by Logan Chance
It’s sensual. It’s sexy. It’s downright dirty, and I kiss along the shell of her ear, moaning and groaning.
I play with her clit, pushing her legs further apart. Our sex fills the air, and I fist my hand in her hair, tugging just a bit to get a taste of her full lips. I love kissing her.
We come together in a cataclysmic explosion.
And then, we do it again in the shower. And again, in her bed, but slower this time, moving with each other all through the night.
I whisper she’s mine, and she says she doesn’t ever want to let me go.
And by the time she curls into me, exhausted, I think to myself, I love this girl.
Chapter 30
Nova
In the morning, I wake up and he’s gone. Next to my pillow is a note that reads:
Dipped out early before the paparazzi could catch me here. I have a few things to clear up with Vickie today. Be back soon. -E
My mind’s been busy, churning and working, going over and over all the reasons him and I could never be. The tabloids. Our parents. Seattle.
It would not only never work, it would be disastrous for his career. And it would be a full stop for mine. It doesn’t make it any easier.
I try to wrap my brain around it all. Around the future I know is coming. Around saying goodbye. Around sending him back to Hollywood and putting this all behind us.
It’s impossible.
But, it’s the right thing to do.
And I’m glad I’ll be in a new place in a few days, and not here with all these memories.
Obviously, life wants to give me anal without lube.
My doorbell rings.
“Nova,” Charla calls out, swinging the door open before I’ve even made it all the way through the living room.
“What’s wrong?”
“I have you on Google alert.” She thrusts her phone in my face.
“What is this?” I take her phone and glance down.
“It’s that obsessed blogger, Louanne Lane,” she tells me.
I read the headline.
Bad boy Ethan Hale and stepsister caught at the wedding.Is Harthan over? Lord have mercy!
“They even have a picture,” she says, her fingers working the screen as I stand frozen trying to process everything.
My belly pitches when I see the picture of us… in the confessional booth… with his hand between my legs. They blurred my vagina. I may faint.
I read the article, tears forming in my eyes at the harsh things Louanne wrote. A small-town girl with a daddy complex after Ethan’s fame and money. I’m a gold-digger like my mother. Poor Harley. Poor Ethan. But, me, I’m the devil. The homewrecker, even though there isn’t any home to wreck.
I’m paraphrasing of course, because her actual words are way worse. I click on a few of the links that follow through to other stories.
Same picture, different headlines, different gossip. God, that picture. The candle that fell in the church wasn’t random. Someone was there, and we were too in our own world to notice. It’s amazing what some people will do for a price.
There’s a story further down that says we’ve been having an affair the whole time. I can’t pull myself away from Charla’s phone.
“Why don’t you stop looking now,” Charla says, when she sees the tears streaming down my face.
I nod, handing it back.
A loud bang on the door interrupts us, and I shake my head at Charla. I know who it is. Ethan.
“Nova, let me in,” he yells, banging harder. “Figures. Now you want to listen about locking the doors?”
I smile, but then, the tears are back in full fashion.
Charla takes care of it, sending a distressed Ethan away against his will.
Later that night, we make it to the gossip entertainment shows on tv. My blurred vagina now has the Star Scoop logo on it. My cell rings.
My mother.
Charla again.
And even Ethan stops by. Again.
I don’t answer.
The next day, I get another call. Lisa from Seattle. I suck in a deep breath and answer the phone.
“Nova,” she says, “we need to talk.”
I lie on the couch, still in pajamas, staring at the ceiling. “Ok.”
“Unfortunately, the station is going to have to rescind their offer to you.” I look over at the boxes that will be going nowhere stacked neatly against the wall. “I’m so sorry.”
“The church?” I ask.
“Yeah.” She sounds like she feels really bad, but I can’t bring myself to tell her it’s ok, because none of this is ok. “It’s a family-oriented station, and well, they can’t…you know.”
“Yeah.”
She goes on to say again how sorry she is before we disconnect. And then I cover my face and cry.
I can’t stop crying. How can they all be so mean to me? They don’t even know me.
A knock sounds at my door, and I don’t get up. Ethan’s voice rings out on the other side. “Let me in, Nova.” He pounds on the door and wiggles the knob. I open it for him, and he rushes in. “Oh God, are you ok?”
“Do I look ok to you?”
He swipes at my tear-soaked face. “Don’t cry over this. They don’t know what they’re talking about.”
I push him away. “They’ve said such awful things.”
He cups my face in both his hands. “This isn’t that big of a deal. This stuff happens all the time. We’ll get through it.”
“Isn’t a big deal? This is my life. My character they’re judging.” I push out of his hands. “What was I thinking?”
“No, don’t say that. It’ll be ok. My PR girl is already coming together with a statement. It’ll be fine.”
“I lost the job in Seattle,” I tell him.
“What?” His sigh is full of regret. “Because of this?”
“Said I was bad for business.”
His eyes search mine, and I fight back the tears. All of my hard work, wasted. All of his. I can’t do this to myself, or to him. Hollywood is a different beast entirely.
I get what he meant now, never being able to make his own decisions. Everyone planning out his every step. This is his life. The life of a star.
“Ethan, you should go,” I whisper. He doesn’t budge. “This,” I wave my finger from him to me, “is over.”
He closes his eyes on a frustrated sigh. “Nova, I…” but he doesn’t finish his thought.
He doesn’t have to because I finish it for him. “I lost my job, and I can’t live with myself knowing I was the cause of you losing so much.”
“I’ve lost everything,” he says, pulling me in for a deep, sensual kiss. The kind of kiss that will keep me company on dreary winter days when I’m all alone. Because let’s face it, I’ll never be able to survive the memory of him, and I’ll never be able to move on successfully. “I want you to be happy,” he says, dropping his forehead to mine. “So, I’ll do the right thing, even if I don’t fucking want to.”
And then, he leaves.
Chapter 31
One Month Later
Listen, doing the right thing sucks. It’s like a piranha gnawing at me, ripping my flesh to shreds. Very graphic, I know, but self-sacrifice is horrible, and something I never ever recommend.
But all the pain aside, I’ve learned something in these last four weeks—the people of Pity Falls do not suck. They stood up for me, when I needed them.
Ethan has really taken the brunt of everything, being in LA, but when a few paparazzi landed at our small airport a few weeks ago, looking to cash in, Chuck lied and told them I was hiding out in Billings. And thanks to Brody, when another showed up at his ranch, poking around, he offered to tell them all about me on a long trail ride. The guy now thinks I’m a saint. Beau has been a badass, using his connections to make sure nothing is easy for any straggler who wanders into town looking for a money shot. And even though I didn’t take Evie’s offer to go back to the salon, when a reporter showed up, snooping a
round at the salon, Evie—and maybe this is a little disturbing— took the straight edge razor she was shaving his neck with, and well, according to Charla, she trailed it over his bobbing Adam’s apple and told him bears like ‘nice and meaty’ men. Probably a little much, but I appreciated it, nonetheless.
Those are just a few examples; there’s really too many to mention. No one gave interviews, no one made up stories, everyone in town was tight-lipped, and eventually, they moved on. I, however, haven’t. As you can see from the piranha analogy. I miss him so much. And today, Jean Moore told me all the copies of my blurred vagina disappeared from the shelves, thanks to Ethan. And now I miss him even more.
Chapter 32
Two Months Later
Still not feeling this self-sacrifice thing. Those piranhas have pretty much left me a bloody carcass. But, I learned something else this past two months, sometimes we’re so focused on getting something better, we don’t realize just how great what we have is. And I’ve realized the people here in Pity Falls are good people, caring people, and they don’t judge me for how many times Mom gets married. I’m one of their own.
I’d been feeling pretty blue, feeling sorry for myself, and completely miserable from losing Ethan, when I received a phone call: KTVM News Station. They want me back, in a bigger role, having fun all over the country. I boohooed at their generosity and said yes.
I miss him.
We’ve had no contact, and I have to always remind myself it’s better this way.
I check in on him through magazine covers and entertainment shows. His movie release turned out to be a successful one, and I tortured myself and saw it in the theater again— twice.
Today, I asked Mom about Ethan, and I got the pity face and a ‘he’s great.’ Which, of course, broke my heart more, so I won’t ask again.
But, he does seem great. As if the past was only a long-forgotten moment for him, if he even remembers our time together at all.
His career is blooming, and mine is now blossoming. Life is funny, always pulling you in different directions. Bringing you together, then pulling you apart.
Chapter 33
Three Months Later
You know what else I learned in these past three months? I’m weak. I miss him too much. It’s excruciating.
So, I rush into my bedroom and pack a bag, because after work today I’m hopping on the first flight to LA to see Ethan and get him back.
On my way to work, I smile with the thought I’ll be seeing him soon and try to devise a plan for once I do see him.
“You ready to go to the new assignment?” Craig asks, stepping into my office, once I get to work.
Ok, maybe office is exaggerating. It’s a recessed alcove with my desk, but I love it.
“Yeah,” I look back at my monitor, glancing one last time at the 100-acre plantation style vineyard complete with a winery, farther east in Montana, before we drive there, “looks amazing.”
“Maybe the new owner will send us home with a case of wine.”
“Ah, well I do love Chardonnay.”
The last time I had Chardonnay, I spouted some dreamy eyed star stuff to Ethan.
I grab the notes I have on the vineyard and look up at Craig. “You ready?”
He nods, and we go to the KTVM news van.
“I’ll follow you in my car, because I’m headed to the airport after this.”
Craig nods and hops in the van, bringing the engine to life.
We drive east for a while and turn left down a gravel road, and the vineyard opens up before our eyes. Mountains sit in the distance as we drive through rows of vines filled with plump green-skinned grapes. Security opens the iron gate that protects the colossal white brick mansion and waves us through.
“Someone went a little overboard,” Craig says, stepping out of the van onto the circular drive in front of the gorgeous home. “The winemaker should be here somewhere.”
I bask in the cool fall air, stretch, and glance around at the vast property while Craig collects his camera gear. It’s so beautiful here. Leaves of yellows, oranges, and reds are more vibrant against the colorless house.
“Of all the wineries, in all the world, you had to walk into mine,” an oh so sexy, familiar voice says.
I turn around, slowly. Ethan.
God, he looks even more gorgeous, if that’s possible.
“This is actually a vineyard and a winery,” I tell him.
Ethan smiles wider, and he looks so damn hot in dark jeans and a thin black sweater. “Someone did their homework.”
I grin at him. “I missed the part that listed you as the owner.”
“Mhm,” he spreads his arms wide, “just purchased it. What do you think?”
“It’s amazing.” I step closer. “But why did you buy it?”
“Well I thought this house is a great remodeling project. Something I enjoy doing. And I know this beautiful girl who told me once she loved Chardonnay.” His voice drops. “And I told her I’d stay away because I wanted her to be happy, but she grounds me, and I need her.” He closes the distance between us and looks down at me. “So why can’t you be happy with me?” I choke back a little sob. “Because, Nova, I’m clearly not happy without you.”
Another sob escapes. “I’m not happy without you either.”
He steps closer. “Stay with me.”
Our lips meet, and we don’t stop kissing until we hear a cough behind us.
“Sorry to interrupt you two, but are we doing this?” Craig asks.
Both Ethan and I laugh as we step apart and follow Craig into the house.
On the inside table, a dish of Madeline’s sits, waiting for us. I step closer, pluck one and turn to Ethan, taking a bite.
“Yeah, I had those ready if my charm failed me,” he says.
“Your charm could never fail you.”
He grabs my hand and leads us further into the house to find the perfect place to set up.
Ethan leans close to my ear. “We should run to your place after this and get you an overnight bag.”
I wink. “I’m actually all packed up.”
He stops, raising an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“I was heading to LA after this segment.”
His smile grows. “Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“For?”
He wants to hear me say it. He wants to hear how I was coming to find him. I don’t mind saying the words, I want him to know how much he means to me. “To find you.”
He brushes a stray strand of hair from my face and places it behind my ear. “I love you, Nova.”
“I love you too,” I whisper back.
I’ve learned something else in these three months: when you meet ‘the one,’ you don’t let them go, even if they become your step brother. So, I don’t care what people think; let them throw their stones. When true love finds you, it will never leave you. And I just got mine back.
Epilogue
Ethan
Ever hear the expression, ‘you never knew what you had until you lose it’? Well, I knew what I had with Nova. Every second, for the three months we were apart, was a constant reminder of what I had and lost. And then something snapped. Of course, I wanted her to be happy, and to live the life I thought was best for her, but then my selfish side took over and I wondered, why couldn’t she be happy with me? Why couldn’t we make a real go of it?
Well, that was one year ago. One year since I bought the vineyard. One year since Nova said she’d be mine.
And I’m happy to report life has been going great. Living right outside of Pity Falls has been perfect for us both. I still travel for work, but then, so does Nova. And in the down time, I keep my hands busy doing the other thing I love, working with my dad. He’s right, I need to stay grounded. It’s hard when Nova makes me feel as though I’ll never come down from the clouds.
And we make it all work. Like today, we’re together in LA for the Academy Awards. Yep, you read that right. I’m up for best
actor, and I’m nervous as fuck.
But with Nova by my side, it doesn’t matter if I win or fail, because it’s like Tara Rainwater said, a successful life is a happy one. I think she also said something about not letting Hollywood pull all the strings, or something like that.
And they don’t. Not with me, anyway.
But, enough about all of that, let’s get inside.
Nova and I exit the limo and take a walk on the red carpet. Before we make it to the entrance, with all cameras aimed on us, I take her by the waist and dip her low to plant my lips right on hers in a grand gesture display of affection.
The crowd goes wild, lights flash, cheers erupt, and I kiss her again for good luck. Because tonight, I need all the luck I can get.
After I let Vickie go and lost the Davis movie, I found a better agent, and an even better part. Funny how life works, huh?
And that’s why I’m here tonight. I was able to shoot a film starring Tara Rainwater, and it was such an experience.
We take our seats in the front row, and the evening begins.
It’s a long three hours when you’re sitting next to Nova in a sexy black gown I know she’s not wearing a bra beneath. They announce best actress, and Tara wins, and Nova and I applaud together.
And now the moment we’ve all been waiting for. The moment I’ve dreamed about since the second I filmed my first movie.
“And the Oscar goes to,” Chelsea Sincock opens the envelope and pauses for effect, “Ethan Hale.”
Nova hugs me tight, and we stand together. I give her a deep kiss. Jonah gives me a bro hug, and then I head down the aisle and get on stage.
“I’d like to thank the Academy,” I say into the microphone. “Thanks, Mom for always believing in me. And I’d like to thank the town of Pity Falls for taking me in and showing me what it’s like to have a community that has your back. I’d like to thank my father, for meeting a woman named Dahlia who introduced me to Nova. Thank you, Nova Sparks, for being the one true constant in my life. No matter what any of this has in store for me, I know you’ll always be by my side. To the producers, directors, and my new agent, thank you. Tara Rainwater, thank you for telling me a successful life is a happy one. I try to strive for that each and every day.” I smile, resting my eyes on Nova’s. “Miss Sparks, I love you, and it looks like you’re stuck with me.”
