by Diana Currie
Joe nodded. “Is he at college or something?”
“Um… yeah. He’s like a performing arts, theater kind of guy,” Maddie lied not wanting to answer a lot of questions about Nathan. She didn’t know how much Nathan had told him already.
“I’m sure his folks are thrilled to be paying for that out of state tuition,” Joe replied with heavy sarcasm. “You couldn’t have found a guy with a more lucrative career path like Philosophy?”
Maddie sneered at her father as he chuckled at his own joke. If there was one thing Joe hated it was wasting college funds on the liberal arts. Business, science, useful trades… those were valuable educational experiences. The kinds of professions that would feed your family.
“Calm down, dad. He’s just a good friend.”
“A friend, huh? Honey, I just spent the last hour talking to that young man. As a cop, being able to read people is part of my job. Trust me, that boy is crazy about you.”
Maddie didn’t know what to say. Joe seemed certain in his assessment, but did she want him to be right? Yes. No. She didn’t have time to think about it now, her phone buzzed in her palm. Nathan. Maddie’s father smiled as she blushed and retreated from the room without another word.
Maddie might have been confused about how she felt about Nathan’s affection, but to Joe it was obvious that his feelings were not unrequited. It sort of made him happy that the boy lived three states away. At least until he knew more about him because Joe got the impression that Nathan hadn’t been entirely forthcoming during their talk. As far as fatherly interrogations go, Nathan had been a little vague about himself.
Maddie answered the phone just as she reached her bedroom and locked the door behind her. Her heart was racing and she didn’t know if it was the result of running up the stairs or because Nathan, who may or may not be crazy about her, was calling.
“Hey,” she answered as calmly as possible.
“Hey, I thought you were going to call me,” Nathan replied in a pleasant tone.
“I was patiently waiting my turn. I didn’t know you and Officer Sherratt were best buddies.”
Nathan chuckled. “I logged in while I was waiting for you and saw your profile was active. I thought maybe you were playing at Kyle’s house.”
“Must have been quite a surprise to get my dad instead of me, huh?” she giggled.
“It sure was. But I had fun; your dad’s pretty cool.”
“He has his moments. So how much did you tell him about yourself?”
“Just that I was rich, famous, and planning on corrupting his daughter.”
Maddie felt her face flush. “Corrupt huh? No wonder he made sure to ask me if you really lived far away in California.”
Nathan laughed heartily. “I’m just teasing you. We really just talked about the video game. For a cop your old man doesn’t know much about first person shooters.”
From what Joe told her it seemed like her name had come up at least a few times. She wanted to see if Nathan would deny it. “So, you didn’t talk about me?”
There was a short pause. “Well, I might have grilled him just a little.”
“Grilled him on what?”
“I asked if he saw that guy who took you out on New Year’s and what he thought of him.”
Maddie rolled her eyes. “You’re still thinking about that stupid blind date? Watch out, because I might start thinking that you were jealous of Marty.” No wonder Joe thought Nathan was crazy about her. Luckily for Maddie everyone had met at Holly’s house so Joe had no information to divulge even if he’d wanted to.
Nathan was quiet again, silently contemplating how to respond. “I was jealous, Maddie. Is that really such a bad thing?”
Maddie silently gasped. She could hear the utter sincerity in his voice. Why was he doing this to her? “No, it’s not bad… just confusing,” she finally replied.
“What is so confusing about it?”
“I don’t know how you want me to react to an admission like that.”
“Tell me you feel the same.”
“I can’t! I don’t trust my own thoughts because of who you were to me before September. And I don’t trust what you’re saying because you don’t know me beyond a voice over the phone and a few selfies.”
“That is precisely why I trust my feelings about you, Maddie. I’ve gotten to know you more deeply that I’ve gotten to know any woman in years.”
Maddie began pacing her small bedroom. Her heart was racing again. “Even if you’re right… we can’t act on these feelings, so what are we supposed to do with them?”
“I have every intention of acting on them as soon as you agree to let me see you,” Nathan insisted. He was sitting on the edge of his bed; foot tapping wildly.
“I’m scared,” Maddie whispered.
“Oh, Angel. Scared of what?”
“Everything. You. Your fame. Your life. Hollywood. The media. The fact we live a thousand miles apart. I don’t want my picture in tabloids. I don’t want fangirls saying horrible things about me on Facebook and Twitter. I know I’ll end up getting hurt.”
Nathan sank down to the floor and purposely banged his head against the foot board of his bed. All of Maddie’s fears were legitimate. A relationship between them would be difficult and a huge upheaval of her life. He knew this as well as she did.
“I can’t argue with any of those concerns. So, what do we do about it?” he asked even though he knew she had no solutions. The only course Maddie could see was to remain the kind of friends they currently were.
Maddie wanted desperately to tell Nathan that she would try; that they could meet and see where that led. But she knew that if the press ever snapped a photo of her there was no going back. And she still feared that he was imagining her to be taller and thinner than she actually was. She looked nothing like the women who lived in L.A. So, swallowing the words she wanted to say most, Maddie let the opportunity for them to move forward pass her by. She wasn’t strong enough to be Nathan Foster’s anything.
“Can we talk about something else? Tell me about Forever.”
Quietly, Nathan sighed. Changing the subject meant that Maddie wanted to stop discussing the possibility of more, a concept Nathan had been thinking about so much lately. “What do you want to know?” he asked softly.
“You start filming Monday, right?”
“Yes, at a studio here in Hollywood. There’s been a few rewrites; a lot of line changes and a new scene got added. I really need to focus the next few days memorizing my lines.”
“Are you happy with how the script is turning out? I know you can’t tell me much in detail.”
“Yeah, I think it’s pretty good. I don’t know if it will be better than EVOL, but definitely grittier.”
“Grittier how?”
“Well, now Caleb and Abigail are together. The falling in love part is always the best story line. In Forever they fight, work things out, and you know… get to know each other. Some of the rewrites have been beefing up sex scenes.”
“You mean like more intense?”
“The director wants more nudity. He says he wants to film the movie like it’s going to be an R and then trim it down just enough to get past the PG-13 censors. I haven’t signed on to the rewrites yet.”
“Why not?”
“My mother will be scandalized, for one.”
“Okay sure, I mean, I know as your friend I should be on your side, but honestly I’m getting a little excited over here thinking about more intense love scenes between Caleb and Abigail because the one in EVOL was lame. Don’t you dare take that away from me,” she exclaimed only half kidding.
“You sure about that, Maddie? I figured you might not like the idea of me filming love scenes with Katie. We’d be naked. In all kinds of positions. For hours. Making out, touching… that wouldn’t bother you?”
“Yes, of course! I’ll probably be chewing my fingernails down to nubs those days! I know how your fangirls are though. We all want more skin in Forev
er. The EVOL gals would be so disappointed otherwise. It’s literally all they talk about.”
“I’ve learned that no matter what I do someone out there is always disappointed in me,” Nathan muttered.
“When do you have to decide?”
“We don’t film those scenes until late February. Some of the execs decided to postpone them so I had more time in the gym,” Nathan answered rolling his eyes.
Maddie laughed. “Right, I forgot about how fat you’ve gotten since Zero Gravity.” She watched his last TV interview less than a month ago. Nathan looked damn fine to her, but she knew the Universal execs had gotten on Nathan’s case even before the production schedule was being negotiated.
“I’ve been working out every day and Lupe has been cooking only meals approved by the personal trainer,” Nathan said defensively, obviously not picking up on her sarcasm.
“Touchy subject, apparently.”
“Wait until you see me in this movie. I plan to make Ian Somerhalder look flabby.” Maddie giggled. That was so not even possible. “Oh, hey, speaking of seeing me… do you have a camera on your lap top?”
“Um, yes. Why?”
“We can video chat. That’s why. Do you know how to use it?”
“You wanna do it right now?”
“You have somewhere else to be?”
“No, it’s just that my hair is still wet from my shower and I’m only in a thin camisole.”
“Turn on your computer right now,” Nathan replied authoritatively.
“Shut up,” she replied but listened to what he said. As her computer booted up Maddie slipped on her flannel robe leaving it loose in the front.
“You know how to work the Skype video?” Nathan asked while walking into one of the nearly empty bedrooms in his house where he kept his computer.
“Yes, I used to do it with my mother while I was in Alabama. Just bear with me, my computer is a little slow.”
“I should send you the kind I have. I met Steve Jobs’ son at a charity event last year and he sent me all the newest Apple products.”
“Jesus, you are such a name dropper.”
“Not Jesus, baby. Just Nathan.”
“You know what I meant.”
Nathan settled into his desk chair and tried to wipe the grin off his face. He loved hearing the irritation in her voice when he teased her. “Are you in yet? What’s your screen name?”
“Same as the Xbox. TexanTinkerbell.”
Nathan laughed under his breath. “Okay, I got you. Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be,” Maddie said quickly combing her fingers through her damp hair a few times.
They appeared to one another at the same time both holding their phones to their ears. Nathan smiled first and put his phone down on the desk. Maddie followed suit, biting her lip nervously. Obviously, she knew she’d been talking to him on the phone and that he was her friend, but still that star struck feeling overwhelmed her when Nathan Foster’s famous face appeared on her computer screen. It was an involuntary response.
“There you are,” Nathan said. “I like this better than phone calls.” He quickly assessed the girl he was falling for; taking in the wet hair, fresh makeup-free face, long neck leading down to low cut camisole, and a robe wrapping her shoulders. It was sweet torture being able to see Maddie in real time and not being able to touch her.
Nathan’s voice sounded slightly different through her laptop speakers than he did on the phone. Maddie couldn’t deny that she too was happy to see him, but it was harder for her to ignore his celebrity when she was staring it in the face. “It’s good to see you too, but I have to admit I’m nervous.”
“What are you nervous about?” Nathan asked.
“It’s a lot easier to pretend you’re just a normal person when we’re on the phone, you know? The way I picture you in my head is less intimidating.”
“How many times do I have to tell you that I am a normal person? I thought these past few months have proved that to you,” Nathan said, his exasperation obvious.
“You don’t lead a normal life.”
“I know.”
“And if you were just like any other guy then I wouldn’t have these butterflies in my stomach just from the sight of you,” she countered.
“If that’s true than how to you explain the butterflies in my stomach?”
Maddie blushed. She didn’t know how to respond to that. Nathan noticed the color filling her cheeks and smiled. “You’re blushing.”
“Happens a lot,” she replied embarrassed.
“And I’ve been missing it all this time?”
Maddie nodded. The changes in Nathan’s expression as he spoke were fascinating and downright adorable. His forehead crinkled when he looked surprised. His eyes shined brightly when he smiled. She knew how Nathan felt when he said he’d been missing out the past three months. Maddie could barely stand to blink her eyelids for fear of missing a moment with him.
“So, what do we talk about now?” she asked.
Nathan shrugged. “Show me your room. I wanna see where you live.”
Maddie turned the lap top side to side, stepping out of the way of the camera so Nathan could see what her bedroom looked like. She was very thankful the poster of him was on the same wall as her desk so she was able to keep him from seeing it. That would have been beyond embarrassing.
“What do you think?” she said when she sat down again in front of the screen.
“I wouldn’t have guessed you kept your masturbatory aids so out in the open like that,” Nathan said smiling wickedly.
“What are you talking about?” Maddie looked around her room frantically, even though she knew the one and only device of that sort she owned was stashed safely underneath her bed.
Nathan nodded his head upwards.
“That Love Spelled Backwards poster you have hanging opposite your bed. I saw it in the reflection of the mirror on your closet door.”
Horror filled Maddie’s eyes as she realized he was right. How could she be so dumb she thought to herself as embarrassment flooded her face with red. Nathan was snickering at her expense through the computer screen and she pointedly thought how that was one of his less adorable expressions she’d seen.
Maddie sat up straight in her chair squaring her shoulders in an attempt to muster up some courage. “So, you’ve caught me in possession of an EVOL poster. So what? What makes you think I’d use your picture assuming that I even do what it is you are claiming?”
“It’s not me? Angel, you wound me. Who do you think about then?”
Maddie couldn’t help laughing at the ridiculousness of their conversation. “What has gotten into you? You’ve become so much more brazen and crude since we last talked.”
“I’m just trying to see that blush again.”
“Believe me, there are easier ways to make me blush.”
“It’s really cute seeing you flustered.”
“Seriously, Nathan. What happened to you in the past week? You’re overly flirty and pushy tonight.”
His bright smile faded a little but it didn’t escape Maddie’s notice. “It’s because at that party last night I was forced to make up my mind about some things and now I know what I want.”
Maddie felt her face flushing again. She didn’t want to talk anymore about New Year’s Eve and she really didn’t want to talk about why they couldn’t be together. “It’s my turn to see your bedroom. I showed you mine, now show me yours,” she teased.
“Yes, Ma’am,” Nathan chuckled, amused. It was the first time that evening Maddie said anything even remotely flirty to him. He had plans to slowly draw her out of her shell. “I’ll do you one better and give you a tour of my house. I’m in the spare bedroom next to mine,” Nathan explained as he unplugged the charging cable from his computer. He balanced the lap top on his forearm so he could still see the screen but the camera faced out towards the open space.
“Here’s my room. Notice the blinding yellow fan letter on my dresser.�
�� He purposely passed the camera over his entire dresser so Maddie would see that he framed a photo of her. “King sized bed. Sorry it’s not made; Lupe’s off today, national holiday. Here’s my closet, filled mostly with clothes I’ve worn once to an event somewhere and will probably never wear again. My bathroom; shower stall, double sinks, Jacuzzi tub.”
“You left the seat up, Mr. Bachelor,” Maddie noted. Nathan looked down at the screen to see she was smiling.
“You caught me. I’m kind of a slob.” He turned them around and went back through the hall to point out the other bedrooms and a sitting area at the top of the staircase.
“Shit, that’s some fancy staircase,” Maddie commented as he showed her the view from the second floor that looked down on the foyer and main living room. The staircase winded down in a half moon shape with intricate wrought iron railings. In the center of the foyer was a crystal chandelier.
“I’ll walk you around the downstairs now. Foyer, living room, library, game room, dining room, kitchen, second living room, and last is the bathroom. This door leads down to the furnished basement. There’s a theater down there and another kitchen.”
He ended the tour back in the kitchen where he placed Maddie on the island counter top so he could grab a beer from the fridge. “What do you think of the place?”
“It’s gorgeous, Nathan. I’m stunned.”
“It came furnished and everything. I just kind of moved in with a few suitcases of stuff from the tiny apartment I had before this. It feels weird changing anything, because it would feel like I really live here.”
“But you do really live there, slugger.”
Nathan used the corner of his t-shirt to twist off the cap off the bottle and took a swig of the beer. “I still feel like it’s a dream that I could wake up from any minute, I guess.”
“And changing the decor would wake you up?” she asked smiling.
Nathan shrugged. “Feels like I’d be jinxing myself if I got too comfortable here.”
“Maybe, but it might also make you feel more at home to be surrounded by your own things.”
Nathan placed his bottle down on the island next to the computer and rested his elbows on the surface so he was closer to eye level with Maddie. He stared at her sweet face thinking about what she said. He knew she was right; of course, it was time to settle into this house he’d owned for over a year. Nathan had just always assumed when he furnished his first house he’d be doing it with his wife as they made a home for themselves. He didn’t like the idea of doing it himself.