I look out the window as the ground approaches at a speed I’m still having a hard time grasping. It’s amazing how quick, and scary at the same time, the whole traveling by plane thing is.
The flight was about how I expected—Spencer was quiet the entire time, mostly pretending to be asleep as a way of avoiding conversation. I slept a little, but mostly just flipped through the in-flight magazine and watched a little bit of TV. Hopefully the car ride isn’t quite so boring.
“Welcome to Los Angeles, Ladies and Gentlemen,” the pilot says, through the intercom. “We thank you for choosing us for your travel needs. If there’s anything else we can do for you, please let one of the flight attendants know or proceed to the customer service counter. Once again, thank you, we appreciate your business and we hope to see you soon.”
The intercom crackles as he finishes. I glance at the first class attendant, she seemed nice, but she looks irritated and a little tired… I don’t think she notices me looking at her. It must be a hard job, I can’t even really fathom the long hours and endless travel.
We get off the plane as we reach the gate and I have to hustle to keep up with Spencer. He doesn’t even look at me until we are outside.
“I… I think it would be best if you just took a cab.”
I look into his eyes and he quickly turns away. He’s not mad at me, at least I don’t think he is, but that deep sadness is still in his eyes. I was hoping that it would have faded during the flight. I nod and walk toward the curb where there are a few taxis waiting. Hopefully, if I give him space he will change his mind… I really want to be there to help him with whatever it is that he’s going through.
Spencer opens the door of the cab for me and I get in. Before I can say anything to the driver, Spencer sticks his head through the open passenger window and hands the guy a wad of cash.
I take out my phone and turn it on as Spencer tells the driver Dex’s address. I look at him and force myself to smile, even though looking at him makes me sad and he just looks at me with a stone face.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he says.
He steps away from the curb and walks off as the taxi pulls away. I look forward and see the driver looking in the rearview mirror.
“Was that… Spencer Thomas?” he says.
“Wow… that’s cool, how do you know him?”
I sigh and take a deep breath. I’m really not in the mood to discuss my personal life with a random taxi driver.
“He’s a friend.”
I look down at my phone and hope that he doesn’t bother me anymore. Normally I wouldn’t mind—nice people seem pretty few and far between in this town, and he seems alright, but I feel so out of sorts from Spencer. I know it’s not his fault, but I’m just so used to him being in such a great mood all the time… it’s so weird to see him like this.
There’s a text from Jess waiting for me and I realize that I never texted her back after my first night in Colorado. I feel bad and decide to text her back right away. I’m sure she probably thinks I fell off the planet or that I’ve been busy doing things she would approve of with Spencer.
Amy, I never heard back from you. I’m going to go ahead and assume that you’ve been ‘busy’ with Spencer. Hope you’re having fun, text me back when you get back to L.A. or wherever. No rush. Love you.
I can’t help but smile as I read her text. It’s amazing, but so far having her as a friend since my first few days in Salem has really been the only constant in my life. I have no idea what I would do without her.
You wish. I just got busy. Just landed in L.A., heading back to Dex’s house right now.
I look out of the window as the car slows. It’s near the middle of the afternoon and we are hitting traffic… I think… either that or this is normal. I’m not really sure, but there are cars everywhere.
My phone vibrates in my hands and I look down to read the reply from Jess.
Yay! I missed you. How was your trip? Did you have fun? What about Spencer’s mom? Was she nice?
So many questions.
It was pretty good… it was nice to go somewhere and not have to worry about my mom and her drama for a couple of days. His mom is amazing… she was really nice and seemed to be actually interested in what I thought about things, which is quite the change from talking to my mom.
I hit send and look up. I didn’t even notice, but we are on the street where Dex lives and the driver is slowing down to try and find the house.
“Who lives here?” he says, as he pulls up in front of the gate.
“Thanks.”
I get out of the car without answering his question. I know Gina mentioned to me before that Dex wasn’t exactly keen on people knowing where he lived and the last person I wanted to tell was a taxi driver… he could potentially tell a lot of people.
The gate swings open as I walk up… I guess Dex or Gina must have noticed the car pull up outside. I walk up to the front door and it opens just as I lift my hand to knock. Dex is standing in front of me with a goofy smile on his face.
“It’s good to see you,” he says.
“You too.”
He steps forward and hugs me… something I wasn’t expecting, but I’m certainly glad he’s back in a good mood. I guess he worked out whatever was going on. Part of me really hopes that he didn’t make amends with my mom. I know it’s possible, but I think he would have told me on the phone if that was the case.
“Come in, I’ve got a couple things I need to talk to you about.”
That sounds a little ominous….
Dex laughs and steps away from the door to let me in.
“Don’t look so worried,” he says, “it’s nothing major… certainly nothing that would warrant that kind of panicked look on your face.”
Once again, I’ve embarrassed myself by being completely emotionally transparent. Wonderful. I really need to work on that. I remember when I was growing up, my dad would tell me to stay calm and keep my emotions in check. I guess he didn’t realize who he was talking to.
“Sorry,” I say.
I force myself to look more normal as I follow Dex through the house and onto the back porch. It’s a little warm out, especially after spending the last few days in Colorado, but Dex doesn’t seem fazed by it. We walk down to the pool and sit in chairs next to it. It’s looking really refreshing right now… I wish I could dive in. Maybe I’ll go for a swim later.
“So,” Dex says, “are you ready to get back to work? I want to finish up in the next couple of weeks… I know it’s a lot, but I think if we push hard we can get it done. I want you to be able to go back to school in time for the start of it.”
My eyes grow wide and Dex smiles in response.
“Is… is that possible?”
“I think so. We’re just going to change up the shoot a little and just do all of your scenes first. If for some reason something doesn’t come out… well, I was thinking that maybe if we needed to reshoot something you’d be amenable to flying out on a weekend.”
It’s not at all what I expected to hear from Dex. I somehow expected that he was going to tell me some bad news or something, like maybe it was going to take even longer than he originally thought.
A hundred thoughts fly through my brain. I had already mentally prepared myself to miss the beginning of school… I guess I’m going to have to get registered for classes in the next few days and then….
I realize there’s really no point in getting myself worked up, not yet at least. Dex said he hoped that it would be possible and he sounded fairly sure, but I’m really trying to not get my hopes up. I would hate for the shoot to run long, after I got ready to go back to Salem in time for school, and then not be able to.
“That’s great… and yes, of course I could fly out on a weekend. Whatever you need, Dex.”
He smiles at me sits back in his chair. It’s kind of amazing, he looks more relaxed in this moment than I’ve ever seen him. I open my mouth to ask about my mom, but I stop myself… I know it’s a bad idea and it would probably just upset him. Another time, maybe, when he’s ready to talk about it.
“Good.”
Dex spreads his lips and leans forward, as if preparing to say something else, and then sits back and shifts his gaze to the pool.
“What is it?” I say.
“Oh… I meant to bring it up before, but I wanted to make sure that you and Spencer had a chance to build some on-screen chemistry first… tomorrow’s scene has a kiss. It’s a fairly lengthy one, too, but I wanted you to know about it so you didn’t feel blindsided by it on set.”
I shift my eyes from Dex to the pool and stare into the calm water. I’m not even sure what to think. It’s weird… I tried to kiss Spencer a few days ago and he made sure that didn’t happen and now… now we have to kiss. I wonder if he knew this was coming. I kind of wish I would’ve had a chance to kiss him, just for practice, before we have to do it in front of the camera.
“Is that alright?” Dex says.
I shake my head and turn my head back to him.
“Yeah… yeah, it’s fine… of course.”
He smiles at me. I can tell he’s still trying to decide if he’s convinced by my answer, but I don’t know what else I could have said. I have a feeling tonight is going to be a long night and I probably won’t sleep well. Jess is going to be excited though. It’s exactly what she wants for me.
I force thoughts of kissing Spencer out of my mind. There’s going to be plenty of time to be a worried mess tomorrow.
Hopefully I do a convincing job of kissing him. More than anything I don’t want to disappoint Dex and I know the kiss has to look real, otherwise the audience will never believe it.
“I know that I probably should have mentioned it before… it’s not something I even thought about until yesterday. I… I knew it was in the movie, obviously, but I hadn’t even considered it since we cast you.”
“It’s fine… really, Dex, I don’t mind.”
He chuckles, takes his phone out his pocket and checks something before turning his attention back to me.
“You know, most girls your age would be thrilled… but I know that you’re not most girls and that’s why you’re in my movie.”
I think that was a compliment….
“Thanks.”
Dex stands up, starts walking toward the house and I follow. He holds the door open for me and I go inside.
“I’ve gotta make a few calls,” he says. “Dinner at six?”
“Sure.”
He smiles and heads toward the kitchen. I climb the stairs and go to my room. I could do with a few hours to myself. Not to mention, I have to start psyching myself up for tomorrow’s kiss. I wonder if Spencer knows about this already? He must.
I lie down on my bed and try to calm my pulse and breathing. I remind myself to not dwell on the things I can’t change and instead focus on the positives… like the fact that I should be able to get back to Salem for the start of school.