Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
“Maybe ease up?” Blake asks and pulls my hand back down. “I probably should’ve suggested we do something healthier than your idea of day drinking.”
“It’s not like we have anywhere to be,” I slur and then laugh. “Our director was getting road head and crashed his car.” Okay, now that I have some liquor in me, that’s hilarious.
“What do you think will happen to the movie?”
“New director would be cool, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the studio halts production until he’s back. Or ditch the whole production altogether.”
“I’m sorry Ben’s an asshole.”
I shrug. “Me too. He’s always kind of been that way, but this is … this is beyond assholism. This is … twat levels of twatterism.”
Blake leans back in his seat. We’re in a practically empty bar because it’s the middle of the day, and I really hope no one tips off the paparazzi. They’re going to be trying to hunt me down. We managed to escape the hospital without them noticing by using a different exit.
“Can I ask you something?” Blake licks his lips.
“Sure.”
“Don’t get me wrong, Ben is an asshole, but you said yourself you don’t like monogamy, so, wouldn’t this technically solve that problem?”
Yeah, there’s a reason I don’t like monogamy, but I don’t want to get into it with him. Besides, it’s not the point.
I lean forward, resting my elbows on the table in front of me. “You heard him back at the hospital. He wants to sleep with other people, but he doesn’t want me to. That’s not how this works. There has to be open communication about it, and it has to be on an equal playing field. If he’d told me he wanted to go have sex with other guys, I would’ve encouraged it. I don’t want to hold anyone back from discovering all aspects of their sexuality. But open relationships only work when there’s trust, honesty, and compromise. Telling me to be monogamous while he isn’t? Fuck that.”
Blake sips his drink. “Fair enough. I understand.”
“It takes a lot for me to trust someone, and …” I sigh. “I really fucking trusted him. I don’t care that it’s over—I knew he wasn’t my forever person … No, wait, I don’t have a forever person—but I’m pissed about the betrayal of trust.”
Blake reaches across the table and covers my hand with his. “You’re allowed to be angry.”
It’s a sweet, friendly gesture, and my heart warms. My mouth opens to say thank you, but a flash of commotion from the window of the bar catches my attention.
They found us.
“Oh shit.” I pull away from Blake.
“What?” He turns, and his face pales. “Let’s get out of here.” He throws a wad of bills on the table and stands.
I stand too but wobble. Maybe Blake was right about taking it easier.
“We can’t go out the front without photos being taken,” he says.
A server rushes over to us. “I can let you out the back.”
He follows her, and I watch them leave, and it takes longer than usual for me to register I’m supposed to go with them. Drunk reflexes are sloooow. Blake comes back and grabs my hand, dragging me with him.
“Where’s a good spot I can ask my driver to pick us up?” Blake asks the waitress.
“If you go through the other side of the alley, you’ll be on Bleaker. He can pick you up there.”
“Thank you.” He smiles at her, and she blushes.
“I’m a huge fan,” she yells after us.
“Man, you must get soooo much pussy. All you have to do is flash your smile, those baby blues …”
He’s texting and not paying attention to me. His driver must be nearby, because he pulls up in front of us not long later, and we jump in the car just in time for the paps to find us, but we’re speeding off before they can get another shot.
“Where’s your place?” Blake asks.
“They know where I live. When Ben and I went public, they camped out outside both our places for weeks.”
“Take us back to Malibu,” Blake says to the driver. “You can come hide out at Denver and Mason’s.”
“Didn’t they only recently come out? How are they not bombarded every day?”
“They were for a bit, but then they went to Montana for a while. I don’t know if the media has given up on trying to catch a glimpse of them or if they’re unaware they’re back in LA, but hey, if you’re hiding out there, you’ll have a distraction to throw at the paparazzi if they turn up.”
“Aww, you’d throw your friends in front of a pack of wolves for me? I think this is love. Is this what real love is like?”
Blake throws his head back and laughs.
Hmm, maybe not, then.
Chapter Seven
Blake
My driver drops us off outside Denver’s home in Malibu, and Jordan stumbles his way toward the door.