“So, Adam, where are you from?” Teddy asks.
“Tennessee. Pigeon Forge, to be exact.”
“Dollywood,” Holly says, and I nod. Being just a few miles from the Smoky Mountain cabin where Dolly Parton was born is our one claim to fame.
“That explains your accent,” Cassius says.
“I’m trying to get rid of it.”
“Why would you want to do that?” Teddy asks.
“It’s better not to have an accent if I want to get into acting. Also, people out here tend to think I’m dumb for having one.” I shrug. Sad but true.
“That’s ridiculous,” Cassius says. “I think it’s absolutely charming. What do you think, Diego?”
“I love a man with an accent,” he says in the same sultry bedroom voice he uses to croon his duets with Holly. Thankfully, my drink arrives then, and I take a long, thirsty gulp.
“So, Adam, what do you think of L.A.?” Holly asks.
I glance around at the four of them—young, beautiful, successful, rich. I’m still a stranger to them and a stranger to their ways. It’s painfully obvious in my borrowed jacket and tie that I don’t belong. “It’s so glamorous. I mean, look at this place. Look at all of you.” They glance around the table as if seeing themselves for the first time. Their silence makes me uncomfortable. “Did I say something wrong?”
Cassius squeezes my shoulder. “No, Adam, we’re simply speechless at your utter sincerity. Angelenos aren’t used to that sort of honesty around here. Are we, dolls?” He surveys the table, and they all shake their heads. Their attention is intoxicating, or maybe it’s the drink, which is strong, but as they ask me more questions about myself, I begin to relax and soak up their admiration. Cassius mentions the portrait of me he saw when we first met.
“It was absolutely breathtaking,” he says to everyone. “Adam was youth and beauty personified. I doubt a Greek sculptor could have improved upon his form.”
“Stop,” I protest, giddy from the alcohol and praise.
“Your skin is amazing,” Holly says. “Practically glowing. Do you know how hard it is to maintain my skincare routine while on tour? I swear I find a new wrinkle every day. God, I wish I could stay young and beautiful forever.”
“Darling, you grow more beautiful every time I see you,” Diego says, and kisses her hand.
“Our careers have an expiration date,” she says, ignoring his compliment. “Yours too,” she nods at Diego. “How can we possibly stay relevant when there are younger, hotter people coming up every day? Getting famous for a silly TikTok dance or a meme. Sorry, I don’t mean to sound so miserable.” She shakes her head, and I wonder if I should mention that I was “discovered” on TikTok. Probably not.
I absently rub one hand over my abs, checking to make sure there are no places where I can pinch the fat. I realize too late that Cassius has asked me a question. “I’m sorry, what?”
“I said, would you rather be young and beautiful with terrible morals, or a good but plain person?”
I glance around the table, wondering what others have said before me. “I’d give anything to be beautiful,” I confess.
“Anything?” he asks.
I nod, certain of this at least. “Anything.Everything.”
Cassius smiles, looking so sophisticated and debonair, like something out of a black and white movie. He says to me, “But, Adam, you are beautiful already.”
I nod and try to take his compliment graciously while a list of my flaws scrolls through my mind like today’s gruesome headlines. At the same time, Holly starts talking about all the things she’d do to stay young forever, “I would club a baby seal while wearing low-rise jeans, shave my head ala Britney Spears circa 2007, submerge myself in a vat of motor oil... Adam,” she suddenly exclaims, and I snap to attention, “What are you doing later tonight?”
Elliot invited me to go with him to an open mic night at a coffee shop, but I didn’t commit, not really. Now, I’m glad that I didn’t. I want to keep my options open. “I don’t know yet,” I tell her.
“Youhaveto come out with us. We’re going to this new speakeasy on Sunset. What’s the name of it, Dee?”
“Sinner’s Delight,” Diego says in his seductive purr. I glance over at Cassius to see what he has to say about it.
“Cassius, you’ll come with us too, won’t you?” Holly says.
“Sorry, Holls, but I have plans already.”
She makes a face and tosses her crumpled drink napkin at him. “Cancel them. I don’t want our fun to end. What do you have going on anyway?”
