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When we arrived at our destination, Gabriel took it all in with wide eyes. Several trailers lined the street and filled the parking lot of a boarded-up building, which was going to be demolished to make way for a high-rise condo development. Directly across the street was a row of stately Victorians. For the last few days, filming had been taking place in the house on the corner, which was meant to be the home of Liam’s family, the character played by Harper Royce. Funnily enough, a totally different house clear across town had been filmed for the home’s exterior.
When Phoenix dropped us off and went to find parking, I took Gabriel’s hand and led him to the production office, where I signed him in and got him a visitor pass to wear on a lanyard around his neck. Then I led him to the trailer shared by the hair and makeup departments. As usual, I was the first to arrive, since Phoenix always made a point of getting Will to the set early. I put my makeup kit on a table back in the corner, then went around flipping on the lights at each of the four workstations. While I got a pot of coffee going, Gabriel wandered around the trailer looking at everything, and I grinned at him and said, “It’s not exactly glamorous, I know. After I do Will’s makeup and make sure Gina doesn’t need anything, I’ll take you across to the set. We’ll be spending most of the day in the yellow Victorian, which is where Will and Harper Royce will be filming two fairly long scenes.”
When the coffee finished brewing, I fixed up a cup and brought it to Gabriel. He was standing at the window, and I stood right behind him and wrapped my arms around him. He thanked me for the coffee, then gestured at all the activity happening outside and said, “I can’t believe how many people are working behind the scenes on this movie. It’s like an entire village.”
“Yeah, it’s really something. Everyone has a very specific job to do, and somehow it all comes together into something that’s pure magic. Hopefully someday, I’ll be designing makeup for fantasy and science fiction films. But even as the least important person in the makeup department, I still feel like I’m a part of something special.”
Gabriel put down his coffee cup and turned to me. “I’m already glad I came along today,” he said, as he draped his arms over my shoulders. “You just gave me a lot of insight into what this job means to you.”
I kissed him, and he deepened the kiss as he ran his hands down my back. For the last few days, we’d done plenty of kissing and cuddling but had avoided anything sexual. Even without talking about it, we both seemed to realize I needed some time to figure things out. But there was so much heat and longing in his kiss that I knew something had to give, and soon.
We parted quickly when the trailer door swung open, and Will announced, “It’s just me. You can keep making out if you want to. I can come back later.”
I murmured, “No, it’s fine,” as I went to my work station and hung up my leather jacket, then tried to be subtle about adjusting the front of my jeans.
Will had already stopped off in the wardrobe department and changed into an oversized Pearl Jam T-shirt with a flannel shirt over it, along with jeans and beat-up sneakers. Before I went to work, I tucked tissue into his collar to protect the clothes, then handed him a stretchy headband, which he used to restrain his unruly curls. He said, “You know the first thing I’m going to do when I’m done playing Alex?”
As Gabriel retrieved his coffee and sat in the folding chair beside my workstation, I guessed, “Get a haircut?”
Will dragged out the word, “Absolutely,” and grinned at me. “Also, I’d be just fine with never, ever wearing another flannel shirt for the rest of my life. I’ve loved playing Alex, but his personal style and mine are worlds apart.”
“Worlds and several decades,” I said, as I unpacked my makeup kit. “I was born too late, because I probably would have felt right at home in the 1990s grunge scene.”
As I began applying pale foundation to Will’s face, Gabriel said, “It’s been a while since I’ve read the book this movie is based on, but I’m curious, what scenes are you filming today?”
“These two scenes aren’t actually in the book,” Will said. “Not directly, anyway. In the novel Alex and After, Liam talks about all the time Alex spent at his house, and how he was practically a member of Liam’s family. The screenwriter felt it was important to show more of their history, so he fleshed out what used to be Liam reminiscing and created what we’re filming today. One scene is the two of us hanging out and talking in Liam’s bedroom, and the other is dinner with Liam’s parents and sister.” He grinned and added, “The funny thing is, Harper and I are both older than the characters we’re portraying, and the actor playing Harper’s dad is only eleven years older than he is.”
