by Ashlee Price
“Yes.”
“See. She was just trying to bag the first celebrity she could get her hands on. I’m guessing you passed even though you slept with her. Thank goodness you had the sense for that. So now she’s with Kaleb. They deserve each other. They’re both stupid.”
“Mom!” I get on my feet.
“What?” She peers at me from above her glasses.
I shake my head and let out a sigh. “Nothing.”
I don’t care what she thinks anymore. It doesn’t matter. Anyway, I’m just glad for Dani, even though I have to admit I’m also a little jealous. Most of all, I’m happy I got the role I auditioned for.
“I’ll go read the book,” I tell her and march off without waiting for an answer.
I’m just going to focus on work and forget all else.
Chapter Twenty-One
Dani
I’ve forgotten how lonely it felt to live alone.
As I look around the empty living room after putting Steven Universe on mute, I can’t help but feel like crying. There are no more open bags of chips on the coffee table, no more coloring books and crayons. The pile of laundry on the armchair, which had become a seemingly permanent living room fixture, is gone. There are no toys or shoes scattered on the floor.
Most of all, there’s no noise. No Zoe singing with her earphones on or shouting for her mom. No Zeke laughing at his favorite funny YouTube videos. No Cora shouting at the kids, telling them to stop fighting, to put their gadgets away or to finish their food.
A tear rolls down my cheek and I hug the pillow nearest me to my chest.
The last time I lived alone I was in college. I didn’t stay there long, though. I decided it wasn’t for me and I left. I’ve been living with Cora ever since.
Now I’m all alone.
I pick up the picture of the kids on the side table and run my fingers over their smiling faces.
I’m going to miss them. I’ve watched over them since they were babies, after all. I’ve talked to them since they were in their mother’s tummy. I’ve kissed their toes and pinched their cheeks. I’ve cleaned up their messes and made messes with them. I’ve dried their tears and cried with them.
And I’ll miss my sister, of course. She’s been there for me all my life, doing those same things for me and with me.
Noah’s right.
I wish I could have gone with them. But I can’t, and that’s fine.
As strange and difficult as it sounds, it’s a good thing they’ve left. That means Zeke will have his chance at getting better, and that’s what matters most.
I press the picture frame to my chest.
I sure hope that Zeke gets better.
Suddenly, the doorbell rings.
I put the picture back on the table and quickly wipe my tears.
Who could it be?
As soon as I open the door, my eyes grow wide.
“Kaleb?”
He smiles and hands me the tub of ice cream he’s holding. Chunky Monkey.
“I figured you could use some company tonight.”
I step back so he can step in. “You figured?”
“You did say your sister was moving away, didn’t you? And you didn’t sound happy about it.”
My eyebrows arch. Kaleb picked that up?
“Judging by those tear-stained cheeks and those red eyes, I must be right.”
I wipe my cheek after closing the door. “Well, you didn’t have to come by.”
“I’m your fiancé, remember?” He sits on the couch. “I’m supposed to look after you.”
“Fake fiancé,” I correct him after glancing around quickly.
He shrugs. “What are you watching? And I mean watching, because the sound on your TV must be broken or something.”
“Steven Universe,” I answer as I go to the kitchen to find two spoons. “My nephew and niece loved it.”
“Are you going to tell me why they had to move and why you helped them do it?”
I pause as I stare at a kitchen drawer.
Some of Kaleb’s critics have called him stupid, but he’s not. He’s even more perceptive than I thought.
I grab the spoons. “My nephew is sick. He needs to go to Switzerland to undergo some treatment.”
“And I’m guessing it costs a million dollars.”
“Close.” I sit beside him. “Or at least a million. It all depends.”
“So you agreed to pretend to be engaged to me so you could give your sister the money and she could have your nephew treated?”
“That’s the story.”
I open the tub and hand Kaleb a spoon.
He shakes his head.
“What? You don’t like Chunky Monkey?” I ask him. “Or you only eat ice cream with wine?”
“I think you need the whole tub,” Kaleb answers.
I frown and press the spoon against his chest. “Come on. Eat with me.”
“Okay.” He takes the spoon. “I guess I do have a reason to celebrate.”
I figure I already know what it is, but I pretend I don’t. “What?”
He grins. “Guess.”
I punch his arm playfully. “Just tell me.”
“Aww.” He rubs his arm. “That ring hurts.”
I look at it. “Well, it is big and hard.”
“I got the lead role in a serious movie,” Kaleb finally tells me.
I give him a big smile. “Congratulations! That’s amazing news.”
He smiles back. “I have you to thank for it, actually.”
The spoon hangs from my mouth as I look at him in surprise. “What?”
Does he know? Did Hector tell him?
“Tom said that if people thought I was serious, they’d offer me a serious role in a serious movie,” Kaleb explains. “And as much as I hate to admit it, it turns out he was right. Just a day after we got engaged and I already got an offer.”
“What movie is it?” I ask just to confirm.
“It’s called Black Solstice.”
I nod. So I’m right.
“You shouldn’t thank me.” I hand him the tub of ice cream. “You got that role because you’ve been working hard and because you’re really talented.”
“Maybe.” Kaleb shrugs and eats a spoonful before handing the tub back to me. “But in the past, I wouldn’t have accepted it.”
“What?” My eyebrows bunch up in disbelief.
He leans forward on his knees. “I was afraid. I kept hearing the voice of my father in my head telling me I had to be tough, that I couldn’t let my emotions show because men don’t do that.”
I put down the ice cream and the spoon. “No.”
“I think my mother encouraged me to read books so that I could have other role models than my father,” Kaleb goes on. “But then she died and all I had was my father, though he left me, too.”
“Do you know where he is now?” I ask softly.
He shakes his head as he taps the spoon on his hand. “No. Anyway, even if he’s not around, I can still hear him shouting in my ears. I still remember the pain from those times when he beat me up and my mother couldn’t do anything about it.”
I clasp a hand over my mouth as my chest tightens.
Kaleb looks at me. “I’m not telling you all this so you’ll feel sorry for me. I’m telling you this so that you’ll understand why I stuck to roles that didn’t have a lot of dialogue or require a lot of emotions. I believe you asked me why.”
I nod. I do understand now.
My eyebrows furrow. “Wait. I asked you?”
“Back at the treehouse,” he answers as he sets down the spoon. “I didn’t give you an answer.”
“Oh.”
“You also said something about how I shouldn’t be afraid to show the real me.”
“I did?”
He grins as he nods. “You’re a wise drunk.”
I chuckle.
“It made me think about who I really was. All the women and all the drinking and the trouble, that’s not me.
I realized that, and I finally got the courage to get rid of all that and to become who I really am.” He holds my hand. “You gave me that courage.”
I shake my head. “But I didn’t do anything.”
“You spoke your mind.” He squeezes my hand. “You were true to yourself when I wasn’t. That was enough.”
My heart stops. My breath catches in my throat as Kaleb’s ebony eyes gaze into mine.
I look away and put my hands on my lap. “But I’m not even true to myself. Look at me, I’m pretending to be your fiancée.”
“Only because you wanted to help save your nephew’s life. You were being true to another part of yourself, the part that loves your family more than anything.”
I turn my head slowly to meet his gaze. “Why does it seem like you know me so well?”
Kaleb shrugs. “Maybe I can see the real you just as you can see the real me. So who cares what other people think?”
He leans towards me and strokes my cheek. My heart skips a beat.
“Are you going to kiss me?” I ask, my voice barely a whisper. “You said you wouldn’t kiss me unless I asked you to.”
“Don’t you want me to?” His face stops just an inch from mine.
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I don’t answer.
I do want him to kiss me again, and not because he’s my pretend fiancé. I want him to kiss me again because the first two times, I didn’t really feel his lips on mine. I want him to give me a real kiss.
And I want to kiss him.
So I place my hands on his cheeks, pull his face to mine and kiss him.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Kaleb
The moment Dani’s lips touch mine, I feel a spark travel down to my crotch and all the way down to my toes. Our tongues meet and the explosion begins deep inside my body.
I move closer to her, cradling her jaw as I deepen the kiss. My other hand falls to her lap and I squeeze her thigh.
Her hands move to my back. One of them slips beneath my shirt to caress the muscles there.
At her touch, I tense, holding my breath. When she sucks on the tip of my tongue, I snap.
I pull her shirt over her head and toss it aside before pushing her down on the couch. I claim her lips again as I cup her breast through her bra, drawing a moan from her, which I swallow. I pinch her nipple lightly through the cotton and she shivers.
I move my mouth to her neck so I can suck on the soft flesh there above her madly beating pulse. At the same time, my hand slides down to the waistband of her leggings.
“If you want me to stop, you better say it now,” I whisper hoarsely into her ear before giving the lobe a lick.
Though even now, I’m not sure if I could stop.
“No,” Dani gasps to my relief. “Don’t stop.”
There’s no turning back now.
I slip my fingers past the waistband of her leggings and brush them against the front of her panties. I find the cotton wet, and the realization sends a jolt of heat through me. My cock throbs.
Dani wants me.
And damn. I want her.
I stroke her through her damp panties as I kiss her neck and then her breast. I push her bra out of the way so I can take the mound of flesh inside my mouth. Then I slip my fingers beneath the cotton and slide one inside her so I can feel her soft, wet skin cling to mine.
Her hands go to my hair and tug at the wiry curls. She lets out a moan as she shudders.
I capture her lips again to swallow her moans. I pull her leggings and her underwear down so my fingers can move in and out of her freely.
She caresses my nape and kisses me back even as her body continues to tremble beneath me. She reaches for the hem of my shirt and tugs.
I break the kiss just for a moment to pull my shirt off before claiming her lips once more. Her palm glides across the muscles on my chest. Her fingers trace the muscles of my abdomen and I suck in a deep breath.
Her hand moves lower, and I grow still when her fingertips brush against my cock.
Her hands work on the button of my jeans, then the zipper. Her fingers slither inside to free my cock from its cotton prison.
As Dani wraps her fingers around me, I tear my mouth away from hers to let out a gasp.
“Shit.”
I’ve had other women touch me with more careful, skillful hands, and yet her clumsy ones are lighting me on fire. The pad of her thumb pushes against the tip of my cock and I feel myself leak. A grunt escapes my lips.
I kiss her again and continue stroking her. She strokes me in turn, the friction igniting the flames all over my skin.
I can’t hold back any longer.
I get off the couch to take off my boxers and my jeans, but I can’t take my eyes off of her.
Dani’s brown eyes are molten chocolate, glistening. Her cheeks are flushed. Her lips are swollen and parted. The strands of her auburn hair are scattered like flames of a fire out of control.
“Kaleb,” she says my name and stretches her arms out to me.
Quickly, I search the pockets of my jeans for a condom but find none. I frown.
“What’s wrong?” Dani asks.
“I need to go back to the car,” I tell her.
Her eyebrows furrow. “Looking like that? The paparazzi will have a field day. Besides, we’re not even supposed to kiss yet, or so Tom said.”
“But I don’t have protection, and you know what Tom said about that.”
“I’m done talking about Tom.” She stands up and puts her arms around me. “Leave it.”
I don’t need to be told twice. I grip her hips and kiss her hard. I squeeze her breasts and flick her nipples.
Then I sit on the couch with her on my lap and guide her as she lowers her hips down on me. Her soft skin clings to my cock like a glove and my jaw clenches. Her tight passage takes me in and my breath leaves me.
When I’m completely inside her, she stops.
“Are you okay?” I ask her.
Dani nods, then starts moving her hips as she throws her head back. I move my hips as well as I grip hers. I capture one of her breasts in my mouth.
She moans. Her fingers dig into my shoulders.
My cock quivers inside her.
When she slows down, I take control. I lift her body and push her down on the couch, then enter her again. Gripping her ankles and holding them up high, I thrust into her body.
She lifts her arms above her forehead. Cries spill from her mouth.
I reach between us to stroke her clit and her body arches. Her nails rake across the couch.
“Kaleb!”
Crying out my name, she shatters. Her back rises off the bed and crashes back. Her mouth remains wide open while her eyes stay shut.
I grip her thighs and kiss her open mouth as I pound into her. I pull away just before I come, then let out a groan as I bury myself deep inside her. My cock quivers as it spills. My whole body trembles.
When it is all over, I pull out and sit on the couch. Dani’s legs fall on my lap. I place my hands on them as I wait to catch my breath.
Dani recovers first. She sits beside me and rests her head on my shoulder.
“The magazines weren’t lying when they said you were good in bed.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “First of all, I don’t know what magazines you’re talking about. Second, this isn’t a bed.”
She strokes my chest. “You know what I mean.”
“I’m even better in a bed,” I promise.
Dani looks into my eyes, and for a moment I think we’re going to continue. But then she pulls away and grabs her ice cream from the coffee table.
“Shit,” she mutters as she mixes it around with her spoon. “It’s melted now.”
“Well, it was pretty hot in here,” I tell her.
She hurries to put a few spoonfuls in her mouth.
“Easy,” I tell her.
She sits back and slows down. I watch her gobble up her ice cream.
“I guess you’re not
sharing anymore.”
She shakes her head. “I’ve shared enough.”
I chuckle and rest my head on the back of the couch.
“You’re not going to tell Tom, are you?” she asks with the spoon in her mouth.
I turn my head to look at her. “Of course not. Do you think I tell Tom everything?”
Dani shrugs. “So I guess you’re going to be busy with work now, huh? I mean, don’t you need to get ready for your big role?”
I nod. “The script isn’t ready yet, but I’m going to attend a workshop overseas.”
“I see.”
“Also, I need to lose some weight for this role.”
Dani’s eyebrows go up as she touches my chest. “You need to lose this?”
“Yup.”
She frowns. “Maybe you shouldn’t have accepted the role after all.”
I pinch her cheek playfully. “Don’t worry. I can gain mass easily. Losing it is a bit harder. It’s going to take some time.”
“Yeah. Losing weight isn’t easy. Maybe yoga can help.”
“I think I’ll go for some other means,” I tell her.
She narrows her eyes. “You’re not still scared of yoga, are you?”
“No,” I answer simply. “I just feel like I need to try something… more strenuous.”
“You do that.” Dani holds my hand. “Do whatever it takes to turn this role into the one that will truly change your image, your career, and most importantly, your life.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I give her a salute.
I know I have a lot to do. I’ve got my work cut out for me. But I also have something I never had before—a fiancée.
After tonight, I feel really inspired.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Dani
I’m bored.
I tap my fingers on the magazine spread out in front of me at the cafe. I’m pretending to read it just so I don’t appear bored.
But I am.
Kaleb has been out of the country for a week now attending his workshop or doing whatever it is he needs to do to prepare for this role. He asked me to come, but Tom and I figured it would be better for me to stay and not distract him. Same with Reilly. He seems to have disappeared. Noah has crept into a hole and Hector has been busy, so busy that he even cancelled what was supposed to be our fourth scene yesterday.