“So that’s it?” Iasked.
“That’sit?”
Based on how offended he sounded, I realized I shouldn’t have acted so dismissive with something he clearly had strong feelingsabout.
“No, Jace, that’s not it. This isn’t how I live my life. I wasn’t kidding when I told you I don’t want to be in the spotlight. I don’t want the focus on me. And I feel like a fucking moron, because I should have known better. I thought we could have a little fun…a tiny bit of fun before you blew up and became everything I know you’re going to become. I knew it would just be for a minute, because as soon as the lights got too hot, I would be off in LA and you would be running around the country and no one would know the fucking difference. Butgoddammit.” He bashed his hands against the steeringwheel.
“Jesus, Dax, I’msorry.”
“It’s not you, Jace. You haven’t done anything wrong. In fact, there are too many things right with you. That’s the problem. If you weren’t so amazing, they wouldn’t beinterested.”
“You think I’m amazing?” Talk about an egoboost.
“Yes. Otherwise, they wouldn’t want to leech everything good and decent right out of you. But you are, and that’s why they’re all looking at you, and apparently looking even more than I realized if someone sent a fucking pap out to get shots of us in thewoods.”
His face was bright red, the rage this had all stirred clearly bringing up way more than I could have possibly known. But one thing came tomind.
“Is this about…your mom? Your feelings about all this because of what happened withher?”
He scoffed. “Jace, check out the article with those pictures. It’ll tell you what you need toknow.”
I scrolled to the top of the page and just had to skim the caption before my jaw dropped. “Holy fuckinghell.”
Seeing the name at the top of the screen took me totally by surprise. Suddenly, I discovered that I had known Dax even before I’d seen him at the station, but not as Dax Munro. “You’re Lil’ DonnieGibson?”
He cringed at the name, but I couldn’t figure out why he would have such a dramatic reaction to this. Lil’ Donnie Gibson was a beloved character in a prime-time series that was on when I was younger, in the early 2000s. He played the adorable and always quirky adopted kid in the family sitcomThe Gibsons. Hell, the guy was as much of a household name as Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. I’d never known what had happened to him after the show. Crazy to think he grew up to be the first man Ifucked.
“No. I’m not Lil’ Donnie Gibson,” Dax spit out. “Lil’ Donnie Gibson was a character on a canceled series from God knows how many years ago, a series that ruined my childhood and plagued me into my teens. I’m lucky I grew out of those chubby cheeks. Between that and the facial hair, I don’t get recognized much. Never would have had a reason to either, but now my face is being plastered all over the Net in association with one of the hottest up-and-coming Instagram celebrities to date. So I’m kind of having a shitty morning.” He sighed and relaxed back against his seat, his expressionsomber.
Clearly there was a lot more to Dax Munro than I’d realized, particularly what complicated his relationship with his job. Although it did put a lot of things we’d discussed into perspective, especially his feelings about fame and what it could do to a person. Between his mom and his own celebrity status, I could only imagine what he’d gone through, considering it had taken him from being such a fun-loving guy to being this train wreck sitting besideme.
His phone vibrated in my hand, and he noticedimmediately.
“Who?” heasked.
“Hacksmore,” I said, reading thename.
He took his phone back. “Ah, fuck.” He set it down between his legs. “I’m calling him back. I just need a minute to think thisthrough.”
“What’s there to thinkthrough?”
“Well, considering PR is my forte, I can tell you right now, no one wants to follow the one-night stands of Hottie Firefighter. You were perfect when you were this eligible bachelor who could have been with a guy or agirl.”
“Technically these things are still true. And we are more than a one-night stand at thispoint.”
“Not what I meant with either of those things. It’s all about the public’s perception of you. And God knows how much Lil’ fucking Donnie Gibson has tainted this cool reputation you have. I can promise you, you’re not going to look like a stud when you’re running around with some former celebrity. Hacksmore is going to rip me a new one over this. Shit, shit, shit. I wanted this fucking account so bad, and then I had to be the one to fuck itup.”
“I understand you’re trying to process a lot of things right now, Dax, but I think it’s probably best if we head back to the house. We can mentally regroup, and then you can figure out the best course ofaction.”
He grew quiet, pressing his hand against his face and dragging it down, pressing down on his nose—and having learned the truth about his former celebrity status, I now had the vivid image of Lil’ Donnie Gibson doing the samething.
“You’re probably right about that,” he said with asigh.
“Maybe I should drive, though,” I suggested, seeing as Dax didn’t look like he was in the right mental state forit.
He surrendered the driver’s seat, and I drove us back to myplace.
On the way there, his phone vibrated again, and he answered it, putting it on speaker. “Hey, Elliott. I assume you’re calling because of the leak fromGlitz & Glam, and yes, I’ve seen. I’m going to call Hacksmore. Have you talked to himalready?”
