“He did; it was, well, kind of surreal if I’m being honest.”
“What happened?” Mama asks, clueless until Dani turns her phone to her and she can read the giant headline for herself. She reads it out loud,“Hollywood’s Golden Boy Turns Bad for Date.”
“I wish they weren’t so fucking sexist about it, though.Mystery woman holds down a career as an underpaid teacher for a misogynist dickhead while finding time to date Hollywood hunkhas a ring to it.”
“It’s a little wordy, and I don’t think even the rags will print dickhead in their headline.” Dani smirks.
“Speaking of, did I tell you that dickhead last night had thecojonesto give himself an award for charity at his own charity event?”
“Stop saying those words! Both of you.”
“Yes, Mama,” we say flatly in unison.
“At least they don’t know who you are yet—and do you really want them to?”
“Fair point. Okay, enjoy your day off, Dani. Come on, Mama.” I grab up my things and head for the door. I’m not sure how long it will take me to adjust to the lifestyle of a movie star’s girlfriend. Glamorous events and late night kink sessions are fun, but it makes waking up in the morning and going to work a lot harder. Especially on the nights I want to stay with him. He asked me to stay last night, and I hated turning him down, but I knew I couldn’t make it to work if I had stayed. His arms are too tempting in the morning, and too difficult to pull myself away from.
I hook my finger over the door handle and get it open, even with my arms full. I nearly drop my box of papers when the roar of cameras clicking hits me and the strangers on the other side of the fence shout questions.
Are you the mystery woman dating Chase Cooper?
Are you fucking him?
How long have you been together?
How big is his dick?
Have you read the fan reactions online?
Is the agency paying you to sleep with him?
Mama tries to push past me to see what’s causing the commotion, swearing in Spanish under her breath at the swarm of people crowding the sidewalk and even the street. A car tries to pass by and they slam on their brakes to avoid hitting a younger guy with a camera as he darts across the street to get a picture of me in all my teacher glory.
“Shit,” I snarl and glance at Mama. “Ready to make a run for it?”
“I’ll get the gate,” Dani announces as she looks over our shoulders at the growing crowd. “Am I allowed to fuck with them?”
“Yes,” Mama and I answer together.
“Fuck yeah!” She runs out into the yard, flipping them all off and shouting something about her band’s next show. Leave it to Dani to find an opportunity to promote her band in any circumstance. Someday, when she makes it big, she’ll know how to handle these clowns, and she’s getting her practice in today.
I ease the car out of the driveway while the horde descends on us. Dani yells and swears at them, but I’m too focused on trying not to hit anyone and waving my arm, shooing them away. They don’t care, they just keep shouting and taking pictures. My phone doesn’t stop buzzing from the cup holder, but that will need to wait. When I’m finally out of the driveway and in the street, I watch in my rearview as Dani shuts the gate and flips them all off again before waving at us.
There’s silence as I drive to Mama’s work. Normally, I would only drive her to the bus station, but after that mob, there’s no way I’m risking it. I swing into her favorite coffee spot, hoping it will give us both time to calm down from all that chaos.
“Renate, baby, maybe you should rethink this guy,” she asks as we wait in the line at the drive-thru. It’s the first thing she’s said since we left the house. “Rich white men are weird.”
“Yeah, but I’ve found one of the decent ones, Mama. I promise, he’s worth it.” I pick up my phone as we wait to place our order. Four missed calls from Chase and even more texts from him, Teresa, Marta, and a few other teachers from the school. News travels fast, especially here..
I start with Chase’s texts.
Cuddle Puppy
Are you okay? A friend sent me pictures of your house.
I’m talking to my agent to see what she can do.
I’m sorry about all this. I’ll fix this, Ren.
