Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77269 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77269 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
I was six-foot-five, built like a brick wall, and I could defend myself against 99% of the world’s population. But if anyone was going to tell me I was a softie because I carried Bruce Lee around, all I could say was fuck ‘em.
That fuck ‘em energy was exactly the kind of energy I was trying but failing to conjure right now as my eyes locked onto the offending text message.
There was no way I wanted to go into the bar now.
I put the truck into reverse and headed home to my tiny house on a quiet, residential street just adjacent to downtown Amberfield. I walked inside, setting my keys down with a clatter on my coffee table and kicking back on my couch.
God damn, I hated technology. Unless it was a state-of-the-art security system, I didn’t want anything to do with it.
Just forget about it. He probably won’t respond. If you ever see him around town again, just smile and nod and go on your merry way.
I opened up my laptop and tried to settle into my normal nightly routine. Every night I checked security job postings all throughout Kansas, hoping that something more exciting than my current job would pop up.
I felt totally out of control in my love life, but I always knew I could focus on my career.
Even if every five seconds, the image of Theo’s big, radiant eyes flashed through my head.
4
Theo
In a rare moment when the drilling in my house had stopped, I finally sat down with the scripts Madeline had express shipped from Hollywood. I ripped open the big mailer envelope and pulled them out, plopping down onto my big, royal blue sectional in the living room with a glass of Pinot Noir. The sofa had just been delivered yesterday, and it was already my favorite place in the house.
Jack Damien, the head contractor on my construction team, was packing up by the front door after another long day of work. The rest of the team had been slowly filtering out over the past hour. Jack turned to me, tipping his baseball cap at me.
“That’ll do it for today, Mr. Castille,” he said.
“Please call me Theo,” I said.
“Sir, you’re paying me more money than I’ve ever seen in my life, and I’ve been watching you in movies for a decade,” Jack said, raising his eyebrows a little. “I feel like I have to call you Mr. Castille.”
I propped a big, fluffy pillow behind my back. “What if I paid you ten percent extra just to call me Theo?”
Jack laughed, looking down at his work boots for a second. “Fine. Theo. You definitely don’t have to pay me more. I’ll do my best to call you that.”
“Thank you, Jack,” I said.
Watching Jack work his wonders had been amazing, especially since he was kind, muscular, and strapped with a thick tool belt at all times. A couple of years ago, I wouldn’t have had a doubt in my mind about hitting on him and hopefully scoring a hookup with a hot contractor.
But Jack had immediately known who I was. He was a huge fan of my movies, and because of that, the possibility was out of the question. My days of hooking up with fans were long, long over, even if I was flattered when he’d told me he liked my work.
I was happy to just have Jack as the competent, hardworking contractor that he was.
“Do you want me to set the alarm to at-home mode before I go?” he asked.
I shook my head. “I’m going to go grab food in a few minutes,” I said. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Good night, Theo,” he said, and I was grateful even though the name sounded awkward on his tongue. “We’ll be back bright and early again tomorrow.”
“You guys are superstars.”
The moment the front doors shut behind him, I sank back further into the couch, paging to the beginning of the first script Madeline had sent. This was still my favorite part about being one of the most famous young actors in the world—over the years, I’d gotten opportunities to choose the projects I worked on. I got to read incredible scripts by some of the best directors alive. Martina Sanford, one of my favorite writers and directors, sent one today.
Ten years ago, Base of the Mountain came out. It had been my breakout success, and I’d been nominated for my first Oscar. It was when people realized I could actually act. I came out as gay a year later, and even though I’d been scared it might tank my career, it had done anything but. I got offered amazing roles, and got to be a part of a few independent films with gay main characters that had meant the world to me. I had been named the Sexiest Man Alive by at least three different publications over the past ten years. And by now, I had my pick of what movies I wanted to star in.