by Zoe Wildau
In a fit of self-preservation, a flood of practical reasons came to her why she should not complicate her working relationship with Jake by sleeping with him. There was the perception of favoritism that would embarrass her with her colleagues. There was the fact that he was a celebrity, and by dating him she would be inviting the public to scrutinize her, her family. Then there was her grueling schedule. She really didn’t have time for a boyfriend.
Jake smiled warmly at her when she got out of the tent. Biting her lip, she gave him a tight smile, grabbed her toiletries and slipped into the woods. Stretching her ankle, she was relieved to feel the stiffness work its way out. She thought she’d be okay hiking out. When she returned, Jake had taken down the tent and was stuffing the ground sheet in his pack.
“There’s tea,” he said, glancing at her and indicating the log where there was more than just tea.
Lilly sat on the log next to the buffet he had laid out for her. There was hot oatmeal, a breakfast bar, an apple and a steaming cup of tea. “Thanks,” she said, feeling uncomfortable sitting while he did all the work. She was so used to bustling around him while he sat, the role reversal was disconcerting. Munching on the breakfast, she looked around, everywhere but at Jake, who was putting all of the heavy gear in his backpack.
Finished packing, Jake came to squat in front of her. “How’s your ankle?” he asked. Reaching for her leg, he eased it out of her loosely tied boot and gently examined her.
“It’s fine,” she said, pulling her leg away from him abruptly. She wiggled her foot in the air to demonstrate her wellbeing and stuffed her foot back into her boot. To avoid his gaze, she leaned over to tighten up her laces. She took her time, hoping he’d get up and move away from her. Jake stayed put, waiting for her to look at him. Lilly felt nervousness steal over her. Hugging her knees to keep them still, she finally peered up at him, struggling to find something to say that would reestablish some distance between them. Jake’s eyes narrowed at her tense expression, focusing on her trembling lips.
Uncertain and apologetic, she started, “Jake, about yesterday, last night.…”
At her words, shutters went down on his expression.
She continued, going for a professional tone, “I shouldn’t have unburdened myself like that.” She skipped over what else had happened. “I think… I know I’ve found my groove. It’s not going to be…” unbearable, she almost said… “too much work from here on out.”
Trying for a lighter tone, she smiled, “Being almost eaten by a bear puts things in perspective, you know?” At his hardening expression, she said, “I’ll be fine. Really.”
Not giving him a chance to contradict her, she gathered up and stashed the trash from her breakfast and grabbed her pack. She didn’t wait for him as she headed down the mountain trail.
The next few hours passed in silence punctuated only by footsteps. After one hour, her ankle started throbbing again in time to every down step. She tried regulating her breathing, which helped for a half hour or so, until real pain started to break through.
To keep herself from panting, she whispered meditative chants from her yoga class, struggling to breathe deep and easy. Sweat broke out on her face despite the cool air.
When she finally rounded a bend and caught a glimpse of the gray of the gravel parking lot at the trailhead a mile below, she sighed with relief. Stopping for a second, she heard Jake come up behind her. She started off again as soon as she saw him out of the corner of her eye.
Pain shot up her leg at her first step, causing her to stumble dangerously close to the steep edge of the trail.
“Lilly!” Jake shouted in warning.
Grabbing her sleeve, Jake pulled her back from the edge and then turned her around and took in her sweat-drenched face.
Pulling out his cell phone, he texted Wil. Wil immediately texted back. He was waiting for them in the parking lot.
Shrugging out of his pack, and pulling hers off of her, he leaned down and unlaced the boot on her injured ankle, pulled it out and inspected it.
“Goddammit, Lilly,” he bit out. He unlaced the other boot and removed it too, setting them by the packs. Without asking, he scooped her up and started down the trail.
“Put me down!” she demanded.
“That stuff’s expensive,” she protested, pointing back over his shoulder at her pack and boots.
Jake, his jaw clenched, said, “Wil’s coming for them.”
“Well, put me down anyway.” When Jake kept walking, she tried to reason with him, “Jake, you can’t carry me for a mile. It’s dangerous.”
Jake stopped and looked at her, his face close to hers. “You have two choices,” he said. “I can carry you like the stubborn child that you apparently are, or you can climb on my back. You’re not walking any farther on that ankle.”
“I’m fine. Put me down.”
“No.” He started off again. The trail was steep and narrow. Holding her like this, he could easily trip and fall, and they’d both go down the side of the mountain.
“Fine,” she finally said. “Put me down and I’ll piggy-back.”
More gently than she would have thought him capable of in this mood, Jake set her down and stepped to squat in front of her. Lilly felt ten years old as she scrambled onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck, her legs around his waist. Jake stood in a fluid move and started off again, his breathing regular. She consoled herself by thinking that she probably didn’t weigh much more than the pack he’d packed for himself this morning. Resting her chin on his shoulder, she watched the last mile of trail slip by in front of them.
“Thank you,” she finally said, realizing she really might have hurt herself if she’d continued to be so stubborn.
“You’re welcome,” he said, with a touch of sarcasm.
Halfway down, they met Wil coming up the trail. Wil looked questioningly at Jake, piggybacking Lilly off of the mountain.
Jake didn’t bother to explain, saying only, “About a half mile up. Leave what you can’t carry safely.” Wil nodded and edged past them on the narrow trail.
Starting off again, Jake said to Lilly, “I’ll replace what gets left behind.”
“Oh, no. It’s okay.” She didn’t want him to think her ungrateful or petty about the gear left behind. “You don’t have to do that.”
“Yes. I do.” Then, after a moment, “Maybe you were right. Maybe things wouldn’t have gone so… badly if I hadn’t insisted on coming with you on this trip. It’s the least I can do.”
Jake’s real meaning wasn’t lost on her. He was letting her off the hook. Not wanting to argue with him further or confuse the situation when it looked like they might be getting back on track, she didn’t contradict him. But, still feeling ungracious and trying to unburden herself of the feeling, she said, “I just want the boots. Can you text Wil, and ask him just to get the boots?”
Jake surprised her by pulling her own phone out of his front shirt pocket and handing it back over his shoulder to her. He must have grabbed it from her pack. Holding on to Jake with one arm, she turned on her phone with her free hand then handed it to him to punch in Wil’s number. As the phone powered up, the first thing she saw, which Jake could easily read too, was a text from Mike.
“Pick u up Lk Jen trlhead. Crashing w me 2nit?” the text read.
Silently, Jake handed her back her phone and recited Wil’s number so that she could tell Wil herself what she wanted.
Jake carried her all the way to the parking lot and squatted down to let her off beside the SUV. Standing, they both heard the crunch of the wheels of an arriving car.
Mike parked his beat-up Jeep next to the Explorer and hopped out.
“Hey Tiny, how’s it hangin’?” Surprise registered on his face as he took a closer look at her companion. “Wow. Jake Durant. Cool! I love your movies, man,” he said enthusiastically, sticking out his hand.
Jake, who was usually gracious with fans, looked coolly at Mike. For a moment, Lilly thought
uncomfortably that Jake was going to refuse to accept Mike’s hand, and then when he did take it, she wished he hadn’t. Alarmed, she registered a shade of Allegrezza in his expression. Mike, oblivious to the tension, pumped Jake’s arm enthusiastically, while Lilly watched Jake warily.
When Jake didn’t break the handshake at a normal interval, Mike finally picked up on the tension. His grin faltering, he tugged his hand out of Jake’s firm grasp and looked from Jake to Lilly.
“Everything okay, here, Tiny?”
Lilly had never met a more free-spirited person than Mike. It could be annoying sometimes, like when he showed up with six new friends in tow to a private dinner party, but being mean to Mike was like kicking a puppy. Lilly glared at Jake, who turned to glare right back at her.
“I’m taking you to get that ankle looked at,” said Jake.
“No, you’re not. It’s fine. A little ice and it will be fine.”
Mike looked down at her bootless feet. “What happened?”
“I’ll tell you about it later,” she said. Deciding formal introductions were definitely not in order, she tugged on Mike’s arm as she hobbled over to the Jeep and perched on the bumper to wait for Wil.
Jake stomped off to the trail, Mike gaping after him. “What’s with that guy?”
“It’s been a long two days,” was all she could say. Feeling stupid and humiliated, she blinked away tears and stared off across Jenny Lake.
Twenty minutes later, Jake returned, carrying her pack and his, with an out of breath Wil trailing behind him carrying her boots. Opening the hatch on the Explorer, Jake emptied the packs. Leaving the camping gear in the Explorer, he repacked her pack with her personal items—wallet, extra clothes, toiletries—and carried it over, dropping it in the back seat of Mike’s open topped Jeep. Stopping in front of Mike, he stuck out his hand. Mike stood and took Jake’s proffered hand reluctantly.
With a firm shake and a stern sideways look at Lilly, Jake said to Mike, “Take her for an X-ray. Don’t take no for an answer.” He turned toward the Explorer. Over his shoulder to her, he said, “I’ll see you in LA.”
Lilly let Mike drive her to the urgent care center on the edge of Jackson Hole. While they waited for the X-ray technician, she apologized to Mike for ruining his morning off. Mike turned to her, not mincing words, “So, what’s with the scary actor dude? I thought he was going to rip my arm off this morning. Is that an act, or is he psycho?”
“He’s okay,” she said hesitantly, not really sure.
“How long is this gig gonna last, Lilly?”
“I don’t know. We’re supposed to do the bulk of the remaining studio shots when we get back to LA, and then there are a few weeks on location in Italy, New York and Hawaii. Then editing starts, although I won’t be called in for that unless reshoots are necessary. This is my first rodeo with a major studio picture like this, but I’m guessing two or three more months.”
“Then what?”
“I don’t know. I seem to keep falling into things. I’ve been so busy since starting this job, I haven’t even seriously considered the other offers. I’ve seen them come through but haven’t had time to think about what I can do schedule-wise. I think I may need to hire an agent.”
“Got anyone in mind?” Mike asked with obvious interest.
Mike was a great buddy to hang with, but his work ethic was a bit sketchy. She couldn’t imagine depending on him to organize her business. Quickly, she added, “This guy Phillip, who runs Mjicon for Jake, handles all kinds of talent. They’ve got a whole department devoted to managing folks who do what I do.”
In fact, when Phillip had sent her the contract for Feast, he had done a soft sell job on the benefits of signing a long-term, open-ended contract with Mjicon, talking about all the agency had to offer, including managing her schedule and providing health insurance. At the time, she’d felt intimidated by the work ahead of her designing Jake’s character. She had put off making such an important decision about her future.
“Nothing broken,” the nurse said after calling them back to the examining room. “You need to take it easy, though, for at least a week. Elevate it as much as possible to keep the swelling down.”
She nodded obediently, knowing that that was going to be impossible. The nurse gave her a few pain pills and a prescription for crutches that she knew she wouldn’t fill. Mike insisted on wheeling her out to the Jeep in a wheelchair, although for him it was as much an excuse to do wheelies in the parking lot as to keep her off her feet. Laughing, and too tired to protest, Lilly let him zoom her around before depositing her into the Jeep.
When they got back to Mike’s apartment, he had a voice message asking him to come in to work an afternoon wedding party at the Snake River Grill. Lilly told him to go and promised to hobble the few blocks to the restaurant later for dinner. Deciding to try the sample pills, she gulped them down with some water and settled down on Mike’s couch to elevate and ice her swollen ankle.
She awoke to Mike’s keys rattling in the door, arriving home from his shift. Sleepily, Lilly sat up from the couch, and said, “I’m sorry, I must have overslept.”
Mike, who was carrying a sack of something that smelled delicious, looked around the room like he expected someone else to be with her. Setting the bag down on the kitchen counter, he asked, “Is Durant here?”
“No,” she replied, “Why would he be?”
Mike walked back to the still open apartment door and said, “Because I’m sure that’s his car across the street.”
Lilly hobbled over to stand next to him. Sure enough, the gray Explorer was parked across the street. Neither mistook the tall figure stepping out of the SUV.
She was starting to feel like a paddleball on a rubber band. No matter how far she moved away from him, she somehow bounced back. She tried to remember telling Jake where Mike lived, but couldn’t. She may have told him where he worked. He must have followed Mike home.
Jake stopped on the doorstep and surveyed them. “Sorry to intrude,” he said with a deadly charming smile at Mike, like he hadn’t just stalked them there. Looking at her standing, he asked, “Can I take you two to dinner?” Was he trying to apologize for his rude behavior this morning?
Unexpectedly, Mike, who never turned down a free meal, was the one to decline, saying, “You both can stay and eat here. I brought plenty.”
When neither jumped at the invitation, Mike headed to the kitchen to put away the food he’d brought home, covering any dejection. His face ducked in the refrigerator, he said, “You two go on if you want. I just came home to check on Lilly. They asked me to work a double so I’ve got to head back in a while.”
“Well?” Jake asked, waiting for her to decide their course. She looked back at Mike in the kitchen, then at Jake. “Can you be civil if we stay here?”
Jake smirked derisively at her, “Of course,” he said, in mock offense. Then, with that scary charm, he called to Mike over her shoulder, “You got any light beer in there, man?”
Mike popped out of the refrigerator with a pleased as punch expression. “Absolutely!” he hollered, pulling everything back out, putting the food containers on the counter and opening three beers.
After two days eating camp food, anything would have tasted good, but this food was spectacular. Locally caught trout dusted with almonds and sautéed. Farm greens and organic goat cheese. Buffalo tenderloin with braised French beans. It was a pleasurable feast.
Mike peppered Jake with compliments about his movies. She hadn’t realized what a fan he was. She saw the Jake she’d seen on the phone the other day with Jill and Bridget from Dow Chemical. Graciously, he accepted Mike’s effusive praise and satisfied his curiosity with back-stories about his roles.
When he could, Jake turned the conversation to Mike’s own talents and hobbies. This man had been well brought up with social graces. He was genuinely charming. Why, then, did the two of them have such a rocky time of it?
She picked up the conversation again, which
had somehow turned to her and Mike, specifically, Mike’s intentions toward her.
“As if she’d have me,” Mike laughed, packing up the now empty containers. “She’s a user, man. Every time she comes out here, she treats me like her personal belay slave,” he said, referring to their shared favorite past-time, rock climbing.
“You know you do,” he said to Lilly, catching her offended look.
“Well, it’s not my fault you’re so much heavier than me,” she said defensively.
Although they did it anyway, both knew it wasn’t exactly safe for her to belay Mike on the climbing rope. Since he never, ever, fell, they occasionally took the chance. But if he ever did make a mistake and fall, he’d probably end up sling-shotting her into space and find himself kissing the ground.
Looking at his watch, Mike said, “Hey guys, I’ve got to get going.”
Jake stood as Mike headed for the door and surprised him with a friendly clap on the shoulder. “Maybe next time you can take me along. I’ll catch,” meaning he’d belay Mike for a change.
“That would be cool,” Mike said, truly pleased.
Jake shook Mike’s hand. No weirdness this time. Sincerely, he said, “Thanks for looking out for Lilly.”
“No problem, man.” Before heading out on his way back to work, Mike turned toward Lilly, opened his arms wide and said, “One day it’ll all pay off.”
Lilly, embarrassed, threw her napkin at Mike as he ducked out the door. Jake frowned after him, but when he turned to her, charming Jake was back. He looked at her ankle, which the urgent care nurse had wrapped in an Ace bandage.
“Nothing broken, then?”
Feeling eerily touched by repentant, charming Jake, she smiled at him. “No, nothing broken. I’m supposed to take it easy this week, though.” She laughed at the impossibility of that.
