“You know Jordan Shotcraft?” I know she does. She has seen every single one of his movies. He’s dad hot, and married to one of our favorite singers, Lillian Ash.
“Oh, my God, did you get to meet him?” June is literally sitting on her hands and swinging her legs. She’s gonna die when I tell her.
“Better,” I say, letting my sly grin sit there to hold the moment. Her eyes widen slowly.
“No!” She grabs my arms and pulls them toward her, causing me to laugh and lose my balance. I unfurl my legs, but not in time to stop my fall. Before I hit the ground, though, Tory wraps his arm around my body from the empty seat next to me.
“I have that effect on women,” he says, giving me his classic wink as he rights me in my seat. The mint scent from his gum is now replaced by the faint aroma of his cologne. It’s different than Hayden’s—maybe richer, woodsier, if that’s a thing.
I’m trying to form a clever response when June kicks her feet forward and touches my knees with the toes of her shoes. I shift my focus to her and her eyes are still wide.
“Abby Cortez, you better tell me now. And if it’s what I think it is, you better take me with you.” Her head shakes on its own just to show me how firm she is about this.
“You’re looking at Jordan Shotcraft’s surprise teenaged daughter in his next rom com.” June’s screaming before I get the last word out, and within a blink, she’s wrapped her arms around me, practically sitting in my lap.
My eyes tear with happiness. I squealed when I got the news, but seeing my friend’s reaction just makes things so incredibly real.
June’s reaction draws Lucas and Hayden back to our seats, so once everyone gathers around and June leaves my lap, I feed them the details.
“It was down to me and another unknown actress, and I guess they liked my attitude.”
Tory snorts a laugh, so I shoot him a glare.
“You’re hardly unknown,” June says. “You’re the face of Allensville Yogurt!”
“This stuff is great!” Lucas pipes in, pumping his arm just like I do in my biggest commercial deal to date. The yogurt company ad paid me the most of any job I’ve ever landed, even more than the modeling spreads that have been in major magazines. This movie deal, though . . . it’s a game changer.
“Filming starts in early March,” I say, leading to a noticeable hush from everyone.
“Wow,” June says, shaking her head while keeping the smile plastered on her face. I knew this would be the hard part. We had plans, she and I.
“I know. Prom . . . and maybe graduation, but—”
My best friend grabs my hands and gives them a little shake.
“No buts. This is huge. Massive! We’ll have our own celebrations, and you deserve this.” Her boost to my doubts does the trick, and for the first time since I was offered the contract, I feel one-hundred percent ready to take this leap.
“I’m going to need to run a lot of lines over the next couple months,” I say through nervous laughter.
“Okay.” My friend nods, tears forming at the sides of her eyes from what I can tell is genuine pride. “No kissing scenes for me, though.”
“Damn,” Lucas adds, drawing a laugh from all of us.
“That’s what Hayden’s for,” I say, turning my attention to the guy who probably deserved to get this news from me one-on-one. He doesn’t seem upset, though. In fact, he stands and holds one hand to his chest, his other out in front of him.
“Romeo, Oh Romeo . . .” he starts, clearly showcasing his insincere acting skills.
I kick at him and he grabs my hand, pulling me to my feet and hugging me.
“I’m actually really bad at that stuff, but I’ll do whatever I can,” he assures.
“You sure you don’t mind me taking over your weekends for a while?” I ask, already knowing my mom will be too busy working. When I feel the sway of his embrace pause, I peel back to look him in the eyes.
“Weekends, huh?” His mouth falls into a regretful grimace.
“Your new job,” I respond, piecing it together. I guess I knew he’d have to work weekends a lot. Basketball practice and the season are pretty intense, so weekends are really his only chance to pick up hours.
“Hey, but Tory can fill in. Actually, of the two of us,