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I expected shouts of celebration from my two best friends, or maybe even girly squeals celebrating my new discovery, but the silence that followed my announcement had me thinking my Internet connection had cut out and frozen my screen.
Finally, with a clearing of her throat, Beth frowned and looked deep into the camera. "Lexi, are you sure he's not playing you? That sounds like a majorly bad excuse, if I ever heard one."
I splayed a hand on my chest and gasped. As if I could ever be played. I was the one who left the boys wanting more. Not the other way around.
"I swear, it wasn't like that at all. He was so honest. He said he wished he could treat me how I deserved to be treated. Bring me flowers and stuff like that. I'm serious, guys. He's one of the good ones. He just can’t go against his contract that his dad made him sign."
“Did he really say he wished he could treat you like you deserved to be treated?” Charlotte asked.
I nodded happily. “I’ve never met anyone who talks like that.”
"Sounds like he's an old soul." She sighed dreamily and rested her chin on her hand. "That's so rare."
“So, what happens now?” Beth plopped into her gaming chair and sucked loudly on the straw of the 7-11 plastic cup beside her. “If he’s really an old soul, does he woo you like some ancient vampire in the night? Show up on your windowsill with flowers and promises of an eternity forever? At least tell me he glitters.”
I made a face. Beth really needed a real-life boyfriend if her first go-to dating comparison was a vampire franchise. Zane was real. I’d felt the strong connection between us, even if we’d only met a couple days ago. There was something about him.
"Well, see, there’s bad news too..." I chewed on the inside of my cheek, dreading to say the words out loud. Because once they were out, they would take on a realness of their own. There'd be no more denying it.
"What? He's got a hairy mole that grosses you out?" Beth offered, smiling on the screen.
"Maybe, he's got a cuter and hotter brother?" Charlotte jumped in. "As if that were possible?"
"Guys, no!" It was about to be real. I took a deep breath and plunged ahead. "Because of his contract, we're doomed. He can't date and he's leaving for LA in less than three weeks. The only thing we can do is simply be coworkers from now on. So, I'm going to need your help to get over him. No one can suspect that we had a thing. I need your help to hide my feelings for him. Pluck them out like an unwanted chin hair."
Silence once again followed my proclamation. I checked my Internet connection: full bars.
"Okay, so let me get this straight..." Beth tapped her chin with her forefinger. "You—the girl who's horrible at keeping secrets—is expecting to hide your feelings for a guy who could lose his career forever if someone finds out?"
I cringed. Ouch. When she put it that way, it sounded impossible.
Charlotte smiled sadly at me. "Lexi, I'm sorry girl, but I'm not sure how you're going to pull this off. I really don't."
My throat suddenly felt thick. I massaged it, willing myself to swallow down the disappointment. "It's only for three weeks. You really think I'm that pathetic that I can't hide my feelings for a guy for twenty-one days?"
The quirks in their sympathetic smiles was all the confirmation I needed.
They thought I was a joke.
"Ugh...either way I'm doomed." I laid flat on the bed, hiding my face in the comforter. The scent of my mom's lavender detergent couldn't even calm down this anxiety. "What am I going to do, guys? With my new job, I'm going to see him every day."
"Get botox?" Charlotte suggested with a laugh. "If you can't move your face, maybe you'll hide your feelings better."
I screeched into the comforter. No way were those giant needles coming anywhere near my face.
"You're just going to have to get better at lying," Beth said. I looked up to see her shrugging in the video screen, her blonde curls half-hidden beneath a black skull cap. "Pretend to be someone else. Take it from me, it's easy. Try to picture yourself as someone who isn't affected by Zane. You could be just another actress on set, except no one knows you're acting."
A smile tugged at my lips. That was something I could live with. "Mom has mentioned a time or two that I can be a little dramatic sometimes."
Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Girl, that doesn't even begin to cover it. Remember when you forced me into the rodeo competition? Well, this is payback, baby. Beth’s right. Use those talents of yours for dramatics to hide your feelings for Zane. If you just dig down deep, you can do it."
"You really think so?" My lungs inflated, the air filling them tasting sweeter than just a few moments ago. "Thanks, ladies. Every time I think of him, you need to slap me or something. Give me something to remind me that he's off limits."
"Deal." Beth winked at me. "I've always wanted a legitimate reason to slap you."
"Haha, very funny."
"How about, instead of slapping you, we create a text train?" Charlotte's brow wrinkled in thought. "You can text us every time you think about him and we'll remind you of all the reasons why you have to resist him. For his career. For yours, too. I mean, I don't think they'd let you work with Alanis if you got caught secretly dating their star actor, right?"
