you’re just gonna move it around on your plate like a nine-year-old at an adult dinner party. Food here is too good to be wasted on you.”
Carly laughed and handed Alika the entire portion. Hell, she’d sign over her soul to Alika if it meant she’d book this job. She needed it that badly. Her stomach churned, and her heart raced with thoughts of the uncertain horizon. She stared out the window, nervous, sad, and restless.
* * *
Carly took another hit from her wineglass and hit play on her phone to watch the whole god-awful thing again. She yelled at the paparazzo, fury evident in her eyes, and then in a quick edit appeared to grab the camera and shove it. The extra added sound effects made it seem like someone had fallen over and had possibly been hurt. Of course, that had been their goal. The more hellacious her behavior seemed, the more clicks they’d get. Without the actual conversation intact, she looked out of control, a person with anger management issues. Another fabulous image booster.
When the video hadn’t surfaced in the first forty-eight hours, she’d been naïve enough to think she was in the clear. Seeing it together like this, it looked even worse than she’d feared.
She took another gulp of wine, half a bottle in. She hit play again because why the hell not? There was the crazy woman snarling. Oh, wait. That was her. She hit stop. Play again. Her own voice echoed throughout her backyard from the speaker on her phone. “Get the fuck out of our way, you sexually repressed piece of human waste. Do you hear me?” She winced through the shove.
“Hey. What are you doing out here? Why aren’t you wearing a coat?”
Lauren. She’d had a full day in Hollywood with three auditions and a lunch meeting with United Talent about her prospects and trajectory, as they’d put it. Carly had expected her home sooner, so that likely meant things had gone well. She turned around to see Lauren in her sweater and boots, hugging herself against the evening cold. It was dark out. Carly must have been out here for at least a couple of hours. Not like she had anywhere else to be.
“Just watching my new favorite TV show.”
Lauren peered over her shoulder as Carly hit play. “Oh, God,” she said as the video concluded. “That’s not how it happened at all.”
“Doesn’t matter.” Carly sipped. She set the glass on the table next to her. “My phone’s been blowing up ever since it posted. Alika, Fallon, even my mom. She’s horrified.”
“You’re not okay. I can tell.”
“Just part of the game.” Carly shrugged. “A game I can’t seem to win anymore.”
Lauren looked around the yard helplessly. “What can I do?”
“Absolutely nothing. It’s a nice night, and I don’t want to think about any of that anymore. Not when you’re here.” She held out her hand to Lauren. “Come here. We can keep each other warm.”
“You don’t have to ask me twice,” Lauren said, allowing Carly to tug her until she sat in her lap, Lauren’s back against her shoulder. “I’m happy to be right here.” Lauren turned Carly’s face up to hers and kissed her softly. “What a crazy day.”
“Tell me about it. I want to live vicariously.” Carly wrapped an arm around Lauren’s midsection and snuggled in, taking a deep inhale.
Lauren laughed. “Please, I’m the one in your world.”
Carly blew out a jaded breath. “Not from where I’m sitting. You’re the one getting all the action.”
“For bit parts maybe.” Lauren’s arm was draped around Carly’s shoulder. She began to play with Carly’s hair as they sat there, lifting it and letting it fall, which felt so amazing that Carly almost let go of the emotions that seemed to be taking their turns with her. Anger, desolation, and fear danced in a conga line of attack. The night seemed larger than she was, daunting in a new and unfamiliar sense.
“A job is a job.” Carly forced a smile. “How did the auditions go?”
Lauren scrunched her shoulders in that cute and hopeful way she sometimes did. “I think they went well. For this guest starring role on The Subdivision, they wanted to talk the scene out with me and try different motivations and tactics in the room. I’ve never had that before. Back in my auditioning days, they would just say thank you fifteen seconds in, and that’d be it.” She snagged a sip of Carly’s wine.