I had to make a choice now — lay back down in the bed next to Crim and try to figure out how I was supposed to act around him going forward, or leave.
Oliver’s face flashed across my eyes from last night, still bathed in the moonlight when he asked me to leave.
If Crim did something like that to me when he woke up, my heart wouldn’t be able to take it.
So I did what was the only thing that still seemed to make sense to me: I left.
As I walked out into the cool morning sea air, I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen between me, Crim, and Oliver. Would we pretend like this night never happened?
Would we do it again?
There was a stirring in my pants at the thought of that. I hoped it would happen again. Just thinking about how that orgasm felt when I was balls-deep in Oliver while Crim was balls-deep in me was just… mind-blowing.
I never thought something like that could happen to me. But alas, here I was.
I wanted to prolong the flesh-colored images flashing through my mind in private, so I walked back down to the beach on foot. I could have easily called a Lyft or something to take me back to my trailer, but I didn’t want the presence of someone else interrupting my quiet introspection.
In the quiet of the morning, it was like this town was all mine. No one else was up yet — not even the local coffee shop was open as I strolled by.
I passed the flower shop bar where me and Oliver went a few days ago. How we’d had that moment of camaraderie— the moment where I thought we became genuine friends. The things he’d said about Reese there — that there were rumors about them.
And the fact that Rachel’s husband or whatever had some dirt on him.
If he had the same kind of dirt that he had on Alina — her sex video — I could only imagine what that could mean for Reese. What could have been so bad that it could take down someone so well-known in the film industry, who’d spent his career building up a golden reputation? There was a certain level of fame where people seemed like they were untouchable; immune to the laws that applied to the rest of society. Hell, whenever there was any kind of scandal, it was like the public got interested for a few days, then the media would get bored, and move on to the next one with someone else.
My mind conjured up the image of Reese pacing back and forth on his cell phone yesterday, running his hand through his hair with stress. He could have been having that heated conversation with anyone. But some inkling in the back of my mind suspected that it had something to do with the dirt that was on him…
What could it be? What could knock him off his saddle of fame?
When I was almost back to the sand, I heard the padding crunch of footsteps approaching in the distance.
I frowned. Of all things to distract me, it was going to be a jogger?
Internally I cursed whoever it was that dared go out for a morning run and pull me out of my head; yank my attention away from the details in my memory…
But everything in me brightened when Leo rounded the corner.
When he saw me and stopped in his tracks.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Charlie!” He exclaimed, his golden eyes going wide.
“Leo, you’re out for a morning run?” I asked stupidly.
He smiled as he panted, the red rushing through his cheeks. “Yeah, the gym here is… it leaves a lot to be desired,” he answered breathlessly.
I couldn’t help but let my eyes linger on the broadness of his shoulders, the roundness of his biceps, and the way sweat was rolling down his neck.
I wanted to lick it off.
“What are you doing out here so early?” he asked.
Unlike Mason, Leo wasn’t fishing for secrets. There was no ounce of suspicion in his eyes; no distrust. He was merely trying to be polite.
“O-oh, I was just…” what did I say? I hadn’t thought of the right thing to tell him, and I was put on the spot. It was impossible to just make something up, so I told him a half-truth: “I wake up early sometimes, and I’m out walking to clear my head.”
His movie star smile bloomed on his face, just when the sun burst over the horizon. “Mind if I join you for a bit? I’m pretty much done with my run here…”
“Y-yeah, sure,” I said before I could refuse him. I thought I wanted some quiet alone time to collect my thoughts, but I couldn’t deny this golden man my company.
“I’m sorry about the other day,” he said when we started walking.
“Oh, huh?” I asked. So much had happened since I had my last face-to-face meeting with Leo that I barely remembered what was said; I just remembered that I felt angry with him.
“I didn’t mean to brush off your feelings like that…” he said slowly, carefully.
Then it struck me like lightning. I had made some kind of pass at him and he changed the subject immediately, brushing everything under the rug.
“Oh, uh, I’m over that,” I said quickly, running my hand through my hair. “I shouldn’t have been so… so…”
“You were straightforward,” Leo said, cutting right to the point. “And I didn’t really know how to react to that, If I’m being honest.”
“Why?” I asked earnestly.
“Because here, I’m used to people playing games. Everyone seems to have an agenda, so I’m very careful with my words. But I thought about what you said… and you were being open and honest with me. For once, I didn’t feel like I was being manipulated.”
I was quiet for a few steps, letting his words sink in.
“I don’t think I know how to manipulate people, even if I wanted to,” I said carefully, diverting
