Hidden Gem Short Story Collection (9781301405985)

by Lee, India

  “I’m leaving now,” Peyton grumbled, marching out of his room with her nude bandage dress in her hands. Gavin was still for a second but then he followed.

  “Peyton.”

  Spinning on one stiletto heel, she dug the other into the ground. “What?”

  “I’m sorry about stringing you along yesterday. Or doing anything that hurt you. I didn’t mean to.” He swallowed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I broke up with you last year because I was in a bad place where I was thinking about my ex and I didn’t want you to deal with me when I couldn’t give you the attention you deserved. You deserve that attention, trust me, and you’d get it from anyone else who was in his right mind, but I’m not. If I wasn’t ready for a new relationship last year, I’m even less ready now.” Gavin chewed his lip for a moment. “I shouldn’t have brought you home last night. I’m sorry if I misled you in any way.”

  Crossing her arms, Peyton stared hard at the floor in front of him, her jaw tightening and un-tightening. “Fine.” She kept her eyes on the floor, quiet for a moment. “Who is she, anyway.”

  “A girl.” He paused. “Not Nicolo Piersanti.”

  Still annoyed, Peyton fought the smile tugging at her lips. “What the fuck is up with you two, anyway?”

  Gavin grinned. “He makes me laugh.”

  “God, shut up. You’re so stupid.”

  “He reminds me of the good days.”

  Peyton rolled her eyes, though she actually let herself breathe a little laugh. She was silent for another few seconds. “So, what, are you trying to get back together with your girl?”

  Gavin shook his head. “Not anymore.”

  “Then why waste time being hung up over her?”

  Gavin shifted his weight, feeling suddenly as naked as he was. “I mean. I don’t want to be.”

  “But you can’t stop thinking about her.”

  Gavin shrugged his answer, frowning.

  Peyton uncrossed her arms, hooking her thumbs into the pockets of his jeans. She nodded, kicking her leg out to spin herself back around to face the door. “Yeah. Just get her back, Gavin,” she said, making her way out of the apartment. “You obviously want to.”

  “I can’t. She moved in with someone in December.”

  “God, she told you?”

  “My sister slipped. They’re still best friends.”

  Peyton paused as she opened his front door. She squinted, twisting her body to peer at Gavin. “Oh, them,” she whispered with realization. “Christ,” she laughed. “I forgot you were tied to that world. All that… Hollywood shit.”

  “Yup.”

  “Don’t just ‘yup’ though, go after her, dumbass. Fly to L.A or wherever she is. Everyone deserves to be happy.” Peyton cringed jokingly. “Even you.”

  “Har.” Gavin cracked a small smile.

  “Seriously, Hunter. Pretty sure I haven’t seen you actually happy since knowing you. I swear to God, the happiest I saw you was when Nicolo Piersanti showed up to dinner last night, which I know is probably crazy, but I saw it.” She laughed, shaking her head at herself. “Anyway. Really. Find her. Be happy together. Life’s short, yada yada.”

  Gavin managed a laugh. “I think she’s pretty happy where she is.”

  “You sure about that?”

  “Yeah. I’m sure.”

  Peyton pressed her lips together, offering him a bit of a sad shrug. “I’m sorry then.” She sighed. “Guess you can’t beat the L.A sun.”

  Gavin simply stood for a moment, scratching the back of his head before taking a glance at the clock. “Yeah. Anyway. I gotta get dressed.”

  Peyton cooed. “What, did we max out your man quota of talking about feelings?”

  Gavin shook his head at her, giving a grin. “Get out of here, okay?”

  She smirked. “Gladly. Asshole.”

  Flinging the door open, Peyton showed herself out.

  ~

  “Oz. Damn it, kid. Just let me get to my office first.”

  Gavin laughed, speeding his walk up as he noticed Osborne from across the room, weaving clumsily through the cubicles to reach him.

  “I did what you asked me to, Gavin. I always do what you ask me to. Shouldn’t I get to ask you some questions sometimes?” Osborne demanded.

  Gavin looked at him, at his heaving chest and his ruddy cheeks. He sighed. “Yeah. Alright.” He nodded into his office, watching Osborne stumble in before him, sliding into one of the seats across from his big leather desk chair.

  “Here. Aiden’s watching it right now but I made you an extra copy. Twenty-four minutes of Piersanti’s highlights, defensive sequences only.” Osborne slid a DVD across the desk once Gavin was seated. “He is fast, I’ll give you that. Super fast for six-foot-eight. He rebounds, he does get good blocks with those… fuckin’ big-ass hands and he gets some really good steals, too. And yes, he alters the opponent’s shot with his defense and gets shit done that doesn’t show up in the box score.” Osborne shook his head. “But he’s a complete offensive liability. He can’t make a basket. And he never even played in Euroleague. I don’t see him piquing the interest of any NBA teams, let alone the Clippers, Warriors or Lakers. The Kings, maybe. Just maybe.”

  Gavin took the DVD. “Oz. All I asked was for you to edit the footage. It’s not your business if I want to waste my time making a case for Piersanti’s representation.”

  “Gavin. Aiden Klein makes me shit my pants and you just made me force Piersanti’s crappy highlights on him first thing in the morning because you were too hung over to get over here early. I’m a fucking intern. I could put milk in his coffee instead of soy and get fired.”

  “Dude, Aiden’s cool if you don’t act like you’re about to shit your pants around him all the time. No one likes a pants shitter.”

  “Gavin, can you take me seriously for once?”

  “Fine.”

  “Okay.” Osborne let go of a breath. He frowned. “So. I wanna know why you lied to Piersanti. About your name and about being an agent. I didn’t tell Smiley or anyone ‘cause I thought you were just taking the guy out for shits and giggles since he’s like, a pretty boy and kind of goofy and it’d be funny to laugh at him for one night. But now you’re actually trying to pull like, a favor for him or something and I’m just wondering what’s going on here because I feel like an accomplice right now.”

  Gavin laughed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you fear for your job or anything. I just…” He made a face. “I did start out kind of fucking around with him. I thought Piersanti was a goofball too, and not a fun one, an annoying one. I thought he fucking sucked, honestly. On the court, off the court. But it just…”

  “Turned into something different? You got more Piersanti than you bargained for? You’re both lovers now or something? What the hell’s going on?”

  Gavin laughed with irritation, throwing a hand in the air. “Christ, Oz, he’s a good kid and I want him to have a good life, okay? Plus, I can name two dozen NBA players who can’t score but sign multi-million dollar contracts based solely on their defense — defense that’s not even as good as Piersanti’s. Alright?”

  Swallowing, Osborne’s gaze flickered to his hands, which he wrenched in his lap. “Alright. Sorry. I’m just curious as to why you went from making fun of the guy to being so invested in him. I have one month for Klein Sports to decide if they want to hire me out of my internship. I just want to understand my surroundings and do a good job here.”

  Gavin nodded. “I know. But you’re gonna be fine, Oz, trust me. I’ll make sure you’re fine.”

  “Thank you.” Though his eyes remained in his lap, the frown between Osborne’s brows slowly faded. He rubbed his nose. “Then can you just tell me, for my own personal curiosity, why you singled out Piersanti?” He looked up at Gavin. “I mean, I guess it was serendipity that you were just fucking around with him and then you discovered real talent but you were like, a man on a mission that day. You had Piersanti on the brain before you even sat down, considerin
g you only volunteered to scout the tourney for Smiley when you heard he was on the roster. So, please don’t mind me for asking but… who is he to you, really?”

  It was Gavin’s turn to swallow as he looked down at his hands. Upon realizing that he was twiddling his thumbs, he stopped. “He’s…” Gavin laughed to himself. “Honestly? I’m envious of him, Oz. He’s younger than me, he was playing professional basketball while I was warming the bench for Syracuse, he’s a good kid, he’s happy, he’s in love, he’s got the fucking life that I want. There. Feel awkward yet?”

  Osborne stared at the desk, quiet as he wet his lips. “A little, yeah. Didn’t expect you to have such… girly feelings considering… whatever.”

  “Yeah.”

  “But it’s cool.” Osborne rose from his seat. “I mean I think you’re leaving some things out, but it’s cool. I’m not gonna press for any more details because you are… wow. Your face is really red right now. Are you blushing or are you… constipated? What is this expression here?”

  Gavin shook his head, smirking at Osborne. “What, you get a small confession out of me and suddenly you’re a trash talker? What happened to Pants Shitting Osborne?”

  “I think you just set him free. Gavin Hunter’s humility sets interns free.”

  “You’re an asshole,” Gavin snorted. “Well if you want the details, I can give them to you. I just don’t know if you can handle the truth.”

  “Oh, I can handle the truth.”

  “Can you?”

  “Totally.”

  “Alright, you ready?”

  Osborne pushed his sleeves up jokingly. “I’m ready.”

  Gavin snorted. Despite the faint laugh on his lips, his eyes were hard as he watched Osborne.

  “Okay, give it to me, brother.” Osborne nodded seriously. And though he jogged in place, comically clapping his hands above his head, Gavin’s jaw tightened, his smile fading fully.

  “Piersanti’s dating my ex-girlfriend, Zoe. They live together in Italy.”

  Osborne’s face dropped. The color slowly drained from his ruddy cheeks. He’d been in the midst of some weird victory jig too, but he stopped. “Holy shit, dude. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s alright.”

  “Since when?”

  “December. Around then.”

  Osborne’s eyes darted about. “Dude. That’s… that’s rough. Why would you help him then?"

  “Like I said, it didn’t start that way.” Gavin busied himself by rearranging his desk, though nothing needed to be rearranged. “She’s just a really good girl who deserves to be happy. And if that guy makes her happy, then he deserves to be happy too. I’ll get him drafted and they can have a good life together in L.A. She deserves it.”

  Osborne had his hand clasped to his forehead. “Dude. You’re crazy. And I think you’re a masochist.”

  Gavin shrugged. “I want her to be happy.”

  “What about you?”

  “I fucked up. I missed my chance. Sometimes that happens."

  Osborne shook his head. “Everybody gets more than one chance. I mean that’s what you told Piersanti.”

  “Osborne, are you serious? I was bullshitting him.”

  “But look how it turned out for him. Everything happens for a reason, dude. If it was meant to be, it ends up falling in place. And apparently, Piersanti was meant to be in the NBA. You know?”

  Gavin stared. “Oz, I know we kind of just had a moment before but you need to leave my office now because you just ruined it with that fluffy bullshit.”

  Laughing, Osborne held his hands up, backing his way out of the office. “Fine. But you know you want to believe me. I’m not Pants Shitting Osborne anymore. I know what I’m talking about.”

  “Out, Oz.”

  “Alright. I’m out.”

  ~

  Gavin stretched, his eyes fluttering open to face his white ceiling. He was in his own bed. Processing his surroundings, he turned to the left and then to the right. Clear. He raised his eyebrows at himself, nodding his head against his memory foam pillow. Good job, Hunter.

  Emerging from his bedroom in a pair of navy boxer briefs, Gavin turned on the TV. SportsCenter, as usual. He wasn’t sure if his LCD screen had seen any other channel in the past year-and-a-half. It was too risky. No matter what program he turned to, despite how much less coverage she received while overseas, he saw Zoe. If it wasn’t Zoe, it was a reminder of Zoe. Like Harper, even Gemma.

  But today, to go with his usual bacon and eggs, Gavin replaced sports with entertainment news.

  And within thirty-five minutes, he saw Zoe.

  Whoosh. He let out an Osborne-type breath.

  There was a story being reported — something or another about a TV show — but the audio didn’t interest him. He was too busy seeing Zoe. Finally letting himself have a good look at her since the breakup. She was so damned gorgeous.

  “Christ,” Gavin breathed, half wincing-half smiling as he watched the old footage. It was from a red carpet, back when they were still dating because he remembered that saffron gown, the way her skin glowed against it as she’d twirled for him, blowing a kiss at him through their video chat before she had to leave for whatever premiere it was. His mouth parting, Gavin simply stared at the program, watching Zoe strut about and steal the show, more beautiful than any other woman in Hollywood with that wild hair and infectious glee. Even through the TV screen, through two-year-old footage, she drew a smile out of him as he sat on his couch.

  And sitting there in his boxer briefs, his breakfast mostly uneaten, Gavin finally let himself watch Zoe, to think about her and remember her rather than try to pretend that she never existed or try to replace her with various fitness models with the same wild, dark hair. He listened to the sound of her voice, possibly rewinding once or twice to again hear the part where she laughed. It was kind of freakish but he couldn’t help it. It made him feel… happy. To remember that once, there had been a girl who could lift his spirits just by speaking and make his week by simply smiling. Someone who knew every side of him — the serious one, the goofy one, the one that made jokes about being in love with Damian. Someone he felt like himself around.

  “Shit.” Maybe he had made a mistake by helping Piersanti. Suddenly, Gavin felt himself hanging on the stupid words of his intern.

  If it was meant to be, it ends up falling in place.

  It could be true. Right?

  Gavin shook his head, laughing at himself. “Fucking Osborne.” He leaned back on the couch, forcing himself to turn the TV off.

  It was definitely bullshit.

  CIAO ITALIA! ZOE MERCURY MOVING BACK TO THE STATES

  The Pop Source

  June 2

  Zoe Mercury is finally coming home!

  After spending nearly a year in Italy, the bombshell brunette has found reason to come home. With a starring role in an upcoming drama set to air on premium cable network, ZINC, Mercury has decided to make her return to the States.

  Surely, this will come as good news for Mercury fans who missed their favorite Hollywood party girl during her extended stay in Italy following a month of filming in the luxurious Sardinian retreat of Porto Cervo.

  But while her reprised role as a Bond girl brought Mercury to Sardinia, what was it that made her stay?

  The sexy starlet kept quite mum about her Italian vacation, but close sources report that Mercury found love on the ancient island — in 22-year-old Lega A baller, Nicolo Piersanti. Mercury and Piersanti, a former Thierry Marc underwear model, allegedly met late last year while dining in the historical town of Ozieri. Friends claim that the two shared an immediate infatuation and became an official couple in December, with Mercury moving into Piersanti’s seaside villa.

  And coincidentally, the six-foot-eight Sicilian sweetheart has found reason to make his own move to the States, too! Piersanti, who was recently signed to Klein Sports Management, is projected to be taken in the second round of the NBA draft or signed as a free agent by the Sacrament
o Kings or Phoenix Suns. Said Piersanti’s former Sardinia coach, Andrea Amici, “Nicolo is ready to fulfill his lifelong dreams of playing for the NBA. He is excited about the prospect of being taken by a West Coast team, especially the Sacramento Kings. We are all very happy for him.”

  Hopefully, the adorable couple will find just as much love together in the States!

  According to ZINC, the untitled Zoe Mercury pilot begins shooting in New York City this Fall.

  *****

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