Just Like Heaven

by T L Bradford

  I think about today and how well our shoot went. I’m still working up the nerve to tell my family about the change in direction for my character. I’m sure my mom and her husband Jacob won’t give it a second thought. I have no contact with my father but if he ever found out…

  I fall asleep watching a movie that I’ve probably seen no less than 20 times. Lola is curled up by my stomach. I pick up my cell to look at the time. It’s almost 11:00 pm. I scroll through some messages and see one from Gemma. She has left already and was waiting at the airport for her flight. Her text says, “Is he just as dreamy up close?”

  I don’t respond. I do, however, consider what she said. As a man, even I can admit the guy is easy on the eyes. It leads me to Google his name. There is not much, looks like he has been in a few small parts. Then I pick the images tab. He has done several photo shoots. They are tastefully done, and he looks rugged and good-looking — the full sports jock.

  Totally creeping now, I see a short bio on him. He used to play football in high school and college. I wonder what got him into acting. He doesn’t seem like the dramatic type. I guess you never know. I come across his Instagram feed and check it out. Some photoshoot images are in there as well as pics from his school days. In several, he is pictured with a very pretty dark-haired girl. Probably his girlfriend.

  He has several family images. Jesus, how big is his family? There are lots of images of family gatherings and vacations. They all seem very close. I wonder how his family is reacting to him taking this role. He has older brothers. With him being such a bro-type guy, this will be easy picking for them. He also has at least one sister. They look close in age. I’m guessing between 24 to 25. He can’t be much older than that. I’m only 28.

  He has selfies with various women through college. He has a type; they are all beautiful, dark, or brown haired with slightly athletic builds. They are all grinning proudly, hanging onto his arm. I have no idea what position he played in football, but he sure got a lot of girl action. Then, there are some pics of him in a cast which I think answers one of my questions. It is a full leg cast so that may have been what ended his football career. There is a big gap between those images and the next group which show him on stage. Fiddler on the Roof no doubt. He has a mix of plays and musical theater in his dramatic background. Can he sing and dance?

  There are fewer and fewer images of him partying in his later college years. He appears to have scored a lead part in Hamlet. That’s a tough part to play as there are pages of dialog that need to be memorized. That’s why not many actors can take on the role effectively. I’d like to see his performance. There is a long soliloquy with the actor directly addressing the audience. Captivating an audience for that long is tough.

  After college, he had some pilots and small TV spots. Americana is going to be his first big role. It’s still an interesting choice for an actor who could have been a shoo-in for leading man parts, especially with his good looks. I can see it being a steppingstone role, but like me, he risks being typecast. After taking on these roles, will we ever be cast as straight again? I’m thinking too much, and I need to stop stalking his social media.

  I put my phone down and drag myself up to bed. Maybe this will all work out in the end.

  Chapter 7

  Josh

  This is not working out. As I’m sitting in my chair facing his direction, I can’t help but feel that I am somehow disturbing his Feng Shui. He obviously has never had a roommate before. I swear it’s like walking on eggshells. I can’t even get comfortable. He is OCD. Everything has a pre-designated place. A place for the phone, a place for the laptop, a place for the freaking remote! If I get up and move something, his eyes follow me to make sure it goes into one of the neatly organized drawers. Is this kindergarten or something? Do I need a box for my toys?

  He hasn’t said anything but the passive-aggressive nature of his sighs, body language and tossing shit around is enough.

  It’s been about two weeks, just long enough for the masks to start slipping and for true personalities to start coming out. Noah Sinclair is a total anal retent. If he had a T-shirt, that is what it would say. ‘Hi, my name is Noah, and I’m a total douche canoe, and what is your name?’ It’s frustrating. Yesterday I had a can of soda, put it on the table. I got up for like 2 minutes. When I came back, the can was gone. He said he thought I left and wasn’t coming back. “We can’t get ants, you know.” WTF? Who does that?

  Now I’m starting to do things to piss him off. Not putting things in their “place,” putting my feet up on his lovely colonial style furniture and making and eating stinky food in the room. This last one backfired on me though when I nearly ralphed trying to scarf down some brussel sprouts. What was I thinking?

  Tapings haven’t been a major problem yet as the characters have not been engaging much. I’m starting to question whether I made the right decision about taking on the role. Now I know why they had such a hard time casting someone with Noah. He’s a mega pain in the ass.

  I can’t see him, but I hear him get up and move around. He starts cleaning. He moves around my way and picks my legs up off the table and cleans the area underneath. Then drops them straight back down with a crash. He grunts something under his breath and goes back to his side of the room.

  That’s it. It is time to tag out. He’s lucky I didn’t kick him in the face. I grab my script and head out of the room, slamming the door behind me. I go down the hall and end up in the kitchen/common area. Olive, Sarita and Ash are all in there.

  We’ve all hung out over the last few weeks. I haven’t had scenes with either of the girls yet, but Ash and I had one last week. Olive sits on top of a countertop, legs dangling and sucking down a Starbucks Frappuccino with what looks like extra whip. Diabetes for one anybody?

  Olive is a tiny blond with medium length hair that bobs in the front under her chin and big blue eyes. She’s cute in a college cheerleader way. She is always perky and apparently has no mouth filter whatsoever. I’m not even sure if she is aware of this, and if so, she doesn’t care. Sometimes it’s refreshing to hear a true opinion in this town where everyone is so uptight and pc all the time. She is in an outfit that reminds me of a Dutch barmaid with her slight shoulders exposed in a denim style dress with a puffy armed shirt beneath.

  Sitting at the table is Sarita. What to say about Sarita? She is tall, slim, and graceful as fuck. She is class, and she knows it. She is typing on her cell phone and looks up to see me. A smile slowly forms curling from the corner of her mouth to make a one-sided grin. She looks to be of mixed Asian–Caucasian descent. She has long dark, slightly waved hair, which is center- parted and dark green eyes which make her look deliciously exotic. She has alabaster olive tone skin and ruby red lips that look like a cupid’s bow.

  Ash stands near Olive with his arms crossed over his chest. He looks to be around my age, mid-twenties or so, good-looking in that European, symmetrical, facial structure way. He is tall with sandy brown hair that falls into his light brown eyes. He is wearing cargo pants and a T-shirt. Ash looks athletic. I should ask him if he wants to play hoops between scenes in our downtime. Sometimes the breaks between scenes take forever. If I don’t keep up my fitness routine, I can see myself getting soft working here.

  Ash speaks first. “Hey, man! What’s up?”

  I approach the group and take a chair next to Sarita. I swing a chair around backward and sit on it with my arms sitting across the top. “Not much dude, just clearing my head.”

  “I hear that.” He has a not-so-subtle mid-western accent. “You look like shit, your boy being Public Enemy #1 again?”

  “Yeah, it just takes some getting used to is all.”

  “Ugh, Noah strikes again,” Olive says, rolling her eyes in an oh god 360 fashion.

  She’s incredibly perceptive. I chuckle a little and shake my head. She smiles. “If it’s any consolation, I’m surprised you lasted this long, the last actress we had dumped his ass in less than a week.” So, I’m
not crazy. This guy has a history of attitude issues. Then, out of nowhere, she says, “Pay up suckers, you guys each owe me twenty bucks.”

  “Are you shitting me? You guys were placing bets on how long I would last?”

  “No, not on how long you would last. That would be cruel. We bet on how long it would take you to crack.” She swings off the counter, offering out her hand for the money. Sarita and Ash pay up.

  “Unbelievable. Why didn’t anyone warn me about him? That guy’s a complete wackadoo! What’s his issue, anyway?”

  “My theory is he didn’t get enough love as a child,” says Olive, holding her head to the side.

  “I think he’s just a natural born asshole,” says Sarita disinterestedly, eyeing her social media feed.

  “You’ve both got it wrong,” says Ash. “I think he’s a cyborg sent from the future to destroy us all. This has Skynet written all over it.” I laugh at that one.

  “You know that is the first time I’ve laughed in over a week. I needed that.”

  “Noah is a tough nut to crack, none of us has been successful in getting him to lighten up,” he says.

  “Or pull the stick out of his ass,” Sarita says, still not looking up from her phone.

  “He started okay; he would even hang out with us from time to time when we all started the show. Then after he and Gemma broke up, he just kind of gave up. I’m not sure what triggered his heinous attitude but we’re all over it,” Olive laments.

  “I remember hearing about the two of them. It must have been a pretty bad breakup. Weren’t they voted Best Couple or something like that?” I say. I am unabashedly up to speed on my pop culture knowledge and references.

  Ash says, “It was intense. They were under so much scrutiny. It’s no wonder they called it quits. That’s too much pressure. Just being in a normal relationship is tough, but having to be media darlings at the same time is brutal. They’re still good friends though. For that I’m grateful. It would have been murder working here if they were both at each other’s throats all day.”

  Olive adds, “The only person he talks to around here now is Gemma. She’s the only one that keeps him human.”

  “Interesting.” I say, “What’s Gemma like? I haven’t gotten to know her yet. Maybe I need to get some tips from her on how to deal with him.”

  “You know that’s not a bad idea. Gemma’s awesome. Sweet and friendly.” I notice Ash flushes a little pink when talking about her as if he’s especially proud.

  Sarita says sarcastically, “Dude, you are so whipped.”

  “Not even.” He responds like a 5th grader.

  “Have you told him yet?” Sarita asks, looking up for only the second time with her eyebrow arched.

  “There’s nothing to tell,” Ash says clearly uncomfortable now.

  “Well, you’d better give him a heads up about you and Gemma before he finds out from someone other than you.” At this statement, she turns around and looks at Olive.

  “What!?! I am greatly offended,” Olive overstates, totally not offended.

  “Uh right, who was the one that blabbed about Rob and Anne hooking up at the 4th of July BBQ?” Sarita says.

  “That was only one time.”

  “And who spilled the beans about Marco getting herpes?”

  “That…was a public service.”

  “And when Ash had explosive diarrhea after Taco Fest?”

  “It was never confirmed.”

  “I confirm it.” Ash says, blanching as if reliving it.

  “And the time Randall and B—”

  “Oh, okay, okay! I’m not the best at keeping things under wraps! Geez!” Then she takes a huge slurp of her Frappuccino.

  “Rest in peace #JACIE,” says Sarita. “And good riddance.”

  “#JACIE? What is that?”

  “#JACIE? That was their ship name, you know. Like Brangelina? Jace and Gracie. Jacie? That used to drive Noah nuts. He hated it,” Sarita says.

  “Oh!” Olive shouts, “#JAX!” She jumps around excitedly. “That’s totally your new ship name!” Her eyes grow big.

  “What are you talking about?” I ask.

  “You and Noah are the new Jace and Gracie!” Oh god. She’s right. The reality of this is starting to hit me just this moment. I am going to be linked to this guy romantically for the run of the show even if we can’t stand each other.

  “At least your ship name is cooler than #JACIE,” chuckles Ash as he leans back on the counter holding his stomach and laughing some more. “Better change that dating profile!”

  “I went into this thinking the ladies would be beating down a path to my door. Instead, I’ll be getting hit ups from fake gay dating profiles. Just my freakin’ luck,” I moan.

  At that statement, I see both Sarita and Ash sigh and pull out another set of twenty-dollar bills from their pockets and hand it over to Olive.

  “Seriously, you made another bet. What for this time? Wait! You bet on if I was gay or not?”

  “I won,” says Olive looking extremely smug. I look at both Sarita and Ash. Ash comically looks away with an eye roll. Sarita shrugs and goes back to looking at her phone.

  Awesome. Two weeks and I’m already the set punchline.

  Noah and I are shooting our first major scene together today. I’m equal parts nervous and anxious. There has been a lot of tension between us these past few weeks, and we are barely talking. I’m not even sure what I did to set him off but screw it. I’m not blowing my chance for stardom on some privileged asshat who has no clue.

  On the show, our characters are now working together at the local hangout/tap bar. The scene has us being the last two on shift and getting ready to shut down the bar for the night. Everyone else is gone. Jace and Max grab a couple of beers and sit down at one of the booths after cleaning up and turning all the chairs over. They make small talk for a little while, then Jace talks about his past with Gracie and how she left him for his best friend, Beau.

  My character Max is supposed to be listening intently and picking up on cues about Jace’s behavior that lead him to think Jace may not be a complete straight shooter if you know what I mean, even though Jace probably has no clue himself.

  Max mentions a past relationship, but he is careful not to use pronouns, so Jace has no idea he is talking about a guy. The character Max had already been identified as gay last week, but he hasn’t told anyone yet. He wants people to know him as the man Max before they know him as the town gay guy.

  Their characters talk early into the morning. At one point, Max puts his arm around the back of the booth, Jace does not even notice, but when the conversation takes a break, and Jace realizes how late/early it is and how close they are, Jace freaks a little and pulls away. He makes a hasty move to get up and leave Max sitting in the booth. End scene.

  Marty likes our performance, and it is a wrap for the day. Noah does not attempt to speak with me after we shoot and I’m fine with that.

  Chapter 8

  Noah

  “Oh my god, you guys were awesome in taping today! I couldn’t take my eyes off you!” Gemma is at my place sitting on the floor and eating General Tsao’s chicken and Chow Mein, her mouth full of food.

  “You think so? I was worried that it came off a little wooden.” Considering we are barely on speaking terms, at least the shoot was passable. This was the first time our characters engage in meaningful dialogue. Even though I didn’t say anything to him afterward, I thought Josh did a believable job in Max’s role. It cannot be easy for him. At least I am familiar with my character, but he is playing far out of his range. I wonder if he is doing research, watching old movies or something to get the subtle subtext of the script without overplaying it.

  “It’s only because you know that you’re both not getting along. Anyone else wouldn’t even be able to tell. One thing is for sure, if nothing else, you both definitely have chemistry.” She raises her eyebrows at me giving a big smirk. She looks cute. Tonight she’s in a pink and purple onesie wit
h her hair up in a big floppy bun.

  Our Netflix and take out night is in full swing. On these nights, either she or I will stay over and watch bad movies all night and eat our cheat foods. Tonight, it’s the 1960s classic Village of the Damned.

  “Chemistry. Great.” That chemistry has not seeped over into our real lives. Us being “roomies” has turned out to be an unmitigated disaster. Josh is nothing more than a man-child on Adderall. I mean just how hard is it to clean up after yourself? You’d think howler monkeys raised him. I swear he’s one step away from flinging his feces on the wall. There is a reason I’ve had my own space for so long. I know I’m set in my ways, but basic common courtesy should be a given.

  “Whether you choose to believe it, it shows on camera, and that’s what counts. That’s what will keep those checks going into your account.” She pours more Siracha on her Chow Mein.

  “I just don’t get it. It was so easy to be with you. We could go to work, do our biz, and then go home and get down to biz.” I wink at her. “No fuss, no muss. Simple. Why does this have to be so complicated with him?”

  “Right now, you’re both bringing out the worst in each other. You’ve got to find some way to find common ground, or this is going to get ugly. We’re talking Bette Davis, Joan Crawford ugly.”

  Her Baby Jane reference makes me crack up. “It’s not that bad; however, if I find a dead rat in my fridge, heads are gonna roll.” She laughs and then comes up on the couch so we can snuggle under the throw blankets and watch the movie.

  After a few minutes, she says, “You know, you see our relationship through rose-colored glasses, right? It wasn’t so easy breezy, and you know it.” She looks up at me with her light brown eyes. She’s right. By the end it was torturous. The connection we always had that worked so well for us in the beginning, was fraying. And the worst part was I couldn’t even talk to my best friend about it because it was her.