Crew nods. “Maybe pass me some of the soda, and we can pretend this didn’t happen.”
That would be delightful. I reach for the soda bottle of his choice, knocking over a few in the process, and revealing…
My ring.
Are you kidding me? It fell behind the lemon-lime soda bottles. Okay, I was perusing the soda bottles earlier, but I wasn’t looking at that brand in particular—I don’t even like lemon-lime soda because it’s too bland for me.
“Fuck me,” I mutter to myself, bending down to pick up the bottles that crashed to the floor and place them back on the shelves. I grab my ring, slip it into my right hand while juggling the sodas, and shove them next to the other matching cases.
Once that ring is on, I feel a wave of tension fall off my shoulders. “Ali! I found it!”
I pretend not to notice Crew’s dark brows furrow at my shouting because Ali jogs over to the soda aisle with a bag of sour ropes and two bottles of Soju in a red carrier. “Where did—” She spots Crew and her hazel eyes light up, but in a friendly way. “Crew, nice to see you! When did you get back from Australia?”
I turn my head towards Crew, whose face softens and turns a shade of red brighter than Ali’s t-shirt.
“Two days ago,” Crew responds. “Vinny didn’t say anything?”
Ali shakes her head, chuckling. “He should have.”
Vinny, or Vincent Li, is Ali’s boyfriend whom she’s been dating for a little over a year now. I’ve met the guy before, and he’s exceeded Ali’s standards in multiple ways. I’m happy for her. What her boyfriend failed to mention, however, is that his roommate happens to be one of the most reclusive former movie stars to date. Or that his roommate has a crush on Ali.
Now that I think about it, I don’t think either knows about Crew’s feelings. I shouldn’t say anything about it, right? Bringing it up at all feels extremely invasive.
“Crew, this is my friend, Carly.” She wraps an arm around my shoulder. Thankfully, we’re the same height, so it doesn’t feel uncomfortable. “I’ve told you and Vinny about her, haven’t I?”
“You better have,” I tease. “I haven’t been in your life for the past eighteen years for nothing.”
Ali chuckles at my comment, but Crew furrows his brow even more, so much so that a crease develops in the small space between. “You’re the director, aren’t you?”
Though I’m flattered to be thought of as something other than Ali’s best friend or someone’s sister, I can’t help but note the slight strain in his utterly deep voice.
“Student director,” I correct him, noting the slight edge in his tone. Being a student director has never been a bad thing—it just means I’m learning. “But my portfolio exceeds UCLA’s film department.”
“Eh, don’t be insulted,” Ali assures me. “Crew’s just jetlagged or something. Meanwhile, we have a John Hughes marathon to begin.”
She hooks her free arm through mine as she waves goodbye to Crew, and we stroll over to the cash register to purchase our supply of junk food and alcohol. As we pay, I can’t help but dissect that interaction, and how Crew’s whole demeanor shifted around me, and especially Ali.
What’s with that guy?
1
My Dilemma
Crew
January
I’m about one lecture away from dropping this class. Even though I can’t.
The beginning of my final winter quarter of undergrad should mean absolute freedom to take as few classes as possible, but there’s one problem: I need more extracurriculars.
Luckily, so did my best friend, Vincent Li—also known as Vinny, but the guy hates that nickname. That’s why I call him that.
“Remind me why I signed up for this class,” I mutter to Vinny, who is quietly typing on his laptop as our professor continues to drone on and on about the beginnings of the film industry inHollywood. I’ve heard it one too many times growing up, so I’m just tuning her out.
“Because we agreed to suffer through one lecture together,” he whispers, “before graduation.”
Fair point. Vinny is a psychobiology major, and because our programs are so different, we’ve never had a single class together. The first time we met, he saved me from being ambushed at a football game against our rival university, the University of Southern California.
