AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTER NINE
Clarke
“What are you doing Saturday evening?” Treyton’s fingers move in slow circles across my back as I lay naked, tucked against his side in my bed.
This has become a regular thing–him showing up at my house. At least for this week anyway. Today is day four in a row.
“This Saturday?” I ask for confirmation. When he nods, I answer. “Nothing after four, I don’t think. Why?”
“I have a preproduction party for a movie I’m about to start shooting. I’ve never been a big fan of these types of events, but unfortunately I have to go. Thought maybe you’d like to be my date.”
“Wait, what?” I press up on my elbow, this being the first time I’ve heard of any upcoming movie and we’ve been pretty much inseparable, other than me going to work, since Sunday. “I didn’t know you were cast in a movie. Why didn’t you mention anything before now?”
I completely bypass the fact that he invited me to a movie function with him, or the thrill that accompanies it, simply because I’m trying really hard not to let myself get too immersed in this man. Mainly because I know it’s only a matter of time before he’s gone.
Men like Treyton Tyler do not settle down with women like me.
He’ll bore of me eventually, of that much I’m sure, and I need to be prepared for when that happens. Though at this point, I think it’s a fruitless attempt. I’m already so far gone it’s laughable.
“It’s recent. I just signed the contract at the beginning of the week.”
“When do you start filming?”
“A couple weeks.”
“That soon…”
He must sense something in my expression because he slides his hand under my chin and tilts it upward so he can see my face better.
“Don’t worry, it’s here in L.A. It’ll be long days but not an overly long schedule. A month, maybe six weeks. It was originally supposed to start shooting next week, but they ran into a delay with the starting location.”
I flatten my palm against his chest for a brief moment, my only focus the feeling of his heart beating against my hand, my eyes drinking him in. His muscular chest. His defined abs. The deep cut of his groin. He really is quite the specimen.
What a whirlwind these past few weeks have been. I’ve gone from hating him, to liking him, to hating that I like him, to now? Hell, even I don’t understand exactly how I feel. It feels too premature to say I’m in love with him, yet every fiber of my being is screaming that I am. And that is definitelynotgood.
“Tell me about it,” I finally say, sitting up before pivoting in his direction. Pulling my legs up in front of me, I don’t try to cover my bare torso from his eyes. At this point, there isn’t an inch of me he hasn’t seen, and probably licked and kissed too.
He lifts his arm, tucking it under his head to give himself a little elevation, his free hand finding my knee. As if he can’t ever just be still, his thumb instantly starts tracing the same pattern on my leg that he was just rubbing on my back moments ago.
“It’s a lot different than anything I’ve done. Originally, I thought it was a basic romance. You know, guy meets girl, guy falls for girl, drama, drama, drama, they find a way to be together, the end. But after reading the script, it’s nothing like I expected.”
“What’s it about?”
“It’s about two childhood friends that grow up together. They fall in love but life has other plans for them. He joins the military. She moves across the country. Most of the movie they aren’t together, but in some way, they’re always together. If that makes sense. The story builds, showing the ups and downs of both characters over the years. A classicone that got awaykind of love story with a ton of flashback scenes of their younger selves. Eventually, they find their way back to each other toward the end of their lives.”
“Well at least it has a happy ending. I hate movies that don’t have happy endings.”
“Does it though?” His brow furrows. “Yes, they end up together at the end, but what about all the years in between? What about their lives? Most of our lives are lived in the middle and these characters spent all that time apart. I don’t know.” He shrugs. “Seems kinda sad to me.”
“Aww, look at you.” I nudge his side with my knee. “Who knew you were such a softy?”
“I blame you.”
His comment has me struggling to breathe.
Every time I say I’m not going to get caught up in this man, he says something that pulls me in a little further.
“Me?” I do my best to force out evenly.
