Forcing Gravity (17 page)

“
Um, no
,” I protested, backing away from her, but the room was so small I ran into my bed and sat down abruptly.

Henley just laughed at me. “You are so funny, Logan,” she said, turning toward her dresser where her monstrous make-up case sat. I’d seen just how many different tubes and pots and jars she had and wondered which ones she was planning to paint me with
first
.

She set her make-up case down next to me, and I eyed it speculatively as she walked first to my closet to examine what she had to pick from. Unceremoniously, she started pulling out tops and dresses and skirts, all of which still had the tags on them.

“How come I’ve never seen you wear any of these things?” she asked, pausing in her raid to stare at me questioningly.

I just stared at her and shook my head. “Not my taste,” I answered, short and sweet. She shook her head right back at
me, as if she was disappointed, so
I decided to be straight with her.
“Henley, my mom
bought all that for me in a vain attempt to turn me into the daughter she wishes I was.”

“Come on, Logan,” she said, coming to stand in front of me, my clothes folded over her arms. “I get that that may have been her intention, but
these are really well-made, beautiful
clothes that would look amazing on you.”

“I wouldn’t eve
n know how to wear them,” I told her
, looking out the window at the setting sun.

“I can help you with that,” she told me encouragingly
, her blond head bobbing in my peripheral vision.

I looked back at her. “That would just be giving my mom what she wants.”

Henley shifted the heavy stack of clothes
in her arms
. “Listen, I don’t know a lot about your relationship with your mom, but you shouldn’t deny yourself such beautiful thing
s
just because she would like them.”

“I know,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s just a principle thing.”

Just like on principle, I have no plans to tell her I’m dating Jason Brady.

Henley smiled at me. “Just let me put you in one outfit, and if you hate it or don’t want to wear it, you can take it off, but I’m telling you right now that no guy is going to think you look hot and sexy in what you’re wearing.”

I looked down at my outfit;
a plaid button down over boot cut jeans
and flip
flops
. Yeah, okay
,
maybe she had a point.

“Fine,” I acquiesced,
unbuttoning my shirt so she could work her magic.

Ten minutes later, I was standing in front of her full length mirror, appraising what she’d put me in. I had on dark
wash skinny jeans, a
flowy
black
tank top that crossed in the back
,
and
peep-toe
magenta
suede
wedges that made me three inches taller, and
although I wasn’t sure I’d be able to walk gracefully,
I
had to admit, I liked the look.
Behind me I could see Henley smiling at my reflection when she saw that I was pleased with her handiwork.
I appreciated that she hadn’t attempted a full overhaul of my look. I felt like me, just dressier.

“Let me do your make-up, and you’ll be ready to go,” she said, just as the host of
Hot Entertainment
News
announced they were ‘back after these messages with our interview with Jason Brady’. “See, I told you it would be the last story.”

Henley sat me down on her bed and appraised my face. “Wow, you have really good skin,” she complimented. “What products do you use?”

“Um, Neutrogena
face wash
.
”

S
he
just
shook her head.

“What are you putting on me?” I asked cautiously, pulling back as she came at me with a brush. I needed to be sure she wasn’t going to give me magenta cheeks to match my shoes.

“Here,” she said, putting what she planned to use in a little pile next to me
so I could see it; mascara, eye
liner,
pale eye shadow,
a light cream blush and some bronzer.

Okay, I was fine with all that. It wasn’t likely I’d come out looking like a clown with those colors.

“I wish I was
as
blessed
as you
,” she said, as she started dusting my cheeks with blush and sweeping a brush with eye shadow over my eyelids.
“I have a whole line of products I have to use or else I look like a raccoon with blotchy skin.”

She proceeded to chat about make-up and skincare products as she swept and blotted things across my face, probably because she was trying to distract me.
By the time she was done, the show was back on and they were cutting to the interview. I took a deep breath and braced myself.
Then there he was, wearing a
charcoal gray
long sleeve tee
and jean
s and looking incredibly sexy
. I finally relaxed when he smiled his secret smile at the reporte
r.

It was what I’d been most looking forward to seeing
, and it actually made me relax just a little bit
.

The reporter
started out by asking him about the movie he’d been in New York promoting that was due out the following Friday. His answers were rehearsed and publicist
approved,
and pretty typical from what I’d seen from celebrity interviews, but I knew there was more coming. No way was this eager girl stopping at learning about
Flip Switch,
a movie in which Jase played a rogue CIA agent.

“So Jason,”
she asked, and
I could see the gleam in her eye when it appeared, “you’ve been out of the spotlight recently after what happened with you and Chloe St. James. How
are
you holding up?”

“I’m fine,” Jase said
casually
, but I could see
a stiffness
and a coldness in his demeanor that hadn’t been there before
. He was on guard for where the
interview was going. “Things are great. I’ve got a new movie out, and I’m starting fi
lming this week on a horror film directed by Layton Fitch
.”

I could tell he was trying to direct the reporter’s attention back to his work and away from his personal life, but she wasn’t taking the bait.
She smiled meekly at him, as if she didn’t believe his assurance that things were ‘great’.

“Recently
,
Chloe was spotted with Xavier Lynch. Were you aware they were seeing each other?”

I watched to see if Jase would flinch at this news, but he maintained his cool exterior. Xavier Lynch was in his
late
thirties and had long ago established himself as a Hollywood power player.
I
t
felt like it was a slap in the face
that
Chloe was dating someone fifteen years her senior,
who Jase had been quoted as calling a
role model and
an
inspiration
,
but
Chloe
had
also openly
cheated on Jase, so I guess she didn’t put much stock in other people’s feelings.

“I wish Chloe nothing but happiness,” Jase stated coolly, and he didn’t elaborate further.

It was a typical Hollywood response that really meant, ‘We dated, she cheated, and now I wish she’d burn in hell, but I can’t say that since I’m a celebrity and will be scrutinized for actually showing human emotion over a nasty break-up with my ex’.

“But doesn’t it bother you that after everything she did to you, she’s now dating someone who you once referred to as a reason you started acting in the first place?”

Wow! Low blow
, I thought, and leaned forward a little, so I could better hear
Jase’s
answer.
Henley looked over at me in an eagerly appalled way, and I knew she w
as thinking the same thing
.

Jase smiled a small smile, but it wasn’t the secret one
that
I loved. It had more of an edge to it. “I respect Xavier Lynch and his work very much. What he does in his personal life is none of my business.”

I sucked in a breath, and I wondered if the nosey reporter had felt the tension level in the room
suddenly
change after that response. I’d sure felt it.
Jase was not happy with her, and I wondered why his publicist wasn’t intervening.

“Are you seeing anyone, Jason?” she asked, and I noticed the arrogance in her tone had diminished
just a touch
.

“I made the mistake of discussing my personal life with the media once before,” he said in a perfectly pleasant way. “I don’t plan on making that same mistake again.”

I
knew
he was
referring to how open he and Chloe had been throughout their relationship. They were known for posing for the cameras and talking with media about how in love they were. Then everything went to shit, and I didn’t blame Jase for being cynical. He had every right to tell that reporter bitch to kiss off
, and I was proud of him for it
.

“Oh, my God,
that boy is sexy,” Henley said in
her thick Tennessee accent.

He was more than sexy
,
I thought, as the show cut back to the host who closed it out with a few last remarks
.

As the ending credits
of the show
rolled, the flutters in my stomach returned, but this time they were more from excitement than anything else. I couldn’t wait see Jase now, and I sort of wished I could tell Henley who I was really going out with, but I couldn’t do that. Instead, I thanked her for helping me get beautiful and headed downstairs
with a little bounce in my step
.

When I got
outside
, there was only one black Maserati waiting by the e
ntrance to my dorm
, so I assumed in was Jase
. I knocked on the window, and he rolled it down halfway. There were people around who were staring
, most likely
wondering who was driving the $120,000 car, so Jase was being cautious. At least
the
paps
hadn’t followed him onto
campus.

“Hey,” I said, as I took in the features of his face
, so familiar since I’d just seen them in HD
, but that had been nothing compared to what it was like to have him three feet from me
.

His dark brown hair was falling over his forehead in a sexy subtle way, and I wanted to run my fingers th
r
ough it. As he smiled
his secretive smile
at me, his green eyes gleamed, and I knew seeing them in person was nine million times better than seeing them through the lens of a camera
.

He
leaned across and opened my door
, and I grabbed the handle, opening it as
little as possible and slid in
to the passenger seat. The charcoal gray
butter-
soft leather enveloped me, and I inhaled the rich scent that mixed with
Jase’s
subtle cologne.

“Hi,” he said, once I was
settled
, and my heart stated pounding.

This was it. I was going out on a date with Jason Brady,
the same guy I’d just seen being interview
ed on television, and the
lover of his grandmother’s spaghetti sauce, The Black Keys and
Sports Center
. Yes, I totally kept the article and had memorized his twenty
-five
favorite things. I was pathetic, but he was addicting.

We drove in silence
as music
emanated from
the car’s amazing sound system, and
I mouthed the w
ords to a song by WALK THE MOON
while silently hoping we’d
have more conversation than that
throughout the night.
He’d never been that
silent on the phone.

It was strange, I felt like I’d just talked with him since I’d seen his interview, but he hadn’t actually been there, and he didn’t know I’d been watching.
It was a little awkward – at least in my head.

“Where are we going?” I asked, realizing he’d never told me where he was taking me. I’d just assumed there would be dinner
, so I hadn’t eaten anything
.

“So, I didn’t think it was the best idea for us to go out in public right now, especially since I haven’t really dated anyone
seriously
since Chloe and I broke up. It sucks, and it’s so stupid, but everyone is waiting to see my next move.”