Flirting With Fame (Flirting With Fame) (17 page)

I
’d watched Gavin kiss dozens of actresses on film over the years, wiggling in my theater seat as his lips crushed into those of some impossibly gorgeous woman. I’d return home to dream about it, how it would feel to have those pouty lips against mine. Flushed under the covers, I’d imagine how I’d thread my fingers through his hair and moan against his lips. I’d picture him pressing his hips into mine, driving my body into a frenzy. The thought of his tongue slipping between my teeth was enough to make me clap my hand over my mouth so my parents couldn’t hear me cry out in the dark.

Kissing him in real life was nothing like those kisses I’d seen on the screen. It was better. He tasted sweet, like peppermint candy.

He didn’t kiss me the way he kissed on-screen, his mouth open and tongue searching. This was tender, sweeter, almost tentative in the way his lips remained closed and his mouth stayed soft.

His hands slid around my waist to my lower back and he pulled me toward him. I still had the bag against my stomach, and it made an annoying barrier between us. I shimmied back for a moment and let it fall to the ground. His hips met mine almost instantly and I groaned at the sudden heat against my thighs.

My mouth opened slightly and he took me up on my invitation. He traced my lips, dancing his tongue across my teeth before finally meeting my own. Gavin’s kiss was different from Tanner’s. His mouth was gentle and teasing. He took his time exploring my mouth. There was a confidence behind the kiss, but no forcefulness.

My heart beat like those old drum corps bands against my rib cage, and I ran my fingers down his arms and back toward his spine.

The kiss lasted forever yet was really only a few seconds. Too soon, he pulled away, both of us breathing heavily, my lips cold where his had once been.

I’m sorry
, he signed.
I wanted to do that a better way.

That way was pretty good
.

No. I meant I wanted to talk to you about it first. I wasn’t planning to maul you like that.

I see
. I eyed the bag on the ground, now turned on its side. The tip of a stiletto poked out as a reminder that Veronica waited for me back on set. Guilt ate at my insides, along with a whole bunch of other emotions so twisted together I could barely sort them from one another.
Why did you do it?

Isn’t it obvious? I like you. I’ve liked you since the moment you took a boat to the face like a champ.

Oh good. He still remembered that. Man, the list of embarrassing things I’d done in front of this guy must’ve earned me some sort of world record.

But why?
I asked.
I mean, you’re this big star and I’m just an author’s assistant
.

You’re so much more than that.
He tucked a lock of hair behind my ear and traced my scar. I tried to pull away, but he cupped my chin with his hands, unwilling to give me a moment of shame. “You’re smart, and funny, and sweet. Not to mention beautiful.”

I coughed and sputtered. “Aubrey’s beautiful. I’m just me.”

“Sure, Aubrey’s beautiful on the outside. But she’s superficial, and boring and kind of a bitch. When I told her I wanted to break up, her true colors came pouring out. I’m not sure I’ve ever had that many expletives hurled at me at once.”

I laughed. “Yeah, she’s not a big fan of rejection. But Leila warned me about you. She said you only date girls to help your career. I can’t do that. I won’t do that. If you want to be with me so the world will say, ‘Look how Gavin Hartley dates the disabled girls! He’s got so much heart!’ I won’t be a part of it.”

His hands fell to his sides and he kicked at a rock. It skidded across the roadside before settling under a trailer beside us.

I hate that you think that’s what this is
, he signed.
I’d never do that to you. To anyone
.

You did it to Leila
.

That was different. We did it together. It was a mutual agreement between us and our publicists to get us in the papers.

Right. The papers. ’Cause that’s where this was headed if I kissed him again. Memories of the camera phones flashing that night at the restaurant moved to the forefront of my mind. How was I supposed to date a celebrity when I couldn’t even cop to writing my own books?

It was impossible to count how many ways this was a bad idea. Possibly worse than following Tanner into his hotel room.

I grabbed the bag off the ground. “Look, Gavin, I’m flattered and completely shocked, but I don’t think I’m what you’re looking for. I have no interest in fame, and I sure as hell don’t want to face Aubrey’s wrath.”

I headed toward the set and Gavin grabbed my shoulder and spun me so I had no choice but to stare at his beautiful body.

People don’t need to know
, he signed
. It can be our secret.

I shifted the bag to my elbow so I could reply in kind.
Why? Because the people around here can’t hear us if we talk like this?

Because I want to get to know you. Because you’re not like other girls I’ve dated, and I like that. Because I can’t stop thinking about you.

I stiffened. The bag cut into the crook of my elbow, reminding me that he’d already seen more than Tanner had and he still wanted to be with me. I couldn’t deny the way my stomach vaulted around my insides like a hyper gymnast every time I looked at him, or how fifteen-year-old me screamed up a storm when I tried to tell her I wouldn’t be pursuing our teenage crush. I sighed.

Fine
, I signed.
I’ll try it. But in secret. No public outings and no one on the set can know.

I can do that
, he signed.
But first, I want to do something else.

What’s that?

I didn’t need sign language to read his body as he pulled me between two trailers and pressed me to the wall of one of them. The steel against my spine sent shivers through me, but they were soon lost among the shivers driving through the rest of my body as his lips joined with mine.

•   •   •

Turns out, dating a ginormous movie star in secret wasn’t as easy as he made it sound. By the time I left the set with a sour-faced Veronica, Gavin and I still hadn’t figured out a place we could meet for our first official date.

The next day, in Children’s Lit, my phone blinked on my desk.

GAVIN:
Your dorm room?

ME:
Roommate.

And it went off again in Shakespeare on Wednesday.

GAVIN:
My hotel room?

ME:
Paparazzi.

Thursday in Magical Physics, my dumbed-down science requirement, was no different.

GAVIN:
A movie theater?

ME:
Ticket takers.

By Thursday evening on the set, I’d determined this was more trouble than it was worth. I handed Veronica my typed notes on the scene they were filming the next week to pass on to Stan and leaned against a tree as the crew set up.

A hand slipped into mine and pulled me behind the tree.

“What are you doing?” I hissed.

Gavin planted a kiss on my neck, drawing shivers from my skin.
No one’s looking
, he signed.
They’re all too busy worrying about what still needs to be done.

I peeked around the trunk to see that he was right. Stan and Veronica stood by the beach, their backs to us, heads bent over my notes. Everyone else ran back and forth frantically as usual. I’d watched this process dozens of times now, and I still had no clue what half of them did.

“Hmmm.” I wrapped my arms around Gavin’s neck and pulled his face toward mine. “It’s a good thing all you Hollywood people are so self-involved.”

“You think I’m self-involved?”

I ran a hand down his chest and over the deep ridges of his abdomen. His stomach contracted beneath my fingers as he sucked in a breath. “A person doesn’t look like this without spending an ample amount of time on their body. I’d consider that self-involved.”

“I call it being in shape.” He grabbed my hand and pulled it around his waist. I pressed my palm against the slope of his lower back. “But I can stop, if you prefer.”

I bit back a moan as his muscles strained against my fingers when he shifted closer. The bark of the tree pressed into my spine, but there was no way I was leaving that spot.

“Um, no,” I said. “You have my permission to be as self-involved as you like, if this is the end result.”

“Now who’s self-involved?”

I’d relived the feeling of his lips for three sweat-filled nights and three days, but they still came as a surprise when they pressed into mine. When he pulled back, he took my breath with him. I closed my eyes until the world settled back into place.

He smiled and signed,
I found a spot for our first date. Are you free after filming tonight?

We were supposed to film until almost midnight. Of course, it would probably go late, as usual, but Friday was my free day with no classes and nothing to be up early for.

I nodded.
Where are we going?

It’s a surprise. Meet me down at the shore after I’ve changed?

Sure. I’ll have to drive Aubrey home and come back, though.

Perfect. That’ll give me time to clean up. See you then.
Something caught his attention. He widened his eyes and glanced around the tree before planting a kiss on my forehead.
I’m needed, but I’ll meet you in a few hours. I can’t wait.

My fingers traced my forehead and mouth as I roamed back to the set, enjoying the tingles still lingering from Gavin’s lips. Veronica had finished her conversation with Stan and now propped herself against Thora’s shack, caught in the shadow of someone tall and blond. I knew without him turning that it was Tanner. Veronica trailed a fingernail over his chest and he brushed a hand across her cheek.

Well, they worked fast. In a way, it was destiny. They deserved each other. Perfection with perfection.

For once, filming stuck to schedule, and we finished only a few moments after midnight. I offered to drive Veronica home, but she informed me she already had a ride and shot a sly look at Tanner. His eyes barely grazed my face before the couple walked away, hand in hand.

I wandered to the shore and waited for Gavin. The water was calm and black, stars glinting off the surface like fireflies. I ached to shove off my shoes and squish my feet into the lake bottom, but it was far too cold this time of year.

Someone touched my shoulder and I turned to find Gavin offering me his hand. He led me to a boat the crew used for water shots. It was tied to a dock down the beach, two oars splayed across the wooden seats.

I glanced behind me. “Aren’t we going to get in trouble? Won’t someone notice us going off together in their boat?”

“Naw,” Gavin said. “Everyone just wants to get home. Come on, this is our ride.”

He hopped into the boat and held out his hand. I cocked my head.

“We’re rowing there?”

“Well, I am. Don’t worry, it’s not too far. Are you afraid of the water?”

“Quite the opposite.” I slung a leg over the edge of the boat and grabbed Gavin’s outstretched hand to steady me. Once I was seated at the end, he held out a piece of black cloth. “Um, what is that?”

“I wondered if you’d put it on. I kind of wanted this to be a surprise.”

Everything I’d learned in my self-defense classes clicked around in my brain. Alone on a boat with a guy who wanted me blindfolded.

“Are you taking me somewhere to kill me?” I asked.

“I was waiting for the second or third date for that.”

“Hm. So you see this going beyond a first date?”

“Only if you put on the blindfold.”

“Nothing dangerous or kinky?” I asked.

“Not if you don’t want it to be,” he said.

“I usually wait till the second or third date for that,” I said.

“Perfect. We have an agreement, then?”

The moon seemed extra bright that night. It glinted off the lake and reflected the playfulness in his eyes. Despite knowing my mother would have a fit and tell me I was being an idiot, I put the blindfold on and knotted it firmly behind my head.

The world went dark. All I had left was feeling and scent as we shoved away from the dock. The boat swayed beneath me and the wind licked my cheeks. I gripped the edge of my seat and shivered in the chilly night. We rocked for a moment and then something was draped over me. I released one of my hands and felt the soft material of what must have been a blanket. Pulling it up to my neck, I snuggled into it and let it pull the chill from my body.

“You thought of everything, huh?” I sent a smile to the spot across from me.

After a few more moments, the boat jerked to a stop as we hit the shore. The blanket was pulled from my lap and wrapped around my shoulders. I clasped it closed and Gavin took my free hand to pull me out of the boat. My feet sank into a surface that squished beneath my feet. Sand.

I sniffed the air and my stomach grumbled. Something smelled greasy and delicious. Gavin guided me a little farther, till I almost tripped on the edge of something in the sand. Then the blindfold was removed.