Noah (29 page)

I look around for the coffee pot, but I can't find
one anywhere.

"Please tell me they drink coffee in this house?" I
say to myself.

"I do, so you can imagine my surprise when I come
into my kitchen to brew a cup of coffee, and all I see is a half
dressed woman, I know I didn't fuck in my bed last night, standing
in my kitchen."

I turn around mortified, prepared to apologize to
whom I assume is Jared when I gasp. The man I was mesmerized by
last night is standing in front of me, in the kitchen, Jared's
kitchen. Did he say it was his kitchen? Oh God, he must be
Jared.

"I- I'm sorry. Kelly said I could stay here and I
was just looking for some coffee."

"Kelly said?" I can hear the anger in the tone of
his voice.

"Yes, I spoke with her last night," I say
softly.

"Funny, this isn't Kelly's house so she can't
dictate who can stay and who can't."

I'm about to apologize and get my things to leave
when I hear the clanging of heels on the staircase. We both turn in
the direction of the noise, as the two girls who were mauling him
last night make their way into the kitchen to join us.

The brunette looks at me and smiles, before giving
Jared a kiss. The blonde joins in and I watch as three tongues
touch and lick each other.

"Bye, baby. I'll see you on set in a few weeks," the
blonde says, before the two girls turn and leave the kitchen. I
watch as they make their way to the front of his house and walk out
the front door. For such a big house, this open floor plan lets you
see everything. When I turn back to look at him his eyes are
already on me.

"Like I was saying, Kelly doesn't decide who can
stay in my house, and I really don't appreciate other people
fucking under my roof, on my beds, so if your fuck buddy from last
night hasn't left yet, I suggest you tell him to hit the road."

"Excuse me?"

Jared moves past me and into his kitchen. I watch as
he opens a cabinet and pulls out a coffee mug. He moves to one of
those single cup coffee machines where you put a single serving
plastic cup in and it brews the coffee.

"You heard me. You and your man have got to
leave."

"I think there has been some kind of
misunderstanding."

I watch as he turns around and leans against the
counter. He moves his muscular arms across his chest. The sun is
shining through the skylights of the kitchen and I am able to get a
better look at him.

Wow.

His golden tanned skin looks so
soft. His tan helps make the gray of his eyes pop. He has black
plugs in his ears and it's the perfect touch to his bad boy image.
He's covered in tattoos from the waist up, but I
can
’
t see most of them because his
white wife beater is covering them.

I know wife beater is probably not the politically
correct term for a Californian, but that's what we call them in
Michigan.

"What did I misunderstand?"

"I didn't hook up with anyone last night. I crashed
in the first bedroom on the left. I think it's Tawny's room and
Tawny's actually why I'm here. She told me I could come visit
whenever I wanted, so here I am."

He looks at me skeptically and then drags his eyes
up and down my body. It's then that I realize I'm wearing my white
cheerleading shorts that barely cover my ass and a tank top that
fits like a second layer of skin. I'm instantly self-conscious and
I want to run back to Tawny's bedroom and change.

"Here's the thing, sweetheart, Tawny doesn't live
here at the moment. She's off in Italy with her Italian boyfriend.
She's spending his money and he's snorting coke off her tits that I
paid for."

"My name's not sweetheart, it's Autumn, and when did
she leave? I talked to her three months ago. She said I could stay
with her."

"A lot can change in three months," he says
arrogantly. "I'll make you a cup of coffee and then you can get
your things and leave. I have no way of verifying you are who you
say you are, so you can't stay here."

He has a point. Without Tawny here I just look like
some pathetic girl looking for a place to crash.

Jared gives me the first cup of coffee and gestures
for me to sit down at the table in the eat-in kitchen. He joins me
a few minutes later and we sip our coffee in silence. I want to say
something, but I have never been good at starting conversations.
What would I say? Hey, I heard you bumping uglies with those two
chicks this morning. Is that your normal morning routine?

"So how long have you and Tawny known each other?"
Jared asks me.

I look up into his gray eyes and almost forget to
answer him.

"We grew up together in South Haven. It's a small
town, so everyone knows everyone."

"And you just decided to visit?"

This is going to be a little harder to explain. If I
were close with Tawny, then I would have known that she's in Italy
and not in California.

"Well, I haven't talked to her in three months, but
the last time I talked with her she sent me her address and told me
to come visit. She said if I liked California she would help me
find a job."

"A job?"

"Yeah, I never took her offer that seriously, but
recent events had me jumping in my car for a visit. I should have
called first and I'm sorry to be such a burden to you this morning.
If I knew she was in Italy I would have never crashed here last
night."

My hands are in my lap and I start turning my
engagement ring around my finger. It's the first time I notice I'm
still wearing it. That is going in the trash as soon as this
conversation is over.

"It's fine. When you have a life long friend, one
that's seen you through bad decisions like dressing up as Lindsay
Lohan, I'm sure you figured it was no big deal to drop by."

I start to nod my head in agreement when realization
hits me. My head pops up and my eyes meet his beautiful gray
ones.

"You lied," I say a little louder than I originally
intended to.

"And what did I lie about?"

"You said you had no way of verifying who I am so I
couldn't stay here."

"Right..."

"But you just referenced the picture of Tawny and me
that's sitting on the dresser in her room, so you do know who I
am."

He almost looks a little embarrassed, but he quickly
hides it.

"So I knew who you were when I saw you last night,
that doesn't mean I'm going to let you stay in my house."

"Jared!"

A woman yelling his name from the front door
startles me.

"I'm in here, Kel," Jared yells back from the seat
in front of me.

I watch as Kelly from last night joins us in the
kitchen. She's dressed business casual and her short brown hair is
styled to perfection. She's wearing big sunglasses, I'm assuming to
hide her eyes and the look of being hung-over.

"I've got bad news. Vivica-" she stops mid-sentence
to look at me, just realizing it isn't just her and Jared in the
room. "Who are you?"

Jared looks between the two of us, obviously
confused since I told him Kelly was the one who let me in the house
last night.

"You don
’
t remember
her? She's Tawny's friend. You let her in and told her she could
crash in Tawny's room last night."

"Jeez, I don't remember. I was so buzzed last night,
you're lucky I'm even here."

"Classy, Kel."

"Like I was saying, I've got bad news. We need to
leave in ten minutes to drive to the shoot and Vivica just called
to cancel. She can't be your co-star today because she's in the
hospital with a bad stomach bug."

I have no idea what is going on, but Jared doesn't
seem worried.

"No big deal, call one of the other girls to shoot
with me today."

Kelly huffs in frustration, "All the girls that are
contracted under your company are already shooting today. We've got
no one else."

This gets Jared's attention. "What do you mean we've
got no one else? I don't shoot every day anymore, Kel. My
subscribers are going to want new material."

"I know, now do you see why I'm worried?”

I watch Jared as he stands up from his seat and
moves to put his coffee cup in the sink. He turns back around and
our eyes meet. It's almost as if I can see the wheels turning in
his head.

"You."

I'm puzzled by his determined stare.

"Yes?"

"You said Tawny was possibly going to hook you up
with a job, do you want one?"

I hadn't really thought about it too much, but I
guess I'm planning on staying in California so I do need a job.
I'll be lucky if the nine hundred dollars in my bank account lasts
me two weeks.

"Yes, I need a job."

"Do you know what kind of work Tawny was doing out
here?"

She came out here to be an actress; everyone in my
town knew why she was out here.

"Yes."

"Are you willing to do it?"

"By it, you mean..."

"Do you want to be my co-star today or not?"

Oh. My. God. I'm going to be in a movie!

"Yes, of course I do." I'm trying
to play it cool on the outside, but the child in me is jumping up
and down. I might finally be catching a lucky break. I
can
’
t believe I'm saying this, but
I'm glad his co-star got sick.

"Go upstairs and take a shower, throw some clothes
on, and meet me down here in ten minutes. You don't have to worry
about your wardrobe, hair, or make-up, we'll take care of that on
set."

"Okay," I say giddily and start to run up the
stairs.

"Oh, and Autumn, when you're in the shower make sure
you're cleaned up... everywhere."

I nod my head and make my way into Tawny's bathroom.
I'm not sure what Jared meant by that last comment, but who cares.
I'm going to be in a movie!

You can purchase Changing His Game now!

Acknowledgements

I am horrible at this part because I know it's
inevitable I'll leave someone out who deserves all the recognition
in the world. The truth is it takes a village to publish a book.
Noah would not have been published without the support I've
received from my girls Mayas and Sam, and my new friend, author
Hope Irving. These three women kept my positivity going when I felt
too drained to continue. I've had a lot going on with my personal
life and I've only been able to write with the support of these
great women. I'm so lucky to have you all in my life.

I want to give a huge shout out to my kids, too!
They're the two most understanding humans you'll ever meet. They
know mommy is working hard and enjoying every minute of it, and if
they weren't so understanding I wouldn't be able to keep this
schedule.

I want to thank Eileen Proksch for editing another
one of my books. I'm so glad you emailed me a few years ago. You
changed my writing for the better and became a friend I cherish.
You're also amazing at hitting deadlines, because we both know I am
not.

Robin from Wicked by Design makes the best covers!
Thank you for working with me and creating beautiful covers I could
stare at for hours. I love my bearded Noah!

A few months ago I found out about Kellie from Eye
Candy Bookstore. She offers PR service to authors and does an
amazing job. Kellie, I appreciate you getting my books out there.
You're a hard working woman and I appreciate you so much!

Thank you to the ladies of Justine Elvira's
Enchanting Book Junkies. I love you all! You really have no idea.
Thank you for being a part of my group, for supporting me, and for
becoming my friends. You're all the best!!!

Thank you to my readers! You're literally the reason
I am able to write another acknowledgement in another book. Thank
you for taking a chance on me and reading my stories. I love
reading all of your emails and messages. I hope you continue to
enjoy what I write.

Last, a big thank you to all the bloggers and
reviewers out there. You spend your free time reading books,
reviewing books, and sharing our stories. I can't express just how
important you are to this industry and me. Thank you for all your
hard work and your passion for a good book!

Love you all!

Justine

About The Author

Justine Elvira is a best selling
author at multiple retailers. Writing is her form of therapy and
helps her escape reality for a little while.

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