"Shh, it was only a dream, babe," Jared whispers and pulls me into his arms while stroking the back of my head. "You're safe, I won't let anything happen to you.”
My body relaxes into his and I let him comfort me with his gentle touch and soothing words. I had a nightmare and it's all coming back to me. I was reliving the attack in my dream.
I lean into Jared's body until I can feel my heart rate return to normal and my breathing balance out. Jared's holding me tightly as he continues to caress my hair. I move to pull away when Jared silently stands up to leave the room, pulling me behind him. I don't hesitate as I follow him into his bedroom. He brings me to his bed and gestures for me to lie down. I do and he lies down beside me. He moves until his chest is pushed against my side and he gently kisses my forehead with his soft lips.
"You're safe now. Go to sleep."
I still don’t speak, but I close my eyes and pull the comforter up to cover me completely. I can feel the palm of Jared's hand stroking my cheek. He's still trying to comfort and soothe me from my dream. I let him because it feels amazing, and within minutes I'm asleep again.
★★★
I wake up warm, really warm, and happy, really happy. I might have gotten the best sleep of my life last night. I feel refreshed, like I can do anything today. I move my arms to stretch my limbs when I feel the rippled chest underneath my palms. I open my eyes and see the broken heart tattoo above Jared's left pec. My cheek is smashed against his other pec.
Crap! I'm even drawn to him in my sleep.
I look down to see our legs tangled together. Thank God his boxers stayed on last night. I don't know if I can handle any more Jared right this moment. It's hard enough to focus as it is, because Jared is hard as a rock and straining the material of his boxer shorts. I drag my eyes back up his body to look at his face. He's sleeping and he has an amused expression on his face. It's adorable.
"Like what you see?" He asks sleepily.
Okay, maybe he's not asleep.
"I just woke up and am trying to get my bearings. Sorry I smothered you last night."
"It felt good. Feel free to do it again whenever you want," he winks at me.
I roll my eyes and push my body off his, letting out a small moan in the process. Hopefully he didn't hear that.
"So, what's on the agenda today, Billy?"
I move off the bed and stretch my body out.
"I'm not sure. More job searching I guess. I just need something to hold me over for the summer. Then hopefully I can get a teaching job once I get certified in the state of California."
Jared gets up and starts to make his bed. I help out by pulling up the sheets on the side I slept on.
"No more job searching. It's getting you nowhere."
"Jared, I have to look for a job. I have nine hundred dollars to my name. It's going to run out really quickly."
"You'll work for me," he says nonchalantly.
I stare up at him as I fluff the pillows on the bed.
"You want me to work for you? Doing what?"
"I haven't figured that out yet, but trust me there is plenty to do. You'll be like... my personal assistant." He smiles to himself, obviously happy with his new plan. I watch as he walks out of the bedroom without another word. I'm so stunned at his idea that it takes me a second to move and follow him down the hallway.
We make our way downstairs and into the kitchen. Meeting in the kitchen has become our morning routine. I mean I've technically seen him first thing in bed the last two mornings, but that doesn't count.
"Isn't Kelly your personal assistant?" I ask him as I pull two coffee mugs out of the cabinet and hand him one to start brewing a cup of coffee.
"She is, but she handles more of the business side and accompanies me on set. You can do more of the personal stuff. I fall behind on almost everything because there aren't enough hours in the day, now you can solve that problem for me."
I'm about to object, but he cuts me off before I can get a word out.
"And don’t say no, you need a job and I need help. It's a win-win situation."
He's right, I do need a job. Instead of continuing to look for a job, I could start right away. I already know I get along with my boss. The only con is I’m insanely attracted to him. It's only gotten worse since yesterday's matinee of Brandon Boner flicks.
"Okay, I'll do it," I say against my better judgment.
"Awesome. Okay, you'll come with me to set today so that I can give you an idea of what I'll need you to do and then we'll go out and celebrate your new job tonight."
He hands me the brewed cup of coffee and I hand him the other empty mug in my hand.
"We don’t need to celebrate a job that you gave me."
"Sure we do. I know a great club that's not too wild," he says flirtatiously. He reaches for my hand and pulls the mug out of my grip, placing it on the counter. Jared reaches around my back and pulls me into his chest. "Plus, I'm dying to see you dance and move those hips. I bet you're a great dancer." He grinds his hips into mine and lowers his lips to my ear, "Are you a good dancer, Billy?"
My skin is starting to feel overheated and I pull away from his hold. "I can dance," I say, shrugging my shoulders.
"It's settled then." Jared hands me back my cup of coffee and grabs his own cup. "I'm going to get ready. Be at the door and ready to leave in twenty."
He leaves the kitchen and I follow behind. I head to Tawny's room to get ready for my first day as Jared's assistant.
The day goes by quickly. In between interviews, signing merchandise, and Jared's actual video shoot, Jared fills me in on what he wants me to do. Basically, I'll be getting his dry cleaning, going through his fan mail, and helping him run his websites. The only time I make a point not to be by Jared's side is during the two hours he's making his adult film. It's one thing to watch it on video, it's another thing to watch it live.
The feelings I'm starting to develop for him need to be squashed. He's unattainable, a porn star, and my boss. I couldn't pick a worse combination if I tried.
We get back to the house around seven and Jared tells me we'll leave and go to dinner around nine, and hit the club afterwards. I shower and get ready for our night. I decide to wear a black skintight bandage dress and my black strappy heals. I leave my hair down and apply a thin coat of make-up. I put on a pair of silver hoop earrings to complete the outfit.
I'm down and waiting for him in the foyer by the front door a little before nine. My mind is racing. Tonight’s not a date, but I can’t help but feel the butterflies flying around in my stomach. The anticipation of spending a night out with Jared has me anxious. We've gotten to know each other a little this past week, but he might decide he doesn’t like me that much after tonight. I'm not anything like the other friends of his I've seen. I'm modest, and lady like. I won't have a threesome with him in the middle of a party.
"You ready to go?"
Jared walks up behind me, looking absolutely breathtaking. He's wearing a pair of dark denim jeans and a black t-shirt. He's layered it with a black leather jacket and his black chucks are on his feet. A few of his tattoos are visible between the V-neck of his t-shirt. His fohawk is styled with gel and he's still wearing the black plugs in his ears.
He looks just the right amount of bad boy and he's got the lifestyle to back it up. I would have never gone for his type back home. Maybe being in Los Angeles has changed me, because Jared is definitely my type.
"Yep," I finally answer. We walk out the front door and he has an old classic car waiting in the driveway for us.
"What kind of car is this?" I'm captivated by its beauty. I reach out and touch the red paint with the tips of my fingers.
"You like? It's a nineteen sixty-five red Mustang convertible. I rebuilt the engine myself. It's my baby."
"It's beautiful," I whisper.
"So are you," he whispers back, reaching for my hand and kissing the skin on top. Jared opens the passenger door for me before moving around the car and climb
ing in the driver's seat. This is starting to feel more and more like a date, even though I know that it's not.
We make our way into the "city" as Jared says, and pull up to the valet area in front of the impressive looking restaurant. The valet attendant opens my door and I step out onto the pavement. Jared comes around the car and tosses his keys to the man.
"Don't scratch her, Kevin."
"I'll try my best, bro."
Jared grabs my hand and pulls me into the restaurant with him.
"Do you know the valet guy?"
"Yeah, I come here a lot. It's my favorite place to eat in the city."
The hostess knows Jared, too, which works in our benefit because we are seated right away. The ambiance in the restaurant is romantic. The lights are dimmed, and candles light the center of each table. If it weren't for the noise coming from the surrounding tables, it would almost feel like we were alone.
I take the menu off the table and look over their selection.
Holy shit. The cost of an appetizer alone could pay my phone bill. I look up over the menu at Jared and he's looking directly at me.
"Don't say a thing. This is my treat and you will not make this an issue. Get what you want."
He's sexy when he is demanding. I smile widely at him and look down at my menu. I choose the lemon-crusted halibut and Jared orders a wine based on my entree selection. I'm glad he has because I know zero about wine, unless it comes out of a box and has a sprout attached. The waitress leaves and it's just the two of us again.
"So..." Jared smirks at me. "We still never finished our conversation from yesterday."
Great, I thought I had avoided having to talk about that.
"I don't think right now is the time to be bringing this up."
"I beg to differ, now is the perfect time. I ordered a steak so it'll probably be a while until our food comes. We have nothing but time to talk."
"Okay..."
"Okay, so I know you watched a few of my videos. What did you think?"
What did I think? How am I even expected to answer a question like that?
"Um, you were... good."
"Good, just good? There are thousands of women in the world who think I’m a lot better than good."
I cough and take a sip of the glass of water that's in front of me.
"Well, I don't really have anything to compare it to. I've never watched people have sex before."
"But you've had sex before. How did it look compared to your experiences?"
"You have no boundaries, do you?" I can’t believe he just asked me something so personal.
"I don't believe there should be boundaries when it comes to sex. I'm curious to hear what you think."
"I... I guess you could say I was impressed." I start to feel the warmth taking over my cheeks. I'm beginning to have a permanent blush when I'm in Jared’s presence.
"I've never imagined doing some of the things you did in those videos... and the girls you were with... they seemed to really enjoy it. I know a lot of it is acting, but it was really believable."
He smiles at me before leaning closer to me across the table. "You're cute talking about this. I can tell it makes you uncomfortable, but don't be. This is what I do for a living. Me talking about sex is the equivalent of you talking about English or math. It's a huge part of my life."
He drags his hand through the longer parts of his hair at the top of his head. "Did you like it? Did it get you hot?"
Seriously, my cheeks must be crimson red at this point. Should I be honest?
"You could say that."
His smile almost becomes devious, "Did you get off watching it? Did you stick your delicate fingers into your panties and rub your clit until you were coming with me?"
"Jared!" I shout way too loudly for public. I stand up from my seat and look around the room. The other people in the establishment are staring at the scene I've just caused. I sit back down in my chair and pull it in closer to the table.
"I can’t believe you just asked that," I whisper harshly in his direction.
"I can't believe you just reacted like that. I think I just got my answer."
"You didn't... I didn't," I stutter over my own words.
"Sure you didn't."
We sit in an uncomfortable silence. At least it's uncomfortable for me. Jared seems to be thoroughly enjoying himself.
"I... Jared, can I ask you a question?"
"You just did, but you can ask another one," he replies sarcastically.
"I noticed something when I watched you with all those women. You never wore protection. Why would you take such a risk and not wear a condom?"
"What an original question," he says almost offended.
"I'm sorry if I offended you, I was just-"
"You were trying to do what every lawmaker across the state of California has tried to do. You think I should wear a condom, but guess what? It's my right not to wear one if I don't want to. I get tested every fourteen days. Every porn star gets tested at least every twenty-eight days. We practice safe sex between each other."
I'm pretty sure unprotected sex is the exact opposite of the definition of safe sex, but Jared seems mad, so I choose not to bring that up.
"And if I decide to pick up some random girl at a party, or start dating someone, I wear a condom with them so that I don't give an STD to one of my co-stars."
Jared's obviously upset I brought up the issue. I really didn’t think it was a big deal.
"Okay, I'm sorry. I was just curious. I'm not going to pretend I understand, but if you say you're being safe, I believe you."
He nods his head at me, satisfied with my response. We continue as before, sitting in awkward silence. I don't have a good conversation piece to transition into and I definitely want to stop talking about the topic of porn.
Our waitress comes with our meal and I am grateful for the interruption. My halibut looks delicious and Jared's steak looks juicy.
"Are we good?" He asks me as the waitress leaves the table.
"Of course."
"Can we forget about the last twenty minutes and continue to enjoy our evening celebrating your new job?"
I laugh because I still think it's humorous we are celebrating the job that he gave me. "I would love that."
We finish our meal with casual conversation. I tell him a little bit about my life back in Michigan, and he shares a little bit about his life to me. Jared came from a strong Christian family. He's one of seven boys and he's still very close to his family. His parents don't particularly like his job choice, but they support him no matter what.
I tell him about my family, the small town I'm from, and my parent's boat shop. I'm very vague when he asks me about Brock. I'm completely over him, and I have no feelings of heartbreak. I just feel so stupid that I never realized he was cheating before.
"You ready to show me how well you can dance?" Jared asks me as he signs the receipt after paying the bill.
"You better watch out. I'm going to dance circles around you."
"We'll see, Billy."
I watch him as he gets up from his seat. It's hard not to watch him when he always looks so good in whatever he wears. The other people in the restaurant are watching him, too. I'm not sure if it's because he's the kind of person who naturally demands attention when he walks in the room, or if it's because they recognize him from his movies.
He walks around the table and reaches for my hand, grasping it in his and we walk out of the restaurant. He surprises me when he has the valet, Kevin, call him a cab.
"What happened to your car?"
"Kevin will drop it off at the house at the end of the night. If we're going to a club, I plan on drinking. I'm not going to drink and drive and risk wrecking my car."
"Or killing someone," I add, because that seems like the logical reason on why someone wouldn't drink and drive.
"That, too."
The cab ride is fast. The club is only a few miles away from the restaurant we ate at. J
ared does his best at showing me the few sights we see on the cab ride. I can tell by how passionately he talks about things in the city, that he really loves Los Angeles. I'm still undecided.
"We might run into some people I know, but I'll try to keep it brief. This is about us celebrating, not hanging out with a bunch of people I'm obligated to be friends with in this business," Jared says smiling down at me.
His words make me feel warm inside. He likes spending time with me. I'm not one of those people he just mentioned as obligations.
We make our way into the club. I've been to a few clubs back in Michigan, but nothing like this. This is a high-end club. I see real crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, the men and women are in club attire, but it's designer clothing. Another thing I’ve never seen at a club is a hostess, but Jared and I are greeted by one and taken to the V.I.P. section upstairs.
The music is loud, the base is pumping, and it’s not the normal kind of music I listen to, but it's perfect for this atmosphere. I look around the club; men and women are dancing in the middle of the floor downstairs. There are women in lingerie, dancing in cages on platforms scattered around the large space.
We sit down at one of the booths in the V.I.P. section and a chilled bottle of Cristal is in a glass vase in the middle of the table. A waitress, also in what looks to be lingerie, greets us and takes our order.
"What do you want, Billy?" Jared asks me while scooting closer to me in the booth and wrapping an arm around my shoulders. He's marking his claim on me, probably so the waitress doesn't hit on him.
I don't know why he doesn't want to be hit on by this woman, or any of the other women working in this establishment. They're all gorgeous with perfect bodies. I have a decent body, but I look average.
"I'll have a Long Island Ice Tea."
"You heard the lady," Jared says to the waitress. "I'll have a Jack and Coke, and then bring us shots of vodka and keep them flowing."
The waitress smiles invitingly at him and walks away to get our order. I half expect Jared to release me now that she's gone, but he's content sitting next to me with his arm wrapped around my body.
Changing His Game Page 6
