Lukas
Expect a call from Asher
The text staredat me and I stared back at it, wanting some context for the out-of-the-blue message. Then another one came through.
He probably won’t call but he needs a friend today
Do I want to know?
He can fill you in. Or not. He’s… had a rough day.
Got it
My next text was to Blue, who I also hadn’t seen or heard from since the day of our shoot, but that was par for the course with him.
We have an Asher emergency
Blue responded almost immediately, which did funny, jealous things to me.
Blue
What’s wrong?
No idea. Lukas said to expect a call from him. Or not, because it’s Asher. But he’s had a tough day.
If you get his address from Lukas, we can ambush him
No worries. I know where it is. I helped him with a couch once.
Send me the address and meet me there in thirty
I’ll bring snacks
Yes, Sir.
Careful who you call Sir. They might take you seriously.
God, I hoped he did. I’d let Blue boss me around in and out of bed. I was shamelessly and hopelessly hooked on him, and I was willing to admit that I’d do whatever he wanted me to do.
But today wasn’t about the things I wanted from Blue in and out of bed. Today was about Asher. I didn’t warn Asher that I was going to come over; that might have given him a chance to hide. I figured it was best to just show up. Lukas hadn’t given me details about why Asher would be allegedly getting in touch, but if I were to venture a guess, it was likely more fallout from the kiss Asher had planted on him.
The kiss bothered me a little, if I were to be honest with myself. I liked Asher. I thought we had a good connection during the screen test, and then he’d gone and kissed Lukas right after in a fit of desperation. It seemed like every time I liked someone, they liked someone else more. I tried not to be sour about it, especially since Blue didn’t seem to like anyone enough to let them close to him. In school, I’d kept my attraction to guys under wraps. And though I went out with girls and found them aesthetically appealing, sexy even, I never felt that spark.. Bisexual on one hand, homoromantic on the other. And even though I had no interest in dating women, when I had done so I’d still been passed over for other people.
There was just something about me that made it easy for people to ignore me. Which was fine. I’d find my person one day. In the meantime, I’d just keep being myself.
Blue and I arrived at Asher’s at the same time. He had a bottle of wine in one hand and a tote bag full of snacks in the other. He smiled when he saw me, and my stupid heart did a kick-flip. I couldn’t help it. He was just so fucking pretty with his blue eyes sparkling in the sun and his smile showing off that fucking dimple of his. I had dreams about kissing that fucking thing.
“Hey. Did you see that Lukas sent us the rough cut of our scene?” Blue said as we fell into step next to each other and headed for Asher’s door. Asher lived in the same apartment that he’d lived in with his brother Leo. Sometimes I wished I wouldhave been closer to Leo when he was alive, but then I thought of how much I liked Asher, and I wondered if it would have been weird for me if I’d been close with Leo.
“I didn’t actually. Is that why you brought snacks?”
“Figured a watch party might be fun. I haven’t had one in years.”
“I don’t know that I’ve ever had one.”
“Really?” Blue seemed surprised by this. “They’re great. I like them. They make me feel like I’m connected to the people I performed with.”
The scene we did hadn’t felt like a performance. At least not to me. But I knew better than to say anything to Blue. He was one of those people who would slip away the harder you tried to hold on, and yet he was here at Asher’s door with wine and snacks and the intention of watching our scene together.
