“I guess they’re overwhelmed. Their lives have changed too because of me. My mom and dad tell me that they’re proud, you know, but they also let me know that they’re concerned. My mom keeps telling me to keep my feet on the ground.”

I nodded in concurrence. “You’re going to have to always keep it in check. Just don’t let the fame and notoriety turn you into someone you’re not.

Your parents love the son that they raised, not the celebrity you’ve become.”

He looked at me funny and grinned. “Do you know that my mom said the same exact thing to me? And you’re right,” he answered dryly, “but you don’t know how it is.”

“No, I don’t,” I agreed in my softest voice. “And I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I have a clue of what this is like for you. You’ll have to explain it to me if you want me to understand.”

He shook his head and shrugged. “When I’m on set working, things are great. I love it! But since I did Seaside, things have been crazy. The whole fan thing is… I don’t know… incomprehensible. It’s constant pressure to live up to the hype. Some days it squeezes harder than others.” It was apparently difficult for him to find the words to talk about it.

“Well, just remember who you are, and try not to let this get bigger than that. The minute you stop being humble, you’ll be in trouble.”

He nodded his head in agreement.

“Ryan, you don’t seem to be the type of person who got into acting because you have to feed your ego. You’re apparently really good at it, and you love doing it. It’s the career path you’ve chosen to follow, but it’s not who you are in here,” I said as I patted my own heart with my hand. “Just keep focused on the fact that it’s your job and don’t let it define you. You’ll be okay.”

“You sound like my mother,” he informed.

“No, I’m not trying to mother you,” I defended quickly.

“No, no. That’s not what I mean!” He laughed. “I mean that you’re saying the same things my mom has said to me. It’s bizarre!”

“Well your mother is obviously a brilliant woman,” I amended.

“She keeps telling me to be careful who I trust. Like I need the reminder.” He rubbed his forehead again.

“Ryan, I have a pretty good idea why you have a hard time trusting people and why you have to question the validity of everything and everyone.” I tilted my head until his eyes met mine.

“And I know I have to earn your trust – just like you have to earn mine. We’re just two people trying to be friends. We both have a lot to risk. But I know your risk is much higher – it takes away your freedom and puts you in danger.”

“I know. This business makes it hard to trust people. Then when trivial things like what I had for dinner becomes headline news, it really messes with your head.”

“Well, I solemnly swear that I will not divulge that information to anyone. I’ll take it all to my grave!”

“Yeah, I guess you’re pretty trustworthy. You wouldn’t even tell your best friends that you puked your guts out last night,” he teased.

“No,” I corrected. “I wouldn’t tell my best friends that you puked your guts out last night.”

“Speaking of puking… how are you feeling? Is the toast doing the trick?”

I nodded my head and took a sip of ginger ale. “I’m starting to feel better, thanks.”

“Good,” he said as he playfully tossed a pillow at me.

I faked like I was going to toss the pillow back at him, but instead I just set it down next to my leg.

His eyes flickered between looking at the pillow and looking at me. With a quick lunge, he curled his body down on the couch. It seemed like he purposely fiddled with the pillow until it was in the perfect position under his head but mostly on my thigh. His feet hung out over the edge.

Our eyes met and I instantly felt his pull. I couldn’t resist it any longer. Without even thinking, I softly ran my fingers through his hair. His eyes closed and he sighed as I touched him.

He took my other hand off his shoulder and laid it across his heart.

Chapter 8 – Reflections

“Tar – hurry up, they’re going to replay it!” Ryan yelled from the couch. I was refilling my water at the refrigerator in the kitchen.

“Watch this! Watch! The idiot is going to light the dynamite and then he doesn’t run. I can’t believe they are showing this on TV! Wait… it’s going to blow him back like thirty feet. Oh! Oh! And boom!” he echoed.

I winced after seeing some moron fly through the air from sheer stupidity. I resumed my spot on the couch; Ryan adjusted the pillow on my thigh and pulled my hand back to his chest.

“I wonder how long he was in the hospital after that one,” I asked, leaning more of my body onto him so I could stroke his hair again. We were so comfortable together.

“This is the bad thing about television - three minutes of show and eight minutes of commercials,” he groaned.

He was just about to turn the channel to something else when his phone chimed in his pocket. He looked at the number before accepting the call.

“Hey Pete! Yeah, she’s feeling better.” His eyes looked up at me and his hand reached for my forehead.

“We were just watching Mega Explosions. You’re watching it too? Oh my God, did you see that guy? What an asshole! What did he think was gonna happen?”

While he was lying across my lap, I was secretly reveling in the fact that Ryan and Pete were getting along so well. I had always hoped that whoever I was with would get along with my friends. My ex-fiancé Thomas and Pete never saw eye to eye. There was always tension between them.

I should have taken that as a warning sign right from the get-go, but I tried to make everyone happy while being quietly miserable inside.

But Ryan and Pete seemed to be in perfect synch right from the start. A huge smile crossed my lips.

“Here, Pete wants to talk to you.” Ryan handed his phone to me.

“Hey sweetie, how are you feeling?” Pete asked.

“I’m feeling better, thanks. I’m still achy though. Ryan made me toast and it helped to take my headache away.”

“Oh, Ryan made you toast, did he?” he teased.

“Yes… and your point?” I snickered.

“Nothing. I’m just happy for ya. And I’m glad that you’re feeling better. Tammy wants you to call her tomorrow. You two need to iron out the final menu for Sunday so we can get the food on order.”