The Game (23 page)

"Why'd you do it?" I asked.

"I don't know. It was stupid and you don't know how I wish I could take it all back," he said. "When I saw you with Peter Stanwick, standing there and flirting with him, I was so eaten up with jealousy. I wanted to prove to you and myself, I think, I wasn't in love with you."

I felt like I'd been struck dumb. Did he just admit he was in love with me? Even though everyone tried to tell me it was true, I still couldn't believe it myself. Everything he'd ever said or done didn't remotely resemble a man in love. In fact, he'd been growing moodier and more detached since before the big blow up at his parents.

I didn't trust myself to speak just yet, so I remained silent. Rob looked at me uncertainly, his hands twisting in front of him. I wanted to reach out and touch him, but held myself back. What the hell was I doing? This was insane. A few weeks ago I hated this man. He'd betrayed me and humiliated me in front of the world. And now here he was confessing his love for me.
Or was he?

"I'm surprised you haven't sued me yet," he finally said, trying to break the tension.

"I thought about it, but like you said before, it'd only make me look even worse," I said smiling faintly.

"Do you--"

Before he could finish his sentence, the waitress came back with our coffees. She lingered a little too long, and had a gleam in her eye that didn't sit well with me.

"Thanks," I said in dismissal.

"Will you be needing anything else?" she asked. "Some food?"

"No, thank you," I said.

She frowned briefly, before turning away and heading back to the kitchen. I watched her make her way there, pausing to take out her cell phone before disappearing behind the double doors.

"Like I was saying, do you think there's any chance for us?" Rob asked, drawing my attention back to him.

"Sorry?" I asked, looking at him blankly.

"I--uh--was wondering if there's any hope for me...for us," he said. "I know I screwed up, but I want to make it up to you."

"I forgive you," I heard myself say. Rob stopped talking and looked at me in shock.

"You do?" he asked.

"Yes, I've felt that way for a while now. I mean, I was pissed at first that you told her about our arrangement, but what's done is done. I can't stay mad forever," I said and knew it was the truth.

I would only be hurting myself by staying angry and bitter. Plus, when he looked at me like that, so full of uncertainty and vulnerability, I found it very hard to hold on to that last shred of resentment.

"I know I don't deserve it, but thank you," he said.

We both sat back and took a sip of our coffees. I had to hide the smile behind my cup at his grimace as he took a sip.

"Awful dreck," he said, placing the cup down on the saucer with a clatter.

It was pretty bad, but I'd had worse. Without warning, he leaned forward and stared at me intently, like he had something important to say. But the front door jangled open just as he was about to speak, and we both turned our attention to the man who had walked in.

He carried a backpack with him and looked to be in his mid-fifties and relatively fit. He seated himself at a booth two tables down from us. I felt a bit annoyed that out of all the available seats in the diner, he had to sit near us.

The waitress came by his table as he sat down and I heard him order a coffee. He looked our way briefly, and I felt a spark of recognition as our eyes met. I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to remember where I'd seen him before, but he ducked his head and lowered his baseball cap over his face.

"You okay?" Rob asked, eyeing me intently.

"I'm fine," I said, swinging my attention back to him. I shook my head slightly. I guess I'd been holed up in my house so long, I'd begun to get paranoid. Everyone was looking suspicious to me, even random strangers.

"You still haven't answered my question," he said.

"Sorry?"

"About us. Do you think there's still a chance for us?" he asked.

My first instinct was to say yes. God, I wanted to say yes, but something held me back. I still had feelings for him. That was never in doubt, and to hear that he felt the same way was more than I could have hoped for. But it wasn't so easy as just saying yes and getting on with our lives. There was so much baggage and extra bullshit that existed between us now.

The fallout was just starting to die down. Especially now with the news of the prostitution ring drawing attention away. I'd just gotten my first taste of freedom and normalcy, and I didn't want to give that up. Would getting back together just invite more rumors and stories to be written about us? I hesitated, not sure what to say. Rob looked nervous as he sat there staring at me.

"I...don't know," I finally said. "It's complicated," I added lamely.

He cast his eyes down, then looked up and smiled at me ruefully. "I see," he said. "What can I do to change your mind?"

"I just need time," I said. I opened my mouth to say more, but a sudden flash out of the corner of my eye caught my attention.

The man who was seated a couple tables away was aiming his cell phone in our direction and taking pictures. I felt the color drain from my face as I realized who he was. Were these people everywhere? Could I not have one fucking moment where they didn't trail my every last step? The shock soon turned to anger, and I was half way up and out of my seat to confront him when he reached into his bag and pulled out his SLR camera. I guess he figured that now his jig was up, he was going to go all out.

Rob got up from the table as well, looking thunderous. More so than me, and I was slightly alarmed that he was going to kill the man. My own anger took a back seat and I tried to hold Rob back as he went to confront the paparazzo.

"Wait," I said, grabbing his arm. "He's not worth it." But Rob was already halfway there, his hands clenched in fists at his side.

"What the hell is your problem, man?" I heard Rob say.

"Nothing man, just doing my job," the paparazzo replied.

"You're a parasite. Give me your camera," Rob said, his voice low and threatening.

"No way."

"I'm only going to ask you nicely one more time before I beat the shit out of you and take the camera anyway," Rob said.

The paparazzo backed up a few more steps until he was pushed against the wall, snapping away non-stop. Rob looked like he was about to get physical with the man and I knew I had to step in.

"Come on, Rob, let's go. He's not worth it and you're causing a scene," I said, tugging on his arm. I waved my free hand in front of us at the table with the three teens who were now all pointing their cell phone cameras in our direction, probably recording everything.

Rob relaxed his body and stepped back. He looked like he still wanted to deck the guy, but knew better than to invite a lawsuit from one of these blood suckers. We high tailed it out of the diner while the paparazzo continued to pursue us. Now that he wasn't in threat of physical assault, he snapped away freely. Rob hesitated as I got into my car and started up the engine. He walked over to my driver side window and I rolled it down.

"We didn't finish our conversation," he said.

"Now's not really the time, Rob," I said glancing back at the paparazzo, and now three teens who were all making their way toward us.

"Meet me again," he said.

"Yes, all right, whatever," I said, before peeling off and driving away. I glanced back in my rearview mirror once I was on the road and saw Rob hop into his own car and pull out of the parking lot.

I headed straight home, the trip to the salon long forgotten. The meeting with Rob had been a surprise. Rob wanted another chance, but I wasn't sure what I wanted. The one thing I was sure about was that the news of our little impromptu meeting would be posted everywhere before the day was over. Charlotte and Arnie would probably kill me after warning me to stay away.

It was all so complicated. If I were just going to follow my heart, then I would jump at the chance to be with Rob for real. During the months we'd spent together, I had fallen for him. The fact that he felt the same was what I'd longed to hear, but maybe it was all too little too late.

Chapter 24: Rob

Tonight was the night of the Golden Globes. It was also two weeks since I'd last seen Emilia. Our exit from that diner had been more rushed than I hoped. I could have cursed when that damn photographer showed up and started snapping away with his camera. I came very close to losing my temper and striking him. It was only Emilia's intervention that stopped me.

Our talk had been less satisfying than I would have wished for. She seemed hesitant and a little distant around me. She felt like she couldn't trust me yet. I could understand that. I hadn't given her any reason to believe me other than my word. My actions toward her before that had been downright callous. I cringed every time I thought about it.

She hadn't contacted me since the day at the diner and I was getting impatient. Each day that went by felt like an eternity. I was sick of waiting by the phone. Sick of being passive. I needed to do something--something grand and daring that would leave her in no doubt about my feelings. I had to put myself out there.

The problem was I didn't know how to do that. All attempts to get together were rebuffed. I tried to give her time, but I figured it couldn't hurt to try to sway her opinion my way. I called up Mel to get her advice, since I knew she'd be dressing Emilia for the big day. Luckily she was already in LA and had agreed to meet with me.

I arrived at her hotel and was shown to Mel's suite. She had clothes, shoes, and all kinds of other accessories strewn everywhere, with assistants and interns around her running back and forth like chickens with their heads cut off. I stepped into this chaos and looked around me in fascination. Mel was busy on the phone with her back turned toward me.

"Ok sweet cheeks, I love you too," I heard her say before hanging up.

"I'll have to remember that nickname," I said, startling her. She turned back to face me and narrowed her eyes. I couldn't help but grin at her.

"How long have you been standing there?" she asked.

"Not long. So how is sweet cheeks by the way?" I asked, moving into the room and taking a seat on the couch.

"Don't you dare call him that," she warned. "He'd be so embarrassed."

"That's the point," I said, still grinning.

"And you expect me to help you?" she said. The smile died on my lips and I sat up and leaned forward on my knees, my face losing all traces of humor. "Relax, I was only joking," she said. "You're not the only one with a sense of humor, you know?"

My body released some of the tension and I sat back again. "If this were any other situation, I'd be the first to laugh with you, but I feel like it's my life here. I don't know what I'll do if she won't see me again," I said. I sounded desperate to my own ears.

"So what happened the first time you two met?"

"We got interrupted by a damn photographer. He snuck into the restaurant and started snapping away. Emilia was so quick to get out of there; we never got to finish our conversation. Now she says she needs time," I said.

"Hmm, not good," Mel mused.

"What do you mean?" I asked, slightly alarmed.

"The more time she has, the more she'll second guess herself. I know she has feelings for you, but she doesn't trust them. She doesn't trust you. She's probably using the time as an excuse to try to convince herself she'd be better off without you," Mel said.

I felt my heart sink at her assessment of the situation. It just made things more desperate. "What can I do?" I asked.

"You need to do something that will leave her in no doubt about your feelings or how serious you are," she said.

"Yes," I said, "I figured as much myself."

I did have to prove myself to Emilia. Words wouldn't cut it anymore. I had to convince her with my actions. I sat back and thought of what I could do that would show her just how much I loved her.

"I've got it!" I said, shooting up from the couch and pacing the floor as the idea took hold of me.

"What is it?" Mel asked eagerly. "You've got this gleam in your eye that tells me you've got something good."

"I do! I hope so, at least. If she wants bold, then I'll give her bold," I said.

I told Mel about my plan to show up at the awards show and crashing the stage to proclaim my love for her in front of millions. She seemed awed and a little disbelieving of my plan at first, but quickly caught on once I detailed what I was going to do.

"You've got some balls," she said, sounding impressed. "If that doesn't convince her, I don't know what will."

"I hope you're right."

"How will you even get on the stage in the first place? The security would probably haul you out of there before you could even finish your speech."

"I'll work that out later," I said.

I left Mel's office after swearing her to secrecy. She'd been dying to tell Ryan about it, but I couldn't risk anyone knowing, not even one of my best friends. He'd have to watch it on television like everyone else. She finally agreed and I left to go put my plans into motion. The award show was coming up soon, so I had to work fast.

Mel had been doubtful about my ability to get on the stage to deliver this heartfelt speech, but it turned out being rich and well-connected opened a lot of doors. It was just a matter of knowing the right people. I never thought I'd have to ask a favor from Warren Peters, but he'd been a big help, surprisingly. Since he was now a major player in Hollywood, he was able to get me five minutes on stage just before Best Screenplay was announced. After that, security would get me. I didn't know how he managed it, and frankly I didn't care, but I owed him one.

***

The moment had arrived. I could either be the happiest man in the world, or the biggest laughingstock. It all depended on Emilia. I arrived at the Beverly Hills Hilton shortly before the ceremony started. I had to sneak in through the back since I didn't want anyone to know of my arrival. Not that I thought people would care one way or another, but I didn't want to risk word getting to Emilia.