This was so not the place.
But maybe…
Ugh, there was that hope again.
Maybe if I helped Tess. If she really could help us seize some power of our own so we weren’t at Daddy’s mercy…
I straightened and took a deep breath. “Look, Jack…” I shifted my bag on my shoulder and reached for my keys. “I want to talk. I really do. But we can’t do this here, okay?”
He followed my gaze up and caught Marcus’s eye. The muscle in his jaw twitched, but he gave me a short nod. “Yeah. Okay, fine.”
I hesitated. I should just walk away. I should let it go.
But I couldn’t walk away from him again. Not like this.
I cleared my throat awkwardly. “I, uh… I have to head to my mom’s for dinner. Do you… want to come?”
His brows shot up high. “Your mom?”
A smile tugged at my lips. “What, did you think I truly was spawned by Satan?”
He cringed. “You heard about that?”
I waved a hand as if I could literally brush off the harsh nickname. “Mrs. MacMillan wasn’t exactly restrained in her texts and voicemails that she sent Brandon this past month.”
He fidgeted, and it was kind of adorable to see his discomfort. “She’s not, uh…”
“Sane?” I offered. “Yeah, I sorta picked up on that.”
He nodded. “But your mom… You sure you want me to meet her?” His smirk made my heart race. “Going home to meet the parents is a big deal.”
I laughed. “I met your dad. It seems only fair you meet my mother.” I gestured toward the passenger seat, that feeling in my chest about a million times lighter knowing he was going to be at my side.
Even if he had no clue what was going on.
“So, what’s she like?” he asked as I drove us toward the exit of the parking lot.
I turned to face him as I paused at the stop sign. “Remember how you thought I was such a handful when I first showed up in Pinedale?”
He arched a brow. “Yeah?”
I started to laugh as I pulled into traffic. “Well, Ho-Down, Jack….you ain’t seen nothing yet.”
Seven
Jack
I’d heard the term ‘cougar’ before, but I’d never actually understood what it meant. But now…?
Red-painted nails slid over my thigh as Lila’s mom leaned in close.
Well, now I got it.
“Relax, Jack,” Jeanine cooed in my ear.
She’d told me to call her Jeanine shortly after we’d arrived at this super swanky beach house.
A bungalow, Lila had called it.
If ‘bungalow’ meant mansion-by-the-sea, then yeah… I guess this was a bungalow.
I glanced at the clock over the mantle as I sank deeper into the cream leather of the couch. Jeanine kept shifting closer until I was pretty sure I was going to be swallowed alive by the freakin’ sofa.
“My boyfriend won’t be home for days,” she breathed in my ear.
I couldn’t hide my flinch as I backed away. “That’s… too bad.”
She laughed, and her teeth were stained red from her wine, making me think all kinds of crazy thoughts about vampires and human sacrifices and evil witches.
Speaking of witches… I glanced at the clock again.
Where the hell was Lila?
She’d slipped away almost as soon as the Thai food her mom had ordered was delivered, and she’d been MIA ever since.
My phone vibrated, and I reached for it in my back pocket. Or… I tried to. “Um. Excuse me, Jeanine,” I said as I tried to snag my phone with Lila’s mom strewn across my chest. “I think this is my ride.”
Please God, let this be my ride.
I sighed with relief when I saw Brandon’s response. It was mainly laughing emojis but then he ended it with, “I’m on my way. Stay strong.”
Stay strong.
He knew.
Which meant… she’d known.
For the millionth time since I’d arrived here, I snuck a glance in the direction of the hallway where Lila had disappeared, leaving me alone with Handsy McCougar over here.
Lila came waltzing down the hallway as if she could feel my stare. Finally!
“What did I miss?” she asked as she reached the doorway to this living room, with its floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the crashing waves.
When we’d first arrived, I’d had to try hard not to stare at the ocean. Now, I was too busy trying to remove myself from Jeanine’s grip to care. Lila paused in the doorway and took in the sight before her.
Me. And her mom.
Crap. It probably looked like something was going on here.
For a second, I had a flare of panic that Lila was going to get the wrong idea, but she was grinning at me with that smile I knew well.
She was laughing at me. Trying hard not to laugh out loud, by the looks of it.
Freakin’ little minx. I knew it. She’d known exactly what she was getting me into when she’d brought me here. I narrowed my eyes at her, and she turned her attention to her mother. “Jeanine, what do you say you let Jack out of your claws for a few, huh?”
Her mother sighed with irritation, but she removed her hand from my thigh and went over to the bar to pour herself another drink, her gaze moving over her daughter as if just seeing her now for the first time since we’d arrived. “When are you going to get your father to pay for a boob job, Dee? You look ridiculous in that shirt with nothing to flaunt.”
Lila rolled her eyes. As soon as we’d arrived, she’d changed out of her uniform and into yoga pants and a V-neck T-shirt.
She looked amazing in that T-shirt, but I had no desire to enter into this bizarre conversation, so I started to back away. “Brandon’s on his way to give me a ride back,” I started.
“I’ll walk you out,” Lila said.
She grabbed a cardigan from a coat rack when we reached the back door leading down to the beach, away from the street.
“Brandon will be here any minute—”
“Not in the traffic at this hour, he won’t,” she said. “Besides, he knows better than to go inside. He’ll wait outside or come around back.”
I stared at her as she led the way down the steps. I had about ten million questions to ask about her mother and Brandon and us—but she beat me to it.
“Have you ever seen the ocean before today, Jack?”
Her words caught me by surprise, but I shook my head, stupidly ashamed to admit it. “Nope.”
“I figured.” She stopped on the beach and stared straight ahead, so I did the same.
For a second, I forgot everything. I forgot all the heartache that had driven me here, I forgot the crap Lila had just put me through and the fact that this stint in LA was only temporary.
How could anyone think about anything so petty as all that when faced with this? The sun was setting and the splay of colors that streaked the sky was mesmerizing, the sounds of the waves overwhelming, and the feel of the wind and sand and the salty air…
“Amazing,” I breathed.
Lila leaned against my arm, a friendly gesture, not romantic, and yet I felt the heat of her all the way to my core. “I’m glad you could see this while you’re here.”
While you’re here.
A reminder that this was temporary. But whether she was reminding me or herself, I wasn’t quite sure. Maybe it was for both of us.
I turned to face her. “What was that back there?”
The faraway dreamy look on her face faded, and I felt like a jerk for ruining a rare moment of sweetness with this girl. But also… what the hell was that?
She gave me a wry little smile. “Sorry. But if it makes you feel better, you helped me out, so thank you.” I stared at her until her smile faded. She bit her lip before offering, “It was for a good cause?”
I blinked as the realization hit. She hadn’t just flaked back there. She’d done it on purpose. “Did you honestly just bring me home as… what? Bait?”
&nbs
p; She pursed her lips, her brows coming down as if offended. “Not bait. More like… a distraction.”
My mouth gaped, and a weird choking sound came out as I tried to figure out how I was supposed to respond to that. What I was even supposed to say. “What is wrong with you?”
She laughed, but it sounded fake. Forced. Turning back to the ocean, she wrapped her arms around her waist. “Still expecting the best from me, Jack?” Her voice turned bitter and cynical. “How sweet. Naive, but sweet.”
I shook my head. I knew what she was doing. I’d seen her do this a number of times before.
But I knew better now. I knew her better.
So I didn’t play along. I didn’t engage or let her push me away. Instead, I asked the question I’d been wondering ever since we’d arrived. “Does she always hit on the guys you bring home?”
“Always.” Her response was too bland. I studied her face for any show of emotion. None.
She was serious. And she was used to it.
She must have seen my look of revulsion and pity—I mean, what sort of mom hits on her daughter’s boyfriends? But Lila gave me a cute little grin. “She says it’s for my own good. Her way of testing them. If they don’t take her up on what she’s offering, then she’s proven he’s good enough for me.”
I stared at her for a long moment. “And if he does?”
Lila shrugged. “Then she wins. I lose. And the guy in question finds out that my mother’s interest only lasts as long as she thinks I care.” She let out a loud exhale as if the whole thing bored her.
But once again… she couldn’t fool me anymore.
And right now, I wanted nothing more than to scoop her up in my arms and take her away from this toxic pit she called home.
“Don’t,” she said abruptly.
I turned to face her head-on. “Don’t what?”
“Don’t look at me like that… like I’m some sad charity case you need to save. I know you, Jack, you might act like you’re so tough, but you’re really a softie just looking for a damsel in distress.”
I jerked back at the anger in her tone. The defensiveness. “I’m not here to save anyone—”
“Aren’t you?” she bit back. “So, you’re not here to save poor Brandon from my evil clutches?”
I opened my mouth and shut it again. “I just wanted to make sure he was okay.” I hesitated before adding, truthfully, “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
She drew in a deep breath and looked away, but not before I caught it. Real emotion. Longing and heartache. I knew those feelings well. They’d been my constant companions for the past month.
“Brandon’s fine,” she said.
“And you?”
She glanced back to me with a heated look I couldn’t quite place. “I will be… if I play my cards right.”
“What does that mean?” I moved in closer. “Lila, what’s with all the secrecy? What did you need me for today, and why won’t you just tell me—”
“Jack!” Brandon’s voice reached us, and Lila took a few steps back, as if only now realizing how close we’d gotten.
Brandon’s gaze took us in, but he flashed me a broad grin as he flicked his gaze toward the house. “I see you survived in one piece. You ready to get out of here?”
I glanced from him to Lila, but she was already walking away, tugging her sweater around her as she huddled in on herself against the wind.
I wondered if she had any idea how small she looked when she forgot to act tough.
I swallowed thickly as Brandon clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Come on, man, let’s get out of here.”
I let him lead me away, to the street and to his car. But I kept my gaze on Lila’s huddled form until she disappeared from sight. Her words still clung to me and made me wonder.
Did I have some sort of knight-in-shining-armor complex?
It wouldn’t be the first time I’d wanted to save her. To whisk her away from all of her troubles. But it wasn’t just that.
I knew it like I knew my own name.
Did I want to help Lila? Did I want to save her?
Yeah. Undoubtedly.
But not because I pitied her. I wanted to save Lila because she’d somehow become a part of me. Seeing her again made it unbearably clear. Somehow, in our short and fiery time together, she’d managed to burrow into my life. Into my heart.
And nothing was ever going to change that.
“Bro, you coming?” Brandon asked. He was giving me this small smile of understanding as he eyed me over the top of the hood of his new ride—the studio had provided it, he’d told me. There was no jealousy there in his eyes. No anger at having found me alone and way too close with his girlfriend.
But then again, when I’d seen them together earlier, I’d known. The way they were with each other… it didn’t add up. None of this added up.
I nodded, opening the passenger side door. “Yeah, I’m coming, but Brandon… I think it’s time you and I got clear on a few things.”
A little while later we were crawling through traffic. Each of us facing straight ahead. I glanced over and caught the white knuckles, the way Brandon seemed frozen in place. He couldn’t think… He couldn’t possibly believe...
“Dude, you know I don’t care that you’re gay, right?” The words burst out of me way too loud and a little too defensive. But seriously. It was insulting.
His shoulders relaxed, and he slumped forward. “I know. I mean, I didn’t think you’d care, but…” He trailed off and cleared his throat.
“I’m surprised, that’s all,” I said. Sure, maybe I’d sat there in silence for a beat too long after he’d blurted it out like that, but only because I’d had no idea what to say. “I think it’s great.”
“You do?”
I choked on a laugh of relief because… hell yeah I did. “If it means you’re not actually dating Lila, then I am all for it, man.”
He started to laugh too. “I’m sorry. I mean… I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you sooner. And this thing with Lila…” He cast me a sidelong look. “I should have told you what was going on.”
I shook my head. “I should have told you about your dad, so… I’m sorry too.”
The silence grew awkward until Brandon looked over with a familiar grin. “Can we end the weirdness now and just say we’re good?”
I nodded emphatically. “Please.”
My head was racing as I put all the pieces together. “So, wait… Lila knew?”
“And Amber,” Brandon said. The way he said it had me turning to face him.
“What does that mean?”
“Oh bro…” Brandon gave his head a little shake. “That’s a whole other story.”
The rest of the ride home was Brandon filling me in on all I’d missed. By the time we got there, I was ready to wring Amber’s neck and I was frustrated beyond belief that my best friend had gone through being gay in Pinedale on his own when I totally would have had his back if he’d wanted to come out…
But more than anything, I had half a mind to go back to Lila’s place right then and there and kiss her senseless. I didn’t know if I wanted to shout at her or hug her for what she’d done.
Her leaving had been a selfless move. So at odds with the girl I’d first met. The girl she pretended to be. I found myself rubbing my chest, my heart freakin’ aching at how hard it must have been for her.
How hard it still was from what Brandon had told me about her dad. And I knew for a fact how toxic her mother was. “Tonight,” I said as Brandon and I headed into his place. “What was all that about?”
“Lila’s mother? I think she’s like that with everyone Lila brings home. Well, the guys, at least.” He arched his brows at me. “Dude, the first time Lila took me to her mom’s house, I barely made it out alive. And believe it or not, her mom’s place is a freakin’ vacation compared to her crazy dad.”
I shook off the sympathy that threatened to derail me. It was almost impossible to think straight when adrenaline
and rage had me twitching to go to her, throw her over my shoulder, and take her away somewhere safe. “Yeah,” I said. “I got that. But tonight, it was like she was throwing me to the wolves on purpose. I was a distraction, but I don’t know why.” I curled my fingers into a fist as I muttered, “She was using me. Again.”
That was the fear, wasn’t it? That she’d been using me in one of her games again. Although… I scrubbed a hand over my eyes as I reconsidered everything she’d done with this new knowledge. Was any of it real?
She never had given me a straight answer. But the look in her eyes. The emotions I’d seen there before she was interrupted by her damn phone.
That was real. And back then, when she’d left…
Well, now I knew, didn’t I?
Brandon had needed her. He’d asked her to go, and she’d done it for him. So maybe she hadn’t used me to get close to Brandon and then abandoned me. Maybe she’d wanted to stay. Maybe…
Ah hell. It was no use wondering. Not when she could just tell me herself.
Brandon shook his head. “If she sacrificed you on her mom’s altar, I’m sure she had her reasons. Give her a chance to explain, okay?” Brandon shifted uncomfortably as he held the door open for me to go inside. “I know she acts like some ice queen, but…”
He looked like he was struggling with the words, and so I let him off the hook by patting him on the shoulder. “Yeah, man. I know.”
But that didn’t mean I’d sit by on the sidelines and let her take on all of her problems and Brandon’s by herself.
Whether she wanted it or not, I wasn’t letting her walk away. Not again.
This time, she was stuck with me.
Eight
Amber
The air conditioner in the trailer Jack and I were supposed to use for our tutoring sessions was on full-power, but it still wasn’t putting out enough air to make it cold in here, and the AC had nothing to do with my shiver as another half hour passed in deathly silence.
Princess of Hollywood (The Glitterati Files Book 2) Page 7
