“I’m going to call one of my other assistant friends and see if she can get there for you, but if not, I’m sure she knows someone who would be reliable. They can be on set with you and available when I’m not. You clearly need someone there with you.”
“I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself,” Samara argued as she walked to the shaky elevator. “And I’m taking the stairs.”
“You called me to get your hotel changed.”
“Because that’s somethingyouusually do. And this hotel now hasmycredit card on file for incidentals. Why isn’t there a production card on file? Is this even a real movie? Is there a budget and a crew?”
“Yes.” Kyla laughed. “This is arealmovie, Samara. Youknowit’s a real movie, but it’s an indie film that you wanted to do, so you’re going to have to get used to things not being exactly like the movies you’ve wrapped recently.”
“So, one step above a student film, then?”
“Budget-wise? Probably, yes. But again,youwanted this. Personally, I’m not sure that this movie is going to get you anything. It’s a rom-com at best, and a gay one at that. I know you were thinking you might get something for playing a lesbian, but that’s not exactly the thing these days. People want queer people to play queer roles now. And this isn’t some period piece, either. It’s a modern-day lesbian film.”
“Yes. And?”
“Well, you might be bi, but you haven’t come out yet, so no one will know and might even end up giving you crap for it. At least, Vanessa Pierce is gay.”
“She hit on me at the audition. Did I tell you that?” she asked as she made her way down the stairs.
“No, you didnot. Where was this information? Have I mentioned howboredI am?”
“This was months ago, when you could still pee on your own,” Samara replied. “She flirted with me like crazy before the audition. I thought it was maybe because she’s method or she just wanted to get in the right frame of mind, but it continued after, too, and she asked me if I wanted to get a drink. I suppose she could still be method, but that wasn’t the vibe.”
“Did you go?”
“Of course not. Not only was she auditioning to be my co-star, but she could have told people. Besides, I was dating Caleb then.”
“Oh, Caleb. I forgot about him. How long did he last?”
“About three minutes most times,” she joked.
Kyla laughed wildly and replied, “Thank you. I needed that.”
“Well, I needed at least another ten to fifteen. Or, really, just better sex.” Samara allowed herself to laugh at her own joke and added, “And it was Xavier after that, and that was a mistake, too.”
“He only lastedtwominutes?” she joked.
“No, he was good in bed, but heonlywanted to be in bed. That worked for a few weeks, but we weren’t exclusive, and he didn’t want to be, so it became a lot of work, keeping up with that.”
“Keeping up with–”
“Being safe,” Samara whispered as she pushed open the door. “He was with other women, and I was with a couple of guys at the time, too. I got tested, like, six times just to be safe, and that is tedious.”
“Why did you keep doing it for even that long then?”
“Because it was great sex, and I had nothing else to do when I wasn’t working.” She shrugged a shoulder and checked what was around the corner before turning that way. “But he went away to film anyway, so it was time.”
“We’ve known each other for years now. Can I ask you a question I’ve wanted to ask you since you told me you’re bi?”
“I know what you’re going to ask me,” she replied and stayed put because there was a family heading out the front doors, and she didn’t want to get recognized and have to sign autographs.
Samara blamed the kids’ movie she worked on the previous year. It was live action. She had wanted to diversify her roles, but for kids, she should’ve gone animated, because ever since playing the princess who’d rescued herself, she’d been getting hounded by kids wherever she went.
“You told me late last year, but since then, you’ve only told me about guys you’ve been with.”
“That’s because what you’re thinking is true,” she said.
“Really?”
