12

I stand up from my bed, look down at my phone and walk over to the window. I want to text Logan and tell him what happened today, but I know he’s busy with football. I need to stop relying on him to listen to me when I’m feeling down, it’s not right, he doesn’t need or deserve that.

I look at the pool and think that maybe I need to get some exercise. Maybe that will bring me out of this funk I’m in and motivate me to look for a job, because right now it’s at a standstill. I can’t ask Gina to drive me around again, so I’m going to have to start looking online and I’m putting that off… and I’m not really even sure why.

My last conversation with Jess pops into my head and I realize she’s right, I could just wear my bra and panties to swim in, it’s not that big of a deal. It’s still midafternoon so the only person that might see me is Gina, which I’m not too worried about. I wouldn’t want Dex to see me like that, but if the last few days are any indication, he probably won’t be home for a few hours at least.

I grab a towel out of my bathroom and strip down to my bra and panties. I wrap the towel around myself and head downstairs. I know Dex said there were towels for the pool in the supply closet, but I don’t feel like walking through the house in my underwear. I hear the water in the kitchen running, so I stick my head through the doorway.

“I’m going for a swim.”

Gina turns around from the sink and smiles. The look on her face says that she wants to know why I felt the need to inform her of that. I turn around and walk toward the door that leads to the porch and I head outside. A light breeze washes over my face as I walk toward the pool.

I look around as I drop my towel on one of the chairs next to the pool. If the people back home could see me now… I’m sure they wouldn’t believe it even if they saw it with their own eyes.

I dip my toe into the pool and yank it out. The pool is frigid. I almost want to skip going in, but I know I need the exercise and it will help me clear my mind. I guess it’s better to get it over with quickly. I close my eyes and dive into the pool. The shock of the cold water makes me instantly regret that decision.

It takes a few laps for me to get warmed up, but I’m feeling better and my body feels good. I wish I would have done this sooner. It’s relaxing and at the same time it’s a good workout, but it doesn’t require me to wake up so freaking early like running with Jess did.

On my ninth lap, not that I was counting or anything, I see a figure walking from the house toward the pool. I put my head down, finish the lap and put my arms over the end of the pool as I lift my head out of the water.

I assumed it would Gina, or maybe Dex or maybe even my mom, but standing three feet in front of me is Spencer. He cracks a huge smile at me, walks over to one of the chairs and sits down.

“How are you?”

I’m so surprised to see him that I don’t even know what to say. I was really enjoying my swim and wasn’t quite ready to stop, but I can’t exactly ignore him and keep going.

“I’m fine.”

He nods and scoots the chair a little closer to the pool. I feel my arms slipping on the wet concrete, so I pull myself back up. Spencer raises his eyebrow as he watches me and I can tell that I lifted myself a little too high and he was able to see my bra. I feel my face turning red. Great.

I want to lower myself back into the water and just wait for him to leave, but that would be rude and I have a feeling that he might just sit there. I have no idea why he’s even here.

“So, did you hear back from Logan about signing an autograph for me?”

Crap. I had texted Logan that night when Spencer asked, but I hadn’t talked to him about it since then.

“Sorry, I didn’t bring it up with him again. I’ll ask him tonight.”

“Thanks.”

“Did you come all the way here just for that?”

My teeth start chattering. I’m freezing, just sitting in the water. I need to get out or start swimming again.

“No, I came to see Dex.”

“He’s not here.”

“Yeah, that’s what Gina said, but she said you were back here so I thought I would pop out to say hi and see how you’re doing.”

Weird. Why would he even care? We met once and he’s a Hollywood heartthrob and I’m… nothing special, I’m just me.

“What?” he says.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“No, but you had a crazy look on your face, like you were confused and irritated.”

I had no idea I was being that transparent.

“Oh, sorry… it’s nothing.”

Spencer shrugs and cracks a huge white smile. I’m starting to see why all my friends in high school had his picture in their locker… he really is nice to look at. I feel my face turning red again and I push my thoughts about him out of my mind.

“Are you cold?”

I shake my head. I don’t want to get out of the pool, not while Spencer is standing there.

“Cause you look like you’re freezing.”

He’s right, I am. I let go of the side of the pool and swim to the shallow end, where I can stand up, and I wrap my arms around my body to try and keep myself warm. Spencer gets up and walks to where I’m standing. He walks to the edge of the pool and extends his arm toward me.

“You’ve gotta get out of the pool, you look cold.”

I know he’s right, I was just hoping that he wouldn’t see me almost naked.

I hold my hand out and he wraps his hand around my wrist and in one fluid motion pulls me out of the pool. The instant he lets go of me I rush over to the chair and get my towel and wrap it around myself. I hope that he didn’t see too much.

I turn back to Spencer, who is still standing at the side of the pool with a huge grin on his face.

“What?”

I think he can sense my irritation. His smile slowly fades, so I don’t think so… either that or he really doesn’t care.

“Oh, nothing….”

I roll my eyes at him and he just keeps smiling. I walk by him and inside, leaving the door open. I hear him close it as I head toward the stairs. I’m so embarrassed, and irritated by that smug look on his face, that I run up the stairs to my room. I know it’s the only place he won’t follow me. At least I hope that he won’t.

Once I’m in my room, I close my door and put my ear against it. I take a deep breath after a minute when I don’t hear anything and I go into the bathroom. I need to get out of my wet underwear as soon as possible.

I hang the towel over the rack and I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I turn toward it and my jaw almost drops. No wonder Spencer was looking at me funny. My wet bra is completely see-through. I’m mortified. I walk out of the bathroom, unable to even look at myself because I can’t stop thinking about what he saw, and I quickly change into a T-shirt and some sweats.

I dive under the covers of my bed and pull them over my head. I don’t want to ever show my face again, especially if Spencer is around and I have no idea if he’s still here.

My phone, which I left sitting on my nightstand while I went for a swim, chirps to let me know I have a text waiting for me. I reach my arm out from under the covers and grab it. Anticipating a text from Logan, and thinking if I should tell him what just happened with Spencer, I feel relieved when I see the message is from Jess.

Hey, just checking in to see how it’s going. Been hanging out with any movie stars lately?

I don’t know if I should tell her what just happened with Spencer… I mean, she’s the only one I could tell, but I’m not sure if it’s a good idea.

Can you keep a secret?

Ugh. I instantly know that I shouldn’t have said anything to her, and if I had thought longer about it I probably wouldn’t have. Too late now, I guess.

Yeah, what happened? Is everything OK?

Everything is fine… I followed your advice and now I think Spencer has a fairly good idea of what I look like naked.

What?!? I never told you to show yourself off to him!

I laugh. She’s ridiculous and she’s right… she never said that.

No, but you told me to go for a swim wearing my underwear. So I did just that and then he showed up randomly and stood there, talking to me until I got out of the pool. I was embarrassed and ran inside and then I noticed that my bra was see-through.

Repeating it to Jess makes me more aware of how absurd the whole thing is. I’m not sure that I’ll ever be able to face Spencer again. Maybe when I hear back from Logan about the autograph, I can give it to Dex and he can give it to Spencer. That would be best.

OMG! That’s freaking hilarious.

I’m glad she finds it funny, because I don’t want to ever set foot in public again for fear that I might run into Spencer. I know it’s not possible, or even practical, since there’s always a chance he could show up wherever I get a job, but I would if I could.

How is that funny? I’m so sure that Spencer Thomas, Hollywood actor and heartthrob, saw me almost naked. I hope I never see him again.

Why would you hope that? I bet he liked what he saw.

I doubted that. The smile on his face suggested that he was amused by what he saw. It kind of reminded me a little of the look on Logan’s face the first time I met him.

Not likely.

Why not? You’re pretty and he’s a good looking guy. I see nothing wrong with that scenario.

The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind. Not only would a guy like Spencer ever look at me that way, but I have Logan and I don’t want to even think about jeopardizing that.

Because… I have Logan, so I don’t want to even think about Spencer in that way. As far as I’m concerned, he’s just another guy.

I wish I would have never gone for that swim, it’s going to be the death of me. So much for trying to get some exercise and get a grip on what I’m going to do about getting a job. Now all I can think about is Spencer, Logan and the little show I just put on. Ugh.

He’s not just some guy, Amy, he’s Spencer Thomas….

I don’t know what’s gotten into Jess, but it’s kind of starting to irritate me. She’s acting like he’s some… I don’t know, like he’s the most important person in the world. I get that he’s famous, but that doesn’t really matter.

He is just a guy… plus I’m with Logan.

I hope that Jess doesn’t tell Logan about this, I doubt she would since I asked her if she could keep a secret….

All I’m saying is that if I was you, I would be embracing the interest that Spencer is showing in you, that’s all.

Seriously? What doesn’t she get about my relationship with Logan? I really want to text her back and tell her how mad I am, but I don’t think there’s even a point.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Why do things have to be so complicated? I just want life to be easy.

---

A knock on my door wakes me. I look at my phone, it’s just after six o’clock. I must have fallen asleep after texting Jess without even really trying. A second knock prompts me to get out of bed and walk to the door. I stretch my arms as I walk, which feel kind of sore… which I guess is the result of swimming. I’m going to have to keep at it, but I definitely need to buy a bathing suit first.

I open the door and I’m greeted by Dex, who has a huge smile on his face.

“You ready for dinner?”

“I guess?”

“You don’t sound so sure…”

I blink my eyes a few times to try and wake myself up.

“No, I just woke up.”

Dex laughs and shakes his head.

“Alright, well when you’re awake, why don’t you come downstairs and have dinner with me.”

“Sure.”

He turns and walks toward the stairs.

“Oh and I have a surprise for you,” he says, disappearing downstairs before I can respond.

What does that mean? A surprise? I close the door and sit down on my bed. A thousand thoughts rush through my head, most of them not good. It could be anything… maybe my mom is back or maybe Spencer is over for dinner again…. Those two stick out as the worst. I really hope it’s not either of them.

I close my eyes, take two deep breaths and try to calm myself down. I know that I’m going to have to talk to my mom at some point, that’s inevitable, so there’s not much I can do about that. If it’s Spencer… well… I’m not sure what I’m going to do, I just hope that he doesn’t mention this afternoon to Dex. That would be more than I could take.

I head downstairs and it’s just Dex sitting at the table.

“Are you alright?”

I pull out my chair and sit down.

“Yeah, why?”

“Oh, you just had a look on your face.”

Apparently I’m terrible at hiding my emotions. I flash a smile at Dex and open my bottle of water.

“No, everything is good.”

I drink some water so that I don’t have to say anything else, although I’m really relieved that my mom or Spencer isn’t here. I’m starting to not mind having dinner with Dex as much and the food is always good.

Dex smiles at me and pushes a small brown box across the table. I must have been too preoccupied to notice it when I first sat down.

“What is it?”

“It would spoil the surprise if I told you what it is.”

I reach and grab the box. It feels fairly light, maybe a pound or less. I wonder what the heck it could be. The last thing I wanted was to feel like I owe Dex something, but after the driving lesson this morning and whatever is in the box….

I rip open the box and inside is a new Smartphone. It’s the same brand as my old one, but a newer model.

“I didn’t know this model was out yet.”

“It’s not for another month.”

I look up and Dex winks at me.

“How…?”

He shrugs, takes a drink of his water and leans back as Gina sets a plate down in front of him.

“I’m friends with the CEO and he hooks me up whenever a new model comes out.”

Wow. I’m not even sure what to say. Part of me thinks that Dex is just giving me this to try and ease his guilt for breaking up my family, but when I look into his eyes it seems like he’s doing it because he cares about me. It’s strange, I’m not sure what to do.

“I already have a phone.”

Dex shrugs as he picks up his fork, spears a piece of broccoli and puts it in his mouth. I lift a forkful of salad to my mouth and chew the leafy greens.

“Well, you don’t have to use it if you don’t want… but you said your phone had been shut off and I know that teenage girls can’t live without a cell phone.”

He takes a drink of water before he continues.

“If you don’t want it, I’ll take it back.”

Now I just feel like an ass. I didn’t mention to him that I went out and bought my cheap prepaid phone the other day, so it seems like in this case he did actually have no motivation behind giving me the phone. Even though he seems genuine, I can’t forget that he broke up my family.

“Thank you.”

He smiles at me. I know that I should say something more, but I can’t… and when I look into his eyes I can tell that he understands.

---

When I get to my room after dinner, I turn on my new phone and set it up. I transfer the few numbers I still care about and then text Logan.

Hey, it’s Amy, I got a new phone today and this is my new number. Hope you’re having a wonderful day.

I think about texting Jess to tell her about my new number… but I hesitate because of our earlier conversation. It was just so weird.

I’m still finding it strange that Dex is being seemingly super nice the last couple days and I’m starting to wonder what his motivation could possibly be. It could be that he’s trying to bond with me before my mom gets back to show how good of a guy he is or he could be feeling guilty for the destruction of my family. Either way I want to find out. Not that it really matters, but I think it might make me feel better.

I miss Logan. Not being able to see him is already harder than I thought it would be. I don’t know how the heck I’m going to make it until my birthday. My new phone chirps and I smile when I see the text from Logan.

Hey, beautiful, it’s nice to hear from you. Look at you, all fancy with another new phone.

I laugh. Yeah, fancy, that’s me.

It was a gift from Dex, so whatever, but at least I don’t have to keep using that crappy prepaid phone. I wish I hadn’t spent the money on it.

I guess I can just keep if for emergencies, it’s not like the worst thing to ever happen.

Oh, nice. Well, now at least you don’t have to worry about paying for a phone or running out of minutes and texts.

Yeah, you’re right. So, how was your day?

It was alright, I was on the field for the first time today doing non-contact drills. It was strange to be out there again, but it was good. My knee isn’t quite there yet, so I have to be careful, I don’t want to injure it again.

That makes sense. Well, I hope it keeps getting better.

I know how much football means to Logan, I can see the same look in his eyes that I used to see in Mitch’s. An intense look that I’ve never seen in anyone else’s eyes.

Thanks. I’m pretty sure that I’ll be ready for the start of the season.

Good.

That reminds me, you wanted an autograph for someone? I signed one of the publicity photos from last year and I can send it wherever you want.

I don’t know where Spencer lives, so I text Logan the address for Dex’s house.

Alright, I’ll mail it out tomorrow. Just make sure you open it first, I’m sending you a little something.

My face lights up with a smile, he’s so sweet. I can’t wait to see what he’s sending me.

You’re so cute.

I hope that my dreams tonight are filled with my quarterback.