Hollywood Lights

by Lana Xavier

  “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “Something happened in California,” she stated for the twentieth time since I got back. “Why won’t you tell me what’s wrong? I can’t help if I don’t know what the problem is.”

  I sighed again, torn between just coming clean and locking up yet again. I had managed to dodge all of my mother’s nosy inquires about what had happened and she eventually let it go, knowing that if I needed to talk to her about it, I would in my own time.

  Candace didn’t have that presence of mind. Or if she did, she ignored it in favor of being nosy.

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” I said sullenly. “So please stop asking.”

  “But you’re admitting something happened?”

  Fuck. It was too late to take back my words and I deeply regretted taking the call now. Up until this point, I had been carefully shrugging away her questions with willful denial.

  Busted.

  “Candace, I appreciate your concern, but I’ll be fine. Who knows? Maybe the excitement will hit me when I land,” I said, a part of me desperately hoping that I was right.

  “You aren’t fooling me, Sabrina. Not a bit.”

  “Well, I’d love to continue this conversation but I need to finish packing,” I announced abruptly, tugging the phone away from my ear so I couldn’t hear her angry protests. “Love you, I’ll call when I land!” I shouted before ending the call and immediately turning off the phone.

  After I tossed my cell into my messenger bag, I looked down at my packed luggage with a heavy sigh. Nervousness swirled in my stomach as I noticed I was all packed up and ready to go.

  Nothing to do now but wait.

  * * *

  “We’re just about to begin boarding flight 549 from New York to Vancouver. Please have your passports and boarding passes ready.”

  I hoisted my messenger bag back onto my shoulder and stood up, waiting patiently for the airport staff to call for the first class passengers. It had surprised the hell out of me when I got to the desk and found out that the company had booked me a first class ticket, but I wasn’t going to complain about it.

  What I did complain about was the fact that after I had finished packing up everything I needed, I knew I wouldn’t be able to take my bag as a carry-on. After the woman weighed the bag and informed me it passed the carry-on limit, I had reluctantly checked it.

  I lined up when they called for first class passengers and said a silent prayer that my bag would be in Vancouver when I was. Last time I checked a bag, it had been lost for three days. I really didn’t want to be walking around a movie set for three days in the same set of clothes.

  Once I was settled into my seat on the plane, I popped my earbuds into my ears and relaxed back into my seat, immediately noticing how much comfier first class was than coach. I stretched my legs in front of me with a small smile, my mood brightening just a smidgen.

  The man sitting beside me gave me a curt nod of acknowledgement as he sat down. I nodded back, grateful for the fact that he totally ignored me from then on out. I personally preferred to be seated next to people who minded their business and left me alone, so my companion was perfect. Again, I felt my mood lift just a tad bit higher.

  But as the plane took off and my stomach leapt, my heart clenched painfully, reminding me of why I was dreading this trip so much.

  It didn’t help when I turned my head and noticed that my silent companion was reading the latest issue of one of those shitty tabloid magazines I avoided like the plague. I glanced at the cover and scowled when I saw Caleb’s smiling face staring back at me.

  Well, so much for arriving in a good mood, I thought sourly as I leaned back further in the seat to nap.

  * * *

  Vancouver was beautiful.

  Or at least what I could see from my window seat as we descended towards the runway was.

  Some of the heaviness lifted from my heart as I took in the scenery from above, thinking for the first time of this trip not as a method of cruel and unusual torture, but as an adventure. A new learning experience.

  Maybe everything would be fine. Surely Caleb had already forgotten all about me and what had gone down between us. A man like him had plenty of women lining up to take the spot of the last, not to mention I was sure he had better things to think about.

  Getting off the plane was far quicker than usual— thanks first class— but it left me waiting at the baggage area long before they got it off the plane. I waited, curiously watching all the other passengers waiting around for their bags.

  Once the luggage started rolling down, I stepped closer and smiled when my bag was one of the first to come down the line with my bright purple scarf tied tightly around the handle so I would recognize it easily. I lifted it off the conveyer belt and instantly regretted packing so much.

  Low maintenance or not, I still packed quite a bit. I knew I was going to be here for a few weeks and had no idea if there were washing machines somewhere on set or if I’d have to venture out alone to find a laundromat. Either way, I brought a ton of clothes with me just to be prepared.

  But maybe packing every pair of jeans I own was a little overkill, I thought with a wince as I dropped my bag to the floor and set up the handles to wheel it around.

  It didn’t take long for me to find the suited man holding up a card with ‘Murphy’ scrawled across it and I introduced myself with a small smile, thanking the tall man genuinely when he offered to take my bag for me.

  We chit-chatted about the weather and Vancouver in general during both the walk to the car and the ride to the set and I was pleasantly surprised by his friendliness. I couldn’t help but to compare his friendly attitude to the coldness of Caleb’s driver and the thought of him slightly dampened my smile.

  But soon enough, we arrived on set and he drove through after flashing his credentials, slowly weaving around hoards of people and various golf carts. I was struck by how much was already going on even though shooting hadn’t yet begun.

  “Is it normal for the set to be this... busy?” I thoughtlessly blurted out.

  The driver— Hector, I had learned— simply smiled. “This is actually pretty slow, but yeah. Most of the people hanging around are crew and some extras. They were probably screen-testing recently. Once shooting begins, it’ll be twice as hectic.”

  “Wow,” I said in awe, glancing around and frantically trying to take in everything that was going on as we drove by.

  Hector pulled the car over and turned off the ignition, leaving me sitting alone in the backseat with a frown. A moment later, my door opened and I got out, looking around with confusion until I laid my eyes on Nathan.

  “Welcome to Vancouver, doll!” he greeted with a ridiculously happy smile. “I’ll take it from here, Hector.”

  Hector nodded and handed my bag to Nathan who balanced the weight easily.

  “Come on, I’ll take you to your trailer.”

  My eyes widened with surprise. “I get a trailer?”

  “Mm-hm. Usually when we invite a writer to the set, we’d just set them up in a hotel. But since this film has far less cast than what we usually deal with, we’ve got a lot of empty trailers available. So Anne decided just to keep you on set. It’s not huge, but it should suit you fine. Especially if you’re from New York,” he said with a wink.

  “Yeah, I’m fairly used to dealing with small spaces,” I agreed with a chuckle.

  “Good flight? You seem to be in a better mood than the last time I saw you,” Nathan commented as we dodged a group of men carrying a load of camera equipment.

  “It was fine,” I replied, not really paying attention to the conversation as much as trying to get a hold of my surroundings.

  Nathan seemed to pick up on that and stayed quiet until we finally reached a long row of trailers. I could see what he meant now—even if they gave trailers to the members of the crew that flew in, there’d still be plenty left over. We walked together in silence until he finally reached a smaller trailer
where he stopped and jerked his head towards the door.

  He sat my bag down on the step and fished a key from his pocket, unlocking the door and pushing it open before he reached back and handed me the key.

  “Welcome to your home for the next six weeks.”

  I stepped inside and thought back to his New York comment, quickly realizing that he had been absolutely right. I was used to tiny studio apartments so it didn’t bother or surprise me, but I could understand how people used to hotel rooms or large houses would be uncomfortable with the living arrangements.

  “Bathroom, bed slash living room, kitchen that consists of a mini fridge and microwave. Tour complete,” Nathan said with a chuckle as he pointed around the trailer. “It’s really just a place to hang your hat at the end of the day and shower. You’ll probably be in one of the main buildings the majority of the time.”

  “It’ll work,” I said with a nod, already reaching to take my bag from him before dropping it unceremoniously to the floor.

  Nathan laughed and plopped down on the sole chair in the room. I took a seat on the couch that I assumed pulled out into a bed.

  He leaned forward and clasped his hands together. “Any questions?”

  “When do we start? Officially, I mean.”

  “The stars will be flying in Friday and Saturday and we’ll start principal photography bright and early Monday morning.”

  It was already Wednesday, so I made a mental note to explore the set as much as possible the next day before I began my quest to avoid Caleb as much as humanly possible. I knew I wouldn’t be able to avoid him all the time—we were going to be working together after all—but I needed to avoid being alone with him.

  Despite my anger, I didn’t trust my self-control enough to be around him alone. I’d either kill him or fuck him.

  I noticed that Nathan was staring at me with a curious look and I harshly jolted back to reality. “I can’t think of anything else,” I said as heat rose to my cheeks.

  “No problem. You want a tour of the set? I’ve got a few hours free.”

  “That’s be great.”

  As we left my small trailer and I relocked it, I glanced down and saw Nathan staring at me again with another curious look, only this time there was something else there. Something I really didn’t want to see, regardless of the fact that I knew Nathan would probably be a good match for me.

  “Shall we?” he asked as he offered me his elbow like a true gentleman.

  I accepted it with a gulp, sliding my arm through his and silently wondering if the next six weeks could possibly get any more awkward.

  * * *

  I really should’ve known better.

  Thanks to my awesome luck, I managed to jinx myself on my very first day on the set.

  Nathan and I had been strolling around the set for a few hours and the more we walked and talked, the less awkward I felt about how close together we were. I was slowly coming around to the notion of asking him to have dinner with me when it happened.

  We turned a corner and there he was.

  Caleb Bradshaw in all his deliciously sexy glory.

  The smile dropped from my face instantly and I became hyperaware of his eyes burning into the spot where my arm was linked with Nathan’s. As his gaze travelled over the two of us, I also became aware of the fact that our hips were just barely touching. It would be incredibly easy for someone to view our closeness as intimacy.

  I wasn’t entirely sure, but I could’ve sworn the look on Caleb’s face was one of anger and jealously before it disappeared as quickly as it came. Seemingly unaware of any of the tension that was rolling off of me in waves, Nathan tugged me forward.

  “Caleb! I didn’t think you’d be here ‘til Friday.”

  Caleb eyed us warily, swallowing hard before giving the other man a half-assed shrug. “My schedule opened up early.”

  Nathan smiled, totally oblivious to Caleb’s irritation and my increasing discomfort. “Well, it’s good to see you. I’m just giving Sabrina a tour of the set,” he explained, giving my arm a little tug and accidently pulling me closer to his side.

  I didn’t miss the subtle clench of Caleb’s jaw as he watched. What kind of bizarro-land had I flown into? Did he not remember me slapping him in the face?

  “Having fun?”

  “S-Sure,” I stuttered, unsure of how exactly to respond to such a question. “It’s a lot to take in.”

  “I bet,” Caleb agreed with a dark chuckle, his eyes narrowing and a salacious grin spreading across his lips.

  I flushed with embarrassment at the obvious sexual undertone of his words, gaping like a fish as I searched for something to respond with. It was then that Nathan seemed to grasp that something was going on and he frowned at me before turning back to Caleb.

  “Is there something I should know about?”

  Caleb shook his head, an indifferent look appearing on his handsome face. “Nothing at all.”

  Before Nathan or I could speak again, Caleb walked right past us. My heart hammered in my chest as his side gently brushed against mine and I turned my head just in time to catch him looking at me with sad, betrayed eyes.

  Anger coursed through my veins for the rest of the tour. I wasn’t able to focus on anything other than our brief encounter and Nathan seemed to pick up on how distracted I was after another half an hour of walking around. He led me back to my trailer just as the sun was beginning to set.

  “Thanks for the tour.”

  “No problem,” he said with a small smile. He turned to walk back down the steps but hesitated, looking back hopefully as he asked, “Are you hungry?”

  There was no doubt in my mind that what he was really asking was ‘would you like to have dinner with me?’ But I was grateful to Nathan’s perceptiveness because his phrasing made it a lot easier to decline.

  “Not really,” I said sadly. “I’m just… really tired.”

  Even though he knew he had just been rejected, he still shot me a genuine smile as he said, “Another time maybe.”

  “Maybe.”

  He tipped his head low before turning down the stairs and walking away, leaving me standing in the doorway of my trailer feeling even more lost than when I did when I first saw this massive set.

  A movement in my peripheral vision captured my attention and I turned just in time to watch Caleb’s retreating form as he walked between trailers.

  It’s going to be a long six weeks.

  * * *

  By the time Monday morning rolled around, I had successfully managed to avoid both Caleb and Nathan for the entire weekend. Anne had dropped by a few times and talked over details of the script, then left without another word. She could surely tell something was going on with me, but she didn’t care enough to ask.

  I liked her.

  But when Monday finally came and I was awkwardly standing around on the first shooting location trying to figure out what the hell I was supposed to do, reality set in.

  Writers usually weren’t meant to be on set and it was clear that very few people wanted me there. Nathan was one of them—he darted to my side the moment he laid eyes on me.

  “Hey, I haven’t seen you since our little tour.”

  “Yeah, I’ve been holed up in the trailer with the script,” I responded, the lie falling smoothly from my lips. I was starting to worry about just how easy it was becoming for me to lie, but I didn’t allow myself to dwell on it for long.

  “Well, hopefully we’ll see each other a little more often now.”

  I looked up at Nathan, slightly awed by how casually he suggested such things without any fear of rejection. He wasn’t pushing me into anything, just readily throwing it out there that the offer remained on the table. Take it or leave it. Simple.

  I dared a glance at Caleb and frowned. Caleb was the opposite of simple. His mask of indifference was firmly in place, but I recognized it for exactly what it was—a mask.

  If he truly felt nothing, he wouldn’t be glaring holes int
o Nathan’s skull.

  “Listen up!” Anne shouted, drawing everyone’s attention at once.

  There was a stocky man standing beside her that I recognized as the director and he took the floor once he had the room’s attention. I zoned out during most of his speech, much like I had during the initial meeting with Anne and Nathan when their words went over my head.

  The director was explaining what they would be shooting first and I made a brief mental note to go over those scenes later. While he droned on, I let my gaze dart around the room, landing on each individual as they listened intently.

  Well, everyone except for Caleb.

  He and I were the only ones in the entire room whose attention wasn’t focused on the director, but on each other instead. I was about to look away when he slowly lifted his hand and gave me a small wave.

  Shocked, I looked at his face and the small smile registered somewhere in the back of my brain as genuine. Before I could consider what it might mean, I smiled back, watching with fascination as his head tipped to the side as he studied me with curiosity.

  He glanced around for a moment, making sure no one was watching, before he pointed towards Nathan and raised an eyebrow. I knew what it meant and I slowly shook my head, unsure of why I was admitting this to him but unable to regret it as his smile widened.

  Was that it? Was everything now forgiven? Granted, I certainly didn’t feel like forgiving him yet, but he had obviously moved past the slap in the face and my bitter words.

  Unable to decipher how I felt about the possibility of mutual forgiveness, I turned my attention to the director and tried my damndest to focus on his words.

  After the meeting was through, I darted past Nathan and rushed outside. It was pretty clear that I wouldn’t be needed for the scene they were about to film and I decided to hide in my trailer and think until the cast and crew broke for lunch.

  “Sabrina!”

  Unfortunately, Caleb wasn’t needed for the first scene of the day either. I halted mid-step and turned my head back to watch as he jogged over to my side.

  “Hey,” he said once he finally reached me.