“Taryn is an intelligent, attractive woman. Let me tell ya, she’s not without opportunities of her own. You should see how many guys drool over her every day.”

“I know. I’ve seen plenty of them hit on her,” Ryan admitted.

“Yeah, they do. But she’s not like that – she never was. And when some dirt bag from Seaport didn’t think enough of her not to cheat on her, what’s to say you won’t do the same?” Pete asked.

“When you’re out there doing your thing and some hot model climbs on your lap and sticks her tits in your face… you gonna be able to resist that?

“This is her life here, Ryan. This is her stability. It’s the only thing she can count on in this world. She struggled and suffered for every bit of it.

And you come in here, taking that over.

“When you break up with her, every time she looks at that new wall or that new door… “Ah, just do us all a favor - if you aren’t one hundred percent in love with Taryn and ready to make a life with her, then stop. Don’t do what you’re doing. Please don't hurt her like that.”

“Pete, I don’t want to take anything over or hurt her,” Ryan said somberly. “I want to share everything I have with her. My life, my money… I want her to be the mother of my children one day.”

I flinched back from the shock of hearing his admission.

I heard Ryan sigh loudly. “Pete, I know you don’t know me that well but believe me, I’m done with the meaningless shit. I’ve been crazy about Taryn since the first…”

Since the first what? I leaned closer to the wall to hear him.

“Huh. I just realized something. She has been taking care of me since the first day that I met her. Not even - from the first ten seconds of me setting foot in this place. Knowing Taryn, she probably never told you the real story of how we met.

“She stopped the fans that were chasing me. She shut this whole place down for me, and here she is… doing it again. No wonder she’s so sad today. I’m messing with her safety net. Oh fuck, how do I fix this?”

“I don’t know,” Pete muttered. “Marry her? Never leave her for some Hollywood slut? What kind of answer are you looking for?”

“Pete, I’m so in love with her and I’ve told her that already. I’ve never felt this way before, about anyone. I know what I want. I want a life with her.”

“I know Ryan. I can tell just by the way you look at her.” Pete sighed heavily. “Oh, man, well, just treat her right ‘cause I’d hate like hell to have to break that nice jaw of yours if you ever break her heart.”

Chapter 20 - Insight

“I’ll be filming when you pick my parents up, so I’ll call you when I get a break,” Ryan said, rubbing the shampoo in my hair.

I leaned back to rinse under the water. “I thought I’d take them to lunch near the set; there’s a really nice restaurant down by the pier.”

“Just so you know… my dad is going to insist on paying for lunch. It will offend him if you argue.” He looked at me with a knowing smirk on his lips.

“Like father, like son?” I asked jokingly, rubbing the soap bubbles on his chest.

“Exactly! But when we take them to dinner tomorrow, he’ll pass the check to me - just watch. Hey, do you want to bring them to the set this afternoon instead? I’d really like you to see what I do for a living, since you won’t watch any of my movies.”

“I don’t know,” I murmured. “Won’t that cause problems with you-know-who?”

Ryan grimaced at me. “I don’t care. I want my girlfriend... my love,” he looked me in the eyes, “to know what I do and where I go every day. I want you to trust me. I need you to trust me, Taryn.”

“Are you sure it won’t disturb you or ruin your performance? I don’t want to mmm-”

His wet mouth was locked on mine, stopping my words in mid stream.

“Please.” He kissed me again softly, resting his forehead on mine. “I need you to understand what I do. I need you to see that when I’m on set, I’m an actor. That what I do is pretend. My lips, my heart, and my body… they belong to you.”

I looked up at him and nodded. After eavesdropping on his conversation with Pete, I knew he wanted me to trust him.

“Do I have to make a poster and scream Ryan, Ryan?” I kidded.

“Hah!” He laughed. “The only time I want to hear you scream my name is when I’m making love to you. Although you did call me God the other night. That’s acceptable, too.” He leaned down and gave me another kiss.

I put on my nice dark trouser jeans, white long sleeved cotton top, with my brown suede zip jacket and a soft green scarf wrapped around my neck. I wanted to look nice the first time I met his parents, and I was nervous since I was meeting them alone.

We had agreed that I would bring his parents to see him in action tomorrow. Ryan showed me a picture of his mom and dad to help me recognize them easier, although I must admit it was hard to commit a picture flashed at me to memory. Both of his parents were in their upper fifties in age, but still looked quite vibrant and youthful. At least I knew that his poor parents would be seeking me out in the airport too.

I was, of course, photographed walking down the sidewalk to my car. I opted for leaving by the front door since most of the paparazzi were now loitering by my back door. I allowed my eyes to scan the area for any signs of the old blue Plymouth, and I was relieved that her car was nowhere to be seen. There were, however, a few love notes stuck to my car. I collected them and shoved them into the center console.

I kept checking my rear view mirror for any signs of photographers following me as I drove to the airport. I was relieved that I didn’t see any.

My nerves were getting the better of me as I stood in the open entrance to the airport; my stomach was filled with butterflies. Dads were always easier to win over; I knew from experience that it was always the mothers that were the challenge.

It was almost ten thirty when a new stream of passengers started to pass by. Their flight from Newark actually landed a few minutes early.

“Taryn?” A lovely woman politely approached me. His mother was just as I had pictured. She was about an inch shorter than me, five-five-ish, thin but softly padded by well earned years. She also had reddish brown hair that was long and thick on the top but cut short to her neck. I recognized her instantly; Ryan had his mother’s features and most definitely her eyes.