A Slow Burning Fire (14 page)

Bryce and Arial had eaten first before exploring. Which was good, because he could focus more on everything around him with a full stomach. He watched Arial, trying to get a feel for what was going on inside her head. Being at home hadn't been easy on her so far, he could tell. She was always so stressed out and on edge.

****

Arial hugged herself as she walked, trying to keep casual, but a flood of memories was coming back to her. Some good, some bad, and all of them made up a lifetime of experiences. Before she moved to Los Angeles, Gloriana was the only place she had ever known. It was much like Tiffany had said: it was hard to imagine a world outside of the countryside. Once a year the family would travel into downtown Columbus for a day of shopping and taking in the sights of the city. That had been the only urban area she'd ever visited. The family hadn't had the money to go on any real vacations. It hadn't bothered her until she was about eight or nine. That was when the craving to go and see more had become stronger.

The day she had auditioned blindly the family had been up in the city for their yearly visit. Arial had always loved to perform, so why not give it a try? After she got the part, and she took her first steps in Los Angeles, she knew she could never go back to being a small town girl. Even at the age of ten it was clear. Her destiny was to be elsewhere. For a while she bounced back and forth between Gloriana and Los Angeles.

That stopped when she was about fourteen. The kids at home, her peers, didn’t accept her. At first there had been a glamour appeal about her, but maintaining long-distance relationships over the fall and winter was hard. By the time summer came along, most of her home connections were unstable. She was just too different to be friends with the country kids. Her friends were those she met in Los Angeles, but there was always a sense of competition looming over those relationships. As nice as the other girls her age were, they all knew they would have to try out against one another at some point.

Then
Three Wishes
started filming, and she met Bryce. Despite the age difference, there was always a bond between them. Both were considered the old souls of the set. Bryce was fresh and new to the business, so he wasn't quite as jaded as everyone else she'd met. He was bright and funny. Everyone noticed him, and Katie was the one who found a way to get closer and eventually sank her manipulative teeth into him. Katie had her nice moments. She and Arial got along well enough, and for a while Arial supported the relationship between her and Bryce. As they all grew up, everything started to change. Arial wasn't so naïve. She could see how Katie used him and his love. For his sake, Arial remained civil with her and tried to understand their relationship. There had to be a reason he loved her.

A few other members of the crew became her friends. Bryce and a few of the adults who were part of the cast were the people she became closest with in terms of other actors on the show. Her best gal pal was her hair stylist, Lisa.

Reflecting on it all, Arial didn't realize just how lonely her life back in Los Angeles was. Or rather, her life without Bryce. It scared her, and she didn't like how vulnerable and dependent that made her on him. When he was nearby, she was hopeful and whole, even in a place where she'd never been truly accepted. It made the occasional stare from a Gloriana local that much more bearable. Everyone knew who everyone was. Soon, the whole town would know she'd come home again.

“Are you okay? You've been quiet ever since we got here,” Bryce said softly.

“It's been awhile. At least three years,” she said.

He nodded and put an arm around her. His body was so warm and inviting, she couldn't resist snuggling in just a little closer. “It's been a while since I've been back in my hometown. Granted, I grew up in the suburbs of L.A., but there were still places I used to haunt growing up. And of course my old school.”

“My high school experience was through a tutor, so I don't have any of that drama to deal with.”

“It's not dramatic.” He glanced down at her. “High school was an experience, and no, it wasn't always great. But it's a good segue from childhood to adulthood. It's a shame you missed out, but maybe that's why you seem so much older than you really are. You grew up quickly.”

She laughed. “And maybe that's why you seem younger.”

“Hey, now! Are you calling me immature?”

“More like carefree,” she said.

He smirked. “I'm happy to be that. So if you didn't go to high school here, I'm guessing you didn't make a lot of friends here either.”

“You're correct, and that's fine since my schedule is so hectic. Coming back is awkward, though. I feel like I stick out like a sore thumb even though I'm dressed in my frumpy jeans and a button-down uglier than your green plaid shirt. They all know who I really am and that I don't belong here.”

“Which is why you don't come home much,” he said softly.

She shrugged and then rubbed at her arms again. “One of many, but I'm not sure where I belong. Is it possible to be a free spirit? Does a person have to have a home?”

Bryce stopped walking and gazed down at her, making sure she was looking back at him. Their eyes met and he cupped her chin in his hand. “You have one, Ari. Everyone has a place they return to when they're tired from their journey.”

Holding his gaze with her own, she swallowed, trying to get rid of the dry feeling in her mouth and to relax the heavy pounding of her heart. She was swooning, there was no question about it. The depth of his heart touched her. How did he always know the right thing to say? Was it possible for anyone to be so perfect for her?

“I'll find it eventually then,” she whispered.

His lips pressed against her forehead. Her eyes closed as she lingered in the moment. Bryce was kissing her. A sweet kiss, but the purity of it made it far more romantic than anything she'd ever experienced in her entire life. And he was giving it to her on his own accord while sober. If it were possible for her to melt into a puddle of goo, she would have done so within two seconds.

****

For a moment, all he could do was look down at her and ache over the sadness he saw in her eyes. She was so much stronger than she believed herself to be. Bryce wanted to show her that, but he didn't know how. Just like he wasn't sure how to show her how he loved her.

“Are you ready to go?” he asked, knowing how uncomfortable being in town was for her. He blinked with surprise when she shook her head. “Are you sure? Like I said, you seem on edge. I don't want you to upset your stomach and lose that delicious breakfast we just ate from the diner!”

She laughed. “I need to be here, to be used to this. At least I'm not the only person people are staring at. They're probably wondering who
you
are, more than asking what I'm doing back. Plus I promised you a good time. It just takes a little bit to get over the fear. Kind of like before getting up on the stage. This is so similar for me because I'm in a public spotlight, the whole town watching my one-woman show. Small town gossip is just as fun as tabloid fodder, so of course they wanna see what I do next. I think they're waiting for me to do something Hollywood crazy.”

“Let's see, there aren't any night clubs to get drunk at, so that leaves man stealing or joining the no-panty club,” he teased.

Arial giggled so hard that she snorted. She'd done that a handful of times in front of him before. He liked it and didn't understand in the slightest why her cheeks always flushed afterward. Was she embarrassed? She shouldn't have been.

****

It took her a few seconds to find her composure again. She took in a deep breath to stop the laughter from returning. “There's a bar I could get plastered at if I so choose, but I happen to like my lady parts covered, so they'll be staying that way. As for man stealing…” She glanced up at him. “That's never been my thing.”
Even if I wanted to try it.
The risk of losing him forever hadn't been worth trying to break him up with Katie. In the end, she wanted him to be happy.

“As tempting as it is to see what you would be like drunk, I'm gonna pass on that idea. So instead we should make a different kind of trouble.” He smirked, and she caught a glimmer of childish deviousness in his eyes. The carefree spirit she loved was back. The past few months, he'd mellowed out so much it worried her. His true self was starting to come back.

“What kind of trouble?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

He scrunched up his face. “I haven't gotten that far yet, but it'll be interesting. Right now I think it involves finding some old school albums, finding a place to park the car, and jamming. I'm sure you have something that's similar to a lovers’ lane or whatever, right? Don't most small towns have those? Or should I not put too much stock in the movies?”

A lovers’ lane? He wanted to go to a place like that with her? She had to be reading too much into it. Shifting her weight so she wasn't quite so close to him, she took a moment to think about the places they could go. “There is a park not too far from here. Some of the teenagers nearby like to hang out there at night while the weather is nice. The younger kids are usually there in the daytime playing on the playground. If I remember correctly, that is. A lot can change in three years.”

“Still worth checking out. Oh, and I think we need a place we can get some kind of blended fruity drink, too.”

“This doesn't sound like a lot of trouble,” Arial pointed out.

Bryce winked. “I've never been good at being a bad boy.”

He grabbed her hand and walked her toward the music store. He held the door open for her. She wasn't about to complain at his inability to be naughty, though she would argue he was good at it when he wanted to be. His character on
Three Wishes
hadn't been all too charming or nice. In real life, however, he was right. There was no way he could do anything bad to anyone.

The music shop, which was literally called “Music”, was inside a square brick building. The tinted windows were covered in band and movie posters. A peculiar smell hit her nostrils the moment she stepped through the door. Something like dirt mixed with spoiled food. Not a pleasant scent in the least. She'd always hated going in there, but watching Bryce's eyes go wide with joy made it worth the sacrifice.

While he went to comb through the various CD cases, she flipped through the posters on display. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched the sales clerk. His nametag read “Mick”, and he was definitely a teenager. The guy kept discreetly trying to text while she and Bryce browsed. Something about the way he watched her while he did it had her wondering if she was the subject being texted about. Not a possibility she was thrilled about, especially if Bryce was being mentioned as well. Her fans were not anywhere near as frightening as his. Teenage girls liked to squeal and grab him. Hopefully he was almost done.

She went over to see what he was looking at. Lightly, she grazed a hand over his shoulders. “Almost done?”

“Yeah, I think so,” he said with the brightest of smiles. “There's so much stuff here, though. I could stay for hours!”

I don't think we have that much time.
She also smiled at him, not wanting to stress him out at the idea of their outing being interrupted. “We can come back. There's still another month of summer to explore. Let's go get those drinks and relax.” More importantly, she wanted them to get out of there and fast. She took his hand and pulled him toward the sales clerk.

****

Bryce had picked out three CDs, all of them of indie bands he loved but could never find in the main stores, and paid in cash. He still held Arial's hand in his own when he escorted her out of the store. Joy filled him once the reality of how she had initiated it hit him. Arial wanted to hold his hand and to be close to him. As long as she wanted him to do it, he gladly would. Her hand must have been made for his because it was so comfortable to grasp. It was just the right size and strong. He didn't think he was going to break her hand off from a simple touch. Everything was lining up perfectly.

I could fall in love with her
, he realized. And the thought brought a smile to his face.

Chapter Twelve

Gossip did indeed spread quickly about Arial's whereabouts. All it took was one social media status, and then the whole world figured out where she was. Thankfully, the paparazzi didn't find an interest in heading out to Gloriana to stalk her. Then again, there weren’t a whole lot of interesting things going on at the farm to take pictures of. There were pictures from the past of her in her farming clothes. Of course, if the world knew that Bryce was there too, that would be a whole other story. No one made the connection between her and him. The townsfolk gossip claimed he was a model friend, or simply a member of her entourage — the latter being the most popular story. As usual, she let them believe whatever they wanted.

It only took a week and a half for the buzz to die down about her homecoming. Once the town realized she was keeping to herself and only spending time with her family, they found another juicy story to move on to. She could go to town and not receive a bunch of stares. Some people even started waving to her. Bryce helped of course. Everyone loved him, but what was there not to love? He was a gentleman and listened to what everyone had to say. In fact, he spent more time in town than she did.

The quiet life came so naturally for him she was jealous. All of her life she'd tried her hardest to fit in, and it was pretty close to impossible. Within a handful of weeks, he not only had the whole town's names, but a lot of their personal stories. He acted like he belonged there, accent and all. His city upbringing still shone through in just about everything he did, but he still belonged. Why couldn't she have that, too?

As summer progressed, Los Angeles felt like a whole other world. If she wasn't careful, she would start to think her other life was a dream and never return. Acting, music, glamorous nights out, and upscale shopping were like a thing of the distant past — another lifetime almost. What was even more alarming to her was how much she didn't quite miss it. Her love of performing was still present, but the desire for the fast life was starting to wane. She found herself spending more time lying in the grass than anything, enjoying the solitude. Even if she wasn't completely alone, Bryce was good at being invisible. He blended in with the calm so well that she found just as much comfort doing nothing with him as she did when they were active. There was no awkward silence. At the same time, his presence offered her warmth and security like a favorite blanket.