by Ivy Jordan
When the limo pulled up to Mandy’s apartment, we both got out and he walked me to the front of my building.
“I’m glad you had a good time tonight, Hailey. You looked amazing, by the way.”
“Thank you.”
He leaned in and kissed me, and I lingered in that feeling for as long as I could. It wasn’t a sexy kiss, but it was still a great kiss. He pulled away and looked down at me with a smile.
“Have a good night, Hailey.”
“You, too.”
I watched as he walked back to the limo and got inside. I turned and ran into the building, making a run for the elevator. I couldn’t wait to get upstairs and tell Mandy all about my crazy night. I found Mandy on the couch writing on her laptop. When I came in, she looked up at me and smiled.
“Hey, superstar. How was your night?”
“Oh my God, Mandy, you have no idea.”
“It went well, I’m guessing,” she said with a laugh.
“It was insane. I couldn’t even believe that I was there. It was like a dream. A really, really good dream. I met the producer of the movie, and he wants me to come in for an audition for a movie he’s working on.”
“No shit, are you serious?”
“I’m serious. He even knows Jillian and said he was going to call her.”
I sat down on the couch beside Mandy, and she reached over and hugged me. “That is amazing, Hailey. I’m so happy for you.”
“Thanks, I can’t even believe it’s true, it just feels like a dream. I’m so thankful Caleb took me there, it was so kind of him.”
“Well, if the guy has connections, then he should be willing to help you out. I mean, why not?”
“Can you imagine if I get this movie? It would be huge, and I would be part of it. It could be the start of a great career. I just can’t believe it’s happening.”
“Well, you better start believing it. You deserve it, and it is going to happen for you. It’s just a matter of time. It looks like Caleb can fast track things for you, and that’s a good thing. I told you, things happen for a reason. You were meant to be here, to take this job. If you would have turned it down, you would never have met Rick Bendell. It was meant to be.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I just feel like pinching myself to see if I will wake up,” I said, laughing.
“I can’t wait to see you in the pictures. I’ve been refreshing my newsfeed this whole time to see if any pictures have been posted.”
“Well, they are probably just of Caleb. He’s the celebrity, not me.”
“Yeah, for now.”
I stuck out my tongue. I was so happy – there were no words to describe how happy I was. This could be the start of a career that would have me going to my own openings, and I couldn’t wait for that to be my life. It was everything that I had dreamed of.
“I think I’m starting to have feelings for Caleb. I mean, I was all over him tonight. I know that’s part of the job, but I felt it tonight. I felt the sparks, the feeling that I wanted to be by his side. When he dropped me off here tonight, I was disappointed. I wanted more than anything to go home with him.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I know it’s stupid. Falling for someone who is interested in me as just an employee is not a great place to be in. I have no idea how he feels about me and falling for him at this point is dangerous.”
“I don’t know about that. I don’t think it’s a bad thing that you have feelings for the guy. So, what? And, you said so yourself that you have no idea how he feels about you. He could be feeling the same thing that you are. You are pretty hot, you know.”
I laughed, “Yeah right.”
“Hey, you never know. It could be your very own fairytale. You never know.” She winked at me.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Caleb
I was in a fantastic mood. I had woken up with the best idea ever and was on my way to making it happen. Matt and I were in the car on our way to pick up the girls. I had completely given up on having Hailey move in with me; she was clearly more comfortable living at the apartment with her sister, and I realized that the arrangement was probably for the best. She didn’t need to get stuck in the mix with my parents. It was awkward enough for me sometimes when I stayed there. Though for the most part, I now stayed in my apartment.
It was early, so Matt and I had picked up breakfast and lots of coffee. That had been the deal when I woke the girls up early with my plan – I had better have lots of coffee. The ladies weren’t morning people, and I needed to keep them happy at all costs. Matt and I had stopped at a local bakery before heading over to the apartment to get everything that we needed.
I had come up with a plan to rent a boat and take everyone deep-sea fishing. It had been awhile since Matt and I had gone, and I thought it would be an awesome adventure for the girls. Neither of them had ever gone, so it sounded like it was going to be a blast.
We pulled up to the apartment where the girls were waiting for us outside. They piled into the back of the car where I proceeded to hand over the coffee.
“So, where did you get this bright idea, Caleb?”
“I’m not sure where my brilliance comes from, Mandy, but you are going to have a blast. How are you this morning, Hailey?” I looked back at her, but all I got in response was a yawn. I smiled and turned back to Matt. We were ready to go.
When we arrived at the marina, there was a man waiting for us. I had called ahead to make sure he had a boat ready for us. It was exquisite.
“It looks great, my man, thank you.”
I finished signing the papers and paying the man before I met everyone back outside. Matt was helping the girls into the boat and showing them around. He hefted a cooler into the boat and went out to grab another. The coolers were full of food and some beer for the day. I couldn’t wait to get out on the water.
“So, what is the difference between deep-sea fishing and regular fishing?” Hailey asked me as I got into the boat. Matt got out and started to untie the boat from the dock. The man was definitely efficient. He was going to drive us where we needed to be.
“Have you ever watched Deadliest Catch?”
“No, but I’ve seen the previews.”
“Well, it’s like that. You never know what you’re going to catch. Anything could come up that line because we’re in the ocean. It might not be a little fish like you see in a lake.”
“Oh!” She looked out into the water. I knew that she was probably thinking about sharks. It would be pretty hilarious if we were to catch a shark; she would probably flip out.
“I’ve never done anything like this before.”
“Don’t worry; I will teach you. You look beautiful, by the way.” And, she did. She was wearing a pink bikini and a sheer t-shirt over top of it. I leaned in and kissed her on the mouth. She looked at me with surprise.
“Just keeping up appearances you know. The paparazzi are everywhere, my dear.”
She smiled, “No problem.”
I couldn’t have cared less who was watching. I had a hard time thinking about anything but kissing Hailey these days. I wanted to do it all day long. I would have to try to reel it in a bit, but it was going to be hard. All I thought about was putting my hands on her. Matt started up the boat, and we started to pull away from the dock.
It was going to be a nice relaxing day in the sun, and I couldn’t wait. There was a chance we would catch some fish, but even if we didn’t, we would have a blast. The girls started to apply some sunscreen, and I started pulling out the breakfast that we had brought. We all ate silently as we drove into the ocean. It was a beauty of a day, and I couldn’t have asked for better weather. We drove for about twenty minutes before Matt stopped the boat and anchored us into a spot. He and I proceeded to get the rods in position.
“Why are there chairs in front of the rods? Are you guys that lazy?” Mandy asked.
Matt laughed, “No, that’s in case you get a really big fish. Some of these suckers are real
ly heavy, and they could pull you into the water. By sitting, you can brace yourself, and you have a better chance of reeling the fish in the boat.”
“Oh, I see. What kind of fish are we expecting here? A great white?”
“You never know,” he said with a wink.
I moved all our stuff and put it away from the deck. The deck was likely to get wet, and I didn’t want any of the girl’s bags to get soaked; plus, we all needed room to pass.
“Have you guys ever caught anything big before?”
“I haven’t, but Matt caught a swordfish one year. It was nuts, that sucker fought like crazy.”
Matt dropped the lines in the water and then turned back to the group. “Now, we wait.”
Lunchtime was rolling around, and no one had caught anything yet. It didn’t matter because we were still having a blast. The beers started to get passed around as we relaxed in the sun. Everyone was getting a tan despite the sunscreen, and there was so much laughter on the boat.
I was glad to see Hailey having so much fun. I had a hard time keeping my hands off her all day, but she didn’t seem to mind. Though she was probably just staying in character because that was her job. I needed to be careful – the last thing that I wanted was to remind her of the night we slept together. As much as I loved the memory, I knew she wanted to forget it, and I didn’t want to do anything that would cause her to leave.
“So, how often do you guys come out here?” Mandy asked.
“We haven’t been out in awhile, actually. We used to come out all the time. It’s a great way to unplug from stress and the work day, ya know? Just come out here and forget everything,” I said.
“It’s beautiful,” Hailey said.
“Yeah, it really is,” I said looking at her with a smile. She blushed.
“What are we likely to catch?”
“We could catch anything from mackerel to sea bass, maybe even a barracuda.”
Hailey raised her eyebrows. “Cool!”
One of the rods started to move. Matt got up quickly. “Whoa, I think we got something.”
I grabbed Hailey’s hand. “C’mon, I’ll show you how it’s done.” I motioned for her to sit in the seat across from the moving rod. I moved the rod so that it was in the hole right in front of her.
“Okay, Hailey, we definitely have something here, so now we have to reel it in. We want to do that slowly so that the fish doesn’t get the better of us and we break the line.”
She nodded, but I could tell that she was nervous.
“C’mon, Hailey, you can do it,” Mandy called out.
I showed Hailey how to reel in the fish. It fought her, and I was surprised at how well she handled the pressure. She didn’t let the fish get away. She was a total natural. With simple instructions, she easily let the line out when it was appropriate and then brought it back in when she had the chance. She fought some good solid ten minutes with the fish before she tired it out. When she reeled it out of the water, she squealed. It was a decent size red sheephead.
“Oh my God, I did it!” She was out of her seat and jumping around with her sister. I had never seen two girls more excited about catching a fish. Matt finished reeling it in and took it off the hook. It flopped around on the deck before it took its last breath. Matt picked it up off the deck and laughed. “She’s a good size, Hailey; good for you!”
Hailey was beaming and looked so beautiful when she did. I loved the idea of making her that happy, she deserved all the happiness in the world, and it certainly didn’t take much to make her that way.
“Let’s get a picture of you with it,” I said.
She smiled and came over, and Matt handed her the fish. “My God, it is heavy.”
They all laughed as she held the fish while her sister took a bunch of pictures with her phone.
“Congrats, Hailey.” I took the fish from her and Matt put it away. “How about we have some lunch and some more beer?”
Everyone agreed, and I pulled out some sandwiches and cheese and crackers from the cooler. We all had a big appetite at that point and ate a lot. We then settled in for the day to see if anything else would bite while we had a beer. I leaned over and kissed Hailey’s shoulder blade. I watched with interest as her skin puckered with goose flesh.
“Are you having fun, Hailey?”
She looked over at me and smiled. “Yes. This is awesome. I would never have done this on my own. It’s so much fun, and I’m really proud of myself for reeling in that fish.”
“Well, you should be. You did really well, especially for a first timer.”
Another rod started moving, and Matt called out. He sat down in the seat, and we all moved around him, cheering him on. I was happy that I had decided to get the group together because we always had a good time. There was just a natural chemistry that you couldn’t fake if you tried. We continued to cheer Matt on as he pulled out a massive white sea bass from the water. The girls were screaming at the size of it, and I couldn’t help but laugh. Their reaction was priceless. We got it onto the deck, and Matt was standing while holding the massive fish. Mandy went about taking pictures as we all cheered for him.
“What do you do with these fish?”
“Well, we are going to eat them, of course. We will grill them up one night for you girls.”
“Oh, really?” Hailey said with a laugh.
“Don’t worry; we won’t make you filet them.”
She frowned, “Well, that’s a relief.”
We relaxed for the rest of the day before we headed back to shore. Everyone was exhausted from the sun. We were thinking of going somewhere that might offer us a bit of shade for dinner. It had ben a long day, and we were all pretty weary. We took the opportunity to do a bit of swimming while we were out there, keeping an eye out for sharks. But when the girls got out, and it was closing in on dinner time, we couldn’t help but start to think about food.
All I could think about, however, was the beautiful Hailey and how I wished I could wrap my arms around her and never let her go.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Hailey
I was cooked from the sun. It had been a long day, but a fun one. I was a little buzzed from the beer and definitely on a high from catching the fish. I hadn’t been thrilled about getting woken up early for fishing, mainly because I had never been and all I wanted to do was sleep, but I was really glad we had gone.
The day had been fun in a lot of ways. The fishing was definitely the highlight of the day, and then there was, of course, Caleb, who kept kissing me every chance he got. I don’t know why it surprised me; it was my job after all to play his girlfriend, but I still found myself astonished when he would wrap his arms around me or pull me in for a kiss. I couldn’t complain, nor did I want to. I loved being close to him, even if it was just for show.
We were heading back to the shore to grab some dinner. Caleb knew of a great seafood place on the water that we could go to for dinner, and the idea of eating some crab made my stomach grumble. When we docked, Matt got out of the boat and tied it up. He then helped Mandy and I out of the boat while Caleb hauled out the coolers. We were bringing our fish to Caleb’s parents’ house to eventually grill. We packed away our coolers and Caleb settled with the owner.
We then piled back into the car and drove to the seafood place. It wasn’t far from the marina and was a happening place. Caleb talked to the hostess and got us a table outside on the patio. It didn’t look like there was any room, but the hostess knew who Caleb was and made sure to get a table ready for him. It must be nice just to walk into any restaurant you want and know that you would have a table. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted that life – that was one of the many benefits I would have as an actress.
The hostess led us to the table, and we all settled in. Looking out at the view I was mesmerized. It was so beautiful, and although we had already been out on the water that day, the view startled me every single time. It was breathtaking.
“It’s so gorgeous
out here,” Mandy said as if she was reading my mind. We all nodded and then started opening our menus. I decided to get a plate of crab and lobster with mashed potatoes, and it was all I could do not to drool all over the table. The waiter arrived, and Caleb ordered us a pitcher of beer, and we all put in our food orders, as well.
We chatted for a little while about the fish and the things that were going on during the week. We were tired, and it was mindless chit chat for awhile. I sipped on the cool drink the waiter had brought, letting it refresh me from the day. It was a great day, and I was thankful that I was getting the opportunity to be part of these kinds of days.
We got onto the conversation of the majors, and Matt was talking about how good Caleb was doing so far. I couldn’t help but beam with pride. I always knew he was a good player from what I read on the internet, but having it confirmed by Matt only made me happier for Caleb.
“Now we just need to focus on what Dr. Brentwood told you.”
Caleb nodded almost lost in thought.
“Are you seeing a doctor?” I asked carefully.
He looked over at me and smiled. “Yeah, it was something that the sponsor suggested. I actually went, and I think that it ended up being a good idea. I have a problem at the majors, and the doctor thinks it’s too much pressure. So, he gave me some ideas to try to prevent it from happening again.”
“What exactly is the problem?” Mandy asked. We weren’t being nosy; we all genuinely cared about what happened to Caleb. I, for one, wanted to hear what he really felt about the fact that he choked when things got close.
“I choke. I will finally get to there, everything looks good, and then I manage to do things to fuck it all up. I suddenly start playing poorly, mainly because I can’t breathe or focus on anything. I choke like a rookie.”
