“He’s a maniac.” I hated that Lee was so cavalier with Tinsley’s time.
“I’m starting to worry he might be more than a maniac,” Tinsley wondered aloud.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I don’t want to start the rumor mill going but I just have some concerns about his drinking,” she said. “I’ve had my assistant keeping an eye on him a bit. It seems like every time he has one of his blow ups at me or the cast he’s either hung over or he’s been drinking.
“Like that fiasco with Michael the other day. He had been out all night. They told me he’d showered at the studio. I'm worried he may have a problem. I just don’t quite know what to do about it.”
I looked at her with pride and admiration.
“What, why are you looking at me like that?” she asked.
“You just never cease to amaze me, Tins. Here this guy has been a non-stop asshole to you and you’re still looking out for him.”
“I just know that hurt people hurt people,” she said, attempting to downplay her compassion.
“It’s more than that though, I mean look at the way you forgave me. Not just anyone would do that,” I said.
“Well, that’s just because I couldn’t keep my hands off you,” she teased.
“Ha ha.” Just then my interviewer walked in.
“Hey, I’ve got to work through lunch, but do you want to grab dinner, you, me and Kai tonight when we’re all done here?” she asked.
“Sounds great!” I said. Finally, I had something to look forward to from this miserable day.
—
By the time the press junket was finished for the day I was exhausted. I usually just went home and zoned out after these things, the drain of talking to that many people in one day getting to me. But as I made my way towards the tapas restaurant where we’d agreed to meet I felt suddenly energized at the thought of seeing Tinsley.
The thought of spending time with her was literally the only thing that had gotten me through the rest of the day. But Tinsley was like the light waiting for me at the end of a dark, dingy tunnel and I couldn’t wait to see my light.
I walked through the door to find Tinsley and Kai at the bar already ordering drinks. When I walked up, she handed me a cold shot of my favorite tequila.
“How’d you know this was my favorite?” I asked.
“A little bird told me,” she said with a wink.
“Chirp chirp,” said Kai.
She grabbed her own shot glass and encouraged Kai to do the same. “Here’s to us,” she said. “And whatever that means. Oh, and to Adrienne because she is having Lucas over for the night as a thank you for me babysitting on her anniversary.”
“Does that mean we have the whole night to ourselves?” Kai asked.
“It sure does. So, drink up,” she said.
“Not so fast,” said Kai. “We have to look each other in the eye before we take it or it’s seven years of bad sex.”
Tinsley looked deep into each of our eyes before downing her shot. “With you guys, I don’t think that’s even possible.”
A hostess moved towards us with menus in hand and ushered us towards our table.
After we ordered Kai, Tinsley and I fell into easy conversation about the good ole’ days. We caught one another up on our lives, reminisced about high school and college, and talked about the future.
“I actually had a great meeting with my agent yesterday,” I told them. “We talked about the direction I want my career to go, and it was super promising. She texted me this morning and said she already had several scripts for me to read over that are in line with my new direction.
“You were right Tinsley, she agreed that this was the perfect next move for me. I didn’t realize but she’s actually had several clients who she helped make this shift. I feel really good about where things are going.”