Gravity Happens (Forcing Gravity)

by Alexander, Monica

  Logan smiled at me, her hand in Jase’s, but he narrowed his eyes as they approached us.

  “Nora, guess what?” Logan asked excitedly, but she didn’t give Nora a chance to answer. “Jase bought us massages!”

  Nora looked at her brother in awe for a few seconds and then threw her arms around his neck.

  “You are the best, Jase. School and work have been kicking my butt lately. I totally need this. When do we go?”

  “In about thirty minutes,” he said, and I shot him a look.

  He shot one back at me and kept his gaze on me when he started talking again. “You girls are booked for ninety-minute massages, and while you do that, Ethan and I are going to grab a few drinks.”

  “We are?”

  “Yeah, we are,” he said coolly.

  I nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

  Yeah right.

  “Hey!”

  The blond girl Jase’s bodyguard was with, Sloane, I think she said her name was, came running into the lobby from outside.

  Logan smiled brightly. “How was the beach?”

  She and Charlie, the guy whose job I’d learned was to pretty much stand around and do nothing until a threat presented itself, had walked out to the beach as soon as he’d made sure there were no stalkers or rabid fans or terrorists in the lobby. He’d come inside first while we waited in the car, and then he’d given Jase the all clear. I thought it was a little bit pretentious, but whatever. I figured if he was keeping Jase safe, then that meant he was keeping Logan safe, and that was cool with me.

  Sloane slid her arm around Charlie’s waist. “The water was so warm! We’re going to go back out there and get some sun.”

  “Unless you need me,” Charlie clarified, always on the job, apparently.

  “You don’t need him. You’re fine,” Sloane insisted.

  I liked the way she talked to Jase. She treated him like everyone else, but then she looked at him with puppy dog eyes and begged please silently a few times the way Logan did when she wanted to talk me into doing something I didn’t want to do.

  Jase laughed. “I’m good, man. Have fun with your girl. I’m going to grab a drink with Ethan.”

  “And I’m super-excited about it,” I added, not even trying to hide the sarcasm in my voice.

  So much for being on my best behavior.

  Nora elbowed me in the ribs, and I flinched. She shot me a look that told me to be nice, and I vowed to try, but if he tried to start in on any of that ‘what are your intentions with my sister’ bullshit, I wasn’t holding back.

  Jase shot me a look as he handed out room keys, and I think I was supposed to be threatened, but I really wasn’t. I could take him.

  Not that I would have to, but if needed to, I could knock him out.

  We headed toward our rooms, which were actually little bungalows along the beach. I noticed Nora and I were on the end, Jase and Logan were sandwiched in the middle, and on the other end were Charlie and Sloane. But there were no adjoining walls, so that was good. The last thing I wanted to hear was a headboard banging next door, because I didn’t want to picture Logan and Jase having sex. No thank you.

  As soon as we were inside the room, I grabbed Nora around the waist and fell on top of her on the bed. She squealed in delight, and I started kissing her furiously, knowing I only had a few minutes before she had to meet Logan to go to the spa, and I had to go to the bar with Jase. I would have much preferred to stay with Nora so I could give her a full body massage, but that option had been taken away from me.

  Jase was a sneaky bastard.

  Nora and I made out like teenagers for ten minutes before a knock on our door pulled us apart. She squirmed out from under me, so I smacked her ass before she could walk away, and she jumped and screamed before reaching out and smacking me back. Such great foreplay that would lead to absolutely nothing.

  She opened the door for Jase and Logan who stepped inside our room. I sat up on the rumpled bedspread and ran my hand back through my hair.

  “What’s up, guys?”

  “You tell me?” Jase said, and Nora rolled her eyes.

  “Don’t be that guy?” she warned him.

  “What guy?” he asked, as if he didn’t know exactly what he was doing.

  “The protective older brother, Jason. Don’t go there.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Did we not just interrupt something in here?” he snapped.

  Nora crossed her arms over her chest. “Maybe you did, so what?”

  “Okay!” Logan said, stepping in between the siblings. “That’s enough. Nora and I have an appointment. Have fun getting drunk. We’ll see you for dinner at eight.”

  With that she whisked Nora out of the room and left me alone with Jase.

  I stood up. “Look, man, I know you’re not cool with this any more than I’m cool with you doing what I’m sure you do with Logan. I don’t want to think about that, because honestly she’s too good for you, but you make her happy, so I’ll deal with it.”

  “You’re not good enough for my sister,” Jase challenged, and I shrugged.

  “I disagree, but whatever. The bottom line is, we can either choose to be dicks about this and ruin what could be a pretty epic weekend, or we can suck up the fact that we don’t particularly like each other and move on. I’m game for whatever you want.”

  Jase looked thoughtful for a moment. Then he nodded. “I really don’t want to waste my time fighting with you when I can be with Logan. I haven’t seen her in three weeks, so this weekend means a lot.”

  “So, truce?” I offered and stuck my hand out.

  “Truce,” he agreed and shook my hand.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Logan

  “Hi,” I said to the concierge as I wheeled my suitcase up to the front desk at Jase’s posh hotel. I couldn’t help smiling. He was going to be so surprised to see me.

  I figured after the surprise weekend in Mexico that had been one of the best weekends of my life, I needed to return the favor. So instead of going home during Spring Break like I’d planned, and like Jase thought I was doing, I’d flown to New Orleans to see him. I figured we could spend a few days together and then fly to Ft. Lauderdale to see my dad and Sasha.

  Jase had finished filming the day before, and the wrap party had been that night. I’d talked to him right before he’d left his hotel room, and he’d been tired. He said it would probably be an early night for him, which was good since I’d taken the redeye from L.A., and it was only five in the morning. Jase was about to get woken up early.

  “How may I help you miss?”

  “Um, I’m here to pick up a key to my boyfriend’s room. Someone should have called and asked that it be left for Logan Kessler?”

  I hoped Andrea had come through for me. I hadn’t heard back from her, so I assumed there hadn’t been an issue with her arranging my visit with the hotel. They were guarding Jase’s privacy, as well as the other cast members, which I was grateful for, but the surprise wouldn’t be as impactful if they had to call his room to ask if it was okay for me to have a key. This way worked much better.

  The concierge took a moment to look through one of his drawers before making eye contact with me. “Yes, miss. Here you are. The room number is 1201, the top floor. You will need your key to access the floor. Do you need any help with your bags?”

  I smiled. “No, I’m good. Thank you, though.”

  “My pleasure, miss. Have a pleasant day.”

  “Thank you,” I said, as I grabbed the handle of my suitcase and headed toward the elevator bank.

  As I rode up to the twelfth floor, my heart started pounding so hard. The excitement of seeing Jase was making me giddy.

  I took a deep breath as I paused outside the door to his room, one of only two on the whole floor – Charlie had the other room. Then I put the key in the door and waited for the green light before entering the dark hotel suite. The sun would be up in about an hour, but I planned on being asleep in Jase’s arms when that e
vent took place.

  I left my suitcase and my backpack by the front door and headed toward the bedroom. The door was slightly ajar, so I pushed it open, fully prepared to crawl into bed with Jase and pepper his face with kisses to wake him up. Then we’d sleep for a few hours before getting up to go have beneits at Café Du Monde. They were one of Jase’s favorite foods, and I’d never had them. Jase had been abstaining since he needed to stay in shape for all of his shirtless scenes, but now that filming was over, he wanted to treat himself.

  The room itself was bathed in moonlight, so I was able to see the bed he slept in clearly. And as soon as I registered the scene in front of me, a yelp escaped my lips, and my hand flew to my mouth.

  Jase wasn’t alone.

  The minute I realized who was in bed with him, my eyes narrowed, and my breath started coming in short bursts.

  “You bitch!” I screamed, storming toward the sleep body of Chloe St. James.

  Jase barely stirred, but she started to open her eyes when I yelled, and it took her a few seconds to comprehend that I was standing in the room. I stood a foot from her as she sat up in bed and glared at me.

  “It is five o’clock in the fucking morning. Will you shut up?” she said nastily

  At that, my hand reached out and connected with her cheek involuntarily. I wanted to cry and scream and shout every curse word I’d ever learned, but mostly I just wanted to collapse in a heap on the floor, because second by second, reality was dawning on me. Chloe was in Jase’s bed, and she was naked.

  “You little whore!” she shouted, lunging at me, as I stepped back out of her reach.

  That was the moment that Jase opened his eyes and took in the scene in front of him.

  “Logan?” he questioned, the excitement in his voice palpable as his eyes lit up. “Hi, baby.”

  Chloe and I both turned when we heard his voice. Then it was as if he suddenly realized that it wasn’t just the two of us in his room, and his face fell. He sat up in a rush and looked back and forth between Chloe and me several times, as if trying to piece together what was going on.

  “What are you doing in my room?” he asked, moving away from Chloe as much as he could, his back slamming up against the headboard.

  She rolled her eyes and settled back against the headboard, but she didn’t answer him. She just tucked the sheet around her bare chest and crossed her arms over it.

  I was also waiting for her response, even though it was pretty obvious what she’d been doing in his room. What they’d been doing. Bile crept up my throat, but I swallowed it back, pulling together all my strength so I didn’t fall apart in the moment.

  I told myself that there was a logical explanation for this. Chloe had been drunk, and she’d passed out in Jase’s bed. He was being a nice guy and helping her out.

  Yeah right. I was sure that was just about as far from the truth as it got.

  “Chloe!” Jase yelled, his glare boring into her as she sat there looking bored but smug at the same time.

  She was loving the fact that Jase was freaking out, that I was about to fall apart, and that she’d made good on her threat to take from me the one thing she wanted. Well, she’d gotten it all right.

  “What, Jase?” she asked impatiently, finally looking over at him.

  “What the hell are you doing in my bed?” he asked through gritted teeth.

  She rolled her eyes again, and I seriously considered slapping her again. She deserved it.

  “Isn’t it obvious? I stayed here last night.”

  “Why?” he demanded, his eyes flashing, but in them I could also see uncertainty.

  “Um, because I wasn’t going back to my room after we slept together. I’m not that cheap.”

  My stomach heaved as she confirmed my suspicions.

  “You slept with her?!” I screeched at Jase, the rage boiling up inside of me. It was the only thing that prevented me from bursting into tears.

  “No,” he said automatically. Then he turned to me, his resolve fading when he saw my face. His shoulders slumped. “No, no Logan, I wouldn’t do that.”

  “But, you did,” Chloe said as if it was obvious, and we both turned to see her examining her cuticles.

  “No!” Jase said firmly. “I wouldn’t do that. I didn’t do that. You’re lying.”

  “Then why am I naked in your bed?”

  “I have no idea, but it’s not because we did that,” Jase insisted. He couldn’t even say the words.

  “Sorry, but we did,” Chloe said, looking over at him as if he was a moron.

  “I would never sleep with you,” Jase insisted. “I can’t stand you.”

  I could hear the panic in his voice, hidden behind his anger, and I so desperately wanted to believe him, probably as much as he wanted to believe himself, but we both knew he was grasping at straws.

  “You sure could stand me last night,” Chloe murmured, and I wanted to slap the smirk right off of her face.

  Jase let his head fall to his hands. “Shit, I can’t remember anything from last night. What the hell happened?”

  “She happened, apparently,” I told him, jerking my thumb in Chloe’s direction.

  Jase looked up at me with so much pain in his eyes that I was sure it matched my own.

  “Oh, don’t be so quick to point fingers, Logan,” Chloe spat. “Your boyfriend was the one who got shitfaced and hit on me, if you really want to know.”

  Jase looked over at her in alarm, and then his gaze flew back to me. “Logan, no. Don’t believe her. It’s not true.”

  Chloe sighed. “There’s a used condom in the bathroom trashcan. If you don’t believe me, check it out for yourself.”

  Jase started to get up, but I put my hand up to stop him, surprised at how calm I was in the moment. I needed to see the evidence of his infidelity for myself.

  I slowly walked into the adjoining bathroom and peered into the trashcan. And sure enough, there it was. One used condom. And before I could stop myself, I turned and vomited into the toilet, finally giving in to the sick feeling I’d been overwhelmed with since walking in on Jase and Chloe.

  From outside the bathroom, I could hear Chloe laughing and Jase telling her to shut up.

  Taking a few seconds to get my bearings and decide what to do next, I stood with my hands on the vanity and took deep breaths but refused to look in the mirror. I didn’t want to see my face and see how torn apart I looked, because it felt like my insides were ripping to shreds. I could only image how that was reflected to the outside world.

  Finally I took a deep breath and turned to leave the bathroom, but I was stopped short when I collided with Jase’s hard body. His arms went around me, holding me tight, and I started to cry when I felt his familiar warmth. I wanted to push him away. I was disgusted with him, but I had no strength. All I could do was cry, my arms hanging lifelessly at my sides while he held me and told me he loved me over and over again, only stopping to interject an ‘I’m sorry’ now and then.

  But it wasn’t enough. I didn’t care how much he loved me or how sorry he was. It didn’t change the fact that he’d cheated. And he’d cheated on me with a girl he didn’t even like. It was a complete slap in the face.

  “Let go of me,” I finally said and pulled out of his arms.

  Jase stood before me wearing just boxer shorts looking more torn up than I’d ever seen him. It was even worse than the time we’d spent apart at the start of our relationship when I’d believed something about him that hadn’t been true. But I’d shut him out then, hadn’t talked to him and hadn’t let him explain his side of the story.

  Had I done those things, I would have known the truth, and I would have been saved the heartbreak of being without him for too long. And had I heard about what I’d just witnessed secondhand, I wouldn’t have believed it until I talked to Jase. I’d learned my lesson and that was to go to the source, but when the source was half-naked with the girl at the scene of the crime, I wasn’t sure what else there was to do.

&
nbsp; “Don’t leave,” Jase begged. “Please don’t leave.”

  “What do you expect me to do?” I croaked, hating the feelings of loss and emptiness and betrayal that were overtaking me. I never thought I’d feel those things because of Jase. Never.

  “Stay. Talk to me. Don’t believe her lies. She wanted to get between us, Logan, you know that. And you promised me you wouldn’t let her do that. You promised. You can’t believe what she’s telling you. It’s a lie. Please.”

  He looked so hollow and lost that I couldn’t even look at him, because if I did, I’d just want to hug him and comfort him, and I couldn’t do that.

  I closed my eyes for a few beats and took a deep breath, processing his words. When I opened them again, the sorrow in his eyes almost broke me. But I fought to stay strong. Nothing he could say would justify what he’d done. There wasn’t an excuse in the book that would warrant his actions – unless it was a lie.

  I looked right into his bright green eyes. “Can you tell me without a shadow of a doubt that you didn’t sleep with her, that nothing happened?” I asked calmly, and Jase’s face fell.

  “No,” he said, as a single tear streaked down his cheek. “I can’t do that, but I can tell you if I did sleep with her, it didn’t mean anything. I love you, Logan.”

  Not if you did that, you don’t.

  I took a deep breath, trying to take in enough air. And I just couldn’t get enough.

  Even if he couldn’t remember, even if he’d been so drunk out of his mind, he’d somewhere along the line made the decision to sleep with his ex-girlfriend. I couldn’t forgive that. I believed it was a mistake and he regretted it, but it didn’t take back that fact that it had happened.

  “I need to get out of here,” I said then, stepping forward to push past him, but he wouldn’t let me go.

  “No, Logan, don’t leave. If you walk out that door, I’ll lose you. I know it.”

  His arms wrapped around me again, and I was assaulted by his familiar scent.

  I closed my eyes for a second and shook my head, hating what I had to say. “Jase, you already lost me. Now just let me go.”