13. They’ll look so cute in hair nets
They’ll look so cute in hair nets
Hunter and Leandra’s expressions were both dark, to say the least, and if Colby had had quicker reflexes, he would have ducked into the weight room before they saw him, but he didn’t. Leandra rolled her eyes at him. “Hey. Colby’s here. What a shock.”
“Hey Lee,” Colby said, knowing full well she hated people who shortened her name. He got personal satisfaction over the way it made her visibly bristle because she fucked over Hunter. Cheated on him! Who cheats on someone as hot, fragile, and yet as perfect as Hunter? The devil, that’s who.
She didn’t reply and instead turned back to Hunter. “I don’t know why you have to be like this.”
“Because you fucked another guy,” Hunter replied, his voice even and not loud, but not quiet. Leandra instantly shushed him.
“Please. You’re not that broken up about it,” Leandra scoffed and put her hands on her spandex-covered hips. “We both knew we were over. Deep down I know you’re relieved.”
“Wow,” Hunter hissed out. “If this is how you think you get me to give you the deposit money, you’re doing it wrong.”
“I paid the whole fucking thing, Hunter,” Leandra complains.
“And when I leave, I’ll give it back to you.”
“Does Bob know about the homeless guy you let sleep in the parking stall?” Leandra glanced at Colby and gave him a scathing once-over.
“The van’s gone, Lee,” Colby added, and she glared at the use of Lee. Colby tried not to grin by biting the inside of his cheek.
“He’s moved in, and he’s paying the rent with me,” Hunter snapped. “Unlike you, he won’t bail.”
Leandra’s head reared back like she’d been slapped. Her eyes darted between the two men, and Colby got a weird feeling. She turned to Hunter. “Is he fucking you too, like I used to, or are you just using him for his money and not his—”
“How much was the deposit, Lee?” Colby interrupted because he knew it wasn’t going to benefit Hunter, or anyone, to let that sentence be finished.
“First, last, and a security deposit was twenty-eight hundred total,” Leandra replied. “And it’s Leandra.”
“Okay, Lee, well, since you lived there the first month, I’ll pay you for the last month’s rent and the security deposit,” Colby said calmly as he came to stand next to Hunter.
“So, text me your Venmo info. I know you probably still have my number. You’re that special kind of person who keeps all her contacts, even the ones she hates, in case she needs something someday. ”
Leandra’s jaw dropped. The receptionist behind her tried to hide her smile behind her hand, which meant she was eavesdropping. She also had a look in her eye like she would high-five Colby if she could.
“Let’s go, Hunter.” Colby put a hand on his back and gave him a little push toward the door. After a stutter step, Hunter walked out.
Colby was following until Leandra said, “Sorry about that gay thing. That was uncalled for. He just gets me so…”
She didn’t finish that sentence. Colby looked at her, and she offered him a smile that was almost soft.
Almost. He understood why Hunter had liked her.
She was pretty, with a smoke show of a body, and when she liked you, she was genuinely pleasant.
But she only liked you when she could get something out of you.
“You’re not sorry,” Colby replied. She opened her mouth to argue, but he didn’t let her. “It’s fine. I honestly give less than zero shits about what you think, Leandra. I just want you to leave Hunter alone.”
“Fine. Whatever.” Leandra sighed dismissively.
Hitching his gym bag strap higher on his broad shoulder, he said, “Have the day you deserve.”
Colby turned and walked out of the gym. Hunter was brooding on the sidewalk. “What else did she say?”
“Nothing of value,” Colby replied and smiled. “Fuck her.”
He dropped a hand on Hunter’s shoulder and squeezed as they walked to the car parked in the lot behind the building.
Once Hunter was behind the wheel and Colby was in the passenger seat, he said, “You don’t have to pay her.”
Colby shrugged. “I have the money, and I live there now, right? I mean… this would kind of make it official. If you’re okay with it being official.”
Hunter took his foot off the gas and stopped reversing out of the parking spot.
“Yeah. I don’t want you to go anywhere. And I’m not just using you to pay the rent.
I like having you, specifically, as a roommate.
I could find someone else. My friends Brendan and Will offered to let me move into their guestroom in their townhouse in Studio City when they found out Leandra left, but I wanted to be your roommate. ”
“Cool. Then let me Venmo Cheater McCheaterson, and it’ll be a done deal.”
Hunter nodded and continued the drive back to the apartment. “Sorry, she inferred we’re fucking.”
“Whatever.”
“She’s never been like that before. I don’t know where that came from. She was on the gym’s Pride float last year for fuck’s sake.”
Colby just shrugged and watched people wander in and out of the CVS on the corner of Fairfax and Sunset as they waited for the light to change. Finally, Hunter said, “It didn’t freak you out?”
“Her insinuating we’re fucking?” Colby asked, and he huffed with a wry smile on his lips. “After what happened last night, I’d say it wasn’t a bad guess. But who gives a shit if she thinks we’re gay? It’s not an insult.”
Hunter didn’t respond. The light changed, and he got into the turn lane and went right on Fairfax. Colby wondered if this was where everything blew up, like he thought it would. “You think it’s an insult?”
“No. Not at all. Dude, I told you. I’m into it,” Hunter said quickly as he turned onto Norton. “But I don’t think I’m gay. Maybe we’re both like… bi?”
“Maybe.” Colby really liked to think he was because then, he might actually fall in love with a girl and his dad would like him again. One day. Maybe. But probably not.
Hunter’s phone started ringing. “Can you check it?”
Colby picked it up from where Hunter had dumped it on the console and checked the call display. “Marge.”
“Put it on speaker.” Colby did, and Hunter said, “Hi Margo.”
“Hi Hunter. Guess what?”
“You’re quitting Hollywood to become a basket weaver in Nepal.”
“What? No.”
Hunter turned into their apartment driveway, but he gently brought the car to a stop in the driveway rather than turn into their parking spot, where the reception sometimes cut out because it was half under the building. He threw the car in park but left the engine running.
“You won the lottery and are using the funds to open an In-n-Out Burger run strictly by trained Alpacas.”
“Hunter.”
“What? They’ll look so cute in hair nets.”
Colby rolled his eyes at Hunter, but he was also fighting a laugh. Hunter was much funnier than he gave himself credit for, and although Hunter had a hot superhero lead face and body, he had the humor of a rom-com king too. He really had endless potential.
“You got the part, baby!” Margo bellowed suddenly, not putting up with a second more of Hunter’s nonsense.
“What? The sci-fi indie flick? The lead?”
“Yes. That. Yes! The lead! You are anchoring a film, Hunter Law! A really good one,” Margo confirmed proudly.
Apparently, Hollywood finally got the memo. Colby was so excited that he reached over and grabbed one of Hunter’s hands in both of his.
“You’re serious?” Hunter asked, fighting the grin that was trying to take over his face.
“Yes!” Margo exclaimed. “But there’s a small catch. Not really a catch, just an… unexpected plot twist.”
“What?” Colby and Hunter said at the exact same moment. If Colby’s heart was in his throat, which it was, then Hunter’s must be hanging from his tonsils.
“There’s an echo…” Margo muttered, not realizing Colby was on the call too. “You have to leave the day after tomorrow. They’ve already started pre-production, and there’s a shit ton of fight choreography to learn and costumes to fit.”
“Holy shit.” Hunter croaked. “I’m supposed to go to Montreal next week to see my parents. It’s Thanksgiving. The Canadian one.”
“Don’t you think your parents would understand?” Margo asked. “This is your break, Hunter. It truly is.”
“Yeah. Of course. Yeah. I just… I thought I’d have a little more time.”
“Full disclosure. It was already cast,” Margo told him, her voice calm but rushed.
She knew Hunter well enough to know that he wouldn’t like this part.
Colby could tell that’s why she was hurrying through the explanation.
“But obviously he wasn’t a good fit, or there were scheduling issues or something because last minute, that actor’s out and they want you! ”
“I love being the last resort,” Hunter muttered, immediately defeated. Colby nudged his shoulder and shot him a reassuring smile. He was also still kind of holding Hunter’s hand, but neither of them seemed to care.
“Doesn’t matter how it happened, it happened. Do you know how many other guys they could have picked?” Colby said. He tried to whisper it but Margo heard.
“Who is that?” Margo asked.
“My roommate Colby,” Hunter said. “He’s a musician.”
“Oh, that one I saw when I went to the dive bar you work at a couple weeks ago?” Margo asked, and Colby frowned at the phone until she added, “He was good. You were good, Colby.”
“Thank you, Marge…go.” He cleared his throat, and Hunter struggled not to laugh. “Margo.”
“You also got a look. If you ever want to act, call me. I bet I can score you a hair commercial or something.”
“Thanks?” Colby said, but his face scrunched up uncomfortably at the thought. He could bare his soul and share his innermost thoughts on stage as he sang, but standing in front of a camera trying to be someone else was a horrifying thought.
“So, start packing. Also, the first half of the salary is on its way to you,” Margo said, and you could hear the smile in her voice. “My fifteen percent from you will make my car payment this month, kiddo. And I drive a Benz.”
“Shit. Yeah. Glad I could keep your wheels on the road, Margo. And thanks. For everything. You’re amazing.”
“I fucking am,” Margo agreed. “And so are you. Go to Canada and show them. I’ll let you know when the plane ticket is confirmed.”
She ended the call, and Colby put Hunter’s phone in his lap as Hunter put the car in gear and pulled into their spot.
Hunter cut the engine, closed his eyes, and inhaled slowly.
Colby watched him silently, enjoying the way a sliver of sunlight tilting into the cavernous space sliced across his jet-black hair and thick, straight eyebrows. “You’re freaking out.”
“A little. Yeah,” Hunter muttered, and Colby glanced at his hands, which were still on the steering wheel, gripping so tightly his knuckles were stark white.
Colby had seen signs of Hunter’s anxiety before.
Mostly it was clenched jaws, pinched eyebrows, and twitching fingers. This felt like more than that.
“Why? This is everything you’ve been working toward. Everything you want,” Colby reminded him. “A leading role. In a movie. You’ll knock this out of the park, Hunter. I know it.”
“Yeah, but… they picked me because they’re desperate.
They’ll see me in person and think I’m too…
small, or too big, or not expressive enough or too expressive or too…
whatever it is that made me a second choice,” Hunter complained.
He exhaled loudly and continued his spiral.
“The sides said casting call said ‘Caucasian male,’ so what if they see me and I’m not white enough in person?
What if I’m too tall? Or not tall enough?
Or too built? Or they think I’m fat. I can look round sometimes.
Or I’m not coordinated enough to do the fight sequences? Or—”
“Look at me,” Colby insisted, and Hunter begrudgingly did as he was told.
“You know the lines. You like the role. You are perfect for the role. I’m sure you weren’t the only other person to audition.
But you’re the one they went with. Even if it was second.
But maybe it wasn’t. They’ve been auditioning for that role for months.
Dex gave me the script almost two months ago. ”
“Daxton.”
“Whatever. Maybe they went with the other dude out of desperation and then saw your tape and thought ‘no, wait, he is what we’ve wanted all along.’” Colby inhaled and pressed his lips together, fighting the urge to say more.
But then… fuck it. “And as for your look… I’m gonna tell you something that could make things weird, but you clearly need to hear it. ”
Hunter’s eyes widened a little, and he bit his bottom lip as he waited nervously for whatever Colby was going to offer.
He was like a child scared of the dark, needing a parent to promise them there was nothing under the bed.
Only the dark was the entire world, and under the bed was Hollywood, which was, in all honesty, filled with some scary monsters.
Colby took a deep breath and reached for Hunter’s hand again.
“You’re definitely not standard issue when it comes to looks.
But that’s not a bad thing. You’re an interesting mix of many things, and I never stopped to give a shit what that actually was.
I just enjoyed the view. The first time I saw you on the Trader Joe’s restroom floor, I thought, well, at least I get to die with the hottest dude ever.
And since I moved in, I just felt lucky to be able to look at you any time I want.
And audiences will be the same way. I know it.
Bonus you can actually act your perfect ass off, and you’re coordinated. You’ll nail the fight shit.”
Colby finally stopped gushing and tried not to open the car door and run away.
Because this was next-level private thoughts, and being that frank with Hunter could make him freak harder.
But then again, Hunter was leaving the country, so at least they would have time to get over the awkwardness if that’s what Colby had just caused.
“You really believe that?” Hunter finally asked, his voice a wobbly whisper.
“Sure.” Colby nodded. “But what matters is that you start believing it.”
Hunter smiled and squeezed Colby’s hand.
Not sure what to do next but drowning in the weight of the moment and knowing they both needed to be saved, Colby pulled his hand away and gently slapped the side of Hunter’s cheek.
“Now let’s get upstairs and start packing.
You’re off to be a movie star in forty-eight hours. ”
Colby unbuckled his seat belt and opened the car door. Moments later, they were climbing the stairs to their apartment, and Colby was making a checklist on his phone while Hunter rattled off things he had to do before he left.
Colby really wanted this for Hunter, as much as he wanted his own career to take off. They both deserved it. Colby knew it in his soul, so he ignored the tiny, uncomfortable pinch in his chest at the thought of Hunter leaving for Canada for God knows how long.