Cliché

by Ryleigh Sloan

  I could just see his grin. “We were about to film a big action scene. One where Lara is on an exploding boat. She needed to be rigged up so when the boat explodes she flies through the air and hits the water. Frank was strapping her in to the harness and being the dick that he is, went for a grope. Claire, I swear, Lara moved faster than I’ve ever seen anyone move. She had Frank in a headlock before his stupid grin could reach max capacity and the next thing he was tapping out like a WWE wrestler and the director was screeching ‘cut’ like his nuts were on fire. The camera crew were just about pissing themselves they were laughing so hard. In my opinion, Frank got off better than he deserved.”

  I laughed. “I guess Frank didn’t take all the martial arts training Lara got for this role into account? That’ll teach him.”

  Kevin chuckled. “That’s for sure.”

  I slowly felt myself unwind as I listened to Kevin tell me about his day, the laughter doing more than a warm bath and alcohol could to ease the tension of a very bad day.

  Chapter Eleven

  It was my first Saturday off in God knows how long and I couldn’t have been more grateful for the timing. The last couple of nights had been spent going over and over Kim’s question and the possible implications if I agreed to carry her baby, and maybe more so if I didn’t. It also conjured up a lot of feelings about myself that I didn’t care to acknowledge. I’d always figured myself to be a generous person, one that would do anything for the people I loved. Yet I was stewing over this decision and selfishly thinking about how it would affect my life.

  I’d never given the idea of children any thought, so why I was suddenly feeling like I was losing something I never really craved blindsided me. I wondered if I agreed to carry Kim’s child whether I’d grieve the loss of experiencing my first pregnancy for myself. None of the pregnancy moments I’d heard about would belong to me—they’d be Kim and Adam’s. The stab of guilt was neither unexpected nor new since I’d been experiencing guilt in different degrees since Wednesday. Kim was right, I was selfish. Here I was thinking about how this pregnancy wouldn’t be my own when she would never have the experience. I riffled through my bottles of nail polish, pulling out the colour I was looking for—at least this was one decision I could make.

  I carried what I needed to give myself a pedicure to the living room and placed it all on the coffee table. Questions ran through my mind in an overactive loop. Could I do this? Would I be able to give away a baby I carried for nine months? Would it feel like I’d given up my own child? Would I feel like I missed him or her?

  My brain felt like it was going to explode with the back and forth and I was nowhere nearer a decision than a couple of days ago. Needing a distraction, I scanned through my PVR selection and settled on the latest episode of Arrow. I placed my foot on the coffee table and thread cotton wool through my toes to spread them apart, then opened the bottle of nail polish. I’d just finished painting my big toe a vibrant purple when an incoming video chat alerted. Leaning my phone against the bowl on the table and hitting stop on the remote, I answered.

  “Hey, handsome.”

  Continuing to paint my toes, I smiled at Kevin’s cheerful face filling my screen.

  “Hey yourself, nice colour. And nice um…top.” His smile turned wicked and had my stomach flitting in such wonderful ways.

  I looked down and noticed my tank riding low across my chest, giving Kevin a view of my cleavage. Tugging at the top, I mock scowled at him. “A gentleman would never have pointed out my wardrobe fail you know.”

  “I’m not a gentleman and who said it was a fail?” His wink even more wicked than his smile.

  I laughed and set the bottle down, repeating the cotton wool spreader/protectors and giving my left toenails their first coat. “You’re in a good mood.” Kevin was almost always in a good mood but today he seemed especially chipper.

  “I am. Guess who I met?”

  “Ooh, I love guessing games. Steve Carell, Ellen DeGeneres, John Travolta.”

  “Shut up and I’ll tell you.”

  I swiped the brush over my pinkie toe, then placed it back in the bottle. Cleaning off the excess paint with my thumb nail, I wiped it on a wad of cotton wool then made a zipping motion over my lips.

  He nodded his head. “That’s better.” Gifting me a lop-sided grin. “Hayley Stephens.”

  “What! Shut up! No! Where? What did she look like? Was she cool? Did she talk to you? What did she say?” In my excitement I moved my feet off the coffee table, my big toes and second toe smashing together and smudging the paint. “Shit! My toes. Wait a sec, I’ll be right back and then you have to tell me everything!” I duck-walked to my bathroom and grabbed the acetone out of the cupboard under the sink, then duck-walked back. Placing my feet safely back on the coffee table, I went to work cleaning the two toes and repainting them.

  “So, tell me. Don’t leave out a thing. Except if she’s a bitch. They say never meet your idol for a reason so lie your ass off if she’s a bitch.”

  “She’s not a bitch. She’s actually the sweetest person you’ll ever meet. I spent most of yesterday afternoon and evening with her and she is the most down to earth person out here.”

  “Yeah? I’m green with envy right now.” I proceeded to start on my second coat. I painted over my big toe again then looked up to meet Kevin’s eyes on the screen. “What did she look like? Is she gorgeous? She’s probably perfect, right?”

  “Claire-Bear, she’s fucking drop-dead gorgeous. I swear, she had every guy there drooling. Actually, that’s how we met. Some jerk was getting handsy and she was too sweet to do anything about it, so I pretended to be her boyfriend.

  A feeling I’d never experienced till that moment hit me in the gut and let me tell you, jealousy is a terrible emotion. It wraps itself around you like a snake and squeezes the air right out of you. I shoved the feeling right down to the pit of my stomach where it sat like lead. I was not going to be that girl, the one who gets herself wrapped around the axle over an attractive girl and a hypothetical situation. Besides which, and most importantly, I had no claim on Kevin or what he did with his time and I was not going to let a silly emotion control me.

  “Always the perfect gentleman,” I teased.

  I ducked my head and gave my toes a third coat, which was completely unnecessary but given the complete surprise with which the jealousy just hit me, I’d say it was best to be in a position where I could school my features if required. “What did you two talk about?”

  “Actually, that’s what I called to tell you. I think I’ve sold our media problem for when you come over here.”

  I looked up at his enthusiastic grin. “What media problem?”

  “The one where you end up on every rumour mill imaginable. What happened when I was over there is nothing compared to how things are over here.”

  “Are people going to be jumping out of bushes and stealing my DNA?” I teased.

  Kevin looked pained. “It’s possible.”

  I started laughing but then noticed how serious he’d become. “Oh, you’re serious.”

  “Claire, people have no boundaries when it comes to celebrities. They feel a sense of entitlement, like we owe them something. Our lives are fair game to them or some shit, which means you would be fair game too. Once you’re seen with me the rumours are sure to start.”

  “Okay, so what’s the big plan?”

  He settled back and adjusted his laptop screen. I could see he was stretched out on the bed, his back leaning against the headboard. He was wearing an old t-shirt, one that had a small hole at the neckline and hugged him in all the right ways. “Hayley and I decided to become a couple.”

  Everything in me seized up. Simple functions like knowing how to blink or speak were replaced by an onslaught of emotions that were far beyond comfortable.

  I managed to get my hands to work enough to recap the nail polish bottle then I blew the trapped air from my lungs to blow on my nails when all I was trying to do was steady my
racing heart.

  “Congratulations.”

  “Oh. No! We aren’t a real couple.” Kevin shot me a sheepish smile. “I guess I should’ve led with that.”

  Ya think? My heart struggled to settle in my chest and I carefully removed the cotton wool from between my toes while he continued with the rest of his explanation.

  “Since Hayley is constantly being harassed by guys hitting on her, and I want to keep you out of the public eye as much as possible, I proposed we have a fake relationship in the hopes that we can kill two birds with one stone.”

  Now that my vitals had returned to normal I could see that Kevin had a point. It was a good idea and could work.

  “And she agreed?” I questioned.

  “Yeah, she thinks it’s a great idea. We’re pretty much all anyone is talking about since we were seen together at the pool yesterday and she’s not getting hit on as much. It’s just proof of how fast gossip travels. I’m just glad I got to tell you before you read it somewhere and got the wrong idea.”

  What the wrong idea could be I didn’t know, I mean so what if Kevin decided to date someone? Did I really expect him to stay celibate while he lived on a different continent? Besides, neither of us were on the monogamy train; as long as Kevin was careful and safe, what he did in his free time was none of my business.

  A knock came from Kevin’s door and he grinned. “That’ll be my cheesecake. Lemme get that and I’ll be right back.”

  “I haven’t packed a thing, I better get on that.”

  Kevin’s smile wrapped around his face, making my heart and stomach flutter with excitement. “It’s a few weeks away.”

  I returned his grin. “You know how I like to be prepared.”

  Instead of packing, I spent the next hour googling Hayley Stephens on my iPad. The pictures of Kevin and Hayley at the pool came up and while they didn’t look romantic in the least, I struggled with the urge to compare every detail of Hayley to me. Stupid doubts crept in and I found myself wondering if things between Kevin and I would change now. Thoughts like why he would have a fake relationship with Hayley when he could have a real one with her plagued me. As I scrolled though pages and pages of images of Hayley looking beyond amazing, I struggled not to pick at my insecurities. I was failing miserably when a text came through, interrupting my crazy stalking. It was from Kevin.

  Kev: Forget the clothes, lingerie only ;-)

  I smiled and closed my iPad, walking to my underwear drawer, setting my ridiculous thoughts aside.

  Chapter Twelve

  The moment I saw Kevin staring into the distance, brow furrowed in what looked like deep concentration, I was rejuvenated—not that I was feeling that tired in the first place since flying business class wasn’t actually a hardship. Leaving my trolley right where it was, I slung my purse across my chest, then ran and launched myself at him.

  I heard the “oomph” rush out of his mouth as my body crushed against his, and my legs wrapped around his waist but I didn’t let go. It was only when I realised that Kevin wasn’t embracing me back with as much enthusiasm that I relinquished my hold and slid down his body. His expression was pained instead of excited, filling me with concern.

  “I’m sorry I caught you off guard. Did I hurt you?” Thinking my bag with my Kindle and phone may have whacked him in the ribs, I ran my hands over his chest.

  I smiled up at him, the expression on his face quickly changing my smile to a frown. He did not look happy to see me. In fact, he looked downright pissed. Kevin’s eyes flicked away from mine, his distraction confusing me. I followed his gaze, disappointed that our reunion wasn’t close to how I’d envisioned it going during the twenty-seven-hour flight. It was then that I noticed a cordoned off area with security standing firmly with arms crossed. Fifteen or so members of the press pushed and shoved their way forward, all angling for prime position, snippets of questions hurled our way and camera flashes blinded me. Airports in general were noisy places with excited chatter and over-enthusiastic greetings but how I’d missed the cacophony of sounds coming from behind the barrier as well as the attention it was attracting was a mystery forever to remain unsolved. If I wasn’t so overwhelmed by the sensory overload I was currently being assaulted by, I would have been a little annoyed at myself for being so unobservant.

  “Where are your bags?” Kevin’s tone was brusque and had me more confused than the onslaught of media.

  I looked behind me, pointing. “Uh…over there.” I made to step in the direction of my abandoned trolley but Kevin tugged at my arm.

  “I’ll get it, Mr. Peyton.”

  Kevin nodded. “Thanks, Dave.”

  With all the racket the press were making, we’d drawn the attention of the people milling about the arrivals area. People started recognizing Kevin and were rushing towards us, random pieces of paper and cell phones shoved under Kevin’s nose with requests for autographs and selfies. Kevin’s arm wrapped protectively over my shoulder as he tugged me closer to his side while another guy in a navy suit did his best to keep the crowd at bay.

  Kevin leaned down and whispered in my ear, “I’m sorry about this, Claire-Bear. I don’t know how they knew I was here.”

  I couldn’t respond over the noise, people were jostling us now. Hands touching us and grabbing at us. I don’t think the people even knew who they were touching but they wanted their moment with Kevin and they weren’t above pawing me on the off chance it was him.

  As my adrenaline spiked, my ears caught some of the questions being thrown at Kevin.

  “Hey, Kevin, who’s your friend?”

  “Where’s Hayley, does she know what you’re up to today?”

  “Did you and Hayley break up? Have you moved on already?”

  Kevin ignored them and pushed us through the crowd to the waiting car at the curb. The guy in the navy suit tried his best to shield us from the mob while the driver put my luggage in the trunk and unlocked the car doors for us. A stinging pain sliced through my arm and I looked down to see lumo yellow nails sharpened to talon points bite into my flesh and drag their way down my arm in an attempt to stop us from getting in the car.

  With a less than gentle shove, Kevin pushed me into the car then slid in immediately after me, slamming the car door and locking it. Scooting in close, Kevin pulled me into his arms. He kissed the top of my head over and over in between muttering apologies as both Dave and the navy suit guy (who I assumed was Kevin’s bodyguard) got in the front. We pulled out of the spot and headed towards the freeway.

  “Are you okay?” He looked me over much like I did when I thought I’d accidently bruised his ribs. He stilled, a look of horror replaced by absolute fury as he lifted my arm. I followed his gaze and gasped at the streak of blood oozing out of one of the three angry looking welts on my skin.

  “Motherfucker.” He scrubbed a hand over his face and leaned forward to talk to the bodyguard. “Sebastian, do we have a first-aid box handy?”

  Sebastian leaned over and opened the glove box. Handing the compact first-aid kit to Kevin over the seat, his eyes took in the angry scores down my arm.

  “I’m sorry about that, Mr. Peyton.” Regret evident in the set of his jaw.

  “This isn’t your fault, Sebastian.” The bodyguard didn’t look convinced but turned back to stare out of the windscreen, tension as thick as mud in the air. In seconds, Kevin opened the box and was rubbing at the welts with a cleansing swab, blowing gently on them to ease the sting.

  I watched Kevin wrap a bandage round the scratches; although unnecessary it gave him something to do with his hands other than ball them into fists with white-knuckle force and me time to decompress a bit and catch my breath

  I suddenly realised why a bodyguard was necessary for Kevin and felt bad about all the times I’d teased him about it. I wondered if his bodyguard would be with us all the time and how it would feel to be shadowed.

  Kevin finished up and setting the first-aid kit next to him on the seat, kissed my hand. I tensed and my g
aze flicked to Dave and Sebastian up front. Now that I’d witnessed the reaction from the press with regards to a simple thing like Kevin fetching me from the airport and the assumptions that went with it, I was suddenly paranoid. Both guys had eyes firmly on the road, seemingly oblivious to what was going on in the back but who knew what they saw.

  Kevin caught my look. “It’s okay, they’re cool.”

  They may well have been cool but I wasn’t. I suddenly felt unsure. Kevin and I had never spoken about our arrangement because there was no need to. Whenever we saw each other we fell back into the pattern of hanging out and fucking. When we were apart, it was up to us how we wanted to spend our time. We weren’t exclusive and if I didn’t sleep with other guys it was because I was sick of weeding through narcissistic assholes who didn’t know the concept of ladies first (and I wasn’t talking about through a doorway). For Kevin, it was that he couldn’t really tell what women’s motivations were.

  Maybe this time would be different. Maybe we weren’t going to continue with our arrangement as normal. I mean, there was Kevin and Hayley’s fake relationship to think about and for all I knew, Kevin wanted to be as true to that relationship as he could. It’s not like I could just come out and ask Kevin how things were going to work now. Well, I suppose I could, but I was afraid of what the answer would be and more so, what my reactions would be.

  We stayed silent for the rest of our trip to the hotel, our reunion spoiled by what happened at the airport. Kevin occasionally kissed my hand and every time he did, I wondered if he was doing it as a friend or as something more but I remained silent—hiding behind denial.

  My doubts about the dynamic of our relationship changing were completely unfounded. The moment we tipped the bellboy and were alone in the room, Kevin pulled me to him, plunging his tongue into my mouth in such a way that he had me wishing he’d plunge other parts of himself into me too. We were all hands, pulling and tugging at clothing—our own and each other’s until we were skin on skin and desperate for more. Kevin carried me to the bed, laying me down and entering me in one swift move.