Gravity Happens (Forcing Gravity #2)

By Monica Alexander

In "Forcing Gravity" Logan Kessler fell for Jason “Jase” Brady, one of the hottest young stars in Hollywood, and dating Jase was one of the best decisions she’s ever made in spite of all the pitfalls that come with dating someone famous. Jase is sweet, loving and incredibly down-to-earth. But their relationship will face its first big test when Jase goes on location to film a new movie with his ex-girlfriend, Chloe St. James, playing opposite him. As if being apart isn’t bad enough, new concerns arise when Chloe makes it known that she wants Jase back, and Logan is afraid she won’t stop until she gets him.

Ethan Lewis is in love with his best friend, Logan Kessler, but she has nothing but platonic feelings for him. Instead of continuing to pine away after what he can’t have, he decides to see if he can focus his attention elsewhere. That’s when he meets Nora Brady, Jase Brady’s sister, who is unlike any girl he’s ever met before. But Nora knows about his feelings for Logan, so she’s hesitant to date Ethan for fear of getting hurt. Maybe they can just be friends. But as Nora and Ethan grow closer, they start to realize that they just might be right for each other, even though Ethan knows that deep down that if given the chance, he’d be with Logan in a heartbeat.

With precarious relationships on the line, vengeful exes to look out for and the paparazzi lying in wait to record it all, "Gravity Happens", is a story of friendship, love, betrayal and knowing who you can trust in a world where everywhere you look, there’s someone who wants to take what you have for themselves.

*Contains Mature Content

• Language: English
• Publisher: Monica Alexander
• Release date: May 15, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301322350

Monica Alexander

Monica Alexander is a writer of contemporary, new adult, and young adult fiction. In 2011, she turned her lifelong love of reading and books into a career when she published her first novel, "Just Watch the Fireworks". When she's not reading and writing, you can find her at the beach, in the mountains, or hiking through a city, soaking all the beauty of the world around her and turning her experiences into inspiration for her next book.

Book preview

Chapter One

Logan

They’re still out there, my dad said in disbelief.

I know. They’ll probably be out there all day, and you staring out the window isn’t going to make them go away.

He turned around and faced me, so I looked up from my phone where I was texting my boyfriend, Jase. My dad looked agitated. He’d pretty much looked that way for two weeks.

What, Dad? I asked in exasperation, even though I already knew exactly what had him ticked off.

He shook his head. They’re like vultures, just waiting for that juicy little picture or story that they can print about you. It’s sick.

I sighed. He’d been saying things like that since the first photographer had shown up in front of our house three days after I’d come home from college. The second one showed up later that same day, followed my three more. And they’d been camped out ever since, just waiting for me to leave the house and do something interesting.

When my dad realized this, he’d started pacing in front of the windows constantly, peeking out every few minutes to see if the paparazzi were still lurking, and sighing a lot when he realized they were.

Of course they were.

He’d even tried calling the police, but they wouldn’t do anything since it was a public street, and the photographers were right at the edge of our property line. That made my dad even madder, and he started muttering things about gated communities.

I hoped he wasn’t thinking about moving. I’d grown up in the house we lived in. I loved it. It was right on the Intercoastal Waterway, it was big but comfortable, and it felt like home. If he suggested moving, I was going to fight him on that idea.

I wished he’d just relax, but I knew what he was thinking. It was part of the reason why we’d moved to Florida when I was three. He didn’t want me raised in a place where my every move was watched and catalogued and recorded for the gossip rags. He’d seen my mother’s face plastered all over magazines for years, and he vowed to shelter me from that for as long as he could.

And I think he was frustrated that I was no longer sheltered. But I was the one who’d gone and fallen in love with Jason Brady, movie star extraordinaire, four months earlier, and I knew what I’d been getting myself into when I’d made that decision. I’d also been dealing with the paparazzi on a regular basis back in L.A., but this was my dad’s first taste of how my life had changed since I’d started school at USC and shacked up with one of the hottest young actors in Hollywood. He still wasn’t used to it.

For the first few days I’d been home for Christmas break, everything was quiet, and I was so relieved to be able to go outside without the threat of having my picture taken. I’d shopped, gone to dinner with some of my high school friends, and I’d even gone out to a club on South Beach, but I guess someone had spotted me, because my picture ended up online the next morning, and my dad went nuts.

He might have gone nuts because I was photographed with a drink in my hand, and I was only eighteen, but I think he was equally annoyed that the media circus had followed me east. Since then I’d been staying in since my dad was calmer when I was safely at home, but Jase was headed into town, and I planned to show him where I’d grown up. We were going to have fun. We weren’t going to hide.

And my dad was just going to have to deal with it, because I was getting stir crazy being cooped up in the house. I missed my boyfriend, and so what if someone saw us together. We’d gone public two months earlier, and at first the media went into a frenzy because it was the first time Jase had dated anyone publicly after breaking up with his girlfriend of two years, Chloe St. James, back in January. But over time they’d calmed down when they realized Jase and I were happy, stable, and probably a little too boring to be newsworthy.

Our picture still ended up online frequently when we were leaving a club or a restaurant or if we were at an event, but mostly we laid low and stayed in, usually at Jase’s house in the Hollywood Hills. And we didn’t really do anything scandalous.

It was the opposite of how Jase had been when dating Chloe. They were media darlings who stopped for photos whenever they were out, talked openly about their relationship to the media, and had been touted as ‘Hollywood’s Most Adorable Couple’ during the two years they were together. Then she’d openly cheated on him with the producer of a film she was starring in, which had caused a media frenzy in its own right.

And I think all of that made Jase rethink his outlook on life and how much he wanted to be in the spotlight. When we met, he’d been incredibly skittish about being in the public eye. He’d actually been hiding out from the paparazzi the first night we met.

Aside from that, he was also wary of relationships in general after having been burned so bad by Chloe. He hadn’t dated anyone in months, and he wasn’t looking for a girlfriend. But we hit it off almost immediately. He’d asked for my number and actually called. Then we talked on the phone for a month before our first date. And after that night, we were pretty much gone over each other.

We kept our relationship under wraps for a while, denying we were together, never touching in public, but then he’d surprised the crap out of me when he told his publicist he wanted to make a formal announcement that we were together right before the premier of his latest movie, The Mulvaneys, that came out in October. It was the ultimate grand gesture.

But what I learned was that when Jase Brady fell in love, he fell hard. So it was a good thing I was there to catch him. And we’d spent most of the past few months together, being sickly in love since I’d fallen pretty hard for him, as well.

He hadn’t been filming, and aside from a few media appearances for his new movie, I’d practically lived at his house. This break was the first time we’d been apart in a while, and I wasn’t a fan of being separated. I could tell Jase wasn’t either. He texted me round the clock, and even though I knew he was keeping busy going out with his friends, going to Lakers’ games and spending the holidays with his family, he missed me. And I liked that.

I actually wasn’t expecting to see him until I was back in L.A. the following week, but on Christmas morning while we’d been Skyping, he’d lifted up something to show me, and I realized – then screamed and covered my mouth – that it was a plane ticket to Ft. Lauderdale. Now I was anxiously awaiting his arrival. He’d texted to let me know he’d landed and was waiting in the car he’d rented for the week. His new security guy, Charlie, was getting his luggage, and as soon as everything was loaded in the car, he’d be on his way to me.

I felt like I’d been waiting so long to see him that the fact that he was now in the same time zone as me felt very surreal. I was almost as anxious as my dad, but for a completely different reason, although I knew my dad was slightly on edge because I was bringing a boy home for the first time. For the most part he couldn’t have cared less that Jase was famous.

My dad had grown up in L.A. and had been married to my mom, the outlandishly famous actress, Alana Davis, once upon a time, so fame didn’t do anything for him. It was more the fact that he knew how serious Jase and I were, and I think he was afraid he was losing his little girl. But the fact that he was losing her to a celebrity was a double hit.

Dad, come sit down, have a beer and relax, I encouraged him. He really needed to let this crap with the paparazzi go. He was going to give himself a heart attack, and he was only thirty-nine. I don’t need you getting all stressed out before Jase arrives. I want him to like you, and I want you to like him.

My dad chuckled, as if to silently say, ‘yeah right, like that’s going to happen’, and I was irritated that he was so skeptical of a guy who was incredibly sweet and caring and devoted to me. But my dad had a very negative experience with my mom – she’d cheated on him twice to get ahead in her career – so he was skeptical of all things Hollywood, especially actors. I knew Jase would have to work hard to prove that he was grounded and not at all like my mom.

But that wouldn’t be hard, because Jase was incredibly down-to-earth. He’d grown up in a really stable family with parents who, although they had money, didn’t act like it. They were actually a lot like my dad. And although they’d supported their son’s desires to act at an early age, they made sure his fame didn’t go to his head.

They’d always treated him the same as they treated his three sisters – Mia, Tara and Nora – never giving him the right to think he was better than anyone because of what he did and how the world viewed him. I actually loved his family since they were so normal, and aside from my dad, my family was anything but normal.

My dad crossed the room to sit at the kitchen table with me. I stood, grabbed him a Sam Adams from the fridge and placed it in front of him.

This boy is really worth all of that garbage? he asked, jerking his thumb toward the front yard.

Yes, he is, I said firmly.

I really hoped he’d drop the attitude by the time Jase arrived. It would be a long evening if he didn’t. But at least after tonight, I would have covered all my bases. My dad was the last person in my life to meet Jase.

My mother loved him, but that was because she was thrilled that I was dating a famous actor who she thought was hot. She’d been an A-list actress since pretty much right after I was born, and although I didn’t live with her while I was growing up, I spent every summer at her house in L.A. And because of that, I knew she loved fame more than she loved anything else. It was what drove her and my dad apart and what had kept her from having meaningful relationships with me or my little sister, Skylar.

There was always something more important than her family, be it a movie she was filming, her beauty treatments that kept her looking ten years younger than she really was, her workouts with her trainer, or any number of social functions that showed she was still as relevant as ever in Hollywood.

She was definitely not one of those actresses who fades into the background and becomes a more dignified representative of their craft, like Meryl Streep or Julia Roberts. No, she was like Demi Moore, dating men half her age and going places where she could see and be seen. And even though she’d been acting for close to twenty years, she was only thirty-seven, so she felt justified in living a youthful, carefree existence.

I honestly didn’t have a lot in common with her. Fame was something that followed me, or rather it followed my boyfriend, and therefore me by default. I didn’t chase it. I was much more aligned with my dad’s camp that my life was really not fascinating enough to be recorded.

But here lately, it seemed my life had gotten more interesting. There had been rumblings that Jase and I were on the outs, since we’d been spotted together so often in the past few months, but then for the past two weeks, he’d been going out alone or with his friends. And the press knew I was in Ft. Lauderdale.

So speculations arose that we were fighting, especially after a picture surfaced of Jase hugging an unknown female. She turned out to be his best friend, Freddie Ruiz’s sister Janelle, who I’d actually met several times, but the assumptions that he’d moved on from me to her, and countless other women, were out there.

It was like the press couldn’t handle the fact that we were happy. They were just waiting for him to break up with me or cheat on me or do something scandalous. I wasn’t sure why no one had connected the dots that I’d just gone home for Christmas break, because that’s really all I’d done.

We both knew the paparazzi who were camped outside my dad’s house would have a field day when Jase showed up. I’d already warned him about them, and we had a plan to get him inside safely and unseen.

My phone beeped then, pulling me back to the moment.

Leaving the airport now. See you soon.

I smiled goofily. I missed Jase, and I couldn’t wait to see him.

Ten minutes later he texted me to let me know they were close, so I sent my dad out to open the garage door, and my heart started to pound. I didn’t think I’d been this excited to see anyone in a long time.

I could see the SUV with the blackened windows pull into the driveway and the paparazzi went nuts snapping pictures, but they only got the outside of the vehicle as it pulled inside and my dad closed the door after it. It was a carefully orchestrated arrival that Jase and I had planned out to minimize his exposure. It was annoying that we had to do it, but it was also a small price to pay for a little privacy.

As soon as the garage door closed, I was on my feet, bursting into the garage and practically knocking my dad over.

Logan! he said sternly, but I didn’t care.

Sorry, Dad, I said as I ran past him, right into Jase who was climbing out of the SUV.

I think I startled him when I wrapped my arms around him and shoved him back against the car, but he recovered quickly and looked down at me with a big smile on his face.

You missed me, he said with just a hint of awe in his voice.

Of course I missed him. I looked up in to his bright green eyes and took a few seconds to drink in his features. Seeing them over the Internet was no comparison.

So much, I told him as I leaned up and kissed him, but he wouldn’t let me deepen it at all.

Which I guess was fine. My dad was watching, and he’d never seen me with a boy who wasn’t just a friend, so I honestly wasn’t sure how he would react. But I knew it would be hard to hide all the pent up urges I had since I was used to seeing Jase every day and spending the night in his bed on a regular basis. Now he was staying with us, in the guest room, right across the hall from me.

And it was going to be oh, so tempting.

I figured maybe I could sneak into his room after my dad fell asleep. His room was across the house, and he slept like the dead, but I wasn’t sure if Jase would go for it. He knew my dad was protective, and he wanted to make a good impression. Getting caught in a compromising position so my dad knew my virtue was no longer intact probably wasn’t the best way to do that.

Jase broke the kiss and untangled my arms from his waist as he looked up, and I’m sure, saw my dad watching us. I turned and caught his gaze, took Jase’s hand and walked him over to my father, as the guy who I could only assume was Charlie, unloaded Jase’s bags from the back.

Daddy, this is Jason Brady, I told my father proudly.

Jase immediately dropped my hand and stuck his out for my father to shake. Call me Jase, he said. It’s nice to meet you, sir.

Steve, my dad said, shaking his hand. Call me Steve. I’m too young to be called sir.

Jase grinned his seven-watt mega-movie star grin, and I hugged him around the waist.

Okay, Steve it is, he said, then he turned to Charlie who was standing quietly behind us. I hadn’t even heard him walk up. He was so stealthy.

You good, man? Jase asked him, and Charlie nodded. He seemed like the strong, silent type.

Jase was staying with us, but Charlie was staying at a nearby hotel. I’d figured he’d want his bodyguard nearby, but Jase wasn’t concerned about anyone breaking into our house. I think he was still adjusting to having full time security, and although I knew he liked Charlie, I didn’t think he was overly thrilled with the idea of having him around twenty-four seven.

Cool. So, this is my girlfriend, Logan, Jase said, beaming slightly. Logan, this is Charlie – my ‘protector’ for all intents and purposes.

I smiled. That was my word – protector. And Charlie was exactly that. He was huge – all big and muscly and assuming with really short blond hair. I couldn’t have picked anyone better to look out for Jase, and I was glad he’d finally broken down and hired someone. In the past he’d contracted out guys to guard him when he needed it, but in the past few months since Radio Riot and The Mulvaneys had done so well in the theaters, Jase’s popularity had risen tremendously, and it was hard for him to go anywhere without a bodyguard.

I’d learned that Charlie was his go-to guy whenever he went to New York, and when he was thinking of hiring a bodyguard, Charlie’s name was at the top of the list. I knew Jase felt better hiring someone he knew and trusted as opposed to taking his chances with an unknown guy, and Charlie had been more than amendable to move to L.A. for the job.

It’s nice to meet you, Charlie, I said, as I hugged Jase tighter.

I actually hated the idea of him needing protection, but there were crazy photographers and crazier fans, and in general, crazy people who could potentially hurt him, so I was grateful for Charlie.

You too, Logan. Jase talked my ear off about you the whole way out here, he said, an almost-smirk creeping up on his face.

Dude, not cool, Jase chastised him playfully. Charlie just shrugged.

You missed me, too, I teased Jase, and he just smiled.

Of course I did, he said and winked at me. Then he turned to Charlie. Go on, man. I’m good here for tonight, but I think Logan and I are going to the beach tomorrow. She’s going to teach me to surf, so come back around ten?

Charlie nodded. I’ll be here.

Thanks, man, Jase said, giving him one of those guy handshake/hug things.

I turned to Jase. Come on inside. Let me show you where I grew up.

He smiled down at me, and I immediately felt all gooey inside.

Chapter Two

Ethan

I closed my eyes and envisioned the girl on top of me with curly blond hair and blue eyes as I let her send me into oblivion. And when she did, it was Logan’s name on my lips, but I bit down on my tongue so I wouldn’t actually call out her name. Lizzy would be pissed is she knew I was thinking about Logan while we had sex. Sure, we were just friends with benefits, but I knew she’d take offense to me using her to work through my inappropriate crush on my best friend.

Lizzy collapsed on top of me, and I let her, as both of us tried to catch our breath. There was a reason I called her whenever things got to be too much and I needed a release. Being with her was nothing short of spectacular. If only I was into her my life might not be so complicated.

It had been almost three months since I’d let Logan know how I felt about her, since I’d kissed her and she’d run. Then she’d chosen her movie star, douchebag boyfriend over me, and it not only pissed me off, but it was a complete blow to my ego. I was better looking than Jason Brady, I was more fun to be around, and I knew Logan better than he ever could. Hell, she’d been my best friend for over ten years. He’d known her for, what, four months? That was some bullshit.

Lizzy made a sound like a cat stretching and rolled off of me. Then she looked at me.

You are amazing, Ethan. Thanks for calling me, she said before she pecked me on the cheek once and hopped off of my bed.

She started to put her clothes on, and I was glad she was so cool about our arrangement. She never wanted to stay the night, which was totally good with me. I didn’t need anyone getting attached when I was so fucked up in the head.

When I’d initially told Logan how I felt about her, she told me she thought I didn’t really want to be with her, that I just wanted a girlfriend. I just felt safe with her, that’s why I thought I had feelings for her. But I knew that wasn’t true. My feelings were real.

See you later on this week? Lizzie asked, her hand on my doorknob.

I put my hands behind my head and looked over at her. Call me anytime.

She grinned. You know I will.

Damn, she had one hell of a libido, and it suited my eighteen year-old sex drive just fine.

Hey Garrett, she murmured as she shut my door and stepped out into the hall.

A few seconds later there was a knock on my door. You decent, bro?

No, I yelled back to my brother.

That should have been obvious. He knew why Lizzie came over, and I was pretty sure he’d heard us. She wasn’t exactly quiet.

Get decent. I’m coming in, and I don’t want to see your junk.

I rolled my eyes and sat up, getting off the bed to walk into my bathroom. I disposed of the condom, yanked my boxers back on and yelled for him to come in.

Garrett wrinkled his nose when he walked in, and I knew my room smelled like sex. We’d gone a couple of rounds since I didn’t have class that afternoon and neither did Lizzie. I wasn’t even sure what time it was.

Instead of saying anything to my brother, I went over to the French doors and opened them wide, letting the California ocean air flow through the room and air it out.

Lizzie again? Garrett asked in disbelief as he plopped down on the armchair in the corner of my room.

I shrugged. Your point?

Is it going anywhere with her?

No, I answered curtly, crossing my arms in front of my chest. She’s just a friend.

What about Logan?

She’s also my friend, I answered, being a shithead on purpose, because I knew where he was going, and I wasn’t in the mood to talk about it.

I was never in the mood to talk about it, and Garrett knew that, but he still pushed every now and again.

We hadn’t really talked about my inappropriate feelings toward Logan since the day after I’d told her how I felt. I hadn’t wanted to talk then, but Garrett had pushed, and I was feeling battered and bruised, so I’d told him what was going on. He knew I’d kissed her, he knew Logan was upset, and he was pissed at me because it was my fault.

Then he realized that I hadn’t been fucking around, and I truly liked her, so he’d sort of let me off the hook. But only sort of, since he let me know in no uncertain terms that my timing had sucked, and it was a shitty move to kiss her when she had a boyfriend.

We’d both been friends with Logan since we were kids, and she’d always been like a second sister to both of us. We were equally protective of her, and both of us would go to the ends of the earth for her. Hurting her wasn’t an option.

And Garrett, being the more level-headed of the two of us, never really did anything that he didn’t think through fully, and I knew he felt I should have considered the consequences of my actions when I decided to tell Logan I loved her. But I wasn’t thinking about consequences. All I could think about was the fact that the longer she spent with her boyfriend, the further away from me she got, and if I didn’t act soon, I might never have a chance.

But I was too late. She’d already fallen for him.

And because of that I’d been sulking around the house for months, and my brother was either sick of it or trying to help. I wasn’t sure which, but either way, he kept bugging me about talking about how I was feeling. But I didn’t want to talk about it. Logan’s rejection didn’t sting any less after two months than it did the day she pushed me away.

At least I hadn’t lost her completely, which I feared was a possibility when I realized how upset she was, because it wasn’t bad enough that I’d kissed her and told her how I felt, but I’d inadvertently done it in front of her boyfriend. He was friends with my brother, and he’d come over to hang out not knowing his girlfriend was at our place. Then he’d seen us kiss, and all hell had broken loose, so Logan had gone after him. After that I was just the jackass who’d pulled a dick move and almost ruined her relationship.

Jase assumed she’d cheated on him, he wouldn’t listen to reason, and the jerk broke up with her. I seriously wanted to punch his face in. Did he not realize what an amazing girl he had? If he didn’t, then he didn’t deserve her.

After that, I really hoped Logan would get over him, and then I would have a shot with her. Yeah, I was shithead of a friend for thinking that, but I’d honestly hoped that in the two weeks that she wasn’t with Jase that she’d consider what it would be like to be with me. I was her best friend, we had a shit-ton in common, and I made her laugh. I didn’t get what she saw in him. Sure, he was famous, but Logan had never cared about that. She wasn’t a star-fucker like so many girls I knew. She honestly liked the guy, and I just didn’t see the allure.

But I soon realized I wasn’t going to get what I wanted, so I got my priorities in order and did what I could to make things right.

I saw how miserable she was, and because of that, I knew I’d never have her. She was his, and that sucked. That was when I’d gone over to Jase’s house, told him the truth and told him I’d kick his ass if he continued to hurt Logan the way he was. She was miserable without him, and it was like a fucking jab in the heart to know that, but she wanted him and not me, and I had to live with that. So he went back to her, they made up, and I tried to put the whole thing behind me.

It didn’t work.

Nice try, asshole.

At least Logan wasn’t hurting anymore. That was a good thing. She was happy and in love, and I loved her, so I was happy for her. I guess.

I honestly didn’t know what to feel anymore.

I thought you had feelings for Logan, Garrett probed.

So.

So, why are you sleeping with Lizzie several times a week?

Because Logan won’t sleep with me, I rationalized. And I have a healthy sex drive.

Garrett rolled his eyes. Grow up, man.

I honestly felt like punching him. Ever since he’d gotten a girlfriend, he’d been a bit of an elitist dick. I think he felt like everyone should experience the magic of what he had with Ellie, or some shit like that, I wasn’t exactly sure, but either way I didn’t need him on my case. I didn’t want a girlfriend. I wanted Logan.

Of course Logan didn’t know that. Yes, I’d told her, but then I’d untold her, blaming it on a moment of insanity, and she’d bought it. I’d actually seen the relief on her face. And that killed me, but I couldn’t go on letting her think I had feelings for her. Once she was back with Jase, I was honestly afraid I’d lose her if she thought I liked her, or if he suspected I might try to steal his girl again. And the only thing worse than not being with Logan was not being her friend. I couldn’t remember a time she hadn’t been in my life, and I couldn’t lose her.

Fuck you, I responded to my brother. Just because you’ve always been Mr. Monogamous doesn’t mean it’s for everyone. Besides, I need a distraction while Logan’s with that douchebag.

Garrett stretched his legs out in front of him. Well, then, you’ll probably be distracting yourself for a while. Jase has no plans to end things with Lo, and you know how she feels about him.

I shrugged, knowing I looked petulant, but I didn’t care. This year was supposed to be awesome. I’d started college, I was living in a sweet house on the beach, and Logan had moved to L.A.

I was stoked when she’d called to tell me she was going to USC. It was the best news, and I hadn’t even been in love with her then. I’d just been thrilled that my best friend was going to be living in L.A. year-round. I’d fallen in love with her after she’d moved here. And now, because of that, I was a cranky asshole most of the time. And I hated it.

I’d never been in love before. I’d never even had a girlfriend. I’d enjoyed life and sampled different women who crossed my path. It was easy and fun. What I was dealing with now was just depressing.

How about I set you up with someone? Garrett suggested.

I shrugged. Who?

How about Ellie’s friend, Kara.

She hot?

Garrett gave me an exasperated look. It’s Kara Carmichael. What do you think?

My eyes lit up involuntarily. Kara Carmichael had acted with Ellie on a Disney show for a few years. She was smokin’ hot.

Yeah, sure. Whatever. I’ll go out with her, I said, trying to mask my excitement.

Garrett smiled. I figured you’d say that. So, hey, I’m going to go out for a little bit, he said, gesturing toward the ocean. The waves are looking good. You want to come with?

Sure, I said, fighting the smile that wanted to appear on my face.

Garrett was a sneaky motherfucker. He knew my weaknesses, and aside from hot women, surfing was second on the list. He knew I couldn’t turn down great swells.

Chapter Three

Logan

Are you cooking? Jase asked, coming up behind me, his arms encircling my waist.

It was the first time he’d touched me since we’d come inside, almost as if he was afraid to put his hands on me with my dad watching, but my dad was no longer in the room. He’d gone into his bedroom to talk to his girlfriend, Sasha, who was in New York visiting her parents for the holidays, so Jase was capitalizing on the time we had alone.

His lips landed on my bare shoulder, and I dropped the spoon I was holding and fell back against his chest. I tilted my head back, so I could look at him, and he captured my lips with his, excitement rippling through my neglected body.

I really wished we were back in L.A. in his kitchen that was so close to his bedroom. I desperately wanted to be alone with him after being separated for two weeks. I had no idea how I was going to survive the spring. He was scheduled to be on location in New Orleans for six weeks. He was leaving right after the SAG Awards at the end of January, so we’d have roughly a month together before we’d be separated again.

But, I’d chosen to date an actor, whose career was on fire, so it was the price I paid.

I turned in Jase’s arms and slid my hands behind his head, securing him in place as he kissed me deeply, pulling my body flush against his. A deep rumbling emanated from his chest that caused me to think all sorts of inappropriate things.

Ahem.

Shit.

My dad clearing his throat pulled us apart like we’d been shocked, and I wondered how long he’d been standing there watching us. I saw Jase’s face color as he made eye contact with my dad.

How’s Sasha? I asked, attempting to break the tension in the room.

She’s good, my dad responded curtly.

I rolled my eyes. Dad, he’s my boyfriend. We kiss. Get over it.

Logan! Jase hissed under his breath, but I ignored him.

My dad sighed. I know you do, baby, he said resignedly. I just don’t want to see it.

I’m sorry, Jase quickly apologized. It was my fault. I won’t touch her again, sir.

I rolled my eyes again. This was going to get old, and to make matters worse, my dad looked amused by Jase’s vow. I think he liked it. So just to get them both riled up, I wrapped my arms around Jase’s waist.

"Daddy, this is my boyfriend, Jase, and we’re both adults. Okay? Just like you and Sasha, and just like you guys, we might hold hands or hug or even kiss, but if you want us to keep our hands to ourselves, then maybe you want to consider censoring yourself the same way."

My dad looked a little stunned that I’d called him out, but he and Sasha were very touchy. She was always holding onto him and tickling him and kissing his cheek. They cuddled

Reviews for Gravity Happens (Forcing Gravity #2)

[Deanna Carruthers · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this series. It was a bit long with the will they/won’t they, but still really liked it. Worth the read.