On the Outside (Caught Inside #3) (13 page)

Chapter 24

“Hey.”

I turned my head and smiled when I spotted Xavier walking my way. “Hey, Mr. Producer.”

Xavier sat down next to me, stretching out his legs on the pavement in front of the airplane hangar we’d been filming in for the day. It was odd, but for a surfing movie I found myself indoors a lot. Not that I was complaining; after the first day in the ocean I was happy to bid adieu to my surfboard for a while.

Xavier careened his neck and peered at my lips. “Wow.”

Automatically my hand found my mouth. “What?”

“I’m surprised your lips haven’t swollen up to the size of your head considering how much Charlie and you were going at it.”

I narrowed my eyes a bit, staring out two small slits. “If this is about your weird request to stay away from him, we both know that it’s physically impossible given my current state of employment.”

“I would rather think of it as a friendly warning.”

“Whatever you want to call it, it’s still pretty weird to me.”

He rubbed at his eyebrow and let out a stale laugh. “Remember how I said I’m a pretty good judge of character?”

I shifted uncomfortably. “Of course.”

“Well, let’s just say one time I put my guard down and I grew to really regret it.”

My curiosity was at its highest. I wanted to pry more, but my gut told me not to. Changing the subject, I asked, “Are you sure you’re a good judge of character when it comes to me?”

Finally his stern expression brightened. “Yeah, of course.”

“Care to tell that to your sister…and maybe to Riley while you’re at it?” My tone was quick and short. As much as I hated to play
that
card, I needed as many votes in my favor as possible.

He dropped his head back and let out a sigh. “I’ll do my best, but you have to know my sister is pretty stubborn. It took nearly losing the love of her life to figure out that she, well,
loved
him back.”

For some reason I wasn’t surprised. Biting my bottom lip, I shrugged. “Okay, if Kacy’s a lost cause, what about Riley? She still won’t talk to me—”

“Do you blame her?” he interrupted, surprising me.

“I…uh…no.” Nodding my head in confirmation, I repeated the word. “No.”

“Okay, then.”

“
But
it doesn’t mean I don’t miss her.” I looked down at my feet and sighed. “I’m just beginning to think we’ll never talk again, you know. It’s sad. She was my first friend in New York and…”

My voice trailed off. I couldn’t even find it in myself to continue speaking. After months of trying to keep my head afloat, I finally succumbed to the reality that I probably lost my best friend forever.

With a look of pity on his face, Xavier reached out and squeezed my hand. “Why don’t you come over for dinner tonight? Last night was fun; let’s keep up with the momentum.”

“You mean, to your place?” I blinked in surprise. Xavier had stopped by my house many times before, but I had never seen his home.

“No, to Pizza Palace. Yes, to my place.” He laughed.

“Uh…”

“You can say no, you know.” Despite the humor in his tone, his eyes darkened a tad.

“Why would I say no?”

“So it’s a date?”

“A
third
date,” I clarified.

“Deal.” He pushed himself up and brushed off his backside. “I’ll see you at six…err, wait…do you need a ride?”

I threw my head back and laughed. “That would be a bit presumptuous of me to expect you to pick me up to go back to your house, right? Nah, I rented a car when you disappeared for a week. I’m fine.”

“Great. Then see you tonight.”

Chapter 25

To say I was excited was an understatement. I was also nervous, anxious, and a bit aroused realizing that this was our
third date,
and we all know what happens on the third date. Once I jumped out of my car I practically had to slow myself down to prevent myself from ramming into his front door. I didn’t have anything to worry about though. Judging by the way he opened the door before I could even knock, I’d say he was just as excited.

“Hey!” I yelped out in surprise, nearly knocking my hand against his face.

He smiled sheepishly, jumping out of the way just in the nick of time. “Sorry, I saw you coming and…”

“No worries.” A whiff of garlic hit my nose. Like an old cartoon, I rose to my tip-toes, completely hypnotized by the scent. I could imagine myself floating toward the kitchen, nostrils flaring. “Wow! What is that scent? It smells delicious.”

“I’m not just some stuffy producer. I know how to whip up a good meal, too.”

“I see that.” I nodded approvingly.

“Come on, let’s eat.” He motioned for me to step indoors and quickly shut the door behind me.

Oh, don’t worry. I’m not running tonight.

As I settled down in the dining room, I watched as Xavier set the table, placing a heaping bowl of pasta in front of me. Though it smelled pleasant I couldn’t help but wonder why he chose garlic as the main dressing.

No one who wants to mess around would serve garlic or onion on a date,
I thought wryly.

I quickly pushed away the thoughts and grinned in appreciation. “This all looks so awesome. Bon appetit.”

***

Maybe it was the wine. Maybe it was good company. Whatever it was, after dinner Xavier and I were fully relaxed and even
cuddling
on the couch! Needless to say all my garlic-infused worries were for nothing.

“I have to say, when I first saw you at the airport I had no idea anything like this would happen,” he said with amusement.

“What do you mean?” I rubbed my index finger against his thumb and sighed with content.

“A fiery eyed
princess
who looked at me as if…”

“Be careful how you finish that,” I warned him.

He bowed his head. “Either way, the actresses I usually come into contact with were never as quiet as you were. Usually they’d be barking orders left and right.”

A shrill laugh bubbled inside my throat. “Well, when you’ve basically been slayed and fileted—”

“Ew.”

“—in the public eye, you tend to try to salvage some part of yourself and keep it private. Besides, I was only quiet because you didn’t talk at all!”

“Hey, I was just struck by your immense beauty,” he teased.

Snorting, I shook my head. “Anyway, I didn’t mean to be so aloof. In fact, as ironic as it sounds, I was trying my best to put myself back out there. I didn’t want
them
to win and shut me down. It was advice an old friend told me, actually.”

Something in Xavier’s expression led me to believe that he knew I was talking about Riley. He cleared his throat and quickly changed the subject. “Needless to say, I’m really happy that
this
actress is actually giving me the time of day.”

I threw my head back and laughed. “And I’m happy this producer finally speaks!”

Bzz. Bzz. Bzz.

The couch cushions vibrated, leading me to lose my train of thought. Xavier frowned and attempted to fish for his phone, which had fallen in between two cushions. It was rather hard for him to do so considering one of his arms was still wrapped around my waist and that I was practically sitting on his lap. As he reached from under me I could feel his hand brush my ass…once…twice…three times. I couldn’t help but grin.

Type A producer has a wild side, doesn’t he?

Holding his phone at an angle so I couldn’t see the screen, he skimmed what I guessed was a text before quickly throwing the device onto a nearby ottoman. I wanted to ask if Kacy was the culprit, but I knew I shouldn’t press my luck and ruin the night.

“So, do you want to watch TV?” he asked weakly, knowing that the mood had already shifted.

I nodded, but didn’t say a word. In fact, I didn’t say another word for the rest of the night.

There goes my chance for messing around.

Chapter 26

“What time is it?” Xavier’s voice jarred me awake, leading me to sit straight up, gasping in shock.

I blinked in confusion, trying my best to stretch away the soreness in my neck. “I don’t know…eight?”

I glanced outside and frowned. It was bright as day, but that couldn’t be right…

“Eight as in p.m. or a.m.?” Xavier demanded, running toward his window. Yanking the blinds open, he gasped as the rays of sunshine peeked in through the glass. “Shit! How did we fall asleep?”

“Wait…it’s morning? You mean we’ve been out here the whole time? We…”

Cuddled all night?

I immediately sat up and glanced around his living room. It was as pristine as we had left it—even the dining table was all cleaned up. There were no signs that any ‘fun’ had happened.

Rats.

“Motherfucker! I’m never late!” He ran toward his door, grabbing his keys along the way. I cringed, noticing that he didn’t even take the time to brush his teeth or wash his face. Was being on time really more important?

He looked back at me and frowned. “What are you doing? Come on, let’s get moving.”

“Xavier, we’re not late. Don’t you remember? Call time isn’t until after lunch today.”

“Call time for you, maybe. I have to be there to accept some props, make sure the rigging’s okay…” He babbled on and on before walking out and slamming the door behind him, leaving me alone in his house.

Gaping after him, I brushed a hand through my messy locks. “What the hell just happened?”

I was too groggy and shocked to be angry, but I still couldn’t believe he had left me alone without so much as a goodbye.

***

“Harper, wait up!” Xavier called after me, but I ignored him and continued my walk to makeup and wardrobe. I hoped Piper would be there as I needed to vent—badly!

“Harper!”

“Leave me alone, Xavier. I’m not in the mood.” To make my point I pulled my sunglasses down over my eyes and quickened my pace. Not only was I still pissed off at him, but of course it had to be the day we’d start filming back at the beach.

Murphy’s Law.

“I didn’t mean to leave you alone like that. I panicked! I’m never late to anything,” he explained with a shaky voice.

“Mmhmm.”

“Harper!” he shouted.

My head snapped around. “I’m not some sort of dog you can call to your side like that. I get you panicked and became oblivious to everything around you, but you have to admit that once Kacy texted you last night everything about our
good
date went under quick. That goes for this morning as well.”

He glared at me. “How did you know it was Kacy? Were you spying on me?”

My jaw scraped the floor. “Are you kidding me?”

Looking chagrined, he shook his head. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean that. I’m just a bit foggy from this morning.”

Crossing my arms in irritation, I scowled. “It was obvious it was her. Why else would you start acting weird? You know, many people are usually mama’s boys or daddy’s girls. Never heard of a sister’s guy.”

“Family is important to me. If you knew what you were talking about then you’d see that regardless of her texting me every day to remind me
not
to go out with you, I still did.”

“I hate that bitch more every day,” I blurted out.

That got Family Man riled up. “Harper, as much as I am beginning to care about you, please don’t talk about my sister like that. For your information, Riley’s been texting me too.”

Riley texts him?

My anger soon gave way to an overwhelming feeling of sadness. “Well, you know what? Screw all of you Greenes and Dillons. Screw you all.”

I stomped into the makeup trailer and slammed the door behind me, startling Charlie, who was already perched on his makeup chair. “Whoa! Watch it there, Sport.”

“So I’m a sport, now?” I plopped into my seat, prompting Piper to rush forward in a hurry.

“You okay?” She quickly grabbed a hot towel and began patting my forehead with it, trying her best to calm me down. I really needed to get to know her better. She was one of the nicest people I’d met since moving to California. Not counting Xavier, of course, but seeing as how the day was playing out, I couldn’t be too sure about that.

I shrugged. “Could be better.”

Piper scrunched up her face. “I guess it’s a bad time to tell you there’s been a wardrobe change.”

“What do you mean?” I asked with a yawn. My head was still cloudy from the night before.

If you feel this messed up, imagine how Xavier feels. He’s juggling three headstrong women!

Once the realization hit me, I shook my head and sighed. I really did need to lighten up when it came to Xavier. His family came first and unfortunately that meant I came second…or maybe even third.

Piper disappeared behind a few rows of clothing only to return with an anxious look on her face. Counting to three, she reached from behind her back and held out what had to be the world’s tiniest bikini.

I lurched forward and gawked at what looked like two pieces of Kleenex held together by dental floss. “What the fuck is that?”

“Wyatt decided a wetsuit wasn’t sexy enough.”

“The wetsuit had no legs! It was basically a one piece with sleeves!” I argued.

“That’s what I told him, but he wants you to surf in this today.” Piper grimaced, certainly feeling my pain.

“But…” I recalled Xavier’s warnings of flashing the beach and I cringed. “No, absolutely not. I will not risk flashing my boob to the whole crew.”

“Oh come on, Harper. That doesn’t look so bad. You should see what I’m wearing,” Charlie interrupted. I had almost forgotten he was in the room.

“If it’s anything more than a sock with a string attached, don’t even talk to me,” I snapped.

“Well, it’s actually a mid-thigh pair of board shorts, but that might as well be a sock for me.”

I rolled my eyes. “Certainly not helping, Charlie.”

“Thirty minutes!” The sound of Xavier’s voice caused me to stiffen. I kept myself facing forward but glanced up at the mirror. His reflection stared back at me sadly before disappearing behind the trailer door.

“Trouble in paradise?” Charlie asked, but not unkindly.

“What paradise?” I muttered.

Leaning forward, he brushed a tendril of hair off my face. “Stick with me, Red. I’ll be sure to show you what paradise is.”

“If you mean STD, then I’d say that’s a ticket she shouldn’t buy,” Piper shot back with a smirk on her face.

Any other guy would probably have gotten mad at the jab, but Charlie merely laughed. “I promise you I’m all squeaky clean. Like a rubber duck.”

Piper grimaced. “Ugh. Thanks for the visual.”

“Any time.”

Though I was still a bit irritated, I couldn’t help but feel a bit better. As I sat back and admired Charlie’s reflection—which I swore glowed ethereally—I couldn’t help but wonder what Xavier’s problem with him was. Knowing how uptight my ‘friend’ was, I’d say it was probably nothing at all.