Their conversation comes to a rapid close as I approach, and she hands me my smoothie when I’m close enough to take it from her.
A mouthful deep and she passes me my phone while saying, “Your girlfriend says you can try anal tonight.” I’m coughing, spluttering, and green stuff is coming out of my nose by the time I realize that’s not really a text I got while I was filming, but the damage has already been done. Gemma and Alex are absolutely cracking up while I attempt to remove goop from my nostrils.
Gemma is wiping tears from her eyes as Alex holds her stomach, her head still thrown back, both of them still. Fucking. Laughing. “Oh, you shoulda seen your face, kid. Priceless. If last night didn’t get you in the back door, I dunno what will, Stone.”
“What happened last night?” Alex asks, attempting to sober up, but I can see wetness in her gleaming chocolate eyes.
“He let hisgirlfriendbeat him at mini golf. He scored, like, double what he usually does.” She singsongs the wordgirlfriendlike we’re in eighth grade again.
“And?” Alex asks. “Did it pay off?”
I shoot them both a dirty look, but can’t help the smirk that comes out after a second or two, and I know they know it did. I am super competitive, and there’s not much in this world I’d trade winning for. Last night might’ve been an exception.Worth it.Well, mostly.
“Ugh,” Gemma scoffs, kicking off the wall she’s been leaning on and starting to walk away. “I don’t wanna hear about it.” She waves a hand over her head as she walks away, whether in dismissal or disgust, I can’t quite tell.
Alex’s eyes trail her retreating form for a moment before she looks back at me.
“So,” she starts off. “Romania, huh?”
“You heard?”
“Gemma told me.”
My eyes drop to the floor, where I kick the ground for a second before getting back to her.
“Yeah. It’s a small indie flick, but it’s giving me a chance to showcase something I never have before.”
“I’m happy for you,” she says, and it sounds like she means it. “You’ll be back before season five kicks off, obviously?”
“Way before. I’ll be back in late August,” I confirm.Midnight Empireis contractual obligation numero uno for me.
She shakes her head at me. “You and your summer projects. Can’t just take a break like most of the cast, can you?”
“At this point in my career?” I scoff. “That’d be suicide. I gotta max out every chance I have until I can take a break without it ruining my momentum. Gimme five more years.” I shoot her a grin that wins over most casting directors.
“Can I ask you something else?” Her voice is almost wary, and I arch my brows, feeling the need to defend myself already.
“Shoot,” I tell her.
“You gonna be okay with Gemma dating?” Thank God I hadn’t taken another sip of smoothie, because my nasal cavity couldn’t handle another infiltration like before. Instead, my eyes widen and I look around for something else we can discuss. Anything else. Because what thefuck.
“What do you mean? Why wouldn’t I be?”Recovered.Hardly even noticed the panic in my tone.So smooth.
We start walking across set toward the various dressing rooms and the exit to the trailers, and she answers, “Because she never really has before.”
“Yeah she has,” I start. “There was Eduardo?—”
A flat look from Alex has me stopped in my tracks.
“What?” I ask her.
Somehow her expression alone intensifies to the point I feel like a fucking idiot, and I backtrack. “I mean, she dated Eduardo a while back.”
“Sure,” Alex humors me.
“Wait.” A thought hits me. “Why are you asking me this?”
I’ll never understand how someone can communicate so much with so few words, but Alex has a way with her face that simply no one else does. It’s probably the super power she uses to keep our shoots running on time, under budget and on schedule. I am one hundred percent positive our producers and directors would all be absolutely miserable without her. A look or two from Alex and all of us, whether cast, crew, or randos, we snap the fuck to. The girl is magic, I dunno what to say.
