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“As you do,” he agrees. “Anyway, we were at this club, just the trashiest, most awful place imaginable. Some Euro DJ playing, and glitter everywhere, everyone off their heads, throwing girls in the pool.”
“Sounds like fun,” I say wistfully.
He grins. “I was hating every minute of it, and then… It happened. Our eyes met. The world stopped. Destiny.”
I sigh wistfully. “Isn’t it amazing? When you feel like the entire universe conspired to bring you together in that exact place, at that exact time? And it’s just a connection.” I bang my fist on the bar. “They see you. Like nobody else does.”
“Yup…” Hugo looks starry-eyed, thinking about his dream girl. “So, who was your soulmate?” he asks. “I’m guessing there was one. Is one?” he corrects himself with a questioning look.
Sure, and he had his tongue down my throat not two hours ago.
“There was.” I say mournfully. “But it… didn’t last. I told myself I’d find it again, that soulmates were out there on every corner, just waiting for me, but… Nope. None. Zip. I’ve never even felt anything close,” I admit sadly. Drunkenly. “Love is rare, and precious. Like black truffles. That’s why you have to hold on tight when you dig it up! Your soulmate, she’s out there, right?” I demand, clutching his arm.
Hugo nods.
“Then you can’t let her slip away! You have to take the bull by the horns and be the master of your own destiny. Don’t make my mistakes,” I urge him. “Otherwise, you’ll be stuck wondering ‘What if’ for the rest of your life. Do you want that?” I demand. “The. Rest. Of. Your. Life.”
Hugo looks down, and frowns, thoughtful. “Maybe you’re right…”
“Of course I am.” I slide off my stool and grab the counter for balance. “Right, and drunk, but mostly right. I’m telling you, whoever this girl is, wherever she is, you need to find her, and tell her how you feel. Don’t let the love of your life slip away!”
Now,I stand in the hotel lobby, and re-read the note with growing horror.
JJ, You were right about everything. I can’t let the moment slip away. I’m going to follow my heart, just like you said. – Hugo
Follow it… Where?
Oh my God.
Hugo has run off to find his mystery girl—and it’s all my fault!
8
JJ
I lowermyself onto a bench in the hotel lobby, horror-struck. All at once, two things seem extremely clear. Reeve’s nightmare is real: Hugo is gone. And the person to blame? That seems to be me—the one with the monster hangover and the damning note about my drunken pep talk.
What have I done? This job is the opportunity of a lifetime, and it took me all of one week to jeopardize the entire movie! The cast… The crew… My friends…
Shit,shit, a thousand times shit.
I lurch up, and bolt outside the hotel. There’s a golf cart unattended, so I clamber on-board, and set off down the lane towards the set, wincing with every lurch and bump. I’m in zero condition to be operating heavy machinery, but there’s no time to waste, so I hold onto the wheel for dear life, and make it to base camp in one piece.
“Hazel!” I spot her chatting to the wardrobe team and scream across the lawn.
Everyone turns.
“I, um, need to talk to you for a minute. Everything’s fine!” I add loudly, plastering on the fakest smile of my life and towing her away from the others, behind a trailer and hopefully out of earshot.
“What is it?” she asks, shaking free. “Are you OK? You look kind of green.”
“No, I’m not OK,” I blurt. “But… You see… Shit, here, you read it.”
I thrust the note at her. My stomach squeezes with dread. I can’t believe I screwed up on such an epic scale.
Hazel scans the page. “What am I looking at?”
“It’s my fault,” I confess. “I am so, so sorry.”
