Forcing Gravity (47 page)

“Alright, well I’m glad we got that cleared up,” he said, reaching out to finger one of my curls. “So you’re going to San Francisco in two weeks?”

I nodded. “Yeah, Ethan’s sister lives there, so we’re going to visit her. I sort of wanted to g
et away, and I’ve never been to
San Francisco, so it seemed like a fun trip.”

I’d wanted to get away before I’d started seeing Jase again, but now I wasn’t so sure I wanted to leave for a weekend.

“Do you think Ethan would mind if I came with you guys?” he asked, and my eyebrows rose as a smile crept up on my face. “I mean, I don’t want to intrude, but going away with you sounds pretty amazing, and besides, I’m not sure how I feel about you sharing a hotel room with Ethan.”

I rolled my eyes. “Jase, I’ve shared beds with Ethan since I was seven. Trust me, there’s nothing between us. We’re strictly platonic, but aside from that, I’d much rather share a bed with you.
”

“You are welcome in my bed anytime,” he said, leaning forward to kiss me gently.

God, I was falling hard for him.

“In that case, you’re definitely coming with me to San Fran. I know Ethan won’t care. Besides, I want you guys to get to know each other.”
There was bad blood between them for too long, and I needed the two guys in my life to be friends.
“So what
movie premiere do you have?”

“A film I shot last year,” he said. “It’s called
The
Mulaneys
.
It’s about an Irish-American family living South Boston. It’s kind of like
The Departed
meets
The Sopranos.
”

“Who do you play?”

“I play Liam, the youngest brother who watches all his older brothers follow their father’s footsteps into the Irish mob, but I’m smart and have aspirations of going to college. It’s a pretty dark film, and there’s a lot of violence, especially between me and my brothers.”

Was there no end to his range?

“That sounds amazing.”

“We’ll see,” he said sheepishly, his green eyes locking with mine. “How would you feel about going to
the
premiere?”

My eyebrows rose.
“Really?”

He nodded. “I’ll have to walk the red carpet and get my picture taken, but I can meet up with you afterward, and you
can sit with us during the screening
.”

I thought about what it would be like to watch Jase
up
on the big screen while sitting right next to
him,
and the thought gave me chills.

“Us?”

“Ellie,” he explained. “She’s my ‘date’ for the night.”

“Oh,” I said, feeling crest
fallen, even though I knew I shouldn’t. Their dating was all for show. I really had nothing to be concerned about.

“That upsets you,” he said, reading my expression too clearly.

I shook my head. “It’s fine. It’s work, right. I know you have to do to what you have to do, so it’s fine.”

He raised his eyebrows. “You said ‘
it’s
fine’ twice. Are you sure?”

“Yes,” I said definitively. “As long as I get to go home with you, I’m good.”

Jase smiled. “I’ll be thinking about you the whole
time, and you can even watch us
walk the carpet if you want to, just so you can see that Ellie and I are totally platonic.”

“No, that’s fine. I trust you, Jase. I’ll just get some free popcorn and wait inside for you
. It’s fine.”

I knew I’d said it again, but I couldn’t really think of anything else t
hat might work. Not being seen in pu
blic with Jase was the price I paid to maintain some semblance of privacy in my life. It was worth it, even though the tug in my chest made me question my decision just a little.

“You are amazing,” Jase said, as he pulled me close and covered my mouth with his, making the questions in my head disappear altogether.

-
2
2
-

“Okay quick, tell me wha
t you’re doing with Jason Brady
!” Kelly hissed as soon as Jase had disappeared into the men’s room.

Beside me, Ethan huffed, and I elbowed him.

“Jase,” I corrected her. “And he’s my boyfriend.”

I couldn’t help the wide grin that spread over my face as I shared this with one of my oldest friends. Even though Kelly wa
s almost ten years older
, she’d always been like a sister to me.

Ethan huffed again and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“Oh, my God!” she shrieked in hushed tones, as not to drawn attention to us.

We were in a coffee shop in San Francisco where we’d met her for lunch. She was taking the afternoon off work to show us around, and then we were meeting her fiancé, Devin, for dinner when he got off work later in the day.

“I cannot believe you are dating a movie star!”

“Your brother’s a movie star. It’s not that big of a deal,” Ethan muttered, taking a bite of his sandwich.

“Um, yeah it is,” Kelly defended, looking at her youngest brother like he was insane. “It’s Jason, sorry, Jase, Brady. He’s a huge star, and he’s
soooo
hot! Devin is going to flip out.
He saw
Radio Riot
three times while it was in the theater
. He’s obsessed with that movie, especially
Jase’s
character.”

Shit.
I hoped Devin would keep his cool. He worked at
a
radio station in San Francisco, and was usually a really laid back guy, but I wasn’t sure if he’d be able to maintain his demeanor with his favorite movie star sitting across from him. I’d have to give Jase a heads-up just in case.

“It wasn’t that great of a movie,” Ethan said, shaking his head.

“What is your problem?” I asked, turning to face him.

“Yeah, E, what’s your deal?” Kelly asked. She, like me, was used to Ethan’s carefree, happy disposition, but it seemed like ever since we’d started school, his moods were all over the place.

“I don’t like
him
, that’s all,” Ethan gr
umbled.

“Why?” I demanded.

“Yeah, why?”
Kelly asked. “He’s so nice and down-to-earth, and he obviously really
likes Logan. What’s not to like?
”

“Never mind,” Ethan said, glancing toward the men’s room where Jase was walking back to the table.

He was wearing a
gray
fedora
over his dark hair
as part of his disguise, but I was glad he’d taken off his sunglasses. I didn’t think anyone in the trendy café in Haight-Ashbury cared who he was. No one had
even
come up to us in the twenty minutes we’d been sitting at our table, and the waitress hadn’t even glanced twice at Jase as he’d ordered. It was a nice change.

We’d hung out a few times outside of his house in the past two weeks, and I’d gotten to witness just how popular he really was. Four teenage fans had drooled over him and begged for his autograph and took turns taking pictures with him when we’d gone out to lunch one day with his friend, Freddie
,
and
Ellie
.
Then Jase had
gotten offers from
three
women to ‘call them’ when a bunch of us had been out at a club one night. And when we’d gone to a Dodger
s
game with some of his friends, we’d had to bring security with us, and Jase had rented out a full luxury box
just
so we wouldn’t get mobbed.

Since I was spending more time with him, I realized just how recognizable he was, and how people had no shame in coming right up to him to talk to him, or ask for an autograph or a picture, but the creepiest thing was that they acted like they knew him from what they’d read in magazines.

The teenagers who’d been fawning
all over him, gushed about what a bitch Chloe was, and how they hated her and
would never see another one of
her movies. They told him they’d never treat him like that if they were lucky enou
gh to date him, and he’d discreetly
glanced over at me
and winked
when they’d said that. I smiled back at him. I was lucky enough to date him, and I knew I’d never do anything t
o jeopardize what we had. Every
day
it
things seemed to get better between us, and I’d never been happier.

“What did I miss?” Jase asked, sliding into the seat next to me. He squeezed my hand under the table for a second but dropped it instantly.

That was the only thing I didn’t li
ke about our relationship, but it
was a sacrifice I was willing to make. We didn’t touch in public, but we more than made up for it in private.

“Ethan was just telling us how he wants to tour Alcatraz,” I offered, and Ethan’s head popped up in surprise. I gave him a look that told him I wasn’t happy with him
and that he should just shut up
.

“I’m up for anything,” Jase said, more than agreeable as usual. He was really easy-going.

“I’m good with that,” Kelly offered.
“
We can buy tickets down at Fisherman’s Wharf.”

“Let’s do it,” Jase said, smiling at her.

“Excuse me,”
came
a voice to my right, and I looked up to see a hipster guy around our age shifting nervously from foot to foot. “Are you Jason Brady?”

Jase nodded. “I am.”

The guy smiled.
“Alright.
Cool. Um, my girlfriend over there,” he said, gesturing to a red-head who was burying her head in her hands in embarrassment, “um, she’s a big fan of yours, and she wanted to know if you would autograph something for her.”

“Sure,” Jase said, and only because I knew him could I tell that he was bothered. I knew he wanted to just be
left alone. It
was our weekend away after all.

“Cool. Thanks man,” the guy said, thrusting a playbill for a play I’d never heard of into
Jase’s
hands. “Sorry, that’s all I have
for you to write on.”

“Don’t you have any headshots you could sign for her?” Ethan
asked,
his voice full of
snark
.

I glared at him.

“
It’s
fine,” Jase said, taking the play
bill
and ignoring Ethan
. “What’s your girlfriend’s name?”

“Rain,” he said, looking back at the girl who was staring at us, her face
so b
right red
it nearly matched
her hair. He smiled at her. “Come here, baby.”

Slowly she got to her feet and walked toward us. She was dressed in a baby doll dress and black high-top Dr. Martens, very Gwen Stefani, circa 1997. She didn’t look like one of
Jase’s
typical fans.

“Hi,” she said shyly, as Jase stuck his hand out to greet her. “It’s so nice to meet you. I’ve seen all of your movies. You’re an amazing actor.”

“Thank you,” Jase said, smiling warmly at her.

I glanced at Ethan, and he rolled his eyes, so I kicked him under the table.

“
Urgh
,” he said, and I realized I’d kicked him
pretty
hard.

“You okay, man?” Jase asked him.

“I’m fine,” E
than said through gritted teeth,
as he glared at me and rubbed his shin.

“Here you go,” Jase said, handing the personalized signed playbill to Rain. I noticed her name on the front,
and I wondered if
Jase had
seen it too
.

“She’s an actress too,” the guy chimed in, and Rain’s face flushed crimson again.

“Shut up, Robbie. He doesn’t need to know that.”

“That’s great,” Jase said kindly. “Good luck with your play.”

Apparently he’d seen it.

“You should come. There’s a show tonight at th
e theater across the street,” Robbie
said, gesturing to a small, rundown looking theater.

“We actually have plans tonight,” Kelly jumped in, saving Jase so he didn’t have to look like a jerk and decline the invite. “But that was really nice of you to invite us.”

“No worries,” Robbie said brightly, and I was glad he
did
n’t feel
slighted. “Just remember her name, Rain Winslow. She’s going to be as famous as you one day.”