We sit in a comfortable silence for me, but it’s obvious that he’s unsure as fiddles with his fingers resting in his lap.
“Tell me about her,” I finally say, and he looks at me with a soft smile. His cheeks hit with a soft shade of pink.
“Louella was the most beautiful woman I’d ever known.” He smiles wider, his body relaxing into the backrest of the couch, and I like that he knew exactly who I was talking about.
Loosening his tie, he takes his deep red jacket off, and folds it neatly over the side of the couch while his arm rests along the back.
“How did you guys meet?” I ask, turning my body to face him, copying the way he sits.
He thinks for a moment, and I stare at the side of his beautifully aged face, watching his expression flick from pure joy to utter heartbreak and finally, acceptance. “She hated my guts to begin with.” He chuckles to himself, and I grin. “She didn’t see the appeal of me, and I must admit, I wasn’t the catch back then that I became. But she was adamant that she and I were just friends. No matter how often I told her that there wasn’t a universe in which we both existed, that ‘friends’ is all we were. No way.” He takes his glasses off, folds them, and puts them into his breast pocket.
“Did it take a lot of convincing?” I ask him, feeling my phone vibrate in my pocket, but I ignore it.
I’m too invested in this conversation with Marv to hear from anyone outside of this room.
“In the grand scheme of things, no.” He shakes his head. “But it felt like an eternity back then because I didn’t want a life without her. And now that I’m experiencing what life isreallylike without her…” He drops his head, blinking rapidly the tears that threaten to fall. “I would relive that moment over and over again if it meant she was still here with me. All I can do now is wait patiently to see my Louella again,” he says, rising from his seat while clearing his throat. “You take care, Ms. Rogers.” He collects his belongings and heads out the doors without so much as a glance over his shoulder.
Wiping the lone tear that had fallen down my cheek, I clutch my keys in my hands, and head for my apartment door.
Once it closes behind me, I fetch my phone to read the text waiting for me.
Unknown:By this point I would assume you realized I was joking…but I can absolutely come down in nothing but my birthday suit if you want
Me:Goodnight, Cole.
Unknown:So if I were to ask you out on a date, the answer would still be the same?
Me:Sleep well.
Unknown:I’ll try again tomorrow.
I want to reply begging him not to, but my fingers don’t find the strength they need.
Instead, they click the one on the side that turns my screen black, and I head directly to my bedroom where my safe haven is waiting for me with open arms, and sleep welcomes me within minutes.
Chapter twenty
Cole
It’s been a weeksince the game’s night, and to the surprise of absolutely nobody, Jenna has avoided me.
On set, she greets me with a simple‘hello’and a kiss on the cheek. If I’m lucky, I get the occasional smile. I swear, I even caught her blushing at one point when I overheard one of the extras ask her about what it’s like to date me. But as far as conversations go between the two of us? I can confidently say they’ve been non-existent.
I’ve watched her talk to Tahnee all day. I’ve watched Jude hit on her, knowing full well I could see. Hell, I even watched Gio, Tahnee’s square of a husband, get a laugh out of her.
I’m the guy she’s supposedly dating, and I can’t even hear about how her day is going directly from her.
I didn’t think it’d bother me this much, but apparently, I hate being ignored by the woman I can’t seem to have enough of.
People around us are noticing, too. They’re deeming our ‘relationship’ on the rocks, because we don’t communicate at work, and Mara has upped her flirting game.
She laughs at everything I say and do. She squeezes my biceps, or places her hand on my chest whenever I’m close enough for her to do so.
And every single time, I tell her I’m not interested in her; she thinks I’m flirting back—playing hard to get. Everything I say just falls on deaf ears, though.
“We still have over two months of filming, Cole,” she told me in a whisper. I was seated in Jenna’s chair waiting for my hair and makeup, and she had the nerve to hit on me. “I’ll make you crack.” She winked at me as she stood upright, only putting distance between us because Jenna cleared her throat from behind her.
“That wasn’t what it looked like,” I tried to tell Jenna on instinct, but she waved it off like it was no big deal. And I guess, it wasn’t.
