Bootycall 2 - J. D. Hawkins Page 0,16

me turning into a bitter understanding.

“I see,” he nods to himself. “So this is why you’re not returning my calls. This is what you’ve been doing since you walked out on me.”

“I didn’t walk out on you, Robb,” Gemma grinds out. “You cheated on me.”

“I made a mistake, but don’t we all? It looks to me like it was the perfect excuse for you to jump in bed with the next guy who came along. How long has this been going on for?”

Gemma’s cheeks are going red, and she’s avoiding his eyes. “We’re just working together.”

I notice the way Gemma’s crumbling. The way this guy is bringing out a weak side of her. Whatever happened between these two, this jerk definitely did a lot of damage.

“Right,” Robb says, nodding but unconvinced. “‘Working together.’ That’s what you call it. Why stay with a regular guy like me when you could be out fucking international stars, right Gemma? Or is this just a pathetic attempt to work your way up the career ladder?”

That’s it. Game over. I stand up so quickly that Robb ducks and flinches away.

“Hey Robb,” I say, my voice calm and friendly, “why don’t we go have a little chat, man to man? Just a few quick words, you wouldn’t be afraid of that, would you?”

Robb looks at me, doing his best to hide the fear in his eyes, but it’s there. I put my arm around his back, hand on the back of his neck – friendly, but in control, and lead him outside.

“You know, you seem like a smart guy, Robb – after all, you dated Gemma. But what you did right now wasn’t that smart,” I say, smiling. I tighten my grip on his neck and yank him back toward me when he tries to slime out of it. “You see, even if you weren’t broadcasting the fact that you’re a total jackass, that’s no way to talk to a lady, and you shouldn’t even be thinking of saying that kind of thing to a girl like Gemma. She’s the strongest, toughest, most capable person on set right now, and she’s worth ten of you.”

“Dude,” Robb says, with a tremble in his voice, but an effort to sound tough, “I know you’re a big actor and all, but you don’t know.”

“I don’t need to know. Gemma’s a part of my world now – not yours. Maybe you think you can still come up to her and say things like that, but you can’t. As far as you’re concerned, Gemma’s just another hot stranger you saw in public and know you’re never going to have anything to do with. I don’t think you’d better go back in there, yeah?”

Robb pulls himself out of my grip and I see anger flush over his face.

“You can’t tell me what to do. What are you going to do about it?! Huh?”

I laugh a little.

“How about you choose? I can knock you out cold, which’ll be quick. Or I can let you stay in the fight, and break your legs – that’ll hurt though. But it’s up to you.”

Robb’s face teeters perfectly on the razor’s edge between anger and fear as he begins to realize I’m not kidding.

“Or,” I continue, “there’s option three: you can not say anything, turn around, and get the fuck out of here. Your pride won’t like it, and neither will mine, but I’m feeling reasonable today, and the truth is, it’s the only way you’re getting out of this without a visit to the hospital first.”

It takes only a few more seconds of red-faced huffing and puffing before Robb does exactly what a guy like him was made for – turning around and walking away.

When I rejoin Gemma at the table she barely notices, still holding her head in her hands. She hears me sit down and looks up, her face tense with concern.

“What happened? What did you say? What did he say?”

“We just had a little chat,” I say, taking a slow, calm sip of my drink. “He’s gone.”

“Did you argue? You argued, didn’t you? Shit. I’m so sorry. He’s such an asshole.”

“He is. But I think he knows that now.”

Gemma sighs and looks in her lap.

“How did you end up with a guy like him?” I ask, slowly.

“Honestly? I don’t know. It feels like a lifetime ago. I was a different person then.”

“People change fast in Hollywood.”

“I don’t know why, but I feel so shitty whenever I’m around him – even when I just