Jia glanced over her shoulder, but Harley was definitely talking to her. “Hi.”
“What did you think?”
“Of your dance? It was great. I wish I could do that.”
“Oh please. You have actual talent.” Harley dropped into the chaise next to her. “I’m a big fan. I’ve been watching you since middle school.”
Grandma.She tried not to grimace. “Aw. Thank you. I’m a fan of yours as well. You’re a great dancer.”
“I know we’re not supposed to be filming at the pool, but I figured if no one was here, the management wouldn’t know.”
“I won’t tell.” Jia had filmed in her share of no-trespassing places in her day. When the light was right, it was right.
“I didn’t know you lived here.” A sweet smile lit up Harley’s face. “I just moved in.”
“By yourself?” Jia couldn’t help but ask.
The girl’s smile dimmed. “Yeah. My parents gave permission. It’s better this way.”
Jia made a mental note to check in on Harley from time to time. “It’s good to do what’s best for us,” Jia said gently. “And no, I don’t live here, I rent it as a set, basically.”
“Oh. If you’re ever around at night, let me know. I’d love to have a movie night or something. I haven’t met manypeople here yet.”
Jia wasn’t usually here in the evenings, but she could make an exception for a new young friend who might otherwise easily fall into a more predatory crowd. “Absolutely. Here, take my number.”
“Cool,” Harley enthused, after she’d entered Jia’s number into her phone. “I’d love to talk to you about doing a collaboration or something.”
Hundreds of thousands of new followers a day.
Jia smiled and swallowed her envy. “I’d like that. I can’t dance.” She had zero rhythm, much to her family’s amusement.
“That’s cool, we can come up with something else, sometimes I do nondancing videos. Maybe you could give me, like, makeup tips or something.”
“Your makeup is already fantastic.” A touch of mascara, eyeliner, and lip gloss, plus what looked like a BB cream.
“That’s because my parents made me learn how to do it on my own when I was thirteen. They said my skin was so bad I wouldn’t get an acting gig if I couldn’t hide it.”
Jia blinked. Sometimes she wished she’d had more involved parents when it came to her career, but not if they’d be involved like that. “Oh. Um.”
A beeping noise filled the air, and Harley looked around. “What’s that?”
“Just my timer.” Jia tapped the plastic box on the table. “I get distracted by my phone, so I put it away while I’m working.”
Harley clutched her phone to her chest. “My nightmare,not having my phone.”
“It used to be mine, until I realized how hard it was to focus on work with it in my hand.”
Harley looked at her blankly, and Jia realized the younger woman wasn’t there yet, the point where content creation felt like an uphill climb because she’d used up all her best ideas. Hopefully she never experienced it. She was probably pulling in way more income than Jia had after a year of working in entertainment. “Anyway, it means I should head up for lunch.”
Harley tucked her pin-straight hair behind her ear. “I’ll be in touch!”
“Looking forward to it.”
They said their goodbyes and Jia gathered up her stuff to head to her staged apartment.
Her lunch consisted of a sandwich she’d slapped together at the crack of dawn this morning. She’d gotten up extra early so she could beat traffic. And avoid Katrina, whom she’d have to tell about Dev.
Remember how you told me I should delete him and never see him again? I had drinks with him and smelled him instead.
