5. Time Bomb

CHAPTER 5

TIME BOMB

RANCID

I don’t need an alarm when Friday comes, since I’m up and out of bed like it’s Christmas morning and I’m ten. I picked out the suit yesterday, so this morning I steamed my shirt, picked out a couple ties, and realized I should find out what color dress she’s wearing to match it. I’m in the middle of trying the fourth hairstyle when Steve’s muscle car rumbles into the driveway.

I forgot all about our workout session this morning.

I stare at the suit and sigh. Renate hasn’t said yes to the date. But she hasn’t said no, either. In fact, she hasn’t even called me yet. If she doesn’t call, or if she says no, I don’t know what the fuck I’m going to do. Sulk, probably.

“Hey bro, ready to do this?” I ask, jogging down the stairs, meeting Steve in the foyer. Jogging past him, I hold open the door that leads to the garage gym, but he stands there, unmoving. Even the dogs are looking at me with their heads cocked to the side. “What?”

“You’re…up?” Steve’s been one of my best friends since high school, and my personal trainer for years. He was also my clubbing slash meet the hot ladies buddy before he did the unthinkable and settled down with a pro hockey player. Love has picked off two from our circle of friends, leaving only Dani and me as the holdouts. Dani sort of has Xander, even though it’s complicated and confusing.

Fuck, that means I’m the lone loser. Phenomenal.

“Yeah.” I give him a shrug and nod to the door again, ready to go.

“But…you’re not in bed.”

“Yeah, I noticed. Come on, let’s go. Do you wanna run today? No, it’s probably too hot for that. Is it too hot for that?”

“Did you… do your hair?”

“Maybe?”

“Dude, I’m engaged. Why did you wait so long to?—”

“What?”

“You’re way too happy for this to be one of your episodes, so?”

“I’m not hitting on you, dude! Come on, let’s go!”

“Are you on speed? Too much coffee? Who the fuck are you and what have you done with my hot Hollywood bestie?” He still hasn’t left the front door.

“I’m not that bad! I mean, you don’t always have to wake me up.”

He does.

“Chase Cooper doesn’t fucking run unless he’s being paid to. He hates it. You’ve also never once been up before I wake you up. Never. Not since high school, bro.”

“Not true. I was up last Tuesday.”

“My dude, the nights you can’t sleep don’t count because we don’t end up working out most of those days.”

“Heeth gop a bate,” Devin says around his toothbrush as he comes out of the kitchen. He’s hungover even though he’s got a game today, so that’s going to go well. He looks up from a box of cereal he’s reading and sees the dumb look Steve gives him, walks back in, rinses his mouth out, and tries again. “He’s got a date.”

“Dude, did you spit out your toothpaste in my kitchen?” I swear this guy is ten sometimes.

“Uh, I started in my bathroom but I got hungry, so I kind of walked over here while I brushed my teeth?”

“Use the guest bathroom!”

“Both of you, shut up!” Steve’s head turns toward me dramatically, and I brace myself for what’s coming. “A date? With a woman? A real woman? An actual date with a human being?”

“Yes. Well, I mean, sort of on the date part. She’s a real person, and it’s not for a role or a bit.”

“Is that a good idea? I mean, the Jessica ordeal was a lot. But Abby? Bro, you just got over her like yesterday. Also, you are, hands down, the shittiest Hollywood playboy I’ve ever known.”

“Yeah, dude. Your dating life is pretty shit,” my brother reminds me as he pours the cereal into the bowl, and realizes he doesn’t have enough hands to eat it while holding the box and bowl. “Fuck.”

I want to argue that this woman is different, but the thing is, I don’t know if she is. How can I? I try to think of anything else to say, but I can’t counter their points. I am a terrible playboy because I care too damn much, and describing my dating life as shit is accurate. Neither of them is wrong.

I almost found myself engaged to Jessica out of sheer stupidity. The media and the internet latched onto the internet idea of a fake relationship, claiming my agency set us up for publicity. Fucking trolls. We dated for a few years, traveled all over the place together, and everything felt amazing. I thought I couldn’t be happier. Until she cheated on me with some guy she met at our gym. Steve helped me build the home gym after that.

I went through another epic fail with Abby. We met at a club Steve took me to, and for once I wanted to make it work. Two weeks later, Abby lit that hope on fire, stomped on it to put it out, poured salt over it, and finished by poking it with a stick. She left a note on the mirror one morning saying she used me to get a part in some shitty film school movie. She even tried to get back with me when the movie bombed. Sometimes she still sends me these strange gifts, but never puts her real name on them. I’m pretty sure she’s the one who left me the marriage license the other day.

Just once it would be nice to have a normal, civilized breakup, but those are never in the cards for me.

There’s one name neither Steve nor Devin mention because they know it’s the one that still hurts. Cassie. She taught me how to love, or at least, that’s what I thought she did. She had an incredible personality, tons of friends, top of her class, and beyond smart. She had everything she wanted until I came along and ruined her life. Wherever I go, so goes the media—internet, trolls, even so-called fans. Every one of those vultures drooled over the fresh meat, picking her clean every chance they had. She had dreams of moving out of the city, raising a big family, and enjoying some privacy when we got together. I should have known better.

“Look, it’s not even an actual date. It’s more of a…hang out.”

“She hasn’t called you back, has she?” Devin asks.

What if they’re right? What if I’ve built this up to be something it’s not to make myself feel better? What if she ends up being like all the others and I’m only doing this because I’m a lonely loser?

“No,” My shoulders sink, and I’m right on the edge of overthinking this to the point of canceling everything.

“Where are you taking her?” Steve asks quietly, shoving his hands in his pockets as he watches Pongo walk over to me, nudging my hand.

I sigh and pat Pongo’s head, assuring him I’m okay, as I mumble, “Magic Castle. I had to call in a few favors to make it happen on short notice like this.”

“Seriously? Fuck!” Steve has me in a bear hug before I can even register what’s happening. “That, my friend, makes it a fucking date. Get your ass in the gym. I need details! You don’t take just anyone there!”

* * *

I’m on my last set in my gym, sweating my ass off and wishing I could be anywhere but here.

“Get it! Two more, man!” Steve yells. Some days, I wish he stayed in law school instead of dropping out before taking the bar and getting his certification to be a personal trainer.

My phone rings and both our heads turn toward it, watching it buzz across a table. Steve jumps for it, grabbing it before I can and holding it behind his back so I can’t see the ID.

“Come on, fucker! Finish the set and I’ll give your phone back.”

I push through the set with the last of my strength, drop the weights, and hold a shaking arm out for the phone. Unknown caller. It could be her, though.

“Yeah?” I answer, still out of breath. I’m already prepared to end the call in a hurry if some idiot who paid for my number answers me.

“Mr. Cooper?”

“Depends on who’s asking.” I’m not sure it’s her. I only talked to her for a minute before, but the voice sounds familiar. I take a swig from my water bottle while Steve watches me like he’s watching a movie and waiting for the big scene. Now he needs a big bowl of popcorn.

“Uhm, it’s Ren—err—Renate. Renate Silva. We, uhm, we met last—” I’m grinning ear to ear while she rambles, until she lets out a heavy sigh of regret. Shit, that’s not good. “Look, the smart board is nice. I mean, like super nice. I appreciate the gesture, but I can’t take it. There are policies against gifts like that and it’s not fair to the other teachers. I hope that makes sense. I don’t want to sound like I’m not grateful because, I, you know, I am.”

“Shit, I’m sorry, Renate.” Even in my panic, her name rolls off my tongue in a way that feels both weird and… right. I want to whisper it in her ear as she wakes up next to me in bed. I’ve been hanging out with Steve too much.

“I didn’t expect you to answer. I assumed this whole thing had been planned by my sister as a messed up joke.”

“No! No, not a joke. I hope I didn’t cause too much trouble. I should have known better. I, you know, I thought flowers were too old school for a…a woman like you.”

“Oh! Uhm, it’s okay.” The softness in her voice acts like a muscle relaxer and I’m melting into the bench. “You wouldn’t know that kind of thing unless you worked as a teacher. I feel terrible because I do like it. The kids loved it, too. I didn’t tell them you sent it.”

“I’ll get that taken care of as soon as I can, I promise.”

She’s silent, and I’m pretty sure she’s hung up on me until I notice a kid’s voice somewhere in the distance.

“I uhm, did you get… no, you have my number so yeah, obviously, you got the card. Duh.”

“I did. I, look, Mr. Cooper, can I ask you something?”

“If I answer your question, will you answer mine?”

“Yes. I think they’re kind of, well, related.”

“Okay, shoot.” I’m trying to act natural and even Steve rolls his eyes at how bad I am at this. The tabloids would eat this shit up if they could see it. Hollywood Mega Star Crashes and Burns Asking Teacher Out! Steve adds to my anxiety when he starts making a choking gesture and falling to the floor. Jackass.

“Why do you want to have dinner with me? And don’t try the ‘why not’ or some other snarky answer. Give me a genuine answer.”

“Why?” My date hinges on how I answer this, so I take my time to come up with the right way to say it and pray I don’t fuck it up. “You… strike me as a confident, independent, beautiful woman and you treated me like a normal human being at the school the other night. I don’t get that too often. I’m hoping you’ll let me apologize properly both for running into you and for chickening out that night. I’m hoping for a chance to make it right.”

“Chickening out?”

“I, uhm, lied the other day. I didn’t get lost looking for the bathroom when I bumped into you.” I have to close my eyes as Steve throws his hands in the air and walks away like he doesn’t know me. “I wanted to, well, to talk to you. I’d been watching you on and off from the bleachers and, I…well, I didn’t put two and two together and figured out who you were until after. I’d like the opportunity to get to know you. If you want to, anyhow.” That all sounded so much cooler in my head. Steve makes a crash and burn gesture across the room, complete with explosion sound effects.

“Mmm,” she hums and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or bad, but either way it makes me remember her lips, full with a bit of a pout to them and red like rubies—but soft. Maybe more like roses? I suck at poetry, but she has prettier lips than most leading actresses I’ve worked with.

“So? Did I give a satisfactory answer to your question, Ms. Silva?” The way my dick twitches when I say her name tells me I have a teacher kink. Well, a kink for a specific teacher, that’s for sure. God, the things she’s done to me in my daydreams today. I couldn’t help but imagine what we could do together. Especially with the height difference—I’m at least a foot taller than her. Probably more.

“Maybe.”

“Oh, maybe? That’s sneaky.” I laugh before dropping my voice, wishing I could see her face. “So let me ask you this. Do you like magic?”

“Magic?”

“I’d like to take you to the Magic Castle for dinner. If you’d like to join me, fantastic, send me your address and I’ll pick you up at five tonight.” I stop, giving her a moment to think about it, before adding, “If not, well, I’m glad I got to talk to you again and I wish you all the best. Oh, and Ren?”

“Yes?” she answers in a breathy voice.

“Text me the color of your dress. See you at five.” I hang up, my heart hammering so hard in my chest it hurts. Fuck, that might have been the wrong move. I flop back onto the weight bench and stare at the ceiling. I had set my sights on going super smooth, but I went mysterious. Now, I’ve come off looking like a total asshole.

No matter what she decides, I need to take care of this smart board situation for her. I call my agent so she can tell me I’m a moron before we come up with a solution.

“Hey, Cynthia. Can we get some kind of deal with a company that makes those smart board things for classrooms?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The cool high tech dry erase boards. Chalk boards on crack! I dunno, Google it. I need, uhm, I need enough for every classroom at Hollywood Tech and Arts. It could be some kind of tax write off or something? I dunno. I need to make it happen. We can even use Jamie’s art school thing as a cover if we need to.”

“Oh, my god. Chase Cooper, what did you do?”

“Cyn, it’s me. I didn’t do anything.” I don’t think now is the exact moment I want to tell Cynthia I’ve got the hots for a teacher and I’m trying to make a move on her. “It’s a tech school where I did a signing the other night with Jamie. I want to, you know, do something nice. Hypothetically.”

“Okay, and that’s it?”

“Yes.” No.

“Stop bullshitting me, Cooper. What happened? Please tell me you only backed into someone’s car or something simple like that?”

That’s the relationship we have—she knows when to call me on my shit. She also knows that the extent of my embarrassing public behavior as a movie star would be something as mild as backing into someone’s car while stone sober and apologizing for twenty years. I’m not here for scandals.

“I kind of asked a teacher out,” I say, cringing as I prepare for her reaction.

“You asked her out with a smart board? Points for originality, but, come on, what did you do?”

“I chickened out on talking to her in person. Devin gave me the idea for the screen. He said flowers were lame. I also gave her a card with my number and, uhm, asked her to dinner.”

“Wait, you seriously asked a teacher out by sending her a two thousand dollar gift?” She sounds more surprised than upset.

“Five thousand, but, uhm, yeah.”

“Chase, that’s fantastic! Not the money part. We’ll talk about that later. I’ll see what I can do about keeping it out of the papers. Where are you taking her? Do I need to set up a security crew?”

“She hasn’t actually said yes yet, but she hasn’t said no, either. The press shouldn’t be an issue since I’m taking her somewhere exclusive. No cameras allowed, and I know a guy who will take us in and out the back way.”

“Good idea, hun. Alright, I’ll call around about the TV things and see what kind of deal we can work out. Commercials okay? At least voice over?”

“Fuck yeah, I’ll be in a damn series of commercials if it helps get those things, sure.”

“Chase,” I can hear the smile as she says my name. “She’ll say yes, and when she does, have fun, okay? You deserve it. You deserve to be happy.”

“Thanks, Cyn.”

As I end the call, my phone vibrates as a text that sends the butterflies into overdrive comes through. She’s sent me an address that I’ll have to Google later, but she also sent a message.

Unknown Number

Yes, I believe I do like magic.

And blue.

She winked! Okay, it’s a stupid emoji, but… she winked. I’m definitely going to read too much into that until I pick her up tonight. My chest feels like it’s full of helium or something.

Blue. I can totally do blue.