CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Dani
"BY THE GIANT SMILE ON YOUR face, I take it my plan worked," Zane said the next morning, as he poured himself a cup of coffee and tossed two marshmallows on top. He turned around and stretched his coffee above his head, his ab muscles basically stretching a wave of good morning in my direction.
I'd already given up on him wearing anything but pants in the house. It was a battle just to get him to wear a shirt to the store, let alone in the actual comfort of my home, which he now referred to as his home. Part of me wondered if Jaymeson had adopted him or something.
"Yes." I swiped a marshmallow from the top of his coffee and popped it into my mouth. "It worked. But he wants to be friends until after my birthday."
"Ha!" Zane smacked my hand before I could reach into his coffee again. "Poor Linc's going to be in a world of hurt. I think I should help him by sending encouraging team-building texts like 'There is no I in team, but there is one in kiss.' Or maybe this one." Zane closed his eyes, then snapped them open. "'It's not the destination. It's the hot, wanton, sweaty journey.' Yes…" He nodded, and a self-satisfied smirk jacked up one side of his mouth. "… I like the last one best. Quick, take off your shirt so I can send him dirty picture texts with them."
I rolled my eyes. "Not a chance."
He pouted. "You're no fun."
"Because I won't take off my shirt?"
"A dirty text a day keeps the doc away."
"You sure you're a virgin?"
"I'm a virgin, not a priest." He rolled his eyes then went to the pantry to grab a few more marshmallows.
"Zane…" I frowned. "… maybe you should have something other than sugar for breakfast."
His gaze never leaving mine, he popped three more mallows into his mouth, chewed slowly, swallowed, then grinned. "You were saying?"
"Protein?" I offered. "What if I make you eggs?"
"Man don't need woman make eggs." He smacked his chest. "Man make own food!"
I waited for him to stop pounding his chest then grabbed the eggs from the fridge and handed them to him.
He stared at the eggs like they were born from an alien then stared at the stove. "Step aside, woman. I'm hunting and gathering here."
With a laugh, I stepped out of his way then went back into my room to finish getting ready.
I still had thirty minutes left before I would be needed on set. I grabbed a sweater because the beach always had a chilly breeze and swiped some lip-gloss on my mouth.
By the time I made it back into the kitchen, Zane had set out two plates, both piled high with eggs, and had somehow either killed a pig or discovered the bacon in the fridge and fried it up as well. Two glasses of orange juice were set on the counter, and he'd buttered toast.
"You can…" I pointed. "… cook?"
"What made you think I couldn't?" He gave me a look of disbelief. "Damn, are my abs that distracting?"
"You eat marshmallows for every meal," I said in exasperation. "I've been worried about your nutrition for three days!"
"Please." Zane rolled his gorgeous eyes. "Just because I don't eat when you're around doesn't mean I don't eat. How else could I look this good? Marshmallow diets don't produce muscle, high school. Don't schools teach you anything anymore?"
Ignoring him, I sat down, grabbed a piece of toast, and nearly screamed in protest when he dropped a marshmallow on my eggs for "added texture."
"Seriously." I pushed the mallow away with my fork. "What is with you and these things?"
Zane went still beside me, his face pale as he stared down at his plate. Jaw rigid, he gripped the countertop with both hands as if he was thinking about splitting the granite in half. Then he very slowly turned to stare at me. "I don't talk about it."
I'd never seen Zane look so haunted, so serious. "Maybe you should."
He hesitated, staring down at his plate briefly before saying in a hoarse voice, "They were her favorite."
I reached across the table and gripped his hand. "Who?"
His entire body shut down as he gave my hand one squeeze before releasing it and attacking his eggs with fervor. When he was finished, he was still tense.
I wanted to ask him where she was, what had happened to her, but I was already going to be late, and something told me that he wasn't about to open up and have a therapy session with a girl he hardly knew.
"Go." Zane sighed then flashed me a happy smile. "I'll hold the fort down here. Any special requests for dinner?"
"Are you cooking for me?"
"Well, I'm assuming I'm cooking for both you and Linc, considering he probably wanted to murder me last night."
"Smother you with a pillow actually."
He waved me off. "Details."
"Spaghetti," I answered.
"Messy for a date meal, but okay."
"Not a date," I corrected. "Friends, remember?"
"Oh, I really can't wait, Dani." His grin was evil as I ran out the door and toward my Jeep.
Fourteen days was nothing. I knew I would be fine. Besides, my day was going to be insane since Jay had asked if I could assist him as well.
"DANI!" JAYMESON YELLED MY name over the radio. I'd been toying with the idea of tossing the irritating black object into the ocean for the past hour. Being Jaymeson's assistant was worse than being Linc's. At least Linc liked order; he made lists for crying out loud. Jaymeson didn't know what he needed until he needed it, and it was always right then, in that moment. But paging me while I was using the restroom was an all-new low. He did a freaking countdown over the radio until I made it to his trailer, thankfully without toilet paper attached to my sandal.
"What?" I heaved in exertion as I burst into his trailer, only to see him calmly eating Chinese food with chopsticks and barely managing two grains of rice per bite.
"I'm hungry." He yawned. "Chinese food sucks, but that's all Pris wants now that she's pregnant. I think it's the salt, which is really bad for you, but when I said that to her, her face got very red, and I felt fear tremble in my—" He winced. "Let's just say pants. See how I'm learning to censor myself when it comes to you? Bloody brilliant of me."
"Oh, you're bloody something," I said in a terse voice.
"Question…" He lifted a chopstick into the air. "When you weren't talking, were you thinking all those snarky things?"
"Yup."
"Feel good to say them out loud, does it?"
"You have no idea." I sighed. "Jay, I still haven't gotten lunch for Linc, and he actually pays me. Did you need anything?"
Jaymeson frowned. "I led with that… I'm hungry."
I pointed to his rice bowl. "You have food."
"I want a hamburger!" he growled. "No more rice. Rice is for pregnant people with no taste buds. I'm a man. I demand beef."
I counted to three then lifted my hands in the air. "Fine. I'll have a burger and fries delivered to your trailer, just stop paging me. I need to eat too, you know."
"No." Jaymeson dropped his chopsticks into the bowl and set it on the counter. "If I keep you busy enough, you won't be spending as much time with Lincoln, meaning he keeps his dirty hands off you."
A slow burning fuse of anger lit inside me. "And if I want them on me?"
Jaymeson gave me a pointed glare. "What if…?" His shoulders hunched. "Damn it. I'm already turning into a father."
I exhaled and took a seat beside him. "How do you figure?"
Jaymeson glanced up, his eyes sparkling with tears. "What if you stop talking again? What if I can't reach you? What if he hurts you? I worry about these things constantly, as if I'm not already at my wits' end, sanity-wise."
I took Jaymeson's hand in mine. "Don't focus on it. I try not to. If I think about not talking, I can almost feel the block coming up again, my tongue feels heavy in my mouth, I start sweating… panic sets in. Honestly, I'm trying not to think about it or what triggers it. I just want to live. You should too. Besides, he's already hurt me, and I still had words after the fact. They were mean ones too. I think he even flinched."
"Did you yell?" Jaymeson's gaze turned hopeful.
"Loudly." I nodded. "A smart man would have taken cover."
"But he's not smart."
"He kissed me instead." I smiled at the memory. "Which was probably a better choice, considering had he just walked away, I would have thrown my shoe at his head."
"I forget how mature you are." Jay grinned and pulled me in for a side hug. "Fine, go assist him, but if he asks for…" His cheeks reddened as he coughed into his hand. "… you know, that sort of… help, just say no."
"Oh, so when he asks for a massage, that's code word for sex?"
"Always." Jaymeson nodded.
"And when he asks if I want to take my shirt off so he can see what the lighting's like in his trailer?"
"WHAT?" Jay jumped out of his seat.
"Kidding." I smirked. "He would never do that. We're friends now." I spat the word like poison.
"Yeah, right." Jaymeson growled. "And I'm a virgin school girl. I highly doubt this whole friend-charade will last long. He's a man."
"One who has nerves of steel and patience to match." I tried to keep the pout out of my voice.
"If he can't wait for you," Jaymeson whispered, pulling me in for another hug, "then he doesn't deserve you."
"Thanks, Jay."
"Now…" He squeezed my body one last time. "… go get my burger."