Chapter 16
Sebastian
The Bridge
A loud knock on Evie’s trailer door made us both turn our heads.
I looked back at her, raising an eyebrow. “What do you say? How badly do you want those men dead?”
She stared me down, weighing my words. Could I really hold up my end of this deal? The knock came again, followed by a call.
“Ms. Reyes? Mr. Shaw?”
Evie sighed heavily and snatched the contract from me. “I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass. And I’m all out of bubblegum.”
A large grin spread over my face at the quote from They Live. I pulled a pen from my jacket and handed it to her. She signed it quickly and then brushed past me to open the door.
“Yeah?” she snapped at the man on the other side.
I eyed the tall, stocky Black man and the much shorter, heavy-set white woman smiling behind him.
“Sorry. They want Sebastian on the sound stage for stunt training. And they want you for PR training,” he said.
“And who are you?” she asked, changing her tone from charged to relaxed as we both exited her trailer.
“Sorry, I should have introduced myself. I’m Connor, Mr. Shaw’s production assistant for the film. I’ll be making sure you stay on schedule, among other things. If you need anything, I’m your guy.” The man built like a linebacker took my hand and shook it.
“And I’m Raissa, Evie’s assistant!” The woman popped out from behind Connor, tossing her long brunette hair with purple streaks over her shoulder. “Let’s get you over to the right building.” She motioned to the set of golf carts beside the trailers.
“Right. Okay.” I paused, reaching for Evie’s hand. I squeezed and looked into her deep, dark eyes. “I’ll catch you after work, okay?”
She nodded, and we went our separate ways. Connor told me all about himself as he drove me over to the sound stage.
“I played pro ball, NFL, but quit two years in. The brain damage wasn’t worth it anymore. So, I took all my money and came out here instead. Figured I could use my film degree.” He chuckled. He seemed like a decent guy, but I found myself distracted by Evie.
She’d just agreed to fake date me.
The timer had started. I had until she killed the last man on her list to convince her to drop the act and be with me for real.
“Sir?”
I looked around, surprised. We were parked in front of the sound stage. I’d gotten lost in thought again and hadn’t noticed how quickly we’d gotten here.
I leaped out. “Thanks, Connor. Call me Sebastian.”
I headed into the building and was sent to change and prepare for stunt training.
“Bout damn time!” Bryce, my old friend and co-star for five, soon to be six, Simon Says movies, greeted me when I made it to set. He did a double take when I came closer. “You look like hell.”
I raked my gaze over him. Bryce had an aloof cowboy style, which made it easy for him to maintain a put-together appearance, even if he wasn’t.
His blond hair was longer, going to his shoulders, which were broad.
His body shape was similar to mine, although he’d gotten his from farm work, and mine came from attending the gym daily.
Working with him today was going to be brutal.
“I’ve been worse.” I drank the water Connor had given me, tossed the bottle into the trash, and raised my fists into a fighting stance. “Let’s fucking go, big boy.”
The morning was spent sparring. At lunch, I checked in on Evie, but she was still in PR training across the lot.
I took a quick shower in my trailer, letting the hot water soothe my screaming muscles.
Returning to set after, I was rigged with a harness and dragged, tossed, blown back, all the things they’d potentially be shooting in the next two months.
This wasn’t new to me, and I grew bored fast.
“You all right there, kiddo?” Bryce asked as we wrapped for the day.
Stunt days were typically short so we didn’t hurt ourselves. We exited the sound stage and walked to the trailers, rather than drove. “You seemed out of it most of the day.”
“It’s just been one of those days.” I shrugged off his concerns.
Bryce was like an older brother. He was about fifteen years older and had always been protective of me when I was a kid on set. When I grew into an adult, we started hanging out after work on occasion. He was probably the closest person I had in this world, other than Evie.
“I’m just trying to get out of here. I have things to do.”
“Things? Or people?” He chuckled, then shuddered. “It’s weird seeing Evie back and all grown up. Kinda makes me feel like some deadbeat dad.”
I laughed. “What the hell are you talking about?” Bryce was always two thoughts ahead of everyone else. He often had conversations in his head, forgetting to let us in on whatever the topic was.
“Well, I watched you two grow up on set. You were basically toddlers when we met. Considering neither of you had father figures, or well—good ones.” He cringed, and I waved him off.
My dad was like the rest of them: money hungry.
I hadn’t actually spoken to him since I was eight.
My mom was long gone by then, having ditched us for a boyfriend when I was a newborn.
That left my dad to raise me, but when I started the Simon Says movies, it was clear that he didn’t care about me.
He just wanted the paycheck. Heather, my agent, ended up taking him to court to get me emancipated.
At the time, the courts thought having Heather around in place of my dad would keep me safe. They were wrong.
You can’t be a kid and be safe in this town.
“I was eight,” I clarified. “Which would have made you what, twenty-three?”
“Yeah, I guess so. Man, how time flies. I’d love to be twenty-three again, although I will say, I make thirty-six look good.
” Bryce laughed and then stopped, his smile fading.
“I kind of took on a protective role. I liked watching over you guys, making sure no one was hurting you. I just... wish I could have done that for Lita too.”
Sadness washed over us momentarily as we thought of our lost castmate and friend.
“Anyway, I kind of think of you two as the kids I’ll never have. I’m glad she’s back.”
“Me too.” Just as we got to our trailers, I spotted Evie getting off a cart, her assistant in tow. “Hey, I’ll catch you later,” I said to Bryce as I walked off.
“Maybe we can all get pizza or something soon!” he shouted after me.
I didn’t respond, my brain too focused on Evie. Even with tired eyes and slumped shoulders, she was the prettiest woman I’d ever laid eyes on.
“Hey. How was PR training?” I asked when I reached her.
She didn’t look my way. Instead, she kept walking.
“You can go get your stuff. I’ll be ready soon,” she said to Raissa, who quickly fell back and went the opposite direction.
“Evie? Is everything okay?” I reached for her wrist as she made it to her trailer, the one next to mine.
She stopped and turned. “Yes, I’m just tired. I didn’t sleep last night,” she reminded me.
I nodded. I knew once I got home, I’d crash out myself. Right now, I was energized from the excitement of being near her. “I’m having Raissa take me home in a bit. The moving company picked up the van earlier.”
My mood fell slightly. I wanted to be the one to drive her home.
“Do you want company? We could talk about...things. I can come over later.”
“Not tonight, Sebastian. I am so mentally drained, it’s not funny.
And I officially start shooting tomorrow, so I need to rest, learn my lines, and de-stress.
We can talk after. I’m just stopping in here to grab my script.
” I let go of her wrist and she climbed the stairs to her trailer, opening the door.
“Sure, of course. I haven’t checked the call sheet. Are we doing scenes together?” I followed her in.
She grabbed the script, and we promptly left her trailer.
“No, it’s me and Skye. I think they’re saving most of our scenes for last.”
I knew all this. This was what they did for Step-Devil too.
They wanted us to have as much chemistry as possible before we started to film.
They were going to stall filming our sex scenes until the very end.
Just like I was stalling right now. I was grasping at straws, but I didn’t want to let her go just yet.
“Well, maybe we can carve out some time. I wouldn’t mind talking about last night,” I suggested as we crossed the parking lot.
She spun around, her eyes darting across the lot. “Beep beep, Ritchie!” she hissed and stepped closer to me.
I lifted my shoulders. “What? Are we not supposed to say we were together—”
She cupped her hand over my mouth, and I relished the feel of her soft palm on my stubbled jaw. I inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of sweet pea lotion.
“Look, no one knows about this, and no one needs to,” she said carefully. She was talking about both Glenn and our showmance.
I stepped back, dropping her hand. “It puts the lotion in the basket. It does this whenever it’s told.” I snickered.
She crossed her arms. “You’re not funny.”
“No? I was told that’s why they keep bringing me back,” I quipped.
Her shoulders slumped, and she tossed her hands up. She gave me a glare and turned away. “I have to go. Don’t call me. I have things to do.”
“All right,” I shouted as she stormed away. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Final Girl!”
She shot me the middle finger. “Good night, Psycho Killer!”
Before she could reach the cars, she made a sharp turn toward an office building. I cocked my head.
“Where are you going?” I shouted before she got out of earshot.
She turned around and shook her head. Even from a distance, I could see the eye roll. She pointed to Glenn’s car, then the building.
“I have to break it off with Glenn! Hopefully he takes it well!”