Connections Read online

  "Thanks for the warning; I'll keep that in mind."

  Carter left his brother alone, thinking about to his days with Shayla. He'd never told anyone about the story he'd heard of the older man. He hadn't even shared it with Eva, because mostly he knew she would enjoy it far too much. She was a bitch that way.

  He picked up the phone, dialing the number he'd known since probably middle school as he looked out the kitchen window, watching as he saw Amanda hanging out in the backyard with a couple of her friends, more of his students.

  Trouble.

  He could feel it brewing. He'd done something stupid last night. So stupid that it had felt so good. He was distracted by his desire; he could've waited a few more months. He could've stopped himself, but he didn't.

  Right now all he could think about was the way her pussy tasted as she withered under his tongue, pressing herself against his face.

  God he wanted to go down on her again, he wanted to fuck her in the kitchen and spank her with the spatula. In fact, he had such strong, fantasies about her, he knew he wouldn't be able to contain it.

  Carter caught Amanda winking at him. He felt himself grow warm and turned away before the others caught it.

  The doorbell rang.

  "Pizza's here Zach!" Carter was thankful for the distraction.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Shayla’s eyes burned with tears as she stood under her shower spray. She couldn’t believe she’d let herself get caught in his web once again.

  Why did he have this power over her? She wasn’t 18 anymore, she was 28 for crying out loud, shouldn’t she have matured enough not to let this happen?

  She could feel the sob rise from her chest to her throat, as she sank down to the shower floor. The spray pounding down on her body like a tropical storm.

  This couldn’t happen again. No matter how good it physically felt to have sex with Brad, it wasn’t worth it; mentally or emotionally. What on earth had made her think she deserved this?

  She reached out, turning the water off, but stayed crouched in the shower corner for a few minutes. Letting the chill of the air help her feel as cold physically as she did mentally.

  The ringtone of her phone sounded hallow, distant as it played from the bedroom. She didn’t care. There was no one—except Zach, she wanted to talk to and she couldn’t talk to him. Not after what she’d done yesterday, everything was a mess. She couldn’t run from it anymore, she had to start taking responsibility for her actions.

  Slowly pushing herself up, trying to keep her balance as everything felt off Shayla slowly stepped out of the bathtub, her foot landing on the plush rug. Her naked body reflecting in the mirrored wall, she studied herself for the first time. Physically, she was seemed to be perfectly fine. She was slender, her breasts weren’t gigantic, and her hips existed but were far from what would be called birthing hips.

  Yet as she studied her face, she was shocked by her eyes. They seemed cloudy with emotions; pain, anger, hurt. It hadn’t just been Brad, it was more.

  Shayla turned down the stereo and sounds of Kelly Clarkson’s Miss Independent as she opened the door of her apartment. On the other end was her mother Alice, waiting with her arms crossed over her chest. “Well, are you going to invite me in or not Shayla?”

  “Come on in Mother.” Shayla opened the door of the studio apartment, thankful that she’d been able to hide anything that made it look like she didn’t live alone.

  Alice looked around, studying the apartment. It was much nicer then she’d expected it to be. The furniture looked very new, compared to what she thought her daughter could afford. “So, you summoned me to the city to talk. Let’s talk.”

  “Would you like anything to drink?” Shayla opened the fridge, pulling out a can of Vanilla Coke.

  “Water would be fine.” Alice sat down on the couch, there could only be a few things that would make Shayla summon her; pregnancy, need of money, or she met a guy to marry.

  Shayla brought out a glass of water and the glass of Vanilla Coke. “I know that you’re wondering why I asked you to come into the city.”

  “Yes, I am. Who is he?”

  Shayla felt herself start to lose composure, “Who?”

  “Who knocked you up?” Alice put the glass of water, untouched, on the side table.

  Shayla laughed, “I’m not pregnant Mom. I asked you here because I wanted to tell you that I’ve started to audition for some acting roles. I have my first big audition tomorrow.”

  Alice felt her face tighten, “I’m sorry Shayla that was not part of the agreement you had with your father and I if we allowed you to go to college here.”

  Shayla sighed, “Mom, this is what I want. I want to be a working actress. I don’t want to go and teach acting to high school students. Why is that so hard for you to understand? Have you ever had a dream you wanted to follow?”

  Rising to her feet Alice looked down at her daughter, “Shayla, this is a mistake. You might not know it, but acting as a career will lead to heartbreak. You will never have the family life you want.”

  “What if that’s not what I want?”

  Alice went to the door, “I have a feeling you have no idea what you want. Acting isn’t easy. It’s difficult. It’s draining in ways you will never understand. That is not the life I want for you Shayla. I have a feeling, whatever is going on here, is far from what I and your father want for you.”

  “What do you think is going on here?” Shayla stared up at her mother, had she not hidden something of Brad’s?

  “I think you’re looking for something, I think you have no idea what it is though.” Alice shook her head, “Which means I have no idea how to help you.”

  “Then don’t help me. It’s not like you ever did before.” Shayla rose, feeling a sense of power shoot through her she’d never felt before. “Just go back to Jersey, be the perfect little stay at home Mother, except know that your daughter hates you.”

  Alice could only nod as she opened the door, “Get your life together Shayla, you’ll someday know that, whatever reason you think you hate me, is because you can’t see that I love you. That I gave up my dreams to be a mother to you.”

  “Whatever.” Shayla picked up the water glass and walked back to the kitchen area, the door clicking as Alice left. She watched as the water circled around the drain slowly as she resisted the urge to throw the glass at the wall.

  Shayla wiped her eyes as she looked in the mirror closer, she’d been fine with her life, her choices until she’d gone home. Everything had made sense to her until she found out that her Mother was an actress.

  She grabbed one of her towels, wrapping it around her body as her wet hair dripped down her back. Her Mother brought her this confusion, just as she always had before. Why hadn’t she seen it before?

  She pulled her hair into a smaller towel and walked into the bedroom, her phone ringing again. She wasn’t ready to deal with anyone else yet; she had to figure something out.

  She pulled on a pair of yoga pants and a tank top as she moved out to her living room and opened her laptop. Her foot bouncing nervously as it loaded and she started a YouTube search for Abigail Jackson. Mostly she found videos of people at recitals and conferences, until a few pages in she found exactly what she’d been looking for.

  Maeve vs. Chloe

  Taking a deep breath, she clicked play and watched as a clip that was dated from 1990 played on her computer screen. She gasped when she saw her mother, decked out in a ball gown as she stared down one of her co-stars.

  “Don’t push me Chloe. It’s not my fault that he loves me.”

  “You think he loves you Maeve? You are just an infatuation. He will come back to me. He always does, he always has.”

  “Not this time, things are different.”

  “I know about the baby Maeve, you’ll never raise it. You’ll never see her again. We’ll take custody; we’ll raise her as our own. You will end up alone.”

  Shayla had known the history of her character
s birth, but she’d never watched anything about it until now. For years she’d been told she looked like Abigail Jackson, now she knew why.

  Her ringtone called out again from the bedroom. She couldn’t put it off any longer as she placed the laptop back on the couch and retrieved her phone just in time to miss the call. She had more then she realized. Brad, Brad, Zach, Brad, Tyler. She ignored the voicemails and dialed Tyler’s number.

  “Shayla, I’m glad you called back.” Tyler’s voice was a comforting sound, and realizing that surprised Shayla.

  She sat on her bed, “What’s going on Tyler?”

  “I figured I should call, see how you’re doing. Find out how pissed off you are at me for not telling you who was playing Maeve.”

  She wished he could see her roll her eyes, “I’m not mad at you really, do I wish someone had warned me that Abigail Jackson, is really my Mother, yes. But she should’ve told me, she’s had six years to tell me she originally played Maeve, not once has she done that. She still hasn’t, I found her fucking Emmy in a box in the closet.”

  “Where are you right now?”

  “I’m in my apartment, why?”

  Tyler chuckled, “I’m in the lobby of your building. I’m coming up.”

  “Okay, see you in a few.” She hung up before he could say anything else.

  Shayla suddenly felt very nervous, Tyler never dropped by for a visit, it was abnormal to say the least. She pulled the towel off her hair, letting the damp locks cling to her back as she found half zip fleece and pulled that on over her thin tank top.

  She found herself freeze and stiffen for a moment when she heard a knock on the door. She collected herself before going to open the door. Tyler was dressed more casual then he usually was. His hair was still that messy style that had a few pieces falling over his eyes. Instead of a designer suit he wore a designer t-shirt and jeans.

  “This is a different side to you.” She let him in, watching him, move about her private space.

  “This is a different situation, don’t you think?” He placed his coat on a chair and looked at her, “I know you’re a more casual person Shayla, but this is a whole other level.”

  She looked down, “Well, I just got out of the shower. It’s been an odd few days, but as you can see Tyler I’m fine.”

  “No you’re not. Your eyes are puffy, you’re pale. You can’t lie to me Shayla, I know you well enough to know when you’re trying to bullshit me.”

  “It doesn’t matter; it’s not my Mother that’s bothering me the most right now. I can be professional on set, it won’t matter. I’m not worried about that. With her, I’m mostly sad she never told me. She was on the show for 15 years, and never once told me or my brother she was an actress.” Shayla sat on her couch, comforted by the cool black leather.

  Tyler sat next to her, “Who is he?”

  “It’s more complicated then one of our storylines.” She rested her head back, staring up at her ceiling.

  Tyler watched her, “Start from the beginning.”

  Shayla sighed, “I was a senior in high school, just turned 18. My girlfriends and I used to play truth or dare on our trips into the city. One of our favorites was to dare each other to hit on guys on the train, bonus points if we gave them a blowjob after the train ride.”

  Tyler nodded, not saying anything, not passing judgment; so far he’d heard far worse things from his friends. “Go on.”

  “Well, one morning, I saw this man in a suit. He was stellar looking, younger than a lot of the other men on the ride. I went up, offered him a chance to take my virginity. He gave me a phone number to call if I was really serious, I did call it and we met at a hotel room.” Shayla stood up, “He and I kept seeing each other after that, for the rest of my senior year, whenever I could get into the city, and he and I would meet. His co-workers thought I was his niece. None of them questioned why he would lock the door when I came to visit the office. When I started NYU in the fall he bought a studio apartment, I lived there and he visited when he could find an excuse his wife would believe.”

  “Shayla, are you still with him?”

  “We broke up when I got cast on the show. I moved out, into here actually thanks to my first paycheck. I hadn’t seen him at all until Saturday morning, when I opened the door of my parent’s house expecting my friend Zach and instead came face to face with Brad Carlisle.”

  “The sports agent?” Tyler was on his feet, surprising himself.

  Shayla just nodded, “How much do you know about baseball?”

  Tyler cocked his head to the side, “You know I have season tickets to the Yankees.”

  “Ever heard of Zach Jensen?”

  “Short stop for the Colorado Rockies, rumor has it he’s up for a position with the Yankees.”

  “He was the guy I was waiting for that morning. We’d gone on a date the night before.”

  “So you have a past with Brad, but Zach is someone you would like to have at least a roll in the hay with, right?”

  “Except, that yesterday I went to see Brad at the apartment we used to share.”

  Tyler ran his hands through his hair, “Shayla, you slept with him didn’t you?”

  “Yes, I didn’t plan to. In fact I was just going to tell him to stop calling me. Brad had a cocktail party at his house Saturday night; Zach brought me as his date. Seeing me, stirred things up in Brad.”

  “Does Zach know?”

  “No, no one does except you.”

  Tyler nodded, “Okay, this is how I think you should handle it. Don’t take Brad’s calls. If you want to be with Zach, you have to be honest with him.”

  “You’re right, thank you Tyler.”

  “You’re welcome.” He hugged her, “You will be fine. You are a strong woman, you just got hit with a lot of information at once.”

  Shayla held onto Tyler, “I wish Cassandra was answering her phone. I need my best friend.”

  “Well, for now you can call me, anytime you need someone to talk to.” He kissed the top of her head. “I’ve got to go run some errands, but my phone is on.”

  Shayla pulled away, “I’ll remember that. I guess I should start answering some fan mail, I’m a little bit behind.”

  “I’ll leave you to it.” He grabbed his jacket, “Seriously Shayla, don’t let Brad Carlisle drag you into something that you don’t want.”

  “I’ll do my best.” She opened the door for him, watching him walk down the hall towards the elevator, wondering if she really had the strength to let Brad out of her life once and for all.

  Her phone rang again, a tornado of fear formed in her stomach as she looked at the caller id, settling only a little when she saw who it was. “Hey stranger; how did the meeting go?”

  “Press Conference tomorrow, I’m the newest Yankee!” Zach’s voice was thick with pride. “Where are you? Can you hang out?”

  “I’m at my apartment, come over. I’ll text you the address.” Her heart beat quickly, the urge to see Zach was overwhelming.

  “I’ll be over soon. Bye.”

  “Bye.” She could feel the smile on her face as she texted the address, suddenly she realized just what she was wearing. She couldn’t let Zach see her like this. She had to have something sexier she could put on.

  She started to look at her closet and realized she wasn’t sure what she was thinking of wearing. If she got dressed up, he might think it was just for him. If she got naked, well that would, could send the wrong message. She grabbed a black bra from her drawer and put it on under her black tank top she was already wearing. She toweled off her hair a bit more before she heard the knock on her door.

  “Just a moment!” She called out, trying to push her breasts up a little bit before spraying on some body spray and swiping on the deodorant.

  She stood straight up, projected her breasts forward as she opened the door, feeling her body sink when she realized it wasn’t Zach, instead it was Brad waiting on the other end. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

/>   Brad pushed his way in, his expensive cologne lingering in the air as he removed his scarf and jacket. “I just signed a client to a very lucrative deal and I wanted to celebrate. You weren’t answering my calls so I thought I would drop by. Besides I’ve been curious all this time about where you live.”

  Shayla couldn’t believe this as she watched him. “Zach is on his way over. You have to leave.”

  “Shayla, why would I leave?” He took a step forward, his hand caressing her cheek, “Don’t you want to celebrate?”

  “With Zach, not with you Brad, yesterday shouldn’t have happened.”

  “But it did Shayla, it did and it was amazing. Are you telling me you didn’t enjoy yourself, because my sheets tell another story?” Brad sat down on her couch, looking as though he belonged there.

  The elevator dinged down the hall, Shayla realized she still had the door open as Zach appeared in the doorway. His face immediately changed from joy to confusion when he saw Brad. “What in the world?”

  If her floor was ever going to open up and swallow her whole, this would be the time, but it didn’t. “This is. Shit. Fuck it.” Shayla slammed the door shut and looked at the two men before focusing on Zach.

  “I used to be Brad’s mistress. We were together for over four years.”

  Zach looked at Shayla and then to Brad, “This is the older guy? I thought Carter was trying to scare me away from you.”

  Shayla closed her eyes, remembering now that Carter had accused her of cheating on him after Prom—it was true, she’d been sleeping with Brad for months at that point. “Yes.”

  “So, you said you were together, and then what is Brad doing here now?”

  Shayla looked at Brad, the smile on his face reminded her of the cat that ate the canary, “He wants me back.”

  Zach’s head was pounding with confusion, the building blocks of rage, “Am I wasting my time by chasing after you?”

  Shayla reached out to him, “No, I want you Zach. This is just complicated, it shouldn’t be, but it is.”