Chapter 44
Sebastian
The Extra
“I fucking knew it.”
At the club, I stared at the live feed on my phone of Evie’s front door. She’d just left the house with her hood up, looking overly suspicious. I dropped my head back in frustration.
“She’s going to find Hodder.”
“Should we go stop her?” Skye scrunched up her nose and sipped her cocktail.
I looked around the large room. This club was one of my favorite places. Tall, secluded booths lined the walls, and there was a large dance floor in the center. The bar had a giant blue backlight, matching the lights that danced under the flooring. They pulsed to the loud club music.
I wasn’t being a great wingman. I’d promised I’d help her meet people tonight, but so far I’d only managed to help her talk to a cocktail waitress.
“No, I’m texting Bryce to go stop her. She’ll think it’s just a coincidence if they bump into each other.” I shut off the feed and texted Bryce where Evie was going and to go catch her. He responded with a thumbs up, and reluctantly, I put my phone in my pocket.
“You know, putting your own cameras at someone else’s house is creepy, right?” Skye said.
I rolled my eyes. “I think she’ll forgive me later.”
I’d done it when she left to help Antoinette. I’d wanted to know when she got home. I figured once this was all over, I’d mention it. For now, it was helpful in keeping her safe.
“Evie is too impulsive. If she’s not careful, she’s going to end up dead.”
“I don’t think she really cares,” Skye said.
Despite the music pounding and the dance floor crowded, it felt like silence had fallen over the room. I hated that she was right. So instead, I slapped the wood and hopped off my stool.
“Let’s dance!” I held out my hand to help her up.
She tugged on her short teal sequined cocktail dress, trying to cover her thighs better. She looked around, wincing as she stepped out with heels that made her almost taller than me. Plenty of eyes were on her, but she was too nervous to notice.
“Won’t that make us look like a couple?” she asked as we went onto the dance floor. “I don’t want people to think—”
“It’s fine!”
As we danced, I looked around and found a pretty redheaded girl close by. I danced over to her and politely nudged her. She turned and stared, as if trying to place me.
“Hi. You’re pretty. Want to meet my pretty friend? She’s new to town!” I pointed to Skye—who was dancing alone, swinging her hips with her eyes closed.
“That’s your friend?” The girl followed where I pointed, raising an eyebrow. She grinned and followed me over to Skye.
I introduced them, and Skye seemed to freeze, her eyes wide like a deer in headlights.
The redhead noticed her nervousness and took charge. “Do you have a drink? Can I buy you one?”
And just like that, Skye forgot I was there. She nodded eagerly and followed the girl to the bar. I chuckled and danced my way off the floor, pulling my phone back out as I slid into a booth in the back of the club. I shot a text to Bryce to check on things.
Bryce: I called her. We’re going back to her house so she can spar with me.
I took a breath, and when a waitress came by, I ordered a beer and sat back, attempting to relax.
A few guys stopped and chatted with me, but once they realized it was going nowhere, they ditched to try another table.
I had to explain I wasn’t on the market tonight and was simply here to support a friend.
After the fourth or fifth look of disbelief, I was tempted to leave and let Skye do her thing unaccompanied, but that would be a douchey move.
While she’d barely waved at me in the last hour, I’d promised to stay with her.
I was deep in my phone, looking at Charles Hodder’s professional website, when there was a loud slap on the table, causing me to jump.
Skye plopped into the seat across from me, pushing her damp hair off her cheeks. Her face was flushed, and she seemed to relax.
“Oh my gosh, it’s so much fun out there! I know you’re not looking tonight, but you need to go dance—the DJ is everything!” she screamed.
I flinched at her volume.
“Yeah?” I yelled back. “You’re having fun, then?”
She nodded, her eyes sparkling. “So much fun. Thanks for getting me in!”
This was a higher-end club—one you had to know someone to get into. I probably should have taken her to a place more accessible for when I wasn’t with her, but I wanted her to have a good time tonight, and this was the best place.
I’d been here quite a few times. Most of the men here were others in the industry.
Dancers, lower-level actors, reality stars.
While I didn’t date, almost all my one-night stands were met here.
I found myself drawn to stuntmen, usually.
I’d hooked up exclusively with stuntmen, now that I thought about it.
What could I say? I loved a good drink and a guy who liked being told what to do.
“Of course. For you, anything,” I told Skye.
“What are Evie and Bryce up to?” she asked.
A moment later, a waitress came by with a bright-blue cocktail for Skye, courtesy of a gorgeous Black woman in a tiny green dress, all legs and long, black hair. She gave a cute little wave to Skye from the bar. Skye beamed and waved back.
She turned to me, her mouth agape. “That is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
“Go say hi,” I suggested.
Skye smirked. “In a bit. I want to check in with you for a flash. Are you okay? Is Evie all right?”
“She’s fine. I’m just...”
“Madly in love with her?” She smiled and reached for my hand over the table, squeezing it briefly.
“Something like that,” I admitted.
“I love her too,” Skye said. “In a different way, of course. But she’s not just yours to protect. Bryce and I want her to stay alive after all this too. She’s not just your Final Girl. She’s all of ours.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Oh yeah?” I didn’t think she realized just how determined Evie was to see her revenge to the finish line.
“Absolutely. Okay, I’ll be back. I don’t want that girl to run off before I say thank you for the drink.” She scooted off the bench and took her drink with her.
I smiled as she chatted with the woman at the bar, and I must have zoned out because suddenly they were approaching the table, arms threaded together.
“Sebastian, this is Chloe. Chloe, this is my friend Sebastian.”
I shook the woman’s hand, and they moved into the booth.
“How’s it going? You look like a whole bundle of fun.” Chloe laughed.
“He’s just missing his girlfriend a little tonight,” Skye explained.
“Ah, and a gay bar is the perfect place to sulk.”
This wasn’t the first comment about my attitude tonight, so I flashed a smile and set my phone down.
“How’s it going out there? Still having a good time?”
“Such a good time. Chloe is a model and a DJ! She’s taking me to one of her gigs next week!”
I bit back a joke about everyone being a DJ in this town and sipped my drink. Neither woman seemed to notice or care that I didn’t have much to say. I suspected they’d only joined me to get relief from the tall heels they both wore.
“What were you looking at?” Skye pointed to my phone.
I glanced at Chloe and shook my head. “Nothing important.”
“Oh, come on,” Chloe said. “You don’t have to hide things. I don’t really care. I’m just here to relax before I go back to dance.”
Reluctantly, I flashed them my screen. Charles Hodder’s headshot from his website was on display.
Chloe squinted at the photo, then her face lit up. “Oh, my God. I know that guy.”
“You do?” Skye asked.
“Yeah, he tried to match with me the other day, but when I told him I was more gay than not, he got totally homophobic, and that is not the vibe in this town.”
She pulled out her phone, began clicking, then turned her screen to show me Charles’s dating profile.
“What app is that?” Skye said, pulling out her phone. She glanced at me briefly as she downloaded the app Chloe told her to. “Is that your guy?”
I peered over and, upon a quick glance, nodded. In five minutes’ time, Skye had downloaded the app, made an account under a fake name, and matched with Charles. She set her phone down, gave Chloe a triumphant look, then directed her attention to me.
“There we go. Once he messages me, I’ll get details.” She put her arm around Chloe and pulled her in, kissing the new woman.
I looked away as they shoved their tongues into each other’s mouths. When she pulled away for a breath, she looked at Chloe and gave her a lame excuse as to why we needed to see Charles.
“Charles backed into my friend’s car and won’t answer his calls now.”
“Girl, I don’t care. Let’s go dance.”
The two scooted out of the booth, and before Chloe could pull her away, Skye leaned down to wink at me.
“Sebastian, you go in my place, or I’ll go with you, and then you can ambush him. I told you, Evie is our Final Girl, and she’s not going anywhere.”