Page 61 of Dumbstruck
The door opens behind me. I stumble and fall, Jonah coming with me, and land on my back with anoofas his weight settles over me.
“Jonah?”
Jonah lifts his head and playfully scowls at his bodyguard. “Richie, we seriously need to work on your timing. You couldn’t have waited thirty more seconds?”
“Five more minutes?” I breathlessly counter.
Laughing, Jonah gets to his feet and helps me up. As soon as I’m on my feet, he pulls me into his arms and holds on tight. “I promise,” he whispers into my ear. “We’ll get time.”
Time together, time alone, time in the future. I want it all.
Something brushes against my leg, and I look down in surprise. Sure enough, Samson is rubbing himself against me like it’s the most normal thing in the world.
“Looks like someone finally came to his senses,” Jonah murmurs.
“Is the cat part of the prank?” Beckett asks.
That’s when I realize just how many people are in the room, though I’m guessing there are still a few out looking for us in the school. Most of the crew looks unsure about what they should be doing, which means they’re all just staring at Jonah and me.
“What in the world?” Jonah says, his eyes flitting about the room.
As I look around, I fully understand his confusion. The kids’ idea of a high school haunting was arranging the desks so they all face the camera at the back of the room. Someone wrote “LEAVE” in capital letters on the chalkboard, the lines harsh and messy, and the windows are all open to let in a breeze. And one of the overhead lights is flickering more than before, but not in a creepy way. Just an annoying little blip every couple of seconds.
That last bit probably isn’t part of the prank at all.
“Did we catch them?” Jonah asks, mainly to Beckett.
The director sighs and folds his arms. “Got them on their way out a back door, and we’re sending the footage to the mayor as proof. All four of the kids had clear shots of their faces within the first thirty seconds. I thought this whole idea was stupid, but apparently the kids were stupider.”
“I think in this case they were desperate,” I say and turn to Jonah. “Hopefully this means the rest of the movie will go without a hitch.”
“There’s no such thing,” he replies, kissing my cheek. “But I think things will be smoother.”
“Let’s get this set fixed now that our leading man is no longer missing,” Beckett says, waving to the crew. As they start rearranging the desks again, he shifts closer to us and drops his voice as he speaks to Jonah. “Then everyone’s getting a few days off. Bonnie won’t be back until Tuesday anyway, and I need to spend some time in civilization. I’m going to turn off my phone, drive to Sun City, find a real restaurant, and then take the world’s longest nap.”
“That sounds like a great idea,” Jonah says. “You could use a break after all this.” But then his eyes shift to me, his expression turning heated. “I think we could all use a few days of alone time.”
Yes please. I slip my hand into his and take a deep breath, letting the last of my worries melt away as I exhale. I don’t know what my life is going to look like after the next few days, but I don’t really care. Right now, all I care about is enjoying my time with Jonah James while I’ve got it.
Epilogue
Jonah
Three months later
“Couldyougoanyfaster?” I bounce my leg, doing my very best not to reach over and push the gas pedal myself. I usually don’t mind how intently Richie adheres to speed limits, but today is not the day for meandering. “Seriously, how slow are you going?” I lean over to see the speedometer, but Richie pushes me away.
“Stop distracting the driver,” he grumbles.
“Stop driving like a ninety-year-old woman,” I grumble back.
Glancing at me out of the corner of his eye, he eases off the gas enough for me to notice us slowing down.
I point a finger at him. “So help me, Richard Prince, if you don’t get me to Laketown in the next five minutes, I’m going to fire you and hire a Formula 1 driver to replace you.”
“No, you won’t.”
He’s right. Richie was one of the best things to ever happen to me, and I would be lost without his friendship. Especially lately. Over the last two and a half months, he has been the only thing keeping me sane while I’ve been filming in Los Angeles.
