Sweet Consumption

Chapter 9

        We reach the apartment in about half the time it took me to get to the park. I regret it the instant we're inside. My legs feel like jelly and all I want is to have a shower and collapse on the couch. Since I can't do either of those things yet, I begin setting out the bowls and ingredients I need to make blueberry muffins.

 Collin and John follow me inside and chat about sports on the stools next to the island. Their casual demeanor makes me wonder how long they've known each other and how close they really are. John stays with him all the time, and has probably seen him at his worst moments. It wouldn't be a giant leap to think they would be friends, but I also think his job would require that he keep a distance from his client.

 "How long have you two known each other?" I decide to take the plunge and ask while stirring the batter. I drop in a few blueberries, making sure to fold them in so they don't break. 

 A silent debate takes place between them, and it's Collin who eventually answers, "about ten years."

 My eyes widen in surprise. "Wow, that's a long time. John, if you don't mind me asking, how old are you?" They both look to be in their late twenties or early thirties, but I was never a good judge of age. 

 He smiles a little. "I turned 32 a few weeks ago, Miss Martin."

 I glance at Collin, curious. He seems older than me, but I'm not quite sure how much older. I had debated whether or not to Google him last night, but decided against it at the end, knowing I wouldn't be able to stop with just his age. After all, I really want to find out who Collin Harper is directly from the source, not a website.

 Collin must have detected the direction of my thoughts, because he smiles and answers my unspoken question. "I am 32 also, Olivia." He smiles knowingly at John, gloating over the right to use my name, but John only nods good-naturedly back at him. 

"So, you've been driving for him for 10 years?" I ask and pour the batter into the cupcake pans.

 John nods. "Yes, we met during one of his first acting jobs. I was one of the security guards on the set and when he had a break between shoots, he would go around and chat with everyone." He smiles a little in remembrance, but then his face sobers. "He doesn't do that as much anymore. He was much more carefree with his time back then." He glances over at Collin who smiles sadly and pats him on the back.

 "I actually had time to be carefree then, John. Now," he puts his hands in front of him and stares at them for a moment, I'm sure thinking how different his life was then. He raises his eyes and shrugs. "Now, there is one event or interview after the other. Sometime's, I'm surprised I have time to sleep."  

"The good with the bad again, huh?" I raise an eyebrow and smile, good-naturedly.

 "Yes, exactly." He smiles in return. I freeze and my heart skips a beat while my fingers tingle with his breathtaking smile.

 I blink and put my thoughts in some semblance of order to ask, "So, how did John become your driver?" I turn my attention back to John and away from those deep blue eyes and sexy smile. I cringe when I see a few drops of batter have landed on the counter because I was so lost in his smile, I just stood there with the ladle dripping muffin batter all over the kitchen.

 John thankfully answers before I can make an even bigger fool of myself. "He approached me while I was working outside the trailer area. One of the things they told us when we took the job, is not to speak to the actors. They were worried that a fan might try and get a job as a guard, then molest their clients. When Collin started speaking to me, I only nodded, because I could lose my job."

 Collin laughs and punches him lightly on the arm. "Nodded? You didn't even nod! You just stood there with your hands in front of you like you were guarding Buckingham Palace!" He turns to me, leaning forward to make his version more urgent. "I tried everything I could to sway him. I told dirty jokes, I pushed him, I even mooned him before one of the set directors came out looking for me." He shakes his head in amusement. "It was the craziest thing I'd ever seen and not once did he even crack a smile. I was so impressed that I called my agent and told him I had to have this guy. I didn't know his name, but I gave him his description. John became my driver the next day." John chuckles under his breath and I can tell he enjoys the praise.