Текст книги "Breaking Stars"

Автор книги: J. Sterling

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Текущая страница: 6 (всего у книги 18 страниц)

Swimming Hole

Paige

I followed Mrs. Montgomery’s directions and walked down the dirt pathway carved through her property. Plush green grass grew tall on each side of me and the trees were large, overgrown, and spectacular. I’d never been surrounded by so much greenery before. Los Angeles was mostly concrete and brown since we didn’t get much rain. Not to mention the fact that people couldn’t stop building things on every piece of available space there was. Seeing a landscape filled with so much color was awe inspiring.

In moments like these, I wished I were the creative type. If I were a painter, I’d stop and paint the scene around me. If I could draw, I’d sketch the way the tree branches dipped low and looked like arms bearing heavy loads. But since I could do neither of those things without putting out something that looked like it was done by a second grader, I simply scanned the area and committed it to memory. Sure, I could have pulled out my phone and taken a picture of it, but it wouldn’t be the same. Sometimes a photograph didn’t do a place justice the way physically being there did.

When the swimming hole came into view, I stopped and smiled to myself as the trees thinned out to reveal this perfect little area. It was like something straight out of a movie set. I realized I always compared everything to movie screens and sets, but that had been my life for the last seven years and had formed my frame of reference.

What Mrs. Montgomery referred to as a swimming hole was actually a bend in the river that was wider than the rest. The water slowed here, probably because it was deeper, and the banks were rounded, reminding me of a secluded lagoon.

Large rocks lined one side of the hole, and tree branches hung low over the water, nearly dipping in. The rope swing dangled in almost the middle of the water, and I realized that I had to climb out onto a tree branch if I wanted to reach it. The area around the water looked like it had been groomed to mimic a shoreline. All the small pebbles had been cleared and the sandy ground was smoothed out evenly. I spread my towel across it and lay down, listening to nothing but the sound of the water moving and the birds chirping.

My entire being relaxed as sunlight streamed through the tree branches and warmed my skin. Mrs. Montgomery was right. It was peaceful.

“Oh, hi. We didn’t know anyone was here.”

The sound of female voices startled me, and I practically jumped off the ground before I even opened my eyes. I glanced up to see two girls who appeared to be around my age looking down at me. Sitting up, I took inventory of the newcomers. One was blond, while the other was a fiery redhead. They were both striking in their appearance, making me wish I’d put on makeup this morning.

The girls inspected me from head to toe as I silently waited for the recognition to kick in. It was my experience that the majority of girls my own age knew who I was. Even if they weren’t fans of my movies, they knew me anyway.

“Oh shit, are you Paige Lockwood?” the pretty blonde asked from behind her oversized sunglasses, her head tilted to one side as she elbowed her redheaded friend in the ribs.

I sucked in a quick breath and steadied the nervousness that suddenly surged through my body. I could have tried to lie to them, but I was never a good liar. “Yeah.”

“Oh my gosh! I loved you in Summer Rain. It’s one of my favorite movies!” the girl gushed.

My cheeks warmed and I mumbled, “Thanks.”

“Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it’s really you. This is so cool!” she continued, and I didn’t know how to respond. I was never sure what to say in situations like this where the person wasn’t really asking a question, but more making comments. Fortunately, I didn’t have to stumble for long before she cooed, “So, what’s it really like to make out with all the hottest guys in Hollywood?”

That question I could answer easily. “It’s not like you think,” I said with a smile.

“What do you mean? You’ve had like the hottest guys in all your movies. Kissing them has to be the best thing ever!”

I nodded. “But it’s work. And you’re not alone when you’re filming these scenes that are supposed to be super romantic, you know?”

The blonde shook her head and said, “No. What do you mean?”

“We’re surrounded by a ton of crew members. Someone’s making sure the lighting is hitting us just right, and there’s a guy holding a giant boom mic to pick up all our lines and sounds.” I held my arms up to mimic what it was like to hold out the giant microphone on the heavy pole. “And there’s the director and the assistant director, the makeup artists, wardrobe.”

“Ew. That’s a lot of people watching you make out,” the redhead said as she scrunched up her face.

“Exactly.” I nodded. “Not romantic. At all.”

“Well, that stinks,” the blonde said. “So, what are you doing here anyway?”

“My car got a flat, so I’m just here until Tatum gets it fixed.”

His name slipped off my tongue with such ease, it almost surprised me as much as it did the blond girl. At the mention of him, her body language changed completely and her stance became defensive as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“Ah, so the BMW is yours, I take it?” she asked, her tone now overly sweet, but in a way that warned me to proceed with caution. “It’s a really nice car. Tatum showed it to me yesterday at the shop.”

The redhead glanced at her, then frowned and made a face.

“He showed you my car?” I asked, not quite believing her.

She nodded, her lips pressed together in a fake smile. “I’m sure Tatum will fix it up in no time. He’s good at everything he does.” Then she pinned me with a knowing look as she added, “If you know what I mean.”

My skin prickled with her words and my chest felt like it was filled with bricks as I inhaled each breath. I hated what this girl was insinuating. It was ridiculous for me to care so much about a virtual stranger, but I didn’t like thinking that Tatum belonged to anyone, much less this kind of girl. Jealous feelings flowed through me before I could think about where they came from or why they were there.

My emotions confused me. Just a few days ago I was mourning the loss of Colin and being humiliated by his actions, and today I was getting all jealous at the thought of a guy I didn’t even know had a girlfriend. Who does that?

I wanted to reach inside my chest, pull my heart out, and have a frank discussion with it about its behavior. We needed to be on the same page, or at least in the same book.

The redhead extended her hand. “I’m Celeste and this is Brina. She’s Tatum’s ex-girlfriend.” Celeste emphasized the ex part, much to Brina’s dismay, and the bricks in my chest immediately burst, making breathing much easier.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I said with a smile. The last thing I needed was enemies, or crazy ex-girlfriends causing me any more personal drama.

“And I love all your movies. You’re a great actress,” Celeste added, sounding genuine.

I gave her a quick smile. “Thank you. I really appreciate that.”

“Oh yeah, we’re big fans,” Brina chimed in. “I made Tatum watch all your movies. He was always—” Brina stopped short, her face twisted with whatever thoughts she was suddenly thinking. She didn’t finish her sentence, and I didn’t press.

“Thanks again. That’s really nice of you both. And I definitely appreciate you making your boyfriends sit through my girly flicks,” I said with a laugh.

“I don’t ever remember Tatum complaining,” Celeste teased, and Brina scowled at her.

“He hated when I made him watch your movies.”

“They usually do,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant, but my insides were bruised. The idea of Tatum hating what I did for a living hurt my feelings. Quinn was right; I was too sensitive.

Brina turned to flap her towel in the air before she settled it onto the dirt not far from mine. Celeste followed suit. “I hope it’s still okay if we hang out here with you? We like to come here to lay out during the day when we can.”

“It’s fine with me. Some company would be nice,” I admitted, although I didn’t want this to turn into some sort of Q-and-A session that would be sold to the tabloids the second I left town. I hated having to constantly be on guard and watch the things that came out of my mouth, but that was one of the harsh realities of the business I was in. Anything I said could be sold, misconstrued, or used against me if the person were malicious enough.

The girls lay down on their towels, then began to apply sunscreen to their legs and stomachs. “So, what are you doing all the way out in Hanford, Paige?” Brina asked.

I supposed there was no harm in answering that question. Tatum and his mom had asked the same thing. My deeper personal reasons were no one’s business but mine, so I answered vaguely, “I just needed to get out of LA for a little while. And my car got a flat, so here I am.”

“Oh yeah, we read all about what Colin did to you,” Celeste said angrily.

“I think everyone did,” I admitted, embarrassed.

“What a jerk. Who does that and thinks they aren’t going to get caught?” she added.

I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Well, he’s a real jerk, Paige. You’re better off without him.”

“Thanks, Celeste.”

“But he’s so hot. I bet he’s an awesome kisser,” Brina added before slapping her hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry. It just slipped out.”

“She’s always speaking before she thinks,” Celeste said, then smacked her friend on the arm.

“It’s okay. He is really good-looking. But that only goes so far when everything else about you sucks.” I instantly wished I could inhale the words back into my mouth as my mind flashed to a tabloid headline that read “Paige Lockwood Says Everything About Colin McGuire Sucks!” I needed to be more careful.

“Did he ever write any songs about you?” Brina asked, and I actually laughed.

“No. Colin doesn’t write his own music.”

“Seriously?” both girls asked in unison.

“Seriously. Not a single lyric,” I admitted, and felt good how that fact seemed like a slam against Colin. One more thing he didn’t do well, or at all.

Celeste’s eyes grew wide. “Wow. I’m shocked.”

“Don’t be. A lot of singers don’t write their own stuff. I think it’s more rare when they actually do.”

“So, how long do you think you’ll stay in town?” Brina asked.

“I’m not sure, actually.” My thoughts instantly drifted to Tatum’s body last night when he opened his door, shirtless and wet. Everything in me suddenly buzzed with energy and I longed to be near him, even if it wasn’t what he wanted. I enjoyed the way my body reacted to his.

“Well, you should definitely come to the field party tonight,” Celeste said.

“Oh yeah? What is it?” My interest was ignited. I’d never heard of a field party, but I assumed it was pretty much what the name implied.

“It’s a giant party,” Celeste answered.

“Oh my gosh, yes. Paige, you have to come. You’ll love it,” Brina added.

“What’s it like?”

Brina sat up, her face filled with excitement. “Everyone drives their big ol’ trucks out to the middle of the field. There’s always lots of beer and dancing—”

Then Celeste chimed in, “The guys usually do keg stands and act stupid. Someone always gets in a fight—”

Brina cut her off. “But it’s entertaining and just some good old-fashioned fun out in the open with no one else around. I guarantee you’ve never seen anything like it in LA, sweetie.”

She might have called me sweetie, but I knew there was a thinly veiled insult behind it. Before I could think up a response, Buster bounded over toward me with a stuffed toy in his mouth. “Buster, what are you doing here?” I looked around as I patted his head, knowing he had been at the shop with Tatum.

Buster moved over to the girls and Brina shrieked, “Ugh, get away from me, Buster,” as she shoved at the oversized dog.

“Buster, come here,” I said, and he jogged toward me.

The leaves rustled and Tatum appeared in view. The smirk that appeared on his face as he eyed my bathing suit was quickly replaced with a sour look when he noticed the girls next to me. Buster sat at my feet as I continued to scratch him.

Brina jumped up, her body barely covered in the tiny black bikini she wore as she moved toward him. “Hey, Tatum,” she crooned, pressing her chest against his and running her hand down his well-defined arm. His eyes looked past hers and locked onto mine.

I swallowed hard and tried to force myself to look away, but couldn’t. My eyes refused to leave Tatum’s, and I stopped the smile from forming on my lips as I watched him step away from her and remove her arm. “You girls aren’t giving Paige a hard time, are you?” His voice was stern.

Celeste glanced at me before looking back at Tatum with a smile. “No, sir. We were just telling her about the party tonight and insisted she come along.”

Tatum dropped his chin as he kicked at the ground. “Is that so?”

“It sounds like fun,” I said, and he raised his head to look at me.

“So you want to go?” he asked, almost as if he couldn’t believe it.

Brina moved toward him again and he put up a hand to stop her. She placed one hand on her hip and said, “You don’t have to come along, Tatum. We all know how much you hate socializing these days. She can come with us. We’ll take good care of her. Promise.”

My insides twisted. The party had sounded fun and I did want to go, but not without Tatum. I wouldn’t even consider going if he weren’t there. There was no way I trusted Brina to be alone with me at some random party. Too many things could go wrong. If anyone wanted to set me up or mess with me here, I had a feeling it would be her.

“If Paige wants to go, I’ll be the one who takes her,” Tatum informed a now-scowling Brina.

“I’m pretty sure Paige can make decisions for herself. She doesn’t have to go with you if she doesn’t want to,” Brina shot back, clearly pissed off for whatever reason. They both turned to look at me, while Celeste quietly observed the chaos. Maybe she was used to the two of them acting like this?

They all waited for me to say something, and I wanted it to be clear that my loyalties, however misguided, lay with Tatum, so I said, “If I decide to go tonight, I’ll go with Tatum.”

His mouth began to turn up into a smile before he bit it back and turned toward Celeste. “Is it at Luke’s farm?” he asked, completely ignoring his ex.

“Like always,” she responded with a tight smile. I could tell she was holding back a laugh. I realized in that moment that I liked Celeste.

As Tatum held out a hand to me, I instinctively reached for it as if it was the most natural thing on earth. Under normal circumstances I might have fought him on it, but Brina made me uncomfortable, and I sensed he didn’t like me hanging out with her. He pulled me to my feet and I fought the urge to grip his hand in mine so tightly that he couldn’t let me go. Instead, he released me easily once I was standing, and my body mourned the loss of his energy that trickled through me whenever he touched me.

After I shimmied into my cutoff jean shorts and threw on my tank top, Tatum grabbed my towel and motioned for me to follow him. “’Bye, you guys. I guess I’ll see you later.” I waved at the two girls, who were leaning toward each other whispering something I couldn’t hear.

“See you tonight. ’Bye,” they both yelled before returning to their private conversation.

Tatum walked in front of me as he tossed Buster’s toy for him to fetch. Once we were out of earshot, I teased, “Well, that was the quickest swimming-hole excursion I’ve ever had.”

He stopped on the path and turned to face me, his expression serious. “Stay away from Brina, Paige. I mean it.”

“She found me, not the other way around,” I said innocently as he moved closer toward me. With each step he took, my heart thudded more painfully inside my chest. He leaned toward me, his lips mere inches from mine, and I held my breath in anticipation of what might come. Fighting my attraction for Tatum was a lot of work.

“You can’t trust her,” he whispered, and I prayed for him to close the space between us completely. Instead, he turned back around as I stood there dumbfounded, fighting for air.

Field Parties Are a Bad Idea

Tatum

Seeing Paige with Brina royally pissed me off. I had been so happy for all of two seconds when I first saw Paige in the clearing, her black-and-white bikini showing off way more skin than I ever thought I’d see. But then I noticed we weren’t alone, and any happiness I felt evaporated into the hot and humid air. The last thing I needed was for Brina to go filling Paige’s head with lies, stories, and her version of the truth.

“Paige, did you ask the girls not to tell anyone you were here?” I asked, suddenly remembering that Paige was trying to recover from heartbreak and she needed space.

She shook her head, her long brown ponytail moving with it. “I figured if we were going to a party tonight, that’s sort of pointless. Don’t you think?”

Buster ran back to my side, toy in his mouth, and I grabbed it and chucked it across the field. “Shit.” Why’d they have to go and tell her about the party?

“What’s wrong?” Paige’s eyes narrowed and she looked genuinely sad.

“I don’t like the idea of everyone knowing you’re here. After this party, Paige, the whole town will know you’re here. And then who knows what else will happen after that.”

“Is that really a bad thing? I mean, will they tell? Can’t we ask them not to say anything to anyone?”

“We can try, but I’m not sure it will work. Most of the people here are good folk. But this might be too much for even them to handle. It’s more excitement than we’ve had in years.”

I laughed because it was true, but my chest ached at not being able to promise her privacy. Paige being here would be front-page news of our newspaper, if we had one.

“Give me a minute,” I said, handing Paige her towel before running back the way we’d come, leaving Paige standing in the middle of the field with Buster jumping around her.

Jogging back toward the swimming hole, I prayed Brina and Celeste hadn’t left yet. The last thing I wanted to do was have to call Brina on the phone. I’d done a pretty good job of avoiding that task since we’d broken up. I entered the clearing and saw them lying on their towels, chatting away.

“Oh, Tatum. You came back.” Brina sat up immediately, her blond hair falling down around her shoulders. I hated that my dick twitched at the sight of her. What my dick should do is curl up inside itself and run away screaming. If there was ever truth to the rumor that guys’ penises acted on their own accord, this was the proof. Earth to penis, this one’s bad news. Down, boy.

“I just wanted to ask you girls to please keep the fact that Paige is here to yourself. She really needs the privacy right now, and she wants to relax without any of the typical craziness.”

“What do you care?” Brina whined, and I wished someone would knock some sense into her.

“I care because Paige is a nice girl. She’s just trying to catch a break, and if her agent or whatever finds out where she is, he’ll come get her and make her go home.” I didn’t know why I spilled this much personal information, but I needed them to know how important it was that they keep their mouths shut.

“I won’t say anything to anyone,” Celeste said. “And if you guys come tonight, I’ll help keep everyone else quiet about it too.”

“Yeah, Tatum. No one’s really going to care that she’s here. I mean, they’ll care,” Brina said slowly, “but no one will want her to leave.”

Celeste laughed. “Brina’s right. They’ll all just want to be friends with her.”

I shook my head, the list of cons for taking Paige to the party growing with each word they spoke. “Well, just don’t say anything. Please? I’m asking nicely.”

“We already said we wouldn’t. God, Tatum, I always knew you had a thing for her. Every time we’d watch one of her movies you’d—”

I cut her off. “I don’t have a thing for her, okay? I barely even know her.”

“You sure seem to care an awful lot about someone you barely know,” Brina added with a frown, then lay back down on her towel and turned her head away.

I kicked at the dirt and tried to stop feeling so damned frustrated, but dealing with Brina made everything ten times worse. Stalking away, I balled my hands into fists before releasing them. I refused to let Brina affect me. Seeing Paige ahead in the distance waiting for me, I broke into a jog as my anger dissipated.

“Sorry. I wanted to ask them to keep quiet about you being here.”

Paige smiled and I stared at her mouth. Like, I couldn’t take my eyes off her full lips and I wanted to feel them, taste them, have them pressed against mine.

“What’d they say?” she asked, her voice interrupting my inappropriate thoughts.

“They said they would.”

“That’s a good start, right?”

I think she gave people more credit than they deserved, but I didn’t want to disappoint her. “Yeah, it’s a good start.” I smiled back at her, and even though it didn’t seem possible, her smile grew larger. She was so damned optimistic, and it made me want her even more.

We walked side by side the rest of the way to Mama’s house as my insides tore in two. One half wanted to stop overthinking everything in my life and enjoy whatever time I had with Paige doing whatever she’d allow me to do with her, while the other half refused to let down its guard. I didn’t handle being hurt well; I’d learned that from experience. But weren’t some people worth the risk?

I wasn’t so sure.

As we neared the house, I was no closer to an answer.