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Chapter 32: Am I Just Another One of His Conquests?
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The Fontaines of Hollywood series: The Mystery of You Chapter 33: Researching Rafe
Even though I'm still exhausted, I'm wide awake now. I know I won't be able to sleep until I answer some of the questions I have.Unfortunately, I have no idea how to answer any of my questions about the mysterious man I saw at the party. Without a name or any other identifying information, it's impossible to research him. Instead, I start with a simple search for "Raphael Fontaine." It pulls up some things I know and some things I don't. It also brings me to his official website. Curious, I click on the link.And instantly wish I hadn't, because it just makes me heartsick with longing.The main page of his website features a number of professional photos of him, each one more stunning than the last. One of them shows off his muscled chest to perfection. The next showcases his strong, hard jawline, with that exquisite dusting of stubble. The next shows him flexing his arms, and even the artful tattoos up and down his biceps don't distract from the well-formed muscles.Finally, ther
The Fontaines of Hollywood series: The Mystery of You Chapter 34: The Day I Have To Say Goodbye
I wake to the sound of an engine revving. Loudly.For a moment, I think I'm back home. It reminds me of my neighbor Wallace and his giant pickup truck - I always knew when he had a girl over because he used to sit in his driveway and rev his engine to show off. The first few times it happened, it woke me up - you sleep odd hours when you work the night shift - so the third time, I threw on some clothes and walked over to ask him to stop. He apologized with some peanut butter cookies his cousin had sent him, and they were so good that I couldn't be mad anymore. After that, any time he had one of his car-revving sessions, baked goods often showed up on my doorstep soon after. Usually it just ended up being chocolate sandwich cookies from the Corner Mart, but it's impossible to be mad when you have cookies.My stomach rumbles as I think about cookies. How can I be so hungry again? I blame you, sweet one.I roll over, too sleepy to get out of bed just yet. The revving outside continues,
The Fontaines of Hollywood series: The Mystery of You Chapter 35: One Date
Sometime later, Rafe pulls into the parking lot of a fancy-looking building right on the beach. My eyes skim right past the shiny sign - apparently this is the Silver Heron Club - to the view beyond."The Club owns this stretch of beach," Rafe says. "Only members have access to it, and we should have the beach to ourselves at this hour."I don't answer. I'm too busy grinning at the expanse of ocean in front of us. The sight of it still fills me with unbridled joy. And it looks absolutely glorious today under the morning sun - I see a million shades of blue and green, plus silver and gold where the light hits the water. Waves create an endless rippling pattern across the surface, stretching as far as I can see. I always imagined the ocean as a large, flat body of water, but in reality it's alive - alive and in constant motion, swelling and shivering, reflecting the sunlight back in a thousand ways, changing every minute.Isn't it marvelous, sweet one?"Edie?"His voice makes me jum
The Fontaines of Hollywood series: The Mystery of You Chapter 36: Picnic on the Beach
We walk back up to the picnic. He helps me sit down on the blanket, then takes the spot next to me. He flips the top of the basket open and begins pulling out the food inside.My mouth waters and my stomach growls as I catch sight of all the food - there are tons of pastries and muffins, a big bowl of fresh fruit, and shiny yogurt with golden granola. Underneath is an earthenware container clearly meant to keep things warm, and inside there's sausage and eggs and herb-dusted potatoes. I'm drooling.Before I dive head-first into the food, Rafe grabs a bottle from the side of the basket."There's coffee," he says, "but what do you say we start this off with something a little more fun? Bloody Mary or mimosa? Pick your poison."This time, I remember. "I, uh, probably shouldn't be drinking," I point out."Oh. Right." He has that odd look again for the briefest of seconds, then tosses the bottle of vodka aside. It rolls and settles in the sand. The bottle of champagne ends up next to i
The Fontaines of Hollywood series: The Mystery of You Chapter 37: In The Waves
The sketchy guy looks as shifty now as he did before. Maybe the way he keeps looking up and down the beach, or the way he fidgets as he walks, curling and uncurling his fingers and rolling his shoulders forward and back. He looks nervous.Didn't Rafe say this stretch of beach was for members only? He's not exactly dressed like someone who'd be a member of some fancy private beach club for celebrities - like last time, his clothes are worn and nondescript - but then again, I probably shouldn't judge a book by its cover.When I twist back around, Rafe is still staring at the man. And looking angrier by the second."Who is that?" I ask. "Do you know him?""I'll be right back." He starts off across the sand toward the boardwalk.That didn't answer my question. Part of me is tempted to run after him, but I know this is none of my business, whatever it is.The man stops at the end of the boardwalk, waiting for Rafe. I think he looks past Rafe at me, but he doesn't acknowledge me in any
The Fontaines of Hollywood series: The Mystery of You Chapter 38: The Hospital
I've never been in a hospital before.There's so much going on - beeping from the instruments around me. The squeaking of a gurney wheel on the linoleum floor. Many, many people walking and talking outside my room.I've been in doctor's offices, of course. And the clinic back home. But this is different. This place is big and terrifying, and everything is more intense than what I've experienced before. Not just the sounds - the lights are brighter, the antiseptic smell much stronger.I shouldn't even be here. I begged Rafe to take me somewhere smaller and cheaper - surely there has to be a free clinic somewhere in this city - because I don't have health insurance. But he wouldn't hear of it. He brought me right to the ER. I try not to think about it as I lean back on the flat little pillow they gave me. It's freezing in this place, but that's not why I'm shivering.Rafe is pacing beside my bed. He hasn't said more than two words to me since they brought me back to this room. I'm gr
The Fontaines of Hollywood series: The Mystery of You Chapter 39: Under The Flashing Lights
It's not until a little while later, when they've told me I'm being discharged and I'm changing back into my normal clothes behind a curtain, that I feel the need to say anything. Maybe because, for the moment anyway, I can't see his face. I can hear him pacing - he hasn't stopped fidgeting since the ultrasound.My clothes are stiff from the ocean. I pull my dress back down my body, exhaling. "What happens now?"On the other side of the curtain, the pacing stops. He's silent for so long that for a brief, terrifying moment, I'm afraid he's walked right out of the room without my noticing.Suddenly, the curtain is pushed aside. I'm fully dressed, but I still jump. Rafe looks me up and down once, his expression still blank, and I can't decide if he's waiting for me to speak."We go home," he says finally, and I remember that I asked him a question. "Now, we go home."Rafe slides his arm around my waist, placing his hand in the position it seems to like most, nestled against the small
The Fontaines of Hollywood series: The Mystery of You Chapter 40: Life At Rafe's
When I wake, I'm surrounded by the most exquisite smell.I roll over, still drowsy, wanting nothing more than to bury my nose in that comforting scent. My face is pressed against the softest pillows I've ever felt in my life, and when I inhale deeply, I recognize what smells so good and comforting.It smells like Rafe. The whole bed does. The cloud-like pillows, the silky sheets, all of it. It's like his scent is caught between all the tightly knit fibers.This is his bed, I realize with a start. Not a guest bed, like I was expecting. His actual bed, the one where he sleeps every night.I roll over again, wanting to sink into the smell of him, and my back brushes against something warm and solid. I stiffen.Now that I'm more fully awake, I hear it - the soft rise and fall of another person's breathing. I don't have to turn over to know who it is. Rafe is in bed with me, and by the sound of it, still asleep. When did he climb in next to me?I glance at the clock on the nightstand.
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