“YOU really like him, don’t you?” Etta said one evening. She’d been watching silently as Ash did the washing up.
“What?”
Etta shook her head. “Remy. You really like him. You’ve been smiling nonstop since… well, last weekend.”
“Have I?” Ash asked. After their Saturday trip, they met again on Sunday for one of the promised cooking lessons and hid inside during an unending May rain. Ash had much enjoyed watching Remy’s biceps in the gray light as he kneaded the from-scratch pasta dough.
“And there was last night,” Etta added.
When leaving costume after work, Ash had run into an extra-bubbly Remy, beaming and excited because Janet liked his werewolf ideas so much she’d had a script written. Ash and Remy had gone out for dinner, eating too much sushi and giggling over beers. Ash hadn’t floated home until almost midnight.
He’d found Etta on the couch, sleepily watching TV. She denied waiting up for him, but he burned with guilt all the same. She only hummed when he told her where he’d been, but obviously she had more to say now she wasn’t half-asleep.
“He’s a friend,” Ash pointed out.
Etta grunted. “Yes, but…. You really like him. I’ve never seen you like this before.” Her head was tilted and she sounded off.
Ash scratched at the side of his nose and pondered her words. “What do you mean, ‘like this’?”
She rolled her eyes. “I mean it’s obvious you’re into him.”
Ash flushed warm, then cold. “Obvious?” he croaked.
“Well, to me.” She shrugged. “I’m not sure anyone else would notice. No one else knows you well enough.”
Ash planted a hand on the counter and breathed deeply. He didn’t… It was one thing to tell his brother, and another entirely for his friends, acquaintances, coworkers to guess.
He didn’t want to lose his everything like Sam. A guest star in an early series of Restraint, he had told. The TV roles had dried up and soon he’d been forced to move back to New York, relegated to the stage, unable to move beyond it, to be a “movie star.”
“You’re not going to be telling him, then,” Etta guessed.
Ash thought about telling Remy that he… liked him. His heart thumped and butterflies filled his stomach. Then reality reasserted. He swallowed and shook his head. No.
“Right.”
They stood in silence, and Ash did his best to catch his breath.
“You know I’ll support you.” Etta swallowed. “And if you ever need me to move out—”
“What? No. Of course not.” About a year after she moved in, after too much to drink one night, she confessed that all her life she’d thought herself broken for not wanting a happily ever after and had only recently learned she wasn’t alone. That night, he made a vow.
“Etta, you will always have a home with me. I’d never kick you out.” He swallowed. “And if I ever had a… boyfriend”—though why break an almost-thirty-year streak now?—“they’d know moving in with me meant moving in with you.”
She frowned. “Don’t be silly. You’d want your own space.”
“Have I ever wanted it before?”
She shook her head. “But he—”
“Then he’s not worth having.”
“Okay,” Etta said softly, doubtfully. He wished he could convince her, but nothing short of moving someone else in would prove it.
Which wasn’t likely to happen anytime soon, even if Etta side-eyed him a few nights later as he got ready to meet Remy for dinner. He ignored it and left with a quiet goodbye.
“CUT!” the director called, and Ash and Michael relaxed out of their staring contest. Michael clapped him on the back and moved off to find his coffee, and Ash ambled over to his director’s chair, where Etta was lounging with her phone, one leg hooked over the arm.
“Enjoying the show?”
Etta shrugged. “It’s still boring to watch you film,” she said glibly. She’d been excited the first time but was no longer impressed by the slow, repetitious process.
Ash rolled his eyes. “Well, you didn’t have to come today.”
She narrowed hers. “And let you have all the fun? As if.” She turned back to her phone and tapped at the screen like Ash didn’t know she was playing Candy Crush. Ash’s lips quirked in a fond smile, still grateful their friendship hadn’t changed any since their talk the week before, even if she still cast Remy suspicious looks every time she caught sight of him.
“How much longer, anyway?” Etta drawled.
“Next scene, I think,” Ash said. Etta hummed as if she didn’t care.
He grabbed his water and took a deep gulp. Hamish was furious with Niall in this scene, and all the talking had left Ash parched. He was sure he’d already done more talking as Hamish than he’d done in six years as Zvi.
He was putting the bottle back when Remy came tumbling onto the set. “Hi. How’s it going so far? Have I missed it?”
“Hello. Good. No.” Ash smiled. They’d seen each other the day before, but that didn’t stop the happy bubbly feeling in his stomach.
Remy visibly perked up at the last two words and looked around. He swung his arms together, knocked his hands, and swung them apart. “Yay! I didn’t want to miss any of it.”
“Etta neither.”
“Oh, Etta, hi! You don’t usually come down to set, do you?” Remy asked apologetically. Ash bit his lip against a laugh.
“No, I don’t. I drive him to work a lot, but no point in sticking around. They’ve got security here.” She shrugged. Their bodyguard/client relationship might not be typical, but it worked for them.
“That makes sense. And I don’t blame you for wanting to be here today.” He bounced on his toes. “To be honest, I kind of came up with the plot just for this.”
Ash laughed, unsurprised, and even Etta cracked an amused smile. Remy grinned at them, unrepentant.
A commotion started by the door, and a couple of women walked in. One pulled a wagon with built-up sides.
“Yes!” Remy said and squirmed, clearly curbing the impulse to dash across the room.
Ash bit his lip. “Come on.” He gestured to the new arrivals. “They’ll want to make sure I’m comfortable with them.”
“Yeah?” Remy asked, wide-eyed, and Ash nodded.
When Ash, Remy, and Etta approached the women, who had a bit of a crowd growing around them, Ash could hear whining and yips. Once close enough, he peered into the wagon and found four malamute puppies.
“Oh my God. They are so freaking cute,” Remy nearly squealed.
Etta made a soft cooing noise.
Ash introduced himself and his two friends to the ladies. The older one, who had dark curly hair, introduced herself as Rhea and, with a wave to the young blonde with round-framed glasses, added, “This is my assistant, Charlie.” Then she turned to the puppies. “And these are Akela, Raksha, Grey, and Leela.”
One of the puppies was stood on his hind legs and trying to climb the side, one sat in the corner, watching them all, and the other two moved about, crashing into each other and the first two.
“You should say hello,” Rhea said to Ash. He leaned forward and held out his hand. The one on his hind legs stretched for a sniff—then overextended and fell.
Ash and Etta snorted laughter, and Remy squeed.
Chuckling, Rhea reached down, collected the puppy, and after a quick inspection, handed him over to Ash. “You’ll probably be working with Raksha a lot. She’s the bravest of the bunch.”
The gray-and-white puppy squirmed in his arms, climbed his chest, and licked his chin.
“Hello,” Ash murmured and stroked her ears. She wriggled some more. “Yer a guid wee pup, aren’t you? A terrifying beastie if evah Ah saw one,” he continued in an undertone.
Ash heard the sound of a fake shutter and looked up to see Etta smirking behind her phone. She snapped another photo. Ash scowled at her, then glanced at Remy.
His hands were clasped together and held high over his chest, his expression one of pure rapture. “So cute,” he sighed with delight.
Ash’s stomach flipped. His skin prickled.
Rhea laughed. “You can hold one too, if you’d like.”
“Really?” Remy turned his shining heart-eyes to her. Ash looked down at his puppy to hide… whatever it was he felt. Disappointment?
“Of course. Here. Akela’s super chill.” She picked up the one sat in the corner and handed him over to Remy. He was slightly larger than his sister, with similar gray-and-white markings and a tubbier belly.
Remy cooed at him, rubbed his ears, scratched his chin, and murmured nonsense like “Who’s the cutest ickle puppy? Who’s the most adorable in the whole world? That’s right. You are.”
Etta’s camera shutter went off again, and Ash wondered if he could get a copy of that picture without Etta taking the piss. Probably not, but it would be worth it.
“I’m so dog deprived,” Remy said in a more normal tone but still cuddling the pup close to his chest. “I started dog-walking for cash when I was a kid, so always got doggy playtime, yes I did”—this was said to Akela—“until I moved out here. Maybe I should start up again.” He gave a sardonic smile. “Help pay the rent.”
Rhea laughed. “You should take my card. I might be able to help with that. In fact I’m sure I could.”
Remy beamed at her.
Ash had never before felt so foolish for not owning a dog.
Five minutes later Michael found them each with a puppy in hand and claimed the last one, saying haughtily, “But I’m the actor. I’m the one who needs to bond with them, not you.” He snuggled Grey close and winked at them.
“Any excuse to be the center of attention or to touch, right?” Ash snarked. He’d been the subject of many hugs, grabs, pokes, shakes, and fist-bumps over the past few weeks. Michael and Jasmine were in fierce competition for most tactile castmate.
Michael glared at him, but considering he had his nose buried in puppy fur, it wasn’t very threatening.
That set the tone for the afternoon. Ash and Michael had to curb their desire to simply cuddle the fluffy pups each time the director called action.
The plot was simple: Hamish and Niall, in the middle of a sexual-tension–fueled tiff, find a werewolf puppy during the full moon. As she’s fully transformed for the three days, they’re unable to find her parents. Cue hijinks as they try to care for a wolf pup.
When Raksha went barreling across the set and ran straight into Ash’s shins, he was grateful Hamish’s natural inclination was to scoop her up and coo. When the director called cut to reset the scene, Ash turned to find Remy. His expression was soft, and he looked ready to steal the puppy out of his arms. Ash caught his gaze and mouthed thank you at him. Then Raksha licked his nose. Remy’s face did this sort of meltdown at the sight of so much cute, but he managed a thumbs-up in response to Ash’s gratitude.
Despite how boring it was to watch filming, both Etta and Remy lasted through the afternoon, sitting on the sidelines with Rhea and Charlie. Most times when Ash glanced over, their arms were full of napping furball.
When they took a midafternoon break to hydrate all the actors, including the puppies, Remy was stood near Ash’s director’s chair and grinning so hard his eyes near disappeared.
“Enjoying yourself?” Ash reached for the water bottle hanging off his chair and uncapped it.
“OhmyGod. You have no idea how amazing this is. That’s my concept you’re filming. My idea, and you’re bringing it to life, and I had no idea how amazing it would feel, but it’s just so awesome because you’re filming my idea.” Remy pulled in a deep breath.
“So what you’re saying is, it’s good to see your work being filmed,” Ash teased.
Remy punched his shoulder and didn’t stop grinning. “Shut up. I’ve had so many ideas for werewolf scripts after all the research I did into them. Who knew that degree would have any practical use?” His gaze turned to the set and went somewhat distant. Then he refocused on Ash. “Thank you for your part in this.”
Ash arched an eyebrow. If Remy thought Ash had pulled strings in any sort of way for him…. Not that Ash wouldn’t do it, but he’d never needed to. Remy got here on his own, and Ash had no reason to interfere with that. “This is all on your merits.”
Remy pinked a wee bit. “You may not have anything to do with them liking my idea or the writing of the script, but you’re helping to bring it all together, and I’m grateful.”
“Well. You’re welcome, then.”
Remy’s grin turned back up to full wattage, and he punched Ash’s shoulder once again. “Good.” Then his gaze softened and his expression turned more serious. “You’ve helped me a lot in the last few weeks, with making this transition to a new job and city. It’s been nice, already having a sort-of friend here.”
Uncomfortable, Ash shrugged. He’d never felt very altruistic about “helping” Remy settle in. His motives were pretty selfish. He sighed gustily. “Well, it’s been a sacrifice to spend time with you, true, but I pluck through.”
Remy chuckled and glared. “Thanks, loser.”
Ash was still smiling when they pulled him back on set.