Page 32 of Declan
Even though Addersfield wasn’t too big of a town, reporters from bigger cities had flocked there in the hopes of getting some juicy story on me. I’d seen them outside the hotel a few times, waiting for me to come out. It was one reason why I’d had Gideon sneak me out through the back entrance and get into the car before Kyler had arrived that day.
I could just imagine the next headline:Actor Declan Price Spends Day With Unknown Man.Then, there’d be photos of me and Kyler everywhere. The gay rumors would start. Again. It’d be one clusterfuck of a headache.
“So, what did you think of the burger?” Kyler asked, arching a brow.
The burger from Chase’s Diner had, indeed, been one of the best I’d ever eaten. And that was saying something since I’d eaten at a ton of burger places throughout my travels over the years.
“You were right,” I said, grabbing my drink and sucking the soda through the straw. Spending days outside like this was rare. Just enjoying the nice weather with a good burger, soda, and hot guy at my side.
As we enjoyed our lunch, Kyler had become less star-struck and had opened up a little. He’d talked about his life, telling me about his friends and some of the crazy crap they’d done.
I found myself asking him countless questions.
“Not sure why you wanna know,” he said as I asked him about his work. “My life is boring compared to yours.”
“Answer the question.” I bumped his arm and looked out over the lake.
It was gorgeous. Blue sky above us and green grass around us. The trees had re-grown their leaves for spring and some sprouted with those colorful flowers that kind of stunk but still looked pretty.
Yet, the scenery couldn’t hold a candle to the man beside me.
His light-brown hair touched the middle of his ears. When the wind blew, it ruffled the strands and made me want to run my fingers through his hair. To really mess it up. Maybe tangle my fingers in the light-brown strands as I pumped into his ass.
“I work at a bookstore,” he answered, pulling me from my fantasy.
“What’s your career goal?” I asked, not missing a beat. “Work at the bookstore until you can find something else? Or do you want to move up and eventually manage it?”
“Nah, the bookstore is temporary. My dream is to be a full-time writer. Doing what I love every single day and get paid for it, too. Eventually become a screenwriter.” Kyler pulled his legs up and rested his arms on his knees. “I’ve submitted some of my work to agents and stuff. No luck so far. But I’m not givin’ up. I’ve self-published some books and I’m working on turning some into screenplays. I’ll get to where I want to be.”
I had the power to make his dream a reality. All it would take was one phone call and I could have some of the best people in the film industry look at his work. His talent would be the deciding factor, of course, but I could at least get the right eyes on him. Get his foot in the door.
Kyler could’ve easily asked me to help him. Everyone else in my life would’ve jumped at the opportunity to promote themselves or to ask for a favor. But not Kyler. He spoke of his dream and then let the topic fade away.
It made me want to help him even more.
“Can I read some of your work?” I asked.
He looked like he was about to shit himself. Or puke. I shied away a little as the memory from his drunken night resurfaced.
“What? For real?” Big, gray eyes and freckles galore.
I fought the urge—again—to lean in and press a kiss to the patch of freckles.
“Yeah, I’d love to.”
“Uh, I don’t know,” he said, reverting to his shy demeanor from earlier. “I mean, if you want to, you can. But some of it is silly and was just me goofing off.”
Seeing he was uncomfortable by the idea, I let it drop. For now. He’d mentioned that he’d self-published, so I’d look him up later.
“Can I askyousomething?” Kyler looked at his hands, toying with a leather bracelet on his wrist.
“Sure.”
“Are you really dating Jennifer Parker?”
If it was anyone other than Kyler—or Gideon—who asked, I would’ve given some bullshit answer. But I didn’t want to lie to him.
“No,” I answered, closing my eyes as another breeze swept around us. “Supposedly, it’s good publicity for the movie if the world thinks we’re secretly dating. It adds mystery and, therefore, interest. When really, she has a boyfriend. We’re good friends, though. Jen’s the exception to myno celebrity friendsrule.”
