Kissing Jenna (Big Sky 2)

Whether we only have a couple of weeks or fifty years together, I want us both to have the memories.

***

“So, all of this is CGI,” Jenna says as we’re snuggled up on the couch of my tree house later that night watching Iron Man.

“Most of it.”

“That must be hard for an actor to not actually work with other actors.”

I kiss her temple. I love that she’s starting to pick apart some of the art of it to try and see it from my eyes, but at the same time, I don’t want her to lose the wonderment of movies.

“You get used to it,” I reply simply.

“That Robert Downey, Jr. gets better with age,” she says and eats some popcorn.

“He’s nice, too.”

Her gaze whips up to mine. “You know him?”

“I’ve met him a few times, yes.”

“Wow.”

I laugh now and kiss her again. “And here I am, reminding you yet again, that some people think it’s impressive that Robert knows me.”

“Oh, stop. You don’t need an ego boost.” She pats my knee and opens her phone, looking all over Instagram and the gossip sites to see what’s being said this evening.

“You shouldn’t look at that shit.”

“It’s fascinating,” she says, reaching for some Twizzlers. “There are polls up now to ask people if they think that you or Serena cheated first.”

“Hmm.”

I’m annoyed. Not at her. Jenna didn’t do anything wrong. I just hate public speculation. It’s why I’ve always played by the rules.

“Oh!” She sits up and points at her screen. “Serena released a statement!”

“Oh, goodie.”

She snorts and then clears her throat, reading aloud. “It’s with the utmost regret that I confirm that Christian and I have decided to go separate ways. I have the utmost respect for him as an artist, and as a person, and we will continue to stay friends.”

Jenna frowns. “Did no one proofread this for her? She used utmost twice.”

I laugh and shrug. “Who knows? Maybe she threw it out there herself at the last minute.”

“Maybe.” She settles against me again and continues to page through her phone. “Wow, there are a lot of photos of her out there with other men. Some of them posted in the last couple of weeks while she was supposedly still with you.”

She glances up at me and frowns.

“Serena likes men.”

She likes women, too, but we won’t go there.

“But no one said anything about it. There wasn’t a media shitstorm until it was you.”

I shrug again, mostly because I’m not exactly sure what to say.

“Why?” she asks.

“Serena has only been in the public eye for a couple of years. She’s relatively new to the business.”

“So?”

“Look, I’m not trying to sound full of myself here, but she’s not exactly as…famous as I am. That was one of the reasons that we were always paired up, and it was made to look like we were together.”

“To make her more famous?” Her jaw drops, and she stares at me for a moment. “No way.”

“Way.”

“Well, that’s stupid. She should be successful off of her own merit, not because she’s on your arm.”

She sits forward, and I have a feeling this has pushed one of Jenna’s buttons.

“You know,” she continues, “this is bullshit, and it pisses me right off.”

“I can see that.”

“Women complain about not getting the same opportunities as men, not getting the same pay, all of those things. And I agree with those things, don’t get me wrong. But then something like this happens, where a woman is using her looks, her connections, to get ahead, and it’s like setting the women’s lib movement back fifty years.”

“Interesting.”

“I’m serious, Christian. That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard, and she should be ashamed of herself. That’s not a work ethic.”

Look at her. She’s fucking amazing.

“Easy there, tiger.”

She scowls and then sighs and collapses against me.

“I can’t change it,” she says with a sigh. “I just don’t like it when people use someone else to get where they want to go, and that’s exactly what she did to you.”

I bury my lips in her hair, brushing them back and forth, breathing her in.

“I guess I hadn’t thought of it like that.”

“It happens to Max, too. I’m sure it happens to most people, in all kinds of careers. It’s dumb. I’m a fan of a strong work ethic.”

“It’s one of the things I admire about you.” I pull her close and sigh when she wraps her arms around my torso, hugging me tightly. “You’re a fierce woman, and it’s fucking fantastic.”

“Well. What’s the point of being anything else?”

I smile as she turns up the volume on the movie. We are quiet as the show finishes, curled up together while it silently snows outside. The media means absolutely nothing.

Nothing.

I can’t say that I’m not ready to get back to work because acting is what feeds my soul, but being here with Jenna also feeds me in ways that I didn’t know I was lacking.