Chapter 4

“If even half of what we’ve heard about Steve Hammer and Gwen Anderson’s romance is true, he won’t be mad at you,” Cindy chimed in. “He loves you and doesn’t want to lose you. Just tell him what really happened. I can’t even imagine having to worry about Jack Timberline hitting on my boyfriend, Steve Hammer!”

“Oh no!” Dakota exclaimed, waving her iPad in the air. “There are already pictures of Gwen and Jack Timberline online! Check this out. It looks like they’re locking lips on the dance floor. Do you think Steve will see this?”

“Oh my God! I knew I was being stupid, but now it’s out there for the world to see. It looks like I’m practically swallowing his face! Of course Steve’s going to see it. Every woman out there knows they’ve got to get rid of me if they want a shot at Steve. I just handed it to them on a silver platter. How am I going to face Steve tomorrow?”

Just then, Gwen’s phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID, she answered quickly. “Naomi! How’s things at the academy? You saw that? Your mom woke you up to show you? She was mad? You’re mad too? Nothing happened! I know it looks bad, and it was bad enough, but I swear I didn’t do anything with him, just that one kiss. Yeah, I know. That’s bad enough, right? Are you going to tell Steve? Thanks for not wanting to be the bearer of bad news. I messed up. Will you forgive me? Do you think Steve will? That’s what I’m hoping too. See you at the premiere, unless Steve kills me first.”

“That was a friend from Steve’s academy,” Gwen explained. “She said there’s a big celebration going on since Navy beat Ohio State. She was asleep when her mom woke her up to look at the pictures of me and Jack Timberline on the internet. Her mom was furious, and so was Naomi when she saw them. She promised not to tell Steve because she thinks he’d punch whoever tells him!”

“She said most guys wouldn’t forgive me for embarrassing them like I did Steve. But she also said Steve’s not like most guys—my only hope. She thinks I might convince him to forgive me, but if not, there’ll be a line of women at his door, and she’ll be first.”

“Give her credit for being upfront, at least,” Dakota remarked. “I hope this so-called friend of yours is some ugly, warty old hag?”

“Actually, she’s really beautiful,” Charlotte replied. “Steve had a huge crush on her about four years back when his dad was stationed in Cuba.”

“Thanks, Charlotte. Just what I needed to hear. Don’t get me wrong, Naomi’s a great friend. She just told me what I already knew. All my friends, except you, Charlotte, will be chasing Steve if we split. Even my little sister. Can’t blame them, it’s all on me.”

“Uh, Gwen? If Steve’s suddenly free, I might drop Billy like a hot potato if I had a chance with Steve,” Charlotte deadpanned.

“What? You too? You’re kidding, right? You love Billy. You wouldn’t do that to him, or to me,” Gwen insisted.

“Nah, you’re right. I wouldn’t. You know why? Because Naomi, Nadiya, Becky, Kate, Stephanie, Ashley, that redhead from Russia, and a million other supermodels would be after him. I wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“They sure would!” Gwen agreed. “We’ve always believed that half-truths and leaving things out can really mess up a relationship. Now I guess I’ll see if kissing another guy in public messed ours up.”

“We got home right after the concert, had some pizza, and checked out the Navy/Ohio State game to see if Steve got in,” Charlotte explained. “I recorded it while we were out. By the way, you did great tonight, Gwen. I just wish you hadn’t picked that song to sing with that creep.”

“Let’s watch the game again. I’ll skip through the first quarter. Long story short, Ohio State was up 24-0 by the end of it. Navy was stuck on their own three-yard line on fourth down. That’s when Steve came in to punt. The starting quarterback got hurt early, and his backup didn’t do too hot—fumbled once, threw an interception that led to points. Then the regular punter got hurt, so Steve stepped in. First punt was solid. Second one was early in the second quarter. Let’s start from there.”

Gwen and Charlotte barely caught a few hours of sleep before their 8 AM flight to New York. They had just enough time after landing to get to their hotel and prep for the premiere. Gwen felt a heavy sense of dread as she rolled her suitcase through San Jose airport.

While they waited at their gate, Gwen’s phone rang. It was her mom. “Care to explain yourself, young lady? If you were trying to embarrass your family and Steve, you did a bang-up job. Do you really think Steve’s going to put up with that kind of behavior? Or have you already moved on?”

“Mom, come on! I messed up, okay? I’m really sorry. Have you talked to Steve? Does he hate me now? Is it going to be super awkward? If he wants to break up, I get it. What did he say?”

“He hasn’t said anything to me or Ted. Nadiya’s here because you invited her, and she’s sticking close to Steve. She’s stunning. Naomi’s nearby too. Not sure if she’s trying to keep Nadiya at bay or marking her territory. Kate’s trying to stay loyal to you, but it’s obvious she’s watching out for Steve. Ashley’s confused, and Becky and Stephanie are intimidated by Nadiya and Naomi, hanging back and maybe waiting for their shot. Thank God Lisa and Jordan are happily taken, or this would be even messier.”

“What about Steve? Is he into them? Do you think he’s done with me? What should I do?” Gwen groaned.

“It might be too late to fix things now,” Paula replied. “You knew Jack Timberline was trouble. Did you see him on TV this morning? That jerk was asked about your night together and he dodged it, saying he’s a gentleman who doesn’t kiss and tell. Might as well have said you two were up all night together.”

“Mom, I didn’t sleep with him! If that’s what you think, then I don’t know what else to say. Does everyone think that poorly of me?”