“You think?” Her eyes almost bug out of her head with excitement. “Thank you so much. Of course, that’s all because of you so I’m very grateful, thank you.” Her cheeks flush with utter joy, she looks so beautiful that I almost want to lean down and kiss her. “Things will probably be much better tomorrow and now, I can’t wait to get on the set and kick some ass.”
I rub my eyes, the sleepiness getting the better of me. “So, I suppose I better go…”
“You can stay here with me if you want?” Avril leaps in eagerly. “I don’t mind, it’s easier than leaving at, what is it? Three in the morning, ooh sorry about that I didn’t realize it was so late.”
I want to. There’s a part of me that’s yearning to cuddle up next to this girl and hold her, but I can’t. It’s dangerous, I’m working I can’t overstep any boundaries and get too close. That’s a recipe for disaster. I don’t want to go anywhere at this time, but I have to. It’s the smart thing to do.
“I really better go,” I tell her regretfully. “But I really have enjoyed my time with you.”
She hands me a wad of cash, one that’s much too big to be anything like what we originally agreed and I must give her a curious look because she explains how she has so much.
“My father runs a really successful business and he… he gave me a bunch of cash to move to the city to start my acting career. I don’t think he intended me to spend it like this but…”
“Call it an acting class,” I retort with a cheeky grin. “He can’t be mad at that, can he? And it’s sort of right. And you know, if you ever need any more just give me a call.”
“Call the number that Carly called?”
I don’t know what possesses me to do it, I act crazy out of character risking absolutely everything that I’ve built up, but it just feels like the correct thing to do in the heat of the moment.
“No, here’s my cell phone number.” I take out a piece of paper and scribble it down for her. “Call me directly on that.”
Chapter Five – Avril
Yes, yes, yes!” Lee declares with utter glee. “Yes, Avril, this is amazing. Where have you been hiding this side of yourself?” He pats me on the back and beams down at me. “If I knew that you were going to pull this out of the bag then I never would have yelled at you all those times.”
“Oh well.” I blush and shrug. “I’m just glad that I got it right today.”
“That kiss… man, that kiss was something else! Wow. It was pretty much real.”
As my lips connected with Buzz’s in that scene, he vanished and became nothing. It was only Owen in my mind, kissing me and holding me close, just like he did last night. The memory of him kept me going in a way that leaves me with a deep thrill even now. Carly was right, experiencing real passion in my own life has made it so much easier to convey on screen. I’ll never forget that lesson.
“You know, I was going to cut it from the script, but I think we can do it now. A sex scene.”
In any day before today, those words would have filled me with dread. I might’ve actually been sick, but now I’m kind of excited. It’ll be quite cool to push myself in that way and it also means more screen time. The more that people see me, the wider my career will ultimately spread.
“Okay yeah, so when do you want to film that?” I ask Lee. “Today?”
“Yes. Let’s get all the costumes changed around and we’ll give it a go today. It might take a few takes because it’s something that we haven’t rehearsed, but yeah. We’ll try.”
I bound over to Carly, barely able to keep my feet still as I walk and her face breaks out into a giant grin once she spots me. The happiness radiates off me in a way that seems to be infectious to others. For the first time since we started this movie, I’m the ray of sunshine.
“Oh, my God,” Carly hisses to me as we make our way into my dressing room. “That was incredible. You were phenomenal today, that chemistry was sizzling. How the hell did you manage to do such a one eighty? Was my plan really that brilliant? I thought it would help, but…”
“Oh, my goodness, Owen was incredible,” I hiss to her once the door has closed behind me and I’m certain that we’re alone. “He helped me in so many different ways, I feel so lucky.”
“Wait, Owen? You got the guy’s name? I don’t think that’s normal, unless it was fake.”
“No, it wasn’t fake. We sort of became friends.” I beam even brighter at the memory.
“Please tell me you at least had sex with him!” Carly tosses her hands in the air in frustration. “That was half the point, for you to get some action. It really seems like you did…”
I bite down on my bottom lip, smirking. “Yes, we did and oh my God, it was off the scale.”
“Ooh that sounds so exciting. Tell me all the details.” She sits down in front of me, spinning the chair to face me dead on. “I want to know everything. Was he truly amazing?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe.” I slid my eyes closed and remember the sensation of his lips all over me. “It was like I was a virgin, I didn’t know anything until he came along.”
There’s a yearning in my chest that I won’t admit to Carly. I wish I’d met Owen under different circumstances and I could see him again. His cell phone number feels heavy in my wallet, all I want to do is pull it out and call him. And not just for his body, although that side of him was phenomenal. No, because I actually enjoyed spending time with him as well. He’s a nice guy, one I surprisingly got on well with. There wasn’t any point in which he made me feel silly or worthless.