“Alright. So. Last week, we had to shoot that sex scene.” Gemma dove right in, wanting to get everything out in the open before she lost her buzz. “And the night you found me, my birthday, Caitlin took me out after work.”
“Um, what?” Hayley curled her nose at the idea.
If Hayley was repulsed bythat, Gemma was in for a real treat when she got to the part about what had happened a few days prior.
Buying herself a little more time, Gemma told Hayley about the surprise gifts she had found in her trailer, which had ultimately convinced her to accept Caitlin’s invitation that night.
“So where’d she take you? Some bougie-ass restaurant with a waitlist so that she could flaunt her fame and fortune?” Hayley scoffed. She wasn’t exactly Caitlin’s biggest fan.
“No, actually. She took me to Dave & Buster’s,” Gemma said, holding up a hand. “And before you laugh, she took me there to playDDR. It was kind of our thing back in high school.”
“I hate that I’m about to say this, but that’s actually kind of cute,” Hayley admitted, rolling her eyes.
Gemma looked away to gather herself as she geared up to tell Hayley the rest. “I know, right? I don’t know what to think—or feel.”
Hayley narrowed her eyes, cautiously asking, “Am I missing a part of the story here? I feel like there’s more.”
“I slept with Caitlin.”
Hayley choked on her wine, doubling over into a coughing fit.
“Like fake, for the movie?” Hayley asked after clearing her throat. “Sorry, you caught me off guard. I thought you meant…”
Gemma plucked Hayley’s glass from her hands and placed it onto the table beside her own. Her next words weren’t goingto go over well.
“No, not just for the movie… we had sex in my trailer right before shooting the scene.”
“YOUWHAT!?” Hayley lunged across the couch toward Gemma, grabbing her by the forearm. “Gem, what the actual fuck? And you waitedhowmany days to tell me this? How the hell did that happen!?”
Gemma replayed it all for Hayley, from McKenzie Ryan’s threat to replace them, to the escalating confrontation, and ending with Gemma climbing into Caitlin’s lap.
“I don’t know what got into me, Hay. But… I don’t regret it.” Gemma paused, but Hayley was uncharacteristically silent. “I’ve been trying so hard to hate her, thinking maybe that would be easier than admitting I actually miss her.”
Hayley just shook her head at Gemma, baffled.
Feeling self-conscious, Gemma reached over and refilled their glasses with more Pinot Grigio.
“Well, that was definitely not what I expected to hear tonight,” Hayley said, accepting the glass of wine.
“Trust me, it was an even bigger shock for me.”
“Fuck, Gem. Please tell me you’re not falling for her bullshit again. Do you not remember what she did to you?”
“Of course I fucking remember.” That had been a low blow, and Hayley knew it.
“Gem, it took you years to get over her. Please don’t go down this road again.”
“I know, Hay, I know. You’re right—she destroyed me. In my head, I know that. But when I’m with her… I just can’t seem to get my heart on the same page.” Gemma groaned and threw her head into her hands.
She felt the cushion shift as Hayley wrapped an arm around her. “I’m not trying to make this worse. I want to be here for you, but I really think this is dangerous territory.”
“I know, but I can’t avoid her right now. We need to finish this movie.”
Her best friend rubbed gentle circles across her back, a trick she had learned to soothe Gemma back in college.
A knock at the door startled them both.
Hayley looked to Gemma, bewildered. Gemma was just as confused. The only person she ever had over was Hayley, and she was already there.
