Secrets Uncovered

by Shelia M. Goss

“I’ll turn the air up on my way out.” Aunt Edna laughed.

  Kem’s cheeks turned red with embarrassment.

  Brent led Kem to the kitchen table. “Ignore my aunt. She’s just messing with you.”

  Kem whispered, “Why didn’t you tell me we weren’t here by ourselves? I hope she didn’t hear us.”

  “Relax. Although I want her to stay in the main house, Aunt Edna refuses to. She lives in the house that’s located at the back property.”

  “I can only imagine what she thinks of me.” Kem twisted her mouth.

  “She’s cool. Besides, she’s been wanting to meet you for some time.”

  “Really. Then why haven’t you brought her down to the set?”

  “No reason. I just hadn’t.” Brent placed scrambled eggs, toast and a few slices of bacon on Kem’s plate.

  “I hope she doesn’t think less of me for what she’s seen today.”

  Brent shared more about his aunt over breakfast. “Aunt Edna’s my mom’s older sister. When my mom died a few years ago, Aunt Edna went into a deep depression so I decided to move her out here with me so she wouldn’t be lonely.”

  “What about her kids? Why didn’t they step in to see about their mother?”

  “My aunt is the only one of my mom’s siblings who didn’t have any kids. She sort of looks at me as her son.”

  Kem tilted her head and smiled. “How sweet.”

  “It was my aunt’s suggestion I pursue acting after high school so I sort of owe me being a success to her.”

  “I’m glad she convinced you because when I saw your audition for the role of Max, I knew you were him.”

  “My aunt coached me.”

  “Get out of here. Was your aunt an actor?” Kem asked.

  “She was a drama teacher at one of the local high schools. She said she regretted not leaving Shreveport, Louisiana when she was younger to pursue an acting career. Since she couldn’t leave at the time, she dedicated her time to teaching others. I was her star pupil.”

  “I keep forgetting you’re also from Shreveport,” Kem acknowledged.

  Brent reached across the table and picked up Kem’s hand and kissed the back of it. “Just another thing we have in common.”

  Kem shifted in her seat. “I can feel that cool air now.”

  Brent released her hand and laughed.

  They ate the rest of their breakfast in silence. After they finished eating, Brent got up to remove Kem’s plate.

  “I can help,” Kem suggested.

  “You’re my guest. I got it,” Brent said.

  Kem remained seated. “Cool.”

  “I need to get my phone and check my messages. I think I left it in your den.”

  “I’ll meet you there when I finish,” Brent responded.

  Kem hummed as she walked down the hallway to the den. Her purse lay on the coffee table right where she’d left it. She retrieved her cell phone and immediately checked her text messages.

  She’d received a few from Mona wanting to know why she wasn’t answering her phone. Kem sent a quick response letting Mona know she would call her later.

  Kem went to the mantel in the room and got a closer look at some of the pictures in the frames. Brent posed in most of them. He’d taken pictures with other celebrities as well as some well-known politicians.

  “I’m so proud of my baby,” Aunt Edna said from behind Kem.

  Kem placed the picture she held back on the mantel.

  “You should be. He’s good. We’re lucky to have him on our show.”

  “I usually go through the scripts he gets and when I came across the one you wrote, I knew he would make the perfect Max.”

  “I’m glad because the audience loves him,” Kem said as she now stood face-to-face with Aunt Edna.

  Aunt Edna had changed clothes. She now wore a dark purple suit with a matching purple hat and shoes and a purse to match.

  Brent walked into the room. “Aunt Edna, the driver’s outside waiting on you. I’m leaving to drop Kem off at home. Do you need anything from the store while I’m out?”

  “No, dear.” Aunt Edna looked at Kem. “It was nice meeting you. I hope it won’t be my last time.” She cut her eyes at Brent.

  “Your car’s waiting,” Brent blurted.

  She laughed. “Well, I’m off to church. Kem, call me sometime. Maybe we can meet for brunch one day.”

  “Aunt Edna, Kem’s too busy.”

  “Aunt Edna, I’ll make the time for you,” Kem interrupted.

  Kem laughed at the playful banter between nephew and aunt as Brent walked her to the car.

  Chapter Four

  After getting dropped off, Kem went straight to the bathroom. The hot water in the tub soothed Kem’s mind and body. She remained there until the water cooled. She dried off and put on her pink silk pajamas. She lay across her fluffy lavender comforter and returned Mona’s phone call.

  “You called just in time. I was about to file a missing persons report on you,” Mona said from the other end.

  “Mona, stop with the dramatics. I’m a grown woman and I’m doing grown woman things.”

  “I knew it. I told Charlotte I saw you leave with Brent.”

  Kem shared with Mona what happened. “He’s as hot in bed as the character Max portrays on the show.”

  “So what’s next?” Mona asked.

  “Nothing. It was a one-night stand and we’re going to pretend like it never happened.”

  “Did he say that or is that the world according to Kem?”

  “You know I don’t believe in long-term relationships.”

  “Who’s talking about a relationship? I’m talking about a fling with the man People named one of the sexiest men of the year.”

  “How would Terrance feel if he heard you talking about another man like this?”

  “He’s sitting right here. You want to ask him?” Mona asked.

  “No. Tell him I said hi and on that note, I’m getting off the phone. I have a date with myself.”

  Kem ended the call with Mona and turned on her iPad and played the game Hearts Plus until she fell asleep.

  The sound of her alarm buzzing woke her the next morning around five a.m. She noticed several missed calls from Brent and others on her phone. No one left a voice message so she didn’t feel obligated to return any of the calls.

  She thought of Brent as she drove toward the studio later that morning. She pulled into the parking lot of the studio around seven. She went through her normal daily routine and all was well until she heard a knock at her office door and saw Brent standing in the doorway looking sexier than normal.

  “Look what I found on the way in this morning.” Brent walked in holding a colorful arrangement of tulips in a clear crystal vase.

  “Those are beautiful but you shouldn’t have.”

  “You didn’t answer my call last night so I thought I would stop by and bring you these.” Brent handed the flowers to her.

  Kem smelled the tulips right before placing them on her desk. “Really, you shouldn’t have.”

  “Kem, we should talk.”

  “Kem, the director is here,” Ellen, Kem’s production assistant, stood in the doorway and said.

  “Ellen, I’ll be there in a minute.”

  When Ellen left, Kem grabbed her iPad and stood. “Brent, I have a meeting I need to be at. Go over this week’s script. It’ll keep you busy.”

  “But—”

  “See you on set.”

  Kem walked around her desk and left Brent alone in her office.

  Brent stood in Kem’s office for a minute as he dealt with his confusing feelings. After what happened Saturday night, he didn’t expect to get blown off the way he had. He understood she wanted to keep her personal life separate from work so he would excuse her behavior this ti
me.

  Throughout the course of the day, Brent attempted to get Kem alone again. And each time, someone interrupted. Frustrated, Brent resigned himself to putting his feelings for Kem on hold until a later time. He concentrated on his lines and got ready to shoot his scene.

  “Quiet on set,” the director said.

  Brent went into work mode and when he walked into the room, he became the character Max. Brent’s scene lasted fifteen minutes. Afterwards, he went to his dressing room.

  Someone knocked on his door.

  “Come in,” Brent said.

  Ellen stuck her head in. “Brent, we’re all going to Cantele’s for dinner. Would you like to go?”

  “I’ll pass. I’m going to practice my lines for tomorrow’s scene. I’ll catch up with you all tomorrow,” Brent responded.

  Ellen left and Brent stared at the script. He tried to imagine the scene but thoughts of Kem filled his mind. He’d been staring at the page for at least an hour without making any progress. Frustrated, he threw the script down on the table, grabbed his car keys and cell phone and left his dressing room.

  The lights were dim. Hardly anyone else remained in their section of the studio. Kem usually stayed late so he’d hoped to catch her by herself so he could talk to her, but her office door was closed. He looked at the bottom of the door, but saw complete darkness so she’d already gone home for the night.

  Disappointed he wouldn’t get a chance to talk to Kem, he headed toward the exit door.

  Chapter Five

  Almost everyone from her crew left except for Kem and a few people. She held her keys in her hands as she made her way through the nearly empty parking lot near where she parked.

  She rolled her neck around to ease the tension. She hit a button on the remote and the doors to her car unlocked. She got inside and threw her huge purse on the passenger side. She eased her key into the ignition. She turned the switch but nothing happened. She turned the switch again and still nothing.

  “What in the world? I paid too much money for this car not to be working,” she said out loud.

  Kem rummaged through her purse to search for her cell phone. She ended up emptying out most of the contents of her purse on the seat before she located it. The red light on Kem’s phone blinked, indicating a low battery. She scrolled through her contacts looking for the dealership’s number. She lifted her finger to hit the Send button. The phone faded to a black screen.

  “This can’t be happening,” she shouted.

  She threw the dead phone in her purse. She said a few curse words under her breath while placing the discarded items on the seat back in her purse.

  She jumped at the sound of something tapping on her window.

  She looked through the window and Brent’s face stared back at her.

  She could see his mouth moving, but she couldn’t hear him. She pressed the Down button on her door but it didn’t budge. She forgot it wouldn’t work without the car running.

  Kem opened the driver’s door. “Hey, I’m glad you’re here. Can I use your cell phone to call the dealership? My car won’t start.”

  “Sure.” Brent reached into his pocket and handed her the phone. “I can look under the hood if you like. It could be a battery cable or something.”

  Kem got out of the car. “You can check. This car’s only two years old so I shouldn’t be having any problems.”

  Kem used Brent’s phone to search for the dealership’s number and call them while he popped the hood of her car and inspected it.

  “What do you mean you won’t be able to send anyone out here until morning? What about a loaner?” Kem tapped her foot while waiting on the car dealership’s response.

  Brent let the hood down and walked back around near her. “It’s not the cable.”

  Kem held her hand up. “They are telling me it will take two hours before they can get me a loaner car.”

  “I’ll take you home and pick you up in the morning,” Brent volunteered.

  “I’m here by seven. I don’t know if that’s going to work,” Kem responded.

  “I get up early to work out so getting you here by seven is not a problem,” Brent assured her.

  “Fine. Let me let them know.” Kem turned her back to him and spoke into her phone. “Just make sure you have someone come look at the car in the morning. You have my numbers so I’ll be expecting to hear from someone bright and early tomorrow.”

  Kem turned back around and faced Brent.

  Brent extended his hand. “Just call me Mr. Rescue. I’m here at your disposal.”

  “Where’s your cape?” Kem teased.

  “Don’t you see the R on my chest through this shirt?” Brent laughed.

  Kem walked with Brent to his car. He held the passenger door open and Kem got inside.

  A few minutes later, Brent pulled onto the busy 405 Freeway. At one point they came to a complete standstill.

  “You don’t happen to have a phone charger I can use do you?” Kem asked as she retrieved her dead phone from the bottom of her purse.

  “Look in the glove compartment. There’s one inside there.”

  Kem opened the glove compartment and retrieved the phone charger. She plugged her phone into the cigarette outlet.

  “Thanks. I really appreciate you taking me home. I really didn’t feel like waiting two hours on a replacement car.”

  “There was no sense in you waiting when I was right there. Besides, we’re practically neighbors. It’s the neighborly thing to do.” Brent smiled, showing his perfect white teeth and the dimples he’d become famous for. “I think what happened tonight was fate,” Brent stated.

  “I wouldn’t call it that. First my car, a dead phone and now we’re stuck in traffic where you can’t even get over to get off on an exit because it’s not moving. If this is fate, I want a do-over.”

  “What I mean is, I’ve been trying to get you alone all day to talk but we kept getting interrupted. Now there’s no one here to interrupt us.”

  “What is there to talk about? We had a drink. We had sex. Boom. That was it.”

  Brent glanced at her from the corner of his eye. “We both know it’s more than just sex.”

  “Oh really now? How did you come to that conclusion?” Kem crossed her arms and shifted her body.

  “I know the difference between having sex and making love. What we did the other night may have started off as sex but by the time it was all over, we’d made love.”

  “Am I talking to Brent or my character Max? That sounds like something he would say.”

  “Everything I say I mean. I don’t have to hide behind a character.”

  Kem liked the fact that Brent didn’t stand down to her. Some men would pacify her because of who she was, hoping to get an opportunity to benefit from her position.

  “I’ll admit for a brief moment, I thought there was something special between the two of us, but then reality set in. That’s why what we did can’t happen again,” Kem explained.

  Brent looked around. “Looks like we’re going to be in this traffic a lot longer than I’d expected so we might as well make good use of it. Let’s play a game. We each take turns asking each other questions and the other person has to be truthful.”

  “Can I plead the fifth? Because I don’t like playing games where I don’t get to make up the rules.”

  “It’s my car so I get to make the rules.” Brent smiled. “Ooh. Look. We moved up an inch.”

  “I could walk home faster than this,” Kem noted.

  “I know. I was thinking the same thing,” Brent responded. “But back to my game. I’ll make it fun for you. You can do all of the asking and I’ll respond.”

  “Now, that, I can agree to do.”

  “Go for it. Ask me anything?”

  “Remember you insisted,” Kem smiled. Since Brent wanted t
o play this game, she would use this opportunity to dig into his personal life.

  Chapter Six

  Brent eased his foot on and off the brakes as they continued to ride at a snail’s pace. Kem seemed to be getting a kick out of asking him questions.

  He paused for a moment when she asked, “Why are you single?”

  Brent cleared his throat. “Up until now, I’ve been concentrating on my career.”

  “You have been busy. Besides working on my show, you’ve filmed how many movies this past year?”

  Brent turned his eyes from the road and looked directly at Kem. “I decided to cut back this year and only do three movies.”

  Brent smiled, showing his deep dimples. “What about you? Why are you single?”

  “Like you, it’s been my work. It’s hard finding a man who can deal with my grueling schedule. Whoever I get with has to understand that my work is important and I don’t have a typical nine-to-five schedule.”

  “The right man will understand.”

  Someone behind Brent blew their horn. Brent threw his hand up in the air. “What am I supposed to do? Run the car in front of me over.”

  “At least the traffic’s moving again,” Kem stated as they slowly moved on the freeway.

  Brent’s phone rang. His aunt’s name appeared on the car display. He hit the speaker button and Aunt Edna’s voice rang throughout the car.

  “Are you coming home for dinner?” Aunt Edna asked.

  “Yes, but I’ll be late. I’ll be there as soon as I drop Kem off at her house.”

  “Why don’t you invite her over for dinner?”

  Brent glanced at Kem and she shook her head “no.”

  “Aunt Edna, she’s had a long day. Maybe another time.”

  Kem mouthed the words “thank you.”

  Aunt Edna responded, “Oh, I get it. You don’t have time for your old aunt ’cause you about to get your groove on.”

  “Aunt Edna, I’m going to end this conversation now. See you soon.”

  Before she could say anything else, Brent disconnected the call. “Kem, sorry you had to hear that. My aunt likes you.”

  “I like her too,” Kem responded. “You should really invite her on set so she can see how things are done. I’m surprised you haven’t.”