“Relax, babe. Jenna’s apartment is right next door.” She gestures to the apartment with the numberonepainted on it, a subtle smirk leaving her lips like she was letting me in on a secret. I already knew, though. “Weren’t you meant to be coming over for dinner?” Tahnee teases, knowing full well Jenna only invited me to keep up appearances. “I kind of want to see what she would do if you just…showed up. It’s only fitting that her boyfriend was there for her birthday.”
Me too, but after the text conversation we had earlier, I can almost guarantee she will kick me out, or ignore my existence all together. And I’m really not in the mood to be rejected in front of a group of people I don’t know. “Not tonight,” I say with a laugh as the elevator doors open. “See you tomorrow..”
Riding it to the top floor, I bash on our apartment door with my foot to get my brother to open it, and take the boxes from me.
“Good. You actually showed up.” He sits them down onto the white, marble bench top.
“I don’t really feel like I had a choice,” I say, placing the rest of the alcohol down onto the counter beside it. “Why do we have so much, anyway?” I ask, cracking open a beer from the box with the words ‘no carb’ written in big, bold letters.
“I panicked. The owner sounded hot.” He shrugs. “Movie?” Placing the rest of the glass bottles into the fridge, I agree, slouching down onto the cloud like couch.
We settle on the latest Denzel Washington movie before calling it a night. I head to my overly large room with a bed large enough that my feet don’t dangle off the end, and a duvet that doesn’t feel like it’s coated with a thick layer of dust. My freshly washed clothes are hung up or folded in the walk-in closet, which is the size of the place I used to call home.
This job has given me a life I could only dream of, and it’s only the first week.
Pulling my expensive sheets back, it feels like my skin is touching my most lavish type of material known to man, and I don’t know how I’m expected to just go back to where I came from.
Especially if this doesn’t work out.
But it will. It has to.
If it weren’t for the constant doubt and imposter syndrome rolling around in my head, I would’ve fallen asleep hours ago, but I feel like a fraud being here.
My contract is the biggest of any debut actor that Hollywood has ever seen, and every single day the little devil on my shoulder tells me that I’m not worth that kind of money. And every single day, I have to force myself to believe that I am.
Pulling my phone off the charger beside my bed, I open my text messages to see the last one I sent to Jenna. My fingers hover over the screen to send another, and my stupidity wins out.
Me:You up?
Snow: Who’s this?
Me:Funny.
Me:What are you wearing?
Snow:Goodnight, Cole.
Me:What? Why can’t a guy know what his girl is wearing to bed?
Snow:Because I’m not your girl, and I’m trying to sleep.
Snow:I’ll say it again. Goodnight, Cole.
Me:We’ll see about that.
Chapter fifteen
Cole
Her actual birthday wasyesterday, and I sent flowers to the set.
Deep red roses were delivered by Grangewood Garden—forcing Jude to yell‘cut’—and she accepted them gracefully in front of everyone.
I watched from my mark as she took them directly out the back door, presumably to her trailer, without so much as looking at the card to see who they were from.
When she walked back onto set, her eyes were red and puffy.
I wish I knew her in a way that gave me permission to ask why she was upset, but I didn’t.
