23. Cassie
Part of me wonders if everyone suspects Emmett and me, and the other part of me is freaking out that we’re about to tell our friends we’re dating. I went from not wanting anything to do with any guys, ever, to falling for Emmett. I did not see that coming. Sure, we flirted, but I thought it was harmless. I didn’t want to open my heart again to the possibility of being hurt. But he just wouldn’t let me go. He kept pursuing me, hanging out with me, breaking me down one wink, one touch at a time.
It was exhausting to pretend I didn’t care for him, that I wasn’t starting to like him. I knew he was different from the first time we met, the way he winked at me and said things to me that no other man would say. He wanted to fight back and push me to my limits. Even once I was working next to him, he wouldn’t leave me alone. He was like a puppy dog, always needy and clingy and by my side.
Normally, I would hate that, but with Emmett, it was different. I wasn’t any better. I just kept things hidden. He consumed my thoughts. His texts brought a smile to my face. I couldn’t even contain my feelings enough because Lucy figured out I liked him from the beginning. I knew he was trouble, yet I ignored all the red flags.
I hung out with him alone. I danced with him at his birthday party. Despite everything, I don”t have any regrets. Maybe I would have if things didn’t go the way they are now, but I don’t want to dwell on the what-ifs. I want to focus on the positive things.
The showcase on Friday surpassed all my expectations and was the best I”ve ever had. All of my friends were there. Friends, plural. I’ve had no one besides Lucy that I could rely on coming to see me. I’ve tried to make friends here, but no one has any time to hang out. Or at least, they don’t choose you as a priority. Plus, between working and everything, I guess I didn’t make it a priority either. I had Lucy and Annie, and with Annie moving here this fall, I had my little circle. I was acting well enough, and I got the job at the studio, so I felt like I was moving forward with my life.
But I wasn’t. I was just comfortable with where I was at and I wasn’t growing in the places that mattered. When it came to acting, I realized I wasn”t pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I only accepted gigs in genres I was familiar with and felt confident I could nail effortlessly. I wanted to avoid more rejections.
I also was fine with the limited people I had around me. While I was growing up, my mom spent most of her time alone, and she appeared to handle it well. She didn’t thrive all the time by any means, but she didn’t seem lonely. I guess a small part of me deep down thought that since my mom was fine, I didn’t need anyone either. It wasn’t worth the heartbreak to find out whoever I chose wasn’t in it for forever, or wouldn’t want me once we had a family. I didn’t want to go through what she went through, so I thought it was easier to be alone after what happened with the last person I was seeing.
Emmett is different, though, and he’s proven that to me. He has layers that I would have never thought to look for. I see something new in him every day. From the way he always makes sure I eat breakfast, to how he just looks at me when we wake up in the morning. He makes me feel appreciated, wanted, safe.
Now, we just need to get through this dinner. I’m not scared anymore, though, because I trust Emmett won”t treat me like the previous guy did. I know he won’t leave me and I know he would stand up and defend me if anyone thinks I got a role because of him. He knows I have his back and would never use him to advance my career.
Communication is important. Without it, relationships fall apart because you’re not on the same page as your partner. Communicating about each other’s fears, wants, and wishes has been one of my favorite things about these past two months with Emmett.
Getting to know each other in the comfort of his apartment is something I won’t take for granted. I don’t think it would have been the same if our relationship was public from the beginning. We would have had a lot more to worry about. More cameras would have been around to capture our relationship, for one. For two, I think there would have been more pressure to be perfect. To have a face for our relationship, some script where we say nice things about each other.
I wonder if Emmett would have quit acting or if I would have been comfortable working with him at the studio. But again, I don’t want to dwell on the what-ifs because that’s not the timeline we are in.
Things happened the way they did for a reason. He came to the diner. I got a job at January Studios, and we fell for each other when we least expected it. Or at least, when I least expected it.
There’s a knock on the front door that breaks my train of thought. It’s probably for the best because I’ll keep thinking about how perfect all of this is, and I’ll start crying, and Emmett will wonder what’s wrong because we have literally just been sitting here watching a movie in silence.
“I’ll get it,” Emmett says. He stands up and walks to the front door.
Tyler walks in. He’s talking to Emmett about some movie he just watched. I swear these men are movie obsessed. He finally looks over and sees me sitting on the couch, watching him. I give a small smile and wave.
“I knew it,” Tyler says. “You two are fucking.”
Emmett laughs and I blush. Yep, pretty accurate representation of how we respond to things.
Tyler shoves Emmett’s shoulder. “I had a feeling that things were about to get interesting when you brought up Marcy’s new assistant in the trailer.” I roll my eyes and stand up from the couch, walking over to give him a hug. “I would have stolen you for myself if Emmett didn’t already stake his claim.”
“Mhm, yeah, sure, that’s why,” Emmett says, walking to the kitchen. He opens the fridge to grab a drink for Tyler. We’ve talked about Tyler a lot, and we secretly think he’s into Lucy. I thought there might have been something going on at Emmett’s party, but she never mentioned him after that. She wouldn’t hide it from me, or at least I wouldn’t think so, since she knows about Emmett and me.
Max and Lane are next to arrive, driving together like always. If they notice anything, they say nothing. It could be because Tyler is already here, so maybe they just thought I also arrived here on time. Marcy shows up next, walking in with Lucy. They’re chatting about Lucy’s art show that will be here before we know it.
I help Emmett grab drinks and snacks for everyone. I set them on the coffee table and take a seat in one of the big chairs instead of on the couch.
“Alright, so what’s the meaning of this dinner?” Marcy asks. “Not that I don’t love y”all, but I had plans tonight, and Emmett made me cancel them because he said I just had to be here and to trust him.”
Emmett looks at me, so everyone else does too. The familiar rush of nerves floods through me. I shouldn’t be so nervous, considering telling them that Emmett and I are dating is small compared to telling them that Emmett is quitting acting.
We have decided to announce our relationship first because, although it will be shocking, the news that he will not act after this movie will upstage it. At least, he won’t pursue any big time movies. I can see him still acting in smaller films because I know deep down he loves it.
Emmett walks over to where I’m sitting and places a hand on my shoulder. I nod in confirmation that it’s time. We wanted to get it over with right away before we eat because pizza is a good way to win over all of them and apologize for hiding this from them at the same time.
“Cassie and I are dating,” Emmett says. At first no one speaks. They’re just staring at us, taking it in. I wonder what’s going on in their heads. I know Lucy and Marcy already know, so I don’t expect them to look shocked. Both of them are currently snacking and looking around at everyone else, trying to also gauge everyone’s reactions.
Tyler already confirmed his suspicions. Max and Lane are going back and forth between looking at us with their jaws dropped to looking at each other with wide eyes.
“Wait, did you know?” Tyler says, looking at Marcy.
“They told me last night, but we all already knew anyway.” Marcy throws a piece of popcorn in her mouth.
Tyler looks back at Emmett and says, “I can’t believe you told Marcy before me.”
Emmett shrugs. “We needed her to confirm Cassie’s job would be safe.”
“Alright, I get that,” Tyler says.
I glance over at Lucy, wondering if maybe she told Tyler the truth.
“I didn’t say a word. Don’t look at me,” Lucy mutters.
“No, Lucy didn’t say anything. You two just don’t hide it that well,” Marcy says.
Okay, now I’m confused. I thought we were doing a great job hiding our relationship from anyone. We made sure to not spend a lot of time alone in his trailer and I barely talked to him on set.
“But why didn’t any of you say anything?” I ask Marcy.
I barely knew Emmett and did not know if he was the guy I wanted to be serious with. I needed the time we had to confirm that what we had was something worth taking risks for. That I would be okay in a public relationship with someone who has some pull in the industry.
“I’ve known Emmett for most of my life and have never seen him as happy as he is now. I knew something was up when he stopped complaining about the little things and started smiling more. Laughing more. And of course, you two were eye-fucking literally all the time on set. It was getting to be annoying. All of this sexual tension because you two were trying to keep this a secret,” Marcy says. She fills us in on how everyone had a hunch that we were together and just pretended with us they didn’t know. Even Carla knows and said nothing. Apparently, Carla rooted for us too much. She sent me with mail to his trailer so many times, it all makes sense now. She was just meddling and knew all along that we were together.
I laugh. Emmett gives my shoulder a squeeze, which reminds me of the other news we wanted to announce.
“Well, since you all know so much about my life, I hope this doesn’t come as a surprise,” Emmett starts. I grab his hand and give him a squeeze. It feels good to show my affection to him now, in front of everyone. It doesn’t feel as weird as I thought it would, but maybe that’s because everyone seemed to already think we were together in some capacity.
Emmett takes one last deep breath. “I’m going to announce at the end of this week that I’m done acting. Or at least, not pursuing any more big roles. I want to pivot to focus on my writing.”
Again, no one says anything.
Finally, Lane gets up from the couch and walks over to Emmett, who is still standing next to me.
Lane reaches out to Emmett and pulls him into a hug. “It’s about damn time,” he says.
Emmett chuckles. “Yeah, I know.”
And that’s that. What we thought was going to be a big deal turned out not to be a big deal at all. When you have people around you that care about you, you find that not much will shock them. They normally know you more than you know yourself. Like they knew that Emmett and I were together, or something of the sort. And even though everyone didn’t know too much about Emmett’s writing, they were more than willing to support him.
We sit and chat for a little longer about the interview that we’re going to be doing later this week. Emmett still needs to work with his agent to get something scheduled, but we think it’s going to be a video interview instead of a print interview.
Eventually, Tyler speaks up and lets the entire room know that he’s hungry, so we all move to the dining table.
I realize at this moment, looking around the table at everyone, that this is what I’ve been missing. I’ve been missing a community of people to support and push me. After what happened, I wasn”t sure if I wanted to stay here for another year. I was constantly pushing aside doubt, reminding myself that acting was my passion. It seemed like my spark was slowly fizzling out. Something that was once a passion of mine was feeling more like a chore. Then Emmett came around, and it no longer matters that my plan has failed. It no longer is my only priority to land a major role.
Now, my plan is simply to be happy and enjoy life with Emmett, however that looks for us in the future. I won’t forget my dream, but I also won’t let it hold me back from having a life like this, surrounded by friends.
My lips curve into a smile as I catch Emmett’s eye, and he responds by smiling back at me.
I realize that regardless of how this week goes, we will be okay. All our friends are behind us. I will be there for Emmett as he announces the next chapter of his career. Even if his parents try to convince him otherwise, he will know that I am here for him. The only task left is to get through the interview.