by Logan Chance
Who knew when Patrick Hale came here to look at a vacation property it would turn into all this.
I push the thought away as Mom goes over a few last-minute changes to the menu. The day is rapidly approaching, and I haven’t even thought about the actual event.
“You finished the registry?” she asks with worry in her eyes.
“Yes, Ethan and I went yesterday.”
“It’s just all happening so fast.”
“What is?” I scoot my chair closer to her.
“Well, the wedding, and then you moving away.” Oh my God, are those tears? “It’s just…I don’t know.”
“Mom,” I stare her straight in the eyes, “it really will be ok. I’m a big girl. And Patrick loves you.”
“What did Evie say when you quit the salon?”
I shake my head. “She was upset to lose one of her best stylists, but she understood.”
She wraps her arms around me. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
She smiles, returning her focus to the guest list on her screen. “Who are you bringing to the wedding?”
“I don’t need a date.”
She glances up from her laptop. “You could go with Shane Roberts.”
Shane Roberts, the local pharmacist. He’s cute. An ok guy with ok possibilities. We could be the world’s ok-est couple. He’s no movie star, but he’s nice. Boring. Like me. I certainly wasn’t boring on the plane, though. My face heats, and I cross my legs thinking about our takeoff interlude.
Ethan and I have entered some bizarre area of not discussing what happened on the plane. He fingered me, and afterward, I acted like it was no big deal. For the record, it was. I’m such a hypocrite. I gave this big speech of all the reasons we couldn’t do this, and then, the moment I think I’m going to die, I take my finger fuck and soar into the clouds. It was glorious, but after, I couldn’t even look at him.
I expected him to bring it up at some point, but he didn’t. I’m sure he’s given many free finger fucks and forgot them after. Jealousy creeps in, and maybe I do need a date, because the man I really want to go with is not a possibility.
“Is he seeing anyone?”
“I’m not sure. I can call his grandmother.”
I scoot my chair back and stand. A date being set up by my mother and his grandmother, just perfect.
“No, that’s ok.”
When I leave my mother’s house, I head in the direction of work, even though I don’t have any clients today. I have this nervous energy, like I need to run far, far away, so sitting at home today is not an option.
My phone rings as I pull into the salon parking lot.
“Hello,” I answer.
“Is this Nova Sparks?” an unfamiliar throaty male voice asks.
“Yes. Who is this?”
“A source says you and Ethan Hale were spotted together in a saloon in Seattle, looking very much like a couple. Are you?”
“Who are you?”
“Our source says you went to a hotel together.”
“What? No… we went to my house.”
“That’s not what the source says.”
“Your source is a liar and you can all fuck off.”
I disconnect and toss my phone down. What is wrong with people? They just make up lies?
Now I just want to go home and soak in a bubble bath. Actually, I know a better place to go. The hot springs.
Instead of backtracking all the way home, which is the opposite direction, I drive the short distance to Walmart and zip in for a towel.
As I hustle to the home department, a voice calls out to me. I turn to see Ethan in athletic shorts and a black Star Wars shirt holding a Keurig box.
I stop. “Um, what are you doing?”
“Shopping.” He gives me a crooked grin. “Thought I’d get the hotel a new coffee maker.”
I smile, forgetting for a moment why I’m here in the first place. Which is because of him.
His phone vibrates, and he shuts it off. “I’m so over today,” he grumbles.
“That bad?”
“The worst.”
“What’s wrong?”
“My agent,” he answers, blowing it off. “What are you doing today?”
I decide to spare him my tale of woe that will only compound his bad day. “Spur of the moment trip to the hot springs.” I thumb behind me in the direction I was headed. “Just need a towel.”
He nods, his eyes dragging over my jean shorts and tank. “By yourself?”
“Yeah.”
Silence fills the gap between us except for the sound of a wonky wheel on a cart passing by.
“Sounds cool,” he finally says, looking a little like a lost puppy. A cute puppy at that.
Internally, I sigh. I know I shouldn’t do what I’m about to do. I mean, how self-sabotaging is it to invite the problem you’re trying to forget along with you? But I do it anyway. “Want to come?”
He licks his lips, his voice seducing me in the aisles of Walmart, “Yeah.”
I ignore the way his eyes heat at my unintentional innuendo and turn away from his temptation. He follows me, and I grab two towels which he proceeds to take from me and pay for, despite my objections.
A few minutes later, with Keurig and towels in the backseat, we’re on our way. I take a right off Main Street and head toward the mountains. No one will find us here. I hope.
Half an hour later, I pull off to the side of the narrow gravel road and shut off the engine. We step out into much cooler air.
“This way,” I direct him.
His eyes gleam when he sees the trail hidden behind a thicket of trees. “This is perfect.”
We hike about a half mile down a beaten dirt path, covered by pine needles and fallen leaves, until we reach a clearing that opens up like the endless Montana sky.
“Ta da, Montana’s finest hot spring.”
The high temperature produces a thin layer of steam, giving off a mist concealing us from the rest of the world. A few boulders nestle alongside the heated water, and I perch on a small rock to remove my sneakers, soaking in the crisp breeze this high in the sky. He takes a seat next to me. Like right next to me, nearly on top of me. There are plenty of other boulders, but he picked mine. His muscular thigh is extremely close to mine, and I can’t help but notice how he inches closer.
“Thanks for inviting me. It’s nice to escape.”
“Is that what you’re doing here in Montana? Escaping?”
“Maybe.” He looks over at me.
I laugh a little. “You can run, but you can’t hide.”
“Don’t I know it.” He stands and lifts his shirt up and off. The world pauses when he reaches down to remove his shorts, unaware of the havoc he’s caused within me. “Don’t be shy,” he encourages, standing right in front of my face in black boxer briefs that leave little to the imagination. “Let’s take a dip.”
I pop up from my seat, because his dick is eye level; I can see the plump head outlined through the dark material. This was supposed to be a stress reliever—relaxing—instead, my muscles are now knotted into pretzels. He stands with hands on hips, waiting for me to disrobe, and this is so not something the old Nova would ever think about doing, but why the hell not.
I strip down to my matching pink bra and panties and wade out into the warm water.
“Ahh,” I say, letting the heat of the water relax my muscles.
He joins me. I’ve seen him shirtless countless times, but it still takes my breath away.
“Ahh,” he mimics my reaction.
“Feels good, huh?” I ask.
“Like heaven.” He dips his head under water, and I do the same. “I needed this.”
“What happened today that’s so horrible?”
“You want the short answer, or the long one?”
“I’ll take any answer.”
“Ever want something so bad?”
I should answer yes, because I do want him so bad. “Like wh
at?”
He runs a hand through his wet hair. “I’m up for this Davis movie, and I really want it. But, the things that go into getting it are just…I don’t know.”
“What’s the part?”
“It’s a more serious role. I don’t want to just be another sex symbol, Hollywood’s got enough of those. I want to challenge myself,” he says, wading deeper into the spring.
“No, I get it.”
“It’s Davis too; the man is brilliant. I could learn a lot from him.”
“Well, I think he’d be stupid for not giving you the role.”
“Yeah, well, it’s Hollywood, and a million other guys can do what I do.”
I scrunch my nose at him. “No way. I’m sure people won’t think that when they see End of Us in the theater soon.”
He swims closer. “You’re still coming to the premiere, right?”
I smile. “I never said definitely.”
“What? Yes, you did.”
I glance down to the water sparkling from the sun’s rays above us. “I have nothing to wear.”
He moves closer, so close that I find myself wedged between him and a rock. Water droplets cling to him like they don’t want to let go. I wouldn’t want to let go either.
“You could wear this,” he says, reaching out to trace the line of my bra strap. “This is my new favorite thing.”
Chills erupt from the combination of his husky voice and soft touch. I can’t breathe. Before I can reply he’s my new favorite thing too, he lowers his lips to mine. And then, it’s like all the emotion I’d been fighting releases in a tantric frenzy. We’re both hands and tongues; touching, sucking, licking.
I can’t get close enough, and by the way he’s tugging on me, he can’t either. He was right, this magical place is heaven.
My hand slips inside his boxers, stroking the full, hard length of him. Wow, it’s long, and thick.
“Fuck, Nova,” he whispers against my skin, rocking into my hand.
He shoves his thigh between my legs, and I grind against it until I come in an explosion of shame and hedonistic pleasure. He groans, and my eyes fly open watching his beautiful face as his orgasm releases.
I’ll never forget this. He kisses me, long and deep, and then we settle back to soak in the heat of the spring. A satiated smile lifts his lips and it’s as breathtaking as the backdrop of craggy mountains behind him. A shadow falls over the spring as the sun hides behind the trees to the west, and I grin.
“What?” he asks, swimming closer.
“You’ll see,” is my vague answer.
“Uh oh, you’re not going to hurt me when the sun goes down, are you?”
I laugh. “Maybe. Maybe I’ll leave you out here for the bears and other wild animals.”
He moves in, like he’s the wild animal, wrapping his arm around my waist, just as the sun hits the horizon and the sky alights with purple and neon green.
“What is that?” he asks.
“It’s the Northern Lights.”
“It’s amazing.” He turns us so his rigid chest, producing enough heat to brand me, supports my back.
The colors dance through the sky, and it’s hard to put into words exactly what I’m feeling. I’m about to say some something cheesy about how it doesn’t compare to him, but instead I say, “We should go soon.”
We wade to shore and let the warm air dry us as we gaze up at the night sky. I haven’t been this relaxed in a really long time.
And I don’t want the feeling to go away.
And I don’t want him to go away either.
Life is not fair.
We dress, and I lean back against his chest, looking one last time at the sky. He rests his chin on my head, running his fingers up and down my arms, and I bask in the feel of him. Of the intimacy we share.
No worrying about the future. No worrying about what anyone will think. No worrying about feelings of any kind. Because I definitely am not developing them.
We hike back to the car, and he has me drop him off, like a drug deal, behind the bar entrance in the back alley, just so no one will see.
“I go back to LA in the morning,” he tells me.
“That’s probably best.”
Yeah, it is. I need to get myself under control. I mean, look, we’re having to sneak like rats in a dark alley, so no one sees.
“I had a lot of fun today,” he says, opening the door and stepping out.
“Me too.”
“And…”
I hold up a hand. “Don’t mention it.”
He leans in, eyes narrowed a bit, and for a second, I think he is going to mention it, but then he ducks away into the shadows of the night.
If I’d known what was to come, I’d find my own dark alley to duck away in and never come out.
Chapter 20
Ethan
‘Ethan Hale spent the night with me and the world can fuck off. Inside source claims the two are getting mighty close.’
My eyes roll over the Nova headline.
“What is this?”
“This is not good, Ethan,” Vickie says, handing me the latest copy of Star Report.
I’d just sat down to lunch with Jared, going over my schedule, when Vickie waltzed through the door with this magazine.
“Nova wouldn’t say that,” I tell her. “You know how they twist things.”
Damn this day. Today started like any other with a good breakfast and a good jerk. Of course, to thoughts of Nova. Which, it’s kind of disturbing that I can’t get this girl off my mind. Ever. It’s like she’s moved in, unpacked all her stuff and won’t leave.
I need to evict her. I planned to evict her. But, I can’t. Not after the hot springs last week.
The next morning, I flew back to LA and have spent the week attending promo with Harley.
I don’t want to deal with this right now. I’ve got a million things to think about besides this garbage magazine. I fly back to Montana tonight, and now this shitstorm is brewing.
“Just a reminder, you have an image to think about,” Vickie warns with the annoyance of a bird pecking at my skull.
”I think that’s pretty much shot, don’t you?”
Unhappy with my answer, she crosses her pasty white arms. Maybe pasty is rude. Ghostly? That’s probably rude too. Chalky. Ok, I’m not winning any awards here. They are not tan.
“I’ll be nice today, ok?” I give her a better answer, so she’ll stop pecking, take her beak and leave.
That pleases her, and she smiles. “Perfect. I’ll get going so you can do your thing.”
“Can I say something?” Jared asks as soon as she leaves, knowing he’s going to say it anyway. “I think Montana has been good for you.”
I grab my cap and shades. “Yeah?”
“Why don’t you just fuck her and get it out of your system.”
“Dude,” I tell him, pocketing the keys to my Audi, “seriously, can we not?”
He points at me. “It’s obvious.”
“What’s obvious?”
He follows me to the garage and hops in the passenger side to accompany me to the last day of press junkets.
“Just stuff,” he says, sliding on his glasses. “If you can’t figure it out by now, then there’s no helping you.”
I ignore his implication and head downtown, navigating through traffic, until we arrive at the Four Seasons.
Inside the hotel, the different rooms are partitioned off with every press source available. This is basically a day of hopping from one room to the next to interview with various media outlets from all over the country. The studio has invested millions of dollars in marketing End of Us, and it’s our job now to sell this movie.
I steel myself for the onslaught when I enter the first room to see Harley’s picture-perfect dark tresses coiling down her back like Medusa.
She turns her blue eyes on me and smiles. “Ethan, about time you showed up.”
And here we go with the subtle jabs. “I’m sorry, didn’t re
alize on time is the new late.”
I slide into the interview chair across from a thin guy with a thick accent.
We spend the next five minutes fielding questions about the movie, but all I can think about is Nova.
When we have a little break, and it’s just Harley and I alone together in a room set up for us, she smiles as she selects a Perrier from the mini fridge. I’m surprised the water doesn’t start boiling from her satanic hand.
“How’s Podunkville?” she asks. Her cheery interview voice is gone.
“It’s actually nice, unlike you. You’d hate it, and that’s probably why I love it so much.”
“Listen,” she says, pointing her bottle at me, “this is going to be a franchise. We all know it. You need to stop thinking about that blonde and get your head in the game.”
“Don’t worry about my head.”
I slide my phone out of my pocket to check messages and notice a pending text from Nova.
Nova: I just saw the newest lies. I didn’t say those things. Someone called and was saying all these things and they took what I said and twisted it. And made up the rest. I’m really sorry.
I don’t think twice about my reply.
Me: I know you didn’t. They’re assholes.
Nova: On a positive note, my producer ok’d the interview. You’re officially something fun to do!
Hm. Just one exclamation point. She doesn’t sound very excited. I read the message over and over, analyzing the lack of enthusiasm.
“Are you listening to me?” Harley asks.
I text Nova back:
Me: Sounds fun.
“There’s a party tomorrow night. I really think we should go together.”
“Can’t. I’ll be out of town.”
She invades my space. “Montana again?”
I slide my phone into the pocket of my jeans.
“Hey, they’re ready for you down the hall,” Jared interrupts, leaning his head into the doorway.
I brush past Harley. “Let’s do this.”
We finish up the rest of the day, interviewing for the movie and pretending to get along. And when it’s over, I meet Declan for a drink before I fly out.
