Page 76 of Off Script
One night, I ordered Carlisle’s favorite dishes from all her favorite restaurants, and we feasted while enjoying an early evening picnic in the backyard as the sun set.
The next morning, a pickleball pro from the country club came over to teach us how to play the sport on my tennis courts. It’s harder than it looks. I assumed it would be easier than tennis since the court is half the size, but I assumed incorrectly. Carlisle trounced me.
Another evening, we made homemade pasta and sang karaoke in the living room. Carlisle is gifted in many ways; however, singing is not one of them, but she made up for her lack of talent with sheer enthusiasm. I laughed until I cried listening to her rendition of Taylor Swift’sWildest Dreams.
But goddamn, if Carlisle isn’t my wildest dream come true.
Earlier today, my private chef came to the house and taught us a couple of Spanish tapas recipes. We drank sangria and learned how to prepare octopus salad, Spanish tortilla with garlic aioli, ham croquettes, and paella. Carlisle loved experimenting in the kitchen andlearning more about Spanish cuisine. And I loved watching her in her element.
When it’s just us, holed up together in my house, our relationship feels amazing, and it’s easy to forget that I’m about to leave on a whirlwind, worldwide press tour. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy to forget that I’m fake dating my famous co-star, so when I sense that Carlisle is worried or upset, I build her up and show her how much she means to me.
Through it all, I feel myself falling more and more for Carlisle. I only hope she feels as strongly for me as I do for her. I think she does.
Tonight, we’re parked on the couch playfully arguing about which movie to watch. I put my foot down. I can only take so many romantic comedies in one week, and I’ve officially hit my threshold.
“Babe, we’re watching an action movie tonight.” I shoot her my most earnest, endearing smile, imploring her with my puppy dog eyes to agree with me.
Her mouth quirks from side to side, and I can tell she’sthiscloseto succumbing to my charms and relenting, so I go in for the kill shot. Sliding off the couch, I kneel in front of her and bury my head in her lap. “Please. I can literally feel my testosterone levels dropping with each rom com you make me watch. You don’t want my dick to shrivel up, do you?”
Carlisle throws back her head, laughing at my shameless shenanigans. “You’re so dramatic!”
I jump onto the couch, straddling her, and trapping her body beneath mine as I tickle her sides. “C’mon Carlisle. Say we can watch an action movie.” Shrieking and laughing, she tries unsuccessfully to dislodge me. Grabbing both her wrists with one hand, I hold them up above her head so that I have free-range to tickle her.
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” she squeals breathlessly. "Ben, yes!"
Now that I’ve won the battle, I withdraw my fingers from her stomach so she can catch her breath.
“Damn! When we heard a lady’s voice yelling yes over and over, we weren’t sure what we were walking into.”
I swivel around at the sound of Jordan’s voice to see him and Trevor strolling into the living room. “And yet, you still walked in. What the hell?” I grumble. “Give me back the gate clicker, Jordan. You’ve lost house privileges. You cannot just waltz into my fucking house whenever you like.”
“Agree to disagree, shall we? I’m just relieved to see you have a girl here. I assumed you were probably watching porn.” Jordan shoots me a wicked grin as he sits down on the side of the sectional perpendicular to where Carlisle and I sit. I slide off her lap and plop down next to her. “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”
“Carlisle, these douchebags are my twoformerbest friends, Trevor and Jordan,” I motion to them with my hand. “Dumb and Dumber, this is Carlisle, my girlfriend.”
Jordan blanches before clasping his hands together and bowing his head. “Lord, let us pray.”
Mildly alarmed, Carlisle looks at me as if I can somehow read Jordan’s mind. I shrug, confused because I have no fucking clue what’s happening. “Why are you praying?” I ask slowly, almost scared to hear what asinine reason or comment will surely come out of Jordan’s mouth.
Then Jordan looks up with a smirk. “Because hell has obviously frozen over if Benny Boy has found himself a girlfriend!”
I bark out a laugh. “You’re an ass.”
Trevor chuckles and hits Jordan on the arm before turning toward Carlisle. “It’s nice to meet you, Carlisle. Sorry to barge in, but yourboyfriend hasn’t been returning our texts. We had to drop in for a welfare check.”
“I just saw you yesterday at our training session,” I reply defensively. I've been seeing Trevor nearly daily to combat all the extra calories I've been consuming.
“Dude, we’re not here for you, douche nozzle. We want to meet Carlisle.”
“Great, you’ve done that, so now you can leave.” I stand to walk them out, hoping they’ll take the hint. There’s plenty of time to spend with my friends later, but right now, all I want to do is spend time with Carlisle and not these fucktwits.
“No can do. Jo said you didn’t have any plans tonight, so we thought we’d bring pizza.” Jordan rubs his hands together hungrily. The guy is six feet tall and built like a rail, but he can pack away the food like a teenager about to hit a growth spurt. “It should be here soon.” Jordan shifts on the couch, placing his left ankle over his right knee and leans against the back cushions, getting comfortable. “Don’t worry, B. Trev picked out some healthy cauliflower crust, no cheese pizza for you.”
I groan, dropping back onto my seat on the couch. “Let me guess. You used my credit card.”
“Totes,” he smirks. Glancing in Carlisle’s direction, Jordan offers her a cocky smile, “When you get bored of this loser, you can come hang out with me.”
I feel my right eye narrow as jealousy rears its ugly head. Since Carlisle and I are confined to the privacy of my house, I haven’t encountered a situation where I could become jealous. Although I know Jordan’s kidding, I can’t stand the idea of him, or any other guy, hitting on Carlisle.
