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Chapter Thirty-One
Jasper woke up with a head full of stampeding elephants and a mouth full of ash as sunlight pierced his eyelids. He groaned and rolled to his side, trying to hide from the light, and pressed his cheek to the cool silk of the pillow. His thoughts stumbled.Silk?
The unexpected sensation had him squinting his eyes open. Gauzy white curtains and bright sunlight filled his gaze. He didn’t recognize the room at all. Where the hell was he?
He tried to blink and clear his thoughts, but before he could, the bed shifted next to him. His breath stalled in his chest. Then a decidedly feminine sigh filled his ears. A familiar one.
Oh no.Oh fuck.
The scent of the silky sheets filled his nose then. A familiar perfume.Kenzie.He was in Kenzie’s bed, and he had no memory of how he’d gotten there. Based on the pounding in his head, though, he’d guess he’d gotten there via a river of booze.Christ.
Kenzie groaned. “God, I need to get blackout shades. This California sun is no joke.”
Jasper didn’t want to turn over. He didn’t want to face this. But what else was there to do? Reckless Jasper had done something stupid. Again. He closed his eyes, counted to five, and then eased onto his back. He hadn’t been imagining the sounds and scents. Kenzie was there as real as ever. She propped her head up on her fist and looked down at him. “Welcome back to the world of the living, loser.”
Jasper flinched, her voice piercing his pounding head. “Kenzie.”
“Well, at least you still remember my name. I’m not sure you remembered your own last night.” She gave him the hairy eyeball. “You’re lucky I got you out of there before you made an ass out of yourself in front of Angie and Phil.”
Jasper rubbed his head. “I don’t remember leaving the restaurant.”
“Yeah, sweetheart,” she said, all sarcasm. “You celebrated like a rock star. I half carried your ass up here.”
He glanced down at the flimsy tank top she’d slept in. “Did we…?”
Her nose wrinkled. “Jesus, no. Give me some credit. I’m not a date rapist. You were out of it, Jas. I didn’t think it was safe to leave you in some hotel room. So I brought you here, dumped you in bed, and you passed out.”
A tidal wave of relief flooded through him. “Oh, thank God.”
She gave him an affronted look. “Gee, thanks. I’m glad the thought of sleeping with me is so repellent.”
“No, it’s not—” He winced at the stabbing pain in his head. “It’s just, I have a girlfriend.”
Havenothad. He didn’t know why the words had come out that way. He and Hollyn had broken up. But he didn’t correct the statement. He didn’t want to.
Kenzie’s eyebrows went up. “You have a what now?”
He pushed himself up on his elbows, his stomach pitching a little. “The woman you met at rehearsal the other day. Hollyn. We’re dating.”
Her eyes widened. “Wait. The chick with the tics?”
Jasper pinned her with a hard look. “Don’t fucking call her that.”
Kenzie sat up and lifted her palms in surrender. “Sorry. I just… That’s unexpected. She’s…”
“Smart and beautiful and talented,” he said, fully annoyed now.
“Hey, I wasn’t going to criticize. If you like her, that’s cool. But…” She lifted her shoulder in a shrug.
“But what?”
She pressed her lips together as if choosing her words. “Look, I’m not trying to be the storm on your parade or whatever, but you just landed a starring role on a TV show. Some new hometown relationship doesn’t exactly have the best outlook. Is she going to move out here with you?”
Jasper rubbed the spot between his eyebrows, trying to get the ice pick of pain to stop stabbing him. “No. She can’t.”
“I’m sorry.” Kenzie reached out and gave his leg a pat. “But honestly, it’s probably for the best. Everything in your life is going to change when you get here, Jas. Think of all the people you’re going to meet, all the opportunities you’re going to get. The most beautiful and talented people live here. You don’t want to be tied down to some part of your old life. That’s like walking around the clouds with an anchor tied to your foot. You need to leave that stuff behind.”
The words rang like a bell in his head, the familiarity reverberating through him. He looked up and met her no-nonsense gaze. “That’s what you did with me, wasn’t it?”
