Forcing Gravity (29 page)

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“Do you want to meet me for coffee?” J
ase asked when he called me on Wednesday
as I was walking back home from my two morning classes.

I had a boatload of studying to do and planned to hole up in my room and get it all knocked out. But then Jase called, and my plan went out the window.
He’d had a hellish few days of shooting, so we hadn’t seen each other since
our date on
Friday night.

We’d gone to the little Italian place he’d mentioned in Pasadena and then strolled down Colorado Boulevard holding hands. It had quite possibly been the perfect night – so much so that I
’d
almost forgot
ten
about the paparazzi.

When we got back to my dorm it was late, but Jase had an early call time the ne
xt day, so he couldn’t come up. Unfortunately, that wouldn’t have been an option anyway. There were three photographers lurking outside my dorm when we started to pull up. They didn’t see us, so Jase quickly swerved around the back of the building to drop me off.

Fearful that the photographers would realize what we’d done, he gave me a quick kiss and told me he’d call me the next night after he got done filming, warning me it might be late. He shot me one of his rare full grin smiles before I darted out of the car, ducked inside the back door and ran upstairs.

Then I spent the entire night giving Henley the details I’d promised
her
earlier in the day, and she sat riveted as I recapped my day on the set. Ironically, she wanted to hear more about Garrett once she realized I’d been around him all day, so we switched g
ears so she could talk about him
. Fortunately, her phone rang a few minutes later, and
it wa
s who she’d been hoping it would be
, so I was able to crawl into bed and dream about Jase.

The next morning, I forgot all about the photographers as I left early in the day to meet Ethan for surfing. Thankfully there was only one
guy down there, but
he sure looked smug when I appeared. His wait had apparently been worth it.

“
Logan,
i
s it true
you’re dating Jason Brady?” he
asked
casually
, as he
snapped my picture a few
times.

“Who?”
I asked, feigning ignorance as he followed me to my car.

The photographer just raised an eyebrow at me as he continued to take my picture.

“Are you talking about that famous actor guy?” I asked, doing my best to look confused.

The photographer grinned
, not buying what I was selling him for a second
.
“Come on, don’t play dumb
. I know he spent the night here
two nights ago
.”

“Then y
ou should check your facts. I don’t know Jason Brady.”

Snap. Snap. Snap.
“Are you dating him to get back at Garrett Lewis for dumping you?”

I laughed out loud. “That would be a great idea, if I’d ever actually dated Garrett. We’re just friends.”

Snap. Snap.
“That’s what they all say. Come on, give me something.”

“Okay,” I said, turning to face him, and he looked eager with anticipation. “Waiting me out was a giant waste of your time. I don’t date celebrities, and I sure as hell wouldn’t date Jason Brady. Now leave me alone.”

With that, I
loaded my board in
to
my backseat, got in and drove away, leaving him stunned as he watched me disappear.
I smiled smugly as I drove away and couldn’t wait to tell Jase how I’d so expertly handled the
photogs
.

But
Jase didn’t end up calling me on Satur
day night. He texted me around midnight to let
me know
that
he was
still shooting and he’d call
the next day.  And true to his promise, he did
, but we’d only talked for a few minutes. Then on
Wednesday, just as I was starting to fear he’d lost interest, he called and asked me out for coffee, and I smiled all the way back to my dorm.

When I entered the café
the place was deserted, and I wondered how much that had to do with why Jase had picked it. He’d asked me to meet him in a r
esidential
area of Brentwood, and I thought it was strange at the time, but I should have figured it out.

Jase
was already there, thumbing through something on his
iPad
. He looked up and saw me and grinned, so I grinned back, that gi
ddy feeling overtaking me. Man, t
hat boy did funny things to my head.

He stood as I approach the table and greeted me with a hug
. “Long time no see stranger.”

“It’s good to see you,” I said, taking the seat across from him and appraising his casual look. He wore a gray sweatshirt and a
blue Dodgers’
baseball cap and
had a few days’
worth of stubble on his normally smooth face.
It was a different look for him, but somehow, he managed to look even hotter.

“Are you sure
it’s good to see me
?” he asked, “because Rodney told me you told him you don’t date celebrities and that you sure as hell wouldn’t date Jason Brady
, so I’m not sure what I should think
.”

My stomach seized up. “How – how did you – who told – what?”

I was completely dumbstruck for a
few seconds before Jase started laughing hysterically. “You’re really cute when you’re flustered, do you know that?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Not funny,” I said, opening my menu to see what I wanted to order, but I couldn’t help glancing up at him.

He leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms and
eyed
me playfully. I quirked at small smile at him, and he grinned.

“So, what, are you on a first name basis with the
nosey
photogs
?”

He shrugged.
“Some of them.
Rodney’s cool, but sometimes he can be a little aggressive. I got to know him a few years ago when Chloe . . . never mind.”

He looked down at his latte and stirred it carefully. I knew where he’d been going, and I
think he realized to
o late that he probably shouldn’t talk about his ex-girlfriend
while on a date with the new girl he was seeing.

“Did Rodney
buy that we weren’t dating?”
I asked, trying to make him feel at ease. He had an ex. It wasn’t a big
deal
. I didn’t want to hear about her, but he didn’t need to feel bad about his slip up.

“
I don’t think so,” he said, shrugging. “I don’t know how convincing I was, but then again, I’m not sure I care if people know.”

My heart started pounding in my chest.
He wanted to be exclusive,
and
h
e wanted people to know we were dating? We’d only been seeing each other
officially for a little over a
we
ek, unless you counted the time we’d been talking on
the phone. Either way, it was so early
.

“Really?
Aren’t you supposed to be all mysterious and deny you’re in a relationship as you hold the hand of the girl you’re ‘just friends’ with? Did you forget
rule #5 in
your celebrity handbook or something?”

Jase
finally looked up and
smiled a guilty smile as he reached across the table and took my hand, lacing our fingers together. “I’ve never really been very good at following the celebrity rules of dating. I like you, and that’s it. But I also know that once we go public, that’s also it, and I’m not ready to subject you to that kind of scrutiny.”

I had to appreciate that. I didn’t really want my every move documented either. I wanted to walk to class without every single person
I passed
knowing the intimate details of my relationship.

“Then let’s just keep things how they are.” I tugged him closer, so I could lean forward and kiss his inviting lips. “
Ow
,” I said, pulling back. “That’s not comfortable. What’s with the stubble?”

Jase involuntarily rubbed his scruffy jawline. “It’s for the movie. I get trapped in the basement and tortured by the demons for a few days, so they needed to make it realistic. You don’t like it?”

I reached out to stroke his cheek. “Don’t get me wrong. It’s sexy as hell, but I don’t want
to get a rash on my face from kissing you.”

He raised an eyebrow at me. “Do you plan on doing a lot of kissing?”

I shrugged. “I
had
planned on it, now I’m not so sure.”

Jase looked at me in mock offense before he tu
gged me forward and captured my
lips with his, scratching the area around my mouth all to hell, but honestly, at that point, I didn’t really care.

“I get to shave it off tomorrow,” he said, when he pulled back. “Can I convince you to come over on Friday night if I’m stubble-free?”

“I think that could be arranged,” I said, kissing him once again.

“Are you hungry?” he asked
,
as he signaled the waitress over.

“It’s about time,” she called back, winking at him, and I wondered if he knew her. Had they dated? She sauntered over to us and nudged his shoulder. “What do you want?”

He pushed her away and grinned at me. “Logan, this is my little sister
,
Nora.
She’s a freshman at UCLA.
Nora, this is Logan – my sort of girlfriend.”

I raised an eyebrow at him, and he just smirked.

“Hi Logan
,
Jase’s
‘sort of girlfriend’
,” Nora said, smiling at me. “You seem normal. Are you
normal
?”

I laughed at her brazenness as I appraised her.
She was gorgeous in an understated way, and there
were
definite
similarities between her and Jase. They were subtle, but they were there.
They both had dark hair, similar facial features and had tall slim builds, but she hadn’t been blessed with
Jase’s
green eyes or
his full lips
.

“
I would have to say yes,” I
finally
answere
d
her
. “Considering the girls I’m sure Jase usually dates, yes, I’m normal.”

Nora laughed. “You’ve got that right. Most of them are snotty bitches who think they can exploit my brother
to get further in their careers.”
She said it, not me.
“You’re not an actress, are you?”

I shook my head. “No, I’m not. Are you?”

I stopped before I said something bitchy. I figured if I was going to insult actresses in general, I’d better make sure she wasn’t one.

Nora laughed, throwing her head back in amusement.
“U
h, no.
I’m a business
major.
”

“Don’t let her fool you,” Jase piped in. “Nora’s been modeling on the side since she was fifteen.”

“Jase,” Nora whined, elbowing her brother in the shoulder.
“Don’t tell people that.”

Jase rolled his eyes. “It’s not like they can’t see for themselves when they drive down the 405. That billboard
isn’t exactly discreet
.”

“You’re on a billboard?” I asked.

Nora shrugged sheepishly. “I’ve done some work with 57 Jeans, and they turned this print campaign I did into a billboard, so yeah. But hey, enough about me, let’s talk more about
Jase’s
shitty taste in women.”

“I like that idea,” I chimed in, and
Nora grinned at me.

“Jeez,” Jase said, looking down at his menu. “Had I known you two were going to make fun of me, I never would have come here.”

Nora put her arm
around
her brother. “Jase, you just have really bad taste in girlfriends – expect Logan, that is. I like her.”

I kicked Jase under the table, but he didn’t look up. He just grinned and kept his eyes on his menu.

The door to the café dinged, and a woman in yoga pants came walked in. She passed us, glancing over briefly before continuing on to the counter. Then she glanced back
again
, and I knew she recognized Jase.