“Yeah, don’t worry,” Ian reassures me. “I’ve got your back.”
Kolby smiles at his friend and gives me another kiss, this time on the lips, hard, fast, and possessive, before releasing me.
“Hold on.” Todd looks from Kolby to me then back to Kolby again. “You guys are together?”
“This is my boyfriend, Adam.” I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of Kolby calling me that. He grabs my hand, as if to emphasize the point he’s making. Like the kiss didn’t already do that. “I got an email that said you could use a few more skaters, so I brought him along.”
Todd eyes the skates over my shoulder. “How good are you on those things?”
“I play hockey for the Moo U Bulls.”
“Are you a SAG member?” he asks, scribbling something on the pad on his clipboard.
“I don’t even know what that is.”
“It’s the Screen Actors Guild, and no, he’s not,” Kolby answers for me. “Is that a problem? I didn’t think extras had to be union members.”
Todd doesn’t respond. Instead, he puts a hand up palm out, like he’s a traffic cop. “Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”
“Me too?” Ian asks. I’d almost forgotten he was still here.
Todd shakes his head. “You can go see Roz. She’s got some paperwork for you to fill out.”
Ian hikes his backpack up his arm. “Later, gators.”
He takes off in one direction and Todd goes in the other, to a trailer on the opposite side of the rink. He returns less than a minute later with a corporate-looking dude and a guy I recognize as the lead singer of the Space Sheep. I’ve never been a fan of the band—they’re a little too folksy for me—but I still get a little star struck. It’s not every day—or any day—I’m this close to a legit rock star. The three of them stare at us for a few seconds then huddle up and whisper conspiratorially.
“What do suppose they’re talking about?” I ask Kolby.
He shrugs. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
The corporate-looking dude emerges from the huddle, looks me up and down, and nods. “Adam, is it?”
I nod back, my tongue too tied up in confused knots to form words.
“How would you feel about being bumped from background to a principal role?” he asks.
Okay, now I’m even more confused, but fortunately my tongue decides to work. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“We want you to play Kolby’s love interest,” Todd explains.
“You’d be perfect,” the singer for the Space Sheep chimes in. “You guys are a real couple, right? You wouldn’t even have to act.”
“What happened to the guy you originally cast?” Kolby asks. “Brian, right? Sophomore?”
“Stomach flu.” Todd grimaces. “He’s been puking his guts out since last night.”
“And we can’t afford to delay production.” This, of course, comes from corporate dude. “You’d be doing us a huge favor.”
“I don’t know—” I look to Kolby, hoping he’ll bail me out. Instead, he throws me under the bus.
“You can do this.” He squeezes my hand, which I’m surprised to realize he’s still holding. “It’ll be fun. And I’ll be with you every step of the way. Unless—”
“Unless what?”
“Lots of people are going to see this video. I know you’re out, but maybe you don’t want to be that out.”
“It’s not that. I don’t care if the entire free world knows I’m bisexual. Although I should probably run it by Coach Keller and the PR guy from the Barons to make sure it’s cool with them. Being in the video, I mean. Not the bi thing,” I clarify quickly. I don’t want to give anyone the impression that either Moo U or the Barons have a problem with that, since that couldn’t be further from the truth. “I’m supposed to clear any public appearances with them first.”
