Love in the Heartland

by Diana Currie

  Maddie was a little put off by the sudden end to their conversation. She wondered if her words were ill received. Why had she been so stupid to say something like that? “Okay. Good night, Nathan.”

  “I’ll call you again next week. Good night, my angel,” he breathed and ended the call.

  Chapter Six

  During the first few weeks of November, Nathan found his outlook on life was much more optimistic than the previous few. He’d successfully avoided hanging out with Gerard again as well as a few of his other actor friends who had invited him to various places. He’d politely declined his friends’ offers each time and subsequently hadn’t been featured in any gossip magazines since the bar fighting incident. The purple bruises around his left eye had healed, his skin returning to its normal sallow hue. He felt that as the physical reminder of his mistakes faded he was slowly becoming a new person. Nathan began to suspect a direct correlation between staying home and staying out of trouble.

  Being alone all weekend was difficult at first, but he was determined not to let Maddie down again. Nathan found that sequestering himself was effective in avoiding the paparazzi, but it also meant that he spent more time alone than ever before. He compensated by texting Maddie occasionally, but made a point not to call her more than once a week. He promised himself not to become dependent on that sweet girl. She had her own life to lead and he didn’t want to appear needy.

  He also found himself declining female companionship which was a puzzling new development. Nathan didn’t know why none of the women he met held any interest for him anymore, but he felt something inside him shifting the longer he knew Maddie. He’d had to go into the studio a number of times to discuss Tomorrow and Forever with producers and executives and there were lots of attractive young women there. Nathan turned down dinner offers from two actresses slated to costar in the film, one costume designer, and even a really cute blonde coffee girl named Ginny. All he ever seemed to want to do was talk to Maddie. He couldn’t get her words from a few weeks earlier out of his head. I’ve already found someone better than Caleb…

  The biggest evidence of his changed perspective on women was when he was reacquainted with Katie Owens one day at Universal studios. Everyone who signed on for Tomorrow and Forever met for a big brunch buffet to go over production schedules. Nathan was happy to catch up with his former costar; he had greatly enjoyed working with Katie in the first film. Nathan quickly remembered what he once found attractive about her. She was very easygoing and just a fun person to be around. It was very surprising, then, for Nathan to realize he didn’t feel the same way about her that he once did. Instead of wishing he could get closer to Katie, Nathan repeatedly felt the urge to pull his cell phone out and steal a glance at Maddie’s angelic face.

  Katie Owens was young, naive, and stunningly beautiful with blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Like Nathan, she was virtually unknown in Hollywood until being cast in Love Spelled Backwards. A close friendship developed quickly on set. She portrayed Abigail and that had them working together in most of their scenes. When media attention became overwhelming they leaned on one another for support. It had been Katie that counseled Nathan on his friendship with Stacey and encouraged him to distance himself when it became obvious that his former costar only wanted him for his new fame. When the ridiculous rumors started spreading about Nathan having an affair with the director it was Katie who was the first to believe him. Other costars made jokes and crew members watched him like a hawk for weeks, but Katie never doubted Nathan’s sincerity when he denied the rumors. She was a true friend.

  Nathan had developed a little crush on Katie in real life while she was his leading lady on set, although he never admitted those feelings to anyone. She had a boyfriend and was loyal to him. Conner would come to the set some days and watch Katie as she worked. Nathan respected their relationship and did his best to push aside his amorous feelings for her. If Katie noticed how he felt about her she never let it be known. They remained friends until the media madness for Love Spelled Backwards ended and everyone involved in the film went their separate ways.

  That day at Universal, Nathan noticed just how much Katie had changed in the past two years since they first met. She was so much more confident and energetic than the girl he remembered. Katie had obviously grown into her new skin as a superstar. She had been even busier than Nathan in the past year or so by making three films; another romance that flopped at the box office, a cameo in a horror film, and a musical where she got to show the world her amazing vocal talents.

  When there was some downtime between meetings, the reunited pair chatted briefly and compared notes about how the press was treating them while everyone else enjoyed the food and coffee provided by the studio.

  “I still get followed by people with cameras pretty much everywhere I go, but the hysteria that revolved around the movie’s release has finally died down,” Katie said. “What about you?”

  Nathan scowled, complaining that he had not experienced the same drop off in attention. “They’ve been all over me. Day and night. It was just starting to let up… and now I guess it’s going to happen all over again.”

  “We can only hope that it does! I think our fans will be thrilled when they hear about the sequel, don’t you?”

  He forced a smile. “You forget that I have a very different fan base than you. Your fans idolize you; they want to be your friend. My fans chase me down, try to kiss me, and ask me to marry them. Some ask if I’ll father their children and then burst into giggles when my eyes bug out and face turns red.”

  Katie laughed freely. “Females are notorious for being loud, exuberant, and intensely dedicated to heartthrobs like you, Nathan. It just means you’re doing something right.”

  Nathan blushed and looked for a way to change the subject. “How’s Conner?” he asked genuinely interested in hearing about her life. He felt guilty for not keeping in touch with her after their movie wrapped.

  “We broke up, actually. The bastard cheated on me.”

  “What? How did I not hear about this? Do you need me to kick his ass for you?”

  Katie shook her head and smiled sweetly. “No thank you. From what I’ve heard about your brawling skills you’d probably walk away with another black eye.”

  Nathan growled quietly. “You heard about that? It was just a misunderstanding.”

  “I bet. I’ve kept tabs on you, Nathan. I was surprised to find out you were hanging out so much with Gerard. He isn’t really a good guy.”

  “I’m realizing that. You don’t have to worry about me though; I’m turning over a new leaf.”

  Katie glared at Nathan carefully, appraising him. He wanted to tell her all about Maddie but held his tongue, not knowing quite how to describe his relationship with Maddie Sherratt. Besides, they would have plenty of time to talk once production got under way.

  “I hope you mean that about the partying,” she replied. “I have a feeling Tomorrow and Forever is going to create the same kind of media attention we got the last time. It’s not a stable environment; life is going to get chaotic for all of us. You need to stay away from people like Gerard.”

  He smiled and noticed Gavin, their new director, waving people over to the conference table. “I know,” he conceded. It pleased Nathan to see Katie was still protective of him. “Are you sure I can’t punch Conner in the gut for you?” he asked as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and towed her back towards the other actors and executives.

  Katie leaned into his embrace and giggled a quiet, “please don’t,” under her breath. She couldn’t think about cheating ex-boyfriends any longer. Tomorrow and Forever was going to be an emotionally daunting task and she needed to focus on the future instead of the past.

  Overall, Nathan felt like the Universal meetings went well. It was nice to see his other costars again too, and he was excited about Gavin’s ideas for the film. Nathan was finally beginning to feel really good about the project. He’d been given a full script wi
th notes and directions to use in his preparation of the role. There was a little less than eight weeks remaining before production began. His top priorities became learning his lines and hitting the gym. The holidays were coming up quick and then filming was scheduled to begin in early January.

  Gavin wanted to ramp up the sexuality in the movie. Love Spelled Backwards had focused on developing the characters of Abigail and Caleb as they got to know one another. They fell in love in a chaste environment, only consummating their love near the end of the film. This new director wanted the sequel to have more love, more passion, and of course that meant more sex. The film’s executive producer patted Nathan’s stomach as they stood in one of the meeting rooms at the studio and offered to get him a really excellent personal trainer. He wasn’t fat, she assured him, just in need of some toning. Nathan frowned and thought about his mother’s Thanksgiving dinner that awaited him the following week. He was going to have to work his ass off to get in shape by January.

  Nathan was particularly excited to talk to Maddie a few days after that meeting. Despite his efforts to keep things casual, Sunday evenings had become their routine and it was considered precious time together for both of them. Their relationship was never described as anything but friendship by either party, but in Nathan’s heart he was beginning to feel that change with each passing week.

  He routinely cursed the states that separated them; the vast topography that prevented their relationship from becoming anything more than what they currently had. But he had recently figured out another way for them to spend time together. He had sent Maddie a present in the mail; it was an idea that came to him while they watched Lost together a few weeks earlier and he was eager to see what she thought of it.

  “Hey, Nathan,” Maddie greeted happily at 8pm CST.

  “Hey, you. How was your week?”

  “Oh, same as usual. School, work, babysitting. Holly and I hung out Friday night.”

  Maddie was in the kitchen washing the dishes from dinner. She no longer felt the need to hide in her room when she spoke with Nathan. Kyle knew the truth and she realized trying to hide her phone calls from her parents would only begin to worry them at some point too. She’d told Sandy and Joe that she was talking to a friend who lived in California. They accepted her explanation without questions.

  “Did you happen to get any strange packages in the mail by any chance?” Nathan asked.

  “That was from you? There was no return address. My dad assumed Kyle ordered it,” she chuckled.

  “Indeed, it was me. Have you set it up yet? I was hoping we could play.”

  “I don’t know how to play Xbox, Nathan. I’m a girl.”

  “I’m aware of that, trust me, but girls play Xbox too. It’s easy and I’ll teach you. We can play together online and speak through the headsets.”

  “Alright, I give up. I’ll make sure Kyle sets it up for me and teaches me how to turn it on. What made you think of this anyway?”

  “I liked watching TV with you, I thought this would be another way we can spend time together.”

  “You’re looking for more ways to spend time with me?” she asked sounding more surprised than she wanted to.

  “Of course I am. You have no idea how many times I’ve wished you lived here so we could hang out. Hollywood really sucks sometimes. It would be nice to have another Midwesterner around.”

  It was the first time Nathan made mention of wanting to see her in person and Maddie didn’t know what to make of it. She wanted the same thing but knew it was impossible. And for many reasons she chose to let his comment slide without responding to it. She couldn’t afford to allow her imagination to wander down that road.

  “What’s your beef with Hollywood anyway? For someone who lives there you sure act like you despise it,” she asked while drying her hands at the kitchen counter.

  Nathan walked into the home gym in his house and started walking slowly on the treadmill. That morning he’d made a list of things to accomplish before the filming started on Tomorrow and Forever. The studio was asking him to take guitar lessons so he’d be able to make it through a song Caleb was going to be singing to Abigail. He’d also begun a new fitness regimen that would get him into top physical shape. In his world, women were fat if they weighed more than 110 pounds and men were fat if they didn’t have bulging abdominal muscles. The next time the executive producer patted Nathan’s abs he wanted her to injure her hand.

  “Hollywood is made to look glamorous and desirable to outsiders. I fell for it too, the grandness of their wealth and sophistication. But the truth is the smog is disgusting, the highways are crumbling under bumper to bumper traffic, and most of the people that live here are beautiful and ugly in equal measure.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Think about the cliques you experienced in high school. The most attractive people were always the most popular, right? The homecoming queens, the head cheerleaders, and the stars of the football team. But it was all an illusion.”

  “Careful, we take high school football pretty seriously here in Texas,” Maddie warned. “But, yes. I know what you mean. Some of the most popular, attractive people were ugly on the inside. They were never as perfect as they seemed.”

  “Exactly. Now imagine the most elite among those popular kids all graduating year after year and relocating to one specific city. That’s what Hollywood is like; saturated with beautiful people and even among them there are still cliques just like high school. There’s always parties happening where only the biggest celebrities are invited. The term Alister holds big meaning here. Sex, drugs, backstabbing, cheating… it all runs rampant. This is not the City of Angels at all. It’s something else, something far more sinister.”

  Maddie didn’t know how to respond. She had no idea Nathan thought so little of the place he currently called home. “Amarillo,” he continued, “now that city has a true angel.”

  Maddie scoffed at his depiction of her but wondered if he truly meant it. “You think much too highly of me.”

  “I disagree. You’ve saved me twice already and I think I’m starting to know you rather well.”

  Maddie frowned. “Why do you sound out of breath?”

  “I’m jogging on the treadmill.”

  “For someone with so much time on his hands you sure seem to multitask a lot.”

  Nathan laughed. “Running in place is the most mundane chore imaginable. If I don’t do something to distract myself I’ll never get in shape.”

  “You looked pretty damn in shape in Zero Gravity.”

  “It takes a lot of effort to look that good, believe me. We filmed that movie eight months ago, and I’ve slacked a bit since then. There are four love scenes in Forever. I don’t want to gross you ladies out when I’m naked on the big screen.”

  “Trust me, that wouldn’t happen.” Maddie looked over her shoulder to make sure neither of her parents were within ear shot. “How naked are we talking here?”

  Nathan chuckled. “I’m not sure yet. Sex scenes always get rewrites. But the director wants the sequel to be steamier than EVOL.”

  “You’re getting me excited over here, slugger.”

  “I’m glad I affect you that way but don’t get too excited. Katie has a no nipple clause in her contract. And it’s still going to be PG-13 to hit a wider audience.”

  “That’s such crap. Your teenage fans ruin everything,” Maddie complained… only half kidding.

  She was already looking forward to seeing these love scenes Nathan mentioned but Maddie had to admit to herself that she wasn’t particularly thrilled about Nathan filming four sexy, naked scenes with Katie Owens. She was a big star now too and so much more beautiful than Maddie could ever dream of being. She always envied Nathan’s costars for getting to make out with him and simulate sex but now she was downright mad that Katie Owens would be doing things with Nathan that Maddiecould only dream of. And she wasn’t just thinking about the kissing and naked touching. Katie would get to see Na
than every day, talk to him face to face, and interact with him in a three-dimensional world. It was becoming increasingly difficult for Maddie to pretend she didn’t want those things with Nathan too.

  “I agree wholeheartedly about the tweens. What if I promise to make my next film a hard R?” Nathan teased.

  “Really?”

  “No,” he chuckled. “There’s only so much my mother can handle.”

  “I don’t know if I’d be able to watch you in that kind of movie either. Now that I feel like I know you, it might be weird.” She neglected to mention how absurdly jealous she would be watching him roll around completely naked with a beautiful actress; Katie Owens or anyone else.

  “What do you mean you only feel like you know me? I assure you that very few people know me better, and that includes much of my family.”

  Maddie smiled wide, unable to suppress her joy. “If you say so, I’ll believe it.”

  “Good. So, I’ve got another twenty minutes to run. Tell me the story of your day,” Nathan said through the huffing and puffing of his exertion on the treadmill.

  “The story of my day, huh? Well, let’s see. I woke up at about eight o’clock, took a shower and got dressed. I made breakfast for my parents and then went to church with my dad. Afterwards we did the grocery shopping together. I came home and studied a little for a test I have tomorrow in my World History class. I spent a little time on Facebook. My mom and I binge watched some of our favorite shows. Dad made dinner and the three of us ate in front of the TV when the Ranger’s game came on. That was about an hour ago. I excused myself five minutes before eight so I could talk to you.”

  “That sounds like a productive and relaxing Sunday.”

  “Yep. Oh, and I finally got my pictures from Halloween printed. They turned out so good.”

  “You were planning to take your nieces trick-or-treating. How did that go?”

  “Great! My mom found these adorable lamb costumes at Costco so I dressed up as Little Bo Peep and Addison and Rebecca were my herd of sheep.”