Chapter 33

“We’re telling everyone you’re dating both of us,” Emily said in the morning.

David hadn’t messed everything up with Crystal for this, but Wren and Emily’s expressions dared him to say otherwise.

They’d all had a good time. Wren reminded him of Adrienne with her large natural breasts and narrow hips, except she was a brunette while Adrienne was a California blond. Wren’s sexual appetite seemed to know no bounds, and his inner sexual beast REALLY liked her.

Emily was on the other end of the sexual spectrum, where everything was new and exciting. She was on the petite side, with short blond hair, an A cup, and a magnificent ass. If she’d had pointy ears, Emily might have been a pixie or a nymph—anyway, what David imagined a nymph would look like. While she was fun, she was more work than he was willing to undertake.

“How do I say this...? ‘Get off my boat,’” David said.

He saw the corner of Wren’s mouth quiver as she tried not to smile at the bad joke he’d told the day before. David narrowed his eyes at Emily, who finally broke and giggled.

“I’m telling everyone you claimed me, so only you can sleep with me,” Wren announced.

Her determined look told him that she would. Honestly, it was probably for the best.

“Fair enough, but this dating thing is pushing it too far,” David agreed.

“Now you have to feed us breakfast,” Wren said.

“It’s the least you can do,” Emily added.

David chuckled to himself, remembering when he was talking with Lexi and Fiona. Lexi had said, “I told her about your line where you said that since you fed me, you had expectations.” This was the reverse of that conversation.

Sunday brunch at Sandoval Hall rivaled any of the downtown hotel offerings. He grabbed his phone and sent Cassidy a message, and she sent him one back, saying Jim was joining them. David returned the thinking-man emoji to let her know he wanted details at some point.

They were going to his Malibu place for a late lunch because Phil needed to wrap up his visit to USC before joining them. Phil and his parents would fill everyone in at lunch on how it went.

His soap would be filmed that night for the introduction of Adrienne, which, together with the brunch and lunch, made it a busy day for David. She was flying into Van Nuys Airport, and he’d promised to pick her up.

Greg had been on the fence about lunch at the parents’ until he heard about Zak’s party and began to send David death threats for not inviting him. Phil must have overshared, which meant David would have to face his mother at some point.

He planned to claim he was the good son and kept it in his pants at the party. No one needed to know what happened once he got home.

Usually, David missed Sunday brunch. When Alex heard David was going down, he let Kirk, Lindsey, Lauren, and Jamie know.

Today, instead of omelets, the chef was making to-order crepes. Not just the normal ones one might expect, either.

“Give me something I’ll love,” David said when it was his turn.

“How about I make you two kinds? Smoked salmon with fresh chives, salty capers, sliced heirloom tomatoes, and a hint of lemon. The second is stuffed with pâté and cream cheese.”

Alex leaned close so only David could hear.

“You know he only suggests that crap because no one else will eat it.”

“I heard that,” the chef said. “You’re getting boring strawberry and blueberry crepes.”

Alex gave David a thumbs-up to let him know he was pleased with what the chef said he had to eat.

While their food was being made, Alex leaned close.

“Remember our deal about Wren?”

“Sorry, buddy, but I’m not sharing,” David said, ruining Alex’s fantasy.

“That’s not right. I let you play with Chloe.”

“And I appreciate that, but this is more about Wren. She wants to put the brakes on being with multiple guys. If that changes, you’ll be the first one I tell.”

Alex grudgingly accepted that.

When they got to the table, Lindsey dominated the conversation and wanted details about Zak’s party. David let everyone else fill her in about all the celebrities who attended. He was surprised no one talked about the orgy that had broken out.

While they ate, David received a message from Adrienne. She’d finally sent him the recording of her conversations with Kendrick for his amusement. But the important part of the message was that Adrienne wanted him to set aside some time so they could talk. When he asked what about, she said she’d tell him after they were done with the day’s filming.

“Who’s that from?” nosy Cassidy asked.

“Adrienne.”

“The model?” Cassidy asked.

“Who’s Adrienne?” Lindsey asked.

David smiled as he pulled up one of her pictures from Sports Illustrated.

“She and I are getting naked and filming today,” David said with a neutral expression.

’Wait for it,’ David thought.

“You probably need someone to oil her up before the scenes,” Jim offered.

“I could bring you drinks and towels,” Kirk added.

“Naked?!” Emily worried.

While the three of them talked over each other, David reflected on the video Tyler had sent him, showing Adrienne’s reaction to his description of her character. He’d said she was a nerd and that she considered him the hot one of the couple. She’d been a bit outraged but mostly amused before going back to outrage. David was sure there would be retribution.

Sometimes, this model/movie-star stuff wasn’t so bad. He knew that the staff of The Young and The Wild would run into a terror because Adrienne wouldn’t let them display her in an unflattering way. That meant everything from camera angles to lighting would have to change from the standard soap opera format.

They filmed soaps differently from even an average TV show, which typically had more time and a larger budget. Soaps required a lot of footage with minimal reshoots. That type of cost-effective production necessitated their filming on smaller sets, which were often evenly lit to accommodate a multi-cam setup.

Although this saved time by reducing the number of takes, it also caused a noticeable amount of backlighting in a frame’s foreground, making people and objects in the shots more pronounced. Adrienne would have none of that.

The part he was looking forward to was when she demonstrated her knowledge of how to visually show sexy. Adrienne would put to shame anything that had been done on the soap up to this point.

Cassidy drove David to his house in Malibu, giving him a chance to quiz her about Jim. He stared at her with a goofy grin on his face. After fifteen minutes, Cassidy glanced over and scowled.

“Give me the deets. Are you two going steady now?” David asked like an adolescent girl.

The little bounce and hand clapping sold it, in his humble opinion. His acting like a goof kept Cassidy from punching him. He might have even seen a hint of amusement in her eyes.

“It’s none of your business.”

David’s grin grew as he turned in his seat and looked out the front window.

Finally, Cassidy got suspicious and asked, “What are you up to?”

“It’s none of my business,” David said, then paused. “That means you can’t bug me when ... it’s none of your business.”

David glanced over as the penny dropped, and his little ninja realized he’d neatly pushed her into a corner, or so he thought.

“When I ask, it’s completely different,” she said, shaking her head to emphasize she disagreed.

“How so?” David asked and instantly recognized that was a mistake.

“I’m your security, and I must know all the details to assess potential risks.”

“So, I should tell you everything that happened with Wren and Emily last night?” David asked to play along.

“I don’t need to hear about your pervy threesome fantasy,” Cassidy said with a huff. “I’ll ask when I think I should know something.”

She was more intelligent than she looked because he’d planned to go into detail every time he had a hookup if she hadn’t stopped him. Then he had an idea.

“I’ll just call Jim,” David said, pulling out his phone.

“Stop!”

David gave her a confused look. She finally caved and told him. The way she described it, it might have been a one-off. David didn’t press because he thought those two would be good for each other.

When they pulled into the driveway, his mom stopped them and handed David a piece of paper.

“Go to the vegetable stand off PCH and buy everything on this list for Rosy.”

His children came running out, so his mom added, “And take your kids.”

“But there aren’t car seats,” David said.

“You used to ride in the front seat at their age, and you’re still alive.”

He could see his mom was in a mood, so he didn’t argue with her. He did get out his phone, and when all the little ones were in the back seat, he sent a text.

“Butts in the seats while I drive,” S said over the speakers.

His mom gave him a knowing smile as they all settled in. Since she’d learned that S could get them to pay attention, his mom had gotten a virtual assistant for the house. She’d picked a British guy’s voice and named it Jarvis. His mom had taught them that Jarvis could answer their questions when she’d had enough. She’d sent him a video of Dawson having a conversation with the virtual assistant about why his dad was never there.

With that emotional blackmail hanging over his head, David made sure to be home on Sundays.

When they began to shop at the vegetable stand, their list expanded because his children wanted blueberries and watermelon. Once they were done shopping and almost to the car, ice cream truck music could be heard coming down the side street. Coby stomped his foot, clearly upset.

“What’s wrong?” David asked.

“Nana says that when we hear the music, it means they’re out of ice cream,” Carol explained for her brother.

“She did not...” Cassidy began, then clamped her mouth shut.

David suddenly had a revelation: his mom was a big fat liar. How many times had she pulled something like that on him and Greg when they were growing up? But on the other hand...

“Yep. That’s too bad because I could have gone for an ice cream sandwich. Let’s get home so Rosy can feed us. Besides, we know the rule: no dessert before we eat,” David said.

Cassidy gave him the side-eye to tell him he was going to hell. The truck had pulled into the parking lot, so David ignored her as he hurried and loaded everyone into the car before they realized the truth.

“Allen, sit in your seat and not on your brother,” S said as Cassidy pulled out.

As they drove past, a line began forming at the ice cream truck. Cassidy had to wait for an opening in the traffic.

David noticed that his kids were all focused on Allen and Dawson as they jostled for where they wanted to sit. That was, except for Coby. He watched the ice cream line, and when the first person received an ice cream cone, his head slowly turned around and looked his dad in the eye. Yep, David was going to hell. He’d just gotten caught lying to his son.

By the time Phil arrived, David and Greg had already fed the horde. Cassidy picked out an animated show she wanted to watch, so she volunteered to keep an eye on the kids while everyone else went to the roof. Rosy had once again outdone herself.

“How did it go?” Rob asked.

Phil smiled as Carl, Phil’s stepdad, answered, “He accepted their offer.”

“What about Roc?” David asked.

“He’ll be going to State,” Phil said with a touch of sadness.

The Pearsons had opted to fly out earlier so they could get back to the farm, where there was always something that needed doing. David had always felt it was a long shot for Roc to move so far from home because he was expected to help his family. Someday, the farm would be his.

David understood how his brother felt because he’d left his friends to come to USC. In high school, you felt like the people you called friends would always be in your life. While he worked to keep in touch with many of them, they were all embarking on the rest of their lives. High school no longer seemed nearly as important as it once had.

Phil’s other big news was that he planned to graduate early so he could enroll at USC, and being part of spring ball would help him settle in quickly.