Page 69 of The Road Trip Romance

“It was a motherfucking blast,” Penn agrees.

“Yeah, Tate, you should have a breakdown more often,” Rex says with a snort as he elbows me.

“You gonna give us the full lowdown on what Johnson did?” Jordan asks. I haven’t talked to any of them about it in detail, just the general gist. They all know Warren Johnson is a slimeball.

I take a breath, choosing my words carefully. “He cornered Deidre in her trailer. If I hadn’t…” I trail off and the guys mutter things like “fuck” under their breath. “He was saying if she gave him a blowjob, he’d help her get a part in this film she was hoping to star in. Anyhow, I interrupted. I didn’t like how he had her cornered and we had words. Fortunately, it was the last day on set. We were doing some outtakes last minute. So that was the first time I’d seen him since. I’d heard the same rumors you all had, the ones we talked about when I was asked to be in the film. But I didn’t personally know the guy and Lee Vincent was producing it, so I figured it was all on the up-and-up. Anyhow, I went to the head of the studio after that day and had it out with Morgan Tennett and he threatened that if I went public, he’d end my career. He also said he was aware of Johnson’s issues and would have strong words with him. When I saw Warren at that gala, he made a snide comment about Deidre needing protection because she’s a whore and I guess I lost it. I just…I want an industry not chock-full of fuckers like that. I want to be free to make films for the art of it and not because some big Hollywood studio exec needs a tenth beach house. And I don’t want good people getting hurt by bad people because the bad people make lots of money. It’s fucked up.”

I pause, taking another deep breath.

“Well, that’s fucked up,” Penn says.

“I’ve heard things about that guy, but holy shitballs!” Sophia says loudly.

“You’re right. We can do better. We need to make changes,” Jordan adds.

“Fuck those assholes. We got money,” Rex interjects.

“What are you saying?” I ask him.

“I’m saying…let’s make a movie and we pay for it. Fuck the studios. We can make our own,” Rex clarifies as he looks over at me.

“You serious?” I ask.

He nods. “We all have some shit to sort out and things to wrap up over the coming weeks, but let’s plan a weekend and brainstorm this,” he says.

All the guys answer with resounding “yeses.”

“You know what?” Sophia asks, interrupting our conversation. She’s grinning ear to ear and I’m curious what she’s thinking.

“What?” we say in unison.

“You guys really aren’t as big of assholes as the media claims you are,” she says as she continues watching the sun emerge above the tree line in the distance.

“That’s it,” I shout as I stand and pick her up, swinging her over my shoulder. She laughs, her hair blowing in the breeze as I walk us back down to the beach.

“W-what are you doing?” she asks when I place her down.

I look to the guys who have already started stripping. We’re all alone here and we have a tradition.

“Skinny-dipping,” I state as I start to pull down my pants.

Her mouth drops open as she looks behind her to see the guys undressing. She squeezes her eyes closed. “Uh, what are you guys doing?” she asks.

“Come on, M. Live a little. We started this end-of-the-trip skinny-dipping years ago. You gotta do it. It’s tradition,” Penn says.

“Uh, no, thanks,” she squeaks.

“Come on,” Jordan encourages.

“Guys, I’m not…an actress or a model. I’m just some normal, suburban mom with a body that says,I’m a normal, suburban mom,” she argues, still keeping her eyes closed.

I lean in. “You are a hot-as-fuck romance author who’s dating Hollywood’sit man,” I whisper.

She blushes and I grin.

“M, we know you have amazing tits. That t-shirt you wore in the rainstorm was white,” Penn says with a chuckle. “And besides, you can’t possibly have any more cellulite than Rex.”

“Fuck off, mate. Not all of us can look like some weird-ass Adonis,” Rex protests.

---