Forcing Gravity Read online

  “Sky, seriously, that show is for adults. You really shouldn’t be watching it.”

  “Mom lets me,” was her comeback, and I had nothing to say in that moment. The fact that our mother knew she watched a show about sex and was okay with it was a serious problem.

  “Okay, fine, whatever,” I said, knowing we’d be discussing this again the next time I saw her. “I have to do some studying, but please don’t get any ideas from what you see on TV. You should know better than anyone that what happens on TV and in the movies isn’t real.”

  “Well, duh. Don’t worry, Lo Lo, I’m not going to end up like Mom.”

  Head. Banging. Against. Wall. Literally.

  I was not a big fan of my mom sharing her shame in having me with my sister, especially since Skylar hadn’t exactly been planned either, and I didn’t know if she knew she’d been an accident. But on the flipside, I guess if it deterred Sky from doing anything stupid, I wasn’t going to argue.

  “Great, Sky. I think that’s a good plan.” It was all I could say. I was reeling in so many different ways. “Let’s have lunch on Saturday, okay?”

  And maybe we’ll have a little sisterly talk about your hobbies while we’re at it.

  “Okay!” she said, and in a flash she was back to acting her age. As grown up as she sometimes seemed, she was only twelve, and I liked when she acted like it.

  -9-

  “Where are you going?” Henley asked me from her bed where she sat watching Hot Entertainment News.

  My stomach was already swirling with nerves since I was supposed to meet Jase downstairs in just under an hour for our date, but when the host of Hot Entertainment News had announced at the start of the show that they had an exclusive interview with Jason Brady, my nerves multiplied exponentially.

  Although we’d talked regularly, I hadn’t seen him since Garrett’s party. I’d seen two pictures of him in Celebrity Weekly – one on the beach in Mexico when he’d been vacationing with his family and one of him buying gum in New York City, and of course I snuck glances at the picture he’d send to me that I’d saved on my phone all the time, but other than that I hadn’t seen Jase since the night we met.

  The idea of seeing him on TV, talking and being interviewed, was a little unnerving. Would I still find him attractive? Okay, that was ridiculous. He looked perfect all the time. Of course I would still find him attractive. I was just being self-conscious.

  “Um, I actually have a date,” I told my nosey roommate.

  “Really!” A huge smile lit up her face, and she muted the TV and bounced off her bed.

  “Oh,” I said, turning back to the TV. “Um, I kind of wanted to watch the Jason Brady interview they’re going to do. Can you turn that back up?”

  “Sure,” she said cheerily, as she bounced back over to her side of the room. She bounced a lot. “I love Jason Brady! He’s so cute. The interview probably won’t be on until the end, so we have some time.”

  I was glad she didn’t question why I wanted to see it, but seeing as she watched the show nightly, she didn’t think it was odd that anyone else was interested in celebrities.

  “Um, time for what?” I asked, realizing what she’d said.

  “Time to make you over,” she said, acting like it was obvious.

  “Um, no,” I protested, backing away from her, but the room was so small I ran into my bed and sat down abruptly.

  Henley just laughed at me. “You are so funny, Logan,” she said, turning toward her dresser where her monstrous make-up case sat. I’d seen just how many different tubes and pots and jars she had and wondered which ones she was planning to paint me with first.

  She set her make-up case down next to me, and I eyed it speculatively as she walked first to my closet to examine what she had to pick from. Unceremoniously, she started pulling out tops and dresses and skirts, all of which still had the tags on them.

  “How come I’ve never seen you wear any of these things?” she asked, pausing in her raid to stare at me questioningly.

  I just stared at her and shook my head. “Not my taste,” I answered, short and sweet. She shook her head right back at me, as if she was disappointed, so I decided to be straight with her. “Henley, my mom bought all that for me in a vain attempt to turn me into the daughter she wishes I was.”

  “Come on, Logan,” she said, coming to stand in front of me, my clothes folded over her arms. “I get that that may have been her intention, but these are really well-made, beautiful clothes that would look amazing on you.”

  “I wouldn’t even know how to wear them,” I told her, looking out the window at the setting sun.

  “I can help you with that,” she told me encouragingly, her blond head bobbing in my peripheral vision.

  I looked back at her. “That would just be giving my mom what she wants.”

  Henley shifted the heavy stack of clothes in her arms. “Listen, I don’t know a lot about your relationship with your mom, but you shouldn’t deny yourself such beautiful things just because she would like them.”

  “I know,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s just a principle thing.”

  Just like on principle, I have no plans to tell her I’m dating Jason Brady.

  Henley smiled at me. “Just let me put you in one outfit, and if you hate it or don’t want to wear it, you can take it off, but I’m telling you right now that no guy is going to think you look hot and sexy in what you’re wearing.”

  I looked down at my outfit; a plaid button down over boot cut jeans and flip flops. Yeah, okay, maybe she had a point.

  “Fine,” I acquiesced, unbuttoning my shirt so she could work her magic.

  Ten minutes later, I was standing in front of her full length mirror, appraising what she’d put me in. I had on dark wash skinny jeans, a flowy black tank top that crossed in the back, and peep-toe magenta suede wedges that made me three inches taller, and although I wasn’t sure I’d be able to walk gracefully, I had to admit, I liked the look. Behind me I could see Henley smiling at my reflection when she saw that I was pleased with her handiwork. I appreciated that she hadn’t attempted a full overhaul of my look. I felt like me, just dressier.

  “Let me do your make-up, and you’ll be ready to go,” she said, just as the host of Hot Entertainment News announced they were ‘back after these messages with our interview with Jason Brady’. “See, I told you it would be the last story.”

  Henley sat me down on her bed and appraised my face. “Wow, you have really good skin,” she complimented. “What products do you use?”

  “Um, Neutrogena face wash.”

  She just shook her head.

  “What are you putting on me?” I asked cautiously, pulling back as she came at me with a brush. I needed to be sure she wasn’t going to give me magenta cheeks to match my shoes.

  “Here,” she said, putting what she planned to use in a little pile next to me so I could see it; mascara, eyeliner, pale eye shadow, a light cream blush and some bronzer.

  Okay, I was fine with all that. It wasn’t likely I’d come out looking like a clown with those colors.

  “I wish I was as blessed as you,” she said, as she started dusting my cheeks with blush and sweeping a brush with eye shadow over my eyelids. “I have a whole line of products I have to use or else I look like a raccoon with blotchy skin.”

  She proceeded to chat about make-up and skincare products as she swept and blotted things across my face, probably because she was trying to distract me. By the time she was done, the show was back on and they were cutting to the interview. I took a deep breath and braced myself. Then there he was, wearing a charcoal gray long sleeve tee and jeans and looking incredibly sexy. I finally relaxed when he smiled his secret smile at the reporter.

  It was what I’d been most looking forward to seeing, and it actually made me relax just a little bit.

  The reporter started out by asking him about the movie he’d been in New York promoting that was due out the following Friday. His answers were rehe
arsed and publicist approved, and pretty typical from what I’d seen from celebrity interviews, but I knew there was more coming. No way was this eager girl stopping at learning about Flip Switch, a movie in which Jase played a rogue CIA agent.

  “So Jason,” she asked, and I could see the gleam in her eye when it appeared, “you’ve been out of the spotlight recently after what happened with you and Chloe St. James. How are you holding up?”

  “I’m fine,” Jase said casually, but I could see a stiffness and a coldness in his demeanor that hadn’t been there before. He was on guard for where the interview was going. “Things are great. I’ve got a new movie out, and I’m starting filming this week on a horror film directed by Layton Fitch.”

  I could tell he was trying to direct the reporter’s attention back to his work and away from his personal life, but she wasn’t taking the bait. She smiled meekly at him, as if she didn’t believe his assurance that things were ‘great’.

  “Recently, Chloe was spotted with Xavier Lynch. Were you aware they were seeing each other?”

  I watched to see if Jase would flinch at this news, but he maintained his cool exterior. Xavier Lynch was in his late thirties and had long ago established himself as a Hollywood power player. It felt like it was a slap in the face that Chloe was dating someone fifteen years her senior, who Jase had been quoted as calling a role model and an inspiration, but Chloe had also openly cheated on Jase, so I guess she didn’t put much stock in other people’s feelings.

  “I wish Chloe nothing but happiness,” Jase stated coolly, and he didn’t elaborate further.

  It was a typical Hollywood response that really meant, ‘We dated, she cheated, and now I wish she’d burn in hell, but I can’t say that since I’m a celebrity and will be scrutinized for actually showing human emotion over a nasty break-up with my ex’.

  “But doesn’t it bother you that after everything she did to you, she’s now dating someone who you once referred to as a reason you started acting in the first place?”

  Wow! Low blow, I thought, and leaned forward a little, so I could better hear Jase’s answer. Henley looked over at me in an eagerly appalled way, and I knew she was thinking the same thing.

  Jase smiled a small smile, but it wasn’t the secret one that I loved. It had more of an edge to it. “I respect Xavier Lynch and his work very much. What he does in his personal life is none of my business.”

  I sucked in a breath, and I wondered if the nosey reporter had felt the tension level in the room suddenly change after that response. I’d sure felt it. Jase was not happy with her, and I wondered why his publicist wasn’t intervening.

  “Are you seeing anyone, Jason?” she asked, and I noticed the arrogance in her tone had diminished just a touch.

  “I made the mistake of discussing my personal life with the media once before,” he said in a perfectly pleasant way. “I don’t plan on making that same mistake again.”

  I knew he was referring to how open he and Chloe had been throughout their relationship. They were known for posing for the cameras and talking with media about how in love they were. Then everything went to shit, and I didn’t blame Jase for being cynical. He had every right to tell that reporter bitch to kiss off, and I was proud of him for it.

  “Oh, my God, that boy is sexy,” Henley said in her thick Tennessee accent.

  He was more than sexy, I thought, as the show cut back to the host who closed it out with a few last remarks.

  As the ending credits of the show rolled, the flutters in my stomach returned, but this time they were more from excitement than anything else. I couldn’t wait see Jase now, and I sort of wished I could tell Henley who I was really going out with, but I couldn’t do that. Instead, I thanked her for helping me get beautiful and headed downstairs with a little bounce in my step.

  When I got outside, there was only one black Maserati waiting by the entrance to my dorm, so I assumed in was Jase. I knocked on the window, and he rolled it down halfway. There were people around who were staring, most likely wondering who was driving the $120,000 car, so Jase was being cautious. At least the paps hadn’t followed him onto campus.

  “Hey,” I said, as I took in the features of his face, so familiar since I’d just seen them in HD, but that had been nothing compared to what it was like to have him three feet from me.

  His dark brown hair was falling over his forehead in a sexy subtle way, and I wanted to run my fingers through it. As he smiled his secretive smile at me, his green eyes gleamed, and I knew seeing them in person was nine million times better than seeing them through the lens of a camera.

  He leaned across and opened my door, and I grabbed the handle, opening it as little as possible and slid into the passenger seat. The charcoal gray butter-soft leather enveloped me, and I inhaled the rich scent that mixed with Jase’s subtle cologne.

  “Hi,” he said, once I was settled, and my heart stated pounding.

  This was it. I was going out on a date with Jason Brady, the same guy I’d just seen being interviewed on television, and the lover of his grandmother’s spaghetti sauce, The Black Keys and Sports Center. Yes, I totally kept the article and had memorized his twenty-five favorite things. I was pathetic, but he was addicting.

  We drove in silence as music emanated from the car’s amazing sound system, and I mouthed the words to a song by WALK THE MOON while silently hoping we’d have more conversation than that throughout the night. He’d never been that silent on the phone.

  It was strange, I felt like I’d just talked with him since I’d seen his interview, but he hadn’t actually been there, and he didn’t know I’d been watching. It was a little awkward – at least in my head.

  “Where are we going?” I asked, realizing he’d never told me where he was taking me. I’d just assumed there would be dinner, so I hadn’t eaten anything.

  “So, I didn’t think it was the best idea for us to go out in public right now, especially since I haven’t really dated anyone seriously since Chloe and I broke up. It sucks, and it’s so stupid, but everyone is waiting to see my next move.”

  Yeah, and they’re asking you about it on national TV. How annoying is that?

  “I can understand that,” I said sympathetically, instead of blurting out what I actually wanted to say.

  His break-up had been as public as his relationship had been. From what the rags said, he essentially found out Chloe was cheating on him when Celebrity Weekly put pictures of her and the guy she was with on the front cover. That’s got to be a pretty crappy way to find out your significant other is being unfaithful.

  “You can understand?” he asked, and it wasn’t that he thought it was so appalling that I felt that way, it was more like he seemed genuinely curious.

  “Yeah. I was tabloid fodder for a few weeks this summer, so I kind of get it.”

  He raised his eyebrow. “Oh yeah? What did you do?”

  I could tell he was surprised by that information which meant he didn’t read the gossip rags. Hell, he probably didn’t even go places where they were sold. Hell, he probably had an assistant who shopped for his groceries and toiletries. It was what my mom did, so she never actually had to interact with the masses.

  “I supposedly dated Garrett Lewis.”

  “But you didn’t,” he clarified.

  I shook my head. I’d already told him that, and it was nice to see that he remembered. “We’re just good friends, but the media thought otherwise, so I would imagine if I was seen out with another celebrity, I might be labeled a star-whore, and I really don’t need that reputation right now in my life.”

  “Maybe when you’re older?” he asked, and I liked that he could play along with my sarcasm. Not everyone could do that. I also liked that he didn’t assume I was a star-fucker, because I really wasn’t.

  “Yeah, I’m guessing when I’m about thirty-five I’ll want that label, but right now it just won’t work for me.”

  He laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  �
��So what’s your house like?” I asked, realizing I knew very little about him that wasn’t superficial. He likes ranch dressing and French fries dipped in gravy.

  I was honestly fishing with my question. You could tell a lot about a person by the house they lived in, especially when they had enough disposable income to live in any kind of house they wanted. I was curious.

  He smiled. “I found this little bungalow last year that I liked, so I bought it. I actually had to spend about six months remodeling it, so I haven’t lived there long, but I love it. It’s really private and is probably the first place in a while that has felt like home to me, and it has a view of the Hollywood sign, which is totally cool.”

  “If you’re a tourist,” I said sarcastically.

  Dammit. Me and my sharp tongue again.

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Jase said, but I could tell he really thought having a view of the sign was cool, and I felt bad for making fun of him.

  “I’m just kidding,” I said, attempting to recover from my bitchy slight. “I think a view of the sign is pretty cool.”

  “No, you don’t,” he said, seeing right through me. He grinned, which put me at ease. Even if we didn’t agree, there were no hard feelings.

  As we drove up the winding road to his house, it was too dark to see much. There were a lot of trees, and some houses mixed in, but that was it. His house was actually tucked back off the road, so it wasn’t easy to spot. He’d said it was private, and I had to assume that was intentional.

  Jase pulled into his driveway next to a tan Range Rover and a green Jeep Wrangler.

  “Do you have company?” I asked, looking over at the cars.

  He shook his head. “No, they’re both mine. I also have a vintage Mustang in the garage.”

  I did remember reading that he liked vintage cars. My dad would love that about him.

  “You’re twenty, right?” I clarified.

  “I will be until November eighteenth.”

  I shook my head, still trying to wrap it around Jase’s life. He had a house and four cars, and he wasn’t even old enough to legally drink. I mean, between my parents, I’d grown up with money, but my dad had been so down-to-earth that you wouldn’t have known. Before my mom got me my BMW, I drove a used Toyota Camry. My dad thought it was important to teach me about the value of money, and I couldn’t agree more. Case and point, my little sister. But Jase hadn’t gotten these things from his parents. He’d purchased them on his own. It was pretty incredible when you thought about it. He’d already achieved so much success in his life.