Playing His Game (The Reynolds Brothers) (19 page)

"Baby,"
I call him endearingly. "You need to clean up your face. You still have
dried blood everywhere."

"I'm going to
take a shower in a minute. I feel like shit."

"I left you
some pain reliever and water on the coffee table. Did you take it?"

I'm looking
straight at him and even though he's facing me, he has yet to make eye contact
with me.

"Yeah, thanks
for that."

"Go shower
and I'll make you something greasy for breakfast."

"Yeah,
okay." He sets down his coffee cup and starts to walk out of the room. He
still hasn't looked at me and I can't help but wonder what all is going on in
that head of his.

"Winn?"
His back is towards me as he stands under the archway that leads into the
living room. "Thanks for being so understanding right now. Thanks for
being... you."

I watch him as he
walks out of the room, slouched over and defeated. Part of me wants to call
Jared up myself and let him know what's going on. I know Jared and he'd never
let his brother go through this alone. He'd give Scott the money, but at what
cost to Scott? Scott says he's been in an even worse situation than this before
and Jared had to bail him out. He even made Scott go to rehab. I didn't even
know there was rehab for gambling addictions but maybe rehab is the best thing
for him right now.

 As much as I
know that Jared is the only solution Scott has at the moment, I can't betray
Scott and ask him. Scott will need to figure this out without Jared, or suck up
his pride and go grovel at his brother's feet. The choice is his.

My phone vibrates
in my pocket and it's then that I realize I'm still in the same clothes as
yesterday. I must look like shit, too. Pulling it out, I check my message.

Josh: Heard
you're in Cali. Will you be back for the big boat show? I'd love to see you.

Fucking Josh. When
will he get the hint to leave me alone? He's been sending me texts every few
weeks for over a year and I haven't replied to any of them.

I delete his text
and then move to open the fridge. Scott doesn’t have much, but I manage to find
enough bacon and eggs for one person. I pull out two frying pans and get to
work.

Ten minutes later
Scott is walking back into the kitchen as I'm serving out the eggs and bacon on
his plate.

"Perfect
timing." I hand him the plate and then hand him a fresh cup of coffee.

"Thanks,
Winn."

We sit in silence
as he eats. He looks a little better after his shower, but he's still a mess.
His eyes are badly bruised, his nose is swollen, and the cut on his lip keeps
opening back up.

"You should
let me look at your face since I'm assuming you didn't see a doctor
yesterday."

"I'm okay.
You've done enough for me."

"Scott,
you-"

"It'll heal,
Winnie. They didn't do anything that won't heal."

He just said they.
Maybe this is the perfect time to bring up what was said last night.

"Scott, we
need to figure out what you're going to do."

He's finished his
breakfast and is taking a sip of coffee when he looks up at me over the coffee
cup. This is the first time he's made eye contact with me. Even when his face
looks like it's been driven over by a truck, his eyes still stun me. The gray
is clear today, no more drunken haze from last night.

"We don't
need to figure out anything. I'll figure it out. I actually came up with a
solution in the bathroom."

"Yeah?"
I can feel my mood start to shift and for the first time in twelve hours I
think he might be able to get out of this. "What’s the plan?"

"Jared
offered me a few grand to get back on my feet. I'm going to go over there today
and take the money. Then call my bookie and tell him I need a sure thing. If I
bet on a few sure things I'll get my money back in no time."

“What?" I
gasp, my anger starting to rise. "Are you fucking crazy?"

"It'll work,
Winn."

"No, it
fucking won't. If you could bet on a sure thing, then why the hell are you in
this mess? Huh? It's because there is no sure thing."

He puts down his
coffee cup and closes his eyes, bringing his thumb and pointer finger to the
base of his nose. "You just don't get my world, Winnie."

I push my chair
back with my feet and stand up. "Neither do you. If you did, then you
wouldn't be in this mess. You need help, Scott, and you can't solve your
problem by doing the same thing that got you into this mess."

"Do you have
any bright ideas? Tell me, Winn, because if you have a solution I'd be willing
to hear it."

I gulp and then
spit out my next sentence, "Tell your brother. You're in deep shit right
now, Scott. As much as he may hate you for this, he'll give you the money. One
hundred grand is not worth your life."

As I wait for his
response there's a knock at the door. We both ignore it and just stare at each
other. I won't break eye contact. I feel like this is a test and the first
person that breaks, loses.

The knocking gets
more insistent, yet we still don't move to answer the door. If I can win this
staring contest, maybe it'll be enough to get him to talk to his brother. It's
a silly idea but the only one I've got.

"Bonjour!
Anyone home?" Tawny asks from what I think is the living room. Scott and I
finally break eye contact as we move to the other room. "What the hell
happened here?"

"How did you
get in?" Scott asks her.

"I walked in
through your half-ass sliding glass door," she says sarcastically.
"Are you aware there's a bit of glass missing?"

"Funny,
Tawny."

"I came to
check up on you. When I saw you at the warehouse yesterday you looked like
shit, kind of like you do right now. What happened?"

"It's a long
story," Scott answers.

"Lucky for
you, I have time." She lifts the sunglasses from her eyes and places them
on top of her dark hair that is tied back in a bun. She's wearing no make-up,
which is a first for Tawny.

"Don’t you
have a set to be on today?"

"Not today, I
have the day off. Now stop making excuses and tell me what the fuck
happened."

To my surprise, he
does. We're all standing in his living room and he tells Tawny exactly what
happened, with more details than he gave me the night before. His thoughts are
clearer now that most of the alcohol has left his system. Once he's finished
talking, Tawny is silent for a moment.

"You're in
deep shit, Scott. Jared can't find out about this."

"I
know."

"Why do you
both keep saying that?" I chime in.

"Because
Jared and the rest of Scott's family gave him some pretty stiff ultimatums the
last time. Winnie, it was much worse than it is right now and Scott's family
was threatened last time. We need to get him out of this and without Jared's
help."

"So what do
we do? Where are we going to come up with that kind of money?"

Scott looks over
at Tawny and pleads, "You have it, don’t you, Tawny? You're big in the
industry now. You must have it."

She laughs at his
comment. "I wish, Scotty. You know I'd give it to you but even though I'm
making good money now, I'm not making Brandon Boner money. Plus, I have a
really bad shopping addiction. I don't have much saved."

Scott’s shoulders
slouch and he replies, "I know, Tawny. Thanks anyway."

"What about a
loan? Go to the bank and take a loan out against the house."

"I can't,
Tawny. This has been going on for a while, I've just been doing a better job at
hiding it. I maxed out my equity on the house months ago. I've tried
everything. I was even desperate enough to go to Jared about starring in some
porn for him, but the money wouldn't have been enough."

She doesn't reply
and the silence is back between the three of us. We need to figure out
something for him. We may have ten days, but it's not a lot of time to come up
with money like this.

"I've got it.
Oh my gosh, I think I've got it!" Tawny shouts as a smile spreads across
her face.

"What?"
I ask her.

"Hold on, let
me make a phone call first."

We watch as Tawny
makes her way to the front door and steps outside with her phone to her ear. My
heart starts to race in anticipation. Could she have possibly just come up with
a solution? Wait, knowing Tawny this could have absolutely nothing to do with
Scott's situation. It's better not to get my hopes up.

Scott's hand comes
over to mine and we intertwine our fingers as we wait. Neither of us says
anything because there's nothing really to say. I count in my head, anything to
help pass the time. When I get to three hundred eighty six the front door opens
again and in walks Tawny.

"He'll be
here in thirty."

"Who
will?" Scott asks.

"Donnie. I
just got you your ticket to one hundred thousand dollars."

★★★

"You look
like shit, bro. Anyone tell you that?" Donnie asks as Scott lets him into
his place. Tawny and I are sitting on the love seat in the living room. We've
left the sofa for Scott and Donnie.

Tawny's been very
evasive when it comes to what Scott's saving grace is. She thinks it'll sound
better coming from Don, so instead of pestering her with questions the past
thirty minutes, I made myself useful and put some refreshments out on the
coffee table.

"Pretty much
everyone's said that. Thanks." Scott chuckles humorlessly. He's nervous
and I don't blame him. Don might possibly hold the answers to all of his
problems.

I met Don once
before at Jared's surprise party but I've never really talked to him. He's a
porn star just like Tawny, and I've seen a little of his work. He's popular in
the porn world because of his all-American look. His muscular build along with
his subtle tan would make any girl swoon, but he's not super famous like Jared
is. I don't know how he can possibly have the money to save Scott.

The men move into
the living room and sit down on the sofa across from Tawny and me.

"So I guess
you're wondering why I'm here?" Don asks Scott. "I have a business
proposal for you. If you agree this will make us both some money and I hear you
need money, fast."

"I'm
listening," Scott replies.

"Oh, and
it'll be perfect, Scotty. You actually gave me the idea when we were talking.
Remember? I told you no one makes Brandon Boner money."

"Tawny, you
promised I'd be the one to tell him," Don interrupts.

"Oh, right.
Sorry. I just got really excited." She clasps her hands in her lap and
looks their way. She's ready to listen to what Don has to say.

"I want to
make a video, starring you. We can discuss the details of the video over the
next few days but I want to make it exclusive to my company. It'll be an online
and DVD release."

"I wasn't
aware you have a company," Scott says innocently.

"A lot of
people aren't. That's why this will be the perfect way to market my first big
release."

"But I've
never done porn before. Jared said the money is small for first time actors in
this business."

"That's
because Jared doesn't know how to market you. I'll make a killing on this video
and here's why. Brandon Boner's been gone in the industry for what? Over two
years? Yet the sales of his old videos are doing better than ever and that's
because people want Brandon. No one has been able to compare to the success
he's had, though many have tried.

"I'm going to
make you the star of this video. You'll be Brayden Boner, Brandon's twin
brother. Women will eat this shit up, even if you suck."

In an odd way
Don's plan is genius, but I'm not sure if I like the fact that we're back at
porn being Scott's only option.

"We're not
twins, Don. Plus, doesn't Jared own the rights to his name?"

"He owns the
rights to Brandon Boner, not Brayden Boner. And you may not be twins but no one
is going to give a shit because they'll be able to see the resemblance
immediately, especially with those gray eyes."

Some of what Don
is saying actually makes sense but the whole thing sounds a little sketchy.

"I don't know
about this. Jared is going to be pissed when he finds out." Scott gets up,
dragging a hand through his dark hair. "A big thing women loved about him
was his tats and pierced cock. I'm not tatted or pierced, Donnie."

"Are you hung
like him?"

"Yes,"
Tawny and I both say at the same time.

Okay, this just
got awkward.

"Then we're
good, man. I think I want to shoot this sex tape style, especially because this
is a one-time thing for you. Unless... Did you want to make it a career?
Because I'd be happy to do that for you, too."

Scott looks over
in my direction and it's the first time since all of this began that he might
be putting my feelings into the equation. My mouth twitches before I smile
softly at him and he replies to Don, "Definitely a one-time thing, but
let's talk about money before I agree to anything."

"What's there
to talk about? You need a hundred grand and I'll give it to you, right after
you shoot for me. Your face looks like shit so we'll have to wait a week.
That'll give me enough time to secure a facility for the day, find you a costar
and get you tested."

"I'll do
it," Tawny says enthusiastically. "We've already slept together so
the chemistry will be there. It'll be fun."

I feel sick. I
literally feel my insides turning and vomit coming up my throat. I rush out of
the room, ignoring everyone and dash into Scott's bathroom, closing the door
behind me. Dropping to my knees I lift the seat of the toilet and bend my head
over it, ready to throw up. Nothing comes out. My body can't even give me this
little distraction from what's going on outside the bathroom door.