Heart Is Where the Home Is Ch. 03

"Good luck!"

Yeah, I was going to need that and more.

After showering I stood in front of the mirror looking at my three-day-old stubble. I could still see Kinsey Greer staring back at me even without the full beard. I had grown to hate that person for all of the struggles Lainey faced because of Kinsey's fame.

I longed to be just Ken Greer for the rest of my life and make Lainey the happiest woman I could. I frowned and dragged the steel of the blade down my cheek. The razor stung as it pulled the hair from my face as if the hair was holding on in its last-ditch effort to keep me in my old station.

Stroke after gliding stroke, I removed the last vestiges of Kinsey from my face. After rinsing with cool water, I felt the comfort of Ken returning.

I stared at the man in the mirror and I resolved to never leave Lainey's side again. I would make things right and I would love her forever.

I walked out of the bathroom and looked at the closet full of my clothes. Seeing what was there saddened me. I realized I'd become a caricature of myself.

For years, I'd wear my sports jacket and jeans with a quirky cartoon or band t-shirt, thinking that I was thumbing my nose at Hollywood fashions. In reality, I was only following the pretentiousness of personal style. It wasn't individuality I was portraying, I was being ostentatious.

It was as if I was telling the world to look at me. The man who hates to wear a tie. The man who thought he was avoiding the glamour of fame, but in reality was shouting for the world to congratulate him for being different. I was disgusted with myself.

That day was the new day dawning for me. If I was going to leave Hollywood in my wake, I'd have to leave Kinsey in my dust. I just hoped it wasn't too late to save my relationship with Lainey.

I picked up my phone and dialed Jen.

"How are you feeling this morning, little Brother?" She sang. I could hear the smirk.

"I'm fine. Please release the statement about my acting retirement. I have a few months of promo stuff left and I'm done. I want it all to end at the same time. The studio can be pissed all they want. I won't be doing any interviews when all of this is over."

"Okay. It's going to be a shit-show, you know? Everyone will want an interview."

"That's fine. I'll do them after Christmas by video call or phone before I go to Japan after the New Year."

"Okay, Ken. Good luck with Lainey."

"Thanks."

***

Walking up to Lainey's door that cold and miserable morning, I was numb. I wouldn't allow myself to be nervous, I had to be calm. I had to project confidence for her to believe me. I also had to be real. I couldn't act innocent, I was innocent.

Melanie answered the door with a kiss on my cheek. She frowned at my clean-shaven face but smiled at the bags of food I was carrying and grabbed them. Wordlessly she bounced off to the kitchen.

I looked around and didn't see anyone else. I'd hoped it wasn't too early for a Saturday and walked into the kitchen.

"Where is everyone, Mel," I asked.

"Lainey is in the shower and my parents haven't made up their mind if they are coming down or giving you guys some space."

I shook my head. I liked her parents and knew they had good heads on their shoulders. I appreciated their respect for our privacy.

I walked upstairs and knocked on their bedroom door. Ryan opened it and thankfully they were fully dressed.

"Good morning," I said. "Please have some breakfast. I'll talk with Lainey up here so you don't have to lock yourselves in your room."

Angela walked over and said, "We just wanted to give you some space."

"I know and I appreciate it very much. Now, please have some breakfast before it gets cold."

Ryan patted my shoulder and said, "She's confused and hurt, but she loves you."

"I know. I hope our love is enough."

I sat on Lainey's bed waiting for her, I could hear the shower running in the hallway bathroom. I laughed when I heard something bang in the bathtub and she said, "Damn it!"

I stood and looked out her window. It was a bitterly cold morning and the snow-covered ground had a frozen sheen that looked very pretty in the morning sunlight.

I was startled when I heard the door close behind me and spun around. Lainey was there, still wet from her shower, wearing a bathrobe.

As she towel-dried her hair, I looked into her sad eyes. All I wanted to do was grab her, hold her, and never let go—but I was afraid to upset her.

"I'm sorry I hit you," she said softly.

"I'm sorry you had to."

"Nothing happened, did it?"

She wouldn't look at me as she waited for my answer. I walked to her and took her hands.

"Nothing happened, my love."

She pulled into my chest and hugged me sobbing. I didn't know what to say, so I held her.

"I'm so sorry, Ken. I'm sorry I believed that stupid story instead of talking to you first. Abby told me this would happen. She told me to not believe what I don't see myself. I'm not strong like her. I..."

"Don't do that to yourself. It's not your weakness that caused you to feel this way. It's your love. You have so much love to lose that this kind of threat hurts deeply. Honestly, I'm surprised it hadn't happened sooner. The press looks for any little thing to create a scandal and make a salacious story to increase hits to their websites."

She hugged me tighter and sighed into my tear-soaked chest.

"Lainey, I could never cheat on you. I just don't have it in me. I'm not built that way."

"I know that. I'm sure I know that now. Can you forgive me for not trusting you?"

I took a deep breath and pulled her away from me.

"Only if you'll agree to marry me."

As I dropped to a knee, I pulled the ring box from my pocket. She froze.

"Lainey? Will you marry me?"

Still nothing after several seconds. Just as I put my head down, resigned to my fate of her not accepting my proposal, she lifted my chin and held her left hand out.

"Yes," she said.

"Yes, yes, yes!" She shouted as I slid the ring on her finger.

It sounded like a herd of elephants running up the stairs and then her door flew open. Melanie stood there and shrieked, "Did he ask you?"

Lainey smiled and held out her hand.

Melanie screamed and the girls hugged. I walked around them to go downstairs and met Ryan and Angela in the hallway.

Ryan smirked and said, "I take it all is well?"

I laughed and said, "God, I hope so."

Angela hustled past us into Lainey's room and Ryan led me down the stairs by my shoulders.

"Come on, movie star, have something to eat. Your day is about to be very busy."

I laughed and grabbed a cup of coffee. I saw that there were still some eggs, sausage, and bacon left so I made a plate as Ryan bestowed some wisdom on me.

"From this point forward, your best bet is to sit back, stay out of the way, and get used to saying, 'yes, dear' a lot."

I laughed and said, "I think you're right."

Then I got serious and said, "I promise, I'll make her happy and take care of her."

"I know you will, man. Don't worry about us. We're happy to have you join our family."

He shook my hand and said, "Just so you know, I have some money put away for her wedding."

I was about to tell him it wasn't needed when he held his hand up.

"I hope you don't insult me by not letting me pay for my daughter's wedding. I know you're rich and all, but I've been waiting over twenty years for this."

"Ryan, I mean no insult. You don't have to do that. It's going to be expensive. Save it, and add it to Melanie's wedding fund. Then they can both have their storybook dream weddings without you having to worry about a thing."

He looked at me and I saw it in his eyes before he said it.

"You're right about Melanie. I bet she would want a similar wedding or even want to one-up her sister. I tell you what, at least let me pay for something, to ease my fatherly ego."

"Okay, deal. We can figure all that out later."

"I was really rooting for you two to make it, Ken. Not because I wanted a movie star for a son-in-law, but because I see how much she loved you from the start. It would've killed her if you split."

"It would've killed me too, Ryan. Believe me."

He nodded and helped himself to more bacon.

"Ryan, does your bank do commercial loans?"

"Sure. Are you looking for a loan? I figured you had plenty of money."

"Well, money's cheap right now isn't it?"

He nodded and said, "Yes, it's a great market for the customer."

"Well, I figure that I can make more in interest by keeping my money invested than putting it into a start-up."

"Yes, that's true. What are you thinking of doing?"

"I want to open a destination spa for women near here. My sister's soon-to-be wife is one of the best hair and makeup artists in Hollywood. They're getting married and will be starting a family soon. I'd like to do this to give them a reason to move back here. They won't take money from me to start their own business, so I'm going to start it and kinda manipulate them into running it."

"That's a bit under-handed isn't it?" He asked.

"Yeah, but it's best for everyone. Eventually, they will realize it."

He laughed and said, "I hope you know what you're doing, movie star. You're taking an awful chance that they get pissed at you."

"I know, but if I frame it as a wedding present, it might work out."

"Good luck with that."

I nodded, hoping I was making the right decision.

A few minutes later, the ladies came downstairs dressed and wearing coats.

"Are you guys going somewhere?" Ryan asked.

"We're going to the bridal store in Rockford." Lainey practically shouted.

Ryan and I laughed and I said, "Kinda early isn't it? We haven't even set a date."

"Men!" All of the ladies huffed in unison.

I shook my head and looked at Ryan, "Yes, dear. I'll just sit back and let you do your thing."

Ryan smiled and nodded.

"Oh! Before I forget, I got this for you."

I pulled out my wallet and slid out a credit card for Lainey.

"Holy shit!" Ryan gasped. "Is that?"

"Yes, it's an American Express Black Card. Did you think only rappers had them?" I said laughing.

Kanye West immortalized it in a song. He referred to it as an African American Express card. No one in the room got the reference. It was only country and classic rock for the Evans family.

Lainey looked confused, so I said, "That card has a lot of perks. It's my account, but I added you hoping you'd need it for the wedding. I'll have Jen send you the list of benefits you get with it."

She looked at the card and smiled. She said, "I feel like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman."

I laughed and said, "Use it for everything. Your dress, deposits, your bridesmaid's dresses, everything."

"Ken, I..."

"Shush. You're about to become my wife. We have a lot of things to discuss at some point, and it's no secret that I'm financially secure. That means you are as well, so get used to it."

I think I overstepped a bit, so I backed it down.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound arrogant or snobbish. There's no limit on your wedding. You can do whatever you like—well, I'd rather not ride up to the Altar on a horse or anything."

Everyone laughed and Lainey kissed me.

"Thank you for trusting me, Ken. I love you."

"I love you more."

The ladies happily scampered off, leaving me and Ryan alone.

"Just how rich are you?"

I smiled and said, "Look, I don't want to get into the specifics, but what I made on the movies is out there on the web. For the first movie, I got 250k. I made significantly more on each subsequent movie and with the last two I negotiated a percentage of the profits on top of the 20 million dollar salary."

"Oh! Okay." He said, not grasping it fully.

"And then I get a percentage off of my likeness being used for the toys and video games. I'll never have to work again and my family will be taken care of for generations. That includes your family now, Ryan. I hope you realize that if you ever need anything, just ask. Never feel embarrassed or uncomfortable about it. I'm glad to be able to help you and your family in any way I can."

He nodded and said, "Okay, movie star, how about paying for Melanie to go to college?"

He was kidding, but I wasn't when I said, "Consider it done."

I stood and started cleaning up the breakfast mess.

"Don't do that, your our guest," he said.

"Not anymore, Ryan. We're family now and we always will be. You wash and I'll dry."

As I put the plates in the sink, I said, "Maybe I could buy you a dishwasher?"

We laughed, knowing in those old houses there wasn't anywhere to put one. My mom didn't have one either for the same reason.

*** Lainey

We had a blast looking at wedding and bridesmaid's dresses, getting names of wedding planners, getting information on bands and DJs, recommendations on halls, and even fantasy wedding companies. I did consider making Ken ride up on a horse, just for a second.

The only thing I bought was a paper wedding planning book that I could also keep as a scrapbook of wedding planning. I realized I had a lot to do and a lot to talk with Ken about. That didn't curb my excitement at all.

We got home in the early afternoon and my dad and Ken were sitting out back smoking cigars.

"Hey honey, did you have lunch yet?" I asked after plopping onto his lap and getting a nose full of smoke for my effort.

"No. Do you want to go out for something?"

"Yes. I'd like to spend some time with my fiancé before he rushes off around the world again."

"No way, Lainey. I'm here until after the new year and I'm all yours. You can come to Japan with me, you know."

"If I hadn't already gone there for the premiere I would. I've got a lot to do here planning the wedding and I have to work."

"You can..."

"Don't say it. We're not married yet and I won't be a kept woman. I won't quit my job to follow you like a shadow."

He was visibly upset by that and said, "I would never treat you as a kept woman. I hope you'll consider being a stay-at-home mom when we have kids."

"Yes, that I'll do. Until then, I need to work."

Ken looked at my dad and said, "Yes, dear."

Dad laughed and gave him a mock toast.

"Finish your stink stick while I call Abby and tell her the news. We'll get a bite after that, okay."

"Yep."

As I walked into the house dad said, "Sit back and relax. She's in charge now."

I smiled as they laughed together.

***

After talking with Abby, I called my best-friend Kari. After graduation, she moved to St. Louis following along with her fiancé Alex.

"Hey, Lainey! Long time. How are you doing and more importantly, how's the hunk?"

"We're engaged!"

She screamed so loudly into the phone that I had to pull it away. Kari was always boisterous. She was loud and proud of it.

"My sister is going to be my maid of honor, but I'd love for you to be a bridesmaid?"

"Of course, Lainey. I'm so excited! Ahhh!"

I laughed as I pulled the phone away again.

"Have you set a date yet?" She asked after calming down.

"No, but I'm liking the end of summer. Whether it's this year or next. We still have a lot to work out."

"You're preaching to the choir, honey. May will be here before you know it. I still have so much to do, my head is spinning."

"Is it bad, Kari? I mean the stress of planning it?"

Honestly, I was already a nervous wreck after realizing how much work it was to plan a wedding.

"Sometimes. Most of the time, it's fun though. What's hard for us is that we're living down here but getting married back home. We have to pack a lot into weekend trips and do a lot over the phone. Mom helps a lot too."

"I can imagine."

Ken came up behind me, hugged me, and nibbled my ear.

"Kari, I have to go. I've got my man poking me."

"Lucky bitch!"

We laughed as we hung up.

"You're evil, Mister!"

"Let's go eat and spend some time getting sweaty back at my room, hm?"

"Yes, sir!"

*** Ken

As we ate, I watched Lainey and was falling deeper in love with her by the moment. Everything about her drew me in.

She was eating a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich, and even that was cute. The triple-decker sandwich was too large for her mouth, so she ate it piece by piece.

One thing that grossed me out was when she dipped her fries in a cup of Mayo. That was just disgusting and I'd have to work on that.

She had quickly become my life and I wanted to share it all with her. I wished she would quit working and travel with me as I phased out my old life. I knew she needed to have her independence and I was fine with that, but I felt like she would worry less if she were with me. That reporter situation wouldn't have happened if she were there.

"Ken," she said, breaking me from my thoughts, "what's on your mind?"

I smiled and took her hand, "You, baby. Just you."

"Ken, I was thinking, can we take a trip down to visit Kari and Alex? I haven't seen her in ages and you've never met my best friend."

"Anytime. She isn't coming home for Christmas?"

"Holy crap! I never thought of that."

She texted her and she was coming home Christmas Eve and was leaving the day after Christmas.

"Ken, they will be home for Christmas. Would you mind if I asked her to meet for a bit on Christmas?"

"Of course not. I'm looking forward to it."

I meant it too. She didn't have any friends left in town, so I hadn't met any of them. All of the girls she was friends with moved to larger cities to start their careers after college. Lainey was the lone holdout of her circle of friends that stayed in town.

I didn't think she could have a larger smile after proposing to her, but the news of her seeing Kari took her to another level. Damn! She was beautiful.

After lunch, we walked next door to my hotel. It didn't have the luxury of some of my other hotel stays, but I didn't care. I realized long before that I didn't need to be in lavish luxury to be comfortable.

I was barely through the door before Lainey attacked me. She pushed me down onto the bed and took off her hoodie and coat. Her leggings and boots followed, leaving her in her lacy panties and matching bra, striking a pose.

I couldn't get my pants off fast enough for her so she roughly pulled them off of me and tossed them to the chair across the room.

Her panties and bra followed and she threw herself on top of me kissing and licking any part of my body that her mouth was near.

I was shocked when she slammed down on my hard cock and started riding me. She was dripping wet and we had no foreplay at all.

My eyes rolled back as the slapping sound of our flesh filled the room. Her body pounded into me as she screamed out announcing her orgasm.

She'd never acted so aggressively before. It was an amazing turn, that my relatively inexperienced fiancé could throw down with some wild monkey sex.

She felt incredible as I felt her tight pussy squeeze me, milking me as she rode me. Her fingernails dug into my chest as she threw her head back in bliss.

The pain on my chest was trumped by the pleasure below my waist and I was close to cumming.

"Lainey, you feel so good. I'm close."

"Yes, Ken. Cum inside me. Fill me with your love."

I saw black spots as I shot spurt after spurt into her. I rolled her over and drove my final strokes deeper into her sending my sperm as far into her womb as I could.

She spread her legs and begged me to keep going until I finally softened too much to continue.

I rubbed her clit bringing her to the climax of which she was so close and she cried out in joy.

I kissed her and hugged her in a lover's embrace, offsetting the animalistic coupling we just had. I loved her more than the sex and I wanted to show her so.

"Ken, I love you so much."

"I love you more, baby. I can't wait until we're married and these practice sessions become real."