Forcing Gravity Read online

  Before I knew what was happening, Garrett and I were kissing and he had turned me around so I was pinned against the back of the elevator. When we reached our floor, he didn’t stop, he just picked me up, and I tucked my legs around his waist as we kept kissing. All the way to his door, and even as he fumbled with the key card, his lips never left mine.

  Inside, he lay me down on the bed and angled himself so we could continue making out. His hand slowly moved up under my shirt and closed around my bra-covered breast, massaging it slowly as his tongue played with mine.

  My head was buzzing, and I know I wasn’t in my right mind when I said, “Have sex with me, Garrett.”

  He froze over me for a few seconds before he pulled back and looked at me. I felt my face flush scarlet, as the reality of what I’d just asked him hit home, and I took in how equally flustered he seemed to be. We’d definitely been headed in that direction, but it seemed neither of us realized it until I actually said it out loud.

  “Shit,” he murmured, as his head fell to my shoulder. “What are we doing, Logan?”

  “I don’t know,” I said miserably, as I realized his hand was still covering my breast.

  “Do you have feelings for me?” he asked, looking up and meeting my gaze.

  “Honestly?”

  He nodded.

  “No, I don’t. Please don’t take offense to this, but quite honestly, kissing you is a little like kissing my brother. I mean, not that I know what that’s like because I don’t have a brother, and even if I did, I wouldn’t make out with him, but–”

  Garrett was shaking his head, so I stopped talking. “I get it, and I don’t take offense, because I feel the same way.”

  “You do?”

  He nodded. “As cute and sexy as you are, Lo, I don’t think I can do this.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. “Me neither.”

  Garrett laughed.

  “Um, but could you maybe move your hand?” I asked as politely as I could.

  Garrett looked down. “Oh, shit. Sorry.”

  He jerked his hand away from my skin and rolled off of me and onto his back. We lay side-by-side, staring at the ceiling for a good ten minutes before either of us spoke.

  “Please don’t tell Ethan,” I said, in an effort to break the tension. I looked over at him.

  Garrett rotated his head so he could return my gaze. “I wouldn’t dream of it,” he said, eyeing me speculatively and smiling a small smile.

  I knew he could tell how much I needed to not feel embarrassed about what we’d just done, and I appreciated how kind he was being.

  “So I’m cute and sexy?” I asked, quirking a small smile at him in the hopes of pushing away the awkward feelings hovering over us. They were threatening to cut off my oxygen supply.

  “The cutest,” he said, as he leaned over and kissed my forehead. “Those guys at USC aren’t going to know what to do with themselves when they meet you.”

  “Thanks.” I smiled and yawned loudly. “I guess I should go to my room,” I offered then, knowing Garrett probably wanted to be alone.

  “Just stay here,” he said, propping himself up on his elbow and turning to face me. “I feel bad sending you off to your own room after I just took advantage of you.”

  Only sweet Garrett Lewis would consider what had just happened between us as him taking advantage of me. I just knew the girl he settled down with was going to be extremely fortunate. He was an amazing guy.

  “Okay,” I said, moving up to one of the pillows at the top of the bed. “But for the record, you didn’t take advantage of me.”

  “I hope not,” he said, and that was the last thing I remember before I closed my eyes.

  When I awoke early the next morning, Garrett was asleep. A rush of embarrassment flooded me as the night’s events came back in full sober clarity. I knew I’d promised him breakfast, but that had been before his hand had been on my breast and I’d asked him to take my virginity. In the light of a new day, I didn’t want to face him.

  So I did what any self-respecting girl in my situation would do – I left him a note, apologizing for the way I’d behaved and did the walk of shame out of his hotel. And then when he called the next day, and the day after that, and they day after that, I didn’t answer the phone.

  In fact, I hadn’t talked to Garrett since that night in Miami, but it seemed like all that was about to change.

  “Earth to Logan,” Lauren said, waving her hand in front of my face. I hadn’t realized I’d zoned out.

  I snapped back to reality and realized everyone was staring at me.

  “Where did you go?” Ethan asked, looking at me with concern.

  I shook my head a few times. “Nowhere. Let’s go inside, okay?”

  I heard Lauren’s girlfriend mutter something about me being crazy, so I turned and glared at her. She just put her arm around Lauren and pulled her close, eyeing me haughtily. I rolled my eyes and turned back around, so not in the mood for possessive girlfriends. I wanted to shout at her that I wasn’t interested in Lauren, but I thought better of it. She could probably kick my ass. Instead, I steeled myself for seeing Garrett for the first time since I’d run out on him.

  “E, what’s up, man?” Garrett asked, as soon as we entered the house, and my heart jumped right into my throat.

  Instead of looking at him, I looked beyond the foyer to the rest of the house where throngs of people mingled throughout the sprawling open floor plan. From the front entrance you could see all the way to the back of the house, which was almost totally glass. Since it was dark, the uncovered windows and glass doors were reflecting the party, but I knew that beyond the reflection was the Pacific Ocean. I was sure the view was amazing during the day.

  “Hey Gare,” Ethan said, giving his brother one of those handshake/hug things guys do. “Nice turnout.”

  I could see Ethan eyeing the girls milling about the house. He was making mental notes of who to seek out later to talk to, I just knew it. Hopefully, he would remember he was my ride home and not disappear for too long with any of them.

  “Hey Logan,” Garrett said quietly. I offered him a meek smile in return.

  “I’ll go get us some drinks,” Ethan offered, paying little attention to the awkward situation happening right in front of him or his best friend pleading with him with her eyes not to leave her alone with his brother.

  Of course he didn’t see me trying to silently communicate any of this. His eyes were trained on the two leggy blonds posted up by the bar in the kitchen. Two for the price of one, was all I could think. Lauren and Phoebe followed him, probably thinking the same thing.

  When they were gone, I turned back to Garrett. Before I could move, he enveloped me in a hug, pulling me tight against his chest. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered in my ear. “I know you’re mad at me, but I’m sorry, Logan. I’m so, so sorry.”

  I pulled back and looked at him. “I’m not mad. What are you sorry for?”

  His eyes were intense as they met mine. “For what I did. I feel like such a shithead. Wait, you’re not mad?”

  I shook my head.

  His eyebrows knitted together. “But you just left, and you didn’t return my calls.”

  I sighed. “I was embarrassed. I still am. I’m sorry I didn’t call you back. I just – I just couldn’t talk to you after the way I threw myself at you.”

  Once again I felt my face flush.

  “Garrett,” someone whined from behind him.

  Her voice was gravely like she’d smoked for a number of years, and her face held a distasteful expression, but it could have been due to the fact that her magenta dress looked painted on. I would be wearing a similar expression if my dress was that tight. Her spiked snakeskin platform heels made her almost as tall as Garrett.

  Garrett turned around but only part of the way. “Hey Sophie.”

  I recognized her as Sophie Grant, the girl he’d said was co-starring with him in the indie film he was shooting. She played the girl he fel
l in love with who helped him eventually reconnect with his parents at the end of the movie.

  “Who’s she?” Sophie demanded, and I wondered if something had happened between the two of them in Vancouver.

  “Sophie, this is Logan, one of my closest friends,” he said, putting his arm around me. I tried not to stiffen in his grip.

  “She’s not the girl you dated in Miami?” Sophie accused, and I just knew there was something going on with them.

  Although, I knew Sophie was the kind of girl who wouldn’t show any outward affection toward Garrett at this stage in the game. She knew as well as I did that it was better to keep budding relationships under wraps in Hollywood unless you wanted to end up on the front page of the major tabloids. She kept her distance, but I could tell her claws would come out if any girl dared to encroach on her territory.

  “We’re just friends,” I interjected. “I’ve known him since we were kids. In fact we’re more like brother and sister. We’re definitely not dating.”

  Garrett laughed at our inside joke. “Just like brother and sister, Soph,” he said calmly, almost soothingly. “Nothing to worry about.”

  “Oh,” Sophie said, her demeanor toward me suddenly changing. “Well, it’s nice to meet you.”

  “Logan is Alana Davis’s daughter,” Garrett said then, and Sophie’s eyes got wide.

  I glared at him. Why did he have to do that? He knew I hated being introduced that way. Desperate actors and actresses begged me for an opportunity to meet my mother once they knew who she was. It was annoying.

  “I’m so excited to meet your mother,” Sophie gushed, and I gritted my teeth in an attempt to hold it together. I was not about to set up a meeting for her, so she’d better not ask.

  “Sophie just got cast to play the daughter of your mom’s character in her next movie,” Garrett explained, and I forgave him a little since he actually had a legitimate reason for sharing my heritage with this girl.

  I also studied Sophie a little closer, realizing how much she looked like someone who could play my mother’s daughter – more so than me. She was rail thin, tall, tan and had honey colored straight blond hair. She also wore a pound of make-up and had that Hollywood eagerness and freshness about her that my mother had possessed as a young actress and had recently tried to recreate through Botox and light plastic surgery after she realized she was aging.

  Sophie flashed me a winning smile that I knew I’d only earned because of who my mother was. I’d met girls like her who were fake through and through. What was Garrett doing with her? She wasn’t his type at all. I might just have to pull him aside later and ask him.

  “Here you go,” Ethan said then, sidling up to me with a drink in his hand. The ice was slightly melted, so I knew he’d gotten it before stopping to flirt with the Doublemint Twins. “Hi, I’m Ethan Lewis.”

  I rolled my eyes as he actually took Sophie’s hand and kissed it. He was such a freaking cheeseball sometimes, but Sophie ate it up. She actually giggled and squirmed as Ethan let go of her hand. Garrett flashed his younger brother a murderous glare that said, ‘back-the-fuck-off before I kick your ass’.

  “Okay,” I said, stepping between the two boys. “Ethan, let’s go walk around.” I grabbed his hand and started to yank him forward.

  “I want to stay here,” he protested, eyeing Sophie eagerly.

  “You can’t,” I stressed, pulling him away. “Garrett and Sophie are talking. You’ll have to find someone else to talk to.”

  Suddenly Ethan got it. “Fine,” he muttered. “For the record, I liked it better when I was the one the girls went after.”

  “You’re brothers!” I said, exasperated by his petty behavior. “And in case you didn’t notice, the girls like you too, E. Now let’s go find you one that you can flirt with, okay?”

  I felt like a mother talking to her toddler.

  “Fine,” he mumbled, and I just shook my head. He was really being immature.

  As we started to walk away, Garrett grabbed my hand. He pulled me back to him and leaned down to whisper in my ear. “For the record, you didn’t throw yourself at me, okay?”

  I met his eyes, and he nodded encouragingly, telling me I needed to believe him. I nodded, and he smiled at me before he pulled me back in for another hug.

  “I missed you, kid,” he said. “Do me a favor. Next time I call, call me back, okay?”

  “I will,” I promised, returning his hug, thankful we’d gotten the awkwardness out of our systems. I was glad to go back to being friends with him.

  ***

  Thirty minutes later, Ethan was happily surrounded by three girls who were flirting and gushing over him, so I slipped away, eager to explore the rest of the house and leave him to his own devices. He had started to take me on a tour but was waylaid by a brunette co-ed and her two friends who recognized him from one of the local surf competitions he’d won that summer in San Diego. I knew he could be occupied for a while, so I made myself scarce and continued touring the house on my own. I knew I’d be spending a good deal of time there, so I figured I’d better acquaint myself with the layout.

  Once I got upstairs, I noticed there were three bedrooms. Garrett had already claimed one, one was a workout room, and I assumed the third was Ethan’s. It was already fully furnished, but Ethan hadn’t moved in any of his personal affects yet. The boys’ bedrooms were both at the back of the house and both had large decks overlooking the beach. I snuck outside onto the one off Ethan’s room, eager to breathe in the fresh air and tangy scent of the ocean.

  I leaned against the balcony and took a deep breath. I loved how it was cool at night in L.A. At home the humidity was out of control this time of year, but not here. Even though it was dark, I could see the waves crashing on the beach and the itch to go surfing started to build. I hadn’t gone out that morning since the waves hadn’t been great, and I hoped they’d be better in the morning. Ethan had a surf competition in Laguna that we were going to, and the waves needed to be solid or they’d postpone it.

  “It’s a nice night, isn’t it,” someone said from the shadows, startling the shit out of me, and I jumped a mile. The person laughed and stepped into the light. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to surprise you.”

  My heart stopped for just a second when I realized it was Jason Brady, and all I could do was gape at him.

  Throughout my life, because of who my mother was, I’d met tons of famous people, and it usually didn’t freak me out, but something in me started to go haywire when Jason stepped out of the shadows.

  His chiseled jaw looked even more angular in the low light, and his pink lips looked even fuller, providing a sexy contrast to his otherwise masculine features. And when he quirked a friendly smile at me, I noticed the dimple in his left cheek pop out as his dark-lashed green eyes sparkled, making his overall look that much more adorable and heart-pounding and sensual all at once. It was like one giant contradiction in looks that could only ever work on him.

  It was no wonder women threw themselves at him and drooled over the GQ cover he’d graced and dreamed of what it might be like to kiss him. He was like walking sex, and having him standing not five feet from me was unnerving and exhilarating, and it did nothing except heighten my desire for things I’d never experienced before.

  He ran a hand back through his dark hair and appraised me, a coy look on his face. My heart instantly stared pounding erratically in my chest, and I knew words would be lost if I tried to speak them. He was even more gorgeous at close range and taller than I’d thought – at least 6’2 – and that body. Jesus. I don’t think I’d ever consciously considered ripping someone’s shirt off their body before, but knowing what was hidden just beneath those layers made me think about just that.

  “What are you doing up here?” I asked when he didn’t say anything, barely able to choke out the sentence.

  He smiled a small smile, and it was as if he had a secret he was dying to share but couldn’t, as his hypnotic eyes bore into parts of me no one h
ad ever seen before. No wonder people flocked to his movies. Seeing that face and those eyes on the big screen and not being able to look away – the whole package sucked you in. And then he opened his mouth, and it was game over. Talk about a sexy voice, but it sounded even better in person.

  “I guess I wasn’t really in the mood for a party tonight,” he explained. “But I didn’t realize it until I got here, so I figured I’d hide out until I could think of a good excuse to leave.”

  “Why do you need an excuse to leave a party?” I asked, realizing too late that I sounded bitchy. Why was I being a bitch to this perfect specimen of a man who had done nothing wrong?

  Jason cocked his head just enough to let me know he’d caught on to my tone. “My publicist and my agent have been giving me crap lately because I haven’t been going out, so to appease them, I went out.”

  So apparently those rumors were true. Jason had been in a relationship with one of his former co-stars for the past two years. Then pictures were taken of her openly cheating on him, and they’d broken up. It had been quite the scandal a few months earlier. The tabloids had reported that he’d become a bit of a recluse following their split, but I hadn’t thought that was true after seeing him at Katsuya earlier in the evening. He’d looked just fine to me, but apparently looks could be deceiving.

  “And now you want to go home?” I ventured.

  He nodded. “More than anything.”

  I was surprised to find he was so easy to talk to, once I pushed past the fact that he was giving me heart palpitations. Aside from his phenomenal good looks, he didn’t seem to have any of the arrogance a celebrity of his stature would normally have – and I’d met plenty of celebrities who were even less popular than him who were downright assholes.

  “So why don’t you just go home?” I asked, curious as to why an uber-celebrity would be forced to hide out.

  He smiled. “Because you came out here, so I figured I now have a reason to stay a little longer.”

  I visibly rolled my eyes. “Seriously? Is that a line you use on girls when you meet them or something?”