Gravity Happens (Forcing Gravity) (50 page)

Hell, we’d practically lived together in the house he’d rented near my dad anyway – or at least we had after my dad decided he could trust Jase again. Jase had ended up flying back home with me, since he’d held true to his word of not
wanting us to be separated, and we’d surprised my dad when we walked in the door together.

I’d already told him the whole story when I talked to him on the phone, but just as I predicted, he was still skeptical of Jase
and whether he was right for me. It took Jase suffering through a week’s worth of painful, silent dinners before my dad would even talk to him. Then he drug Jase to the golf course so he could be alone with him for eighteen holes and no doubt deliver a very stern message about how he treated me in the future. I felt it was completely unjustified since Jase hadn’t done anything wrong, but if it was what my dad needed to move forward, Jase was willing to suffer through anything he threw at him.

I still have no idea what
finally won back my father’s trust in Jase, because neither man would tell me what happened while they’d been on the golf course, but they’d called me to join them for dinner that night, and they were both smiling when I arrived. I didn’t ask, feeling like some things were better left unsaid. In the end, I knew my dad would always worry, because that’s what he did, but I think he worried a little less about Jase breaking my heart after that day.

And because of his new found trust in Jase
, he seemed to be agreeable to letting me spend some nights at his house, which completely blew my mind, but I was glad he’d let go of the reigns a little. It made it easier when I decided to tell him of my decision to live with Jase in L.A. I’d waited until my birthday at the beginning of July when we were all out to dinner to drop that bomb since we were in public, and although I knew the idea made his jaw clench, in the end, my dad didn’t fight my decision.

He was in a good mood anyway, since he
and Sasha had learned at the start of the summer that they were expecting a little boy, so they were busy getting ready for the next stage of their life together. I planned to go home at Thanksgiving to meet my new little half-brother, who they were going to name Lucas. My dad and I had talked the day before, and he’d gone on for ten minutes about what a strong name Luke Kessler was. I told him it sounded like he’d either be a lead guitarist or a quarterback, and that had made my dad laugh.

“Cut! Print! T
hat’s a wrap everyone. Thanks for a hard day’s work,” Peter called out, and all around me people started moving.

When Peter wrapped a day of shooting, there was still so much to be done, and
after being outside in the heat and humidity for twelve hours or more, most everyone was eager to get back to their hotel rooms and take a shower. I knew most of the cast and crew would end up in one of the local bars in the small town we’d taken over. Sometimes Jase and I joined them, but most of the time we kept to ourselves, watching movies in our room or just talking. It sometimes felt like we were still making up for lost time.

“
Damn, this set is intense,” I heard from behind me and whipped around to see Ethan standing behind me holding Nora’s hand and looking in awe as his gaze darted around to the landscape that had been turned into a makeshift Vietnam.

“Ethan!” I shrieked
, as I threw my arms around his neck. “What are you doing here?”

I hadn’t seen
him since I’d left L.A., since he’d spent most the summer on a surfboard traveling all over the world competing, but we talked regularly. I knew Nora had traveled with him some of the time, and they were just as in love as they’d been the last time I’d seen them the morning before Jase and I left for Florida.

“Hi Lo,” he said,
squeezing me tight.

I pulled away from him,
and Nora instantly pulled me into a hug. “What are you guys doing here?” I asked, since no one had answered my question.

“Jase flew
us out to surprise you,” she said, as I pulled back to look at the two of them.

“Seriously?”

I glanced over my shoulder at Jase who was in conversation with Peter.

“Yeah,” Ethan said, running a hand back through his hair that was blonder than I’d ever seen it
after a summer at the beach. “He wanted us all to have some time to hang out before you left to go back to L.A., so here we are.”

“We’re actually going to
Hilton Head for the next two days,” Jase said from behind me, and I whirled around to look at him. “Charlie and Sloan are coming too.”

“Really?” I asked, my eyes widening with excitement.

Jase and I had taken advantage of the days when he wasn’t shooting or days we had off to get away from the madness and relax. We’d been to Hilton Head twice, but I was game to go again, especially if our friends were going with us. Nora and I really wanted Ethan and Jase to move beyond the skeptical feelings they had for each other and finally become friends, and I was glad both of them were willing to make an effort.

“Yup,” Jase
said, grinning at me as he put his arm around my shoulders. His face was streaked in make-up to look like dirt, and he was all hot and sweaty and dirty in his uniform, like a real soldier. I knew he wanted to take a shower, but I might have to delay him first, like I’d done a few times before, and have my way with him. His wardrobe for this movie sort of turned me on. Jase in a uniform was hot!

“Yeah,
I figured it would be fun to take a little trip,” he said, then he kissed my forehead. “We’ll leave after we get cleaned up and can pack a bag.”

And after we do one other thing.

“Ethan Lewis. Is that you?” Luiz asked as he walked toward us. He put his arm around Ethan. “It’s good to see you.”

“You too, Luiz,” Ethan said, then he grinned. “Did Logan tell you I was hanging out in your old stomping grounds
earlier this month?”

Luiz grinned. “She told me you were in Rio, but tell me, how was the surf?”

“The waves were kick-ass,” Ethan answered.

Luiz nodded. “I surfed there many times as a boy. Best place in
the world my opinion.”

Ethan shrugged. “I’d put in the top five. Australia’s still my favorite.”

Nora laughed. “Yeah, because you dominated there,” she said, sounding like a proud girlfriend.

“I totally did,” Ethan said, not the least bit humble.

I put my hands on my hips. “Please tell me you’re not ditching school to surf competitively, E,” I said, knowing he’d been vacillating with the decision.

He shook his head. “Nah, I’m still going to compete, but I won’t do it full time. My life’s in L.A., and I don’t want to be away from this one,” he said, gesturing to Nora with his thumb.

“Can’t live without me is more like it,” she teased, and I laughed.

Jase leaned over to me. “I know exactly how he feels,”
he murmured, and I turned to look up at his dirty, but adorable face.

“Me too. But just think,
while we’re apart, I’ll have three weeks to girlify your house.”

His jaw dropped open playfully. “You wouldn’t dare.”

I shrugged. “I’m thinking a lot of pink and even more lace.”

Jase turned to Luiz. “Sorry, Luiz, but I need to quit the film since my girlfriend is threatening to turn my awesome house into Barbie’s Dream House.”

Everyone laughed, and I looked up at Jase. “Don’t you mean
our
house?” I teased since he’d been the one telling me to call it that for over a month.

He leaned down and kissed me. “Our house. How could I forget? I can’t wait to officially live with you, Logan.”

“And I promise I won’t touch a thing. I actually love the way your – I mean
our
– house is decorated.”

“Geez, have they been this sappy the whole summer?”
Ethan mused loudly, and Nora elbowed him.

“Yes, they have,” Luiz said, shaking his head. Then he winked at me.

He was happy to see Jase and me back together, so he encouraged our sometimes nauseating behavior. And neither of us cared what anyone else thought, including the media who had raked me over the coals for taking him back. But none of that mattered, because I knew the truth, and that was that Jase had never stopped loving me, and I knew he never would.

He took my hand in his as the four of us started to walk
to where Charlie was waiting with the SUV Jase had rented for the summer. As we walked, Jase leaned over and kissed my forehead. “I love you.”

I leaned into him, enjoying the warmth and comfort
of being close to him. “I love you too. I never realized when I begrudgingly went to that party at Ethan’s a year ago that my life would change so drastically as a result, but I’m so glad it did. I’m so glad I met you, Jase.”

He grinned. “Not as glad as I am.
I didn’t want to go to that party either, but it ended up being the best decision of my life. I’ll never forget when I first saw you, Logan. Something in me changed that night, and I’ve never been the same. I needed someone like you in my life, because you make me so happy.”

I smiled. “And I swore I’d never date a celebrity,” I teased. “Now look at me, I’m
practically living with one. What was I thinking?”

Jase pulled me tighter to his side and lowered his voice. “That
I’m hot, sexy and irresistible?”

I laughed. “Well, duh, definitely that, but I there was more to it. I mean, I liked you when I read the article in
Celebrity Weekly
about your 25 favorite things last summer, because you seemed so funny and cool, but once I got to know you, I just fell in love with everything in here,” I said, tapping the space over his heart with my finger. “And I realized that you weren’t like other actors I’d met. You were genuine and kind and incredibly generous. I couldn’t help falling for you.”

He smiled. “Yeah, I know how you feel. You know, I think I probably need to revise what they printed in that article.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? Why?”

He shrugged. “Because now
if they asked me what my twenty-five favorite things were, I would just say Logan Kessler twenty-five times.”

“Jase!” I said, because just when I thought he couldn’t get any sweeter
, he did.

“Hey, like I said, you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“So you’d put me before the Dodgers, beneits and Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake’s History of Rap? No way. I don’t buy it.”

He laughed. “Baby, I’d put you before all of those things, because I know firsthand that without you, nothing else matters.”

I wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him. “See, that’s exactly why I fell in love with you. You say all the right things.”

“Yeah, well, I am an actor after all,” he said and laughed as I playfully smacked his chest.

Then he leaned down and kissed me, and I knew he definitely wasn’t acting.

About the Author

Thanks so much for reading
Gravity Happens
, my eighth full-length novel
.
I really hope you enjoyed it as much as I loved writing it and developing the characters that helped bring the story to life. If you are interested in reading my other novels, they are also available in e-book format online.

Books have always had a big part in my life, and I probably spend way more time reading tha
n I should, engrossed in the stories that keep me captivated. I am a total sucker for romantic comedies in all forms, because at the end of the day I just want to laugh and see some really great people fall in love. When those stories are mixed with an awesome soundtrack, it just doesn’t get much better than that.

In addition to books, I have a serious love for the Florida Gators and the Boston Red Sox, I am addicted to fashion, and I never go anywhere without my iPod. Give me a grande non-fat vanilla latte from Starbucks and chips and queso from Tijuana Flats, and I am a happy girl.

You can read more about me online at:
http://www.goodreads.com/monicaalexander

Other Books by Monica Alexander

Just Watch the Fireworks

Aftershocks

Broken Fairytales

Buried Castles

Forcing Gravity

Searching for Neverland

Work of Art

Playlist

I listen to music constantly, so inevitably songs have a way of working themselves into my
stories. Below is a playlist of the songs I hear when I read this book. Some songs I referenced in the book itself, and others are just ones that I felt fit in nicely with the story. Enjoy!

Life in Color – OneRepublic

My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light ‘Em Up) – Fall Out Boy

Lights – Ellie Goulding

Fearless – Taylor Swift

Gotta Be Tonight – Lifehouse

Snow (Hey Oh) – Red Hot Chili Peppers

Still Into You – Paramore