by Ashlee Price
Who would have thought they’d all end up on the same project? Stranger still, who would have thought I’d be jealous of a movie?
It would help if Mellie was still around, but she’s not, although I did speak to her a few days ago. It would help even more if Cora and the kids were still here, but they’re not. I’m seriously contemplating going to Switzerland to see them.
After all, what else do I have to do? I don’t have any more clients.
I sigh as I pick up my cup of coffee, which I’ve been stretching.
I am seriously bored.
“Are you okay?” Scott asks as he comes to my table. “Would you like another cup of coffee?”
I swirl the contents of my cup around. “Tempting, but no.”
“You’ve been here an hour,” he reminds me.
“Have I?” I glance at my watch. “Are you going to kick me out?”
“No. You can stay all day if you want, but you’ll have to look happier or the other customer will feel gloomy.”
I snort.
Scott touches his chin. “I don’t understand why you’re feeling down. You’re engaged to Kaleb Wilson. What more do you want?”
“Friends,” I answer with a shrug. “My fiancé isn’t around right now, and neither are any of my friends, so I don’t really have anyone to hang out with.”
“Why not make new friends?” Scott suggests.
“Do you really think it would be easy to make new friends when I have a bodyguard watching over me and a huge ring on my finger?”
He nods. “Unfortunately, you have a point.”
I pout.
“But I also think I have the solution to your… problem.”
I narrow my eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I’m getting off in fifteen minutes. If you don’t mind hanging out with me, we could do that. I know this great hiking trail that’s not too far and relatively private.”
I glance at my shoes. “I’m not exactly dressed for hiking.”
“Fine.” Scott turns away.
“Oh, screw it,” I tell him. “I can go barefoot if it means getting rid of my boredom. But what about him?”
I gesture to the bodyguard at the entrance.
“I know another way out,” Scott says. “It’s not far from the bathroom. My car’s waiting at the back.”
“Okay.” I glance at the bodyguard, then at the bathroom door, and give Scott a mischievous grin. “I guess I’m sneaking out.”
~
I’m glad I did.
For the first time in a long time, I feel free as I stand at the top of a hill, the city stretched before me and the wind blowing through my hair.
Sure, my feet hurt and my blouse is drenched in sweat, but I’m happy.
At the very least, I’m no longer bored.
“Thanks for bringing me here,” I tell Scott as I sit beside him.
“No problem.”
He starts strumming the guitar that he’s carried on his back the whole way.
As he plays, I listen, enjoying the music and the breeze. When he’s done, I applaud.
“You’re good,” I praise. “You should play for more people, you know, be a professional musician.”
“Nah.” He shakes his head. “My dreams aren’t that big.”
“Why not? Don’t tell me you want to work at a cafe all your life?”
He looks at me.
I shrug. “I’m not saying it’s bad. I’m just saying you should have bigger dreams, give yourself a chance to live a bigger life.”
“That’s big talk coming from someone who settled for marrying a celebrity,” Scott says to my surprise as he puts his guitar on his lap. “Don’t you have dreams of your own?”
My eyebrows arch. “Wow.”
“Sorry.” Scott raises his arms. “Just forget what I said.”
“No.” I shake my head. “You’re right. I have no business talking about big dreams, because I never had one.”
He turns to me with a puzzled look. “Never?”
“Well, I did want to get a gold medal at the Olympics.” I hug my knees tighter to my chest. “But after I got bronze, I kind of gave up on that.”
Scott’s eyes grow wide. “You’ve got to be kidding me. You’re an Olympic medalist?”
I hold a finger to my lips.
“Here I thought you were plain Jane, I mean not in terms of looks, but you know… It turns out you’re a celebrity, too, after all.”
“Nah. Olympic medalists aren’t celebrities unless they have million-dollar endorsements or they get careers in movies afterwards.”
“And you never wanted to be a movie star?”
“No,” I answer quickly. “I’d be a bad actress. Besides, I don’t like working long hours. They make me bitchy.”
Scott chuckles. “I guess it’s a good thing you don’t work at a cafe.”
“I know I should have a big dream,” I continue. “At least, I should have a dream of my own, but I guess I’m still looking for it.”
“Well, maybe it will come to you soon enough. In the meantime, you’re engaged to a Hollywood actor, so how bad can your life be?”
“Stop saying that.” I nudge his shoulder. “I’m not even sure if things will work out between us.”
“What do you mean?”
Oops. I shouldn’t have said that. Why did I say that?
“Well, you know how Hollywood is,” I tell him. “A lot of stuff doesn’t last.”
“If you give up before you even try, then it won’t.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “You know, you are one smart cookie.”
“Nah.” Scott shakes his head. “I’ve just been through a lot.”
“A lot of relationships?” I ask curiously.
“Some,” he answers.
“What kind of woman are you looking for?”
“I thought I knew,” Scott says. “Now, I don’t know anymore… Lately, I’ve been feeling kind of lost.”
“Really?”
That’s weird. He’s always been so cheerful that I thought he had everything going right. It turns out he’s just like me.
“But I have a feeling things are going to be better soon,” he adds.
“Yeah.” I nod. “The bad times never last.”
“So what do you do these days apart from hanging out with your bodyguard?” Scott asks.
I snort.
“Do you still do yoga?”
“No.”
“No?” His eyebrows furrow.
“I mean, I do, but I don’t give yoga classes anymore.”
“Really?”
“I’m thinking of taking up a new hobby, maybe painting.”
Scott shrugs. “Why not?”
“Or maybe I can open a business. A restaurant.”
“I could work in it.”
I grin. “Why not? I’d love to have someone as hardworking as you on board.”
“Me? Hardworking?” He scratches his head. “My boss would disagree with you.”
“Then he’s a fool and you should leave him.”
“Well, working at the cafe has some advantages.”
“Like?” I ask.
“I get to meet interesting people.” He turns his head to look at me.
Okay.
I tap my knees as a blanket of awkward silence falls over us, a silence that’s broken when my phone rings.
“Maybe I should get that.” I grab my purse and start rummaging through it. “Dwayne might kill me himself.”
Finally, I find my phone. The name on the screen isn’t Dwayne’s, though, but Hector’s.
My eyebrows crease.
That’s weird. He’s never called me before.
I stand up and shake the dust off my jeans as I press the phone to my ear. “Hello.”
“Dani. I have a quick question.”
“Yes?”
“Noah Takahashi was one of your clients, wasn’t he?”
My eyebrows bunch up all the more. “Yes. Why do you ask?”
“Because I’ve been trying to call him to find out how the script is going and I haven’t been able to get in touch. Do you think you could go and check on him for me? If you’re not busy, that is.”
“No, I’m not busy,” I tell him. “And I know where he lives. I’ll go check on him.”
“Great.”
Hector hangs up.
I frown at my phone. Not even a ‘thank you’?
“Who was that?” Scott asks.
“A… friend,” I answer for want of a better term.
“A former client,” I correct myself.
“Oh. Do you have to leave now?”
“Unfortunately, yes,” I tell him. “Got to run.”
Scott stands up. “I’ll go down with you. I wouldn’t want you to get hurt on the way down.”
I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “Thanks.”
“Plus you need someone to carry your purse.” He picks it up.
“Nah. I can handle that.” I get it from him and toss my phone inside. “Again, it was nice of you to bring me here. Thanks.”
Scott smiles. “You’re welcome. Ready?”
I nod.
As we start going back down the trail, I fan myself with the front of my blouse.
I guess I should change before I go to Noah’s house.
~
Noah, however, doesn’t seem to be at his house.
I manage to get in because the security code he gave me last time is still working, but there seems to be no sign of him. He isn’t answering his phone, either.
My heart races as I start to worry.
What if something bad happened to him? What if he got sick again and passed out somewhere? Or what if someone abducted him? Worst of all, what if he got depressed again and killed himself?
I shake my head, dismissing those worries.
No. Noah must be around here somewhere. And when I find him, I won’t just check on the script. I’ll give him a lecture on not answering his phone.
I go through the house and outside.
Finally, I see him inside the guesthouse, curled up on the woven straw floor in just a robe with his eyes closed. A sweet-smelling incense burns in the corner.
My heart stops, then spurs me forward. I extinguish the incense and throw myself on the floor beside Noah, shaking him.
“Noah!”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Noah
Dani?
I force my heavy eyelids open at the sound of the woman’s voice.
At first I think it’s the voice of a distant angel, but as the fog over my mind clears, I realize it’s one I’ve heard before and one I’ve been dying to hear again.
Dani’s voice.
As my eyes focus, I finally see her standing over me with a worried expression on her face. Her eyes are gleaming, too.
She’s… crying?
I lift my eyeglasses to rub my eyes, then sit up and stroke her cheek. “Shh. It’s okay.”
“No. It’s not okay, Noah.” She rubs her eyes as she stands up. “I’ve been calling and calling you and you haven’t picked up. Hec… Mr. Davis has been calling and calling you…”
“Mr. Davis?” I give her a puzzled look. “You know Mr. Davis.”
“Yes. Kaleb introduced us.”
“Are you his secretary now?”
“No. He just asked me to check on you because he knew I knew where you lived. But you’re missing the point, Noah.” She kneels in front of me. “He was worried about you. I was worried about you.”
My eyebrows arch. “You?”
“Yes. I’m your friend, remember? He said he hadn’t heard from you in days and then I couldn’t reach you. Of course I got worried.” She reaches for my hand. “I thought something bad happened to you.”
Oh. Just that?
I pull my hand away. “As you can see, I’m fine.”
“No.” Dani shakes her head. “You’re not fine. What was that incense? What were you doing on the floor?”
“That incense helps me relax. After all, I’m not doing yoga anymore.” I rub my head. “And I was just taking a nap.”
“And what about the script?” she asks. “Have you finished it?”
I look at her. “That’s why you’re really here, isn’t it? Because of the script?”
Dani sighs and looks up to the ceiling. “Noah, please stop acting like a child for one second and tell me about the script.”
“So I’m acting like a child?” I stand up. “That’s what you’ve thought of me all along, isn’t it? A helpless little child? And now that you know my story, you feel sorry for me.”
She gets on her feet. “I never said that. I just said you’re acting irresponsible right now.” She takes a step forward. “Noah, this isn’t like you.”
I look into her eyes. “Oh, you think you know me, do you? Well, you know nothing about me.”
Dani takes a deep breath and puts her hands on her hips. “Alright, what’s going on? What’s all this really about?”
I turn my back on her.
“Noah, I’m talking to you. What…?”
“There’s no script, okay?” I tell her. “It’s not yet done.”
“Alright.” She stands in front of me. “When can you get it done?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“I don’t know if I can get it done. It’s too… complicated.”
“What?” She places her hands on my arms. “Noah, you agreed to do this. And I know you can do it.”
“Like I said, you know nothing about me!”
She steps back.
I drop on my knees. “Do you know what it means to write, Dani?”
She shakes her head.
“It means you put yourself in the story, that you put yourself in the shoes of every character. Now, have you read this story? Black Solstice?”
She shakes her head again.
“I have, and the characters… it hurts to be in their shoes.” I shake my head. “It hurts too much. I can’t do it.”
“Then all the more reason for you to do it.” Dani kneels in front of me. “You’re not the only one hurting, Noah. A story like this can make such a big difference to other people who are.”
“I can’t do it,” I repeat with another shake of my head. “Even if I want to, I can’t. The story is powerful enough. I don’t know how to translate that into the movie. What if I fail?”
“You have to try, Noah.”
“I don’t have the confidence, Dani.” I lift my head and look into her eyes. “I know you think I’m a great writer, but I don’t. I constantly question myself. I constantly question if I was born to write, if I should write, if what I’m writing is good enough, if I’m good enough. And the answer isn’t always yes.”
“Yet you write anyway,” she points out as she touches my hand. “Even if you don’t have the skills of a writer, you have the heart of a writer and that’s more than enough.”
I look at her hand. I want to believe her. I do. I just…
“I’m not good enough, Dani. Not a good enough writer or a good enough person. I’ve never felt wanted. I’ve never felt…”
To my surprise, she takes off my eyeglasses and in the next instant her lips press against mine, soft and smooth like silk, warm like sunlight. That warmth takes root and travels through my body. Something awakens in my veins.
So this is what a kiss feels like.
Dani pulls away. “Finally, I got you to shut up. I couldn’t bear to hear you…”
I cup her face and press my lips against hers. At first, they remain still but after I lick them, they part. The tip of her tongue brushes against mine and lights a spark that turns the warmth in my body into heat.
I move my hand to the back of her head and push my tongue further in. With it, I explore her mouth. Her tongue mingles with mine and she lets out a moan.
I push harder and Dani falls backwards. I manage to cushion her head with my hand so that it doesn’t hi
t the floor. I stroke her hair as I crouch over her, kissing her.
I can’t seem to stop.
But I have to in order to catch my breath, and so I pull away. I find myself gazing down into her eyes, glossed over like shiny mirrors. It’s almost like I’m seeing myself in them for the first time.
Dani holds my gaze as she lifts a hand and strokes my cheek. Her palm feels exquisite against my warm cheek.
I take her hand and press a kiss into her palm. Then, impulsively, I lick the lines embedded in the flesh. She gasps.
She pulls me down for another kiss. Her breasts rub against my chest. My robe rustles as her hands travel across my back.
I caress her thigh and then her hip, my fingers traveling up. Just before they reach her breast, though, I hesitate. That fearful, insecure child inside me rears its head and my hand freezes.
Dani grabs my wrist and places my hand on top of her breast.
“Touch me, Noah,” she whispers. “Feel me.”
I squeeze her breast gently and she lets out a gasp. My thumb rubs against the peak that I can feel poking through the layers of fabric.
Suddenly, she grabs my shoulders and pushes me away. She pushes me down on the floor and climbs on top of me, straddling my hips. She pulls of her shirt, and as she does the pin holding her hair back slips. Fiery tendrils cascade down her shoulders.
They dangle and form a curtain around her face as she bends over me after taking off her bra. Her breasts hover right in front of me. The sight makes my cock harden.
I touch both of her breasts at the same time and Dani closes her eyes. My thumbs press against her nipples before my index fingers join in and trap the stiff nubs, tugging on them and twisting them gently.
She lets out a moan, then straightens up. She moves her hips in a dance and lowers them. Something soft rubs against the bulge in my crotch and I draw in a sharp breath as I feel something leak out.
With a mischievous gleam in her eyes, she moves off me and settles between my legs. She tugs at the sash of my robe and peels the silk flaps aside. Her gaze falls on the stained front of my briefs and I shiver.
She presses a reverent kiss against the stain and I gasp. She hooks her thumbs into the waistband of my briefs and I lift my hips, allowing her to take them off.
As she does, she stares at my cock with wide eyes.
Dani’s seen me like this before, yes, and yet it seems like she’s looking at me for the first time. She’s taking every inch of me in with her eyes. I throb under her gaze.