Forcing Gravity (12 page)

“My
older
sister
, Tara,
goes there. She’s a senior
, but she loves it so much she’s planning to stay for grad school. I honestly think she’s trying to avoid having to go out into the real world and look for a job, but don’t tell her I said that.”

I smiled. “I won’t. How about you? Did you go to college?”

I could pretend I didn’t know the answer to my question
. He didn’t need to know
that I
’d read countless articles about him, had seen most of his movies,
and that
I was a tabloid junkie and had just read about his twenty
-five
favorite things the week before –
Star Wars
(the original trilogy), the L.A. Dodgers,
beignets from Café Du Monde in New Orleans and taking flying lessons
– just to name a few. I wasn’t a
stalker,
I just had a good memory, especially when
the subject was interesting.

“No, I didn’t go to college,” he said resignedly. “I wanted to, but my work keeps me pretty busy.
”

“I can imagine. It’s been non-stop for Garrett for the past two years. I mean, when he’s not filming, he’s doing press tours or auditioning or prepping for a role. It’s pretty crazy. What movie are you guys doing together?”

He shook his head. “You’re going to think it’s stupid.”

Suddenly, the breeze blew just right
,
and I was met with the most amazing scent. Either it was his aftershave or his cologne or just him, but Jase Brady smelled incredible.
I tried to breathe in the heavenly scent as inconspicuously as I could. I didn’t need him to know I was sniffing him from afar.

“No
,
I won’t
,” I insisted, although I couldn’t guarantee it
. Garrett had done some pretty dumb mo
vies in his career
.

Jase
took a deep breath. I could not believe how self-conscious he was. He was completely different from what I’d always assumed.
I guess that’s what I go
t for assuming.

“It’s a horror movie
about some college friends who
rent a house for the summer,
and it turns out to be possessed by demons
.” He shook his head. “It’s stupid. I don’t know why I’m doing it, but my agent felt it would be a good way to show my range.
I’ve done some pretty serious roles lately, so I think
s
he was afraid of me getting typecast.
”

Oh, right,
Vacation
From
Hell.
Garrett had told me about that one, but he hadn’t mentioned who he was star
r
ing with.
I figured
that
kind of movie
would show
Jase’s
range, but
I wasn’t sure I agreed with
his agent that it was the right film for him
, and I could tell he didn’t either.
Horror movies seemed like the thing actors did when they were up and
coming, not when they were bona
fide movie stars.

Watching the look on his face,
I fought the urge to reach over and take his hand. I loved how
humble
he was. I hadn’t met a guy like him – ever. Most of the guys I knew who looked as good as him were assholes or players. The fact that he was so unaffected by his
looks and his
celebrity made Jase
Brady
that much more appealing. Then I remembered
Ethan tell
ing
me how he hated him
, and I wondered if I was missing something.
I forced myself to keep my hand in my lap after that
, looking for signs that might change my mind about Jase
.

“I’d go see that movie,” I offered, mostly because I’d end up seeing it anyway. I went to all of Garrett’s movies
, no matter how bad they were
. “Who do you play?”

“The asshole
the
demons target
because he’s a prick. They torture him and the girl
he’s with, and he
die
s
in the end
.”

I raised my eyebrows at him.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to give away the ending,” he said apologetically.

“No,
it’s
fine,” I said, biting my lip to keep from laughing. It wasn’t exactly a gripping plotline. “Who does Garrett play?”

“The science nerd who figures out
how to fight back against the evil
spirits
and gets my girl after I kick it.”

“
Oh, sorry about that
.”

He shrugged. “Eh, it’s fine. I like to think that since my character was killed by demons that he ends up becoming a saint in the afterlife, so things end up okay for him.”

I stifled a laugh. “Good for him,” I said, humoring
Jase’s
sense of imagination.
It was cute.

“For the record, I’m doing a Vietnam War biopic next, so I
actually can act,” he clarified. “You might not be able to tell from this next film, but trust me, I can.”

Okay, so I was totally back to wanting to hold his hand aga
in. He was so adorable and self-
deprecating, but in a really cute way.

“Personally, I liked you in
Radio Riot
,” I said, referencing the movie he’d starred in earlier in the year. It was more of a cult movie about a radio show in L.A., but his character had been this brooding, deep, intros
pective deejay
who
you couldn’t help but fall
in love with.
Jase’s
depth was apparent in that film, and there was Oscar buzz already that he might be up for Best Supporting Actor. “Based on that, I’d say your acting talents are not in question.”

His green ey
es sparkled at my compliment. “So you
do
know who I am.”

I shrugged. “Sure. You’re kind of a big celebrity in case you didn’t know.”

“Yeah,
I
know that,” he said, and it didn’t come across the least bit cocky. He was almost more annoyed by it. I watched his gaze go toward the beach where we both knew the paparazzi lay in wait, even if we couldn’t see them. “I just didn’t think you did.”

“Who did you think I thought you were?”

“Just some
random
actor guy.
I don’t know.”

“Who looks
like
just
Jason Brady
and is afraid of the paparazzi
? Come on,” I said, giggling just a little.

He threw his hands up in aggravat
ion,
which I thought was sweet
. He actually thought he could go out without a hat or sunglasses or any other disguise, and he wouldn’t be recognized.
Right.

“You’re adorable – and hilarious,”
I pointed out, laughing a little harder.

“But you didn’t throw yourself at me,”
he said, the questioning air in
his tone apparent.

“Is that what usually happens
when you meet girls
?”

I wondered what that would be like. I knew Garrett’s lust factor had gone up ten-fold since he’d become famous, but he was nowhere near the status level that Jase was at. Jase could probably have any girl he wanted, and yet, with a house full of them downstairs, he was hiding upstairs with me.

“Yes!” he said, exasperated.
“All the time!”

“Okay, well, sorry. I didn’t know I was supposed to do that. I promise, next time we meet, I’ll gush and scream and pull on your shirt in an effort to get a piece to take home and put in my Jason Brady scrapbook.”

Jase paused
, as if he was about to say something and then changed his mind. T
hen he
thre
w
his head back and
started
to
laugh hysterically
until he was
full-on clutching his stomach and practically falling over he was laughing so hard.

I just watched him with amusement, loving that he was letting loose in front of me, a proverbial stranger.

“Glad I could amuse you,” I
finally
said, as he started to recover and right himself.

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “It wasn’t you. It was me. I
just heard what I said
and what I assumed,
and
I
realized I’m a fucking
moron
.”

“
No you’re not.
I understand,” I said. “I mean I’d hate it if guys were throwing themselves at me whenever I met them. I get it.”

“Yeah, but how pretentious of me to assume that
you would do that just because you recognized me
.
Geez, I’m a little bit of a dick, I guess.”

“You’re not a dick. You actually seem like a really nice guy.”

“Really?”

He seemed so appalled that I would think that.

“Yeah,” I told him, catching his laser gaze that had suddenly dialed in on me.

His eyes lit up, and I realized he’d moved a few inches closer. Before I knew what he was doing, he reached out and took my hand, taking me by surprise.

“Thank you,” he said softly, all traces of laughter gone from his voice.

“For what?”
I asked
just as
softly, my voice almost getting lost in the feeling that stemmed from the warmth of his hand
,
all the way up my arm, making my head a little fuzzy.

“For reminding
me
of what a conversation with someone who doesn’t have elevated expectations of me can be like.”

I pulled back and appraised him, feeling the need to lighten things
up
again. They’d suddenly gotten a little intense.

“Oh, I have elevated expectations of you,” I teased. “Don’t get me wrong.”

“No
,
you don’t,” he said, all confidence at that point.

He was slowly moving toward me, and I realized that Jason Brady, the famous Jason Brady,
with the most perfect lips,
was abou
t to kiss me. And as soon as those perfect
lips met mine, it was like electric sparks shot between his mouth and mine and jetted right down to my stomach and beyond
, ma
king me never want to break the
kiss
.

Fireworks went off between us, as his hand moved from mine to around my waist, and he pulled me closer to him.
My body was on fire where he touched it, and my heart pounded in my chest.
I was sure he could hear it. His lips were so soft and full, but firm and commanding at the same time. I had never had a kiss like that in my life, and all too soon, it was over.

Jase pulled back and looked at me. “I hope that was okay.”

Um, yeah, it was freaking great!

I nodded, not able to actually utter any words.
I had just had the most perfect kiss of my life. How in the
hell was I expected to respond?

Suddenly, my phone buzzed in my pocket, pulling me from the moment with Jase
and snapping me back to reality
. I looked down to see Ethan’s name lighting up the screen.

Where the hell are you?
he’d
texted
, and I knew he wanted to head out. He had to be up early the next morning.

Meet you by the bar in five,
I sent back, knowing I didn’t want him to come upstairs and see me with Jase. For some re
ason, he hated Jase, and after what had just happened
, I almost didn’t want to know the reason.

“I have to go,” I said, looking up at Jase.

“Really?”

I nodded.
“Yeah.
Sorry, but I do,” I said, getting up from the couch.

“Can I
get your number?” he asked, and
once again
I had to restrain myself from jumping up and down
and doing a happy dance in front of him.

“Sure,” I said, as I rattled off my cell number
, not quite believing what was happening
.

“I’ll call you this week,” he said, as he started to stand up, but I pushed
him back down.

The paparazzi were
still lingering below, and one
of them was watching me. I tilt
ed
my head in their direction
just enough so Jase knew they were still there. He nodded.