He shakes with laughter. “It would seem so. That or a different part of my body.” He smirks and leaves me standing here feeling as if I swallowed my tongue whole. Much like when I asked him to join me for pop tarts earlier, this isn’t just about food, but this time when I try to open my mouth to back out of it, nothing comes out.
It’s happening. I’ll ride with him in his car, walk through the front door of his lake house with him, and will probably keep saying yes to whatever he suggests we do next, because that’s all I can do when it comes to him. That’s all I want to do.
Twelve minutes later I reach his car, thinking I can still change my mind. Then he rolls down his window and with an easy smile, he says, “Get in, movie star.”
So I do.
Nine
Hayden
He looks good in my kitchen, perching himself on the table and drinking the fresh iced tea I made him. He doesn’t once look at the chairs until his feet get tired and he needs somewhere to rest them. I chuckle at that, walking out to the grill and checking on the burgers. I didn’t know what he was going to request, but I sure as heck didn’t think it would be something so simple.
The fries are all done on the stove top when I come back in from plating the patties. I open the oven door and grab an oven mitt to set the pan of toasted buns beside the fries before turning the control knob to off.
“Something smells delicious.”
“Yeah? It’s all about done too. What do you like on your burger?”
“Everything.” He stretches his legs out, scrolling on his phone.
“Onions, tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, ketchup, and mustard?”
He wrinkles his nose. “Everything but the mustard.”
I snort. “And that’s why I ask.”
“Thanks for doing this,” he says, turning toward me, his phone resting on his leg.
“Yeah, sure thing. I gotta eat anyway, so what’s setting a little extra on the grill?”
“You come all the way out here between working on set?”
“No. Not every day. I’m staying at the hotel across the way for convenience, and so it’s less likely I’ll stay in bed versus coming in.”
He laughs. “Yeah, I wouldn’t want to leave here either. It’s like your own personal little paradise. You’ve got the lake only a short walk away, your own private pool, and a huge library of books in your living room. What more do you need?”
Nothing now that you’re here.We could have all this together, and he won’t have to go anywhere ever again. “The money I get from working.”
He sighs, running his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, I guess there’s that. I’ve been saving my money, though, and if everything keeps going the way it has been, I should be able to retire in about ten years or less.”
“I’m sure it will. You’re a great actor, and as of now I can tell everyone’s fighting to have you in their movie.” I walk to the fridge to take out the veggies, then return to the counter to pull out the cutting board from one of the lower cabinets as he sits quietly.
“Am I wrong?” I ask, looking back at him with my knife hovering over the half-sliced onion.
“Yes and no,” he says, sounding less optimistic than only minutes ago. “I mean, my manager has been getting a lot of calls,but they aren’t always for the right movies. She wants me to branch out more. Says it’ll be better for my career.”
Maybe for your career but not for you. “And how do you feel about it?”
His jaw twitches. “I don’t think I’d be happy in some rom-com or action film role.”
Because neither of those are meant to be your true calling.What he does now isn’t either, but at least it’s the perfect stepping stone. “You could always try one and see, unless you’re really opposed to the idea.”
“Yeah, I could, but even thinking about saying yes leaves me feeling miserable.”
“You gotta do what makes you happy in the long run, otherwise you’ll burn yourself out a lot quicker and start hating the person you’ve become.” I move from cutting the onions to slicing the tomatoes.
“Yeah. I think that’s what happened to my dad. My mom put so much pressure on him about bringing in more money, and shortly after landing a job he had zero interest in doing, he started working and living his life on autopilot. He didn’t only check out at the office but at home too.”