Gravity Happens (Forcing Gravity) (22 page)

We
also were both wearing Converse sneakers, and the picture was taken as we were crossing the street after having gotten coffee early in the morning, so we were holding hands and each had a large to-go cup in the opposite hand. I don’t think either of us even knew we were being photographed, but it seemed we were spotted. Both our gazes were fixed on the crosswalk sign, so we looked serious and focused.

“What does that caption say?” I asked.

Henley turned the magazine around to look at the page. “Logan Kessler visits boyfriend Jason Brady in New Orleans where he’s on location filming
Sons of Sovereignty.
”

I breathed out a sigh of relief, grateful the media hadn’t twisted our expressions to mean there was trouble in paradise or some other bullshit like that.
I realized then I was taking way too much stock in what the media was reporting, and it was so unhealthy, but I couldn’t help it. Articles like the one from earlier about Jase and Chloe always got under my skin no matter how indifferent I tried to be and how much I tried to ignore them.

My phone rang then,
which gave me a chance to stop obsessing about the gossip rags, and I was happy to see it was my dad on the other end of the line. I hadn’t talked to him in a few days.

“Hi Dad! What’s
up?”

“You went to New Orleans?
!” he boomed , so I pulled the phone away from my ear, realizing he’d received his copy of
Celebrity Weekly
in the mail, and he was none too happy with me.

Ever since the first time I’d been featured in the magazine, he’d started subscribing so he could keep tabs on
how the media was showcasing his daughter. And he’d been known to get mighty upset when they said anything negative. I prayed I never had a fat day and they identified me as having a baby bump, because he might have a heart attack if he read that.

But the bad thing about him tracking me in magazines is that he also knew where I went, even when I lived across the country.

“Uh, yes, yes, I did. I went to visit Jase.”

“Logan,” he chastised. “New Orleans is not a safe city, and don’t you have school? I know you care about Jase a lot, but you can’t be jetting off to see him whenever you want. Are your grades okay?”

He was such a worrier, and it had gotten worse since I’d moved to California. I knew he loved that I’d decided to go to USC, which was his alma matter, but I wasn’t sure he fully wrapped his head around the concept of how far away I’d actually be and how little we’d see each other.

I sighed. “Yes, Dad. My grades are really good. I studied on the plane there and back, and I was only in New Orleans for a day and a half. Jase missed me, so he flew me out there. It was sweet, and Charlie was with us the whole time.”

“I don’t see him in this picture,” he accused, assuming I was lying.

“He’s on the other side of me, Dad. They cropped him out. Trust me, Jase doesn’t go anywhere without him these days. He can’t afford to. Come one, you’ve got to calm down. I’m
fine. I had a great time, and I was back in time to get a good night’s sleep for school on Monday.”

Which was incredibly important because I didn’t sleep at all when I was with Jase in his hotel room, but I wasn’t about to share that tidbit
of information with my father who’d probably be okay assuming I’d be a virgin until the day I walked down the aisle years from then.

He didn’t say anything in response to my defense, so I kept going.

“Dad, you’ve got to trust me. I’m making good decisions in my life, okay? You can’t spend your time worrying about me. I’m fine, and when I’m with Jase, I’m in really good hands.”

“Lo, I’ll never stop worrying about you. You’re my baby girl.”

“I know, Daddy, but you need to try, okay.”

“I will,” he promised.

“Okay, good. Now what else is going on?”

He took a deep breath. “Well, I do have some news.”

“What’s that?” I asked, hoping he’d proposed to Sasha. They were so perfect together, and they’d just moved in together at the beginning of January. It was a logical next step.

“So, I’m not sure if I should have talked to you about this first, but then it happened really fast, faster than we’d planned, and now I have to tell you.”

Okay, I had no clue what he was trying to say, but I was going to be so pissed if he and Sasha had eloped. It was the only thing I could think of.

“Dad, what are you trying to say?”

“So, Sasha and I decided to have a baby.”

My jaw dropped, and I was silent for a moment. “What?!”

Apparently they were skipping right over the logical step. A baby?! Really?!

He laughed nervously, and I pictured him stroking his chin roughly
the way he did when he was anxious.

“Yeah, so I always wanted more kids, and she wanted kids, so we just decided we’d try and see what happened, and she got pregnant the first month. So, yeah, it’s kind of crazy, but we’re wrapping our heads around the idea.”

Aww, that was exciting. I was afraid he was going to tell me she’d accidentally gotten pregnant, but I felt better knowing they’d made the decision together. I felt like crying, but in a really good way.

“Oh, Dad, congratulations! That is so incredible. When’s she due?”

He cleared his throat. “Um, October, so we have a while. It’s all really early, so you’re the only person we’re telling, but we went to the doctor this week and heard the heartbeat, and it was strong, so that’s good.”

I was suddenly crying hearing him talk about being a father again. My dad was the most amazing man, and I couldn’t have asked for a better person to raise me. I was glad he was getting another chance to be a great father. And I was going to be a sister again. That was so cool.

“Lo, are you crying? Are you upset,” he suddenly asked, panic in his voice.

“No! No, Dad. I’m
happy for you guys. So, are you getting married?”

He let out a breath in a rush of air. “Oh, wow, yeah, I guess. We didn’t really talk about it. We just decided
to have a baby, but I guess we’ll get married too.”

He sounded sort of like he was in a daze, and I wondered if he hadn’t
even thought about marriage until now. Sasha was independent, so it was feasible that they could be one of those progressive couples who lived together, had a family and never got married. But my dad was usually pretty traditional.

“
That’s exciting! I love it, Dad! I love all of it, and I’m so happy for you guys. I can’t wait to come back and visit so I can give Sasha a hug.”

He laughed. “I’ll tell her you said that. She’ll be thrilled to hear it. I know she was nervous about you being okay with this, so it’ll be a relief
for her to hear that you’re happy.”

“I’m ecstatic, Dad, really. This is so amazing. And I’m sending you a congratulations gift now,” I said, as I started to search the Internet for a Killers onesie.

I found one and purchased it to have it sent to their house, as my dad tried to talk me out of sending something, and just for kicks and because he was protesting, I sent a Linkin Park onesie too. They would love them, especially if they had a little boy since both onesies were black.

“Too late. It’s done. They’ll arrive tomorrow, so get excited, and call me when you get them. You’re totally going to flip.”

My dad laughed. “Thank you, Logan. I’m glad you’re on-board with this.”

“Totally.”

“So, how is Jase?” he asked then, and he seemed to be in a much better mood. “How’s filming going?”

I
told him about Jase’s impromptu performance since I knew he’d appreciate the song choice, and I told him about my trip and the brief snippets of the film I’d seen Jase shoot, but I didn’t mention Chloe because I knew it would just piss my dad off to know she was trying to drag Jase away from me. I didn’t need him worrying about that.

He worried enough about me dating a celebrity, because of what he dealt with when he was married to my mom. She cheated on him twice, and he never forgav
e her, and because of her, he’d always had a bad taste in his mouth for Hollywood in general. I knew he liked Jase and wanted me to be happy, but part of his concern was that Jase would turn out just like my mom. And I hoped in time, once he saw how great Jase continued to be, he’d let go of some of his assumptions and realize Jase was one of the good ones.

“You have the Oscars coming up, right?”
he asked.

“This weekend. Are you going to watch?”

“Yeah, we’ll definitely tune in. Sasha likes to watch the red carpet stuff anyway. You should send her a picture of your dress. I know she’d love to see it.”

“I don’t know, Dad. That’s top secret information,” I joked, because really, who cared what I wore. It was Jase’s night, and I was just going for him.

“Really?”

“No, come on. I’ll send her a picture when I’m getting ready since I won’t have it until then. Jase’s stylist
had them take it in, and she’s bringing it over on Sunday afternoon.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll look beautiful.”

“Thanks, Dad. Oh, crap,” I said, noticing the time. “I need to go. I’m meeting Nora for dinner. Can I call you tomorrow?”

“Sure,” he said good-naturedly. “Have fun, stay away from the cameras. I love you.”

I rolled my eyes playfully at his caution, knowing he only said things like that because he loved me. “Love you too, Dad.”

“Big plans?” Henley asked when I hung up the phone and started to pull things out of my closet to change into.

I grabbed a new pair of 57 jeans from the top of my closet. I’d been gifted seven, one from each style they sold, earlier in the day after I’d verbally agreed to the modeling contract. I told Suzanne and Gretchen that I wanted my lawyer to look over the details before I signed anything, and because of that, I think they wanted to sway me with jeans in an effort to secure my commitment.

I was pretty sure I was going to do it, especially since Jase was interested. I liked the idea of modeling with him better than anyone else.
In a month, I’d be featured in countless magazines in that ridiculously sexy outfit I’d worn at the first shoot, wrapped around a guy who wasn’t my boyfriend. And if I was going to commit to a year of getting dressed up and posing for sexy pictures, I much preferred to do it with my actual boyfriend.

And my dad would probably be able to swallow that concept better. I knew he’d freak when he saw the ads, but I had a month until I had to tell him. It bought me some time to figure out how to sell the idea that I wasn’t really a sex object
even though I looked like one.

Yeah, I wasn’t sure how I was actually going to do that.

I turned back to Henley. “I’m going to dinner with Nora, so no, not really big plans. It’ll just be a low key night.”

“Fun,” she said, as she flipped through her magazine.

“What are you up to?” I asked, because it felt like I should.

Henley and I didn’t hang out much
, since our lives had really taken different turns a few months back. She was really into the college scene with her sorority and frat parties and different events on campus. I was usually with Jase, Ethan or Nora, so I really didn’t get involved much on campus outside of class and football games.

She shrugged. “Frat party at Sigma Chi. Chris has been making Jell-O shots all afternoon, so it should be fun.”

“Cool,” I said, not really thinking it would be.

She’d drug me to a few frat parties after she
’d started dating her boyfriend, Chris, but they weren’t really my scene. And I’d gotten a lot of glaring looks from girls there when they realized who I was and who I was dating. It seemed I was too much of a mortal for Jason Brady to find attractive or some bullshit like that. Either way, after the second time, I’d vowed not to go to a frat party again.

I swapped my yoga pants for my jeans, pulled my brown riding boots on and dug a red and white striped sweater out of one of my drawers. I did a quick make-up check, not that I wore much, but there was always the danger of being photographed these days, so I tended to make sure I looked halfwa
y decent when I ventured out.

I grabbed my keys and my bag, then looked around the roo
m to see where my phone had ended up. I noticed it sticking out from under one of my textbooks. I still had a ton of work to do, because I’d procrastinated on the phone, but I’d have most of the next day to get my stuff done before Jase got home. I’d just get up early.

My phone dinged as I grabbed it off the bed, and I saw a text from Nora.

Downstairs. You ready?

Be right there.
I sent back.

“Bye Henley,” I called
over my shoulder as I opened the door to our room.

“Bye, Lo. Have fun,” she called out good-naturedly.

I bounced down the stairs and out into cool night where the sun was just starting to set. I looked for Nora’s Jetta, but all I saw was an Infiniti that looked a lot like Ethan’s. It even had the same Hurley sticker on the back windshield. Then suddenly, Nora bounced out from the front seat.