I opened the limousine door and stepped out into the crowd of paparazzi and reporters. Sara stood by my side as we walked towards the theater set up to screen Real Love. Her calm demeanor helped to keep me grounded as people swarmed me for photos and autographs. I just tried to stay in the moment and not let my thoughts drift towards Amelia or my announcement.
But then, just as I was entering the tent, a second limo pulled up and Amelia stepped out. Her hair was neatly gelled, suit hugging her slender frame, green eyes even more gorgeous than I remembered.
23.
Amelia
My breath left me when I saw Jessica standing outside the theatre. Why did I still have to feel my heart racing when I saw her? Why did I have to fight the desire to throw myself into her arms? Why did I still have to love her?
Our eye contact broke when a woman beside her put her hand to Jessica’s shoulder and drew her inside the doors. Jessica leaned in and whispered something in the woman’s ear and the hair on the back of my neck prickled. Was she Jessica’s date? They certainly seemed close.
Did seeing Jessica with another woman make me jealous? No—it fucking killed me.
I strode through the crowd and into the theatre, hoping I could find a seat at the back, but as soon as I sat down, a lady with a clipboard tapped my shoulder.
“Miss Earhart, the four seats at the front are reserved for you, Miss Black and your dates.”
“I don’t have a date,” I said in a much more surly tone than the woman deserved.
“We have a camera crew here to film your reactions during the screening.” She smiled tensely, trying to be polite even though I was making her job a lot harder than it had to be.
I sighed and stood, legs heavy as I walked to the front of the theatre where Jessica sat with her date. I took the seat further from her, leaving an empty space between us. Somehow I felt too close and too far from her at the same time. I tried to sneak a quick look at her date again, but ended up making eye contact with Jessica instead. I froze, heart pounding.
“Hey,” she said, smiling nervously.
“Hi.” I looked away.
“This is Sara by the way.”
I clenched my fists as jealousy tore through me again. I kept my jaw tight as I said back, “So I guess you were more into women than you were letting on.”
“What?” Jessica shook her head. “Oh, Sara and I aren’t dating.”
“Right.” I looked away again because I was so done with this. “I know the drill. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone your pretty girl is just a prop.”
“Hey, thanks, you’re quite pretty yourself.” Sara leaned forward to speak around Jessica.
“You’re not helping.” Jessica pushed Sara back into her chair.
“There’s nothing to help,” I hissed as the lights dimmed. “You and I don’t have to talk.”
A spotlight pooled in the front of the room and the director walked out to say a few words about Real Love before the screening started.
“I just want to tell you that I’ve changed,” Jessica whispered, leaning over the empty seat to reach my ear. It was the closest we’d been in months and I just wanted to turn and kiss her. And I hated myself for being so pathetic.
“Good for you. I hope you're happy with yourself,” I said without looking at her.
Jessica whispered one last thing in my ear before pulling away, “I haven’t been happy since you left me.”
I squeezed my eyes shut as the title music for Real Love began to fill the theatre. Why did she have to say that? Why did she have to make wanting her hurt so bad?
My chest became tighter with each minute the film played. From beside me, I kept hearing little hissing whispers as Jessica and Sara murmured back and forth. How fucking rude. You’d think an actress would know you’re not supposed to talk during a movie.
By the time my first kiss scene with Jessica came up, I was staring down at the floor, trying to keep from hyperventilating. I heard a small giggle from Sara and my fists clenched again. I wondered if Sara really was just a prop. It seemed like there could be a lot more between the two of them. Maybe Jessica had just said they weren’t dating so she wouldn’t embarrass me since I’d shown up alone. But since when did Jessica care about how I felt? I thought back to all the moments of tenderness, how caring and thoughtful she’d always been towards me.
Jesus, don’t think about that!
I kept my gaze on the floor, refusing to watch the romance playing out, but then I heard it: “I love you.”