Junior Year Box Set

“‘Stupid boy,’ you didn’t imagine we’d let you be alone with her, did you?” Adrienne asked.

“I wish you could come, but I booked the last two horses,” I tried.

“You forget that you had me book the reservations. When I told them who all was coming, they were very accommodating,” Caryn, my ex-business manager, said.

“Just how many people are going?” I asked.

“Let’s see, what was the last count?” Adrienne asked.

“Ten,” Caryn said.

“You both suck,” I pouted.

I had this all planned. There was a horseback-riding place near Topanga State Park that had a sunset ride. You were able to see for miles in all directions from the top of the hills. The trip was supposed to take ninety minutes. I figured that would give me around three hours of alone time with Hannah. Now she might not even ride in my car!

Just as I expected, Hannah rode with Rita and Halle, with Adrienne joining them. I was stuck with Caryn, Zak, and Leah. Flo and Fritz drove us. Caryn refused to sit next to Zak, I guess because he’d hit on her one too many times. I should probably sit him down and explain that there would be bad consequences if he continued his unwanted advances. I needed to add Caryn to my list of girls he wasn’t allowed to go after. At least he never bothered Halle.

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I felt an unexpected emotion when I got on a horse and began riding: I missed Zoe. This was our thing, and I felt like I was cheating on her. Hannah and Caryn were both experienced riders; Caryn had learned when she worked for Range Sports. All I can say is that it was good the horses were docile and followed the lead horse, or the rest of them would’ve been in trouble.

Everyone had a good time. When we got to the top, and the sun began to go down, we had spectacular views. I would do this again. The only bad part was we had to go back to the studio so everyone could get his or her car.

On the way home, I suddenly realized I hadn’t warned Rosy of all the extra guests.

“Rosy’s going to kill me,” I told Caryn.

“Did you forget to tell her you were bringing extra people again?”

“Perhaps,” I confessed.

“It’s a good thing you have a manager, or she might actually have to hurt you,” Caryn said.

She seemed to be shocked when I hugged her. Rosy fed me, and I didn’t want to jeopardize that arrangement.

When we finally arrived, the parking area was full. I came into the house to find the whole cast and Jessup were joining us for dinner.

While we ate, I found out that eating with Adrienne was more embarrassing than eating with my mom. She told the story of my Miami shoot, and how I challenged the young execs to a contest to see who could pick up a woman in a bar. Then she had to tell them about me getting naked to be spray-tanned in front of all the female models for the shoot. I gave Adrienne the eye to remind her I might have a picture of the two of us naked at that shoot.

Then it was Hannah’s turn to relate the story of our meeting on a flight and how excited I’d been. Hannah also told everyone how I’d been sending her tweets for the past two years to get her to go to Prom with me. Only Zak appreciated my determination.

After dinner, Adrienne and Hannah joined me on the patio. The rest of the cast went home.

“I wanted to thank you for thinking of me for this job,” Hannah said.

“Just return the favor. I would love to model with you again.”

“What about me?” Adrienne pouted.

“There she goes again, fishing for compliments. Let’s get this out of the way. Adrienne, I owe you more than you’ll ever know. You’ve taught me so much it isn’t even funny. In my acting, I find that I use skills you showed me on a daily basis. You’re a national treasure, and you know it. You’ve been a fantasy girl of mine for as long as I’ve been interested in girls. If you ever decided that you liked boys, I would move to New York and camp out in your lobby.

“You know that all you have to do is ask, and I would do anything for you. I’m serious; just name it, and I’ll do whatever I can for you,” I said.

Hannah looked at me to see if I was sincere. Adrienne reached across the table and held my hand.

“You came into my life at exactly the right time. I was starting to get burned out and was almost ready to retire, but you reminded me that this could be fun again. Hannah and I’ve talked, and we’ll find some things the three of us can do together.”

“Thanks for horseback riding today,” Hannah said. “If I weren’t in a relationship, this would’ve been the kind of date that really impressed me. You had to do some research to come up with the idea. Some girl is going to be lucky when she finally catches you.”

“I’m right here,” I said and smiled.

“Don’t think I don’t know it. I’m sure you’ll make this a fun experience. I might even go to Prom with you if you keep it up.”

“Don’t say it unless you mean it; he’ll hold you to it,” Adrienne warned.

“Oh, I mean it,” Hannah said.

I was happy to hear that Hannah and Adrienne were staying at Rita’s house while they were here.

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