up as the teacup, Chip,” she says.
“Yup, I was the stupid little teacup and Chad was that geeky candlestick dude. It was humiliating.”
“Lumiere,” I say, remembering it fondly.
“Whatever. And remember our high school trip to the amusement park? Man, we fought all day over who would sit with you on rides. Didn’t it ever occur to you that not once did you sit alone even though there were only three of us?”
I try to think back on that day. “I don’t know. I guess I thought you were just being chivalrous or something, not letting a girl ride alone.”
“I could go on all night with these kinds of stories,” he says.
I put up my hand to stop him. “Please don’t,” I say. “Oh, wow, now I’m questioning my entire childhood existence.”
He laughs. I love Julian’s laugh. His whole body participates in it, making it almost impossible for anyone near him not to feel happy. “Don’t,” he says. “We worshiped you and the ground you walked on. You should appreciate the fact that you had us completely under your spell.”
We spend the rest of dinner reminiscing about some of the great times we had together—the three of us. And I can’t be certain, but by the time we say goodbye at my train stop, I could almost swear Julian might be amenable to a reunion.
Pulling out of the parking garage, I feel my phone vibrate with a text. After I get home, I read it.
Chad: Well?
I look around the car as if someone might be able to explain his text.
Me: Well, what?
Chad: You said you’d think about it. I gave you almost twelve hours. Are you going to have dinner with me tomorrow?
I take stock in the night I just had. Julian is great. I love him like a brother. I trust him. And he knows me better than anyone. He’s just trying to protect me from getting hurt again. And he’s probably right. Nothing good can come of seeing Chad again. He’ll be gone in a few days and life will go back to normal.
Normal.
Me: I don’t think it’s a good idea. But thank you for asking. It was nice seeing you last night.
A minute goes by and I think maybe he’s pissed at my rejection so he’s not going to text back. It’s probably for the best. I quietly make my way into the house and up to my room. It’s late and Dad is sleeping. I set my alarm for six in the morning, knowing I’m not going to get a full night’s sleep because once again, Julian and I lost track of time.
Right before I doze off. My phone vibrates.
Chad: I’m sure you know about a lot of the shit in my past. I mean, who doesn’t? My post-Mallory past. My drug-induced idiotic past. My womanizing past. But I want to assure you, that’s not me anymore. Please give me a chance to prove it to you. I’ve been sitting here wondering why you won’t see me again. And if I were in your shoes, I’d shoot me down too, because I would think you only wanted me for a quick lay. I miss you, Mal. I miss the trouble we’d get into and the talks we used to have. I miss sneaking over to your house late at night to watch SNL. I miss your laugh that almost got us busted by your parents more than a few times on those occasions. So please, I’m begging you, as the friend you once knew, give it a little more thought.
I read the text. I read it three times. Did the man take charm lessons in acting school? He was rather charming last night, too. I’m afraid to see what would happen if I actually went to dinner with him. And for that reason alone, I know it’s a bad idea. I start to type in my response, but then decide to wait. I’ll squash his hopes tomorrow.
Chapter Seven
Chad
Hayden and I wait in the green room of the morning show ‘Wake Up America.’ Yesterday, they interviewed the women from Defcon One, today it’s our turn. I wasn’t happy with the spin Courtney put on our relationship. She insinuated we are still together, feeding into the frenzy that already exists out there.
“You still pissed at Courtney?” Hayden asks.
“I just wish she would quit embellishing the truth,” I say. “I saw the clip. She was talking about having dinner with me. The dinner she failed to mention was a work function. And then she had to go and make it seem like breakfast the next day was a goddamn extension of some date we had, not a cast meeting to discuss the Vancouver junket.”
“Is it really that bad?” he asks with a smirk. “I mean, it’s not like you have an actual girlfriend who would get jealous over it.”
I pick up a croissant and toss it at him just as we’re called to head on set. We’re quickly situated on an L-shaped couch next to Tanya Weathers, co-anchor of the show. We exchange a few pleasantries during the commercial break and she reminds us that they will show a clip of the film and then she’s going to start with Hayden and then move on to me, keeping the entire segment at about nine minutes. I glance over at Kendra, who is standing behind one of the cameras. She gives us a thumbs up.
After what only seems like thirty seconds of a
irtime, Tanya turns her attention from Hayden to me. “So, Thad, or should I call you Lieutenant Cross?” she says, fanning herself with her note cards. “You are just about the hottest thing since sliced bread if the crowd outside our studio is any indication. We haven’t drawn a crowd this big since the Pope was here.”
I try not to show my apprehension over the hordes of people outside. And once again I find myself glad Cole is with me. I laugh it off. “For me? Nah, I think I saw the Teletubbies going into the studio next door. Heck, after we’re done here, I might go wait in line for some autographs myself.”
Tanya pastes on a big smile. “You’ve had premieres in L.A. and London and now here. Where to next?”
“Vancouver is our last stop; we go there in ten days.”
“Are you going to be in New York until then or will you be heading back to the west coast?” she asks.
“I’m not exactly sure yet. My commitments here end this weekend, but I have family here so I may hang out a while longer.”
“I’ll bet you just made a lot of the women of New York City very happy,” she says. “Then again, with all the photos of you and a certain leading lady floating around, is it safe to say you’re off the market?”
I shift around in my seat. “What leading lady would that be?”
She laughs. “That’s right, you have a history of dating your co-stars going all the way back to Heather Crawford on Malibu 310. I even heard a rumor that you and Ana Garner may have broken a few hearts on the set of another movie you filmed late last year.”
I shake my head. “Don’t believe everything you hear, Tanya.”
“So you and Ana didn’t date? Was it because you and Courtney Benson have a long-standing relationship? Or maybe you are dating both of them,” she asks, with a rise of her brows.
I resist the urge to fire a counter attack and mention the rumor of Tanya’s husband cheating on her with her nanny. Instead, I reply, “Let’s just say I’m enjoying life right now and I don’t plan to put a ring on anyone’s finger anytime soon.”
“Did you hear that?” Tanya asks, cupping her hand around her ear. “That’s the sound of the collective cheers of every woman between the ages of thirteen and sixty.”
“Sixty?” I feign a look of disappointment. “I must be losing my touch.”
She goes on to ask me a few questions about Defcon One, doing her best to bring Hayden into the conversation. As well she should. I was not the only star of the film and it bothers me when I get treated as such. Hayden’s character was an integral part of the story and he nailed the part.
“Did it bother you to have to film in that cave?” she asks. “I heard the conditions down there were deplorable. Cold and wet and very close quarters.”
“I didn’t think much about it.” Hell yes, it bothered me. “It’s all part of the job, Tanya. I try not to let anything phase me.”
“Really? So would you say you’re a hard man to surprise?” she asks.
I look at Hayden, confused by her question. He shrugs. “Uh, I guess so,” I tell her.
She discreetly motions to someone offstage. “You seemed awfully surprised by something the night of the premiere,” she says, pointing to a screen behind us that is now displaying a picture of me outside the club Saturday night. And yes, I look very, very surprised.
Uneasiness washes through me. “I thought I saw someone I knew in the crowd. Uh, my father,” I say awkwardly. “And it was unexpected since he lives back in California.”
She smiles innocently like the cat that ate the canary. “Is your father a beautiful brunette, say mid-twenties?” She again motions to the screen, and when I see the photo that’s plastered across it, my stomach knots up.
There on the screen is a picture of Mallory. You can’t see her face, and for that I’m grateful, but it’s her. I shoot a glance at Kendra who looks pale. This was not on the list of agreed topics. “I suppose that woman is beautiful, but since we can’t see her face, it’s kind of hard to tell, wouldn’t you say? And there were hundreds of beautiful women there who caught my eye.”
They split the image, putting the first one of me looking surprised next to the side-view of Mallory. “Please tell your father he’s never looked better,” she jokes. She turns and speaks into the camera. “Thad Stone and Hayden Keys, folks. You can see them in Defcon One, opening in theaters everywhere on March 23rd.”
They go to commercial and Tanya quickly thanks us before being whisked away for her next segment. Kendra comes up behind me as we are escorted back to the green room. “Don’t worry about it, Thad. The picture is vague. Nobody can tell who she is. You played it off very well. There won’t be any fallout from this.”
“Played it off well?” I rub the tense muscles in the back of my neck. “Why didn’t I just say I thought it was my mother, or a cousin maybe? Now it looks like I’m hiding something.”
“You’re in show business, Thad,” she says. “Who isn’t hiding something?”
Cole comes to escort us out of the building into the car waiting in the underground parking garage. On our way to drop Kendra and Hayden back at the hotel, I wonder if Mallory watched the show. I think she was probably at work by the time my segment came on. But the picture is out there now. Will the press continue to dig, or will they drop it? I should probably tell her about this before she finds out some other way.
I pull out my phone and see I’ve gotten a text from her that she sent earlier this morning.
Mal: I miss all that stuff, too. But things are different. We are different people now and there is no going back. I’m glad you’ve changed and I wish you all the best in your career. I know you will do great things. Bye, Chad.
Bye, Chad? She’s blowing me off. She really doesn’t want to see me again. This won’t do. This won’t fucking do at all. After we drop the others off, I tell Cole, “Change of plans.”
~ ~ ~
I walk up to the desk and talk to the lady behind the counter who has a phone to one ear and a stack of folders in her hand. “I’m here to see Mallory Schaffer.”
She barely glances up at me. “Do you have an appointment?” she asks. “It is the middle of the school day, you know. Are you a parent?”
“No. I’m not a parent. I just need to see her,” I say.
She holds a finger out to me as she finishes her conversation with whomever is on the other end of the phone. She places the handset in the receiver and drops her folders. “Shoot,” she says, crouching down to pick up the strewn papers. “Are you on the approved volunteer list?”
Shit. There’s a list? I look around at all the signs on the walls and see one in particular. I get an idea. “I’m here for career day,” I say.
“That’s not until tomorrow.” She looks up when someone comes through the door behind her. “Don’t open that!” she yells as a student walks through, toppling more stacked folders onto the floor. “Oh, gosh. I’m sorry, I don’t normally run the front desk, but our secretary called in sick today. I’m the assistant principal.” She finally looks up at me. “What did you say your name—” Her words trail off and her mouth slowly forms the shape of an O as she once again drops the papers in her hand. “Uh, you’re . . . um, you’re . . . who are you here to see?”
I reach my hand over the desk. “Thad Stone. I’m here to see Mallory Schaffer, Mrs. . . .”
“Ms. Blanchard,” she says, shaking my hand with her trembling one. “Call me Carly.”
“Nice to meet you, Carly. You seem awfully young for an assistant principal,” I say to the middle-aged woman, hoping flattery will get me beyond the front desk. “Ms. Schaffer invited me for career day. I must’ve gotten the days wrong.” I look down at the floor in sadness. “Darn. I’m leaving for L.A. shortly. I was hoping to get to talk to her great group of fourth-graders. She can’t say enough about them. And this school. Man, she really does love working here. Well, my bodyguard is waiting for me outside. I guess I’ll go tell him the bad news. It was really nice meeting you, Carly.”
I turn around and take a slow step when she says. “Mr. Stone?”
I smile before looking at her over my shoulder. “Call me Thad, Carly.”
She blushes. “Okay, Thad. I’m not supposed to do this without you being on the volunteer list.” She looks over her shoulder to see the student walk out the door, leaving us alone in the front office. She writes my name on a visitor’s badge and peels the backing off before handing the sticker to me. “But seeing as you’re only in town today, I would hate to deprive Ms. Schaffer’s class of meeting you.”
She buzzes me through the door to the back. “That’s very kind of you, Carly. Thank you.”
“I’ll show you the way.” She presses a button on her phone. “Can you please cover the front desk for a minute, Martha?”
Martha comes out of another door and smiles at me. Martha is about seventy-five years old. She doesn’t recognize me. It’s refreshing.
Carly asks me all about Defcon One as she escorts me to Mal’s classroom. I’m happy to answer her questions. After all, she’s doing me a solid. We come to a door that is decorated with several different-sized paper cutouts of shoes. The shoes lead to a sign at the top that reads ‘Step into learning.’ Mallory’s full name is on a nameplate next to the door.
I laugh to myself. I can’t believe she’s a teacher. I remember her as the fifteen-year-old girl who would cut class with me to get ice cream. And now she’s a grown-up with a real job. A normal job. And I find myself jealous of someone who probably doesn’t even make in one year what I make in one week.
Carly peeks in the window next to the door. “Good, it looks like we caught them at a good time.” She knocks once and then opens the door. She goes in first. “Ms. Schaffer, you have a visitor.”
“Oh?” Mallory looks up, probably confused as to why her class is being interrupted. She sees me and freezes. She looks at her students and then to Carly and then to me again. “Uh . . . hi.” She walks over to me and I have to keep myself from laughing. The expression on her face is priceless. She has no idea why I’m here. She’s scared. She’s confused. She’s excited. Yup, even after all these years, I can still read her like an old familiar book.
Stone Promises (A Stone Brothers Novel) Page 6