Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Tate
The alarm is going off when I open my eyes and I groan. It’s still dark out and Sophia is tucked into my side. All I want to do is lie here in bed with her pressed up against me. It’s becoming my favorite part of the day.
Part of me is anxious about what happens now that this trip is ending. Part of me is anxious about even leaving this bed. I feel like she’s a cloud that can slip through my fingers at any moment and just evaporate.
She groans and snuggles closer to me. I kiss the top of her head. “It’s time to get up, sleepyhead,” I whisper.
“Five more minutes, Dad,” she moans into my chest.
I turn us so we’re facing each other and smirk. “I mean, if you’re going to call me Daddy, then I guess we have a whole new kink to explore,” I state.
She grabs the pillow from behind her and throws it at my face. I grab it and wrestle her onto her back as she laughs.
“I’ve pushed two humans out of me. Do not tickle me!” she yelps as my hands go to her sides.
“I mean it, Brooks Tate Anders!” she says loudly.
I stop and lean down. “I’m not sure if Daddy or my full name is more of a turn-on,” I say as I plant a kiss on her sleep-swollen lips.
She rolls her eyes. “Men,” she huffs as she pushes me off her and I roll to my side. I’m treated to her naked ass as she struts to the bathroom. “You coming?” she asks.
“You don’t have to ask me twice,” I mumble as I run in after her. She squeals as I lift her in my arms and turn on the shower, stepping inside and bringing us both under the spray. We make quick work of cleaning each other before we dress and pack. I keep catching her watching me, in the mirror as we brush our teeth, across the room as we pack, and even in the mirrored door of the elevator as we head to the car.
The car is quieter than normal. Rex drives us to the beach along the shore of Lake Erie. We park and walk over. There’s a long jetty with a lighthouse at the end of it. The sky is just turning a lighter shade of blue as we sit down and watch the sun begin to rise in the east.
“This was fun,” Jordan says as we sit in a row on the jetty.
“It was a motherfucking blast,” Penn agrees.
“Yeah, Tate, you should have a breakdown more often,” Rex says with a snort as he elbows me.
“You gonna give us the full lowdown on what Johnson did?” Jordan asks. I haven’t talked to any of them about it in detail, just the general gist. They all know Warren Johnson is a slimeball.
I take a breath, choosing my words carefully. “He cornered Deidre in her trailer. If I hadn’t…” I trail off and the guys mutter things like “fuck” under their breath. “He was saying if she gave him a blowjob, he’d help her get a part in this film she was hoping to star in. Anyhow, I interrupted. I didn’t like how he had her cornered and we had words. Fortunately, it was the last day on set. We were doing some outtakes last minute. So that was the first time I’d seen him since. I’d heard the same rumors you all had, the ones we talked about when I was asked to be in the film. But I didn’t personally know the guy and Lee Vincent was producing it, so I figured it was all on the up-and-up. Anyhow, I went to the head of the studio after that day and had it out with Morgan Tennett and he threatened that if I went public, he’d end my career. He also said he was aware of Johnson’s issues and would have strong words with him. When I saw Warren at that gala, he made a snide comment about Deidre needing protection because she’s a whore and I guess I lost it. I just…I want an industry not chock-full of fuckers like that. I want to be free to make films for the art of it and not because some big Hollywood studio exec needs a tenth beach house. And I don’t want good people getting hurt by bad people because the bad people make lots of money. It’s fucked up.”
I pause, taking another deep breath.
“Well, that’s fucked up,” Penn says.
“I’ve heard things about that guy, but holy shitballs!” Sophia says loudly.
“You’re right. We can do better. We need to make changes,” Jordan adds.
“Fuck those assholes. We got money,” Rex interjects.
“What are you saying?” I ask him.
“I’m saying…let’s make a movie and we pay for it. Fuck the studios. We can make our own,” Rex clarifies as he looks over at me.
“You serious?” I ask.
He nods. “We all have some shit to sort out and things to wrap up over the coming weeks, but let’s plan a weekend and brainstorm this,” he says.
All the guys answer with resounding “yeses.”
“You know what?” Sophia asks, interrupting our conversation. She’s grinning ear to ear and I’m curious what she’s thinking.
“What?” we say in unison.
“You guys really aren’t as big of assholes as the media claims you are,” she says as she continues watching the sun emerge above the tree line in the distance.
“That’s it,” I shout as I stand and pick her up, swinging her over my shoulder. She laughs, her hair blowing in the breeze as I walk us back down to the beach.
“W-what are you doing?” she asks when I place her down.
I look to the guys who have already started stripping. We’re all alone here and we have a tradition.
“Skinny-dipping,” I state as I start to pull down my pants.
Her mouth drops open as she looks behind her to see the guys undressing. She squeezes her eyes closed. “Uh, what are you guys doing?” she asks.
“Come on, M. Live a little. We started this end-of-the-trip skinny-dipping years ago. You gotta do it. It’s tradition,” Penn says.
“Uh, no, thanks,” she squeaks.
“Come on,” Jordan encourages.
“Guys, I’m not…an actress or a model. I’m just some normal, suburban mom with a body that says, I’m a normal, suburban mom ,” she argues, still keeping her eyes closed.
I lean in. “You are a hot-as-fuck romance author who’s dating Hollywood’s it man ,” I whisper.
She blushes and I grin.
“M, we know you have amazing tits. That t-shirt you wore in the rainstorm was white,” Penn says with a chuckle. “And besides, you can’t possibly have any more cellulite than Rex.”
“Fuck off, mate. Not all of us can look like some weird-ass Adonis,” Rex protests.
“You haven’t even seen all my cool scars. My lower abdomen looks like Freddy Kruger and I did ten rounds,” Jordan argues.
“What are you talking about?” Sophia says, stepping toward the sound of his voice with her eyes still closed.
“Jordan here got in a gnarly car accident twenty years ago. He had to get exploratory abdominal surgery, so he uses a stunt stomach for shots where he’s naked,” Penn explains.
“Give me your hand,” Jordan says.
Sophia hesitantly holds out a hand and he takes it, running her fingers over his scars.
She flinches and then feels them. “Shit, Jordan. You’re lucky to be alive,” she says softly.
“So I’ve heard. Now you know all our secrets…well, most of them,” Jordan replies, still holding her hand. He turns them so they are facing the water.
“I’m nervous,” she admits.
I lift her shirt’s hem and she jumps a little. Leaning in, I whisper, “It’s just me, baby.”
She releases Jordan’s hand.
“We won’t look,” Jordan promises.
“This is about being free. You should be proud of your body. It made two awesome kids. It’s brought you on this crazy life journey. It’s healthy and beautiful. It doesn’t need to look like some airbrushed supermodel to be perfect. You’re perfect just the way you are,” I whisper in her ear as I pull down her underwear and shorts.
I take her hand in mine. “Open those eyes and let’s go, Sophia,” I state as I take her hand.
She slowly opens her eyes and Jordan reaches out and takes her other hand, and we all go running into the water until we’re up to our necks.
It’s Penn who splashes us first, but Sophia is quick to join in. Within a minute, it’s a full-out splash fight. It ends with Sophia’s arms wrapped around my neck, her front pressed to my back, and her legs wrapped around my waist.
“It’s cold,” she protests.
“It feels good,” I argue as I reach behind me and wrap my hands around her ass, squeezing it.
“Come on, we should probably get our clothes back on before someone joins us,” Jordan says as he glances toward the shore to make sure we haven’t been joined by anyone.
Sophia slides down my back and we all start swimming up to the beach. But we only make it a few yards before Penn comes up and pushes both our heads under the water.
“H-hey! Not fair!” Sophia splutters as she pops back up.
“You’re dead, pretty boy,” I growl as I swim toward him, but the man takes off like an Olympic athlete and makes it back to shore in record time.
“You suck!” Sophia calls out after him, his white ass emerging from the water as he walks over to our clothes.
I don’t know why, but I pull Sophia behind me as we near shore, shielding her from the others. Penn is already dressed and heading over to the car. Sophia quickly throws on her clothes and I do the same while keeping myself between her and my friends. The need to protect her seems to be growing exponentially by the minute.
“You guys might have thought to bring towels,” Sophia groans as her now wet clothes cling to her body.
Rex chuckles as he pulls his shirt over his head while we all start toward the car to join Penn. “Nah, towels are for wusses,” he laughs.
She rolls her eyes and I take her hand in mine as we walk, wanting to be as close as I can to her for the rest of the trip.
As we near the car, Penn stands by it and looks at Sophia. He steps forward and pulls her into a big bear hug.
“I’m glad Tate lost his marbles and came to see you,” he mumbles as he hugs her.
She giggles. “Love you too, Penn,” she says as she releases my hand and squeezes him back.
“Come on, party people, Jordy here has a flight to catch,” Rex says as he opens the driver’s door.
“I can drive,” Sophia offers, reaching for the keys, but I grab her from behind and toss her over my shoulder, a move that I’m greatly enjoying doing over and over.
She giggles and slaps my ass. “Tate, put me down.”
“No can do. You’ll be in the back with me,” I declare as Rex unlocks the car and we all pile in.
I set her down. “All the cool kids sit in the back,” I tease.
She rolls her eyes and climbs into the last row of the car, settling back into the seat next to me. We buckle up and Rex drives us toward the airport.
“You ready to go woo your woman?” Penn asks Jordan.
Jordan nods. “Yeah, all the plans are set. I even talked to her director. There’s a break in shooting in a few days and I’m going to whisk her away for a quick trip,” he answers.
Sophia visibly swoons and I sigh. She looks up at me and smirks, poking my ribs. “See, men can be romantic. Take notes, Anders.”
I lean in so only she can hear me while Penn asks about where they are going, and Jordan starts talking about Hawaii. “I think I was very romantic this morning, twice.”
She blushes and I kiss her forehead. We lean back and listen to Jordan’s vacation plans, and before we know it, we’re pulling up to the airport.
Rex parks the car, and we all get out as Jordan grabs his bag. “It was real, dude,” Penn says as he hugs him and claps his back.
“Bon voyage, motherfucker,” Rex says as he leans in for a similar hug.
I’m next. “Thanks, man. For everything. Give Alisha a big hug for me,” I say quietly as I embrace my friend.
“I will. Maybe less mental breakdowns but more cross-country trips? Oh, and next time you pummel an asshole director, make sure you call us for backup beforehand,” he suggests. I chuckle as I pull back, leaving Sophia standing in front of Jordan.
“Safe travels,” she says as she leans up and he takes her in his arms, lifting her off the ground as they embrace.
“You’re the best, M. I look forward to our next adventure and introducing you to Alisha,” he says as he sets her back down.
She’s blushing and doesn’t say anything but nods a response.
“OK, asswipes…and Sophia. It’s been real. Wish me luck,” he adds and we all wave as we watch him walk inside.
“Last stop, Maryland,” Sophia says quietly.
“All aboard,” Rex adds as he gets back in the car. As we pull away, all of us looking back at the airport, I can’t help wondering what’s next. We’ve been so focused on this trip for a week, that my mind for once hasn’t wondered about the future. I look down at Sophia who is resting her head on my shoulder. I know in my heart what I want my future to look like. And for once, I’m not nervous or anxious about it. I just want it to start now.