by Judy Corry
He took the hoodie off his head once she shut the door behind him. His pulse thrummed with adrenaline after the drive he'd had to take to keep his "service" off the radar of nosy people with cameras. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to give it some semblance of what it had been like before he'd had to hide under his hoodie.
"Did they follow you all the way?" she asked, seeming to take in his appearance.
He shook his head. "I lost them a few blocks over."
"Wow, they really want to catch you doing something. Do you think they know something is off between you and your final pick?"
"I don't know. Maybe someone from the show leaked some spoilers. There are websites that have week-by-week spoilers up already. Some even say that they know for sure who I picked in the end." He sighed. "I just can't wait for this whole thing to be over with, so I can slip back into my quiet life where no one cares who I may or may not be dating."
"Not a fame whore then?" Kate smiled and led the way into her dining area.
"I'd like to think that I'm not." Drew took the chair at the table beside the seat where her laptop sat. "But who knows, maybe Freud would have something to say about that, since I did go on the show in the first place."
"What made you do it anyway?" Kate asked as she went to grab him a drink. "I never pegged you for the type to do something like this in the first place. In fact, I pretty much went into shock when I saw the announcement that you were the new Bachelor."
So she wanted to know the truth? Drew scratched the back of his head, not wanting to tell her that it was because of her, but also not wanting to lie. "I don't know. It was a lot of things, I guess. They'd been after me for years, so when I was still single at twenty-eight, I decided I might as well give it a shot."
Kate set a glass of water in front of him. "So after having gone through the whole experience, how do you feel about it? Do you wish you'd never done it?"
Drew thought about it. Yes, it seemed like a failure when he looked at how it had turned out, but he didn't really feel as bad about it as he should have. After all, if he hadn't gone on the show, he wouldn't have had a reason to reconnect with Kate, or a way to give her a job in the industry.
So he drew in a deep breath and told her the truth. "If I had to do it all over again, I probably would."
She scrunched up her face in disbelief. "But why? Nothing turned out the way you wanted."
He nodded, forcing himself to keep eye contact. "Yes, but I also wouldn't have reconnected with you and your family. And that has been worth everything to me." He only added the family part because he knew Alexis would sue him if he revealed too much and she just happened to want him back. But if she did happen to share his feelings, there was no amount of court fees that would keep him from going after her.
He watched Kate for her reaction, his heart racing out of his chest. He hadn't revealed all his feelings, but he kind of felt like he had.
She was quiet for a moment, her eyes shifting back and forth between his own as if trying to decipher his true meaning. "I'm glad we reconnected, too. We've missed you all these years."
Encouraged by her words, he cleared his throat and said, "I wish I hadn't thrown myself so deeply into my work after Aiden died." He studied her eyes, needing to read exactly how she reacted to what he was confessing. "I missed out on so much."
So much time wasted. So many regrets where Kate was concerned. Where would they be now if he hadn't cut himself off from her? Would she have married him instead of Nolan?
She stared at the table for a moment before peering back up at him. "What made you leave us, anyway? We felt like we lost two family members instead of one."
Drew shook his head, his throat growing thick. "I-it was my fault that he died. If I hadn't made Aiden so mad that night, he never would have gotten into that car in the first place."
Kate’s eyes narrowed. "But it wasn't your fault, Drew."
He looked away. He couldn't watch her be so kind and forgiving of him. He didn't deserve it.
She scooted closer, leaning over so her face was inches from his. "Look at me."
He couldn't.
She inched even closer and placed both of her hands on his cheeks, forcing his gaze to meet hers. "Listen to me carefully, because you need to hear this. It’s not your fault that Aiden died that night. He was hit by a drunk driver who had no business being on the road. Yes, he had just driven you home, but you didn't give that driver the alcohol. You didn't set him behind the wheel and tell him to chase my brother off a cliff. It was an accident. A terrible, horrific accident that stole my brother's life way too early." She sighed, and then pressed her lips together for a moment before continuing. "But it was not your fault."
"But if I hadn't kissed you…" Tears stung his eyes. He blinked them away. "If I'd done as he asked…"
She shook her head, her eyes growing softer. "That was Aiden's choice to get mad. And if that has anything to do with it, then it's just as much my fault as yours. I'm the one who cuddled up to you. I'm the one who practically begged you to kiss me. If anyone is guilty of making Aiden mad, it's me. I knew he'd told you to stay away from me. He'd told me himself plenty of times. But I still did it. It wasn't any of his business in the first place."
Drew sighed, his shoulders heavy with all the guilt he'd carried through the years.
"I never blamed you for Aiden's death. No one in my family did. It's time for you to stop blaming yourself, too."
He nodded, though his heart still didn't know if it could trust her to be so forgiving. But when he looked at her, he didn't see any doubt or forced kindness. Maybe it really was possible that he'd been punishing himself for years when he hadn't needed to.
"Just think about what I said, okay? You deserve to move past this hurt and pain. I have. Yes, I miss my brother like crazy and think about him every day. But that's what loving someone will do for you. Aiden wouldn't want you to carry this guilt around. He'd want you to be happy."
"Thanks," Drew said, feeling a little lighter after everything she'd said. "I'll try to remember that."
"Good." She took a few sips from her water before turning back to him with a smile. "Now, are you okay to move on to something a little less serious?"
"Yes, please."
Kate put her hands on her laptop. "Okay, but I have to warn you, this is a super rough draft. Like, I haven't even finished a full draft. So, don't judge it too harshly."
"I'm sure it's great." Drew pushed one of her hands aside so he could see the screen. "What's this one about again?"
"It's about a girl who gets kidnapped by a guy and ends up falling for him. I think I told you about it before."
Drew nodded slowly. "Ah, yes. You did always love the forbidden romance stories, didn't you?"
Kate bit her lip like she was trying to stop an embarrassed smile from taking shape on her lips. It was adorable how bashful she was talking about this. "They're kind of a guilty pleasure of mine."
And Drew would have to agree with the merits of forbidden love. It was addicting. He was pretty sure that would be the exact label Alexis would put on his growing feelings for Kate.
"Anyway, they fall in love, or at least they fall in like, and then they come up with a plan to escape."
"So what part are we working on today?" He wouldn't mind working on a kissing scene.
Kate shrugged, scrolling through her script. Drew noticed there were highlighted parts here and there.
"It's all kind of a mess right now." She stopped at a spot that had a lot of highlights and red font. Drew started reading the words before him.
TREVEN
(Taking Misty into his arms.)
I'm trying to keep you safe. You need to just trust me.
MISTY
(Trying to get away from Treven)
How can I trust you when you're the reason I'm here?
"Hey, that part looked interesting," Drew complained when Kate scrolled past the page before he could read any further.
; She looked at him, her face flushed. "That was when they realized they have feelings for each other. Wouldn't it be weird to work on that together?"
Drew gave her a half smile. "You never seemed to mind my help with those kinds of scenes before."
She scrunched her nose, probably remembering how flirtatious she'd been when they were younger. "That was years ago. I try not to be so out there anymore."
He shrugged, hoping he'd come off as indifferent. "Well, you can pick a different section if you want. It's your script…but just remember, I'm pretty much a professional at the love thing now… I mean, I did go on a dating show and ended up alone."
His self-deprecation seemed to work because she smiled. "Looks like I'm in good company then."
"You are. So let's figure this part out. It should be fun." At least, it should help him cut away at the barrier they had between them.
"If you're sure you don't mind." She inspected his face, as if guessing whether he was in earnest or not.
He'd never been more earnest about something in a long time.
"Let's go for it."
"Okay." Kate scrolled back to the section. "I want this to be a super emotionally charged scene. When I watch movies, I go into them hoping to be moved. So, I want the viewers to feel the tension between these two characters, be worried about how they'll overcome their obstacles, and then cheer when they finally make it through."
"By make it through, you mean…?" Drew asked, though he was pretty sure of the answer.
Her blush deepened. "They're supposed to kiss."
Drew loved how shy she was about saying that last word. Such a contrast to seven years earlier when she'd told him flat out to kiss her. Yikes, he got sweaty palms just remembering it.
"So this is going to end in a kiss?"
"That's the plan anyway," she said.
"It's a good thing I brushed my teeth before coming over then, huh?"
Her jaw dropped, her eyes widening. "That's not what I meant!" She slapped his shoulder.
He laughed. Okay, he'd been nervous to say that last line, but man, those ten seconds of courage had been worth it. Maybe he should try things like that more often.
When she continued to smack him, he locked his hands around her wrists to stop her from making his arm go numb. "I just wanted to see you blush. Stop trying to beat me up."
"And why would you want to see me blush? You like it when my face gets all tight and overheated-looking?"
"Yep. It's pretty much my favorite."
Kate rolled her eyes and turned back to her screen. "You're ridiculous."
"Yeah, well. You haven't seen anything yet."
24
Kate
Was Drew openly flirting with her? Kate wondered.
Like, on purpose?
The thought made her stomach flip-flop.
Maybe working on this scene was a good idea after their deep conversation. They had finally said something about the big elephant in the room. And though she hated the thought of Drew punishing himself for Aiden's death for so long, part of her was relieved he hadn't disappeared from her life because she was a bad kisser.
Even though things were still not completely solved between them, she hoped that they'd be closer to where she wanted them to go. Today's scene was likely to be super awkward, but when all was said and done, she wouldn't mind some good old-fashioned flirting with Drew. It would be like reliving high school…but only the good parts. She could be her old self again, free and unafraid of what love could do to you.
Drew scooted his chair closer. "So you're saying this guy wants to be a good guy, right?"
"Right." Kate nodded. She worked up the courage to say her next words. "I need to find a way to get this bad guy and the girl to actually kiss, because as you probably know, so much can be communicated in a kiss."
"Well," Drew said, scratching his chin as if thinking deeply. "If I was a bad guy who wants to become a good guy but isn’t quite there yet, I'd probably just grab the girl, trap her in a corner, and start making-out with her."
Kate gasped. "You wouldn't…"
"Well, I, Drew Burrows, wouldn't, but we're talking about Treven. You did say he was a bad guy, right?"
"Yeah but…" She swallowed, trying to get her voice to come out even and unaffected instead of on the verge of squeaking like it was. "You really think that's what he should do?"
Drew laughed. "We're just brainstorming here. Maybe he could pretend to get hurt or something, and then she'll bandage him up and they can have hot eye contact."
"Hot eye contact!" Kate smiled despite her nerves. "You’re hilarious, Drew."
Drew grinned, his eyes glimmering with mirth. "Well, at least I have something going for me."
Oh, he had way more going for him than he could ever know about.
"So what would you have them do in this scene?" Drew asked. "Like, if you were this girl and Treven was holding you hostaged, would you want him to just go for the gold?"
"What kind of gold are you talking about?"
Drew laughed. "Just a good wholesome peck on the cheek, of course."
Kate smiled again, enjoying this. Maybe she should ask for help every time she was working on a scene.
Twenty minutes later, Kate finished typing. "Would you mind running through it with me so I can get the dialogue down?" she asked. They had figured out the main idea, but usually, acting it out with someone helped her figure out the rest much quicker.
"Of course." Drew's face lit up.
They went through the script a few times to reinforce the scene in their minds. Kate's stomach bubbled with nerves as she thought about what they were about to do.
She set up her laptop to record, so she could just transcribe the dialogue they came up with later.
They stood across from each other, anxious anticipation running through Kate as she looked at Drew. They hadn't done this for years. Would she be able to relax and act naturally?
"It's been a while, huh?" Drew swiveled his wrist back and forth at his side. He was nervous, too.
"Yeah," she breathed, then pushed a button on her computer. It beeped three short times before a long beep sounded to signal it was recording them.
Drew sucked in a shaky breath. "Okay, so you want Treven to just walk in the door to the basement where he's been keeping Misty?" He pretended to open the door, the movement seeming to help him relax into the exercise.
"He's gone." Drew jumped into character, stepping toward Kate and pretending to unlock her hands from an imaginary chain attached to an imaginary wall. "I'm sorry we have to keep you locked up like that."
Kate made her face turn to stone as she imagined Misty would do in that scenario. "Are you really?" she spat the words. "If you were sorry, you wouldn't keep locking me back up."
Drew's shoulders slumped, and his hands moved to Kate's right wrist, tracing along an imaginary line. "I’m sorry." His eyes had so much depth to them. Had Drew finally learned to act? "It's just that I—I can't let you go. I've missed my dog all these years, and keeping you chained up reminds me of him." His lips curled up and he laughed.
"Where did that dog line come from?" Kate attempted to jab him in the stomach.
"Sorry." Drew laughed again as he struggled to defend himself from her attack. "I couldn't think of what was supposed to happen next, so I improvised."
"You're terrible, you know that?"
"And I'm okay with that." She went after him again, but he gripped her wrists and held her arms hostage. He pulled her to him, and her entire body became intoxicated with their close proximity. He was wearing his familiar cologne again, and part of her wanted to just go limp in his arms so she could have a reason to stay close for a little while longer.
But they had work to do. So she stood up straight and forced herself to stop running away with inappropriate thoughts, such as stepping closer and brushing her lips against his just to see if they were as soft as she remembered.
She cleared her throat and stopped the cam
era. "Let's try that again. This time, remember you're going to apologize and then grovel. The goal of this scene is to obtain forgiveness, and maybe move Treven and Misty closer to falling in love."
Drew nodded, becoming serious again before going back to his beginning pose behind an invisible door.
"And go." Kate pressed start and the camera began rolling again.
Drew repeated his opening lines, making it to the point in the scene where he was supposed to trace a line on her wrists.
"I'm sorry," he said, his eyes deep and brooding again. "If Ben finds out I've been unlocking you, he'll put another guard down here. And that guard wouldn't be nearly as nice as me."
"I feel so lucky," Kate said sarcastically, knowing Misty shouldn't give into Treven quite yet. "And why are you treating me differently than another guard would?"
Drew paused to think for a minute.
"Don't even think about telling me it's because I remind you of your childhood puppy," Kate whispered when she saw a smile try to sneak on his lips.
He burst out laughing. "Sorry, Kate." He clutched his stomach. "I really was going to try this time, but I'm pretty much the worst at this."
"Would it be better for me to figure this out on my own then?"
Drew sobered right up. "No, no. I'll get it. Sorry."
"Is there something that could help you get in character?" she offered. "Maybe a costume or a prop?" Those had always been helpful in the past.
“Guess we could try that.”
Kate looked around her small apartment. She didn't have much: no clothes for a guy, no chains or bars for him to pretend to lock her up with. She looked Drew over. He was wearing jeans and a blue t-shirt that really brought out his eyes. Maybe she could work with what he had?
She stepped closer to Drew, creating an image in her head. Treven was supposed to be a super hot guard, and even Misty couldn’t resist him. Which she hated since she was supposed to hate him. "Hot bad guys wear tight shirts, right?" She walked into the kitchen and grabbed a few chip clips out of the junk drawer.