Beautiful Abyss (California Dreamers #3) (3 page)

I take in a deep breath then exhale. I really didn’t want to tell him about Abby until things were further along. Just in case they never actually got any further along.

I think that’s a strong possibility once she gets to know me. I don’t exactly have a lot to offer. I’m an unemployed actor who owns nothing but the clothes on my back. In a town where net worth means everything, I’ve got none.

“There’s this girl who works at the nursery. I want to take her to lunch.”

He glances over at the twelve plants I’ve purchased over the last few weeks. “That explains a lot.”

He reaches into the pocket of his jeans and pulls out his wallet. He removes two twenty dollar bills and hands them to me. “That’s so you can leave a generous tip. Really impress her.”

I need something to impress her. I definitely won’t be doing it with my conversation skills. I barely made it out of high school. The only thing that saved my skin was being the star of our high school’s football team. No teacher wanted to be the one who kept me from taking the team to the state championships.

“Thanks, Cuz. You know I’ll pay you back when I get paid for the commercial.”

He waves away my offer. “Don’t worry about it. Do you really like this girl?”

I nod. “I think about her all the time. And it’s not just about sex, which is weird.”

“For you it is.”

I roll my eyes at him. “Like you didn’t get a lot of snatch before you met Nellie.”

“That’s how you know you’ve met the right one. You don’t want anyone else.”

“I haven’t even thought about going to a yoga class in weeks.”

Yoga studios were the places I knew I could always pick up easy girls. Not that there aren’t easy girls all over LA, but yoga girls are also flexible and have a lot of stamina.

“We’re going to have to think of something else to do with the sparkling vitamin water. We’re running out of room in the fridge.”

Sparkling vitamin water is like my trademark. I was given a lifetime supply by the manufacturer and I gave it to all of my overnight guests.

When I had ladies over every night and two guests on Sundays, it put a dent in my supply.

Since I’ve been pursuing Abby I haven’t been scoring as much.

Okay, I haven’t been scoring at all.

I really haven’t wanted to.

And then there’s the situation with Penny. I know she dates guys in the business. Powerful guys who can help her career. But she and I don’t date. I’m more like her plaything.

Even so I don’t know how she’d feel about me being with anyone other than her. The subject hasn’t really come up. But something tells me that she doesn’t like to share her toys.

Nothing is going to stop me from going out with Abby now that I have the chance. Especially not Penny Wagner.

As I run a brush through my dark hair I stare at myself in the mirror for several moments. This is my one shot to make an impression on Abby. I don’t want to blow it. The best thing I can probably do is ask her questions about herself so I don’t have to talk about myself. That will significantly lessen the odds that I’ll say something stupid.

***

“I don’t really like to talk about myself,” Abby tells me after I ask my very first question.

So much for my plan to not talk about myself. 

She was waiting for me outside of the nursery when I showed up at noon.

“Your aunt was okay with you going on a date?”

“I wouldn’t say
okay
exactly, but she didn’t say no.”

We’re both quiet as we walk the few blocks to China Moon. Honestly I’m afraid to say much because I don’t want to make a fool of myself.

Now I wonder if not saying anything is making me look like a fool anyway.

Luckily the restaurant isn’t crowded yet and we have our choice of tables. I ask about seating us near the back where it’s quiet.

When I glance at the menu and see the prices I’m thankful Roscoe spotted me forty bucks. I don’t remember the meals being quite this expensive.

It’s worth it to get to spend time with Abby though.

“Everything sounds good,” she remarks as she scans the menu.

“I like ginger beef,” I tell her.

“Me too. And I like the Szechuan chicken.” She tightens her thin lips. “It’s hard to decide.”

“Maybe we could order both and split them,” I suggest.

Her face lights up. “You don’t mind?”

I shake my head. “Of course not. That’s what Roscoe and I usually do.”

Her brow furrows. “Who’s Roscoe?”

“My brother from another mother.”

She doesn’t seem to get the joke. Or maybe it’s just not funny. It’s hard to tell. She’s definitely not an easy girl to impress and I’m failing miserably at it.

“He’s my cousin,” I explain. “But we’re so close we’re like brothers.”

She nods, but doesn’t comment.

“Do you have any brothers or sisters?” I ask her.

She shakes her head.

“I’m an only child too,” I tell her.

That’s when she stares at me again. It’s almost like she’s trying to look right through me. It makes my stomach knot. I actually haven’t felt so nervous since I played football.

Luckily the waiter comes and Abby looks at him instead of me.

“What can I get for you?” he asks.

Before I have a chance to say anything Abby orders for both of us. “We’ll have the ginger beef and the Szechuan chicken to share. Half white and half fried rice.” She looks back at me shyly and asks, “Do you mind if I add something else?”

“Go ahead.”

“And egg rolls,” she adds to the order.

She folds up her menu, hands it to the waiter then grins at me.

I realize I don’t have a lot of experience with dating. For the most part I’ve been a hit-it-and-quit-it kind of guy. But I always thought the guy was supposed to be the one who ordered the food.

I close my menu and hand it to the waiter. He looks at me like I’m some kind of loser.

Once the waiter leaves Abby places her small finger to her perfect lips. “I hope you like egg rolls. I forgot to ask. Sorry.”

I shrug. “Sure. I’ll eat almost anything.”

“I love egg rolls.” She sounds like she’s talking about a lover rather than a food. I imagine what it would sound like if she said she loved me that way.

Of course that will probably never happen because I’m a dumb jerk who apparently can’t even order a meal on a date.

“So what do you do?” she asks. “When you’re not buying plants at the nursery?”

“I’m an actor.”

“I haven’t seen you in anything.”

I cringe. I hate having to explain that I’m still trying to break into the business. “I just did a toothpaste commercial. It’ll be airing soon.”

“You do have a great smile,” she tells me.

Finally something positive. Maybe there’s hope for us after all.

“I’ve been doing a lot of auditions. I have a really good feeling that my big break may be just around the corner.”

“That’s great. How long have you been at it?”

“Too long,” I tell her.

That makes her laugh. “You can’t be older than twenty-five. Did you start when you were a kid?”

“I’m twenty-six. I started auditioning about five years ago.”

“That’s not too long.”

“How old are you?” I ask her.

Her face reddens. “So you want me to tell you the truth?”

“Of course.”

“Nineteen.”

For some reason I didn’t think she was that young. Not that she looks older. She just seems a lot more mature than the average nineteen-year-old.

“Does the age difference bother you?” I ask her.

Even though she shakes her head I can tell that something is making her uncomfortable about being with me.

I hope it isn’t
just
me
.

“You seem younger,” she tells me. I’m not sure that’s a compliment.

“So what do you like to do when you’re not at the nursery?” I ask.

She lets out a small sigh. “I don’t have a lot of free time.”

She looks lost in her thoughts for several moments.

“Do you work every day?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “I usually get two days off every week.”

“What do you do when you’re not working?”

The egg rolls are served before she has a chance to respond. The plate barely has a chance to hit the table before she grabs one.

Abby is a tiny girl. She’s maybe five foot three inches tall and all of a hundred and ten pounds. But she’s acting like she’s starving.

I love to eat just as much as the next guy, but I’ve never seen a girl devour food so fast in my life.

The first egg roll disappears into her mouth. It doesn’t even seem like she took the time to chew it.

There are two egg rolls left on the plate and she’s eyeing them like a hungry lion eyeing a big, juicy steak.

“Have one,” she tells me without taking her eyes off of them.

I feel like if I grab one she might bite some of my fingers off. “Go ahead,” I tell her.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

The words barely escape my lips before she has another egg roll devoured. I’ve heard other girls say that they don’t like to eat in front of guys. Abby definitely doesn’t have that problem.

“You have to eat the last one,” she tells me. The words coming out of her mouth don’t match the look in her eyes. She definitely wants to gulp down that last egg roll.

“You have it,” I tell her.

She doesn’t even hesitate to grab it and shove it into her mouth.

I’m really glad I don’t like egg rolls all that much.

“You must really love egg rolls,” I comment.

She grins. “I do.”

“Did you eat breakfast this morning?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “I was too busy. I didn’t get a chance.”

That could explain why she’s so hungry. But why didn’t she get a chance to eat?

Before I have a chance to ask her the waiter serves our main dishes.

She stares at the chicken with the same hungry eyes she had for the egg rolls.

“Take what you want and then I’ll take mine,” I offer.

She takes most of the chicken and puts in on her plate. Then she takes a little more than half of the beef and stacks that on top of the chicken. She also takes most of the rice.

Her plate looks like there’s enough food on it for three people to share. I don’t say anything because I’m not that hungry. I don’t want to make her feel bad. She’s obviously very hungry.

I just wanted to get to know her better anyway. And in a way it feels good that she feels comfortable being herself around me.

“I’m sorry,” she says staring at the mountain of food on her plate. “I think I might have gotten carried away and taken too much. I haven’t been out on a date in forever. I haven’t gotten Chinese food either. I’m usually not a pig like this.”

“It’s okay,” I tell her. “I want you to enjoy yourself.” I point to the little bit of beef and rice that’s left. “This is plenty for me.”

It’s not enough to feed a small child, but I don’t say that. She looks sad that she piled so much food on her plate without thinking about it.

“Really,” I tell her. “Eat.”

The corners of her mouth finally turn up slightly when she sees I’m serious. It’s not a big deal. I’m just glad that she’s happy.

Just as I suspected she devours her meal almost as quickly as she ate the egg rolls. I have no idea where it all goes, but she somehow manages to finish every last bite. She doesn’t even leave a single grain of rice on the plate.

I actually feel bad that I ate the little bit of rice and beef that she left. She still looks hungry.

“Do you want desert?” I ask.

She bites her bottom lip. “Can we go for ice cream?”

“Of course.”

Her face lights up. “I know just the place.”

“The Ice Cream Stop,” we both say at the same time.

“You have great taste,” she tells me.

“I am here with you,” I reply.

That makes her blush. “I meant in food.”

When the waiter brings the bill I put down the two twenties. Looks like a big tip is out of the question if we’re going for ice cream.

I pocket most of the change the waiter brings except for two dollars. I don’t want to look cheap, so I also give him the two dollars I had left in my pocket from the change from the nursery.

“Thank you so much for lunch,” Abby tells me as we both rise from the table.

“My pleasure,” I reply.

I just hope my stomach doesn’t growl because now I’m starting to actually get hungry.

Once we’re outside I’m shocked when Abby grabs my hand. My chest tightens and it’s a little harder for me to breathe.