Who You Say I Am (A Jai Courtney Fanfic)

Chapter 18-Meg

Meg

Jai opens the hotel door for me and we head to our rooms.
"What's your plan?" he asks me.
"I don't know," I shrug. "I've done the beach a few times but I haven't seen much of the city."
"You want to go together?" he asks.
"Sure," I nod. "I'm going to put something more comfortable on."
"Me, too. See you in five?" he asks.
"Okay," I nod.
I step into my room and find something to wear for the day. I choose one of the nicer casual outfits I have since much of what I brought was work clothes for up on the mountain. I put on a stylish kelly green three-quarters sleeved shirt. It's a knit material and has a buttoned collar but it opens to the side. The buttons are large, white disks. It actually kind of looks like a turtleneck when it's closed up. I put on some fitted khaki capris that tie on and my fuchsia Mary Jane tennis shoes. I leave my hair as it is and grab my purse. It's a little black leather handbag that goes under the arm. I step out of my room and realize Jai isn't finished yet. I debate on going back inside or knocking on his door but he opens his door and smiles at me.
"Did you finish before me?" he asks surprised.
"I guess so," I shrug locking up. He does the same.
He looks me over. "I like that shirt," he says. "And your runners... as a matter of fact, I like all of your duds."
I laugh in surprise. "Thanks?"
"Not used to compliments?" he questions.
"Not really, but thank you," I tell him.
We start walking.
"Aren't you going to return the compliment?" he asks.
I look to him in surprise. "To be honest, I didn't even notice," I admit. "You do look nice though." I say admiring his long khaki shorts and his navy blue polo shirt.
"Thanks?" he teases nudging me.
I chuckle at that. A thought occurs to me... "Do you have any junk clothes? Most of what I brought is that," I say.
"What do you mean?" he questions.
"I'm sure I'll ruin whatever I've brought starting tomorrow. I brought my paint clothes, my grass cutting clothes... things like that—junk clothes," I explain.
"I have some stuff I just bought that I don't care if I ruin," he shrugs.
"Okay then," I nod.
We step out of the hotel.
"Which way?" he questions.
"I heard someone say there's a cliff just past the church with a nice view of the ocean," I offer.
"That sounds like a winner," he nods.
We wind back towards the church and pass it fairly quickly. We follow the road and I see a path leading up a rocky hill. We keep climbing. Jai is nice enough to grab my hands as we climb up. "I'm glad I wore these shoes," I comment.
"Me, too," he agrees. He has some comfortable tennis shoes on.
We continue on the path through the trees until there's a break in them and I can hear the gentle crashes from the ocean. I can see the water and it's breathtaking.
"Wow," I say in awe.
"My thoughts exactly. Good choice," he tells me.
We look around together and admire the scenery before us. I point out a bird swooping down to fish and it's just amazing. "I'm surprised it's so quiet," I say.
"You think it's quiet?" he asks.
"I don't know. The only times I really remember going to the beach besides the lake at home—which is kind of dirty and nasty—was the family trips I took as a kid to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The waves we so loud. You really had to plant your feet in the ground or the waves would knock you over," I say.
"It's like that in California, too," he nods. He takes a seat just before the cliff and beckons me to join him. I sit down close to him. "It's pretty dirty there, too, though."
"Yeah," I nod.
"So you have a lake?" he asks.
"Yeah, I'm a land lover," I joke. I pull up a map on my phone and show him my region.
"What's your area known for?" he questions.
"It used to be a marsh," I shrug. "So... frogs, glass, corn fields, hot dogs... I can't really think of much else. It's like a mini-Detroit. There's not much growth."
"Why are you there then?" he asks disbelievingly.
"Family," I shrug. "How about you?"
"I'm usually in LA for several months at a time. I have a home there. I go home to Australia for a few months, come back and work for a few more... it's just back and forth really," he explains.
"So you have two homes?" I inquire.
"I do," he nods.
"Do you like it?" I ask.
"I love my job. I get lots of vacation time. I get to visit my family and do whatever I want on my time off," he tells me.
"How do you decide which movies you want to do?" I inquire since we're alone.
"I have an agent that recommends scripts for me to read or I request certain ones I want. If I like the character, I try out for the part," he explains.
"What's your favorite one you've been in?" I ask.
He smiles. "I don't know. They're all so different. I've never said this one I liked the most and that one was terrible..." he teases. "So... which ones have you seen?" he asks nudging me.
"You want to know if I'm a fan?" I tease him back.
He purses his lip and nods.
"I haven't seen all of them," I admit.
"So, not a die hard fan," he states.
"No, I saw Die Hard," I laugh and he chuckles, too.
"So, you like that one?" he asks.
"Do you want me to be honest?" I ask.
"Brutally," he insists.
"I saw it with my older brother. I honestly don't remember much about it. I've seen the first one tons of times on TV but only the others like once each. I probably couldn't pick out the differences," I admit wincing.
"Did you like any of my films?" he questions worriedly.
"I haven't seen them all," I tell him.
"The one that I do know is obviously Divergent," he prods.
"Yeah," I sigh. "I'm a big Divergent fan," I admit.
"What'd you think of it?" he asks.
"You're going to hate my answers," I tell him.
"You didn't like it?" he questions shocked.
"I liked it," I tell him. "It's just that... I read the book first. They changed too much. The book was better."
"You liked the book," he nods muttering quietly.
"Don't get me wrong," I insist. "I loved the movie. It's just that the book was better."
He motions for me to elaborate.
"Okay, so I'm going to nerd out and rant for a moment because you asked for it," I insist. He nods in agreement. "Okay, so this is not in any order... just off of the top of my head. What's with Tris and Christina? They're like opposite body proportions from the book and movie. Tris's character was nothing like the actress. The dynamic between Four and Tris was nothing like the book. I don't know. There was so much good stuff they could've included and why was the zip lining scene at night? For the shot looking better or something? Why wasn't Uriah and everybody in the first one? Then the sequel... what's with the box? I don't know, I guess it was better adding that then being in Tris's head while she struggled with her parents death for the whole book. I absolutely hated your character's death in that... in that manner, I don't know. The book's was at least leagues better. The whole stabbing and trial/execution seemed better than a quick two second death. I don't know, it's just that there was so much more they could've added. And for both the book and movie, I like to pretend the third ones don't exist. I hated them. I seriously can't even pick up the book without hyperventilating," I stop and he's gaping at me.
"It's my favorite series," I admit.
"Oh, I see," he nods grinning. "You do like it. You like it so much that little things drive you crazy."
I shrug and nod.
He's beaming. "You didn't say much about my character," he points out.
"Truth be told I absolutely hated Eric's character in the book. Then the movie came out and he's my favorite character," I admit not meeting his eyes.
"So, I played your favorite character in your favorite film," he says smugly and I hide my face in embarrassment. He's laughing and hugging me. That at least gets me to look up. "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you. You want to talk about something else?" he offers.
"What do you want to talk about?" I ask.
"What other films have I been in that you liked?" he questions.
"Terminator?" I say questioningly.
"You liked it?" he asks. I nod. "No comments?"
"Okay, it was hard to see Arnold age, like heartbreaking in that one and I surprisingly liked it. The John Connor part made no sense in my opinion, though. I wasn't expecting to like it but it was good," I tell him. "Oh, and I was both surprised and happy that your character didn't die in it."
"That's all?" he asks. I nod. "Okay, so you're not passionate about that one."
"I liked it," I shrug.
"What about Suicide Squad?" he asks and I wince. "You didn't like it?"
"Spencer liked it. We watched it together. I think it was the part where Harley Quinn was on a stripper's pole or something that I pulled out my phone and read a book instead," I tell him.
"So, you hated it?" he questions.
"I didn't watch much. I looked up a bit when your character was on screen but it was a small TV and your part was too small. I was too engrossed in my book. I just didn't like her character—too... dirty in my opinion. I was a big Harley Quinn fan until her version. Now I avoid that particular one. I was completely done with it early on. If it was in the movie theater and not my house, I would've walked out. Spencer brought it over and insisted on finishing it," I explain.
"So you will walk out of the pictures if you don't like them?" he questions.
"Anymore, I look up ratings online from Christian companies I trust to tell me about the content before I go. I rarely go to the movies," I tell him.
"How about TV?" he asks.
"I don't turn it on. I watch a few things now and then on YouTube but I mostly just read books," I shrug.
"What kind of books?" he asks.
"Divergent is my favorite series. I have all of those. Second is The Hunger Games. I own those, too. I've tried some other series's. I like The Atlantis Grail Series but there are some dirty parts in there that make me uncomfortable and I skip over those. I hate that how I can't read books without that kind of stuff in there. I guess it's why I generally stay out of secular entertainment. Oh, I like The Giver Series. I've actually read all four but I don't own them. I loved the movie—saw it twice. It was almost exactly like the book except his friend was not his love interest. He marries a girl from another book. I don't know why they added that," I say.
"So... Dystopian types?" he asks.
I nod.
"I like regency romance novels, too. They're much more wholesome than most modern stuff. Georgette Heyer is my favorite. So... have I weirded you out now with my fan-girling?" I ask.
He smiles. "No. I like getting to know you. You seem to like mostly youthful things, innocent kinds of things."
"What about you?" I ask.
"I think I'm in the midst of the society you're not fond of," he admits.
I nod in understanding. He doesn't want to tell me about things that'll make me uncomfortable.
"So... did you read Veronica's other series?" he asks.
"Carve the Mark?" I question. He nods. "You know her, right?" He nods again. "Don't ever tell her this... but I refuse to read anything else she's written."
"Why?" he questions confused.
"Because she broke my heart," I shrug. "I don't trust her with it again. I get emotional when I read. I was so engrossed and in love with that series and she kills the person's perspective you're reading from. I have trouble breathing just thinking about it. Oh, here I'll show you."
I pull out my phone and look up a meme about Four and Tris. I show it to him.

He grasps my phone and laughs.
"Where did you find this?" he asks.
"I just did a search. Most of the fans absolutely hate the ending. It's like a joke. Anyway, just thinking about her death makes my chest feel tight, my lungs hurt," I say rubbing my chest.
He frowns.
"You want to see some more funny ones?" I ask. 
"Sure," he nods.
We go through several on my phone. He chuckles at them all. We're both smiling and laughing together. It's nice that he's enjoying what I enjoy.
We sit here for a while in silence staring at the ocean. "I wonder if someone could swim down there," he says motioning to the water below us.
"There's a ladder over there," I point out seeing it for the first time.
"Huh," he says rising. I follow him.
We examine it a bit.
"We should try that sometime," he tells me.
"Sure if you can find some people to join us," I agree.
"Why don't we go check out the rest of the town?" he suggests.
I easily agree as he grasps my hand and leads me back the way we came.