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She nods. “Dinner and drinks. A lot of drinks. One thing led to another and… He seemed like a nice guy. Different from most of the guys I meet on tour.”
“He’s a good actor,” I reply.
She snorts. “Lesson learned. I’ve never seen someone’s personality change that fast. But as soon as he got what he wanted—”
“Vapor trail?” I ask, and she nods again.
“I figured it was a lesson learned, right? But when the video first came out, and he claimed it was you, I reached out to him again. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt.” She rolls her eyes. “Since he made a tape of me, maybe he made one with you, too. And was mistaken when he claimed the video was of the two of you.”
“How’d that go for you?” I ask. I already know the answer.
“He told me he knew. He knew the tape wasn’t you. Especially since you were a better lay than I was. That’s what he said.”
“I’m sorry, Michaela. He’s an ass.”
She waves away my apology. “It’s not like he was hot shit either. Obviously more concerned with how he looked on camera than with making it a pleasurable experience for me.”
“He was that way even without the camera,” I share.
Nothing like Garrett.
“God, I must have lost every brain cell in my head when I agreed to go out with him.”
“Don’t beat yourself up,” I tell her. “He fools a lot of people.”
“Unfortunately, including the media.”
I shrug. “It’ll fade. And it still didn’t stop me from getting the part I wanted.”
“I think I may have figured out a way to clear your name. For good. And make sure people see him for who he is.” She leans forward, and I find myself mirroring her pose.
“If that’s what you want.”
“What? How?”
“Have you seen the video?”
I grimace. “No. I started to, but…”
“It’s mostly shadows and noise. That’s how he was able to convince everyone it was you.”
“I guess? At least the part I’ve seen is in shadow.”
She nods. “Except for the part where my shoulder is visible, and so is the tattoo I have there.”
Twisting, she pulls down one shoulder of her shirt. A compass is surrounded by a quote.
Not all who wander are lost.
“Tolkien,” I whisper.
“Tolkien,” she confirms.
“What does that have to do with me no longer being billed as his co-star in his ‘leaked’ video?”
“I’m releasing a statement tomorrow. I’m going to take a screenshot of the tattoo on the video and then reveal the tattoo on my shoulder. I’m going to admit that it was me in that video with him and give details about where and when we were together.” Her look of determination is shadowed by one of anxiety.
“Won’t that hurt your reputation though?”
