Love Reconnected (Hollywood Series Book 1)

by Michaels, Avery

  I slid my shoes back on with a cuss and headed to the packed counter. A teenage boy who should’ve been in school stood there holding a box. “Are you Katiebug Masters?”

  The folks sitting close enough to hear giggled. “Yeah, that’s me,” I said harshly, snatching the box from the guy.

  He stood there watching. I glanced back up at him. “Can I help you?”

  “Yeah, Mr. Jacobs said to make sure you open it before I leave.”

  “Shouldn’t you be in school or something?” He just rolled his eyes as if he’d heard that regularly. He probably did. “As you can see, I’m swamped, so scram.”

  “If you don’t open it, I don’t get paid, lady.” I conjured up my meanest look for him for calling me “lady” and begrudgingly opened the box.

  The note on top read, Like I said, I like to text. When I looked down, there was a brand new iPhone.

  I handed the box back to the guy. “I don’t even know how to work this thing. Take it back.”

  “No can do.” He took the phone out, turned it on, and opened the text box before handing it back to me. “Just touch the screen to type, then press send.”

  “Thanks,” I said forcefully. He’d already sent a text to Jake that said, I showed her.

  “Harvard, order up!”

  I tossed the box in the trash and the phone in my pocket so I could get back to work. I was setting plates on a table, about to ask if they wanted refills, when suddenly I heard the chorus from MC Hammer’s “You Can’t Touch This” blaring from my apron. I turned around grabbing the IPhone. I pushed the buttons on the side, the top, the bottom, nothing happened. It kept playing the chorus over and over.

  I tossed it to Lauren. “Please, turn it off!” She owned one, so I knew she would know how. She made it stop, and my shoulders relaxed.

  She pushed some buttons, “It says ‘About dinner?’”

  I looked at her, then at the phone, “Oh, yeah! That’s from Jackson. He wants to know what time to pick you up,” I told her with a sly grin.

  “Really?” she shrieked.

  “Absolutely! I don’t know how to work that thing so text him the time and your address really quick.” She typed it all in, trembling with excitement. As soon as she hit Send, I snatched the phone from her to keep from getting caught in a lie.

  Jake texted back. Where is that? Is that where you want me to meet you?

  I managed to type in very slowly, Yeah, be there at six tonight. I’m really busy. Dress nicely! I took a tiny moment to laugh to myself before getting back to my tables.

  Lauren rushed to cash out, saying that she needed to go shopping. A twinge of guilt hit me, not for lying to Jake, but for lying to her.

  “Hey, Lauren…” She turned to me. “This is a blind date, so don’t be upset if Jake looks surprised to see you.”

  “You didn’t tell him it was me?”

  “No, I didn’t get a chance to. I’m sorry. Besides, I didn’t think it would matter since y’all weren’t introduced…at all.”

  “True.” She nodded, as agreeable as I’d ever seen her.

  “Listen”—I tugged her away from the others—“don’t wear so much makeup. You’re so pretty without it. And wear something nice. He’ll probably take you over to Macavoy’s because it’s the classiest place here in town.”

  “Okay. Anything else?”

  “Yeah, remember that he’s only in town for a week.”

  I didn’t want her to fantasize about going back to Hollywood with him. She was only twenty years old. She needed to get herself back into school for one thing. For another, I doubted Jake would be too happy to find himself on a date this evening, and I didn’t want her to get her feelings hurt.

  “I know! I’m not under the impression that he’ll propose. I’m not stupid!”

  “Okay,” I told her as she headed for the door.

  I had to stifle a squeal when I counted my tips today. Two hundred dollars! That meant I could afford to take off work on Thursday to go to the Space and Rocket Center with Ty and Aunt Julie. Thank goodness!

  When I got home, I immediately wanted to wash the day away. I turned on the shower, undressing in the bathroom. When I glanced in the mirror, I saw all the little scars on my lower belly from the surgeries I’d had for endometriosis. The doctors had found it when I was twenty, but despite the eight surgeries to clean it up, they didn’t think I would be able to have children. Mom had held my hand on one side, Jake on the other, when I had gotten that news. They’d both assured me that doctors didn’t know everything, and miracles happened every day. I was crushed. I had always wanted to be a mom.

  When George and I had gotten serious enough for me to tell him, he’d said he didn’t care. I had told him my secret, and he’d said it didn’t matter because he loved me, which, of course, sealed my love for him.

  I traced my fingers over the c-section scar at my panty line. Physical proof that miracles did happen.

  After my shower, I sat down with a book, not even bothering to dry my hair. Ahhhh! So nice! Stephen King beckoned me. His story was so enthralling that before I knew it, my hair was dry and my stomach was growling.

  Normally, I splurged for take-out on Friday nights, but I couldn’t seem to put the book down long enough to go grab something, so I heated up some chicken noodle soup instead.

  I called Aunt Julie for a quick check in between chapters. “How are y’all doing over there?”

  “We’re just fine,” she said. She giggled, seemingly too busy playing with Ty to converse with me. They had such a unique bond.

  “Aunt Jules,” I called out. “It’s getting kind of late. Maybe y’all should call it a night.”

  “We are, honey. We’re already lying down.”

  I rolled my eyes knowing that they were playing. I sang Ty his goodnight song, and let them go to bed.

  As I put my little flip phone on charge, I noticed my work apron…it was glowing, and I was a little freaked out. Home alone, house quiet, reading Stephen King, and a glowing apron wasn’t a good combination. I tiptoed over to it as if it were there to attack me and slung it off the table. The iPhone went sliding across the kitchen floor with a thump.

  I picked up the stupid thing with a grunt. Lauren had turned off the ringer but not the phone. There were several messages from Jake.

  I started playing with the iPhone, trying to figure it out. I slid and tapped where it told me to and voilà—seven text messages and a voicemail. I checked the voicemail first.

  “Hey, Katie, it’s me. I’m sitting outside this house at the address you sent me. I don’t know whose house this is so just come outside. Oh, never mind…here you come…Wait…What the fff…”

  “Hey there, Jackson!” I heard Lauren’s voice in the background.

  “Hey…um, is Katie here?”

  “No, just us tonight, handsome.” The car door slammed, and I could tell she’d gotten in. “Where we goin’? I hope I’m dressed all right.”

  “What. Is. Happening?” Jake whispered into the phone, and I laughed hysterically listening. “Have we met?” he asked her.

  “No, not formally. I’m Lauren, Kate’s friend. She said you would probably take me to Macavoy’s, but if you have something else in mind, I’m good with whatever, so long as I’m dressed all right.”

  “You look fine.” I heard a shuffling, and his voice got louder. “In fact, you look lovely, Lauren.” Then the call was cut off.

  I checked the clock: Eight. The voicemail was at six. His text messages were all sent before the voicemail and were just asking where I wanted to go and why I wasn’t replying. I shrugged. Maybe they’d hit it off.

  I went back to my book, but I was too distracted. I was surprised Jake hadn’t called me back or messaged me since he’d found Lauren instead of me. He’d probably gone ahead and taken her out because he was a good guy and he wouldn’t want to be rude.

  By nine thirty, I didn’t know what to think. Maybe he was angry. Maybe that was a good thing. I shouldn’t
really get close to Jake again right now. I would have liked to, at some point, but not right now when everything just seemed to be settling down.

  I must’ve dozed off on the couch because I nearly leapt to my feet when there was a banging on my door. I looked at the clock: Midnight. I crept toward the door with trepidation…freaking Stephen King! I opened the door to find Jake. My whole body relaxed.

  “Do you know what time it is?”

  “Yep,” Jake said walking in and throwing himself on my couch.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m tired.”

  “So go home!”

  “No way! Mom will lecture me about respecting her curfew, blah, blah. I’m not up for it.”

  “You are not sleeping here.”

  “Well, I suppose I could’ve slept at Lauren’s, but it was awkward enough walking out with her parents being home and all. Thanks for the hookup by the way. I really needed to bang one out. I’ve been really tense since Lacy and I broke up.” I stood there with my mouth agape in shock. “Lauren was amazing!”

  “Jake, she is twenty!”

  “I know, awesome, right? That ass was tight!” He reached out, tapping my backside casually.

  “Oh my gosh!” I dropped my head in my hands, knowing Lauren would be crushed over this. “I don’t believe you!”

  “What? She’s legal.”

  “No…I mean…what have I done? It was a joke, Jake! A joke! She’s going to—”

  “Get pregnant? No worries! She said she was on the pill, so we’re straight.” This from the guy who double bagged it on prom night?

  “No, she’ll be crushed when you leave! Who are you? I can’t even look at you right now! Get out. You can’t stay here. I don’t even know you anymore.”

  He looked at me with confusion. Then he stood up and looked down at me, all broad shoulders, tan arms, dark hair, blue eyes… “Katie”—he grabbed my shoulders—“I’m just bullshitting you. Consider it payback.” He cracked a wide grin.

  I shoved him. “Dude, that was so wrong,”

  “Dude, you set the rules. I’m just playing along. I do have the upper hand though. I am an actor.”

  “So…you didn’t sleep with her?”

  “Of course I slept with her! She was practically begging for it!” I glared at him. “No, I did not sleep with her, but she did want to. I don’t know why you would sic that crazy girl on me. She dragged me around town all night. What’d I ever do to you?”

  “It’s a little late to start that list, pal. I’m going to bed.”

  “List? Really?”

  “I’m going to bed,” I said again.

  “Does that mean I can stay?” I just closed my bedroom door. He had me going, that was for sure.

  Knowing Jake was on my couch was somewhat comforting. It had been so long since I’d had a man in the house.

  I fell back to sleep easily. When I woke up at six, I checked the weather, and it seemed it would be just warm enough for a walk.

  I dressed in my black workout pants with a gray tank and light black jacket, whipped my hair up in a ponytail, and walked out into the living room.

  Jake was face down on the couch, my throw blanket covering him from the waist down. He’d taken off his shirt, and I couldn’t help but notice how much his body had changed. I was about to wake him, but instead, I found myself lightly tracing the dorsal muscles of his back. His tan was natural. He’d always had that lovely olive tone to his skin.

  Despite all of his handsome features, I had never felt particularly attracted to Jake because he’d been so scrawny when we were kids, or maybe because we knew each other so well. No mystery, no fun. Even when he began filling in and girls started noticing him, I had always seen him the same, but now, I supposed I would consider him good looking, not that his looks could change our relationship. With that being said, I guess I could see what women saw in him. His arms were under his face, making his biceps bulge, so I traced those lines too. His dark hair was mussed from sleep, and my fingers itched to run through it.

  He was so different, but he made me feel the same. Safe. I felt safe with Jake around, and I hadn’t felt that in years. I had to step back because I didn’t want to get attached to that feeling of security only to have it ripped out from under me again. I didn’t know if I could take it.

  I just wanted to enjoy his company while he was in town.

  “Rise and shine!” I screamed, jumping on his back.

  “Quit!” He wiggled, knocking me off balance so I hit the floor.

  “Get up!”

  “Go away,” he said sleepily. “It’s not even light out.”

  “Yeah, it is. Come on, I’m going for a walk. Come with?”

  “You’ve lost your mind. I’m going back to sleep.”

  “Okay, I guess I’ll have to call Momma Lewis and tell her you woke me up banging on my door at midnight.”

  “You wouldn’t.” He raised his head, his eyes bluer than ever. I picked up the phone and started to dial. “Fine, I’m up!”

  “It’s hilarious that you’re still so afraid of your mommy.”

  “Shut up! You’d be the same way if…” He looked away. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

  “Forget it. Get up, and let’s go.”

  “I don’t have any clothes.”

  “I’m already on it. Here are some of George’s sweats.”

  “He’s like four inches shorter than me.”

  “Just try them on.” He sat up with a noticeable five-o’clock shadow. Totally different man than my Jake. He’d turned into a man, and I had missed it.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “You sure are whiney in the mornings!” I recovered. I hadn’t realized I was staring.

  “Shut up,” he mumbled.

  He got dressed, and the pants were a little short but not too bad, so we headed out. He began a series of stretches on the porch. I just stared at him incredulously. “I said a walk, not a marathon.”

  “I usually jog,” he said, bouncing on his toes.

  “Well, I don’t, so do you think you can manage a walk up to the coffee shop without injuring yourself or what, Superstar?” He rolled his eyes but got moving. “So what really happened with Lauren?”

  “I offered to take her to Macavoy’s, which was a low blow by the way. You know that’s our spot.” He eyed me. “But she said she wanted to go to the diner, then the drive-in at Sonic, and then she wanted to walk around. She just wanted to be seen with me.”

  “That’s mighty big-headed of you.”

  “Her words, not mine.”

  “Well, she is a tad on the shallow side,” I agreed. “Then what?”

  “She wanted to get busy, but I said no.”

  “Why?” I asked cautiously. After all, I had jumped his ass when I thought he’d slept with her.

  “You really think I’m that kind of guy?”

  “Well, you are famous. You must have groupies throwing themselves at you a lot.”

  “Sometimes, but I don’t do that. I don’t hop in the sack with just anyone. It hurts my feelings that you think I would.”

  “I didn’t mean it personally.”

  “It is personal. I’m the same guy, Katie.”

  “My friends call me Kate, now.”

  “Not me, I won’t call you that. Your mom wouldn’t like it.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “She didn’t like it when people called you Kate.”

  “Don’t go there, Jake. Just don’t.”

  “Listen, I’m really sorry I wasn’t there when—” he started, but I held my hand up.

  “Stop, I don’t want to hear it. I can’t go there with you, or I won’t see you for another seven years. Seriously.”

  “But I was in—”

  “I don’t care!” I yelled.

  Cue awkward silence and intense stare.

  “Sorry,” I said, looking down at my shoes. “I just don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Ok
aaaay.” We resumed walking in silence toward the coffee shop. He spoke, breaking the tension. “Do you remember that time we ditched school to go to the rock quarry?”

  “Which time?” I laughed. It’s no wonder our parents were so close. They’d always been drawn together by Jake’s and my shenanigans.

  “When those college guys were there? They dared you to jump off Pine Tree Rock and you busted your feet wide open when you hit the water. I told you it was too high!”

  “How could I forget? Your skinny ass carried me a mile back to the car.” I smiled.

  “I wasn’t that skinny.”

  “You weren’t…like you are now.”

  “How am I now?” He grinned.

  I could tell he was expecting hot or buff, so instead I said, “Not skinny.”

  “Yeah, I work out.” He flexed his muscles.

  “Shut up, you’re such a goob!” We both laughed. It felt good to laugh with him.

  We rehashed memories all the way to the coffee shop. He tried to order some kind of latte. The girl behind the counter wanted to accommodate Jackson Jacobs, but she didn’t have the proper equipment. To her relief, I intervened, ordering him a cup of coffee with French vanilla flavor, just like mine, with some ham and cheese croissants. Jake agreed to use a disposable cup and leave it for her as a souvenir, so his coffee was free. I was stupefied.

  “So you’re rich, right?” I asked.

  “What’s that?” He seemed uncomfortable, but I wasn’t deterred. We’d never had boundaries before.

  “I said, you’re rich, right?”

  “Not like Bill Gates rich, but I do okay, I guess.”

  “But you get free stuff all the time?”

  “Sometimes.”

  “Makes no sense, whatsoever. None.” We slid into a corner high-backed booth. I secretly hoped that no one would notice him so we could talk.

  “I know, but what am I supposed to do? Insist on paying?”

  “Yes. You have money so pay for your coffee.”

  “I’ll leave a big tip, agreed?” I shrugged at him, losing interest in the topic. I could’ve gone on all day about how I would behave if I were rich, but I wasn’t, so it was a moot point.

  “So what have you been doing the past seven years?” I sipped.

  “Not much, just making blockbuster films, crunching supermodel ass, you know, normal stuff.”