Love Reconnected (Hollywood Series Book 1)

by Michaels, Avery

  “You’re the sexiest woman in the world,” he said before kissing me deeply again.

  I was so caught up in the moment that I almost didn’t realize… “You didn’t wear a condom?”

  “No, I trust you. You said you trusted me too. I’m clean,” he said casually, trying to kiss me again, but I pushed him off of me.

  “You came inside me?” I almost yelled. The hurt on his face was evident, but I couldn’t help it. “What were you thinking?” I ran to the bathroom, trying to wipe him off of me.

  When I walked back out, he was standing right outside the door with a worried look on his face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know it mattered to you so much. I wasn’t trying to upset you, but I know you can’t, you know, get pregnant so…”

  Of course! He had no idea. I put my hands over my face because I couldn’t seem to muster the courage to tell him in that moment. The chances of me getting pregnant were slim to none. After all, George and I had had unprotected sex for years before Ty was conceived. I calmed myself down enough to realize that I had really hurt Jake’s feelings.

  I pulled him back to the bed, crawling in with him. “I’m sorry,” I told him. “I just wouldn’t want to take that chance. I should have been clearer, but I thought since you said you had never had sex without a condom that it was a cardinal rule for you or something. I didn’t mean to be so mean.”

  “It’s okay.” He kissed my forehead, pulling me close. “I should’ve asked. I wasn’t really thinking. I mean it’s you, so I…I just wasn’t thinking,” he repeated. “I’ve never done that before, and wow, it felt amazing! It was really intense.”

  “It was.”

  “But great, right?”

  “Yes, it was wonderful…thank—”

  “If you thank me, I’m leaving.” He laughed. “I’m not a man whore.”

  “I didn’t mean it like that.” I hugged his waist and nestled my head on his chest. I thought about how sexy he was when he was telling me what to do, and something occurred to me. “You aren’t into that bondage stuff, are you?”

  “Nah, not hardcore. I dabbled. I enjoyed telling them what to do, controlling their orgasms, but they needed more, and I just didn’t have the balls for whips and chains. They have their own world. I just didn’t fit in.”

  The words “they” and “their” lingered in my mind. It sounded like he had been with quite a few women. I was relieved that he wasn’t into “hardcore” dominance. I knew I couldn’t do it.

  “Are you into it?” he asked, breaking my train of thought.

  “No,” I told him without hesitation. “I like it when you get bossy, though.” He smiled at that. “I wish we could stay longer.”

  “We can stay as long as you want.”

  “I have to work tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, not really. That’s not a real job, Katie. You’re way too smart to waste away at Joe’s. Why do you work there?”

  “Ugh, it’s a long story. It pays the bills, and that’s good enough.”

  “Yeah, but you were on the fast track to becoming a doctor. You have a master’s degree in Radiology. Why would you quit school?”

  “Everything happened with George, and I didn’t have the money to funnel into school.”

  “If you needed money, why didn’t you cash the checks I sent you?”

  “What checks?” I propped up on my elbow to look at him.

  “You didn’t even open the birthday cards I sent you?” I shook my head, a little ashamed at my stubbornness. “Why?”

  “I was so mad at you, Jake. When you didn’t show up…I was so hurt.”

  “I know but…Wait, you meant to cut me off forever, didn’t you?”

  “Not forever, just until I could figure out how to face you again.”

  He didn’t say anything for a long minute. “Was it hard for you to see me again?”

  “Shockingly, not at all. I’m actually elated to have you back in my life. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed you until you came back.” That earned me a tilted grin. “You sent me birthday money? Really? What are you, my grandmother?” I laughed.

  “You didn’t think I would want to share my success with you?”

  I looked at him because I hadn’t really thought about it like that. His mom still lived in the house he grew up in. He hadn’t bought her anything. Why would he do anything nice for me?

  “You didn’t move your mom into a mansion. Why would you care about sharing anything with me?”

  “I tried but she wouldn’t move. She loves that house. She doesn’t have to work though. I pay for everything she wants. It’s not much, but I give her everything she lets me.” I was mulling that over when he said, “I want to do the same for you.”

  “No,” I said quickly.

  “Why? You can go back to school.”

  “I’m done with that.”

  “Well, you can do whatever you want. You don’t have to work at Joe’s. You can volunteer or travel with me.” He smiled. “Whatever you want.”

  “Travel with you?”

  “Yeah, let me show you the world.”

  I allowed myself to indulge in the thought for a moment before reality made me blink it away.

  “I have responsibilities, Jake.”

  “So you keep saying. If you’re trying to keep me interested by being mysterious, it’s working.”

  “So now I have to work for your interest? I don’t think so, mister!” I smacked his bare rear.

  “Ow! So what’s keeping you in Alabama anyway? Your mom is gone; George is gone—”

  “This is really bringing me down. Can we skip the Q&A?”

  “I just want to know you again.”

  “You sure acted like you knew me a half-hour ago.”

  “I could get used to this version of you,” he said sincerely, and I couldn’t handle the intensity of it. Just friends, I told myself.

  “I have to take a shower. We have to get back to the real world.”

  “So soon?” he whined.

  “Yes,” I stated firmly and closed the bathroom door to escape the conversation.

  Travel the world with Jake? Yes, please! Go back to school? Absolutely! Quit my crappy job at Joe’s? No problem! But take Ty away from the routine that had brought him out of his shell? No way, Jose. Take him and move away from Aunt Julie and Uncle Ray? I couldn’t. Better yet, I wouldn’t. Besides, Jake didn’t even know about Ty. He’d invited me, his best friend, to go places. The sky was the limit, but he hadn’t invited the real me anywhere. I’d shared my body with someone who didn’t even really know me.

  Besides, he’d probably said those things to all the women he’d slept with. It was a nice gesture, but it wasn’t real.

  I called out to Jake to get us on the next flight home. Suddenly, being so far away from home wasn’t so appealing. When he didn’t answer, I peeked out to find the room empty, so I turned the water on. I lifted my hair to my nose to smell what was left of Jake’s scent before I stepped in the shower, washing away all traces of him.

  Chapter 5

  There was a knock on the bathroom door while I was drying my hair. I opened it with a towel around me. “Here, to set your mind at ease.” Jake thrust a brown paper bag at me.

  I opened it to find the morning after pill. I smiled politely and closed the door. I sat down on the edge of the Jacuzzi tub and stared at the box as if it were an alien. I thought long and hard about the repercussions of taking the pill versus not taking it. Not taking it meant I ran a small, very small chance, of getting pregnant, which meant I would be raising another child by myself, possibly with the same issues. Since I already had a child with autism, the chance of it happening again were higher…in my mind at least. However, taking the pill meant I aborted any chance. Sounded easy, but it wasn’t. Instead of wondering for the next week or two if I were pregnant, I would have to always wonder if I had been. I had never believed in the morning after pill as a form of contraception. I didn’t judge others for their choices, but it was
n’t something I had ever thought of as an option for me, so I dropped the box back in the bag.

  I walked back out to find Jake dressed in new clothes. “I can’t take this.” I handed it back to him.

  “Is it the wrong thing? The pharmacist said it was right. I should’ve read the package. I can go back.”

  “No, that’s not it. I just don’t…It’s just not a choice I would make for myself.”

  “Oh, I see.”

  “So, yeah, I’m really sorry. I just have to do what’s right for me, you know?” He just stared at me. “It’s not like it’s remotely likely that I’ll get pregnant anyway.”

  “Yeah, but you looked so worried earlier…”

  “I overreacted. I’m sorry.” I hugged him.

  “I promise to be more careful next time.”

  I jerked my head up. “Next time?”

  “Yeah, I mean, well, I don’t want to be a one-night stand to you.” I saw that innocence in his eyes again that made me trust him like I had before our friendship fell apart.

  I treaded lightly. “What do you want to be to me then?”

  “I don’t know, but certainly not ‘that movie star you screwed in Vegas.’”

  “I would never say that. You’re my closest friend, which is why I don’t know if we should continue this. Whatever this thing is. I would like to see us become close again. Wouldn’t you?”

  “Of course that’s what I want. That’s why I came to see you, but now, I want this too.”

  I turned my back on him so I could think clearly and say what I needed to say without his expression clouding my thoughts. “Jake, I don’t want either of us to get hurt, okay? If we’re going to screw around, we have to be on the same page.”

  “That would have been an excellent conversation to have had yesterday,” he said, shuffling his feet behind me. There was a pause when I thought he would reach out to me, but he didn’t. Instead he said, “Okay, so what page is that?”

  “The page where we go back to being friends after this. Like I said, I don’t want either of us getting hurt.”

  “I would never hurt you, never. You know that.” He wrapped his arms around me from behind.

  “Not intentionally, but you have hurt me. I can’t go through that again.”

  “Katie”—he turned me around to face him—“I didn’t miss your mom’s funeral on purpose. I was—”

  “Stop.”

  “Let me finish. We need to get past this. I was in a small village in Africa halfway around the world. We were there feeding people, building them shelters, a church. It’s not like I was out partying. I wasn’t on set with my assistant screening my calls. I was literally in the middle of nowhere. The nearest landline was a twenty-mile bike ride away. Cell service was sketchy at best. I didn’t even know your mom was in the hospital, or I would’ve come back. It happened so fast. You have to believe me when I tell you that I fell apart when I got the message. I had a helicopter take me to the nearest airport. I still couldn’t get a flight out, so I chartered a jet to take me to Chicago. Then I drove all night to get to you. When I got to your house the day after the funeral, your dad said you didn’t want to see anyone.”

  “I never knew that you came to my house.”

  “I did. Ask my mom. She was there. I begged your dad to let me in, but he refused. I couldn’t understand why he would do that at the time, but then my mom told me about George leaving. I realized that he was trying to protect you, so I left. I came back several times. I nearly beat your door down, but you didn’t answer, so I returned to LA about a week later.”

  I remembered not getting out of bed for days… He could’ve beat the door down, and I wouldn’t have known it. I had been in my own world.

  “You weren’t the only one who lost her. I lost her too. I loved her too.”

  “I know,” I said. I let a single tear escape my lashes but brushed it away quickly.

  “I know your mom has forgiven me for not being there. I feel it. She would have been proud of the work I was doing.”

  “She was proud of you.”

  “I know. And I know she forgives me. Can you?”

  His sincerity broke down my anger. I let myself fall into him. “I forgive you,” I whispered.

  We stood there holding each other for what felt like an hour but was probably just a few minutes. It had been so long since I’d had anyone to share the bad times with I didn’t want to let go. Everyone wanted a piece of the good times; no one wanted to hear about the bad.

  The room phone rang unexpectedly, shattering our moment. I released him so he could answer. “Yeah,” he said instead of “hello.” His eyes darted to mine, alarmed. I checked my phone to make sure I hadn’t missed a call, nope.

  “Shit.” He rubbed his forehead, and then his cell phone started going off. “Okay, thanks for letting me know. I’ll get back to you.” He hung up.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Get dressed; I bought you some clothes while I was out. They’re in a bag in the living room.” He ran by me to get his cell phone. “Hey, Joan,” he answered. “I know, it’s exactly the opposite of what we talked about. What are our options?”

  I stood there, in a towel, watching him pace. My mind was reeling, trying to figure out what was happening.

  “Is your mom all right?” I asked, even though he was on the phone, because I couldn’t think of what else would have him so upset that he would need to pace.

  He gave a tight nod but continued his conversation. “Yeah, just book the next flight. Hold on.” He put his hand over the mouthpiece of the phone, “You really want to go home today?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Joan, book the next flight out. Well, what do you suggest?” He threw his arms out, exasperated. “Fine, yeah, that sounds good. Text me and let me know when they can be ready. Thanks.”

  “Okay, stop,” I said when he hung up. “What’s happening?” He walked over to me and pulled me into a kiss. I lost my train of thought for a split second before I pulled back. “Tell me.”

  “Just let me hold you for a minute.”

  I did as he asked, but I was panicking, so I shoved at his shoulders gently. “Jake.”

  “Someone tipped off the press.”

  I rolled my eyes and relaxed my body. “That’s it? The press knows we’re here? Big hairy deal! For goodness sakes! You had me worried! Who gives a rat’s ass? Everyone saw us in Birmingham getting on a plane! We walked around town yesterday!”

  “No, you don’t understand. Someone leaked a photo of me buying the morning after pill, Katie.”

  “So…” I said, even though I felt intimidated. Even I could hear the doubt in my voice.

  “So they’ll be gunning for you. They won’t believe we’re just friends hanging out.”

  “I don’t care what they think.”

  “You don’t care what the world thinks, you mean? You don’t care what your family, your dad, or your unborn children think? Because this will be in print forever.”

  I sat down on the edge of the bed for a minute to think. Jake stood over me impatiently fidgeting. He had run his hand through his hair so many times it was sticking up all over. He looked like he was about to lose it.

  “No, I don’t care. We can handle it.” I told him, because compared to some of the other things I had been through, dealing with a few photographers sounded like a cake walk.

  “Really? Just like that?”

  “Yep, just like that. This is a first world problem, Jake, and my family will believe whatever I tell them.”

  “Will they think it so innocent that we shacked up in a hotel together when they see that I was out purchasing contraceptives on a Sunday morning?”

  “Jake, how many times do I have to tell you this? We are adults! I don’t need my family’s permission to sleep with you or anyone else. This may affect you in a major way, and I’m sorry for that, but I really don’t see why it should bother me.”

  “It doesn’t affect me. It’s you I�
��m worried about. This kind of attention can be overwhelming. I don’t want you to pull away from me again.”

  “I won’t.” I stood up to look him in the eye. “We can handle it.”

  He let his forehead drop to mine, relieved. “You’re so strong. How’d you get to be so strong?”

  “Lots of practice.” I gave him a little grin. “When do we leave?”

  “I’m not sure. Joan refused to put us on a commercial flight with the media on our asses, so she’s chartering a jet right now.”

  “Who’s this Joan, and how rich is she?”

  He laughed. “She’s my assistant slash publicist slash tour guide when it comes to my career, and I assure you she has no problem spending my money.”

  “That sounds like a lot of hats to wear.”

  “It is. She started as an assistant, but she’s become a lot more. She knows a lot about show business. I don’t know where I would be without her input.”

  “So she’s kind of your best friend?” I asked.

  He laughed. “No. She’s kind of a pain in my ass, but she’s invaluable.” He checked his phone. “They’re fueling the jet. It’s ready when we are.”

  “Okay, let me throw on my clothes.”

  “They’ll wait for us.” He walked toward me with that look in his eyes that was new to me. “The towel look really gets me going.”

  “I don’t really think it’s appropriate for public,” I joked.

  “I want to take it off of you.”

  “You switch gears really fast. Five minutes ago you were running around here like a chicken with its head cut off, and now you want to take me?”

  “Take you? Is that what the romance novels are calling it these days?” He slid his hand up my thigh. “It seems like you’re always ready for me. I love that.”

  “I think we should get going,” I whispered, but I didn’t even convince myself. He ripped the towel off, leaving me completely exposed. My hand went instinctively to my lower abdomen to cover the scars, but he didn’t even notice.