Chapter 30
CHAPTER THIRTY
Tate
My friends have been quiet, not prodding me about how I’ll resolve my current media shitshow, which honestly I feel is becoming a weekly event. I absentmindedly have been rubbing my thumb over the inside of Sophia’s thigh. I glance down at it, giving her leg a little squeeze, but her eyes remain fixed on the scenery passing us by as we approach her town. A worry in the pit of my stomach starts to expand as the seconds tick by and she doesn’t look back at me.
I get it. My life can be complicated and messy. But my career and my lifestyle also afford me so many opportunities. If I could just get her to see that. She, Cal, and Lizzie would never want for anything again. She could write full-time if she wanted to or keep working her day job. We could keep our home base in their town until the kids graduated. There are so many options for how we could make this work. And this little snafu is just a bump in the road. The damn paparazzi once printed that Lacey and I were having a baby for like three months because she gained ten pounds for a film. It was horrible. I felt awful for Lacey and that’s when I really realized I did want kids. Unfortunately, that solidified her not wanting kids. Looking back, it was the beginning of the end.
She once referenced my bad genes, referring to my parents and their fucked-up decisions. A part of me never got over that. It’s an insecurity that I bury deep down. Fortunately, my grandparents were at least a consistent part of my life. Or at least they were until my grandfather passed away and my grandmother was diagnosed with dementia. That’s been hard.
Maybe that’s why I want the life Sophia has. She has a family and friends. I have my friends, but they have their own lives too. Shit, I’m more confused than ever.
Rex pulls into Sophia’s driveway. “I hope you enjoyed your drive. Please give me a five-star rating,” he says as he parks and opens his door.
“Jackass,” Penn mutters as we all get out of the car and begin collecting our bags.
“Uh, what’s everyone’s plan?” Sophia asks as we stand in the driveway with our luggage at our feet.
“Well, I have a flight out tonight. Just booked it this morning. I need to go do some soul searching like I said,” Rex says.
Sophia steps up to him and wraps her arms around his waist. He hugs her back and places a kiss on the crown of her head.
“Thank you, M,” he says as he smiles down at her.
“You’re very welcome,” she replies with a grin, stepping back just as her front door swings open.
A stunning woman who looks to be around Sophia’s age walks onto her front porch. Her dark curly hair glistens in the midday sun. Her white teeth seem almost too perfect against her dark red lips. She’s so put together that I wonder if she’s a model or a CEO.
“Hey!” Sophia says, turning toward the woman who walks over and embraces her. They hug for a long moment, both whispering in hushed voices. I look over and see Penn’s jaw hanging open. I raise an eyebrow and he shuts his mouth after glancing at me.
“Boys, this is my very closest friend, Anissa. She’s in town for her work and happened to stop by. Anissa, this is Rex, Penn, and Tate.” She motions to each of us.
Rex reaches out and shakes her hand. “Nice to meet you, Anissa.”
“Yes, it’s really nice to meet you,” I say as I reach out a hand to shake hers. When our hands fall away, her eyes turn to Penn who is still standing there motionless.
“Hey, nice to meet you, Penn,” Anissa says without missing a beat.
“Oh, uh, yeah. Nice to meet you,” Penn says as he shakes her outstretched hand.
Sophia rolls her eyes. “OK, now that we’ve all met. Penn, what’s your deal? Are you staying tonight or leaving or what?”
“I…uh, I was going to leave tomorrow. I mean, if that’s OK,” Penn says.
Sophia laughs. “Yep. That’s OK. You can sleep in…” She turns to Anissa. “What kid’s room are you in?”
“Obviously Lizzie. Cal’s room has way too many Lego pieces on the floor,” she says.
“Lego room it is,” Penn says.
“Great. Rex, you want me to take you to the airport?” Sophia asks.
“Oh, that’s OK. I just ordered a car,” he says as he holds up his phone.
“Well, it’s weird to be back, huh?” Sophia declares as she places her hands on her hips and looks around.
A hand waves from behind some hedges. “You back from your trip?” George Fitzsimmons asks.
“Yep,” Sophia says with a sigh. “Hi, George. How are you?”
“Oh, I’m good. The old sciatica is acting up again, but I’m still here,” he says in a raspy voice.
“For the love of God, George. You’re not dying,” Wanda yells from their front porch.
Rex presses his lips together to keep from laughing and Anissa rolls her eyes. Penn just gives Sophia a curious look. Sophia shrugs.
“Well, glad you two are well. I just need to sort out some guests. I’ll catch up with you later,” she says with a wave.
“How many movie stars have you got staying there?” George asks.
Penn’s shoulders begin to shake with laughter and Rex snorts. Anissa laughs out loud.
“Just a few,” she says.
“You should be careful what you do in public. Your photo is all over the interwebs,” Wanda says.
“I heard that. Thanks for the suggestion,” Sophia says with a slight roll of her eyes.
A car pulls up to the house and everyone turns to Rex. I lean forward and hug him. “Thanks, man. I’m glad you guys came,” I say as I pull back.
“Me too. I think I needed that about as much as you did,” he confesses before hugging Penn and Sophia.
“Remember, you’re always welcome at either of my homes,” he says to her. “And you have my number, so call if you need anything.”
She salutes him with a wink. “Will do,” she says.
“At ease, M. Just keep this knucklehead under control, yeah?” he adds as he opens the back door of the SUV.
“I’ll do my best. But he’s got it from here,” she says as he waves to us and gets in, shutting the door before the car pulls out into the street. What does she mean that I got it from here ? I look down at her, curious about her choice of words, but I just decide to let it go for now. It’s been a crazy day. Maybe we all just need a few hours to rest and recalibrate.
We walk inside and I immediately smell something amazing.
“You cooked?” Sophia asks Anissa.
She shrugs as we follow her into the kitchen.
“Holy fuck! Are those Colombian tamales and empanadas?” Penn asks as he practically lunges at the countertop in the kitchen.
“And arepas stuffed with queso,” Anissa adds with a grin. “Help yourselves, weary travelers.”
“Thanks,” Sophia says as she gives her a side hug and cheek kiss. “You’re the best.”
“These are fucking amazeballs! I was super obsessed with them when I was down there a few years ago,” Penn manages to say as he chews on an empanada.
“I was bored, and I figured I’d cook,” Anissa explains.
“You just whip up specialties from other countries?” I ask as I take a bite of a tamale. It’s delicious.
“Anissa’s grandmother is Colombian,” Sophia explains.
“That’s cool,” Penn says, grabbing another empanada, a tamale, and two arepas.
“Wow, slow down there, carb loader. What will your trainer say?” I tease.
Penn grunts. “It’s vacation, Tate. Besides, our trainer would be happy that I’m eating the chicken empanadas, so we’re all good.”
“You guys have the same trainer?” Sophia asks.
I nod. “Yeah, he’s really good.”
She frowns and nods at the same time. This entire conversation feels weird and I’m not feeling great about things between us. She’s been distant ever since the media stuff earlier today.
“I’m going to call Mark and the kids to let them know we made it back,” Sophia says before I can ask what’s wrong. She makes her way out to her deck and closes the sliding door behind her. I watch as she sits down on a lounge chair and talks on her phone.
“So…you and my bestie, huh?” Anissa asks.
I turn my attention to Sophia’s best friend. “Uh, yeah. You think she’s OK?” I ask.
“M’s fine. She’s just rattled by the paps,” Penn says mid-chew.
“Well, I think it’s a lot for her to take in. I mean…you guys are like hella famous. And Sophia’s life is like…hella normal. So…” Anissa trails off, giving me a knowing look as if the answer should be obvious.
She sighs. “Just give her time. This is a lot. She’s not used to being in the media like this. Think about it. It’s overwhelming. One minute she’s just a small-time author, still working a day job and being a mom, and the next she’s galivanting across the country with you all and having her photo blasted across…what did Wanda call it? Oh yeah, the interwebs.”
“I mean, we are kind of a lot, but she was cool. I just view her as a friend now,” Penn says, finishing his last arepa. “That was delicious, by the way.”
“Thanks,” Anissa says as she turns back to me.
“Give her some space today. Let her settle back in,” she adds.
I nod as Sophia walks back into the house. “I’m going to run over to the kids’ hockey camp. They both have a game this afternoon,” Sophia says. “Are you guys good here for a little while?”
“I mean, movie star why choose sexcapades wasn’t on my list for today, but I suppose,” Anissa says as she looks between Penn and me.
Penn laughs. “That’s a real thing?”
“Dear God. Anyhoo, I’ll be back later,” Sophia says as she grabs her purse and keys off the side table where she set them and walks out the front door.
“I should go call my agent and hear the plan she and my publicist have no doubt devised to handle this chaos,” I state as I pick up my bag and head upstairs.
* * *
Five hours later, I feel like my team and I have this media frenzy under control. I hear Sophia come in and I walk downstairs.
“Hey,” I say as I see her checking her phone.
“Hey,” she replies but doesn’t look up at me. Yeah, something is most definitely going on. I can hear distant laughter from the deck. Sophia looks toward the back of her house.
“Anissa and Penn have been out there all afternoon,” I explain.
Sophia rolls her eyes. “I’m pretty sure Anissa wants Penn as a notch on her belt.”
“Well, I’m pretty sure Penn feels the same way,” I state. I motion to the kitchen. “There’s leftovers if you are hungry.”
She shakes her head. “I had some food at the kids’ games.”
“How were they?” I ask, wishing I had gone with her instead of handling this stupid media stuff.
“Good. Their teams won, so that’s good,” she says.
“Soph, what's going on?” I ask.
“Nothing, just back to normal, you know?” she answers as she brushes past me and starts to clean up the kitchen which is spotless aside from the neatly packed arepas and empanadas that are still in containers on the counter.
“Seriously. I get that it’s hard dealing with the media, but I’ve been on the phone with my team all afternoon and we have a plan. It’ll be fine. I promise,” I say as I search her eyes.
She lets out a long, shaky breath. I suddenly feel sick. It’s as if my body senses her words before she even speaks them. “I…this”—she motions between us—“it’s not going to work out. I don’t want to drag it on and make it worse when it does come to an end. I’ve already done that once and I don’t want to do it again. Let’s just…part ways as friends who had some fun on a trip and now are just friends, only friends.”
“Sophia, please,” I start but she puts up her hand.
“I’ve thought about this all day and it’s the right thing to do. Our lives are just…too different. It wouldn’t work. I’d hold you back and you’d be dragging me ahead where I’m not comfortable being. The media would just tear us apart. It’s better this way,” she says but the tears in her eyes tell me she’s lying. She doesn’t want this. I’m about to protest but then, for some reason I can’t explain, Anissa’s words come back to me. Give her time. Then I think of her fear of being in another relationship that fails. And I know Anissa’s right.
“OK,” I say slowly. “I’ll just sleep on the couch tonight. I can probably catch a flight back with Penn tomorrow and I’ll be in touch about the film.”
She walks over to me and wraps her arms around my waist. “I’m sorry,” she whispers.
I kiss the top of her head and hold her to me, relishing the feel of her body against mine, wishing I could take her upstairs and show her how good we are together. “It’s alright,” I lie. I don’t feel those words at all. It’s not alright. I just need to figure out how to make her see that.
“I’m going to take the basement for tonight, if that’s OK,” I say to her.
She nods. “I’m probably just going upstairs for a bit to work and go to bed after I say goodnight to Anissa and Penn.”
I nod and head to the basement. I can hear them talking upstairs when they all come in, but I don’t feel like being social. A knock on the door pulls me out of my thoughts.
“Yeah?” I call out, hoping it’s Sophia. Instead, I watch Penn come down the steps and I feel disappointment wash over me.
“Hey, Soph told me,” he says. “Sorry, man. I thought she was the one for you.”
“I’m not giving up on her, Penn. I love her. I know that’s crazy. I know it’s only been a week. But I do,” I reply.
He grins. “Fuck yeah. What’s the plan?”
I shake my head and shrug. “I don’t know yet.”
“Well, let’s start figuring one out. Let’s channel our inner romance author. We got this,” Penn says. “I mean, hell, we learned from the very best.”
I smile at that. “I don’t know if there’s anything we can do, but Anissa says she needs time. So, I guess, let’s go home and work on something, some grand gesture.”
“OK, I’ll see you tomorrow,” he says as he heads upstairs.
“Penn?”
“Yeah?”
“Please don’t sleep with Anissa.”
He laughs and doesn’t respond, and I groan. Fuck. My. Life. I look over at a photo of Sophia with Cal and Lizzie.
“I’m not giving up on us,” I whisper as I turn over and try to fall asleep.