Chapter 12 #2
She shoved the microphone into its stand, hopped down from the stage, and flung herself into his arms. With her face pressed into his neck, she smiled, genuinely, at the familiar scent of his Black Orchid cologne.
Nash lifted her off the ground and spun her in a circle, then pulled her into a kiss—or what looked like one.
He held her face in his hands, then she put her hands over his, forming a wall to block what their mouths were or were not doing.
Nash released her but kept her in his moony-eyed gaze. His wavy blond locks were swept back, his lips cherubically pink. Nash was a professional actor, but even still, his ability to gaze at her like he was head over heels was impressive.
“Hello, beautiful,” he said, weaving his fingers into hers.
“What are you doing here?” Lola said. “You’re supposed to be in Montana.”
“I had a break in filming, so I decided to surprise my girl.” Nash winked at her.
No matter how many times Lola had explained to Nash that he didn’t need to act like some Old Hollywood cowboy to convincingly date a woman—and in fact, doing that was kind of gay—he would not stop winking at her.
Probably because it always made her giggle.
“I’ve missed you so much!” Lola said. “I wish our schedules matched up better.”
This scheduling problem had been pre-identified as the fracture point for their relationship. With their breakup two months away, and Nash filming Horsebreaker in Montana while also promoting Fit to Live , they were supposed to mention their busy lives whenever possible.
“I never get to see my baby,” he said, tucking a loose tendril of hair behind her ear.
Lola clicked her tongue at him. She’d told Nash that baby as a term of endearment gave her the ick, so naturally Nash had turned that into an inside joke. He pulled her against him again and whispered into her ear, “My itty-bitty baby.”
“ Nash! ” Lola threw her head back and slid her arms around his waist. They were used to ensuring their relationship read as romantic on camera—not the cameras of a film set like Nash was used to, or photoshoots like Lola was, but to the cameras of paparazzi and cell-phone stalkers.
But there was another set of cameras here.
Micah and Gloriana were watching with smug satisfaction, but at the back of the space was Renee, her arms crossed and shoulders bunched up.
Even from this distance, Lola could tell she was grinding her jaw.
Renee hadn’t been in on the surprise, Lola realized—even though it must have taken a lot of coordinating to get Nash here at the right moment.
Renee stalked over to Micah, pointed at the side door, then followed him out into the parking lot.
As Lola watched her go, Nash slipped behind her, his arms over her shoulders, and leaned down so their faces were side by side.
“Baby, you’re staring ,” he said into her ear. “Who is she?”
***
In the parking lot, Renee shaded her eyes with her hand. “Want to tell me what’s happening here, Micah?”
Micah slid on his Ray-Bans. “Nash reached out to Gloriana about surprising Lola, and we thought it would be a perfect moment.”
“And you didn’t want to tell me about it?”
“It’s a surprise, Renee. You ruin it by telling too many people.”
“I’m not people, I’m the director !”
Micah raised his hands innocently. “Hey, I thought you wanted these natural-feeling moments. Surprise is great for that.”
“You think that’s Lola being natural?” Renee flung her hand toward the door.
“I said natural- feeling . There’s a difference,” Micah said. “If that’s all, I’m going back inside.”
The door swung shut behind him.
Renee seethed at Micah and Gloriana. Hadn’t they realized they were watching a master at work?
All day, Lo had commanded the room. In her shiny white boots and little shorts, she took uncompromising control of the rehearsal, then delivered a performance of “Star Sign” so incredible it had given Renee chills.
At the break, Lola had been herself without any prodding or coaching.
She’d complained about something , like a regular person with regular emotions.
It was actually pretty sexy.
Now, she’d been reduced to pretending to make out with a guy who looked like he thought yogurt was too spicy.
Lola deserved better than a fake romance, better than Micah’s dumb setups and distracting surprises. Renee didn’t want her film to be a part of that.
Documentaries were supposed to tell the truth.
If she couldn’t do that, how would Dragan ever pass her thesis? He’d emailed the other day, requesting an update. She’d thought she’d have something positive to report, but now, all over again, it felt like the project was slipping away from her—not that she’d ever had it squarely in her grasp.
Renee squatted on the ground and put her head in her hands, trying to get her breathing steady. Someone waved a cold bottle of water in front of her face. When she looked up to accept it, Cassidy was standing over her.
“Thanks,” Renee mumbled before taking a swig.
“You should move or you’ll be in the shots,” she said, then waved to someone parked in an innocuous gray car.
A bald-headed man in a wrinkled button-up got out. He was holding a camera.
“Seriously?” Renee muttered. A few moments later, Nash and Lola strode into the parking lot.
Immediately the rapid-fire clicking of the camera’s shutter began.
They were holding hands, and even though they clearly saw the photographer, they didn’t quicken their pace.
Lola’s hair was thrown up into a claw clip and she’d changed into jeans.
Those jeans .
Renee tried not to let her eyes linger on how the denim clung to Lola’s ass because she wasn’t a creep, but Lola was literally walking away from her.
The pair hopped into Nash’s massive, shiny truck and pulled away. Once they were gone, Gloriana emerged wearing a gigantic pair of sunglasses.
“What the hell was that?” Renee flung a hand at the man. “Why didn’t security deal with him?”
Gloriana waved to the paparazzo, who saluted her in response. “Honey, we called him .”
Renee’s mouth fell open.
Gloriana smirked. “You really don’t understand how any of this works, do you? There’s no point in getting Lola and Nash together if no one sees it. That’s what a relationship is in this town.”
***
“You went to high school with her?” Nash said with a salacious gasp.
Lola nodded. “We grew up together. Next-door neighbors.”
“And now you have a huge fat crush on her.”
“Keep your voice down!”
Lola was glad to spend the evening with Nash.
Having gone through the effort to get him to L.A.
, they needed to be seen in public. The couple had gone to a juice place, where they’d pretended not to notice the dozen people with their phones out, then they’d changed their outfits and gone to dinner—giving the paparazzi stationed outside plenty of time to snap photos.
“In a straight way , obv,” Nash added. “What do they call it? A girl crush!”
“I did have a tiny thing for her in high school, so I might have some … feelings left over.”
“The feelings I saw looked piping hot.”
Lola let out a huff, but she couldn’t deny it.
“Well, I’m happy for you,” Nash said. “It’s been forever since things ended with you-know-who.
” They had an agreement not to say Ava’s name aloud—though now that she’d talked to Renee about her, maybe they didn’t need it anymore.
“It’s time you got back out there. Who knows what could happen?
She’s the director, you’re the muse—you’re practically scissoring already. ”
Lola choked on her spritz and Nash’s eyes went wide.
“Lola! You did not! When?”
Lola blushed furiously. “It was before we were working together, at my sister’s wedding.”
“What did Claudia say?” Nash asked.
“She didn’t say anything because it wasn’t worth telling her. It was supposed to be a one-time thing. I mean, it was a one-time thing, and now we’re keeping it professional.”
Nash nodded solemnly. “Which is why she was staring at your ass in the parking lot.”
Lola threw the sprig of rosemary garnishing her drink at him.
“Hey! This is a nice restaurant!” he cried.
“What about you? How are you surviving in Montana?” Two months ago, Nash’s boyfriend had decided that a closeted actor’s lifestyle—even an actor as hot and up-and-coming as Nash—wasn’t for him. They broke up just before Nash left for Butte.
Nash frowned down into his beef tartare. “Not to be dramatic, but it’s literally the worst thing ever. Some days, I’m okay, and then some days, I’m just completely not . It’s lonely, you know? The cast and crew are great, and we hang out, but then at the end of the day, I still want to call him.”
“You can always call me.”
“It’s not the same,” Nash said. “Anyway, I’m planning to fuck so much while I’m in town that when I get back to the middle of nowhere, I’ll be completely over him. Grindr is so hit or miss up there.”
“You are not on the apps!” Lola hissed at him.
“Relax! I’m just enjoying the dick pics, not meeting up with anyone. It’s Montana . I’d probably get hate-crimed.”
“Just be careful.” Lola regretted the words the second they were out of her mouth. Nash didn’t need her to warn him what was at stake, any more than she’d needed Gloriana to tell her not to let things get messy with Renee.
“I’m phenomenal at being careful,” Nash said. “Been doing it all my life.”