Hollywood Remake (A Celebrity Love Story)

Chapter 9: Swingers

Kate took a deep breath as the cab pulled to a stop in Aidan’s driveway. During the whole drive over from Beverly Hills, she’d been rehearsing in her head exactly how to play it. She couldn’t let him see she was upset. That much was essential. In her texts to him last night, she said she left with other people and gone to another club, and she needed to stick with that story. She’d been out all night clubhopping. And whether or not he’d brought another girl home last night – it didn’t matter to her in the least. Nope, not at all. She couldn’t care less.

That was the story. She just needed to keep it up long enough to pack her suitcase, charge up her phone, and get out. There’d be plenty of time to fall apart once she was back on her way to the airport.

She pasted a smile onto her face now as she stepped out of the cab and squinted into the glare of morning sunlight. There he was in the doorway, watching her walk up the driveway toward the house. He looked like he hadn’t slept – still in the same dark jeans and grey t-shirt. He must have had a fun night.

“Good morning,” she said, forcing her mouth to smile even wider when she came to a stop in front of him.

He wasn’t smiling back. He was just standing there, watching her with his head off to one side, resting against one of the doorposts. Just leaning there, like he didn’t quite have the strength to support his own body weight. He must have had a very fun night.

They stood studying each other for a moment, and she wondered if he was going to let her come in. Was there something inside he didn’t want her to see? Something, or someone?

Didn’t matter, she told herself, feeling her smile start to waver. Didn’t-matter-didn’t-matter-didn’t-matter.

“Should I come back later?” she asked.

Aidan struggled to gather himself as he stood watching her standing in front of him. She was still in the same clothes from last night. Her face was scrubbed clean of makeup now and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, but otherwise she looked just as she had the last time he saw her. No bruises. No blood. She was fine. She was smiling, even. He closed his eyes for a moment, sending up a silent word of thanks to whomever might be listening.

He reached out toward her, wanting nothing more than to take her in his arms and squeeze her tight with every ounce of strength he had left. His hand just brushed her arm as she side-stepped and moved past him through the doorway into the house.

“You look like you had a quite a night!” she said to him over her shoulder as she entered the living room.

Quite a night, he thought. That was one way to put it.  “Are you OK?” he asked as he turned and followed her inside.

“Of course!” she said brightly. “I had so much fun last night!”

“You weren’t answering your phone.”

She pulled the phone out of her bag and showed him the blackened screen. “Out of power,” she explained. She reached the door to his bedroom and put her hand on the knob.

“Wait!” he said, stumbling after her and reaching out toward her again. “Kate, just—wait. Just come here.” He needed to touch her right now. He needed to run his hands down the length of her body, from the top of her head to the soles of her feet, to reassure himself that she was really there. She was fine. She was safe. She’d just run out of power.

Kate ignored his words and pushed the bedroom door open, bracing herself for whatever it was he didn’t want her to see on the other side.

“Come here,” he said again as he followed her through the bedroom door. “Where are you going?”