Page 74 of How Jenna Became My Dilemma

“What don’t I know about you?” My eyes flit across his face, wondering how far I can push because I do want to know Cody better. I want to witness all the pieces that make him who he is. “When was the last time you saw your parents?”

His brows bunch together. “Are you trying to play twenty questions again?”

“If you’ll let me.”

He releases my hands and sits back, drawing in a deep breath. I slowly sit up, waiting for him to respond.

“My mom died three years ago. But before that, I’d only seen her a few times over the last twelve years.”

“And your dad?” I gently press.

He threads his fingers through his dark hair, pushing it back from his face. “I saw him five years ago.” His gaze lifts to mine. “He wanted money.”

“Did you give it to him?”

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

“Probably because I wanted to hurt him and then abandon him the way he did to me.”

“So you’re all alone?”

“It would appear so.” The laughter that puffs over Cody’s lips is more sad than humorous. “It’s a funny thing being a celebrity or ‘Hollywood’s biggest hunk.’” He lifts his fingers, putting the phrase in air quotes. “I’m so famous that no one would ever want to leave me. I’m too valuable. But at the same time, I don’t add value. The fame has made me so unlikable that no one would ever want to stay with me.” He shrugs, dropping his eyes. “Or maybe it’s not the fame that made me unlikable. My parents didn’t want to stay, which happened before I became a celebrity.”

His words slice my heart in half. I’m bleeding out. It’s the second time Cody has mentioned something about being liked. The first was the other day at brunch. I skipped over it because admitting that I like Cody, even as a friend, feels scary, as if that one admission will instantly lead my heart to more, but at the same time, I hate that he thinks it’s his fault that everyone in his life has left him.

“You’re not unlikable. You’re just misunderstood.”

The twitch of his mouth suggests a grin. “So how do I become understood?”

“By playing twenty questions, of course.” I hope my playful smirk lightens the conversation. Too much heaviness complicates my emotions.

“I’m starting to think you have stock in the twenty questions game. Do you get a penny every time someone asks a question?”

I keep my expression serious. “I don’t have stock, but I am the official spokesperson.”

The episode starts playing again, thankfully moving off from my ugly expression. Our eyes flip to the laptop, watching it for a second until a circle in the middle of the screen spins, stopping the movie on another equally horrifying mid-sentence face.

“Oh, come on!” I yell at the computer. “How come it doesn’t ugly stop on you?”

“You don’t look ugly.” I shoot him a pointed stare, but he shrugs it off. “It’s physically impossible for you not to look good.” He grimaces as it skips to a new weird expression. “Except there.” He points to the new face. “You look awful there.”

I playfully kick him, but he dodges it by rolling off the bed to his feet.

“Wait here. I have portable Wi-Fi in my room that we can use to stream the show.”

“Oh, now you say something? You could’ve mentioned your fancy Wi-Fi before the twenty minutes of buffering.”

“And miss those flattering expressions from you? I don’t think so.” Cody throws me a smile as he opens the door. I throw a pillow, but it lands two feet in front of him just as he walks out.

CHAPTER TWENTY

CODY

It’s been five excruciating days of filming, sometimes for sixteen hours straight, but we finally made it to filming the red dress scenes.

And although these moments take place in episode five, they’re the last scenes we’re filming since they involve the majority of the cast and the biggest set-up. We’ve saved the best for last, and I’ve been looking forward to filming it for a week now.

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