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14
“We’re ready to start production,”my producer said around a bite of food, or at least that was what it sounded like. He was on my Bluetooth while I ran in the gym, but it was getting increasingly difficult to hear him.
“What? It sounded like you said production was moved up,” I clarified, slowing down and taking a long drink of water from my Hydro Flask.
“It has, you heard right. We got Shelly Cambria to play the lead role, and it needs to fit in with her next release in order for this one to work, so we’re bumping everything up,” Grant said with more lucidity and excitement.
I had just recently signed the contract within the last few days after my little rehash with Bexley. I hadn’t even realized I’d been biding my time with them, waiting to sign for some reason, even though technically I wasn’t supposed to do shit while on this vacation, but my agent had sent the contract through anyway with notes from my lawyer already scrawled on Post-It notes, none of which I read. I could have called if I wanted to, but it was all cut and dry. I just hadn’t realized it would all be happening so soon.
“Shooting location?” I asked, realizing I should probably be somewhere private for this call.
“Brazil. It’ll be hot,” Grant enunciated the T at the end of his sentence.
I didn’t want to go to Brazil; I didn’t particularly want to work with Shelly again either. Grant probably didn’t know this, but I knew Shelly—knew her in the biblical sense. It had been casual, but she’d still spread rumors about me and how I broke her heart to the tabloids. It had been five years, but still…I didn’t trust her.
“I can’t get on a plane until the end of the month,” I said, making an internal decision. I ignored why I had made it, and the warning in my head about why it was such a stupid statement to make. I should have just hopped on a plane and gotten the fuck out of here.
Jogging down the steps, I eyed the sports center crew that was working and subconsciously wondered what time Bexley would be coming in. I needed to train my thoughts to stop this shit because I had just told her three days ago on her porch that there was too much water under our bridge to ever be in each other’s lives in any capacity. I hadn’t called her, she hadn’t called me…I had, however, stayed up thinking about her and the kids, and I hated myself for it.
“I need you here by the end of the week. That’s the only way we can make this movie and the timeline work,” Grant explained.
“You’re going to have to meet me halfway with this…Shelly wants this film to fit her schedule, but what about mine?”
“You didn’t submit a pending contract that was time sensitive…if you had, we’d consider your schedule.” Grant laughed, mocking my attempts to get more time.
“Okay, fair…but this vacation was already set up, already on my calendar when you offered me the role…so technically that needs to be considered too,” I shot back.
“Fair enough…you can have two weeks. That’s all I can do.”
It wasn’t all he could do, but for the sake of time and the fact that I didn’t want to talk to him anymore, I agreed.
I hung up, hating the cutting sensation building in my chest. Acting had filled a spot in my life for a time, but recently it was starting to feel like I was imprisoned by it. I’d often see actors fall off the grid, hear that they’d settled down, started a family. That wasn’t me, never had been. Every single girl I’d met since Bexley had been a temporary fix, just scratching an itch.
But something was pulling at me, this image in my mind that started unfolding at night before I went to sleep. It was of, telling bedtime stories, early morning breakfast in pajamas, cartoons on the couch, water fights in the yard…family.
I blinked in rapid succession as that image came in and faded just as fast. During those five days away from Bexley back in college, it had been a similar image that’d brought me out of my stupor. An image of waking up to Bexley for the rest of my life, holding her while she was pregnant, making love to her, laughing with her, loving her.
Someone running past me in a blur had me snapping out of my memories and taking notice of my surroundings. I glanced back toward the parking lot right as a plum purple minivan pulled into a spot. I started toward my SUV as Bexley hurried out, ducking her head to look into her purse. She didn’t notice I was in front of her until I said her name.
“Bexley, hey…”
Her head snapped up. Her hair was swept half up, the rest hanging straight in little strands around her face. Her neon green shirt that matched the other sports center employees had a nametag attached over her left breast.
“Wow, looks like you’re official.” I pointed toward the small rectangular magnet.
She forced a tight smile. “Yeah, guess so. Sorry, I need to get to work.” She shouldered past me, but I turned with her, gently grabbing her arm.
“Wait…” I asked, unsure of what I was even going to say. Her blue eyes searched my face while I hesitated.
Why had I ignored her after our talk? I’d done it again.
Fuck.
“Where are Cole and Bella?”
Bexley shifted from one foot to another, hoisting her purse higher on her shoulder. From what I remembered, she had previously worked evening shifts, but it was currently almost nine in the morning, so it made me curious about her babysitting arrangements.
“With the neighbor. She helps me sometimes when I need it.”
