Chapter 35
Chapter Thirty-Five
A nna drove their little group home from the Chicken Box. Well, except for Suzanne and Noah, who took their own car. The drive back to the share house was only about fifteen minutes, and they laughed almost the whole way. She’d never realized how funny Billy was before. She knew he was an influencer, but she hadn’t looked him up social media as she’d recently seen him in a movie. He’d actually played a charming drug dealer that was killed early on. He’d played the role well, but there hadn’t been anything funny about it.
Katy seemed totally smitten. And Anna understood it. Billy had a certain charisma about him. When he was in the room, he seemed to command attention and Katy had told her earlier that being on the receiving end of Billy’s attention was intoxicating.
“He makes me feel so seen, like he’s really into me and no one else matters,” she’d gushed as they were getting ready to go out earlier.
Anna was happy for her friend, but wary, too. She’d dated guys like Billy. The flame burned bright when their attention was new, but it faded fast when something else caught their attention. She didn’t want to assume that Billy was like that, but his track record, especially the recent issue with Lauren, didn’t bode well. Katy said they’d discussed it though.
“I asked him about it. And he was honest that he’d messed up. He swore it was a onetime thing. And he seemed so sincere.”
Anna’s advice was to take things slow and to always remember that they were being filmed.
“I know you’re caught up in the moment, but I’d keep it as light as possible. Don’t sleep with him until filming stops. You’ll know him better then. And you’ll know if it’s real.”
“ It sure feels real. But that’s good advice.” Katy grinned. “Especially as I was so sure that I wouldn’t get into anything romantic.”
Anna had smiled. “You did say that.”
When they came into the house, Billy went straight into the kitchen. “Is anyone else hungry? I’m going to make nachos.”
“I love nachos.” Katy followed him and helped by finding the big bag of tortilla chips. Billy opened the refrigerator and pulled out shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, salsa, and a leftover cooked burger. He crumbled the burger and assembled everythingexcept the sour cream on a plate and put it in the microwave for ninety seconds.
And Anna had to admit it smelled fantastic. She didn’t think she was hungry, but when Billy set the platter of steaming nachos on the kitchen island, she dove in with the others.
“That was a fun night,” Jason said as he scooped up a loaded tortilla chip and popped it into his mouth.
“It was,” Anna agreed. She’d been pleasantly surprised by how much fun she’d had with Jason. Like Katy, she hadn’t planned on finding romance in the house, and she wasn’t exactly sure if that’s what was happening with Jason, but she was enjoying his company. He was turning into a good friend, and maybe more, but she wasn’t sure just yet. She’d told Katy to go slow, and she intended to follow her own advice.
“What do you two have planned for tomorrow?” Jason asked.
“We’re heading to Boston in the morning,” Anna said. “We have massages booked at the Four Seasons tomorrow afternoon and we’re going to do some shopping on Newbury Street and have a nice dinner somewhere.”
“Nice. Are you staying the night?” he asked.
“We are. We’ll be back Wednesday morning in time for filming,” Anna said.
“Maybe we could come back tomorrow night,” Katy said wistfully. Anna knew that look—she didn’t want to be away from Billy for even one night.
Anna smiled. “It’s too late to cancel now. And we should probably head to bed. We have to be up early.”
Katy didn’t look like she was ready to leave Billy yet, but after a moment, she nodded. “You’re probably right. We should go up to bed.”
“You guys will have a blast in Boston. You’ll have to tell us all about it when you get back,” Billy said. He leaned over and kissed Katy. It was a quick kiss, but it took her breath away. “Goodnight, Katy.” He grinned and flashed her his most charming grin and Anna knew Katy was totally hooked.
“Have fun, Anna. See you on Wednesday.” Jason pulled her in for a hug. He didn’t go for a kiss and she was grateful. They hadn’t done that yet. She sensed it was coming, but the time wasn’t right yet.
“Goodnight. Thanks for the nachos, Billy. They were great.”
He looked pleased. “Anytime.”
Anna and Katy headed upstairs and Anna was glad they were heading to Boston the next day and getting out of the house for a night. She thought it was a good idea for both of them to push pause. Everything seemed more intense in the house since they were around each other twenty-four seven. She didn’t want either of them to get too attached too soon and do anything they might regret later.