He drained his glass and felt his stomach slowly begin to unknot. He was getting ahead of himself. It was a good thing that they were so friendly with each other. No need to twist positive news into something ugly, assume the worst in people. He could put his own bullshit anxieties aside for a night and be there for Grey.
—
GREY HAD BARELYplaced the Indian food bags on the counter before Ethan was on her, grabbing her waist from the side and peppering her with machine-gun kisses all over her face.
“Augh! Jesus!” She laughed, twisting around to give him a real kiss. His mouth tasted freshly brushed, the mint on his tongue making her lips tingle. “Someone’s friendly tonight.”
“I’m just proud of you. And I missed you.” He settled behind her as she unpacked the plastic containers, resting his chin on the top of her head.
“I was only gone for, like, five hours.” Even as she teased him, she felt her heart flutter a little at his words. “Can you finish this and pull out a couple bottles of wine? I want to change before everyone gets here.”
She tried to walk toward the bedroom but he stayed wrapped around her like a barnacle, following in lockstep. “Need help?”
She laughed again and tried to peel herself out of his arms. “Mmm…tempting, but I don’t want to get all sweaty. My hair already looks weird today.”
He pretended to pout as he released her with a farewell kiss on the head and slap on the ass.
“I think your hair looks great.”
She practically floated to Ethan’s bedroom. As she rummaged around in the space in his closet she’d corralled for herself, she paused for a moment. Six months ago, she was unemployed and directionless. Six weeks ago, she was fired, humiliated, and heartbroken. Now she was shacking up with her former pinup crush, about to make her dream project with her best friend, with the help of one of her idols. The goalposts for her life had shifted so quickly that she had whiplash. She tried to ignore the nagging anxiety whispering to her that these kinds of highs could only precede a desperate drop.
An hour later, the six of them were gathered around Ethan’s dining room table, surrounded by empty serving dishes. Grey wiped up the remains of her saag paneer with a piece of garlic naan, chiming in with the occasional detail as Kamilah regaled the rest of the group with the story of the time the two of them had misread a package of edibles, accidentally eating quadruple the recommended dose before going on a hellish trip to Disneyland after finals their sophomore year. Grey scooted her chair closer to Ethan’s and snuggled into his side, feeling tipsy and warm and perfectly content.
Once the conversation reached a lull, Nora opened another bottle of wine and topped off all their glasses—with the exception of Ethan, who’d been drinking bourbon all evening. She sat back down and beamed at Kamilah, Grey, and Andromeda, lifting her glass.
“I just wanted to tell you again how thrilled I am to beworking with the three of you.” She knocked on the wooden table. “I mean, you know how it is. It could all fall through tomorrow, of course. But I’m going to do everything in my power to make it happen.”
Grey raised her glass, too. “We’re so grateful that we found you. Like, we truly couldn’t ask for anyone better.”
They all clinked their glasses and took a drink.
Kamilah set her glass down and laced her fingers through Andromeda’s on the table. “Our other meetings were a fucking nightmare. You were kind of our last hope. Literally the first one we went to, one of the guys looked at her like this—” She gave a leering, exaggerated once-over. “And then was like,So I assume you’re comfortable with full nudity?”
Grey fake-gagged as Ethan squeezed her shoulder. “That wasn’t even the worst one. Last week we did the whole pitch and then they were, like, we want to do it—with a different director. We bailed the fuck out of there after that.”
Kamilah’s mouth twisted as she and Grey exchanged glances. She’d been so upset after that meeting that she’d practically vibrated as they walked out, Grey embracing her tightly in the hallway until she’d calmed down enough to drive home.
“Fuck ’em,” Jeff grunted. All their eyes locked on him. It was one of the only things he’d said all night.
Grey had quickly learned that Jeff was a man of few words. He was a good match for Nora, though, and he obviously adored her. Their calm, stoic energy mirrored each other. He was handsome, but not ostentatiously so, with a salt-and-pepper beard and warm brown eyes. The tawny skin of both arms was covered in full-sleeve tattoos, and he carried himself with the quiet confidence of someone used to being the tallest person in every room—he was six five at least, even towering over Ethan.
Kamilah lifted her glass at him. “Cheers to that.”
They drank again. Next to her, Ethan drained his glass. Grey half rose and began gathering up the empty plates. Andromeda leaned back in their chair.
“So, what’s the next step? Is it too early for me to start working on the music?”
“A little, but if you’re feeling inspired, that’s always a good thing.” Nora tore off the corner of a piece of naan and chewed thoughtfully. “Right now I have to start working on the budget projections, figure out the schedule, round up some coproducers. It would be better if we could shoot on location in New York, but that might be too expensive. I have a couple of people I want to talk to when I’m there next month.” She nodded at Grey and Ethan pointedly. “If you twodoend up coming, you’re welcome to join me, Grey.”
Ethan’s arm tensed around her shoulder. She felt his eyes on her, but she didn’t look at him. She realized that he’d started the meal cheerful and gregarious, but had grown more withdrawn as the night had gone on, silently nursing his bourbon next to her. When he spoke, his voice was gruff. “I didn’t realize that was something you had discussed.”
Grey shrugged, keeping her voice casual. “She just brought it up in passing.”
Nora didn’t say anything, her eyes locked on Ethan’s—firmly, but not aggressively. It seemed like something passed between them, some kind of ex-spouse ESP that the rest of them weren’t privy to.
“Give it a rest, Nor,” he finally grumbled, ducking his head.
The table was silent. Grey saw Andromeda and Kamilah exchange uncomfortable glances.
