“Morning, Buzz. Sleep well?”
“Hmm—yep,” Teddy croaks, rubbing his eyes. Bennett laughs. “What could possibly be amusing to you right now?”
“You. Looking like a goofball when you wake up.”
“Careful, those are fighting words,” Teddy says. He wonders if he looks as groggy as he sounds. “Wanna come in here and say them to my face?”
“Is that how you normally get a girl into bed with you?” she snarks.
“No.” Snaking a hand out from under the comforter, Teddy wraps his fingers around her wrist and yanks her forward. She squeals as she topples across his chest, landing on her back in the spot next to him. “That’s how I get a girl into bed with me.”
Bennett’s cracking up now, and her leaving her legs sprawled across Teddy’s knees is the equivalent of about nine espresso shots.
“You’ve got some serious game, Buzz.”
“You’ve got an unsettling amount of energy this morning, Caldwell.”
Bennett laughs again, prompting Teddy to roll all the way over until he’s straddling her. She squeals and tries to push him off, but he grabs both her wrists and pins them down on either side of her head.
“You’re a little giggle puss this morning, Caldwell.”
Bennett seems to find that even more hilarious. “Someone fan me. I’m swooning.”
“Well, I had to up my game somehow after, and I quote”—Teddy lets go of one of her hands and counts off the words on his fingers—“Not. Tonight. Buzz.”
“I didn’t hurt your feelings, did I?”
“What, when you decided not to come downstairs with me last night?” Teddy pretends to be wounded. “You cut deep, Caldwell.”
Bennett uses his moment of theatrics to break the hold he has on her by buckling his elbow with her free hand and pushing him off. Teddy manages to get a grip on her forearm as she shoves him, though, causing them to roll and switch places.
“Guess I should probably make that up to you, then,” she says, flashing him a grin, and Teddy becomes acutely aware of the compromising position he’s in. Fortunately (and also unfortunately), Bennett doesn’t give him time to react before she pushes herself up and jumps off the bed, heading for the door.
“Boat’s leaving in thirty minutes!” she calls over her shoulder.
Teddy presses his head back into the pillows and honestly doesn’t even know where to start.
* * *
The Caldwells, Teddy quickly learns, have a raging social life.
After breakfast, they all pile into the boat and head to this day party everyone’s been talking about this morning. Apparently the guy throwing it has one once a month during the summer. Bennett tries to give Teddy the rundown over the roar of the boat’s propeller.
“So, just a heads-up,” she adds. “The house where we’re going? Lots of kids will be there.”
“As in, lots of kids who might watch MTV?” Teddy asks, trying not to laugh while Bennett attempts to keep her hair under control.
“I’d say there’s a good chance,” she says. “But they’ll make it a big deal for, like, the first fifteen minutes, and then it’ll be over. And you don’t have to, like, pose for a million pictures or anything if you don’t want to—that goes for autographs, too. Do people still sign autographs who aren’t authors?”
Teddy’s never seen the nervous chatter side of Bennett, but he’s kinda here for it. Bennett’s been extra chatty all morning, actually.
“Oh—and Liz will be there.” Her eyes shift to Teddy’s as she says it, but the knowing smirk speaks the loudest.
Teddy rubs a hand over the back of his neck. “Yeah, she made a point to tell me before they left last night.”
“No surprise there.”
Ten minutes later, Mr. Caldwell slows the boat as they turn into a cove off the main channel. Teddy has no idea how anyone can navigate such a huge lake—especially since everywhere looks the exact same. The only way Teddy knows they’ve arrived at the party is when a man calls out to them from a nearby dock.
“About time y’all got here!”
“What’s goin’ on, Paul?” Mr. Caldwell yells back. “You guys started without us!”
Bennett waves at the man, then leans over to Teddy and says, “That’s Pontoon Paul—he’s the coolest guy you’ll meet today.”
Pontoon Paul is sporting tie-dyed Hawaiian swim trunks, what appears to be a retro lacrosse jersey, and a pair of clubmaster sunglasses. He has a Bloody Mary in one hand and a half-eaten hot dog in the other, and his graying five o’clock shadow frames one of the most genuine smiles Teddy has ever seen. This guy might be Teddy’s new hero.
“He likes to buy old pontoon boats and rebuild them into floating tiki bars,” Bennett explains.
“That’s freaking awesome.”
“Yep. This is his house. He’s got three daughters who will definitely lose their minds when they see you, so again, just a heads-up,” she says.
When they reach the dock, Tanner hops out to help tie up, while Bennett and Teddy help her parents unload all the food and coolers they brought for the party. Teddy’s never seen a family that shoves food at other people the way the Caldwells do, but he fully endorses it.
“Who’s the new guy?” Paul asks, extending a hand to Teddy once he hops out of the boat.
“Teddy Sharpe, sir. Great to meet you.”
Recognition weaves its way into Paul’s grin. “Ah, right, right, right. You’re the kid my girls have been throwing a fit over all morning. Figured you must be a hell of a guy, you know, being the first one I’ve seen Bennett bring around—”
“Whoa, all right, Mr. Paul. None of that,” Bennett says, reaching up to hug him. Teddy can see the slightest shade of pink creeping into her cheeks.
The party is set up in Pontoon Paul’s backyard, and there are probably fifty people already in attendance. There are hot dogs and burgers on the grill, games of cornhole going on, kids running around playing football.… People are everywhere—some lining the dock’s walkway, more in the lake swimming and throwing tennis balls for a couple of dogs on the shore. But the majority of the party is up in the yard and hanging out on the wraparound porch.
Paul has just handed Teddy a beer (which at first Teddy is hesitant to accept) when he hears a chorus of squeaks and giggles erupt behind him. Paul and the rest of the Caldwells take that as their cue to wade deeper into the party, leaving Teddy and Bennett with a decently sized group of teenage girls heading right for them.
“Bennett!”
“It’s true! Oh my God!”
“Are you sure? I don’t think it is—”
“It so is! Liz was right!”
Bennett intercepts them halfway, since at first it seems like the group is too shy to come all the way over. Bennett throws a grin back at Teddy as they all surround her, asking a million questions over one another.
“Oh my God, where did you meet him?”
“Do you know how gorgeous he is?”
“Are you sure that’s him?”
“Hi, girls—it’s nice to meet you,” Teddy says, stepping up to Bennett’s side, and the squeals that follow are just shy of deafening.
“These are Paul’s daughters and their friends,” Bennett explains, and there are hugs and Thanks so much’s and I’m so glad you like the show’s and a few tears (but not on Teddy’s end). Overall the enthusiasm is a bit contagious, until one of Paul’s daughters pulls Bennett aside for a second to gush to her about how lucky she is. Bennett tries to tell her that it’s not like that … that she and Teddy just met. And Teddy would be lying if it didn’t sting a little, but he doesn’t exactly blame her for deflecting.
“I just can’t believe he’s actually here. I mean—Liz said he would be, but we were all kind of, like, not sure if we could believe her,” Paul’s daughter tells Bennett while a few of the other girls in the group talk to Teddy about one of his character arcs in season three of Testing Wyatt. Teddy’s having a hard time multitasking.…
Bennett gives her a noncommittal shrug and says, “We all had dinner last night. She and Will met Teddy then.”
“Oh, we know,” Paul’s daughter says, subtly rolling her eyes.
“Can we take some pictures with you? If you don’t mind?” one girl asks, yanking Teddy back to the group in front of him.
“Don’t mind at all,” he says cheerfully, still distracted.
Six different iPhones and fifty pictures later, the majority of the people at the party are watching them now, including Liz, who has the same smug smile on her face from the night before. Now that Teddy knows she’s the one who spread the word he was coming to the party, he can’t help himself when an idea pops in his head to throw this back in her face a little. So in the midst of the photo shoot, he tells all the girls to yell, “Thanks, Liz!” right before the next picture is taken.
Teddy adds his own thanks by waving overzealously at her, and for one brief, satisfying moment, the rest of the party looks questioningly at her—and for once she looks like she doesn’t enjoy her spotlight.
* * *
Bennett was right about Teddy’s arrival being a big deal for about fifteen minutes, because the rest of the afternoon at Pontoon Paul’s is nothing but laid back. Paul apparently has no qualms about most of the kids drinking at his party (except for his daughters and their friends). Tanner keeps handing Bennett and Teddy beers, and Teddy’s pretty sure he’s a little buzzed, but Bennett seems like she is, too, so it’s all good.
They spend a good portion of the afternoon locked in a heated cornhole tournament someone organized, and after losing in the semifinals to two fourteen-year-old boys (who Bennett congratulated for peaking early with “non-exertional sports”), they find a couple of spots at a picnic table with Tanner. Most of the people they sit with are kids of guests and friends of friends, and despite a few of them making some jokes about the photo shoot Teddy was in earlier, no one else brings up anything Hollywood-related, surprisingly. Not even Liz when she walks over to try to join them.
“What’re you guys up to?” Liz asks, coming to stand at the head of the table. She has her hand wrapped around a hot-pink koozie containing some kind of fruity hard lemonade drink. Her gaze flicks to a dark-haired guy sitting at the other end of the table and she says, “Oh, Matt! How are you? Will is going to be so bummed when he hears he missed you today!”
Bennett goes completely still next to Teddy, and across the table Tanner stops his beer bottle halfway up to his mouth, glowering at Liz.
“Where is Will, Liz?” Teddy asks suddenly.
“Another one of those lame acting workshops,” she sniffs, and examines her cuticles in such a cliché way that Teddy almost tells her she could benefit from “one of those lame acting workshops.”
“Yeah? That’s cool he’s so dedicated. I was telling him last night that I wish I’d taken acting classes in high school,” Teddy says instead, sipping his beer and glancing around the picnic table. “I got thrown through the gauntlet when I first started auditioning—classes definitely would’ve helped keep me from looking like an idiot my first few times around.”
(Teddy knows he sounds like such a Hollywood douche for bringing up his career like this, but at this point he’s okay with sounding like a tool as long as it shuts Liz up.)
To his complete relief, everyone at the table laughs.
“I’m serious,” Teddy insists, grinning. “I wish they’d play my first audition tape at beginner’s acting classes to show what not to do. I was such a spaz. Still am.”
More laughter. And out of the corner of his eye, Teddy sees Liz motion for someone on her side of the table to scoot over. He (along with everyone else) pretends not to notice and starts into another story about a train-wreck audition just to ensure the subject stays changed. Liz stands awkwardly at the head of the table for about half of Teddy’s story before stalking off. At least she (somewhat) knows when to quit. Once she’s gone, though, Teddy’s ready to talk about literally anything else.
Half an hour later of hot dogs, surprisingly good country music, and Teddy attempting to convince everyone at the picnic table that they should all become Pirates fans, Teddy feels Bennett nudge his leg under the table. She leans in a little bit closer than he anticipates, grinning as she asks him if he wants to walk down on the dock with her. The sun is starting to set, and Teddy’s inner romantic cheeseball side isn’t about to pass that up.
“So,” Bennett says once they’re strolling down the pier.
Teddy waits for her to continue and thinks about putting his arm around her. He dips his body and gently knocks their shoulders together instead. “So?”
Bennett smiles out over the lake. “So. Having a good time?”
“I’m having a great time. You?”
She stops at the edge of the dock and sits down, dipping her feet in the water.
“You really aren’t a real person, you know that?” she says from left field.
Teddy takes a seat next to her and tries not to laugh. “Yeah? What makes you say that?”
She looks at him like she can see straight through his attempt to fish for compliments, then points a thumb back at the house. “You just sat up there all afternoon with a bunch of strangers and you got every single one of them to love you.”
“You flatter me.”
“I’m not,” Bennett insists, raising her feet out of the water and letting them drop again. “Not to mention distracting everyone from what Liz was trying to say about Will.…”
“Nah, I was just making conversation—”
“Shut up, you were not. You never bring up your acting career unsolicited.” She looks up at him then. “And for real, you don’t know how cool that was. So, thank you.”
There’s a seriousness in her expression that makes Teddy finally ask a question that’s been in the back of his mind since last night. “What is her deal with that, anyway? What kind of asshole tries to out her brother all the time?”
“That’s just Liz,” Bennett says, rolling her eyes. “She likes to collect things about people she thinks she can use to make herself look better.”
“Like telling everyone at the party that I was coming with you?” Teddy asks.
Bennett’s eyes flick to his, and she looks caught between surprised and impressed.
“Yep. And even when you don’t tell her anything,” she continues, shaking her head, “she even holds that over your head.”
“Sounds about right,” Teddy says dryly.
“But anyway. Liz would love it if she knew we were down here talking about her, so let’s talk about how awesome it is that you’ve been a good sport about everything my family’s thrown at you this weekend.”
“What, all the other dudes before me didn’t fare well against Pontoon Paul?”
“Still fishing, I see.” Bennett raises an eyebrow. “You heard Paul. You’re kinda unprecedented, Buzz. Don’t go getting all cocky about it.”
Teddy is definitely getting all cocky about it, though. He glances out over the water and has to bite down on his bottom lip to keep his smile from getting any bigger.
Bennett looks over, catches him, and says, “Oh, God. Stop it.”
He laughs again, and she keeps her eyes on his longer than what Teddy’s used to. Her brows furrow for a second, but then she breaks eye contact with an apologetic smile and turns her attention back toward the lake.
“What,” Teddy says.
“Nada.”
“Come on, Caldwell. What?”
“Seriously, nothing.” She shrugs. “I’m just—you just make me a little nervous.”
Teddy finds that a little hard to believe, all things considered. “Oh, please. I’m, like, the least intimidating guy ever.”
Bennett’s eyes get big.
“Seriously? Have you met yourself? You waltz in here like you’re everybody’s new best friend and not some famous actor from Hollywood and you’re just … I don’t know.” She sighs and rolls her head back to look at the sky. Teddy get
s a great view of the subtle little marks he left on her neck the night before. They’re only visible if he looks hard enough, but they’re definitely there, and they’re definitely a bit of a turn-on.
“Oh no. That’s not gonna cut it, Caldwell,” Teddy says, refusing to let himself get distracted. “I’m what?”
Bennett smirks. “Well, for starters, you’re a hell of a kisser.”
Jesus, maybe he will let himself get distracted.
“Is that you talking or all those beers you were knocking back during cornhole?”
“And you’re funny. And sweet. And stupid observant, and honestly?” Bennett says. “It’s a little outrageous how hard it is to not like you.”
Teddy leans toward her. “So you’re saying you kind of like me then, huh?”
She pauses to consider it, bobbing her head from side to side and wrinkling her nose. “Yeah, but only because you’re kind of famous.”
Teddy grabs her by the shoulders and pretends to try to push her off the dock.
“Such a smartass,” he mutters, slipping his arms around her and squeezing. Then he murmurs in her ear, “But just to be clear … there’s nothing kind of about the way I like you.”
And you know what? It might seem fast and it might be too convenient and the universe might secretly be planning the spectacular downfall of Teddy Sharpe, but right now … Teddy means it. He has no idea how the hell he got here so soon, but he’s definitely glad he has.
Bennett’s grin is blinding.
“So, I have a secret for you,” she says, swirling her feet around in the water, “and you have to swear you won’t tell anyone.”
Teddy knocks their shoulders together again. “Swear.”
“You’re gonna get cast as Jack, if you want the role.”
She says it so matter-of-factly, so straightforward, it catches Teddy on heels. He starts to pretend he’s surprised but stops, because he realizes no matter what he does, it’s probably going to come off unconvincing. “I—uh,” he says, a huge grin pulling at his lips. “I heard.”
Confusion flickers across her face for a split second before understanding takes over.
“Dammit,” she groans. “Tanner can’t keep his mouth just to save his life.”
Love Scene, Take Two Page 10