and over again. She was right; we did look good together. The photographers certainly thought so. The looks of awe on their faces and the annoying pop-pop-pop of the camera behind us was like some weird spectacle at a circus.
I lifted the Pinot to my lips and decided that I’d kill this one and open another. Aubrey was welcome to some if she wanted it. I tilted my head back and enjoyed the way the alcohol burned down my throat and the slight rocking sensation in my head as it did its work.
When I set the bottle back down, my phone rang. It was eleven thirty at night, meaning that it was my agent. Adam Parker didn’t sleep much. I was pretty sure he had not gone to bed before two in the morning anytime during his career.
I picked up the phone and answered it by simply saying “Hello”. In hearing my own slurred voice, I realized that I had a larger buzz than I thought.
“ Devlin,” he said, “so yeah, tell me about this kiss I’m seeing on TV. Was that your idea?”
“ No, that was all Aubrey.”
“ That girl is a genius! Can you even start to imagine the great press this is going to get you? This is awesome!”
“ Sure,” I said. Everything was always about the press. It seemed everyone in Hollywood only did things that would get the spotlight on them... no matter in good or bad light.
“Are you drunk? Never mind… how long have you guys been seeing each other?”
“ We haven’t.” I could have gone on and told him about the suddenness of the kiss and how she was in my bed right now, hoping I’d come to her and have my way with her. But I didn’t feel like getting into that in my inebriated state.
“ Devlin, look…tomorrow morning, can you meet me for breakfast?”
“ Don’t know. I expect to be nice and hung over. Also… I think I’ll be going by Jack now.”
He paused... and I could hear his gears churning. “ Jack ? What the hell is that?”
“ What? You don’t like that idea?”
He sighed into the receiver. “Whatever man. Drink it off and call me when you can see and think clearly tomorrow.”
“ Sure,” I said and ended the call.
I looked at the iPhone for a moment, studying it in my hand like it was some weird artifact from another civilization. It made me think about a guy named Lester that I served with in Afghanistan. He’d had a Kindle app on his iPhone while we had served and he was always reading a book whenever we’d had down time.
Lester had been a member of Serpent Team. He had died on the day I managed to get out alive. I watched him get shot in the neck and then bleed out. I blinked hard at the memory.
I grit my teeth and pitched the stupid phone across the room. It struck the wall, where it left a nice dent before falling in pieces to the floor. I stared after it absently.
“ What the hell, Dev?”
I knocked back the rest of the bottle of wine and slowly walked to the bed. I cupped her face in my hands and brought her so close to me that our noses were touching.
“ Aubrey,” I started. “You are beyond beautiful and your talent is ridiculous. I am flattered and quite confused that you are interested in me. If I slept with you tonight, that would be the end of it. I don’t want you like that and, quite frankly, I don’t know why. I have some things going on in my head right now that make no sense. I’m tired of this life. I’m tired of myself. And the fact that you want me and show interest in me is the only thing that’s making me not drink myself into an absolute oblivion right now. Can you understand that?”
She was quiet for a moment, simply staring back at me, which was good. I tried to determine where the hell all of that had come from.
“ I thought that’s what it was,” she said. “We worked on those scenes together for a week or so and I got to know you, you know? You get this distant look in your eyes from time to time and you
I lifted the Pinot to my lips and decided that I’d kill this one and open another. Aubrey was welcome to some if she wanted it. I tilted my head back and enjoyed the way the alcohol burned down my throat and the slight rocking sensation in my head as it did its work.
When I set the bottle back down, my phone rang. It was eleven thirty at night, meaning that it was my agent. Adam Parker didn’t sleep much. I was pretty sure he had not gone to bed before two in the morning anytime during his career.
I picked up the phone and answered it by simply saying “Hello”. In hearing my own slurred voice, I realized that I had a larger buzz than I thought.
“ Devlin,” he said, “so yeah, tell me about this kiss I’m seeing on TV. Was that your idea?”
“ No, that was all Aubrey.”
“ That girl is a genius! Can you even start to imagine the great press this is going to get you? This is awesome!”
“ Sure,” I said. Everything was always about the press. It seemed everyone in Hollywood only did things that would get the spotlight on them... no matter in good or bad light.
“Are you drunk? Never mind… how long have you guys been seeing each other?”
“ We haven’t.” I could have gone on and told him about the suddenness of the kiss and how she was in my bed right now, hoping I’d come to her and have my way with her. But I didn’t feel like getting into that in my inebriated state.
“ Devlin, look…tomorrow morning, can you meet me for breakfast?”
“ Don’t know. I expect to be nice and hung over. Also… I think I’ll be going by Jack now.”
He paused... and I could hear his gears churning. “ Jack ? What the hell is that?”
“ What? You don’t like that idea?”
He sighed into the receiver. “Whatever man. Drink it off and call me when you can see and think clearly tomorrow.”
“ Sure,” I said and ended the call.
I looked at the iPhone for a moment, studying it in my hand like it was some weird artifact from another civilization. It made me think about a guy named Lester that I served with in Afghanistan. He’d had a Kindle app on his iPhone while we had served and he was always reading a book whenever we’d had down time.
Lester had been a member of Serpent Team. He had died on the day I managed to get out alive. I watched him get shot in the neck and then bleed out. I blinked hard at the memory.
I grit my teeth and pitched the stupid phone across the room. It struck the wall, where it left a nice dent before falling in pieces to the floor. I stared after it absently.
“ What the hell, Dev?”
I knocked back the rest of the bottle of wine and slowly walked to the bed. I cupped her face in my hands and brought her so close to me that our noses were touching.
“ Aubrey,” I started. “You are beyond beautiful and your talent is ridiculous. I am flattered and quite confused that you are interested in me. If I slept with you tonight, that would be the end of it. I don’t want you like that and, quite frankly, I don’t know why. I have some things going on in my head right now that make no sense. I’m tired of this life. I’m tired of myself. And the fact that you want me and show interest in me is the only thing that’s making me not drink myself into an absolute oblivion right now. Can you understand that?”
She was quiet for a moment, simply staring back at me, which was good. I tried to determine where the hell all of that had come from.
“ I thought that’s what it was,” she said. “We worked on those scenes together for a week or so and I got to know you, you know? You get this distant look in your eyes from time to time and you
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