SLEAZE: A Hollywood Comeback Story (Book #1)

Chapter 18

“Aw, are you jealous? Don’t worry, I always thought you filled that role pretty well for her,” Scott teased and I snorted, rolling my eyes at the jab.

“Seriously, though, what do I get someone who can afford a private island?”

“An umbrella and a beach towel,” Scott said with a straight face, not missing a beat. “Maybe sunscreen, if it’s in your budget.”

“Useful,” I muttered, setting down my controller. I hesitated before asking, “What do you think about jewelry?”

Scott raised an eyebrow and gave me a strange look. “Parker, I realize that your current living conditions are probably screwing with your head but you do know she’s not your girlfriend, right?”

“No,” I said automatically but then corrected myself. “I mean, yeah, obviously.”

“Alright.”

“Come on, I’m not delusional.”

“Don’t do it, then,” Scott warned. “Go buy her a stuffed animal or something. Maybe a nice bottle of tequila, I'm sure she'd appreciate one of the two."

“Seriously?”

“Uh, yeah.” Scott nodded furiously. “Dude, I don’t care how famous she is; all girls are the same when it comes to stuff like this, and trust me, she’s going to read way further into it than she needs to.”

“You don’t know Sophie.”

“But you know I’m right.”

“Sorry if I don’t jump at the idea of taking advice from a guy who’s been in a slump since August,” I muttered and Scott scowled.

“Yeah? Let’s take a look at your lifetime stats and then we’ll see who has the right to talk.”

“Okay, chill. I get it. You’re probably right, but my mom told me to get her something nice and I’d feel bad bringing home some sort of toy for her,” I said. "Or booze, for that matter. I have a feeling she'd take it as a diss more than anything."

Scott gaped at me. “So what you’re really saying is that you want to get her something nice.”

“I guess.”

“I forgot. You’ve always had a soft spot for crazies.”

“Sophie isn’t crazy,” I said and Scott cocked an eyebrow as I struggled to come up with an alternative description. “She’s a little… well, I mean, she’s Sophie,” I trailed off lamely.

Scott stared at me for a minute, his hazel eyes serving as a window to the gears whirring in his head. I shifted uncomfortably under his scrutiny until finally his expression changed to one of understanding and he shrugged. Turning back to the game paused on the television screen, he said, “I take it back. Get her whatever you want.”

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 It turned out that I had much better luck at sneaking into my house than out of it. As I slipped in through the front door, I shimmied off my jacket, awkwardly wrapping the poster of Sophie within the folds. I started for the living room and then paused. The smell of dinner cooking wafted from the kitchen to the foyer, the hint of honey-glazed ham in the air complimented by the sweet aroma of an apple spice cake that I knew had just been pulled out of the oven. My mouth began to water and like a dog conditioned by a bell, I turned towards the scents down the hallway before shaking my head and forcing myself to focus on the mission at hand.