Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
Cresley led Carson into the living room, and they settled on the sofa together.
“Griffin is taking a paternity leave,” he said.
“That’s big news, right?”
“Huge.”
“You’re happy for him, though, right?”
“Of course. It’s just odd to think of him taking several months away from work. That’s unprecedented for us.”
“Does he work with one of your brothers?”
“Ethan, who’s not thrilled, to put it mildly. A lot will fall on him and the others, including my dad, who’s going to do some actual work for a change and pick up the slack with Griffin’s clients.”
“I mean… if he was sick or something, they’d have to do the same thing.”
“Right, but it’s highly unusual for one of us to check out of work for any reason.”
“It seems to me you and your siblings are learning there’s more to life than work.”
“What’s this you say?”
“Haha, you heard me.”
“Enough about them. Talk to me about us.”
“What about us?”
“All the things. Like what happens now.”
“What do you want to have happen?” she asked.
“Remember, I have no experience with these things. I need you to tell me.”
“I have no experience with something like this,” she said, gesturing between them. “I’ve never had this before.”
“I can’t believe that.”
“It’s true. After Marlon, I sort of hunkered down with Ty and kept to myself. The club was an outlet. A place I could be with friends I was safe with, have some fun.”
“And some sex.”
“A lot of sex, but it was transactional. It wasn’t about connecting with someone.
It was more about experimenting and dabbling in the BDSM lifestyle in a safe, sane and consensual environment that was carefully cultivated by people who had far more to lose than I did.
I trusted them, and that was a big deal for me.
I’ve struggled with knowing who I can trust in this town. ”
“I get that. I’m glad you found what you needed with them.”
“It was a phase for me. Not a way of life, like it is for them.”
“Are we talking about my friend Flynn here?”
“I’d never name names.”
“Fair enough.”
“They must be losing it over the breach.”
“Julian told me they made a statement saying that adults enjoying consensual relationships is really no one else’s business and they’re not going to have anything else to say about it.
Naturally, the Hollywood press is going wild speculating about the deeper meaning behind their words, but their statement seems to have taken some of the steam out of the story. ”
“That’s a relief. I still worry about D&G invoking their morality clause, but if they do, they do. I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“No, you haven’t, and I’m glad you’re finding your Zen on this.”
“It helps to not be alone with it like I would’ve been before you came along. Having you and your merry band of lawyers on my side makes me feel calmer.”
“Merry band of lawyers,” he said with a laugh. “I like that. So, tomorrow, we’ll take Ty home?”
“Yes, it’s time.”
“I was hoping it was okay with you that I promised that.”
“It’s fine. It was what he needed. You were so, so good with him.”
“His pain wrecked me.”
“Me, too. I’ve been hovering over him all day, waiting for there to be some kind of fallout from yesterday. For a minute, I thought we’d gotten through it.”
“He was extra tired from swimming and probably feeling all the things with no idea how to express them.”
“That’s some impressive insight for a guy with no kid experience.”
“Don’t forget I have quite a few much younger siblings.”
“That’s right. So that’s where all that wisdom came from.”
“Actually, I have to give my dad credit for the wisdom. I felt like I was channeling him when I was talking to Ty. I was flying blind, but I had what I needed because he gave me the words.”
“You should tell your dad that at some point. I bet it would mean a lot to him.”
“Yeah, I should, and it would. It’s a reminder that even though their divorce was a long, drawn-out disaster, it wasn’t all bad. They both had their moments.”
“They must’ve, because their kids seem pretty great.”
“None of them is as great as I am,” he said with a grin.
“Why did I know you were going to say that?”
“You’re starting to understand how the Remington siblings roll. All trash talk about and to each other, but no one else better dare say one bad word about any of them.”
“I always wanted siblings.”
“I’ve got plenty to go around, and I’m happy to share.”
Cresley dropped her head to his shoulder. “How’re you feeling?”
“Better than ever. Not sure if you heard the news that the one and only Cresley Dane is in love with me.”
Her soft giggle made him smile.
“That’s pretty big news.”
“It’s pretty big news that Carson Remington is in love with me. No one has ever been in love with me before.”
“That is simply not true. Every guy I know has a thing for you.”
“They’re in love with the image. You’re in love with the woman, and that makes all the difference.” She put an arm around him, careful to avoid his healing incisions. “When we go home tomorrow, will you come with us and stay awhile?”
“Yeah. I’d love to do that.”
They moved back to Cresley’s the next day, ignoring the gaggle of reporters who rushed toward them the minute they realized she was there.
Carson’s guys had been put on notice to hold them back.
When they were safely inside, he breathed a sigh of relief as Ty ran for his room, elated to be back at home.
“Are you okay, hon?” Carson asked her.
“It’s strange, you know, to feel weird about being in my own home.”
He put his arms around her. “It’ll feel like home again in no time.”
“It’ll always be the place where you got stabbed.”
“I’m over it, and it’s okay for you to be, too.”
“Still too soon, Carson.”
“Yes, dear,” he said with a chuckle.
“Carson! I want to watch surfing videos.”
With a kiss to Cresley’s cheek, he said, “Let’s do it.”
For the next hour, while Cresley unpacked and got them resettled, Carson and Ty sat on the sofa, watching learn-to-surf videos.
“We’ll start with a long board like that one,” Carson said, pointing at an image on the screen, “so you can get a feel for balance with a more stable board. We’ll start practicing pop-ups, which is what we call going from paddling to standing on the board.
That’s a critical part of the process, so we’ll get you comfortable with that before we go in the water.
I’ll also show you how to wax the board, which we do to prevent slipping. ”
“How soon will it be before I can do that?” he asked, pointing to a surfer catching a wave and riding it to the shore.
“Depends on how quickly you figure out the pop-ups and balance, but we’re not going to rush any of it. The focus will be on safety first.”
“That sounds boring.”
“You know what’s more boring?”
“What?”
“Getting injured and not being able to do anything.”
“That won’t happen.”
“Don’t be cocky. Anything can happen, and you need to have a healthy respect for the many ways you can get injured in the ocean.”
“Have you gotten hurt surfing?”
“Oh yeah, lots of times. Tons of bruises and a concussion once that was no fun. My brother Griffin used to surf competitively until he got caught in a monster wave in Portugal and nearly drowned. It took a long time for him to go back in the water after that, and it was the end of his professional surfing career.”
“Wow, that sounds scary.”
“He said it was the most terrifying five minutes of his life. He was certain he was going to drown.”
“Did he ever go back to surfing?”
“He did, but he only does it for fun and sticks to regular-sized waves.”
“I want to see videos of the really big waves.”
“Click on that link right there.”
Ty opened the page and gasped at the video of a person riding a thirty-foot wave. “Holy cow.”
“You’ve got to be really, really experienced to try something like that. I’ve been surfing all my life, and I’d never go near a wave like that.”
Ty clicked on another link that showed a man surfing with a child on his back, transitioning to the child standing in front of him as they rode the wave. “That looks sick. Can we do that?”
“Sure, we can try, but we have to wait until I’ve recovered enough to pick you up.”
“How long will that take?”
“I wish I knew, buddy. It’ll take the time it takes.”
“That’s such an adult answer.”
“Haha, shockingly, we don’t know everything.”
“Can I ask you something else?”
“Anything you want.”
“The stuff my dad said about you…”
Carson winced but wasn’t surprised that Ty had questions.
“What did he mean?”
“He found out that I’m a recovering drug addict. Do you know what that means?”
“You took medicine that you shouldn’t have?”
“Right, and I got addicted, which means I wanted more all the time, and I did some bad things to get drugs. I’m not proud of that time in my life, but I’ve accepted that addiction is an illness and worked hard to get better.
I’ve been clean for more than eleven years, and even though recovery was the toughest thing I’ve ever done, it was also the best thing.
I met a lot of great friends who are also working hard to stay clean, and I’ve helped a lot of people who needed it like I once did. ”
“It’s nice of you to help them.”
“People helped me when I was at my lowest point. That’s how we pay it forward. Do you know what that means?”
Ty shook his head.
“It’s when someone helps you, and you return the favor by helping someone else who needs it. I’m very active in the recovery community, which is made up of other people who’ve suffered from addiction to drugs or alcohol.”
“If addiction is an illness, why did my dad make it sound like you did something bad?”
“Because,” Carson said with a sigh, “when you’re addicted, you do whatever it takes to get more drugs, and sometimes you do bad things like steal.”
“Oh, I see.”
“I want you to feel free to ask me any questions you have about this at any time. There’re no bad questions, and it’s important that if you don’t remember a single other thing I ever tell you, remember this—don’t ever, ever, ever fool around with drugs. Nothing good comes from that.”
“Thank you for explaining it to me.”
“Thanks for listening.”