Chapter 29
Jesse
“Are you nervous?”
Jesse’s hands were still tucked under his thighs where he’d put them as soon as he climbed into the back of the sleek car the studio had sent to pick him up. He pulled his focus from the window and met the curious look Cal was giving him with a small, diffident grin.
“A little,” he confessed.
It seemed silly to be nervous after everything he’d accomplished since filming wrapped.
They’d been on radio shows and made public appearances together, sat for interviews and posed for new promotional portraits that the studio distributed to every newspaper, magazine, and gossip tabloid they could reach.
According to everyone at Powell, the picture was already trending toward a smash at the box office and it hadn’t even opened yet. At least, not for another hour or so.
Cal held his hand up between them. Jesse took it with both of his, holding it on his lap as he peeked out the window on Cal’s side, eager for the theater to come into view.
They were both dressed in something Fred picked out, complimentary but not matching.
When Jesse agreed to the offer, he’d expected Cal’s secretary to select items from his existing wardrobe.
Instead, Cal had surprised him with a new suit three days earlier, complete with gold cufflinks and spectator Oxfords polished to the perfect shine.
Jesse tried to refuse, silently fearing how long it would take to pay him back, but Cal insisted that it was a gift and the only repayment he would accept was to see Jesse wearing it on the night of their premiere.
So there he sat, dressed like a millionaire in the back of a limousine, holding hands with the movie star he’d been going steady with for two months. With the man who loved him.
The first indication that they’d arrived was the noise.
Even with the windows rolled up, Jesse could hear the crowd gathered outside the theater waiting to catch a glimpse of the celebrities as they emerged in all their glittering splendor.
He’d experienced it at Edie’s premiere and a few others since, but this time was different.
Theirs was the last car to arrive. Everyone was waiting on them.
Without meaning to, Jesse tightened his grip on Cal’s hand, which earned him a look of gentle, encouraging affection.
“They already love you,” Cal said. “Just give them the attention they want, a few smiles and nods, and we’ll be in our seats in no time.”
Jesse gave him a sharp nod and leaned up to steal a kiss. Cal had offered to share enough of his magic with Jesse to take the edge off, but Jesse had politely declined. He wanted to feel every emotion this night had to offer, however intense they might be.
The limousine rolled to a stop beside the curb.
Flash bulbs were already popping. When the attendant opened the door, the hum of the crowd became a roar, which gave way to screams and whistles when they realized who was inside.
Cal went first, offering a regal wave to his adoring fans, before he turned back to offer Jesse his arm.
There was no time for Jesse to hide the flush of delight that swept through him as he accepted it, stepping out into the cool night air buzzing with noise and excitement.
They followed the velvety red carpet lined with thick stanchion ropes, smiling and waving, pausing for photographs, showered in applause all the while.
Overhead, thick beams of light from swiveling searchlights cut across the dark sky.
The marquee bulbs flashed and danced around bold letters that spelled out words he knew too well to be real: Cal Campbell and Jesse Morgan and When I’m in Your Arms.
“This is all just a beautiful dream, right?” Jesse asked distractedly when they posed for more photos. “I’m going to wake up soon?”
Cal’s hand on his back slid down to his waist, pulling him closer.
“A dream to be sure, my darling,” he confirmed with so much fondness that it made Jesse ache.
They broke their pose at the same time, gazing at one another in such a way that the noise from the crowd swelled. Cal took it as a challenge, apparently, or inspiration at the very least. He bent down and pressed a lingering kiss to Jesse’s cheek and the fans erupted.
After keeping their relationship relatively quiet for a few weeks, and after clearing it with the studio, they’d decided to go public in an exclusive interview with Joan Dupree.
She’d been more than pleased to help share the news.
Jesse had written a letter home to tell his parents before they found out some other way, too.
His mother wrote back letting him know that she didn’t need any damfool gossip paper to tell her that her son was in love—she already knew.
Their journey inside was halted several more times as they greeted everyone from the studio who had come out to support them, including their friends.
Talking with Monty and Hilliard felt like a warm embrace; Edie kissed both of their cheeks and said they looked flawless together.
When she gave Jesse a knowing smile, he returned it.
They’d shared a lunch date, just the two of them, to discuss some intimate matters that left Jesse feeling more understood and supported than he had in a very long time.
A microphone stand was placed in front of them when they reached the area sectioned off for reporters.
“Mr. Campbell,” the interviewer half-shouted into the microphone to be heard over the crowd, “tell us the most rewarding part of working on this film.”
Cal leaned forward as the mic was turned in his direction.
“First of all, I’d like to say good evening, everyone.
Thank you for coming out to see us. Every film I’ve worked on has been rewarding, but this one was particularly challenging, and I believe it helped me grow as an actor, even after all these years.
I had gotten too comfortable in my previous roles. It was a good change of pace.”
“What was it like being a mentor for your novice co-star on and off the screen?”
Cal gave Jesse a brief but dazzling smile.
“Mr. Morgan is one of the brightest new talents I’ve seen in my decade-long career. He made it easy.”
The interviewer turned on Jesse next.
“Any advice for young actors like yourself looking to make it big in Hollywood?”
Jesse cleared his throat as he leaned closer to the microphone. He’d given this one some thought on his own time, and answered similar versions of it in several other interviews already, so he felt prepared with an answer.
“This was never what I planned to do with my life,” he admitted, watching as the reporters all began scribbling on their notepads.
“But I like to dance, and I like going to the movies, and somehow I was in the right place at the right time.” Jesse paused to make sure he said the next part clearly.
“Follow your passion first and foremost. Dance even when you’re feeling low.
Be open to big changes. And don’t let anybody try to convince you that you’re not good enough. Especially yourself.”
As they were ushered inside, Cal leaned down close to Jesse’s ear and murmured, “Said like a true professional.”
“Well, I did have the best teacher—on and off the screen,” he said with a cheeky grin that earned him one of Cal’s big laughs.
When Cal and Jesse were finally shown to their seats—the best ones in the theater—Jesse took Cal’s hand again and held it tight with anticipation.
He’d seen himself on glossy magazine pages, and more recently illustrated on the promotional poster in Cal’s strong arms, but this was the first time he’d get to see himself up on the screen.
The lights dimmed and the opening credits rolled, joined by an instrumental of the titular song. Jesse’s heart was racing. When Cal gave his hand a squeeze, he looked over, expecting him to be watching just as intently. But Cal was watching him instead, his eyes soft in the low light.
“I love you,” he whispered.
Jesse had spent his last penny more than once to sit in a theater and watch Cal fall in love time and time again.
He’d dreamt it was him on the receiving end, powering through grueling days of too much work and not enough food or rest with only his wildest fantasies to keep him company.
He wasn’t sure that he believed in chance, or luck, or even fate.
But if there was one thing he could believe in, it was his magic.
His fancy feet had carried him through all of his hardest days, across the country, and into the arms of the only one who could make all of his troubles disappear.
“I love you, too,” he mouthed in reply. Then, he leaned back in his seat and prepared to watch his new favorite Cal Campbell picture.