Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
Sophia
Blinking, I stare at the four men sitting around my fire pit. I want to ask Tate to pinch me because I’m pretty sure I just fell into some sort of alternate universe. I take a moment to look at them, while Penn relays the funny story of how they all got here, with one of them getting a ride from a D.C. set where they were filming to another taking the train from New York, and the third hopping on a plane and trying to be incognito.
Penn looks like every interview or media clip I’ve ever seen of him. He’s got this laid-back, adventurous vibe. He looks like he just walked up from surfing or participating in one of those triathlons I hear he competes in. His sandy-brown hair is slightly longer and falls a little over his brown eyes. His skin is sun-kissed and freckles dot his cheeks. He’s in his thirties but looks much younger. His muscled forearms are just as I’ve seen them in his superhero movies. Lex and Anissa would shit their pants right now if they saw him sitting here.
Rex is giving British professor vibes in his suit with the top button of his white Oxford undone. His blond hair is neatly trimmed and styled. He’s muscular but in a tall, toned runner sort of way. He looks like the spy he plays in films, sophisticated and worldly. I think I could listen to him speak all day long with his British accent, which is a little muted probably from him living in the U.S. for so long, but it’s still there.
And then there’s Jordan. He’s the oldest of the four of them. But like his friends, he doesn’t look his age, probably from being in shape for all of those action-hero movies he makes. I hear he does his own stunts. He’s a little shorter than the others, but his large biceps look like he could crush a man with his bare hands. He has the shortest hair of the four, and I wonder if it was cut for a recent military film he made. His dark hair has a few grays and his dark eyes seem to constantly be scanning his surroundings.
As they sip on their beers, I notice that they each seem to relax a bit more as if being here in this circle of their closest friends…and me…is a place where they can finally let down their guard. What must that be like, never being able to be truly yourself?
My phone buzzes at the same time as Tate’s and we both look down to read incoming messages.
Marti: WTF? Tate is at your house and so are Rex, Penn, and Jordan? Carol just called me.
I look up from my phone and Tate’s eyes lift to meet my gaze.
“Carol knows,” he mutters and then glares at his friends who all give him sheepish looks.
“As does Marti,” I add, holding up my phone so they can read the message.
“Uh, who’s Marti?” Penn asks.
“My agent,” I reply with a sigh.
“Shit, will she keep this under wraps?” he inquires as he sets his beer down on the arm of his chair.
I nod while texting her back.
Me: Yes. Please don’t tell anyone. I’m guessing Carol called you?
Marti: Uh, yeah. She is hella pissed. Tate better call her ASAP. And I NEED details, STAT!
I press my lips together to keep from giggling because I can hear that text in her voice inside my head.
“She’s good. She and I have an NDA,” I further explain as I look up to see Tate sighing heavily and standing. He pulls a SIM card out of his wallet and switches it out with the one in his phone before he walks off to a far corner of my yard with the phone held to his ear. I can hear a woman’s voice talking loudly.
“I’m guessing that’s Carol?” I whisper to the others.
Rex laughs. “Yeah, she’s a trip, and also very controlling. Between her and Tate’s PR team, it’s like Fort Knox getting information about him. I had to white lie to Carol to get anything out of her. Fucker didn’t even tell her why he wanted the address. We had to put two and two together from the Air Tag,” he says before taking another sip of beer.
I hear Carol’s voice screaming through the phone and I grimace.
Jordan waves off my concern. “She’ll get over it. She just went through a nasty divorce with her wife, so she’s a little more on edge than normal,” he explains.
“Oh,” I murmur, trying to imagine Marti yelling at me like that. Hell, no!
Tate’s soothing voice seems to work and a few moments later he rejoins us. “She’s sorted…for now,” he says.
“OK, then, let’s figure out this road trip. Who’s renting the car?” Penn starts.
And for reasons I’ll never fully understand, I stop him with a wave of my hand. “I’ll drive,” I state.
All four heads swivel in my direction, eyes wide as if I just offered to pilot a barge for them or a rocket ship.
“You don’t have to do that,” Tate says as he looks at me.
“I know, but…you all said you could use my help, the kids are at Mark’s house for a month, and I haven’t taken a real vacation since last year, so…” I trail off as my gaze stays locked on Tate’s.
“Well, fuck yeah. Let’s do it,” Penn says excitedly as he slaps his thigh with enough enthusiasm for two grown men heading on a Vegas trip.
“Chillax, bro,” Jordan interjects. “It’s just a road trip.”
“It’s a fucking adventure,” Penn corrects him.
I stifle a laugh. He’s not wrong, it’s definitely going to be an adventure.
“Hold on,” I say suddenly as I run inside and grab my laptop. I return, setting it on my lap. “Where are we going exactly?”
“Some little town just inside Montana on the Wyoming side,” Tate offers.
“Are we stopping anywhere?” I ask.
“Four days, we need to stop in Chicago to see my son and I don’t want us driving ridiculous hours,” Rex states.
“So, seven days, then? Four days there, three days back?” I confirm.
“And one day out there for the grand gesture. Make sure we take a scenic route. I want to see cool shit,” Penn adds.
I nod as I detail out the best route there. And just like that, I plan a road trip for me and four world-famous heartthrobs. Yep, I’m most definitely living in a weird alternate universe.
* * *
When I wake in the morning and remember that I took leave from work and am about to embark on a sudden trip, I fall back onto my pillow for a brief moment. The events of yesterday playing out in my head.
“There are four movie stars in your home,” I say to myself as I throw my arm over my eyes. Two-days-ago Sophia would not believe me. Hell, even yesterday-morning Sophia would not believe me.
I look down and find a slew of text messages.
Mark: You’re seriously going on a trip, and you want our kids to keep their mouths shut for at least two weeks?
I groan. The kids did not want to keep this a secret.
Me: Yes. When I told them yesterday to not say anything, I wasn’t kidding. And yes, these guys need a ride and a road trip sounds fun. I’ll text you when we get out to Montana.
Mark: You’re insane, but OK. Be careful and leave your location app open.
I roll my eyes and read the next text.
Mom: Have a good trip, sweetie. Dad says hi. We are going fishing this weekend on the new boat.
My parents live in Key West and are the most chill people I’ve ever met. I keep scrolling.
Lex: Holy shit! I just saw your text. I need all the details. Holly is going to shit bricks!
Anissa: I will need more information than “going on a road trip with four movie stars—will call later.”
I laugh at all the messages and then quickly get showered and changed. I had packed last night, and my guests are all packed already, so I suppose we’ll be getting this road trip started pronto.
I walk downstairs to find all four men sitting around my kitchen table drinking coffee and eating breakfast.
“We helped ourselves. Hope that’s OK,” Penn says with a sheepish grin.
“Well, if I wasn’t feeling like the mother on this trip, I am now,” I laugh as I walk over to my coffee maker and grab a mug.
Tate comes up next to me and his arm brushes against mine. He leans toward me, and I feel my breath hitch. He smells of soap, aftershave, and a woodsy deodorant or cologne of some kind.
I swallow as I wait for my coffee.
“I left you toast and eggs in the microwave,” he says quietly.
“Thanks,” I reply as I pour sugar into my coffee. I take a sip and groan. Tate’s arm tenses against mine and I look up at him. His eyes are fixated on my lips.
“What?” I say, reaching up to see if I have coffee on my face.
He shakes his head, effectively pulling himself from some sort of trance.
“Nothing…uh, should we get the car loaded?” he asks as he takes a plate of food from the microwave and hands me a fork.
“Sure. Let me just scarf this down and we can get everything packed,” I state before taking a big bite of eggs.
“These are really good,” I add with my mouth full.
“I know. You need to add a shit ton of cream and beat the hell out of them,” Penn says. “I’m going to start loading the car.”
“Oh, I didn’t unload it yet. Just throw everything in the back into my garage,” I offer as I continue eating. Everyone gets up and Penn hands Tate his plate.
“I got this. Tetris is my favorite game,” Penn says with a laugh as he walks toward the front of the house as I hear the three other men shuffling around my kitchen behind me.
I chug more coffee and then shovel the last bite of the egg into my mouth before washing my dish and putting it away. I look around and realize everything is clean.
“Oh, I was going to clean up before we left,” I state as I realize Tate has washed up the other dishes and stacked them in the drying rack.
“All done, M,” he says with a grin. His hand reaches out and I feel his finger swipe next to my lip. “You got a little something here,” he whispers as he pulls his finger back and sucks a piece of jam off it.
“Holy shit, that’s hot,” I think to myself.
“You think?” he asks before giving me a wink and walking past me. Fuck, fuckity, fuck. I just said that out loud.
I groan. This trip might become a form of torture if he keeps doing things like that. I mentally tally how many months it’s been since I’ve been on a date. Nope, I do not want to do that because that is double-digit numbers. I don’t even want to consider how long it’s been since I had sex, hell, got to third base. I frown trying to remember the last time I even got kissed. Was it Chad or Michael? Chad…I think.
I look around and make sure everything is put away, double-checking the locks on things as I make my way out to the front. All four of my guests are crowded around the back of my car.
I strut up to them and find they are engaged in a debate about how to stack their bags.
“The big one has to go on the bottom,” Penn protests.
“No, sideways,” Rex insists.
“What if we slide it against the back?” Tate offers. I look to Jordan who seems to be the only one not engaged in this argument.
I roll my eyes. “Is this everything?” I ask them and receive nods. In less than a minute, I have the bags repacked. I go to lift the last one, and Tate’s hand covers mine.
“I got it,” he assures me, but I don’t move my hand from under his and he doesn’t move his for a solid four seconds. Do you know how I know that? Because I counted, one…two…three…four.
“Go ahead and lock up,” Tate suggests with a nod of his head, breaking the spell. I take one last glance at his hand covering mine before pulling it away.
“Sure…uh, I’ll be right back,” I mutter before running off to lock up the house and garage.
“Where are you off to?” George calls out from his yard.
“Just a quick trip to take my friend somewhere. The kids are at Mark’s this month. Would you mind watching the house for the next week?” I ask, half annoyed but also glad George will be milling around. He’s like a built-in security system. He probably picks up motion more than my video doorbell.
“Of course. Where are you kids off to?” he asks as he nods toward the men in my driveway.
“Montana, to visit my friend’s friend,” I offer because it’s not a lie and doesn’t give him anything to gossip about.
“I love Montana. Went fly fishing there fifty years ago. One time?—”
“George, I hate to cut you off, but I need to get going. Do you think we can catch up when I get home?” I ask with an apologetic smile.
“Of course, Sophia. You have a safe trip. Wanda and I will bring in the mail,” he says.
“Great. Thanks!” I call out before securing my front door and heading back to the car.
I get into the driver’s side and look around. Rex has the far back seat. Penn and Jordan are in the middle seats. And Tate is next to me.
Taking a deep breath, I look around the car once more. “Ready to get this party started?” I ask.
“Fuck yeah!” Penn yells.
Rex groans. “Yep.”
Jordan nods and I turn to Tate who is taking a deep breath. He looks…nervous?
I reach over and pat his hand. “You ready?”
He swallows and nods before turning to me. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
I give him an encouraging smile. “Let’s go win back your lady.” And I do mean it…but I also sort of don’t want to do it. I clear my throat as I try to sort out why I’m feeling this way, but then Tate turns on my sound system, and as Penn belts out a Nirvana song, I pull out into the street, trying to forget why I suddenly felt like bailing on this plan. Let the adventure begin , I think to myself.