1
Senior Year of High School
“Any news yet?” Audrey asks, coming up alongside me as I stare at my cell, willing it to ring.
I shake my head, chewing on the corner of my lower lip. “Not a word, and I’m starting to freak out.”
“You know how long these things take.” She opens her locker as students fill the hallway behind us. “I’m sure lover boy will call the minute he gets out of the meeting.”
After stuffing some books in my bag, I close my locker and lean my head back against it. “He wants this part so bad. He’ll be devastated if they don’t offer it to him.”
“He’ll bounce back,” Audrey says, slamming her locker shut. “Remember how upset he was last year when he didn’t get theRiverdalepart, but he got over it pretty quick.”
Eh, yeah, no, he didn’t. Reeve was upset and plagued with self-doubt for months after getting to the final round of auditions and then being rejected. It’s been a pattern these past few years, and while my boyfriend is one of the most focused and most determined people I know, continuous rejections are starting to chip away at his confidence. I do my best to bolster his spirits. To remind him how amazingly talented he is, and when that fails, I distract him with my lips and my hands and my body.
It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.
“Don’t let his laid-back attitude fool you. He beats himself up like crazy with every rejection. He’s so hard on himself,” I admit, tucking strands of my long dark hair behind my ears as I push off my locker, walking alongside Audrey.
We head toward the exit, and I’ll be glad to see the back of Blackrock Prep today. I honestly thought this day would never end. Time seemed to drag by, slowing to the point where the world was barely turning. Checking my cell every few minutes didn’t help, but I’ve been on tenterhooks all day, wondering how Reeve’s meeting with his new agent and the studio heads went. From the feedback he has received so far, we know the casting director loves him, but the movie director has a few concerns.
“If it’s meant to be, he’ll get the part.” Audrey loops her arm through mine and her emerald gaze pins me in place as we walk. “He’s way too talented to be overlooked for long.”
“Hollywood is crammed full of talented actors who never make it,” I remind her. “But Reeve has the trifecta. Talent, looks, and determination, and I just know he’s going to make it.”
“I’m sure your parents would help too.”
“Help with what?” Alex says, materializing on Audrey’s right, injecting himself into the conversation, as usual.
“Reeve’s career.” Audrey stretches up to peck her boyfriend on the lips.
“They would be happy to help, but he wants to do it by himself, and I respect that.” It would be easy for Reeve to use my mom’s star power or either of our fathers’ connections to get a leg up in Hollywood, but he wants to earn roles on his own merits, and I can relate. While I’m still not totally decided on whether I’ll go the writing or costume design route, whatever I choose to do, I want to do it myself, without any interference or help from my parents.
“Fuck.” Alex drags one hand through his sandy-blond hair, and I swear I hear a collective swoon from the girls in the vicinity. To the legions of adoring fans who worship the ground he walks on, it doesn’t matter that Alex and Audrey have been dating exclusively for the past two years. As our illustrious QB, he has garnered plenty of admirers, in the same way Reeve has. Reeve and Alex are easily the two hottest guys in our private school, and hordes of drooling girls would kill to be in my, and Audrey’s, shoes. “He didn’t get the part?” Alex asks, holding the double doors open for us.
“I don’t know. I haven’t heard from him yet,” I say, stepping outside into glorious sunshine. Although L.A. in late September is generally warm and sunny, we’ve had an unusual spell of extremely hot weather this week. We’re all hoping it extends to the weekend so we can go swimming at the beach.
Alex slings his arm around Audrey’s shoulders as we descend the steps to the sidewalk. A pang of longing hits me square in the chest when he brushes her glossy red hair to one side and plants a trail of little kisses along her neck. I didn’t get to see Reeve last night after school, and I’m suffering major withdrawal symptoms. It’s the same any time we are separated for more than a day. We have been joined at the hip for so long I cannot even fathom ever living my life without him in it.
An icy shiver crawls up my spine, and I shake the hideous thought from my stupid brain. If there is one thing I’m sure about in this life, it’s that Reeve Elon Lancaster was made specifically for me and we will love one another every single day for the rest of our lives. Okay, so that’s two things, but I’m just as sure about both.
“Three o’clock,” Alex says, briefly lifting his mouth from his girlfriend’s neck.
I whip my head around, spotting Reeve parked at the curb, leaning back against his Porsche with his arms folded, looking hotter than any guy has a right to be. My gaze does a slow perusal, from the ground up, and a deep ache pulses between my legs. He dressed the part today, wearing tight, black, ripped jeans that cling to his long, lean legs and toned thighs, fitting snuggly against his crotch in a way that has me licking my lips and squeezing my thighs together. His black button-down shirt is stretched tight across his muscular chest, highlighting the extra definition in his torso and biceps.
Reeve wanted this part so badly he changed his appearance to better suit the role of Camden Marshall. Cam is the hero inCruel Intentions, the first book in the bestsellingRydeville Eliteseries, a firm favorite with fans of dark high school bully romance.
Reeve has been working out like a demon for this part, and his shoulders and chest are broader, he’s now sporting an impressive six-pack, and his arm porn is to die for. His hair has been dyed a darker shade of brown to disguise his natural blond highlights. Normally, Reeve wears his hair long on top but styled back off his face. Now, the longer parts of his hair are artfully styled in messy waves and the sides have been shorn much tighter with a zig-zag line in the skin fade. He even wore brown contacts over his natural blue eyes to complete the transformation.
My man is hot, no matter what look he’s rocking, but I’ve got to admit he is sexy as fuck right now, and I’m ready to jump his bones like a demented oversexed kangaroo.
Reeve watches me ogling him, but his expression is giving nothing away, and fear spirals through me, sprouting anxious goose bumps all over my arms.
“You waiting for an invitation?” Alex asks, grabbing my backpack. “He looks tense as shit. Go cheer him up.”
I stride toward Reeve, picking up speed and flat-out running when he loses control of his emotions and an ecstatic grin spreads across his mouth. “You got it?” I shout as I approach, and he can’t contain his grin as he nods. “Oh my God!” I scream, throwing myself at him and wrapping my legs around his waist. His arms automatically slide under my butt, holding me in place as I pepper kisses all over his face. “I’m so proud and so happy for you, Reeve.” I slam my lips onto his, and he holds me tight against his body as we devour one another. I moan into his mouth when his tongue glides against mine. His assured strokes submerge every part of my body with fiery heat that has nothing to do with the weather and everything to do with how much my boyfriend turns me the fuck on.
“I need to be inside you,” he groans into my ear, and lust coils in my belly.