Speedy does the day-to-day running of Healing the Breaks. She was running that and still working at the theater where she had gotten the job, but as the charity expanded, she decided she wanted to dedicate all of her time to that. Tate and I do most of the fundraising along with Vaughn, Charly, and Julian, who are heavily involved with the charity, too.
I’m still making movies.
I did the espionage thriller that I’d signed on to do before I met Speedy. I had half-expected the studio to pull me from the role. But, with the positive response I’d gotten from the fans and media after the video, I guess they would have looked bad if they’d pulled me.
Also, five days after I did the live video, I went to a rehab center and stayed there for thirty days.
It was one of the hardest things I’d ever had to do.
The first seven days, going through withdrawal, were fucking horrific. And being away from Speedy made it even harder.
But I did it.
And, when I came out, I got myself a therapist to continue on with the counseling I’d received in rehab, and I joined AA, where they assigned me a sponsor.
I’m now one year and ten months clean.
Do I still want to drink?
Every fucking day.
But I fight the urge.
Because I have too much good in my life now to ever go back to using alcohol to make me feel better.
After rehab, I went home and spent a few days with Speedy, and then I went straight into filming the movie. When it was done, I didn’t sign on for any others even though the offers were rolling in, and Gil wanted me to take them up.
Also, I had the issue of Bradford Digby and Sandy White to deal with. While I was in rehab, Martin was able to track down where the bugs had been purchased from and who had made the purchase. Seems Sandy had been stupid enough to pay for them with her credit card. And, with the fact that she’d had access to my apartment, it was enough to contact the police. But, after speaking to the police, they said that it would be hard to make a charge stick, as all they could really potentially charge her with was spying. They advised us to go the civil route and sue her with invasion of privacy. So, my lawyers slapped her and Digby with a lawsuit.
Surprisingly, Digby settled out of court—for both him and Sandy. It shocked the fuck out of me when the offer came through. I’d like to think he grew a conscience, but I highly doubt it. The bastard just didn’t want to have the negative publicity, especially after all the support I had been receiving.
Part of the deal with Digby was that he would hand over all the recordings made in my apartment, and he would erase any copies he had.
I received them in the form of five USB sticks, filled to the max. I didn’t listen to them. But, that night, Speedy and I had a bonfire on the terrace.
After everything was done, I just wanted to spend some time with my girl. But, first, she wanted me to meet her family, so we flew to New York for a few days, and I met her mom and dad and her brother, Jayce. They’re really great people. Her mom fussed over me and fed me some incredible food. And, don’t tell Speedy I said this, but her mom’s cooking is even better than hers. Her dad and Jayce are really cool, too. They’re both Lakers fans, so we had plenty to talk about.
Then, from New York, we flew straight to the Maldives for our first vacation together. We spent two weeks relaxing, eating, and fucking.
It was awesome.
Then, we came home and threw ourselves into getting the ranch built and setting up Healing the Breaks, using the money from the lawsuit and some of my own along with donations from some celebrity friends of mine.
I also started writing a screenplay.
Yeah, I know I said I was a shit writer, but I took some writing classes. Turns out, I’m not as bad as I thought I was.
I’m writing a screenplay about my life. I have a lot to tell. And doing it has been therapeutic.
I’m almost finished writing it. When it’s done, I’ll give it to Tate to read. It involves him, so he should be the first to read it.
Whether I’ll shop it to any studios or not, I’m not sure. But, for now, I’m glad I’m writing my story.
“Hey there, handsome.”
I turn at the sound of Speedy’s voice, and I nearly choke on the smoke in my lungs.
She looks fucking beautiful.
She always looks beautiful. But, right now…she’s in a silver satin dress with black lace covering my girls, Pinky and Perky. Her hair is tumbling in waves down her back. The black stilettos on her feet will look amazing while wrapped around my back.
She looks hot as fuck.
My cock is standing to attention, ready to get in on some action with my girl.
I quick a glance at my watch. We’ve got ten minutes before the car gets here to take us to dinner. That’s enough time for a quickie.
I stub my cigarette out, put a mint in my mouth, and walk over to her.
“You look gorgeous,” I tell her.
“Right back at ya, babe.” She smiles, pressing her hands to my chest. “And we’re matching.” She tugs gently on my tie.
I’m wearing a fitted black suit, dark gray shirt, and silver tie.
“Yes, we are.” I slide my hands over her hips and grab her ass. “So…we’ve got ten minutes before the car gets here…” I raise a suggestive brow as I lean in and press my mouth to hers.
The sound of the buzzer for the gate has me sighing. “For fuck’s sake.”
She giggles against my lips. “That’ll be the driver.”
“He can wait.” I start to kiss my way down her neck and cup her tit in my hand.
She moans softly.
The buzzer goes off again.
I stop kissing her neck and growl out a sound of frustration.
“We should go. He’ll just keep buzzing.”
“He’ll get his ass kicked, is what he’ll get,” I grumble. “And the fucker can say good-bye to his tip.”
She laughs again. “Come on, grumpy ass.” She takes hold of my hand and leads me toward the front door. “We can have sex later.”
“You bet your hot ass we will.”
We arrive at the restaurant, and the maître d’ leads us to the private dining room that I reserved.
It’s a new Mediterranean tapas restaurant that recently opened, and it has been getting rave reviews.
We’re seated, and the waiter appears, asking for our drink order.
I order sparkling water. Speedy orders a virgin strawberry daiquiri.
“You can have something stronger,” I tell her. “Champagne? We are celebrating.”
“I’m fine.” She smiles.
She never drinks around me, no matter how often I tell her she can. But, honestly, her doing that just tells me how much she loves and supports me.
Our drinks come, and we place our food order.
I start to talk to her about a fundraising idea I have for Healing the Breaks, but I can tell she’s not fully listening. She seems distracted.
“You okay?” I ask. “You just seem a little off your game.”
“I’m fine. I was just…I have your gift, and I was going to wait until the end of dinner to give it to you. But I think maybe I should just give it to you now.”
“Okay, sure. But, just to let you know, I don’t have your gift with me. I’m giving it to you later.”
She cocks a brow. “It’s not your dick with a ribbon wrapped around it again, is it?”
I give her a serious look. “No. You know I never give the same gift twice.”
I grin, and she laughs, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes, which is weird for Speedy because, when she smiles, she smiles with her whole face.
“You’re not disappointed that I’m giving you your gift later, are you?”
“No, of course not.” She picks her clutch up from the floor and seems to hesitate. Then, she reaches inside and pulls out a small white rectangular box. She places it in the center of the table between us. “I hope you like it.”
“You know I will. You have the best taste. You picked me, didn’t you?”
She doesn’t laugh, which bugs me.
I pick the box up and give it a shake. It rattles.
“Okay, I’m guessing, watch.” I go to lift the lid off and pause when she says my name. “What?”