Chapter 10 Leo
Chapter ten
Leo
NOW
Miranda and I decided not to drive into Seattle. Instead, we opted to get pancakes at the little diner by my house, which we’d been to before.
When we walked in, a harried middle-aged server carrying a steaming coffee pot told us to sit “wherever.” She paid us little mind, but the younger server on the other side of the restaurant looked up and did an immediate double take.
“I guess that’s what we wanted,” Miranda said under her breath. “To be recognized.”
We sat down, shedding our coats, and I recalled the first time I’d brought Miranda here nearly two years ago. She’d exclaimed over the sticky plastic menus “with nary a QR code in sight.”
The younger server motioned to the other woman that she’d take care of us. “Would you like some coffee while you’re deciding?” she asked.
“Decaf for me,” Miranda replied. “Cream and sugar, please.”
“I’ll take the hard stuff,” I said.
The server’s cheek stuck out, like she was pushing her tongue against the inside. Her hands fiddled with the short apron she wore, and I caught the outline of her phone in the pocket.
She left to grab the coffee, and when she returned, she lingered after taking our orders for pancakes and bacon.
Rocking back on her heels, she gave the impression of wanting to say something else before abandoning the notion and walking away.
Less than a minute later, I clocked her balancing a dish towel-covered phone on the counter.
“Not very subtle, is she?” Miranda guffawed.
“No. Maybe we should turn and smile and get it over with.”
“Let her have it. We’ll leave a big tip and maybe she’ll post about that.”
When the server brought our food ten minutes later, she’d reached the limit of her restraint. “I can’t believe you’re here,” she said. “I just watched a video about you and Stone this morning.”
Miranda smiled widely. “We were wondering if maybe you recognized us but didn’t want to presume. Hopefully, whatever you watched was positive.”
“Oh, it was. One of my favorite creators. It’s stupid, you know, how so many people jump to conclusions. Of course men and women can be just friends. You and Stone, I mean.”
I winked at Miranda. “Men and women can definitely be just friends.”
“I’m Neveah, by the way,” the server said.
“Nice to meet you,” I replied. “Are you new? I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”
“This is my third week. Dorothy mentioned you’re a regular,” Neveah said, gesturing to the middle-aged server. “But she had no clue you two were internet famous. When I told her, she laughed and said you’re friendly. She also said you’d be okay if I mentioned that I knew who you were.”
I leaned out and tipped my mug at Dorothy, who gave a little wave in return. “Perfectly fine. But for the record, my girlfriend and I aren’t famous, or maybe Miranda is a little. Stone and Naomi are the famous ones. We’re just randos waiting for all this to die down.”
“That’s why I flew up from Los Angeles,” Miranda interjected. “Leo and I usually do the long-distance thing, but I wasn’t going to face all this while we were apart.”
Neveah seemed to consider her words. “It must suck to have everyone talking about you when you’re just trying to be a regular person.”
“True,” Miranda agreed. “I’ll probably stop doing my Instagram account after this, too, since my identity has been exposed.”
“Well, you’re cool to eat your pancakes in peace,” Neveah said. “If anyone asks, I’ll tell them you’re nice… Also, don’t listen to the trolls. There’s nothing wrong with two blonds dating each other.”
With that, she turned her attention to another table.
“I’m getting a very real urge to dye my hair,” I said dryly.
“Don’t do it, Bear. Don’t let the haters win.” She shook her fist in the air like a gladiator.
“Are you really going to stop doing your Instagram?”
“You say that like it’s a surprise when you know I’ve been looking for an out. It’s no longer a brand experiment if people know it’s me. If there’s a silver lining to this situation, it’s that it gives me the perfect excuse to sunset the account.”
“She was fun while she lasted.”
“She’s still fun. Just slightly less adventurous.”
Later that night, after going to the movies and walking the lake loop at a local park, Miranda opened up her feed to see a trending post. Neveah had put up the pictures she took of us eating—which turned out surprisingly well, considering the dish towel subterfuge—along with a caption talking about how friendly and “in love” we were.
“You really have executed the plan beautifully,” I said, kissing her head. “Cluing Neveah into your thought process on flying up here so we could endure this terrible internet injustice together was a nice touch.”
“Thank you. I’m glad she mentioned that part in her caption. Does our work for us.”
I was in the kitchen boiling pasta when Miranda’s phone rang. She stepped into the second bedroom to take the call.
Five minutes later, she emerged with a bewildered look on her face.
“Everything okay?” I asked, turning off the burner.
“That was Stone,” she said. “He was just calling to check in. I guess Shoshanna told him everything was going well, which is true, but he just seemed…not stressed about it at all. It was almost bizarre how calm he was. I was worried when I hadn’t heard from him earlier that something might be wrong, but it’s obvious that he’s just super chill about the whole thing.
He didn’t call because he straight up sees no urgency here. ”
I stepped to the side of the counter. Stone would always be a sticky topic, and I knew I needed to tread carefully. “Does it bother you?”
“I don’t know if ‘bother’ is the right word.
It’s more like you and I have turned our whole lives upside down to fix this.
Even Naomi is in on the game, giving that interview and reaching out to me.
His people are buying burner phones and working on crisis management.
Meanwhile, Stone is like, ‘Man, the prop guns they have us using on this shoot have a real kick. I almost fell over today.’”
I knew she was annoyed because she did a voice imitating Stone, and it wasn’t her usual MO to belittle him.
As much as I didn’t want to defend Stone, I was fairly sure I knew what was happening.
I drew out my words. “Panda, from everything you’ve told me, it sounds like Stone has been happy to hand off the business side of all this to his PA and the other people who work for him.
And it’s basically their job to make him feel as little discomfort as possible.
I’m guessing they’ve been underplaying the potential damage to his career, trying to fix it for him, because that’s the dynamic that exists.
The plan for triage with you and me—it’s dictated by Stone’s handlers, correct?
Even if the solution was your idea. He’s good at the videos and being charming, and it’s clear he loves to act, but he’s also in the habit of not worrying about this type of stuff. ”
Her nod filled me with relief. “You’re right. Shoshanna pulls the strings. I’m sure she just gave him the burner phone and told him she’d take care of it and let him know if he needed to do anything.”
“That would be my assumption.”
Miranda sat down heavily on the couch, placing her elbow on her knee and leaning her chin into her fist. “I can’t imagine letting someone have that much power over me.
” She put her arm down, leaning back. “But Stone is incredibly busy and dedicated to his career. There are so many places—this problem, our relationship, the possibility of standing up to Shoshanna—where what looks like a lack of effort is really just him not seeing that effort is needed.”
He doesn’t see you, I wanted to scream. Not the way he should.
I gritted my teeth as Miranda excused Stone’s behavior.
Then again, she had been a willing accomplice in his lack of effort.
Because, as bad as it was that Stone basically half-assed everything other than his career, she had noticed his lack of attention to their relationship and shrugged her shoulders at it.
She deserved so much more from him. And settled for so little. Why?
As if on cue, her phone buzzed. She stared down at it before holding it up for me to read.
SHOSHANNA (STONE’S PA): Thanks for your hard work. Pretty sure you’re winning the internet. Please keep doing what you’re doing.
SHOSHANNA (STONE’S PA): I’ll tell Stone not to worry and that everything is handled.
13 MONTHS AGO - NOVEMBER
I arrived at Miranda’s place in record time, even stopping to nap. The drive from my apartment in Tacoma to hers in Los Angeles was a long one. But the more I did it, the shorter the distance seemed.
We had decided that I would come down and spend a few days with her before we drove back to Coleman Creek together for Thanksgiving.
The holiday was early this year, and afterward, she had to fly back to LA for school, then back to Washington the first weekend in December for James and Marley’s engagement party, then back to California to complete her classes for the quarter, and finally back to Washington to spend Christmas and New Year’s in Coleman Creek.
It was a dizzying schedule with lots of flying, so I figured driving this first time might be fun.
My initial guess was that I’d get into town around eleven in the morning, but when I rang Miranda’s bell, it wasn’t quite nine.
And it wasn’t Miranda who answered.
The door swung open. A young, tanned surfer-type dude stood on the threshold. He was shirtless, with a smooth chest, and the band of his underwear stuck out above the top of his low-slung shorts. His skin practically glowed with energy.
He stepped back and opened the door wider. “’Sup, man. You must be Leo.” I walked in, the heavy footfalls of my boots somehow a contrast to his tone. “Miranda’s still in bed, I think.”
Depositing my duffel near the entry, I eyeballed the couch. It didn’t look like it had been slept on.
The guy wandered into Miranda’s kitchen. No, it was more of a swagger. A saunter, even. He pulled a package of donuts off the top of the fridge, extending the box to me. “Want one?”
I put up my hand. “Um… No, thanks.”
He pulled out a chocolate donut before putting the box back. “Cool. I just made some fresh coffee. Still in the pot. You’re probably tired after your long drive.”
“Uh-huh.” Utilizing my knowledge of Miranda’s kitchen, I pulled a mug from the cupboard and poured myself a cup.
“You take it black?” The guy smiled—his big white teeth sort of pissed me off—and gestured to my mug. “Hard-core.”
“I take it however,” I clarified. A few seconds passed. I sipped. He chewed noisily. Finally, I asked, “It sounds like you know my name, but what should I call you?”
“Huh? … I’m Stone,” he said, confusion evident. Like I should have known that.
“Oh.” I waited for him to say more.
For the first time, his smile faltered. “Did Miranda not…tell you about me?”
Now I was confused. “No. Should she have?”
“Well, yeah. She mentioned you wouldn’t recognize me since you’re not online much, but I’ve heard so much about you, I just figured she’d tell you about me. Even though we’re keeping this whole thing on the down-low.”
“She’s never mentioned a Stone.”
“That’s strange because—”
“Stone? Who are you talk—” Miranda stopped short in the bedroom doorway. “Oh.”
Startled, she ran a hand through her unbrushed hair. The gesture drew my eyes to her, and I noticed she wore only a large T-shirt with a skate company logo on it, barely covering the tops of her thighs.
Stone eyed her hungrily, walking over to wrap an arm around her waist before kissing her forehead. To me, he said, “Nothing like when your girl wears your clothes, amiright?”
If I’d had any lingering doubt about who Stone was to Miranda, that cleared it up. As did the plus signs he drew on her hip with his palm.
Alright, dude. I get it.
“I see you two have met,” she said, extricating herself from Stone’s grip. “Gimme a sec.”
She went into the bedroom and returned wearing sleep pants underneath the giant shirt.
“I thought you wouldn’t get here for a few more hours.” She gave me a hug, although not our usual lingering one.
“Made good time,” I replied stiffly.
“That’s great,” she said, with a brightness that didn’t reach her eyes. “And you met Stone.”
I nodded. “I did. Except he seems a little surprised you haven’t mentioned him to me.”
“Yeah, babes,” Stone piped in, still munching his donut. “I feel like ‘Leo this’ and ‘Leo that’ works its way into every conversation we have, but somehow you never mentioned me to him?” It didn’t sound like an accusation, but there was an edge to his voice.
Miranda met his stare directly. “I haven’t told anyone about us. That was our deal. But to be honest, I was planning to break that agreement and tell Leo.” Swiveling her head to me, she explained, “I wanted to talk to you about Stone in person.”
I understood immediately. As much as I didn’t want to acknowledge the gravity of the situation, I couldn’t deny it either.
In theory, if she was getting involved with someone—and I didn’t know the level of involvement she had with this Stone character—she could shoot me a text or tell me on the phone.
But that would mean denying what we’d been to each other these past eleven months.
Our closeness. Would she need to save some of that closeness for this guy now? The thought made my lungs constrict.
“Right,” Stone said to Miranda. “I know how much you like keeping our thing private. Especially now that I’ve got the movie.” He shoved the last of the donut into his mouth. “Speaking of which—” Crumbs flew from his lips. “I’d better get moving. I need to meet Shoshanna at ten.”
“Your PA?” Miranda asked.
“Yep. Signing contracts this morning. Naomi’s gonna be there too. I’m excited to finally meet her.”
He bounced into the bedroom, returning with a backpack slung over his shoulder.
A bolt of annoyance sped through me when he kissed Miranda and murmured, “I like you in my shirt,” loud enough for me to hear.
I shoved the feeling aside. I had no right to be possessive. Miranda deserved to find her happiness.
And I couldn’t give her everything she needed.
But I struggled to believe the surfer-bro shaking his ass as he walked out the door could either.