AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ll need you to sign a release.” She doesn’t look at me as she pokes at her phone. “If you don’t mind being in my video, that is. I’ll send you the paperwork.”
“I’m not signing anything until I see how ridiculous I looked.” I make a comically terrified face and mime running.
She laughs. “The first one was better. But don’t worry, I’ll show you before I post it.”
“What are you using it for?” I step behind her so I can look over her shoulder.
“Just a social media post. Look at where Nica is now kind of thing. But I always make sure I have written permission to use others’ faces. I’ve had friends get sued.”
“Like in a court?”
“It doesn’t usually go to court.” She finishes on the phone and slips it into the jacket pocket. “Usually, someone has a falling-out—couple breaks up, friends argue, whatever—and one of them has a lawyer draft a letter to the other demanding compensation for the use of their image in promotional activities. If you’re smart, you just pay and have them sign a release. Going to court only makes the lawyers rich.” She pulls her glasses down to look at me. “I’ll pay you for your time. Market rate for the tour—I’d have to look online to see what similar tours are going for. Plus a daily rate for your acting. You’re not union, but this is more than an extra—"
Is that what this is to her? Some kind of business transaction? My heart drops and my stomach knots. My voice comes out kind of petulant. “I don’t want to be paid. I thought we were just a couple of friends out for a ride.”
“We are. But there’s no reason you can’t benefit from my success, right? Besides, I can write it off my taxes. Believe me, every little bit helps. But if you don’t want me to pay you, I can still pay for gas and food and stuff.”
It feels so impersonal to think this way, but Blake has done similar deals with me. Artists are usually independent contractors instead of employees, so they can take advantage of write-offs for work-related stuff.
“Sure. I’ll let you cover the gas. As for food—that’s already taken care of.”
As we return to the bike, she pushes her glasses back on. “Really? I’m intrigued. I figured we’d stop at the Burger Abbey on the way back. I haven’t been there since I was a kid. Is it still good?”
“It is a Rotheberg institution. And the burgers are excellent. But I’ve got something else set up. You’ll have to wait and see.” I grab my helmet from the handlebar but pause before pulling it on and jerk my chin up the road. “Up ahead, we’ll go by an old ranger building. It was built by the Conservation Corps back in the nineteen forties. We use it for the haunted house every year.”
“How fun!” She waits for me to get on, then sits behind me. “Let’s go see the haunted mansion.”
As we wind into the shade of the pines, the temperature drops. The road turns, then widens into a gravel parking lot. A long, low stone building perches on the hillside to the left. The front is a series of arches over square windows, with a steep roof. A pair of stone stairways lead up to the entrances on either side.
“That’s fabulous!” Nica says as I slow the bike. “I wish I was going to be here for Halloween.”
I do too, but I don’t say it. “That would be fun.”
Leaving the deserted building behind, we pick up speed as we ride deeper into the national forest. We stop along the way at a waterfall and another viewpoint, and Nica takes more videos. In a couple of them, she gets shots of me in the distance. At one point, she has me ride past, filming the dust billowing up behind me, then choking on it.
I climb off the bike and hand her a bottle of water from the saddle bags. As she drinks, a bead of moisture rolls down her neck. I’m mesmerized by it, and my mouth goes dry.
I tear my eyes away from her throat to find her smirking at me. “Like what you see, Mr. Hertzsprung?” Her sultry smile disappears, and she looks away. “Sorry, I don’t know why—you bring out the flirt in me.”
I step closer. “I’m not averse to a little flirting.”
She glances at me from under her lashes. “I know.” She hands the water bottle to me and takes a step back, crossing her arms. “I’m going to lay my cards on the table, Matt. I like you. A lot. But I have a terrible track record with men, and you’re a really nice guy. I know you’ve got a crush on me. No—” She waves me off when I try half-heartedly to protest. “It’s normal. You’ve seen me on TV, and you’ve fallen for the character I play. Because let’s face it, I play the same character in every movie.”
“Except Snow Way to Love.” I can’t help throwing in the one film where she played the antagonist. I hide a smirk when she winces—that movie was terrible. “And your characters are all different. In Random Chances you were a teacher. And in Sorry, Not Sorry you were a flight attendant.”
She holds up both hands to stop me. “Yes, the characters have different jobs and circumstances. But they’re all basically the same. Plucky young rom-com heroines. Smart, but not too smart. Friendly, nice to animals. She’s honest, cheerful, loves her family, always does the right thing. But that’s not me! Sometimes I’m a real witch. I don’t always do the right thing. Look at how I manipulated you into attending that wedding with me. Or this ride—”
I cut her off. “You didn’t manipulate me—believe me, I know what manipulation feels like. My ex was a master at it. You told me up front what you needed and why. I agreed.”
“But you only agreed because you have a crush on me!”
I roll my shoulders, taking a moment to formulate my thoughts. “If asking someone who likes you to help you out is manipulation, we’re all in trouble. You didn’t guilt me into it, or—”
“But I did! It was obvious you’d do anything I asked, and I used you.”
She’s spiraling. Eva does this sometimes, where she gets a negative thought into her head and just keeps reinforcing it. Sometimes being absolutely frank helps. “News flash, but I wouldn’t do anything for you. I wouldn’t have injured Hannah to get you that role in the play. I wouldn’t get Justin fired so you can see your dad. And if I’d had plans with friends on the night of his wedding, you would have gone solo. I like you, but I’m not going to walk out on my friends for a chance to hang with a movie star who’s only here for a few weeks.”
She stares at me, her mouth open. “I—well, I guess that puts me in my place.”
