Page 19 of The Fangirl and the Playboy

“Hey there, Gavin. What can I get you?”

“Hey, Bram,” I reply. “I’ll take a whiskey soda.”

I’m suddenly feeling the need for something a little stronger than a beer. Seeing Bram only reminds me of Willow and my utter failure at getting her to talk to me on Sunday at the lake. Of my botched attempts to make things right.

Bram sets the drink in front of me, then cocks his head as I pick it up and swallow down half of it in one long gulp. When I meet his gaze, he arches a brow.

“Want to talk about it?”

I stare at him for a second, then mimic his expression. “Do you have a nondisclosure agreement back there we can sign?”

Bram laughs as he shakes his head. “It’s called bartender-patron privilege. I wouldn’t make it long in this business if I spilled all the secrets that have been divulged over this very bar. I’m a steel vault.”

I study him for a long moment, and something in his expression tells me I can trust him. And if I can’t? Well, if he spills the beans to anyone in Willow’s friend group and it gets back to her that I’ve been talking about her, maybe she’ll confront me. And anything is better than the stony silence I’ve been receiving from her since I got back to town.

Trace, however, is another matter. But who knows? Maybe a punch in the face will make me, and everyone else, feel better.

“Why the hell not?” I mumble before draining my glass and motioning for him to pour another.

He complies, and I take a slow sip of the fresh drink before meeting his inquisitive gaze. He stares at me while he washes and dries a few glasses, the act so ingrained, he doesn’t even need to watch what he’s doing.

“When I was here filming the movies, Willow and I were…involved.” Bram rears back, and I can practically see him doing the math in his head. “She was sixteen and I was eighteen when we first met during the summer we filmed Curse, but we were just friends until the end of winter. Things evolved between us slowly and naturally. I fell for her, but I never slept with her.”

That last bit is really none of his damn business, but from seeing them interact at the lake on Sunday, I can tell he feels like just as much of a big brother to her as her actual brother is. And I don’t want him knocking me out before Trace gets the chance to.

After he digests that for several moments, he asks “So what happened?”

“Some stuff went down with my co-star. It’s not something I can talk about other than to say I was helping out a friend, and things got complicated. I was on a runaway train, and didn’t know how to stop it. Needless to say, Willow got hurt, and even now, she refuses to talk to me so I can explain everything that happened.”

Bram nods, saying, “Sounds like Willow. That girl will hold a grudge straight to the grave.”

I nod, agreeing with him wholeheartedly. “You’re telling me. You saw her on Sunday. She wouldn’t even look at me.”

“Don’t give up, man,” he says with a firm nod. “She’s a stubborn one, but she’s also smart. If you’re telling the truth, and I think youare, she’ll believe you.”

“I hope you’re right,” I say as he sets a shot of tequila on the bar in front of me, saying it’s on the house. I lift the glass in a toast in his direction and toss it back before saying, “Now, I just have to figure out how to get her to talk to me. To let me explain things didn’t go down the way she thinks they did.”

* * *

Eleven Years Ago…

I can still feel Willow’s kisses on my lips, tingling and hypnotic, as I walk across set toward my trailer. We managed to carve out an hour of privacy today before I had to leave to come film some scenes with Roger. And she made me promise to come to her motel room tonight, so eager to spend more time with me, I can honestly say I’m practically floating on air.

I love that girl more than I thought possible, and though I’m nervous about what will happen to our relationship once the movie wraps, I refuse to let that fear dictate my actions or my feelings when it comes to Willow. That’s a problem for tomorrow.

Today, I’m just going to enjoy every second I have with her.

I barely manage to suppress a yelp of surprise when a hand wraps around my bicep out of nowhere, yanking me to a stop. I spin on my assailant, then freeze when I see it’s Julia. I open my mouth to greet her, but before I can utter a single word, her mouth seals over mine.

My body goes rigid, unmoving as she drives her hands up into my hair and tugs my head to the side. The brush of her tongue against my sealed lips is what finally breaks me out of my confused stupor, and I jerk away from her with a frown.

“What the hell, Jules?”

SheknowsI’m with Willow. Julia is the only one who knows because she’s the one who introduced us and the only person I trust not to spread rumors that could hurt us.

“I’m so sorry, Gavin,” she whispers, and that’s when I hear it.

The click, click, click of camera shutters behind me.

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