Every Pearl Has Its Oyster (24 page)

“Don’t tell them anything about me,” Gemma had warned him in the days before the interview. It said something that she asked considering they barely spoke anymore. In the past months, she and Tyler had grown so detached that she wasn’t quite sure of what to expect from him anymore. She’d certainly never expected him to throw a punch at Damian, and they had at least been on speaking terms before that happened. Now, with the media roasting him as “the bad guy” and their relationship in a stubborn deadlock, Tyler was a quiet, ticking time bomb. Gemma wouldn’t be entirely surprised if he finally broke on live television and told the world all the details of their complicated love life, of their histories and how they grew to become so incomparably dysfunctional. It would probably relieve him of his new reputation as a temperamental jerk. But of course, it would also invite the most invasive media frenzy of their lives, which was why Gemma had to make the demand that Tyler keep mum.

His answer always came in a plain, one-word response: “Fine.” He had to be annoyed, but he wouldn’t say or show it. That would upset the delicate balance of civility they’d reached since November. Tipping that scale would result in consequences that neither of them wanted to be the first responsible for. That was why Gemma waited until right before Tyler left to say, “Don’t tell them anything about Damian either.”

Great. Gemma stared in the mirror as she brushed her teeth hard. They were long overdue for a blow-up and she suspected it would come today. There was too much that had been left unsaid since the fight with Damian because neither Gemma nor Tyler had the energy to properly address it. Instead, for months, they simply existed alongside each other when they were home at the same time, which wasn’t often. Tyler was busy promoting Carbine while Gemma spent almost all her time with Armand, who was in town to oversee construction of his West Coast showroom. Gemma spent her days at the space on Melrose Avenue, happily distracting herself with the assignment of compiling a model lineup for his upcoming show at New York Fashion Week.

“Bee. My love. As much as I enjoy free labor,” Armand had said, plucking a model’s Polaroid from her fingers. “Don’t you think you should finally go home and talk to that boyfriend of yours whom you live with? If you just get it over with, you can end this madness and be better than ever.” He clucked disapprovingly at her refusal. “Then what a shame. You delay your own happiness.” When she remained further mum, he shook his head at her with true chagrin. “Don’t you know the important conversations are always the hardest ones, Bee? Things that are truly good never come easily.”

Gemma suspected this was true since her relationship with Tyler had come to embody that phrase. The nonstop turmoil that had plagued them in the past year had to result in a huge, fantastic payoff. Either that or the worst breakup ever. Gemma knew that this was the case – and that was why she opted to live in stony monotony with Tyler for perhaps another few months until he decided to start the fight that they so needed to have.

So she continued her days at the showroom. It was an ideal arrangement because at night, while she and Tyler were wordless zombies before bed, they became warm and tender in their slumber – or at least he did. Nightly, Gemma awoke to the touch of his arms reaching for her in his sleep. She luxuriated in the embrace before dozing off again happy. The brief affection was somehow always worth having to wake up alone and remember that the peace never carried into the morning.

“Shit.” With a glance at the clock, Gemma realized she had already missed the first ten minutes of the interview. She bounded down the stairs to the living room, turning on the television to see Tyler sitting on a black stool across a smarmy, balding host who was pretending to care about Carbine, no doubt leading into his Damian-related questions.

“Now, you did a lot to get into the character of Colby Hawkins, who’s a bit of a tough guy. You… were not known as a tough guy.” The host chuckled. “So you gained... five, ten pounds of muscle for the role?”

“Fifteen pounds,” Tyler corrected, apathetic as the host drew out a long and patronizing “wow” in reaction.

“Well, I’m sure you didn’t have a choice considering the many naysayers who found you not ‘man enough’ to be Colby.” There was a long pause.

Tyler’s eyes shifted. “Was there a question there?”

“I’m sorry, yes. Do you consider yourself a man now?”

Tyler’s immediate reaction was to laugh. “Is that a serious question?”

“It is. You’re nineteen, you’ve been known for most of your career as a young heartthrob to only teens and pre-teens,” the host stated matter-of-factly. “Did your role in Carbine help make you a man?” he asked. “You certainly weren’t considered one before the film,” he added for no real reason besides eliciting a reaction. Tyler didn’t give one.

“Personal experiences make that. It’s not only physical, it’s your state of mind.”

“Speaking of personal experiences.” The host shifted his small frame in his seat, getting ready to shift gears. “Your personal life added a little more drama two months ago when you were involved in a fistfight with NBA star, Damian Evans. What was that fight about?”

“Nothing.” Tyler gave the answer confidently. Gemma exhaled, collapsing onto the couch. “It was just two people with a lot of testosterone on a bad day. It happens.”

“Does it, though?”

“To men, yeah.” Tyler smirked. “I guess you don’t know about that.”

The host flattened his lips into a forced smile. “I’m going to assume what you just told me is true – though I can’t be sure the gossip sites like Pop Dinner will be so easy on you!” he said, trying to sound good-natured. “Now your girlfriend Queen Bee dated Damian Evans in high school – before she dated even you. They’ve remained close friends throughout the years. Do you think it was difficult for her to pick sides in this fight? Of who won and who lost?”

Tyler chuckled as if the host was darling. “I don’t think picking sides is required any time a fight happens. If you’re an adult, which my girlfriend is, you can see that there was wrong on both sides. There aren’t always clear-cut good guys and bad guys. It’s not a Disney movie.” His answer drew a few laughs from around the set, which seemed to throw the host off.

“So… there wasn’t a, um, winner or loser in this fight?”

“Like I said, it’s not always as clear as say, if you and I were in a fistfight.”

The host bristled. “Well, I think I could –” His sentence was interrupted by the weather guy somewhere off-camera.

“He’d kill ya, Paul! Stop it!”

A round of laughter erupted from the set. Tyler’s smile was faint but triumphant. Gathering his note cards, the host went for a final attempt to draw a reaction from Tyler. “One last question, then.” He paused for effect. “A former employee at a high end jeweler recently told me something very interesting – that six months ago, you purchased a five-carat diamond engagement ring.”

Oh my God. Gemma’s heart stopped. No one was supposed to know about the proposal let alone her rejection – but then again, she should’ve known that a big interview would always include a dropped bombshell. Her heart wrenched as she watched Tyler swallow hard, the confidence in his honey brown eyes faltering for the first time. The host looked beyond pleased. Please don’t make him talk about how I said no, please don’t make him talk about how I said no….

“When do you plan on finally popping the question?”

Gemma stared. They didn’t know that it had already happened. Her sigh of relief was like a whoosh of wind, blowing her hair out in front of her. She brushed the strands away from her face anxiously, her eyes staying glued to the screen.

“Well, it looks like you kind of ruined the surprise then, didn’t you?” Tyler asked, putting on a look of disgust. Even a low murmur of disapproval came from around the set. The host, seeming to only just realize he’d gone too far, remained quiet. Luckily for him, Tyler didn’t. Gemma held her breath when he looked into the camera, feeling his eyes somehow meeting hers. “But I’ll confirm that I bought that ring,” he said. He smiled. It had to be the first time he’d smiled at her in forever – if a smile through a camera lens counted. “Because I do plan on spending the rest of my life with my girlfriend, Gemma Hunter. It’s been hard. Really hard. Up to this morning it was hard. But we’ve weathered as big a storm as we could have faced as a couple. And at this point, I think spending our lives together is what we deserve.”

TYLER CHASE OWNS REPORTER!

Game Magazine

November 27th

Hold the phone. We’ve changed our minds about Tyler Chase.

This morning, Tyler sat down with Paul Wyner for his first official interview since getting into fisticuffs with our guy, Damian Evans. For those who didn’t see it, Wyner was his usual obnoxious self with his needling questions and unrivaled shit-eating grin. But it looks like someone has finally answered our prayers and put that infuriatingly phony bastard in his place – and that person is none other than the newly crowned king of owning, Tyler Chase.

Aside from showing Wyner who was boss by insinuating that he’d kick his ass, Tyler also recovered gracefully when Wyner told the world about his secret engagement ring purchased for girlfriend, Queen Bee/Gemma Hunter. Rather than sock Wyner in the face and kick a dog who was down, Tyler opted to look into the camera and give his lady a profession of love that might have you hearing wedding bells in the near future.

So scratch that whole thing about Tyler Chase being a kid and not a man. He’s not just a man, he’s the man.

Congratulatory texts buzzed Gemma’s phone off the living room table. They wouldn’t stop. There were dozens upon dozens of them – all from people who thought she’d just received something of a marriage proposal, including Leah and Kate. They didn’t realize what was truly happening.

It wasn’t a happy moment. Regardless of whether Tyler had meant or faked his love-filled speech on TV, Gemma was screwed. If he faked it, they were both in trouble – the world now expected to see them married soon. If he didn’t, then Gemma was back to where she was her last night in Belize – facing a question she didn’t have a happy answer for.

When Tyler came through the front door, she was already sitting on the staircase in the foyer. She needed to see his face, to read his expression immediately. It was blank though – undistinguishable. She waited for him to speak, to explain to her what just had happened. He finally looked at her when he closed the door.

“What?” he asked coldly. She sat up straight, thrown off.

“What?” Gemma repeated. “What did you just do on national television, Tyler? Did you just tell the world that we’re going to be married?”

Rather than answer, he stepped around her and headed up the stairs. Throwing her arms in the air with a groan, Gemma followed.

“Answer my question, Tyler, please.”

“You watched the interview didn’t you? Answer it yourself,” he said. They were in the bedroom now, Tyler unbuttoning his shirt. At his last remark, Gemma stared at him with disbelief.

“So I have no choice now? It’s either marry you or humiliate you in front of the world and look like a horrible bitch?” Gemma exclaimed. “God, and I thought you put me in a tough position the last time you did this!” she said incredulously before leaning tiredly against the doorframe. “You know I love you, Tyler, but you know my answer.”

He glared at her as he ripped his white undershirt off. “If you loved me, you would marry me.”

“Are you kidding? It’s not that simple.”

“It is that simple!” Tyler snapped. “The only reason it’s not is because there’s someone else in the picture.”

It was Gemma’s turn to glare. She closed in on him, stopping when she was a foot away from him and his heaving, bare chest. “There is no one else,” she articulated. “How many times do I have to tell you? It’s not a person blocking me from wanting to marry you, it’s the fact that I want to be nineteen, Tyler. And I want to live and be young and know that I can do things without having to report to someone. That’s been my whole life and I don’t want it anymore!”

There was a pause. He sneered. “You defended him this morning. Damian. You didn’t want me to tarnish your precious good guy’s reputation. You still see him as your knight in shining armor.” She groaned loudly. “You might as well just run off with him, Gemma. Why are you honestly even here? You really won’t marry me, so go get it over with and be with Damian,” he said contemptuously. His lip curled. “Assuming you haven’t already been. Kind of convenient that his games are at night and you’re only gone during the day.”

Gemma shoved him hard. “I haven’t even seen Damian since you almost broke his jaw!” she hissed. “Check the security tapes in Armand’s showroom – I’ve been spending my days trying to figure out what the hell to even do next with my career because it’s going completely nowhere and since all this drama has happened, I haven’t even had the chance to think about it and think about myself! Is that a good enough excuse for you?”

Tyler was silent. He didn’t look at her. Instead, he glanced at the nail marks Gemma had left on his chest from pushing him. He crossed the room to the dresser, rummaging through it for a t-shirt to put on. “Christ,” he exhaled. Gemma turned to see him staring down at a pile of shirts, on top of them the box holding the five-carat diamond. Tyler rubbed his forehead, his shoulders slumping over the drawer as he gripped its edges. “Think you’ll ever wear this?” he asked quietly, touching the box. When he looked at Gemma, the anger was gone. “Maybe not now but… somewhere down the line.” He gave a worn out laugh. “So the media doesn’t call me a liar now too?”

Gemma sighed as she went over to him. She closed the dresser drawer and put her hands on his shoulders. “Please stop caring about what the media is saying about you or me or us,” she pleaded gently. “You shouldn’t care what they think.”

“I only care what you think,” Tyler said softly. “But the problem is I still don’t know what you’re thinking. You won’t marry me, you run off to Croatia, you don’t tell me what you’re feeling.”

“My mind is a mess right now, between you and the media and my career,” Gemma said. She rested her face against his palm when he stroked her cheek. “I’m about to start completely anew in my career and I’m excited but terrified. So I’m sorry, but I can’t articulate to you everything in my mind when I don’t know what’s even there yet.”