“Will you shut up and let me give you a birthday kiss already?”
“I want more than a birthdaykiss,” Dana told her.
“You want one at midnight, too?”
Dana pressed her forehead to Samara’s again and said, “Then, in the morning as well, and I’m thinking every day for maybe, like… ever.”
Samara laughed and replied, “That sounds pretty good to me.”
Samara’s phone then dinged, pinged, gonged, bonged, and emitted just about every notification sound all at the same time.
“I think people have some thoughts about your recent announcement,” Dana said as she reached for the phone.
“Yeah… Don’t care. Come here,” Samara said, pulling Dana in for a searing kiss she’d needed for over a week now.
EPILOGUE
“What was it like, working on a love story with your girlfriend?” the reporter asked.
“She wasn’t my girlfriend when we first started,” Samara said. “We met on this film and did start dating early on, but not exactly right away.”
“I’d say it was pretty much right away,” Dana added with a smile. “But I was a caterer on set before they asked me to audition, so she didn’t give me the time of day.”
“I did, too.” Samara laughed.
“Such an interesting story. How did you go from catering to acting?”
“I was acting first, but just doing local stuff here in New Orleans. Then, I was working for the catering company when the original actress playing Bray had to drop out at the last minute due to an injury. Thankfully, she’s made a full recovery this past year, which means I no longer have to feel bad about taking her job and meeting Samara.”
The reporter laughed, and Samara squeezed Dana’s hand. Then, Kyla, who was acting as their red-carpet chauffeur for the evening, moved them along and down the line to the next one, where Dana was asked the same question. Samara would sometimes get asked why she’d decided to work on such a small, independent movie, and if it had anything to do with her being bisexual herself. She answered it in the way she’d rehearsed with her publicist, who was also here tonight and was Dana’s publicist now, too. Eventually, they made their way to the end of the carpet and were about to go inside when one more reporter asked a question.
“Dana, what’s up next for you?”
Dana turned to check with Kyla and her publicist, who both nodded at her.
“I have a new movie coming out in a few months.”
People hurled more questions at them as they headedinto the theater, where the movie’s premiere was being held.
“Nice, babe,” Samara said once they were out of the reporters’ earshot. “God, it’s hot out there. Why is it always unseasonably warm whenever I’m in town?”
“Did you ever think that maybe you just make it hotter here?” Dana asked, wiggling her eyebrows.
“Oh, good one,” Samara said before she leaned in and kissed her. “Sorry, messed up your lipstick.” She used her thumb and forefinger to fix it. “Mine okay?”
“Yours is good,” Dana replied. “And they have the AC cranking in here. Are you doing okay?”
“Yeah, it’s just seventy-three out here, on top of all the humidity from outside. I’m hoping the actual theater will be cooler.”
“We can leave,” Dana offered, shrugging. “No one says we have to stay and watch the movie. Not like we haven’t seen it.”
“You don’t want to stay for your first movie premiere? It’s a right-of-passage thing, Dana. You have to stay. If you want to leave for every single one after this, though, we can. I don’t usually stay and watch the movie. I just go somewhere and hang out until it’s over and do the after-movie events or Q&As if there’s one happening.”
“I want to. I just don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”
“The only time I’ll be uncomfortable will be during those sex scenes, and that’s just because I’ll be thinking about the very real sex we had both beforeandafter filming them.”
“Oh, yeah?” Dana asked, reaching for Samara’s hips.
