Page 18 of Jace 4Ever
“Then irredeemable you shall be.” I stuck my hand out and he shook it gratefully.
We all parted ways after that, and I was heartened that I had the script in my hand. There was no way that I could play the part of Xavier again with this tripe. This wasThe Crystal SkullorQuest for Peacebad. So bad, we’d either have to finance number five out of pocket or abandon the whole franchise. Max and I had hoped for at least eight films. We were both young—I could play Xavier for years to come and Max could produce it from the grave if he wanted. We had laid a lot of groundwork in the start to give us story lines like his brother having not died, the female love interest from one coming back, a daughter who was just as reckless as Xavier. It wasn’t quite James Bond or Jason Bourne, but it wasn’t Fast and the Furious either.
We’d worked so hard with Pinellas on the first for the groundwork there was no way I was committing this crap to film.
I walked to the corner and hailed a cab to get back to my place on the Upper East Side. The first thing I had done with the money from my insane movie gross was buy myself a Brownstone. It was a six-story house, completely renovated, and I had the first three floors to myself. There was a garden, a balcony, and most of the bottom floor was just storage. It was more than I needed, but the place had been just so much of what I’d wanted.
The top three had been turned into small apartments. I didn’t need a lot of income from those, so I usually rented them out to low income students who had gotten into one of the big universities in the city. I worked with Columbia, NYU, and Cornell and we vetted everyone carefully. Once they signed in, they were tenants for the length of their education. I loved having them there—they watched the building, and they were insanely happy to not have to face the crazy dorm loans they would need. It was fun to see high school seniors just bloom into these amazing people. We’d done our first turn over last summer, with three new students coming in.
I also got a secret little thrill out of seeing them freak out when they realized who their landlord was.
Okay, it was more than a little thrill.
I loved my house. I loved walking down into the little front patio and letting myself into my private space. The living room, dining room, and kitchen were up one level, and while I usually frequented the kitchen, and the dining room to some degree, the living room was for guests. I walked straight past the front bedroom—which was my studio room—straight into the massive sitting room where I spent most of my time. I ducked into the massive walk-in closet that sheltered the bathroom. I stripped out of my clothes. I grabbed a set of workout clothes and donned them.
This was the part of being famous I didn’t relish. The constant scrutiny of my muscles or lack thereof. I wasn’t born to exercise. Despite all my trainers and all my coaches, I felt like I was wasting time and that it would be better served if I were reading or writing or finding new scripts.
Not that I couldn’t do that the rest of the time I wasn’t working out. I just really hated exercise. Still, I dragged my ass down there. It was important for my future to invest in my body.
“Oh, hey, Nelson.” Dae’quan smiled from the weight bench. “I thought that was you.”
“Hey, Dae.” I grinned. This was one of the reasons everyone was vetted. I allowed the students access to my spaces—especially the well-appointed gym in the basement. They could also pop into my kitchen if they wanted company when I was home. “How’s that theoretical math going?”
“Theoretically, I’ll pass,” he grunted. “The professor is a jackass.”
“There are a lot of those. What about the rest of your classes?”
“Good.” He grinned. “I’m loving the Physics of Liquids so much I’m thinking about pursuing something involving physics.”
“Good place to apply the brains.” I stepped up on the treadmill and set my standard warm-up for ten minutes. “How’s the girl?”
His dark skin went ruddy. “Nelson, she’s perfect. She’s sweet, smart, kind, and so damn driven. And goddamn, she’s a beast in bed. All that alpha shit I used to spout, how men should be in charge in the bedroom? Out the fucking window.”
“Are those cuff marks on your wrists?” I teased him and he went even more red. “You sly dog.”
“We take turns,” he murmured.
“Dae, don’t ever be embarrassed about getting yours, and make sure your partner gets theirs.”
“Man, it is not about the orgasm, it’s about getting to the orgasm.”
“Bingo! The man has learned the secret of good sex. Bring her over for dinner. I’d love to meet this future wife of yours.”
He busted out laughing and lay back on the bench after grabbing the handles of the weight machine. “I met her parents this weekend. I can see where she gets everything. And her parents were so fucking welcoming, man. So welcoming.”
“You were scared of that?”
He paused at the extension. “I got a record, man. Of course, I was scared.”
“You’re also two years into a degree from NYU, possibly for physics, Dae. A good man knows when he gets a second chance, and a good father will know that a past mistake doesn’t mean you’re not a good man. I’m happy for you. I really am.”
He grinned and continued his chest presses. We worked out for about an hour, chatting and dancing around the machines, spotting each other and doing some more serious physical conditioning I didn’t allow without two people in the room. Everyone followed the rules. They knew I’d take away their door codes if I heard they hadn’t been following my rules.
Dae’quan and I headed up the stairs, but I ducked out into my sitting room and he continued up to the fourth floor. I ditched my clothes and stepped into the custom shower, with two shower heads and two bar heads that sprayed the length of my torso.
Never once did I forget how lucky I was that this was my home, my career, my life.
Taking a long, hot shower, I rode the high of the wonderful feeling of being able to take the script and fix it. That I had met someone, Jace, who I wanted to get to know better. It was a good feeling and I couldn’t wait to talk to him later.
