Chapter 24
Blake
Blake smiled to himself in the dark as his black SUV made its way down the windy cliff road back home. Nothing was going to wipe the smile off his face, he had just had the most amazing two days of his life. Blake knew that being with her would be amazing, and it was. But it made him melancholy about the last 13 years of his life without Violet in it. It was always her. She was the one he needed, the one he always wanted. But, instead of admitting his feelings, he had run off to New York at the first chance he got. Well at least he had her now, there was no way he was letting her go. Blake gripped the steering wheel with determination. He wasn’t going to screw this up. She was just like he remembered, smart, funny, and utterly sexy, although she never saw it. He also loved how accident-prone she was. She always managed to make him laugh like no one else could.
Was it too soon to tell her he loved her?
He winced at the train of his thought. He had been on one hot date, well, if you could call a small wildfire followed by a weekend of hot sex and hanging out with his parents a hot date. Having Violet snuggled up against him asleep was the best feeling in the world. He shook his head, he wasn’t going to rush this. He was going to take it slow, let it happen naturally. He smiled, happy with his plan, as he negotiated the last sharp turn before his parents’ place. He wondered how long he should wait before he saw her again. Maybe he could take her to lunch at the diner tomorrow.
Take it slow, you don’t want to come on too strong!
A bright flash startled Blake from his thoughts, then another all but blinded him. He stomped on the brake and the car ground to a halt. What in the hell was going on here? Blake squinted as he looked out his windshield in horror. Flashes started bombarding him and he felt like he was in a club looking directly at a strobe light, not out on the windy deserted cliff road. Blake instinctively looked down and flipped his black hoodie over his head to cover his face and eyes. Through all the flashes coming from every angle around his car, Blake could make out his parents’ driveway flanked by 5 white news vans on either side of the large wrought iron gate. The photographers began to swarm around his car and the constant flashes from their cameras led Blake to think there must be at least 50 paparazzi and news crew out there. One tapped on his window, which made him jump. He needed to get out of here, fast. “Blake, what do you have to say about the naked pictures that have surfaced today? When were they taken? Who is the woman? Is that why you’re hiding out here? Why did you leave Hollywood? Did you want to abandon your fans?” a reporter was yelling at him through the window. Blake sprang into action, honked his horn, and started to inch the SUV closer to the gate. The swarm of photographers were not moving, so he kept on inching his car closer to the big iron gates. It felt like it took forever for them to finally move and the gates to appear. The flashes kept coming rapidly and his retinas felt like they were on fire.
Jesus fucking Christ!!
He managed to get to and press the automatic gate button on his dash to open the massive iron gates. The blinding flashes continued as he waited for the ornate black iron gates to open.
Why in the hell were they taking so long!
When the gates were open just enough for the huge SUV to fit through, he hit the gas and slipped through, stopped, and frantically slapped at the close button. He didn’t want a slimy reporter sneaking through.
When he heard the distinct click of the iron over the yelling of the reporters and paparazzi, Blake breathed a sigh of relief and he drove down the long driveway, out of sight of the long lenses of the cameras. He was worried. What in the hell was going on?
Naked pictures? Had he heard them right?
Blake parked his car in front of the garage and got out of his SUV on shaky legs, looking up the drive to make sure there was no one there. The last thing he needed was to have to call the cops because reporters were trespassing on private property.
He needed an internet connection, and fast. Blake hurried around the back and across the patio to the back door. “Blake! There you are!” His mother said as she appeared in the kitchen. “What’s going on?” she added, looking concerned. “What was all that commotion up at the gate? The motion detectors on the cameras switched on about 10 minutes ago, there have to be about 60 people up there,” Blake’s father said as he walked into the kitchen and put his arm around Blake’s mother. He looked concerned too. Blake gulped. Fuck, he hated this shit. That’s why he wanted out. Damn it!
“I don’t know, they were saying something about naked photos,” Blake said to his parents as he hurried past them towards the study. “Naked photos?” his mother gasped behind him. Blake sat at his father’s desk. The view from the security camera at the gate was on the screen. The paparazzi didn’t look like they were leaving anytime soon. They were all standing around in groups talking. “It looks like they’re camping out for the night,” his mother said over his shoulder. Blake opened a web browser and typed his name into the search engine. The first hit was BLAKE WILSON NAKED PHOTOS!!! posted five hours ago. “Naked pictures! Blake, what have you done?” his mother implored from over his shoulder.
“Do you really want to see this, Mom?” Blake asked, shooting his mother a look.
“Honey, I went to the movies to see you in Salty and I do believe you were naked in that!” she replied, smiling back at him.
Blake shook his head at his mother. He didn’t have the energy to fight with her, he needed to see what the hell was going on and fast. He hadn’t looked at the internet for over a month, he had been on a social media break. In the last month, he had only posted, like, two photos to PicMe.
Taking a deep breath, he clicked the link.
“OH MY GOD!” his mother gasped as Blake took in the images in front of him. There was was one of him completely naked, another of him and Violet kissing, and one of Violet naked and bending over.
“Shit!”
His mother slapped his arm.
“Blake!” she gasped again.
“How could you do this to poor Violet?! After everything you’ve put her through!” His mother slapped him harder this time.
“What? Why is Violet involved with this?” his father asked. He was facing them and not looking at the pictures like a typical parent would. Blake put his hands over his face and groaned. He should have known better.
“OH MY GOD! Is that our east field?” his father said as he came around to stand with his mother. “Blake!” his father added. Blake scrolled further down the page. There were a couple more of them walking across the field holding hands. But just one of him naked, one of them both naked and kissing, and one of Violet bent over with her magnificent ass on display. Blake rubbed a hand across his face.
This was a nightmare.
He slammed the screen on the laptop down. He didn’t need to see anymore. He had put Violet in a terrible position. He should have known better. Fuck!
The phone started to ring and Blake’s mother picked it up. “Don’t answer that!” Blake and his father yelled at the same time. Mrs Wilson slammed the receiver back down. “It was EntertainMe Tv and they wanted a comment,” she said, looking wide-eyed. “How on earth did Mary V get our number?” she added.
“I have to call my manager,” Blake said, making a move to get up. “First, you can call Violet and explain,” his mother said, his father nodding. “It’s best she hears this from you and not the news or the internet,” his father added. “Oh, come on, of course she already knows! It’s everywhere!!!” Blake yelled as he stormed out of his father’s study and out the back door.
Blake wrestled his phone from his skinny-leg pocket and flicked through his contacts to Darrell.
“You said you were going to call me back, but you never did!!” Darrell yelled down the phone as he picked up. “What do I do?” Blake asked. He felt physically sick. “Maybe don’t fuck the chubby chick in the middle of a field, out where the paparazzi can see?” Darrell replied. “But I can’t blame you. Did you get a look at her ass? Of course you did!!” Darrell added, laughing.
Blake saw red. “Fucking call her chubby again and I’ll fly back to LA just to punch you in the fucking face!” Blake roared down the phone. “Okay, calm down. It was a joke alright, I didn’t realize you liked this chick.” Blake felt his blood boiling, there was no way he was going to let Violet be objectified like that! “Let me get my team on it, I’ve got a great PR girl. You want me to send her to you?” “NO! I just want to be left alone!” Blake moaned. “Well, that isn’t happening anytime soon, because there is no way this is not going to be national news for the next week.”
“Shit! Is it that bad?” Blake asked. “Well the photos are everywhere, the hashtag’s #NakedBlakeBod is trending on WriteMe, along with #mysteryass and #whodatgirl. Ginger Fox is who you need, she is the best in the business.” “Jesus fucking Christ.” “She’s already on it, I’m sending her and her team to you tonight.” “Okay.” Blake felt resigned. “I’ll call you tomorrow.” Blake nodded and hung up the phone. He felt sick to his stomach, he didn’t want Violet’s naked body splashed all over the internet. She was going to be beyond pissed when she saw all of this. He had a sinking feeling that the paparazzi had just blown any chance with Violet for him.
Fucking paparazzi!
They were never satisfied. Why couldn’t they just leave him alone? All he wanted to do was live here in Encounter Bay, back in his quiet beach town, and be with Violet. He honestly didn’t care about being naked in the pictures. He had been naked in movies before. But for Violet to be violated like this was terrible. It made him feel sick to his stomach.
All because he came back here and inserted himself back into her life.
“Come inside and have a slice of cake,” his mother called from the sliding door. Blake sighed. Her standard crisis coping mechanism. He smiled and, in all honesty, a bit of his mother’s chocolate cake sounded terrific right now.