Better Than Me

Chapter 32

Chapter 32

With step one out of the way, it was time to keep the plan in motion and head into territory that was much more outrageous and very much of a product of my mother and my warped minds.

Sunday was supposed to be my day off of work, but there was no such thing as a day off of thinking of Sophia, even if she wasn't on set with me, where her presence was obviously a constant reminder of her existence. Unable to stand the thought of how our last conversation had ended any longer, I found myself heading to her apartment late Sunday night.

As soon as she opened the door, I fell to my knees in front of her and went for it again, this time with a little more of the dramatic flair us actors were known for. "I'm sorry, Soph. I'm so sorry. I don't care if I'm humiliating myself. I'll even cry if you want me to."

Her eyes widened in utter shock. While some of my antics may have been predictable – as in, the gift-giving – I still had a few tricks up my sleeve, apparently. "I don't want you to cry," she said, sounding exasperated. "Get up."

"No." Instead of getting up, I grabbed onto her legs and held on for dear life. "I'm sorry!"

She tried to push me off to no avail. Being 6'3" and 190ish pounds had its perks. "Get off of me and get in here," she said, grabbing my arm and tugging at it until I finally listened. "Have you lost your mind?"

I paused. "I think I have."

"Chris, it's almost midnight. Go home to whatever little girlfriend is waiting for you."

The corners of my lips curled upwards at the sound of the nickname. It wasn't much, but it was something. I was Chris to her again. "I don't have a 'little girlfriend' waiting for me at home. I'm done messing around. I've been done for a while now. I don't want one-time flings anymore. I want you."

She laughed. "That's cute, but it's a little farfetched. I don't think you'd go from ten girls to one all of a sudden."

While I'd never dated or slept with ten girls at once, I knew what she meant. I was known for reeling in multiple girls at the same time. But that was in the past. I was determined to leave it there. "It's not impossible. Not when you decide to commit. I'll show you how committed I am to this. I'll show you how much you mean to me. I promise."

With that, I left to let her get some rest before she had to head to work the next morning. But as I was leaving, I heard Tori singing, "He likes you, he wants to date you, he wants to kissssss you!"

The next morning, I managed to use my charm, wealth, and influence to get a skyline and write another apology in the sky for Sophia. This was the kind of thing you were supposed to book ahead of time, but the idea had come to me the night before once I'd gotten home. After texting my mom about it and receiving her excited approval, I went ahead and paid a pretty ridiculous sum to have it done.

I watched Sophia's face transform into a small smile as the skyline worked its magic above our heads while we were on set and felt downright giddy when her face lit up in laughter, probably at the second line.

I'm so sorry, Sophia. Please forgive me!
This is from Christian, by the way.

If I'd thought the speculation about the tension/relationship between me and Sophia was bad before, it was ridiculous after that skyline. Word of my little stunt had gotten out, and even people who hadn't been nearby during its execution were talking about it. The interns had even made up a whole backstory about how Sophia and I had been secretly having a love affair this whole time and were actually in a lovers' quarrel.

But the skyline wasn't the only stunt I pulled that day. It was just the most public one. Throughout the day, I sent Sophia a barrage of texts that were supposed to be sweet but were actually probably terrible. I tried, okay? I tried.