“What are the paparazzi like?” Gray asked. “This will be my first experience.”
Jameson nodded. “Relentless. Shameless. Vicious. That’s the baseline. And with how much the rags are offering for information on me, they tend to be extra motivated around here. You’ll see soon enough, I’m sure.”
Gray nodded. “Sorry you have to deal with that.”
Jameson smiled pleasantly. “It’s nothing. I just hope they don’t cause you too much trouble.”
It wasn’t nothing, of course, and Jameson appreciated Gray’s words. But no one liked to hear the ultra-rich and famous complain, no matter how bad his problems got.
“I had a guy on the roof last month,” Jameson confessed. “Right at my bedroom window. It’s what made me decide to call you.”
Gray scrunched up his face. “Fuck, that’s so rude. If it makes you feel any better, I’m happy to tackle someone off the roof, if that’s what it takes.”
Jameson laughed. “Safety first, please. But you’ll definitely outshine Pickles. She licked a photographer’s hand one time.”
Gray laughed along, then took a drink from his beer. “I’m sure you could have handled it on your own, if you really wanted to. You did your own stunts, didn’t you?”
Jameson managed not to wince as one of a million stock answers rolled across his lips, bland statements about professionals and what a great crew and blah blah blah. He always hated going into autopilot, which made it feel like his brain was switched off, but giving Gray the false script felt even more icky than usual for some reason.
“I shouldn’t ask about that—I know you quit the business,” Gray said, almost like he caught Jameson’s hesitation.
“It’s fine,” Jameson answered. “Anyway, it’s not like I was hurt or taken advantage of. I just… didn’t like being a star.”
“If you didn’t like being in theBroken Dragonmovies, I’d say you definitely made the right choice.”
“Exactly!” Jameson said, his smile turning a bit closer to the real version. “I thought maybe doing something fun like an action movie would make me love it again, but once I landed my dream role and still didn’t enjoy acting, I knew it was time to quit.”
“Makes sense to me,” Gray said with a nod. “I love those movies.” He tilted his head to the side, then shrugged casually. “I never really gave a damn about your TV show, though, sorry.”
Jameson laughed again. “That’s fine,” he said. “It’s a bit of a relief, actually.”
“Because of how cheesy the show is, or because of how intense the fans are?”
Jameson bit down softly on the inside of his cheek, his smile widening. A warm feeling was bubbling up inside of him, and if he opened his mouth, he was pretty sure he would say something he regretted. It was like Gray had somehow seen the truth with those steely eyes and pointed right at the thing Jameson wasn’t able to admit.
Gray laughed. “Maybe both, then.”
“Hollywood just isn’t my culture,” Jameson said to smooth it over. “I’m much happier back on the East Coast here, anyway.”
“You don’t miss any of it?”
“I’ll tell you what I do miss,” Jameson said, leaning forward a little. “Just going to the movies. Like hitting up a cheap matinee at a small theater, chowing down on popcorn, and catching the latest blockbuster. TheX-Menmovies were always my favorites.”
Gray grinned. “Yeah, they’re the best, man. But why do you have to miss that? You don’t have to go to Hollywood to catch a matinee.”
Jameson nodded. “Most people can just catch a movie, but I can’t appear in public without getting mobbed.” He took another sip of his wine, and when he looked back up, Gray met his eye, and a little more of the truth slipped out. “When I want to go to the movies, they empty out a theater for me.”
“That’s kind of cool? I mean, it doesn’t sound like it would be as fun. What would you do with all that space?”
“You’re right,” Jameson agreed. “It’s definitely not the same. I’ve stuck to screeners in my home theater for a while now.”
“If you hated Hollywood that much, I guess you weren’t very happy when you were filming the TV show either, huh?”
For once, Jameson didn’t quite know what to say. There was no scripted response to deal with the awkwardness of someone forgetting his whole story, not after the world watched him mourn the death of his real parents during the first season ofWest Town. It was devastating. It laid Jameson bare for the public in a way he had not been prepared for, and for years after, fans would bring it up to him out of nowhere, like his tragedy was their entertainment.
“Oh, god, I just remembered what happened,” Gray said, his face falling. “Shit. I’m sorry, man. I just never pay attention to stuff like that. I don’t read the tabloids or anything.” He shook his head, flustered. “I can’t even remember the whole story, just that it was bad. I’m sorry about what happened, though. About losing your parents.”
Jameson carefully held his composure together, although his heart was breaking a little inside. “It’s okay. Honestly, everyone knowing my business is a big part of the problem anyway. I don’t mind if people forget sometimes.”
