CHAPTER 20
“You’re wrapped for the day, Dana. Get out of here before I change my mind,” Reed said.
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” she said and rushed to her trailer.
It was dinnertime, but she was done for the day since the rest of the bar stuff was Stella and Jessica, who had a talk on the sofa while Bray went to the bathroom.
That meant Dana could get out of here and meet up with Lainey and fill her in on what happened.
She knew she shouldn’t out Samara, but this was her big sister and probably her sister’s fiancée.
Neither of them would say anything to anyone, and if they did, Dana would kick their asses.
She had missed Lainey the past few days.
They’d both been busy, but Dana had only had time to sleep outside of work, with the exception of the little late night out with Samara.
She needed some sister time and for Lainey to talk some sense into her because Samara was a bad idea.
She was a celebrity. She lived in LA. She also wasn’t out yet, and based on her reaction last night, probably wouldn’t be for a long time, if ever.
That wasn’t something Dana wanted for herself.
If she ended up with a woman, she wanted to be able to hold her hand in public, and Samara might not ever be ready for that.
“Hey,” Lainey said when Dana walked into Chapter & Verse thirty minutes later. “I’m just helping Maisie. Give me five. Want to meet over at the café?”
Lainey nodded toward the open door that led to Southern Roastery’s corporate office, which had a café in the lobby.
“Sure,” Dana said. “Hey, Maisie,” she added when she saw Maisie coming through that same door with India right behind her.
“Oh, hey. Were you going to the café? India just got done with work. We were going to close up here and have a coffee there.”
“Oh, yeah. We were,” she replied.
She loved Maisie, and India was fine, but Dana had been hoping it would just be Lainey until Paige inevitably showed up and they went home together while Dana went home alone.
She wouldn’t say no to Maisie, though, because it wasn’t the woman’s fault that Dana and Lainey hadn’t had a lot of solo sister time over the past few, well, years, really.
“See you over there. Babe, will you hook Dana up?”
“Yes,” India replied with a laugh. “Dana, just take my badge. Jules is over there right now, so you should be good.”
India handed Dana her Southern Roastery employee badge.
“Great. Thanks,” she replied.
“We’ll be there in five,” Maisie said.
“Laine? You ready?” Dana asked.
“Yes. Let’s go. I’ll text Paige. She should be done with her meeting now.”
“Cool,” Dana said, knowing she lacked enthusiasm.
They walked through the connecting door and into the café, which was somewhat busy, but Dana spotted a table in the corner that they could take. She pointed Lainey in that direction and headed to the counter.
“Hey, Juliet,” she said.
“Oh, hey,” Juliet greeted back with a smile.
“India gave me her badge and said it was okay.”
“Sure.” Juliet laughed. “Staying here or taking to-go?”
“Staying here. I’m going to order for Lainey, too, and I’ll just get Paige’s while I’m here. You’re working late?”
“I’ve had a training class go long, but Gwen is picking me up in a few minutes. She’s wrapping up her last client of the day, so I figured I’d just help with the rush while I wait for her. What can I get for you?”
Dana ordered for the three of them, assuming Maisie and India would order for themselves if they wanted something, and Juliet swiped India’s badge.
Dana’s drip coffee was free. Paige and Lainey’s drinks were thirty percent off, so she handed Juliet a ten-dollar bill and told her to keep the change.
Then, she waited for the drinks and carried them to the table.
“I got Paige her usual, too.”
“Oh, cool. Thanks,” Lainey said. “She’s on her way.”
Dana sat down across from her sister, knowing Paige would take the seat next to her.
“So, how is it?” Lainey asked. “You’re finally doing it, huh? Acting in a movie. I’m really proud of you, you know?”
“Thanks. And it’s good. Great, really. I love it,” she replied, smiling widely. “It’s what I’ve always wanted.”
“Yeah? Better than you imagined?”
“It’s hard. There’s downtime, yeah, but it’s not like working a nine-to-five. I’m only here right now because I’m not in the scene they’re filming tonight, but it’s been a few long days, and that’ll continue. It’s a lot to get used to,” she shared and took a drink of her coffee.
“But it’s worth it?”
“Definitely,” she replied. “But I wanted to talk to you about something else.”
“What’s up?”
“You can’t tell anyone what I’m about to tell you, okay? Can you keep anything from Paige? Like, at all?”
“I don’t usually, but if you really need me to sister-swear like we did when we were kids, I can. Paige won’t say anything if I ask her not to, though.”
“I know. I trust her, but it involves someone else, so I want to be extra careful. I really don’t want to say anything at all, but I need to talk to someone. I feel like I’m going crazy.”
“Is everything okay?” Lainey asked, leaning forward.
“I like Samara.”
“I thought she was a bitch.”
“She has her moments, but I really like her, Lainey. Like, I want to date her kind of like her.”
“Oh,” Lainey said. “Since when?”
“A few days now,” she replied. “I’ve also been making out with her for work for three days, and the woman can kiss. You have no idea. Her hands on my body light me up in a way nothing else ever had.”
“Well, she’s gorgeous, so that makes sense. But that’s her job, right? You’re playing romantic leads.”
Dana leaned in and said, “We kissed last night while we sexy danced.”
“Okay…”
“No, I mean we really kissed, not in character. I kissed her on the dance floor, and she kissed me back. It was hot and sexy and perfect and amazing.”
“You mean she actually kissed you, kissed you? Samara Barber kissed you as Samara–”
“Stop saying her name like that. People could hear you.”
“But that’s what happened? You’re sure?”
“We went out after work, and it was just us. There were no cameras, Laine.”
“Just a dance floor filled with people. How did no one notice? Is it online now, and I missed it?”
“No. She was wearing a wig. And she came out to me, Lainey. She’s bi, like me. But we kissed, and then, she ran.”
“Hold on. She’s bi?” Lainey asked.
“You can’t tell anyone, not even Paige. I mean it.”
“Damn. I had no idea. Didn’t get any vibes from her. Who has she dated? Anyone else in the closet?”
“She’s never dated a woman before, and I’m the first one she’s kissed.” Dana thought about it. “For fake and for real, I guess.”
“You’re her first girl kiss?” Lainey asked and covered her mouth, looking like she thought this was adorable.
“Lainey, focus.”
“I am focused.”
“I don’t know what to do. I need sister advice.”
“I’m not sure what I can do for you. I’ve never dated a celebrity, and I definitely wasn’t Paige’s first girl kiss. I wasn’t even Maisie’s.”
“We haven’t really talked, but we need to because today was awkward, and we’re supposed to be playing two people falling in love.”
“Did you ask her why she ran?”
“I tried. She didn’t want to talk to me. And today, she asked if we could change the schedule so that she didn’t have to film with me. I swear, she wanted to kiss me, too. And she kissed me back. Her hands were everywhere. It wasn’t just one-sided.”
“And you want it to continue?”
“I don’t know. It’s crazy, right? She’s famous.
I’m not. She lives in Hollywood. I live here.
I’m going to go back to being a caterer when this is all over, and she’ll move on to her next movie and probably meet some guy she’ll fall for, and I’ll have to see pictures of them all over the place until they get married.
Then, I’ll see the exclusive photos on the cover of every magazine in the damn grocery store, and I’ll reminisce about the time I kissed her in a bar one night. ”
“It’s not crazy,” Lainey said. “You like her.”
“I do. She’s beautiful, yeah, but there’s more to her than that.”
“Then, it’s definitely not crazy. You should talk to her. Tell her how you feel.”
“I still have the rest of this shoot to get through.”
“Well, you can wait and tell her when it’s all over, but then, she leaves, right? If you tell her now, maybe she’ll want to give it a try while she’s still here, and you’ll have time together.”
“But if she freaks out and tells me no, it’ll be awkward, and we could ruin the movie.”
“You’re both professionals. I’m sure she’s had to fake getting along with co-stars before. That’s acting, right?”
“What’s acting?” Paige asked as she arrived at the table.
“What Dana does for a living now,” Lainey covered. “Hi, babe,” she added before Paige leaned down and kissed her.
“Is this for me?” Paige asked, pointing to her coffee.
“All yours,” Dana said and took a sip of her own drink.
“Hey, look who’s here,” Finley said and walked over to them with Molly. “We were just heading out, and I saw you.”
“You’re working late,” India noted, walking through the bookshop door with Maisie.
“We had a software upgrade to push,” Finley explained. “And Molly was nice enough to stay late with me.”
“I drove us here this morning, so I didn’t have much of a choice,” Molly said.
“She loves me.” Finley shrugged and took Molly’s hand.
“Who wants to grab a drink?” Paige asked. “This place closes soon, right?”
“In twenty minutes,” Juliet confirmed, walking over to them. “And Gwen is about to pick me up. Candace’s? We can all head over there.”
“I’m in,” Lainey said. “We can grab dinner there, too.”
“Dinner?” Maisie asked India.
Dana listened as the rest of the women confirmed their attendance, but she shook her head.
“I’m exhausted. I think I’m going to head home and get to bed early. You all have fun, though.”
“You sure?” Lainey asked her. “We can keep talking.”
“No, it’s okay. I’m good,” she replied.
The group broke up, with Maisie and India heading toward India’s car, Juliet walking out front where Gwen picked her up in the mobile dog-grooming van that she owned, and Finley and Molly grabbing coffee first before they left.
Paige and Lainey finished their coffees first and then headed out as well.
Dana remained sitting there by herself as the café closed around her, trying to figure out what to do about Samara.
She knew she wouldn’t sleep tonight if she didn’t at least try to make amends or explain, so she pulled out her phone.
Dana Sterling: I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have done what I did last night.
Not in public. We should’ve talked first, and you could’ve told me that you didn’t want that.
I thought I was giving you that chance when I paused a few times before I did it, but I didn’t ask, and that was wrong. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.
After sending that text, she stood, placed her coffee mug on the counter for an employee to clean, and walked outside to where she’d parked.
When she got into her car, her phone pinged, and she pulled it out quickly, hoping it was Samara, but was disappointed when it had turned out to be only one of the PAs alerting her to a schedule change for the following day.
Dana checked her email for the new call sheet, reviewed it, and confirmed with the PA that she was good to go.
Then, she started the car and pulled out into traffic.
Deciding she wasn’t ready to go home just yet and needing food anyway, she headed over to her favorite Po-Boy shop in the Quarter, parked wherever she could find a spot, and walked the rest of the way.
She ordered her usual but took it to-go because the place was packed and there were no seats in the small shop.
On her way back to her car, she got another notification and pulled out her phone, this time expecting another schedule change, but she stopped in her tracks when she saw Samara’s name on the screen.
Samara Barber: It’s not your fault. And you did give me time to pull away. I didn’t. I should have, but I didn’t. So, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I ran out on you and that I’ve been off all day.
Dana didn’t know what to say to that, so she decided to at least get to her car first so that she could sit and think about how best to respond. By the time she got there, though, there was another message.
Samara Barber: Can we talk?
Dana placed her bag on the roof of her car and messaged back.
Dana Sterling: Anytime. I mean that literally.
The three typing dots appeared immediately, so Dana just stood at her car and waited for the reply.
Samara Barber: What are you doing now?
Dana smiled and typed.
Dana Sterling: I just grabbed food. You? On a break?
The three dots appeared again.
Samara Barber: Did they send you an updated schedule for tomorrow yet?
They had some camera issues here, so we had to wrap early tonight.
I’m free now if you are. I know you’re tired.
I’ve kept you up late two nights in a row.
So, you can say no, and it’ll be okay. We can talk tomorrow or something.
Dana bit her lower lip and typed.
Dana Sterling: I can talk now. I can pick you up. We can grab dinner somewhere, if you want.
Samara Barber: You just got food.
Dana Sterling: It’ll keep until tomorrow.
Samara Barber: Can I wear the wig? I don’t want to get recognized.
Dana smiled and typed again.
Dana Sterling: And the glasses. The fedora is in my trailer, though, if you want to grab that, too.
Samara Barber: How soon can you get here?
Dana Sterling: Give me twenty minutes. I need to look up vegan restaurants.