Holiday Hideout (Polar Bear, Alaska)

I swing the axe again, splintering the wood in half. “I could think of other ways to stay warm.”

Her cheeks tinge pink and I set the axe down. “Should we get this wood back inside?”

I nod, helping her collect a pile of wood to bring into the arctic room. I can’t believe I’m here in Alaska chopping wood.

When we head back into the house, Rachel says she’s going to clean.

I feel bad about her cleaning my place, so I say, “I already did everything.”

“You’re not supposed to do the cleaning,” she scolds me with a playful glint in her eye.

I shrug. “I don’t mind tidying up after myself. I’ve never had a maid before.”

“Not even in California?”

“Remember, I’m not rich and famous. I’m just an average guy who is in a few movies.”

“You’re anything but average.”

The air sizzles with heat, and I instantly forget the reasons I can’t kiss her right now.

She stares at me, standing in the middle of my living room, and I need to cool off. “I guess I’ll bring the rest of the wood inside the house.”

She smiles. “Perfect. I’ll just do a few things and head out, because the sun is fading fast.”

“You got big plans or something tonight?” The thought of her having plans, or worse, a date, makes me ragey.

She tips her shoulder up in a cute way. “I’m going to Reindeer Glacier to take pictures.”

I’ve never been to a glacier before, and it sounds like the coldest place in the world, but right now, every part of me wants to go with her. “That sounds like fun.”

She takes out a cloth and a spray bottle. “You could come with me. There’ll be no people out there, so no one will see you.”

“Ok, I’d like that.” I smile at her before I head back outside to grab the wood we chopped. Well, that she mainly chopped.

When I get back inside, Rachel is on the phone. “No, I said no. Ok?” She shoves her phone into her back pocket.

“Everything ok?”

“It’s just my sister bugging me about something.”

“Sorry. Anything I can do to help?”

She stares at me for a moment with her mesmerizing blue eyes, then she shakes her head. “No, it’s fine.”

“What does she want?” I know I have no right to pry, but curiosity and all. Is it weird I want to know everything about this woman?

“She wants to meet you. Like I said, we’re both huge fans of SharkQuake.”

I take off my coat and hang it on the coat rack. “I don’t mind.”

She shakes her head. “Absolutely not. No way.”

I laugh. “I don’t mind. I don’t have many fans.” Sure, I have tons of women claiming to be fans so they can get into my pants, but I bet many of those women have never seen SharkQuake.

I wouldn’t know because I’ve never been that guy. I started in the movie business in my teens after a talent scout saw me at a high school soccer game and contacted my parents.

My mother had a long talk with me, telling me to make sure this is what I wanted to do with my life. She said something about once you start, it’ll be hard to leave the industry. Especially if you become famous.

If only my mother could see me now. I’m famous all right. But for all the wrong things.

“Well, maybe a brief meeting one of these days.”

I nod. “Sure thing. I’ll leave you alone so you can clean. I don’t want you to miss the sun.” I walk into the back bedroom, grabbing my phone from my pocket and pulling up Felicity’s contact info.

“Hey, little brother, how’s Alaska?”

“It’s definitely different. I tried chopping wood, and that didn’t go over too well.”

She laughs as I recount the story to her, and when I mention Rachel’s name, I swear I can picture my sister’s brown eyes lit with glee.

“Tell me more about the girl.”

I shake my head. “She’s intriguing, but I can’t get involved with someone right after the whole Trinity thing.”

My sister has never liked Trinity, even while we were dating. She said she never trusted her. “It doesn’t hurt to clear your mind and relax. I’m not saying you need to get involved with this woman, but it might be good to have someone to talk to about everything that’s happened to you this last year.”

I sigh. “Yeah, it would be nice to get a few things off my chest.”

“I know you’re hurting, Fender. Just try to have fun while you’re out there.”

“Yeah, how’s the family?”

Now it’s her turn to sigh. “The kids wear me out every day.”

“I wish I could be there to help.”

“It’s ok. I have Scott and we’re doing good. The paparazzi stopped coming around when they realized you weren’t here.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. It’s so funny how many times I wished I could make it into the big leagues, and now that I have the paparazzi chasing me, I can’t remember why I ever wanted to be famous.”