by T Gephart
“Sure we will.”
FOR MY PARENTS, ME JETTING off on some new adventure wasn’t anything new. They gave me the same be careful speech they always did but never once stood in my way. They had wanted all of their daughters to live life, to experience new adventures, and if me flying to California was going to make me happy, they were my biggest supporters.
My boss, he just didn’t care. As long as I didn’t miss deadlines and submitted on east coast time, I could be moving to the North Pole and he’d still have the same level of concern. Besides, at this stage it was only a few weeks. I’m almost positive that some people wouldn’t have even noticed I was gone.
We—and by we, I mean me—decided that it would be better for me to fly out separately. Sure, there had been no-name girl sightings with unconfirmed reports Eric was seeing someone, and I no longer cared that people saw us together. But I would prefer to get off a transcontinental flight—probably looking like shit—and not have my photo taken. Vanity. I was only human after all.
The first time I’d made my I’m-going-to-see Eric flight, I had landed at night, zombiefied because of the time zone difference. But even though I wasn’t going to have a zoom lens pointed at me when I landed, I made sure I took an early flight so I would get in sometime in the afternoon. Of course that meant getting to JFK at ridiculous o’clock in the morning. It seemed no matter when I flew it was my destiny to be a zombie.
With preproduction starting that morning, Eric was already at the studio. That meant Ryan picked me up from the airport, his smile being the first one I saw as I collected my bags.
The next thing I saw was his sign, a piece of paper he held at his chest that said New York.
“We know what each other look like, was there really a need for the sign?” I gave him a hug, crushing the piece of paper.
“You are so much like him.” He rolled his eyes. “Always ruining my fun. I liked you better when you were drunk wearing a bear outfit.” He shot me a wink taking my bags from my hands.
“It was a bunny,” I corrected, hoping I hadn’t completely desecrated the white rabbit suit. Judith never said whether she got her deposit back.
“Hey, whatever kink you’re into, sweetheart.” A smirk flirted across his lips. “I’m not here to judge.”
We walked out of the terminal to where he’d parked his predictable black SUV he always seemed to drive. He definitely had a fleet. My bags were loaded into the back and for the first time ever when riding with Ryan I sat up in front, which earned me a big smile.
“You wanna go to his house or do something else?” Ryan pulled out of the airport parking and onto the main road.
“Probably go to the house first, I need to humanize myself again.” I hoped Eric had one of those crazy massive showerheads that shot water in every direction. I might never get out. “Is it really big?”
I didn’t really care but was sort of curious as to what I was in for.
“New York.” Ryan whistled through his teeth, cracking a grin. “If you can’t answer that for yourself, then I can’t help you.”
“His house, you perv.” I backhanded him across the chest. “I wanted to know if his house was big.”
“It’s standard size for someone like him.” He shrugged, not giving me much more to go on.
The keywords there were someone like him. I had no idea what that meant. Not in real terms. The size of his house, the least of my problems.
Thinking about fitting into this new world—a place I still felt I had no business being in—made me feel antsy. So I did what I always did, shoved it down deep and pretended it didn’t bother me.
The rest of the ride was filled with talk about everything and nothing. Ryan told me all about growing up with Eric, how while he usually acted as chauffeur, it was something more than that. It was important to Eric that he had his best friend on the road with him, a way of making sure he always stayed grounded. You could tell by the way he spoke about him it was a genuine friendship. There was no jealousy over his best friend’s success and if the roles had been reversed, Eric would have done the same for him.
Ryan was easy to be around and when there were pauses in the conversation, they didn’t feel awkward. He didn’t know it yet, but I was adopting him as my friend. Not just someone who I knew because of Eric but because he seemed like the real deal. This was a huge responsibility, so I hoped he was up for the challenge. I had high hopes for us.
We left the main roads and tracked further into the hills. I didn’t know if these were the Hollywood Hills—tourist signage was noticeably absent—but the driveways were largely spaced apart and all had massive gates in front of them. The surveillance cameras were also a tip off this wasn’t a regular neighborhood.
We finally came to a stop in front of a large black gate. I assumed this one was Eric’s. Just like the other driveways, it was hard to see the actual house from the road. Ryan pressed a few keys on the silver box on the side and boom, the gate slid open so we were able to continue to what I assumed would be the house.
I was wrong.
It wasn’t a house.
It was a fucking estate.
Hands pressed to the car window, mouth wide with my eyes bugging out of my skull. I was glad the only other person was on the inside of the car.
“Standard size?” I pointed to the palace we were currently parked in front of. “Are you kidding me?”
“You’re impressed too easily, you need to work on that.” He laughed as he exited the car. “You haven’t even been inside yet.”
Turns out, he was right.
It was waaaaay more than I’d been expecting.
The door opened to a huge entranceway, the highly polished marble floor only upstaged by the insane double staircase.
“Bedrooms are up there.” He tipped his chin in the direction to the second floor. “We can dump your bags and then we can do the tour.”
We climbed the stairs and entered what I assumed was the master bedroom. Of course I was guessing at this point, the massive room with the oversized bed was possibly like the others.
“It’s Eric’s room.” Ryan showed what great judgment I’d had in picking him to be my friend. He wasn’t as good as Lila yet, but mind reading was a good quality to have.
“Speak of the Devil.” He winked, fishing out his vibrating cell from the pocket of his jeans. “My Lord.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, the ease of their friendship something that warmed my heart.
“Yes, I picked her up from the airport. She’s still hogtied in the trunk though.” Ryan smirked thoroughly enjoying himself. “Do you want her deposited somewhere in particular or should I just leave her on your front porch?”
There was a slight pause before he handed the phone over to me. “He wants to talk to you, proof of life and all that.”
“Hello.” I smiled into the phone which was stupid seeing as he couldn’t see me.
“New York, I’m so glad you made it.” Just the sound of his voice gave me goose bumps. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be the one to pick you up from the airport.”
“No, it’s fine.” My hand waved in the air, the effort lost due to Eric not being able to see. “You have to work, I completely understand. Besides, Ryan has been fantastic.” My words making Ryan stand up a little straighter and give me an appreciative nod.
“Yeah, I’m sure he has.” He laughed. “I’m not sure what time I can get away, we’re doing table reads at the moment.” I could hear the echo of regret. “I was hoping to be done already.”
“Eric, seriously, I’m fine.” I’d never expected him to drop everything to come entertain me. I was completely capable of snooping—I mean looking around the house/mansion all on my own. “Do whatever you have to do and I’ll be waiting for you when you get back.”
“I’m sorry, Tia. We’ll do something special on the weekend, I promise.”
“Just being here is special, I’m fine. See you soon.” I handed the phone back to Ryan.
&nbs
p; “Yeah, I promise to not show her your dungeon.” Ryan winked before turning and walking out of the room to finish the call. I could hear the faint murmur of his voice as I took in the room.
It was good to have a moment alone, giving me time to take it all in. Not just the room—which was larger than my entire apartment—but the reality of it all. I knew I wasn’t in Kansas anymore but the Land of Oz was slightly more overwhelming than I’d anticipated.
We’d been in a bubble in New York, between my apartment and his hotel suite—a suspended type of reality. We’d seemed more equal, the divide not so large. But here, it was his world, and I was a stranger. It gnawed at me a little, something I knew I was going to have to keep in check. He wasn’t the big house, the money, the fancy cars I was almost positive would be parked in the garage. He was the same gorgeous, funny, talented guy I’d assigned as my number one crush. And more recently, the guy I’d fallen in love with.
“Hey, are you hungry?” Ryan appeared back at the door, I was too lost in my thoughts to notice he’d come back. “I do not cook but we can order in.”
“Were you instructed to babysit me?” I asked suspiciously, the phone he’d been talking on still in his hand.
“No. Of course not.” He scoffed, trying to look indignant.
“Fine, yes,” he responded when he was met with my raised eyebrow of disbelief.
“You don’t need to hold my hand, I’m more than capable of being in the big house all by myself,” I assured him. “Besides, I’m still on east coast time so I’ll probably shower and crash soon.”
“Can’t we eat first?” He didn’t move, staying in the doorway. “I’m hungry and if I’m feeding you, then I can use my expense account. I know you’d hate for me to pay for my own dinner, wouldn’t you?”
“Okay, we’ll have dinner,” I agreed, the sandwich I’d eaten on the plane hours ago and not at all satisfying. “But here’s the compromise. I’ll pay.”
“Yeah, that’s not going to happen.” He laughed stretching out his arms wide. “Take a look around, New York. Your dude is loaded. He finds out I let you pay, it will be my ass he chews out, not yours.”
“So don’t tell him.” I shrugged, unable to stop myself from taunting him a little more. “You tell Eric everything you do?”
“No, of course not.”
“So, let’s order noodles and I’ll pay.” I bent down to my pile of bags on the floor to retrieve my credit card stuffed inside one of them. “He probably won’t even ask.”
“Still not a good idea.” His hand didn’t move when I held it out in front of him.
“We going to argue or we going to eat, I thought you said you were hungry.” I waved my Visa, trying to tempt him.
“Fine, whatever.” He rolled his eyes, snatching the card from my fingers. “I know you’re going to argue with me until I agree, so let’s just save us both the time.”
“You know me so well already.” I clasped my hands under my chin and grinned.
Ryan ordered dinner and then took me through the rest of the house. Imagine your Barbie dream house when you were ten years old. Then imagine the Beast’s castle from Beauty and the Beast, but without the talking clocks and cutlery. If those two properties made sweet, sweet love and had a house baby you’d be somewhere in the vicinity of Eric’s place. Impressive wasn’t grand enough a word.
It was warm, so we decided to eat outside beside the lagoon—sorry pool—in the outdoor entertainment area. It wasn’t hard to picture it filled with big-breasted blondes with tiny bikinis, all of them fawning over Eric. I shook the thought off, convincing myself it was just my stupid insecurities and he wasn’t like that. After all, if he’d wanted a big-breasted blonde, he could have had that already.
With our feet dangling in the warm pool water, we ate noodles straight from the box with chopsticks. The sun slowly started to set, coloring the sky a soft shade of pink.
“You sure you don’t want me to hang around?” Ryan asked bundling the take out boxes into the trash. “We can watch something in the theatre room, he has like a thousand movies.”
“Nah, I’m tired.” I pulled my feet out of the water and slipped them back into my flip-flops. I’d actually remembered to pack a pair. “Besides, I still haven’t washed the airplane smell off me.”
“Cool, well, I live in the pool house right over there.” He pointed to the white cottage just across from the lagoon. “So I’m not far if you need anything.”
“You live in the pool house?” My eyes moved between him and the charming little house opposite, about one hundredth the size of the house behind us.
“Eric’s gone so much he hated to have the place empty all the time.” He shrugged like it was the most natural thing in the world. “I’d house sit whenever I wasn’t with him, but I got sick of living in his house. So the two of us built me my own place.”
“You built it?” Cue my one millionth wide-eyed mouth drop since we’d arrived.
“Sure did.” He nodded proudly. “We had contractors come in and help, but Eric and I both worked on it. Still one of the best summers we had since he moved in here. I think he’s secretly pissed I’m the one who gets to live in it.” The admission seemed to make him proud.
“Maybe tomorrow you can show me the inside.”
“Sure.”
It was weird, knowing that tiny piece of information I doubted other people knew. It felt precious, like something I needed to tuck up near my heart and keep it safe.
“He’s a really nice guy.” I found myself thinking out loud, my eyes following the gentle ripples in the warm pool water.
“When he wants to be,” Ryan laughed. “He can also be a prick just like the rest of us.”
“Like?” The chance for further insight too big of a temptation to resist.
“He once convinced me—while we were both drunk—I’d signed up to join the Army.”
“What?” I half-laughed not sure what a proper response should be.
“Yep,” He smirked, clearly not too annoyed about it now. “Even had a recruiter come to the door with the paperwork. It seemed so legit and I thought what the hell. I even shaved my head to prepare for basic training.”
“Wait? You actually joined the Army?”
“Almost. He let me sweat it out a whole day before he told me the whole thing was bullshit.” He barked out a laugh. “Asshole.”
“That’s insane. I can’t believe he did that.”
“Nah, I had convinced him the week before he’d slept with Casey Kendall and her twin sister Cathy.” His eyes lit up with pride. “I had it coming.”
“Wow.” I blew out softly, the idea of Eric with other women even in the past annoyed me more than it should.
None of my business, I reminded myself. I hadn’t been a nun before I’d met him either. I had no right to have any thought about it either way. Pity, I wasn’t feeling logical as silent jealousy surged through me.
“He didn’t.” Ryan correctly read my mood. “Not for lack of trying on their part.”
“Well, thanks for having dinner with me.” I pushed those errant thoughts away and pulled him into a goodnight hug even though it wasn’t even close to his bedtime. “It was fun.”
“Thanks for paying.” He hugged me back.
Taking the trash, he waved goodbye and walked around the pool to his front door. I waited until he was inside before I turned and wandered back into the mostly dark house alone.
It was so hard not to feel like an intruder even though I knew I was a guest, the space almost too large.
I eventually found Eric’s bedroom again, missing the room entirely the first time and ending up in a guest bedroom down the hall. Once inside I pulled out a sexy negligée I’d bought a few months ago from Victoria’s Secret and hadn’t had the opportunity to wear. Whenever Eric and I were together it usually went from clothed to naked, super quick. There was no time in between to get into something sexy. Not that I was complaining, but I was looking forward to surprising him.
When I saw his bathroom, I was immediately faced with a dilemma. On one side of the massive white-tiled room was a humungous claw-footed tub that could easily accommodate three full-grown people. While on the other was an obscene glass-paneled box that had so many water jets I wasn’t convinced it wasn’t a decontamination shower from the CDC.
The shower and its inappropriate amount of jets won.
It was heaven, feeling the water wash over me, the pressured spray gently massaging my skin. I could have stayed in there for hours. When my eyes started to close, I decided it would be a good time to get out. Eric coming home to a crime scene in the bathroom when I passed out and hit my head on all the glass wouldn’t be a good thing. Would kind of negate the intention of the sexy negligée.
My skin was brushed pink as I toweled off and slipped into my nightwear, my hair still damp as I walked back into the bedroom. It was only nine and I was wiped-out.
I wanted to wait for him, be awake when he got home, but my body was fighting a losing battle. Rationalizing that I’d be more rested after a nap, I laid my head on the pillow, damp hair and all, and closed my eyes for a few minutes.
Just to recharge.
So when he got home we could have in-another-state sex.
Oh my God, I was going to marry this bed.
The room was dark when I opened my eyes. The drapes I’d forgotten to close had been pulled tight making the room impenetrable to outside light. Eric must have come home.
I couldn’t have been asleep for more than an hour, my head still feeling like cotton wool. My arm stretched over onto the other side of the bed, my fingers expecting to hit a warm body, but instead they were met with cold sheets.
“Eric?” My back jacked off the mattress so fast it gave me a head rush.
Nothing, the dark giving me no response.
I padded out of bed and moved to the bathroom, the shower I’d been in an hour or so ago the place most likely he’d be. But as I snapped on the overhead light and the room was illuminated, like the bedroom I found it empty. It smelled of him though, his sexy man scent lingering in the air as I inhaled. He’d been here.