Dream Date (21 page)

“I’ll bring it to you later. And there’s something else. When the cover art’s finalized, I want you to be the first to see it. I’d love your opinion.”

“That would be an honor,” Nathan said. “Though I’m not exactly the best go-to person when someone’s after artistic feedback.”

“That doesn’t matter. I’ll let you know when it’s ready.”

“By the way, what’s the title? For some reason, I’ve forgotten to ask you that.”

Kayla told him the book’s title.

“That sounds great. It fits.”

“I decided on it after the third draft. I had tried other titles then, and I settled on this one.”

“Have you announced the title on your Web site?”

“Yes. And I’ll reveal the book cover soon.”

Nathan stood up.

“Would you like something to drink, or eat?”

“No. Um…you know what? Why don’t we have dinner together? We seldom eat here.”

“That’s a great idea,” Nathan said, taking Kayla’s hand and leading her to the kitchen. “What would you like?”

“Anything.”

Nathan searched the fridge.

“I have lasagna. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, love. I like Italian.”

While the lasagna heated in the oven, Nathan and Kayla continued to talk.

“There’s something else I want to tell you. And you’re going to like it,” she said.

“What is it?”

“I’ve been looking for apartments—with help from Claire—and I saw a couple of great ones. There aren’t too many apartments in the city, but these ones are the cream of the crop.”

Nathan nodded. He and Kayla had been making plans to live together. Weeks ago, Nathan would have been so delighted to move with her. Now, he felt apprehensive. Then Nathan reconsidered, and felt that living with Kayla would help him fall in love with her more easily.

“That sounds great,” Nathan said, trying to feign excitement.

“There’s this place that’s less than five minutes from the campus. Well, honestly, most of them are. They’re all close to school.”

“I wouldn’t mind waking up early.”

“They both seem like great places to live for the next two years. The one that’s farther is fantastic. We should go see it together one of these days.”

“How about next week?”

“Settled, then,” said Kayla, smiling.

The lasagna was ready a few moments later. Kayla and Nathan began to eat.

After a few minutes, Kayla looked at Nathan.

“You seem off about something. Are you all right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just tired.”

“How about I give you a massage?”

Nathan did a double-take.

“What?”

“A massage.”

Nathan laughed, making Kayla giggle.

“Tempting. But I’d rather be the one giving it.”

“Okay.”

Nathan’s jaw dropped.

“You’re not kidding?”

“Nathan, I’m your girlfriend. I’m serious.”

That sounds irresistible. Only...I can’t help wondering what I would give to massage Amanda. If only we could be together.

Nathan put his hand on his neck and turned it to untighten the muscles.

“By the looks of it, it’s you who needs the massage,” Kayla remarked matter-of-factly. “Your bed, soon as we’re done here. I’m not taking no for an answer.”

Nathan thought for something to change the subject.

“Have you talked to Grecia?”

The corners of Kayla’s lips rose.

“Yes.”

“Ashton had a great story to share this morning. I’m not going to give you all the details, though. I don’t kiss and tell.”

“I know Grecia kissed Ashton.”

That statement made Nathan laugh.

“Are they back together?”

“I don’t know. Grecia wishes they were dating. The problem is Ashton.”

“His problem is that he can’t help ogling every hot girl that walks past him.”

“You know, I could write him into one of my books. Maybe one day.”

“Are you serious?”

“
Maybe
. He could make a nice flawed hero.”

Nathan thought for a moment.

“I should tell him to treat Grecia carefully. That girl is a keeper. Ashton won’t find anyone like her if he loses her.”

“You better do. I don’t want to see Grecia hurt. You should have seen her over these past couple of months.”

“I heard how she spent her twenty-first birthday. Ashton didn’t seem to like that Grecia had drinks with another guy.”

“He was jealous? Well, that’s a good sign.”

“Damn right. Ashton’s never been jealous before.”

Kayla raised her eyebrows. She and Nathan continued thinking about their friends’ rocky relationship.

Amanda was in her hotel room, doing some of her schoolwork. As she read a chapter from her algebra textbook, the bell rang. Amanda waited until Hughes knocked on her door.

“Ms. Tilley, your friend Brad is here.”

At the sound of the name, Amanda hastily closed her textbook and put on a light jacket over her tank top. She slipped her sandals on and then walked to the living room.

Brad was standing in front of the sofa. He turned when he heard Amanda approach.

“Brad!” Amanda said, walking up to her best friend and hugging him. “How are you doing?”

“I’m great. You?”

“Yeah, kind of. A little busy.”

“How many courses are you taking?”

“Just five.”

Brad nodded, rubbing his chin. Then he changed the subject.

“Remember that I invited you to come see me at the sets once filming begins?”

“Yep,” said Amanda, inviting Brad to sit down on the sofa. They both sat down.

“Well, I’ve got somewhat bad news. You’re aware that films are seldom shot in the sequence the story takes place, right? That the first scene shot isn’t necessarily the first one in the script?”

“Yeah?”

“The filmmakers decided to start shooting in Europe. We won’t film the American scenes until after we’re done with that.”

“That’s a shame. Does it mean you’ll be traveling?”

“I will.”

“When do they shoot the scenes that take place here in the U.S.?”

“It’s unclear how long it’ll take. We have a one-week break on Christmas, but apparently there’ll still be quite a bit of shooting left to do. Lizzy told me the shooting in Europe would most likely take until late February to finish, at the earliest.”

“Really? So you won’t be able to take me to the Arkansas set?”

“Yeah, I will still take you. It’ll just take longer. Maybe you’ll spend spring break visiting the set with me.”

Amanda thought about that.

“That sounds like a good idea. It’ll be a nice change. My friends and I usually spend spring break at beaches.”

“I’m glad you’re not disappointed. You wait. You’ll see the great Brad Dillingham in action.”

“I can’t wait,” Amanda said, laughing.

“It’ll be real fun. You’ll like it.”

Amanda nodded, and then got lost in thought.

“When are you getting back to Ithaca?”

“Tomorrow. I have a live Twitter chat that my agent has arranged through his secretary. I’ll answer questions from my fans.”

The next Monday, Nathan decided to eat alone. He didn’t exactly look forward to running into Amanda again. Nathan cooked a Hot Pocket in the microwave oven and then made himself a banana-and-vanilla shake in the blender.

Something shook on the table. Nathan looked over and saw that it was his smartphone. He checked it and read the text message from Kayla. She wanted to know where he was.

Having breakfast @ dorm. Would you like to come?

Nathan hit send. In another minute, the Hot Pocket was ready, and he took it from the oven. He wasn’t sure what Kayla would want, so he just put another one to cook. He’d eat it if she didn’t want it.

Kayla knocked on the door a few moments later. Nathan went to open it for her.

“You’re not joining us?” was the first thing Kayla said as she entered.

“I felt like something different.”

“Like Hot Pockets?” she asked, sniffing the air as Nathan closed the door.

“Would you like one?”

“I already ate. I had a McDonalds Breakfast Platter, minus the biscuit. Ashton ate it.”

“Hmm. How about some banana shake?”

Kayla thought for a few seconds, and then nodded.

“Yeah, just a little.”

Nathan led Kayla to the kitchen.

“I thought you’d eat with us,” she said. “I was going to tell them all about my new book.”

“We’ll have lunch together, then. I’ll be there.”

“Great. Oh, and I brought the eARC.”

Kayla pulled a USB flash drive from her pocket and handed it to Nathan.

“You can load that on your Kindle.”

“Thanks,” Nathan said, pocketing the drive.

“It doesn’t have the final cover art yet. I’m told that they’ll send it to me on Thursday. That day, I’ll put it on the book file and show it to our friends.”

“I’m looking forward to it. When’s the official public reveal of the cover?”

“The week after next.”

Nathan calculated the date.

“That’s the week before Halloween.”

“Yeah.”

“And when does your book trailer premiere?”

“Two weeks before Christmas, hopefully. There’s not much to shoot. I’m not making a movie, anyway.”

Nathan handed Kayla her milkshake. She thanked him and drank some.

“Mmm,” she said. “What do you use?”

“Milk, banana, oatmeal, and cinnamon. Usually, I also add a little vanilla extract or chocolate, but since I’m eating Hot Pockets…”

“I get it.”

Nathan changed the subject.