"You mean me, personally?" I asked, stalling, feeling unable to lie.
"Yes, you, personally."
"Don't make it weird," I said, pushing at his shoulder again and squinting playfully at him.
He laughed. "You did seem jealous when I told you I kissed that other girl."
"No, I didn't. And don't say that," I said.
His blue eyes met mine, and my body was full of excitement and anticipation.
"Why not?" he said.
"Because we can't flirt in real life. Only our characters can."
"Why's that?"
I shrugged innocently, stalling again because I had no idea why I said that or what it meant.
"I'll get confused," I said. "Do you not get confused at all? I'm just trying to make sure I remember all the stuff I'm scripted to say to you."
He put his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Am I messing up your game?" he asked. "I can steer clear of you until tomorrow when I'm Tommy." He paused on the path like he might part ways with me, and I reached out to grab his arm.
"No," I said, letting go of him after only a second. "I shouldn't have said that. I'm not confused. I am trying to do good, though."
"You did amazing today. Completely natural."
"Thank you. You were really good, too. I think Alex was happy with it."
"I know." He paused for a minute and then added. "He's happy you're not using a stand-in."
"Yeah, I probably should have told him sooner."
"Where are we going?" he asked, seeing that I was going straight when he thought we would turn.
"I like going this way," I said. "It takes longer to get to the creek, but you get to walk through some trees. I like the woods. There's so much open space out here, it's nice to be in the trees for a minute."
Sam was walking a step behind me, and I turned to look at him. His blue eyes sparkled. They were bright even though it was getting dark out. This guy was physically irresistible. Sam was just one of those people you wanted to impress. I stood up straight and sucked in my gut. I was on my best behavior at first, but I relaxed a little by the time we made it to the creek. It was dark by then, but it was a nice evening.
We walked around and talked for what I thought was about an hour before Sam got out his phone, and we found out that it had been two hours. Time had gone by quickly because we were having fun.
I knew that he was a musician. I had heard him talking to Ash and the other musicians, but it didn't register that he was serious enough about it to have played in a band in L.A. I asked him tons of questions about music, and I got all swept away in imagining what it was like to see him perform live. The band he had been a part of had to replace him since he had so much acting work lately.
Sam and I started walking back toward the trailers, but we moved slowly, neither of us in any hurry. He led the way, and he took the long way back, through the woods. I had no idea what was going on. I just knew I loved getting to know Sam. He was a comforting person, which was odd to say about someone who was so physically perfect.
I couldn’t think of a single thing I'd change about Sam, inside or out. I was considering that because I was looking at his hand as it rested casually at his side, and I was wishing I could hold it. I didn't think I would ever stare at someone's hand and long to touch it, but that was how I felt with Sam Allison.
I walked next to him, wishing desperately that it was acceptable for me to reach out and touch him. I was flirting with him, but deep down I knew I wasn't going to amount to anything. I wasn't going to have a meaningless affair with him Sam, and I wasn't going to have a meaningful relationship with him, either.
Sure, I was attracted to Sam.Who wouldn't be?
But I had to keep things in perspective.
"Cameron was calling you Samuel," I said, since I hadn't mentioned it yet.
He nodded and smiled. "A lot of people call me that back home."
"It sounds so official," I said.
