Mike breaks the silence with a loud cheer and applause. The whole group joins in, and Raven buries her faces in my shoulder.
“I knew she was the right choice!” Charlie tells Mike.
Harper comes over with a robe for Raven, and I roll over carefully to hide my hard-on. She scoots over and sits on me while the others gather around us.
“Declan, I can honestly say you two lit this set on fire. There’s no way we could have ever captured that with anyone else.” Mike tells us.
“That was really hot. It’s like I watched the introduction to some great porn.” Kendall adds.
“Oh my gosh, please tell me you’re kidding. Remember my dad and Robbie will see this.” Raven says to Mike.
“Don’t worry RJ, there’ll be some major editing. I’m not putting an NC 17 rating on this.”
The hair and make-up people come over, and the set designers get busy setting up for the next scene. We only have two scenes left to film and then we are done. If we hurry, we can finish ahead of schedule and I can have an entire day off tomorrow before The Steamroom.
Raven and I are both motivated to finish, so we do all we are asked and finally finish around seven. Once again our friends end up at our house but it’s a much smaller crowd. The night is very tame, and when it’s only Raven, Kendall, and Harper left sitting around I go to bed. I want to give her some privacy with her friends.
I think back through the shoot today and hope that Mike is right, and James and Robbie don’t kill me.
Chapter 25
Family Planning
Raven
I drive up to my old house and smile when I see Abbi has decorated the front porch for fall. The wreaths hanging on the door and windows are pretty, but it’s the multi-colored mums sitting on the steps that make it pop. I make a mental note to ask her to help me with Declan’s front porch.
It’s been a week since we wrapped the video shoot and Charlie declared tonight ‘girls’ night in’. It’s only Abbi, Ella, Charlie, and myself. Kendall and Harper could not come back two weekends in a row. Declan is pissy because it’s Friday, and he is not playing, but I explained if we did this tomorrow I couldn’t come to his show tomorrow night and would be too hungover on Sunday to do anything. He called the guys and made plans for tonight.
I knock lightly on the door before opening it. The living room is empty, but I saw all three cars out front.
“Hello, anyone here?” I yell.
“In here, come on in.” Ella calls from the kitchen.
I walk in and gasp I horror. Almost every kitchen surface is covered in a mess. “What the hell happened?”
“I got an unexpected phone call today that set me on edge. Since it was too early to drink, I decided to bake. Or at least try to bake.”
I get the trash can and start swiping egg shells and empty bags into it. The flour is stuck and will need to be scrubbed off. I see at least six dozen cookies on plates. Some are crispy and others may be edible. Ella comes up behind me with a rag and starts wiping down the counters.
“Want to tell me about the phone call?”
“Yes, but I don’t want to repeat the story so I’ll tell you all together. Charlie told me to have you come to her room and put your stuff down. She was in the shower. Abbi is on the phone but promised to get off when you got here.”
I take my bag down the hall to Charlie’s room and throw it on the bed. I rummage through my clothes and choose a lightweight hoody and lounge pants to change into. Charlie comes out of the hall bath with a similar outfit. I hear Abbi in the kitchen making drinks and trying to calm Ella down.
Charlie and I walk in and grab one of the Cosmos Abbi poured for us.
Ella suggests we get comfortable in the living room, and I follow her lead.
“Okay, spill. What’s got you so pissy?” Abbi asks Ella.
“I got a phone call today from Will Turner. I haven’t heard from the jerk in months, and he calls today to see how I’m doing. Can you believe that shit?”
Damn! I forgot all about Will. “Ella, I’m so sorry to sound like a complete idiot but whatever happened with y’all?”
Charlie and Abbi exchange a look I don’t understand and Ella drains her glass.