Page 42 of And They Had a Great Fall

Jake popped his phone on the table and stood up to signal they were leaving. There was a chorus of protests, but he waved them away. Kat and Garren were hugging goodbye when his phone rang. It was Savannah.

“Hey Savy, what’s up? Something wrong with the car?” he asked, grabbing his coat.

“I just talked to the driver, and he spotted some paps near the front and back entrances of the restaurant. I’m sure someone tipped them off,” she said in a rush. “Stay on the phone but walk through the kitchen. He’ll pick you up in the alley.”

Jake was always grateful for Savannah, but never more so than now. He whispered in Garren’s ear about the paparazzi, said final goodbyes, and grabbed Kat’s hand.

“Slight change in plans: we’re going to go out through the kitchen,” he whispered to her. He kept his voice calm.

“Why?” she giggled, her eyes widening. She steadied herself on his arm.

“Tell you in the car,” he said, picking up their pace. He grasped her hand and pulled her through the kitchen. The photographers knew every trick, and he knew they’d need to be fast. The alley wasn’t foolproof, but it was the best option.

They arrived at the kitchen door leading out the back, and he handed his coat to Kat. “This is what’s going to happen: I’ll open this door, and when I do, look down, put this over your head, and get straight in the car. Got it?” he asked. When she nodded, he pushed the door open. He kept his arm around her and guided her into the backseat before climbing in himself.

When they were successfully in the car, he turned his attention back to Savannah. “Thanks for the heads up, we’re good,” he said breathlessly into his phone. “Have I told you how much I appreciate you?”

“Yes, I think you did twice today already,” she replied.

“Well, this is the third. Thank-you,” Jake said, hitting end on the call.

He turned his attention to Kat, who was leaning against him, similarly breathless. “Was that to avoid the paparazzi?” she asked, her eyes closing, heavy from the never-ending glass of red wine.

“Yes. But our driver here noticed them, and Savannah figured out another exit,” he said, pulling her a little closer. “This is what I mean. I can keep us private, I can.” He was trying to convince himself as much as her.

He drew in a deep breath to slow his heart rate as he pulled her close, happy to have a minute to enjoy the quiet of just each other. Kat leaned over and pushed her lips into his. Her lips on his brought a stillness and calm back to his entire body. He no longer felt like the world was against him. He understood itnow. He didn’t need the world to be with him. He just needed her.

He groaned low and soft, trying to be quiet and not alert the driver. He was ready to get lost in the kiss … ready to get lost inher. He leaned his head back on the seat as she trailed kisses down his neck. She moved back up to his ear and mumbled, “I want you, Ben.”

chapter seventeen

Kat’s head pounded as the sun streamed straight from the skylight into her eyeballs. She could feel that it was late. When she grabbed her phone off the nightstand, it said 10:13 a.m. She fell back on the pillow, her mouth dry, as if she hadn’t had water for days.

The apartment was eerily quiet, and she sensed the absence of Jake. She put her phone back on the nightstand and saw the Tylenol and Gatorade. He must have left them for her, knowing she would be feeling rough this morning. She wondered,How many glasses of wine did I have?It had never seemed to empty, so technically one? The thought made her laugh for a moment, which made her head throb even more. She lay back on the pillow and, all at once, everything came flooding back to her—including their cloak-and-dagger move to avoid the paparazzi.

And then it hit her. And she remembered. At least she thought she did. She hoped it was a dream, but she had a vague recollection of calling him Ben. She put her head in her hands as a few hot tears came fast.Am I trying to fuck this up?Maybe she was. She’d finally let go, just a little, and she’d detonated a bomb into the middle of the two of them. Thinking back to the car ride, she felt like puking. Oh wait, shewasgoing to puke. She ran to the bathroom to be sick, her body trying to expel last night. If only she could expel it from her mind.

As she walked out, she heard her text chime. She ran to her phone.

J: Drink the Gatorade.

J: I am done at noon today.

J: Be downstairs at 12:30.

J: We need to talk.

Her heart started to pound at the curtness of his texts. She replied with a simple thumbs-up. She texted Emily to let her know she was going to take the day with Jake—she canceled their routine status meetings.

She was waiting downstairs when the car pulled up promptly at 12:30 p.m. She swung open the door, anxious to clear the air with Jake. He was on the phone, deep in conversation. He gave her a half nod of acknowledgment, but nothing else. From what she could hear from the one-sided conversation, he was talking to Roger. They were discussing the next shoot coming up in just under six weeks. Jake was frustrated at the timeline, and it didn’t sound as if there was any movement in the schedule.

Kat could feel the iciness radiating from Jake, so she stared out the window. The day alternated between sun and hazy mist, a frenetic fall day that couldn’t decide if it would cling to summer a little longer or let winter begin to take hold. She wished the weather would make up its mind. She wished she knew where the hell he was taking her.

Thirty minutes later, they turned into a parking lot, and Jake finally ended his call. “Stop the car. This is fine,” he said to the driver.

Kat read the sign—SKJOLDUNGESTIEN LAND PARK—and she could see a beautiful forest, just beginning to turn with fall colors. They were coming to neutral ground, she realized. A place where neither of them had an upper hand.

“This is gorgeous. How did you find this place?” She asked, trying to get him to say something … anything.

---