Page 20 of Pieces of Me

“Fuckin’ A.”

A silence fell as they both finished their lunch.

“What happened with Mr. Tanner?”

Gabriel tipped his head back and drained the last of his Gatorade. “When the rumors started, apparently he quit before they could investigate. He wouldn’t have been able to explain why he was letting Scott use the weight room when it was against policy anyway, so he did the smart thing and left. Don’t know what happened with him, though. There’s other rumors that he turned into kind of a stalker, following Scott home and parking outside his house. That kind of thing.”

“Fuck me,” Rylan breathed. “That’s quite a story. I can tell you, G, I haven’t noticed any weirdos parked outside our house.”

Gabriel gathered up his trash. “That’s good. Seriously, if anyone’s a sick fuck, it’s Mr. Tanner, a grown man perving on a seventeen-year-old boy.” They both shuddered. “Even if he does look at least twenty.”

Rylan traced his eyes over Scott’s tall, leanly muscled body and scruffy jaw. No way did he look only seventeen, no way. Well, he was almost eighteen. But still…the dude already looked legal and then some.

“Bell’s gonna ring, man. See you after school.”

Gabriel’s voice broke into Rylan’s thoughts and he reached across the table for a fist bump before they went their separate ways, tossing trash into bins and heading for class.

CHAPTER 5

Scott rolled away from Lisa with a grunt, collapsing on his back and wallowing, trying to catch his breath. Finally he pushed to his feet and stripped the condom off, padding into the bathroom to flush it.

When he approached the bed again, Lisa hummed under her breath and said, “Just stand there, baby, and let me look at you.” Scott put his hands on his hips and obliged, until she moved up on her knees in the disheveled bed and yanked him back down, squealing as he fell on top of her in a tangle of arms and legs.

She linked her arms around his neck. “You’re so fucking beautiful, you know. You should go to Hollywood.”

Scott rolled his eyes. “Get out,” he said. “Why would I do that?”

She ran her hand down his cheek. “’Cause you’re gorgeous enough to be a supermodel. And once you do that and get famous, movie studios will take notice. Seriously. You’re as good-looking as any actor in any movie.”

Scott pulled away from her and sat up, saying drily, “I’m sure it takes more than a pretty face to make it in Hollywood, Lise. I wouldn’t know how to act to save my life.”

Lisa pushed her hair back from her face, saying incredulously, “Haven’t you ever heard of ‘action movies,’ baby? Big-budget special effects, a hot guy running around with guns and explosives? Who needs to act?”

Scott shook his head at her. “And how would I get to fuckin’ California, girl? Got no car, no money…” She opened her mouth again, and he stopped her. “It’s a nice dream, but how’s it ever gonna happen?” He leaned down and pecked her on the lips. “I’ll take a shower and get out of here before your ’rents get home.”

She was still sulking in the bed when he emerged from the bathroom. “Scotty, I hate that you don’t have any ambition. You need to use what God gave you!”

Scott glanced at her. “There’s a difference, Lisa,” he said, trying to keep his voice patient, “between ambition and a motherfuckin’ pipe dream. Ambition is gettin’ a law degree; thinkin’ I’m goin’ to Hollywood to be a movie star is just…” He shrugged.

Lisa stood and walked over to wrap her arms around him. “Think about it, though. For me? It would be so cool if I could say I know a famous person! Of course, you’d need a date to all the premieres and red-carpet events.” She blinked up at him.

Scott opened his mouth to say something sarcastic before realizing she was being completely serious. Oh, brother.

“Sure, hon,” he said, mentally rolling his eyes. “You’d be the only one I’d take to a premiere.”

She squealed happily, hugging him tight. “Yay!”

After another quick kiss, Scott ran down the stairs and let himself out. It was a two-mile walk home, but it was a nice night, and he didn’t mind. As he strode along the dusty road, he thought about what Lisa had said about Hollywood. He knew it was dumb and far-fetched, but despite his better judgment, a refrain started running through his mind: Why not me? How cool would it be to see his name in lights, his face on the big screen? He’d heard the fairytale stories about guys waiting tables, down to their last dollar, and a big-shot agent comes in for lunch, takes one look, and makes him a star.

The fantasy took hold and grew. When he got famous, Heather would want to be around him, would want a piece of him, and he’d have his lawyers send her away with nothing. “Mr. Ashworth wishes you good day!” Scott chuckled, a shiver of pleasure going through him at how furious she would be, but there was no way he’d let her decide to be his mom now just so she could share in his fame.

Then a sudden thought struck him. His dad…what if his dad saw him in a movie? Or his dad’s friends did? “Dude, that Oscar-winning actor looks exactly like you!” His dad would be curious about the famous guy with his face, and he’d look into Scott Ashworth’s background. When his dad found out he was from Pensacola, maybe he’d…oh, God. Oh, shit.

It was stupid. It was ridiculous. But what if? What if?

Caught up in his dream, the rest of the walk flew by, and before Scott knew it, he was home. He saw Bob’s truck parked in the yard next to Heather’s battered little sedan and was pleased. He couldn’t deny he liked the guy. If Heather could keep from fucking up a good thing, they’d all―

As he got closer and could see the truck better, Scott noticed that it was actually black, not a dark blue like Bob’s. What the―