I beamed at him until my mother interjected. “Yes, well, we know where she gets her looks,” she said, as she fluffed her styled blond locks. She never missed an opportunity to flatter herself or interject herself in a moment.
Yeah, I look more like my dad, was what I truly felt like saying, as my mom turned to fawn all over Garrett, who she’d known for years, and Ellie, whom she’d met at one of Luiz’s parties a few months ago. The conversation was incredibly fake and forced, and I was ready for them to leave. My mother drove me nuts most of the time, but when she was in her element and she was ‘on’, I really couldn’t handle her.
Thankfully after a few minutes of polite chit chat, she and Luiz flitted off to meet and greet more important people.
The four of us picked up the conversation we’d been having before my mother and Luiz had stopped by, and before we knew it, the lights were flashing to alert us to take our seats. Jase and I made our way to our table, and the nerves really started to kick in.
* * *
Even though Jase didn’t win the Golden Globe, he was still having a great time, and I was glad to be there to enjoy it with him. He’d been a gracious loser when Harrison Cross had won, and he’d smiled and applauded along with everyone else. I knew he’d enjoyed Harrison’s portrayal of a slave in the drama Frost Wise, so there were no hard feelings.
But it had been so stinkin’ cool to hear them call Jase’s name as a nominee and show his picture on the big screen. He’d looked so calm with his small secret smile on his face. Then I’d held his hand until they didn’t call his name. And I think I was actually more upset than he was. He told me later that deep down he knew he wasn’t going to win, but he’d still appreciated the consideration.
Then he’d gripped my hand tightly as we walked around one of the after parties, repeating the same process we’d done earlier in the night when we’d first arrived at the event, expect now everyone was much drunker and much more relaxed. Jase took the opportunity to shake hands with Harrison and congratulate him on his win. We talked to Ellie and Garrett some more, and I was introduced to some people I’d never met before but had been watching in movies or on TV for years. They all seemed to know who I was, either from my connection to Jase or my mom. Hollywood really was a small town.
Halfway through the night, Ellie came up and tucked her arm into mine. “Bathroom,” she said in my ear, and I nodded. I’d had to go for a while, but I hadn’t wanted to drag Jase away from the conversation he was having with some of the guys he’d be co-starring with in Sons of Sovereignty.
I whispered in his ear that I’d be right back, and he stopped talking to kiss me before returning to his conversation.
“Are you having fun?” Ellie asked, as she linked her arm with mine.
I was glad since my feet were killing me, and my ankles were tired from the four inch heels I was sporting. I’d also had a few cocktails, so it was nice to have someone to hold onto in case I started to falter.
“I’m having as much fun as you can have at an event where everyone is schmoozy and boozy,” I told her, and she threw her head back and laughed.
“I know, this isn’t really your scene, is it?”
I shook my head. “Definitely not, but it’s Jase’s, so I’m supportive.”
“He is a great guy,” she said. “And he adores you.”
I couldn’t help grinning. “I know. He’s amazing. Although, you didn’t do half bad yourself with Garrett.”
She sighed as we entered the ladies room. “I know, right?” she said, her eyes crinkling in delight. “How on earth did you and I land the two most laid back, down-to-earth guys in Hollywood?”
“I don’t know, but we’re lucky.”
She winked at me. “You’re telling me, sister.”
There was only one stall open, so I went in, and as I closed the door behind me, I heard someone shriek her name.
“Oh, my God! Hi!” she responded.
“How’s the album coming?” the voice asked.
“It’s going so well,” Ellie gushed.
She was a pop star and had released her first single to rave reviews. Her first full-length album was coming out in March.
“That is so amaze!” the girl shrieked, and then I only caught snippets of their conversation as a toilet flushed and Ellie went into the vacated stall.
I was washing my hands when she came out, and we left the restroom together. We’d walked about ten feet when she stopped short. “Oh, shit. I left my clutch in the stall,” she said, looking back at the restroom. “I’ll be right back.”
So I waited for her, and I sort of wished I hadn’t since Chloe St. James emerged from bathroom as Ellie was entering. Then her laser focus somehow honed in on me, and she charged forward on her six inch platform heels.
“Lauren, right?” she said, and I knew she was just doing that to get under my skin. She knew my name.
“Logan,” I corrected her.
She waved her hand in dismissal. “Whatever,” she said, and I fought the urge to widen my eyes at her casual brush-off. “Are you having a nice night?”
“Yes, I am,” I said politely. “How about you?”
“Fantastic. How’s Jase?”
And I see we’re cutting right to the chase.
“Jase is great,” I responded curtly.
Her eyes narrowed. “I’m sure he is. He told you the good news, right?”
Of course he had, but it wasn’t like I wouldn’t know even if he hadn’t told me. The news had been plastered all over the Internet the day it was announced, and the tabloids were having a field day with the fact that Jase and Chloe were starring in a movie together.
“Well, I wouldn’t consider it good news, but it’s news just the same.”
She gave me a haughty look. “Well, you’re also not standing in my shoes, now are you?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
I couldn’t help but ask. As much as I wanted to remain cool and aloof with her, I couldn’t do it.
She smiled, as she tucked a stray lock of her long blond hair behind her ear. She’d recently cut bangs, and they didn’t really suit her. The sneer on her face only made her look less attractive.
“I consider this a golden opportunity to get back what’s mine,” she said, and my hackles instantly rose.
“What’s yours?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow at her in question.
“Yes, he was mine for two years, so don’t even try to stake a claim. You’ve been with him for like two minutes.”
“Funny,” I said, working to keep my cool since there were photographers and influential people all around. “I usually don’t get rid of things that I cherish, and it seems to me that if you truly wanted Jase, you wouldn’t have let him go so easily and so publicly.”
Her expression frosted over. “You cannot believe everything you read, Logan,” she said coolly. “Haven’t you learned anything in the past six months? Besides, what happened between Jase and me is none of your business, especially when you don’t know the truth.”
I crossed my arms in front of me. “Oh, I know the truth,” I responded defensively. Jase had told me everything.
She smirked again. “Sure you do.”
And I hated that she suddenly had me questioning what Jase had shared about their break up. Had he not told me the whole story?
No, I would not do that. It wasn’t fair to question what he had shared. He had no reason to tell me anything but the truth. And I’d seen the pictures of Chloe and Samuel Klein kissing. That was all the evidence I needed. I would not listen to this jealous girl. She was just pissed that she’d lost Jase, and she was making things up to freak me out. But I did believe that she wanted him back, and because of that, I didn’t trust her as far as I could throw her.
“Hey, what did I miss?” Ellie asked, coming back with her clutch in her hand.
“I was just saying hello to Logan,” Chloe chirped, her tone friendly and jovial all of a sudden. “But I need to get back t
o my date. Great seeing you both.”
If I was Ellie, I probably would have assumed that Chloe and I had been having a lovely chat by the tone of that goodbye. She was a damn good actress. And I realized, as Chloe leaned forward then and air-kissed Ellie’s cheek, that she was the girl Ellie had been talking to in the bathroom.
“Good to see you, hon,” Chloe gushed. “Call me this week, and we’ll do lunch, okay?”
“Bye sweetie,” Ellie responded, and I didn’t say a word as Chloe flounced away.
I turned to Ellie once Chloe was out of earshot. “I didn’t know you were friends with Chloe St. James.”
She made a face. “I’m really not. I mean, I know her, but we’re not friends. We used to be but then I realized I couldn’t stand her. But, I also would never cross her since she’s vindictive as hell when she wants to be. In my book, you keep your friends close and your enemies closer, so I pretend to be her friend out of self-preservation.”
“Isn’t that annoying?”
She shrugged. “Not really. We get together once in a while for lunch, she mostly talks about herself, then we go shopping, and since she’s a big deal in this town, stores close for her, so that’s pretty cool, and she always finds cute stuff for me to buy, so it’s not one hundred percent awful. I try to see the silver lining in the whole process.”
“Well don’t tell Jase you’re friends with her,” I recommended.
She shrugged. “He knows. We were friends while they were together, but when she cheated on him, I decided I was done. He was the sweetest guy, and he doted on her, just like he dotes on you, and I know she liked him a ton, but she felt like he was sort of boring. So she went out looking for adventure, and she found it. And I actually think she liked seeing him miserable, which was just twisted to me. But, it all ended well since he got together with you, and you’re perfect for him.”
I smiled, but it didn’t reach my eyes. Chloe was such a bitch, and what she’d said was resonating in my mind. Although I knew Jase would never take her back, I didn’t like that she felt like she had a shot – especially if she was crazy.
Ellie linked her arm with mine then. “Come on, let’s go find our hottie boyfriends and see if they’re ready to leave. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had enough Hollywood for one night.”
“Agreed,” I told her, excited for an excuse to leave the party and have Jase all to myself.
Chapter Six
Ethan
It was the night of the SAG Awards, so I wasn’t venturing anywhere near downtown. No, I was staying far away from the madness that my brother and Logan were in the midst of. Garrett had told me he could get me on the list for the one of the after parties, but I wasn’t interested. A part of me didn’t want to be around Logan and Jase, since she was in a mood because he was leaving the next day, but the other part of me that was sort of learning to tolerate his presence because I knew he wasn’t going anywhere, just didn’t want to be around the Hollywood schmoozing bullshit.
Hunter and TJ were in Vegas for the weekend, and I would have gone with them, but I had a wicked amount of reading to do for my English and American History classes that I’d put off for the past two weeks because I’d been out partying with my friends, and now I was paying for it. Aside from an hour spent surfing that morning, I’d spent the whole day on the porch with a book in my lap, fighting distractions that kept walking by in skimpy bikinis.
Then after Garrett left to pick up Ellie, I decided I deserved a break and took a nap, and when I woke up, I was starving, but there wasn’t anything to eat in the house, so I had to go out. I told myself I’d come back to my books later, but first I was getting sushi.
Damn, I was really good at procrastinating when I wanted to.
I sat at the bar at Sugarfish and perused the menu while I sipped on a Sapporo. I lifted my black hat off my head for a second to run my hand back through my hair, trying to get out the tension I was feeling. I wished I was a faster reader since I still had a ton of pages to get through, and I wished I had better concentration. Half the time I had to re-read some of the passages because I found myself drifting off. I’d get through two pages and look back and have no clue what I’d just read. If only the material was more interesting.
I placed my order with the guy behind the counter and sat back in my chair. A few minutes later my hat was yanked off of my head.
“Hey!” I said, turning to look at the person who’d grabbed it.
She was sitting in the seat next to mine, grinning at me with my hat sitting lopsided over her long brown hair. And damn, if she didn’t look hot as hell.
I smirked, surprised but happy to see her. “That’s my hat.”
She shrugged coyly and reached for my beer, taking a liberal sip of it.
“And that’s my beer.”
“You never called me,” she said, as she set my drink down.
“You didn’t give me your number.”
She looked at me and shook her head as if she was disappointed. “Ethan, I’m not that hard to find. And you know my brother. Come on.”
And there it was. The reason I didn’t call her. Her damn brother.
“I’ve been busy with school,” I ventured, knowing it sounded like complete bullshit. And it was.
She raised an eyebrow at me, seeing right through my excuse. “So did you not have fun talking to me at the party? Because I really enjoyed hanging out with you, and I thought you were right there with me, but maybe I read the signs wrong.”
She grabbed my beer again and took another liberal sip.
“Do you want me to order you one of those?” I asked, because at the rate she was going, I’d have to order another one anyway.
She shook her head “Nah, I’ve got my own back at my table. I just liked the idea of sharing a drink with you.”
Her tongue darted out of her mouth and swept across her upper lip, and damn if I didn’t get a semi watching her do that. Nora Brady was definitely flirting with me.
“Is that all you want to share with me?” I asked, playing along with her game.
She shrugged. “You tell me. You’re the one who didn’t call.”
“Again, I didn’t have your number. You wouldn’t give it to me.” I figured coy was the best avenue to take.
“Ethan, not that again,” she said, shaking her head in mock disappointment.
“Who are you here with?” I asked, changing the subject.
“Some of my girlfriends. We had a shoot today, so now we’re unwinding and enjoying some much needed cocktails.”
I almost choked on the sip of beer I’d taken. “Shoot? Are you a model?”
She nodded. “Yeah, mostly catalogues. That’s what I was doing today, but I also have a contract with 57 Jeans.”
I remembered a conversation Logan and I had a few months back when she and Jase first started seeing each other. She’d told me about Nora and the billboard her denim-covered ass was featured on near downtown. How did I forget that? Had I tuned her out because I didn’t want to hear about Jase or anything having to do with him? Had I known his sister was this freakin’ hot, I might not have dismissed what Logan had shared so readily. I’d checked out that billboard a dozen times as I’d driven by it.
“I’ve seen your billboard,” I said coyly, and she blushed.
Then she covered her face with her hands. “Oh, my God. I hate that thing. My ass is like ten feet wide!”
“Sweetheart,” I said, leaning toward her. “I’ve checked out your ass many times, and let me tell you, regardless of the size of it on the billboard, it’s damn near perfect. I almost crashed my car once because I couldn’t stop staring.”
She peeked through her fingers at me, but I could see her face was red. I’d embarrassed her.
“Holy shit, you’re good at flirting,” she gushed, pulling her hands away from her face and using one to fan herself. “No wonder you get so many girls into your bed.”
My eyebrows shot up. Not this crap again. How the hell was I supp
osed to respond to that? Was she saying I was a man-whore? If so, why did she want me to call her? She’d made it clear that she was a good girl, and I wouldn’t be getting in her pants very easily. Not that I’d make that my endgame with her if I did call her. No, Nora was more intriguing than that.
Okay, shit, I’d be a lying son of a bitch if I said I didn’t want to get in her pants, because she was so hot, but that wasn’t necessarily all I wanted.
And maybe that’s why I hadn’t sought her out after she ditched me at the party. Maybe I’d just used the fact that I disliked her brother as an excuse, when in reality, I wasn’t ready to get involved in something that was more than just sex. Sex was easy. It was no strings attached, and I found comfort in that. If it was just sex, then I couldn’t get my heart broken.
Oh shit. Was that why I’d latched on to the idea of Logan? Because I knew couldn’t have her? No, no way. Logan was a completely different story, and my feelings for her were genuine. But I really couldn’t have her. She wasn’t available.
But the hot girl in front of me was, and she seemed to like me. And she looked ridiculously sexy in my hat.
“Ethan?” she prompted, because I’d apparently zoned out.
“Huh?” I answered, sounding much less cool than I wanted.
She smiled. “I lost you for a second. Did I offend you? I really didn’t mean to. I’m sorry if I did.”
I shook my head and smiled. “I told you I was turning over a new leaf. I’m not that guy anymore.”
She grinned, and I sort of wanted to drag her into my lap and kiss her full lips, but that would negate what I’d just told her about changing my whorish ways.
“I’m not sure I believe you.”
I shrugged. I wasn’t going to tell her that I hadn’t had sex in a month since that was more personal that I needed to get, but whether it had been conscious or not, I was taking the vow I’d made to her seriously. Which now that I thought about it was a little ridiculous, because up until she’d stolen my hat and planted herself next to me, I hadn’t been thinking about her. I’d written her off because of who she was related to, and I hadn’t really thought about her since the party.
Gravity Happens (Forcing Gravity) Page 6
