Chapter 14
Doug
The pilot episode viewing party at Alan’s house was less of a party, and more like watching Alan pace and slam energy drink after energy drink. If I wasn’t required to be here, I wouldn’t be. Willa and I had planned to watch the first episode together from the comfort of my couch. As it was, Willa wouldn’t even look at me. She was almost as on edge as Alan. Pretty much anytime she was in the same room with me and Justin, things were weird. I wasn’t supposed to know anything was going on, so I wasn’t privy to Alan’s plotting unless Willa made me aware of it. And when it came to Justin, she didn’t say much. She treated the fact that she loathed him like some trade secret.
Watching myself on camera while they tried their best to make me look cool was mortifying. On Strength Warriors, my character was meant to be campy and laughable. But here, with my short hair styled trendy, the stupid blazers wardrobe had me wear paired up with designer jeans, I looked like I was trying too hard. And I was. I’d been trying so hard to do everything I was supposed to do.
Trapped in my own thoughts, I didn’t notice Willa sitting behind me until she kicked my chair. I turned around thoughtlessly and blinked at her. She stuck out her tongue. With a quick glance, I confirmed Justin was no longer in the room.
“Save your teasing for tomorrow, Willa. When the cameras are back.”
“Who says I do it for the cameras?” She shrugged. “Maybe I miss you. In a completely platonic way, of course.”
“Of course.”
Justin walked in and she sat back, focusing her eyes on the jumbo screen where an Austin hopeful was butchering a Celine Dion song. Justin wasn’t the childhood bully I used to loathe, but I also knew we’d never quite get past it. I’d been right in my initial assessment of him at the photo shoot. Being friendly to me was mostly about getting close to Willa.
Justin took the seat next to her and murmured something in her ear. That guy never gave up. I didn’t catch her response, but if she needed me, I supposed she could always kick my chair.
On screen, the montage of bad Austin auditions finally ended and the narrator moved on to Saint Louis. They showed us judges arriving in limos, a totally fake scene Stanley asked for after reviewing the daily footage. They rented a limo for an hour and had us pull up and get out several times to catch all the right angles. The editing work fascinated me, and I had to admit, the limo scene, all five seconds of it, was a nice touch.
The network was only giving us a ten episode season as a trial run, so all the tryouts were smashed together into this hour-long first episode. Using fast motion photography, contestants from New York filed into the auditorium to wait their turn, and the sky changed from a cloudless light blue to a starry black.
Then the camera cut from waiting contestants playing cards on the floor, to me and Willa playing cards in a hotel lobby, her dog on her lap. I hadn’t realized they had any footage of that, but I wasn’t surprised.
At first, I thought it was my bias in searching for any interactions between me and Willa, but in audition after audition, however short, the editing showcased not only our sparring and flirting, but the failed attempts by Justin to get Willa’s attention. I squirmed in my chair, sensing things would only get worse.
When they showed Justin approaching Willa about getting her a sandwich, being rebuffed, and Willa making Oscar a sandwich instead, that was the nail in the coffin. Thanks to Justin, our storyline was now a fake love triangle, with him as the frustrated loser.
Alan glanced back at us, a mean little smile on his face. The only thing better than watching Willa charm one clueless guy for ratings, was watching her charm two. Only I wasn’t clueless. Trapped, but not clueless.
Willa
I had no idea what to do. I’d felt morally obligated to clue Doug in on our fake relationship, but a big part of that was my trust in him. I’d vetted him. I knew he wouldn’t betray me to Alan or take advantage of the situation.
Justin was a whole different enchilada.
The frozen statue of him sitting next to me while we finished the episode spoke volumes. Ego was everything for a guy like him, and watching that had to hurt. The biggest question was whether to talk to him first before Alan got to him, or to play dumb and hope for the best. I wasn’t a big fan of vain hope as a strategy, nor did I have the patience for it. That meant I’d have to deal with Justin myself. Tonight.
People were leaving in droves. They had social lives that went beyond a Friday night mandatory viewing party. Alan shook hands, making his way over to us. Nope. Alan wouldn’t have his say first. No more being blindsided with creative editing plans.
I grabbed Justin’s hand and dragged him off with me. “Let’s go for a drive.”
“Fine by me.” Justin gave me a surprised smile. Poor guy. His head had to be so huge to still think something was going to happen between us.
I glanced back at Doug, and he raised his eyebrows as if asking what I was doing. I wished I could telepath my plan into his head. Not that I had a fully formed one.
Outside, Justin offered to drive, but I insisted on taking my car. I needed a final say in where we were going and when we’d be returning.
I focused on backing out of Alan’s long driveway and getting out the gates while Justin rattled on and on about his personal trainer and who else had used him to get ripped.
I had to hand it to Justin. He managed to combine name-dropping and drawing attention to his physique, though I don’t think his bragging ability was the part he’d hoped to impress me with.
Once we left Alan’s swanky neighborhood, I started looking for a destination. I didn’t want to be seen in public, but I also didn’t want to be alone with Justin. I settled on a circular park with a fountain in the middle. It was well lit. There was an unoccupied bench near where I parked. It would give us a little privacy, but not too much.
I got out and headed straight for the bench.
“You sure like things on your terms, don’t you, Willa?” Justin said, jogging to catch up to me. He shook his head and smiled. “Not that it’s a bad thing. I just never know what to expect from you.”
