by Maree Green
I moved slightly, playing with the top of my tank top. Loud laughter came from the other side of the room, letting me know that Lance, Cain, and Jace were all now fully engrossed in our game.
I heard Josh groan. “Fucking hell. Just kill me now.”
Aiden took the shot, and to my amusement, missed. His eyes narrowed fully when he straightened, and he squared his gaze on me. “You . . .”
I pressed my lips together contritely and gave him a sheepish glance. “I’m sorry. That was mean.”
“No, no,” Corey said, moving to the table. “All’s fair in love and pool.”
I glanced over at Josh, to find his arms folded on the bar, and his head buried on top of them. I hoped he wasn’t mad.
Corey sank the rest of our colored balls and tried for the black, but missed. He assured me it was in a pretty tricky place for Dean to get a good shot at it, though. And he was right. Dean hit it hard, making it bounce from one side to the other, leaving it just out from the corner. I’m pretty sure for anyone else it’d be an easy shot, but I had no idea.
Corey pointed out where the white ball needed to hit the black in order for it to go down, so I lined it up as best I could. My excitement made me hit the ball harder than I should have, though, and it bounced next to the pocket and flew toward the other end of the table. I sighed in disappointment, but then Corey yelled out, and I turned to see it trickling closer and closer to the end pocket before dropping in.
My mouth dropped open with shock. “Does that count?” I asked, not really sure. I mean, it wasn’t the pocket I’d been going for.
He grinned. “It sure does.”
Throwing my arms up in the air in a victorious V, I turned in a slow circle. It had been a fluke, but I would take it. As I handed the stick to Corey, I filed the memory carefully away. These were the moments I wanted to look back on when the summer was done.
Chapter 24
Josh
All the guys had started ribbing me the minute Liv left to go back to her aunt’s. I hadn’t realized they’d get so much amusement out of my discomfort, but apparently, it was funny for a movie star to need a cold shower. They loved her, though. All it had taken was one game of pool. She was that incredible. I didn’t know how I was supposed to make myself give her up.
As I sat back on the deck, happy the guys had been able to drop in like that, I sighed with contentment. As much as I loved my job, it was times like this that really made me feel alive.
But then my cell had to go and ring, bringing reality back like a slap in the face. I was ready to ignore it, but when I saw Lucas’s name on the screen, I laughed.
Sliding my thumb across the screen, I stood and walked over to the rail. “Lucas! What are you doing, man?”
Lucas’s voice came through the speaker, loud and teasing. “Hey, hot shot. Long time, no see. How’s things been?”
Lucas was the first real friend I’d made in this industry. When I was first starting out, Lucas helped me out when no one else would. With both our schedules packed tight these days, the chances for us to catch up were too few and far between. “Yeah, you know. Good, but fucking busy.”
He laughed loudly. “I’m hearing you!”
At twenty-two, he wasn’t that much older than me. But he’d been where I was now and had successfully come out the other side. He was now a major contender for most A-list parts, and got to pick and choose which movies he wanted to do. Action movies excited him the most, but he was careful to keep his foot firmly in a few different genres to ensure his fan base was kept broad.
“So, how’s it all going, man? Greyson playing nice?” I said, looking out at the ocean. Greyson was the agent we both used.
He sighed. “Greyson’s been fine. It’s fucking Nicko that’s been giving me shit. He won’t stop harping on about my fucking image.”
Nicko was Lucas’s manager. I raised my eyebrows at that. “You know you can’t win, man. If you stay out of the spotlight, you’ll only get ribbed for not getting enough publicity.”
He growled. “I know. It’s really fucking getting to me at the moment, and this movie is making it ten times worse. I mean, it’s a great script, and I think it’s gonna do really well, but there’s so much public interest in it with Ana and Charli and Meg out there flaunting their shit all the time. For fuck’s sake, if you read all the gossip sites, I think I’m averaging about ten different fucks a day.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. I knew what the bloggers were saying about him. In the eyes of the media, he was the definition of a manwhore. Truth was, though, he wasn’t that much different than I was. Sure, we both picked up girls occasionally and enjoyed ourselves, but we sure as shit didn’t pick up ten different girls a day. Hell, I didn’t think I’d even done two different ones in one day. “A lot of that has to do with the movie, though, don’t you think?” I said, leaning my elbows on the railing.
The movie he’d just begun to shoot, Date Night, was more or less a romantic comedy. It was loosely based on the TV series The Bachelor, and there were a lot of female roles that had been cast to some pretty high-profile actresses. The problem with that, of course, was that most high-profile actresses didn’t like to be outdone by their competition, especially Ana Tate, Charli Donovan, and Meg Prescott.
And that was where Lucas’s problems lay. He was rumored to have slept with each and every one of the female cast members. And there were a fucking lot of them in that movie.
Lucas laughed. “It’s fucking ridiculous. The funny thing is, I haven’t actually slept with any of them, but none of them want to admit that because they don’t want to be the undesirable one.”
“So, what does Nicko want you to do about it?”
“Fucked if I know. I could understand if I was really out there fucking every chick I saw, but man . . .”
We both sighed. This was the downside to fame.
“So, what about you?” he asked.
I groaned. “You don’t want to know.”
He laughed. “I fucking do now.”
Taking a sip of my beer, I searched for a way to explain Liv. Hopefully, it was something good. “I met someone.”
“And?”
“She doesn’t know who I am.”
Silence came over the line for a moment. “Serious?”
I laughed, but there was no humor in it. “She really doesn’t. She’s been living in Uganda for the last six years—part of some world aid group or something.”
Lucas whistled. “Shit. What that would be like . . .” he said in wonder.
“Amazing,” I said. “She’s amazing. She’s so relaxed around me, you know? She laughs and jokes, and teases me like I was just any other person. Earlier today, she was just hanging with us, playing pool and fucking around. It was great. And she surfs.”
“She sounds great. What does she think you do?”
“I told her I’m an actor,” I said carefully. “I just didn’t elaborate how successful I was at it.”
I heard him murmur a little. “That’s fair. So, what’s the problem?”
My shoulders slumped a little more. “She’s nineteen, and she has zero experience.”
“Oh.”
I exhaled in a huff. “I would probably go for something a little more graphic than that. ‘Fuck’ works pretty good.”
I could practically hear his sympathy streaming down the line. “I can imagine. Have you thought about telling her the truth? Seeing where it might go?”
I shook my head, even though he couldn’t see me. “It can’t happen. I’m off to Florida in the fall.”
“Bummer, man.”
I slumped even farther against the railing. “I know.”
“Fuck, man. That’s shit. Typical, though, isn’t it? It’s like we have to give up any chance of something real when we give up our privacy. I can’t see myself ever settling down. Not because I don’t want to, but because the only chicks that’ll put up with the shit are our female equivalents, and they’re all bitches.”
<
br /> They weren’t all bitches, but I knew what he was trying to say. It was the price of success in our business.
“This shit is depressing. Let’s change the subject,” he said suddenly. “So, Steven Wilder, hey?”
Steven Wilder was the director for The Silver Gate. Neither of us had worked under him before, but he’d done some amazing work. “Yeah, man. I’m really looking forward to it.”
He murmured with agreement. “Yeah, I’ve heard he’s good. He’s supposed to run a pretty tight ship. Hannah’s good to work with too. She doesn’t go for any of that bullshit.”
“Good. The last thing I need right now is a diva.”
“You gotta play for the pap?”
I made a non-committal noise in the back of my throat. “Ian hasn’t said anything, but Hannah called the other day and said they were hinting at it.”
He sighed. “So, you’re not contracted to do it?”
“Fuck no. You taught me that.”
“Too fucking right. That shit can fuck you over real good.”
I’d heard all about the shit Lucas had been through because of bullshit contracts like that. There was no way I was going to fall into that trap.
“All right, man,” he said, sighing. “I gotta go to makeup. We’ll try to catch up soon. I need me some little brother time.”
I laughed. “All right. Good luck. See you, man.”
Ending the call, I looked back up at the ocean. After talking to Lucas, I was tempted to message Liv to see if she wanted to come back. Badly. And I knew if I didn’t take some drastic measures, I was going to cave.
Before I could change my mind, I walked inside and tossed my cell onto the table in front of Corey. It was the best I could do.
Chapter 25
Olivia
The second I pulled back the curtains and saw the four figures out surfing, I smiled. Racing to get myself dressed and throw down some breakfast, I skipped down the trail and toward Josh’s house.
I was almost there when I saw Amy on the beach with Daniel and their baby. It felt strange that they’d been here the whole time but we’d hardly seen each other. I knew Josh had said they were trying to make up for lost time, but didn’t they just want to get out in the fresh air occasionally?
Hesitantly, I approached, hoping I wasn’t intruding. Daniel looked up, but I knew he’d already seen me the second I stepped outside Aunt Jenny’s door. He always seemed to be so watchful. I figured it was the security guy in him.
“Hi,” I said softly, trying to gauge my reception.
Amy smiled up at me. “Hi.” She gestured to the blanket beside her, patting it firmly with her hand. “Come. Sit.”
Daniel came forward and touched a hand to Amy’s back. “Hey, princess. I’m just going up to check on some things.”
“Oh, okay.” She smiled as he leaned down to gently kiss her. I watched him start heading up the trail before I sank down beside her.
“How are you enjoying your summer?” Amy asked with a smile.
I turned to see a little mischief in her eyes. “Oh, it’s been okay. Different from what I’m used to. ”
She laughed then. It was a light, carefree sound. One that immediately put me at ease. “I bet. I heard you’ve been living abroad.”
I nodded. “Yeah, although when you say it like that, it makes it sound like I’ve been living it up in some high society, instead of in poverty.”
She laughed again. “It did, didn’t it? I can’t even imagine living how you did. It’s so inspiring. I have a lot of respect for you, you know.”
My eyebrows went up a notch. It always surprised me when people said things like that. I didn’t quite know how to take it. I mean, we didn’t do it for the accolades. “It definitely makes you thankful for the small things.”
She gazed lovingly down at Mae as she slept. “I know what you mean. Daniel was a marine when we met. I found out I was pregnant just after he was deployed. It was the worst nine months of my life.”
I frowned, a little confused. “Wasn’t she a preemie?”
Amy nodded as she gazed down at Mae. “She was, but Daniel went missing when I was about four months pregnant. He was captured by some rebels and held as a prisoner for six months. It was a pretty stressful time for me, and I ended up going into early labor.”
I stared at her, aghast. “Oh my god. Really? Josh never said anything.”
“He wouldn’t. He doesn’t think it’s anyone’s story to tell but ours. Mae was born exactly one hundred days early. One pound, twelve ounces.”
I looked down at Mae. “Are you serious? That’s so tiny.”
Amy smiled at her daughter. “She was. Her whole hand would fit just on the tip of my finger. My wedding band used to be able to fit right up her leg.”
I was completely blown away. I shook my head. “Wow. She’s a little miracle.”
“She sure is, and she’s why I can agree with you about being thankful for the small things. Nothing else matters other than having Daniel and Mae.”
I smiled, happy that she actually got it. “It must be hard, though, having Daniel working away from you.”
She looked at me a little quizzically. “Yeah, it can be, but I try to go with him most of the time. It was something we decided when he retired from the marines.”
A shadow appeared over me and I turned to see Josh, his board clutched under his arm, and water dripping from his body. Holy mother of mercy.
“How was I lucky enough to get three beautiful girls on my beach?”
“Uh . . . whose beach?” I said, cocking my eyebrow.
He laughed as he put his board down, then sat down beside me. I was a little surprised, but happy nonetheless, when he immediately leaned in and kissed me. “I missed you last night,” he whispered against my lips.
“Did you have fun?” I asked. I already sounded breathless.
He didn’t move back from me as we spoke, leaving his lips mere millimeters away from mine. “Not really.”
He kissed me again. This time, long and lingering.
My body erupted with what I now called ‘Josh sparks.’ It was the best feeling I’d ever had.
When he eventually pulled back, his eyes were dark. He seemed to remember himself, though, because he cleared his throat and looked Amy’s way. “Hi, Ames.”
“Hi, Josh,” Amy said with narrowed eyes, although I could see she was amused. “We were having a great conversation before you came and did your whole mind-altering thing.”
Josh put his head back and laughed loudly. “I like the thought that my kisses alter her mind.”
I shook my head at him. I liked Josh like that. He just looked so happy and carefree. Not that I didn’t like him when he had that dark look in his eye. If I was truthful, I liked every part of Josh I’d seen so far.
Amy laughed. “Yeah, we all know what a big stud you are.”
Something clenched in my gut with her words. I had to remind myself that this wasn’t the real world. He had a life beyond the beach, and most probably had girls chasing him everywhere he went. He was an actor, after all. I wondered how many girls he had to kiss for work.
“Come out for a surf with me?”
He saw my indecisive face and gave me his puppy dog look. “Pleeease?”
I smacked him lightly on the arm and laughed. “Stop it! You know I can’t say no to that face!”
He jumped up with the biggest grin on his face. “Good. Now go get your suit on, and hurry up. Bring a change of clothes down, then you can get changed at my house when we’re done.”
I shook my head at him, but the smile on my face gave me away.
It took me ten minutes to race up to the house and change. I grabbed one of my sundresses and some fresh underwear, throwing them in a tote, before making my way back down again.
Amy was gone by the time I got back down there, and I felt a little bad that I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye. I hoped I’d get to see her again. She was nice.
Josh was alread
y back in the water, so I dropped my tote near the pile of towels on the sand and ran for the water. I’d been back in the water a few times since that first attempt, and I’d discovered Josh had been right about the running in part. It got it all over and done with quicker.
I’d improved a lot since that first day too. A lot of what I’d learned when I was younger was coming back to me, and I was now angling and getting better at my carving. The last time we went out, I even managed a bottom turn. It felt good, especially when the guys gave me encouragement and cheered.
As I ducked under a wave—another thing I’d gotten better at—I came up and smiled as I paddled out to meet the guys. “All right,” I yelled. “Make way. The professional is here now.”
The guys hooted and hollered, playing along with my satire humor. This, I was going to miss.
Chapter 26
Josh
I loved watching Liv surf. She’d actually surprised me with how fast she’d picked it back up again, and even though the guys didn’t say anything, I knew they were pretty impressed with her too. I could see it their eyes.
We stayed out there for another hour. I was starting to get tired, but Liv looked like she was having too much fun to call it quits. Well, that was until I saw the shade of her lips. They were blue.
“Shit, Liv. Your lips are blue. How is that even possible? It’s summer!”
She laughed, but agreed. “I told you I got cold easy, but yeah, I’m feeling pretty damned cold right now.”
We paddled in, riding the boards on our stomachs. I gave her my towel to wrap around herself, seeing as she didn’t bring one down with her, and I carried her tote up the trail.
“Just leave your board near that shower there. I’ll wash it off for you,” I said, indicating the outside shower.
Turning around, I put her tote down near the door to the wet room and hosed off my feet. When I turned back, Liv had stripped off her wet suit and was stepping under the cold spray in just her bikini.
I froze. I hadn’t seen her in her bikini this close before, and it seemed to be shutting my brain down. Well, one of them anyway. The other one was well and truly standing to attention.