Powering Through: A Sequel to Learning To Swim For Real

Chapter 8: Righting The Ship

Kelsey spent most of the rest of the afternoon fretting, and nothing Jack did could relax her. Part of it was the simple fact that she'd basically shut down production for the day for no good reason.

"Jack, I've never done this before in my life," she whispered, even though there was no one to hear her. They were sitting together in the hanging love seat in the back yard, enjoying the breeze that had sprung up. "It feels really bad, like criminal, almost." She curled her legs under her body and leaned on him. "I feel like someone's going to show up to arrest me," she admitted.

"Please," Jack reassured her. "People like Linsday Lohan have supposedly shut down productions for days on end or whatever for no reason at all. I'm sure you taking one mental health day isn't going to put you on anyone's hit list." He kissed her hair.

"I was just so angry, you know?" she said, for about the hundredth time. "I couldn't believe they'd do that to me. I still can't." She shook her head. "We've been filming for weeks, and they never said a word."

"Shh, I know, I know," Jack soothed. "Just put it out of your head for now, I'm working on something, I think I can fix it, okay?"

Kelsey sat up so she could look at her boyfriend.

"Wait, what?"

He just stared at her with an enigmatic smile.

She shook him.

"Jack, what the fuck are you talking about?" She lowered her feet to the ground to stop the love seat's gentle swinging motion. "You can't fix this. I mean, how?"

"I'm not going to say because I don't know if I can or not, okay?" he said. "I'm waiting to hear back from--from someone, and I might have to go see her tomorrow. I'll know after that."

Kelsey now just looked confused.

"Jack. Darling, darling Jack. You are an innocent baby about life in general, so that would make you, like, a fetus in the womb about show business," Kelsey said, putting a hand on his thigh for emphasis. "Seriously, Jack. If there's nothing Ray or my lawyer can think of, you can't do anything, trust me." She laughed. "My lawyer eats studio execs for breakfast, and he even said to leave this alone," she informed Jack. "And you, sweet boy, practically have a halo around this gorgeous, curly head of hair. You'll get torn to shreds if you try to 'fix it,' I'm telling you."

Jack sat back, looking hurt.

"Oh ye of little faith," he quoted to Kelsey.

"Please, Jack, you only prove my point when you quote the Bible at me," Kelsey laughed, looking fondly at him. "And, isn't that something Jesus says to his disciples when they doubt him?" She shook her head in exasperation. "Only underscores my point, my angelic little choir boy."

"I swear, I'm going to go out and get a tattoo of a pentagram," Jack declared, sitting up himself. "And--and then, I'm going to get a tattoo of a huge, horned goat right above it," he finished, sticking his chin out aggressively.

Kelsey stared at him for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Then what?" she asked, eyebrows raised. "You going to drink virgin's blood from a chalice? Make some little girl's head spin around before she projectile vomits all over the wall?"

Jack made a face.

"I'm telling you," Kelsey murmured as she leaned into Jack's rock hard body, making herself comfortable once more, "there's nothing you could do that would make you any less wholesome and pure and fluffy and just good, coach." She put her arm across his front. "So please don't try. It's just weird and wrong."