Until Forever Comes

by Jerry Cole

  It was strange then that Bryce was the one to come up with a solution. That night he took Roman to dinner and pitched his own solution to the ‘what are we going to do about Bryce, problem.’ And fuck, the solution wasn’t half bad.

  “I can be a set coordinator,” Bryce had offered proudly. They were at dinner, having just sat down. The restaurant wasn’t anything fancy, as if it were chosen for this purpose. And even the way that Bryce sat, leaning back and putting as much distance between him and Roman as possible, seemed like it was done for a reason... that reason being to keep things casual and professional.

  “A set coordinator?” Roman had frowned. Lucky, Roman wasn’t in the head space to even consider the idea of romance. “And what is a set coordinator exactly?”

  “I don’t know,” Bryce had shrugged and then leaned forward. “I’m not in the movie business – I'm kidding,” he had then hurried when Roman went to interrupt. “Call it what you want – think of me as the guy that keeps everyone in line. I also like ‘set-enforcer,’” he had then joked.

  Roman was still appropriately confused. “I don’t... I feel like you’re talking about the set producer. But we already have one. Sally. You met Sally, didn’t you?”

  “Unfortunately,” Bryce had groaned. “But I was thinking – you said yourself, she’s great at all the behind-the-scenes stuff and organization and filling forms out blah blah blah. But you need a heavy hand on set, someone to slap a bitch around if they’re disrespecting you.”

  “Slap a bitch around – what the fuck are you talking about?” Roman had laughed. Fuck, he’d forgotten just how much he enjoyed Bryce’s company.

  “You need someone on set to keep everyone in line and to make sure that your shoot sticks to its schedule. I’m not saying I’m literally going to beat people up. But I’ll happily get in their faces where others won’t.”

  “And the effect of this?”

  “Will be your film running on time, is what. Duh. Plus, and this is a big one, it’ll give me something to do.”

  Although Roman had agreed that his film set needed exactly what Bryce was describing to him, he still wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. He sensed that it might create some animosity and leave everyone with a sour taste in their mouths. Filming was tense business, and he didn’t need an instigator making everyone nervous. But he also didn’t want things falling further off track... and although he didn’t want to admit it, he also didn’t want Bryce up and leaving.

  “Give me one day,” Bryce had then quickly added. No doubt he could read the look on Roman’s face. “Tomorrow, that’s all. I guarantee that after tomorrow not only will you be all caught up to where you’re meant to be – but you’ll be ahead too. One day.”

  Roman had thought about it. He’d even scratched at his chin as if really considering. “One day?”

  “That’s all I ask.”

  And so, Roman agreed. The next day on set he would allow for Bryce to act as a sort of enforcer, so that he could keep everyone in line and keep the shoot to schedule. If it worked, he could come on full time. And if it failed? “You won’t see me again until the premiere,” Bryce had promised emphatically.

  Now truthfully, Roman hadn’t thought it would work. This wasn’t high school, and Bryce wasn’t the ‘mean teacher’ that all the kids feared. But by the end of the next day, Roman’s film was back on schedule and it was all thanks to Bryce.

  It started with the seating arrangements, or lack of. When Roman turned up on set the next morning, he was immediately approached by the lead actor, a pretentious mountain of a man named Geoff White who had been in a few TV shows over the past years, but was hoping that this film would be his big break.

  “Roman!” Geoff had called from his trailer. The moment he spotted Roman’s car pull up, he was on him. “We need to talk.”

  “Shoot,” Roman had commanded as he climbed from his car and strode right past Geoff and toward where he hoped to find James and Sally setting up the first shot of the morning.

  “I’m an actor,” Geoff had explained as he fell in line behind Roman. “And as an actor, I expect a few things. Meals, payment, a roof over my head when I’m not filming —”

  “Of course.” Roman didn’t have time for this, but he knew that the “talent” was key to a good film and he didn’t want to piss them off.

  “And seats!” Geoff had then continued. “I expect a seat. Doesn’t have to be anything special or fancy or even cushioned. But a chair, man! Something to—”

  “Geoff.” Roman had spun on his heel to pull the large actor up where he stood. “What in God’s name are you talking about?”

  “The seats,” Geoff had exclaimed wildly. “All the seats have been taken from set!” He then indicated to the set in general, his expression manic.

  Roman had frowned, looked around the set – at the cast and crew in particular – and his mouth had literally fallen open. Just as Geoff had claimed, there wasn’t a chair in sight. There weren’t any by the trailers, or by the camera crew, or by the make-up stand. Every single chair in the place was gone. He spotted James, standing by the camera, face tight as his foot tapped viciously on the ground. Even Sally, always on the go, appeared uncomfortable at the lack of seating.

  “Well... I’ll be damned.”

  It didn’t take long for Roman to realize that it was Bryce who had done away with the seating. He claimed emphatically that if there was time to sit, there was time to work. His theory being that all this sitting around was leading to laziness which in turn had the shoot running behind. The seats, he said, would be returned when they were all caught up.

  And it didn’t stop there.

  When lunch was approaching a few hours later, Roman was surprised to find himself handed a ‘lunch card’ with a fifteen-minute time scrawled onto it. “I have to ask,” he had asked Bryce who handed him the card.

  “That’s your allotted eating time. I’m going to roam the tent and check cards, making sure no-one is overstaying their welcome.”

  Roman had tried to hide his smile. “Are you sure that isn’t... a little overboard?”

  “Do you want your film to come in on time, or not?” Bryce had raised a challenging eyebrow at Roman, who laughed and shook his head.

  “Fine,” Roman had sighed and shrugged. “Be it on your head.”

  As well as the allotted lunch time, Bryce also patrolled the smoking area and kicked anyone out that was there for longer than ten minutes. He broke up conversations that looked to be lingering for too long and chastised anyone that arrived on set after they were supposed to. He bought a megaphone on the third day so he could shout at people from across the set, and he even had a stopwatch hung around his neck so he could pull it out and threaten to time someone if they dared to question him.

  When all of this had first started, Roman didn’t think it would work. How could it? Surely, someone would tell him to fuck off sooner or later? But no. Somehow, and for some unknown reason, Bryce was able to command an iron-clad authority that even Roman, the director, couldn’t fathom.

  The result of this was that after one month of filming, Roman found that for the first time ever his movie was running on time. Fuck, they might even finish up early at this rate. Seriously, how had he survived without Bryce?

  There was another positive that came out of Bryce’s newfound role on the set. This positive was, most obviously, the very real fact that Roman got to see Bryce nearly every single day.

  At first, he hadn’t even considered that this might be a thing. Film sets were busy and even if Bryce was hanging around, he had just assumed he’d be too busy to see the guy. But with everything running to time, and the crew too terrified of Bryce to slack off, Roman found that he had more than enough.

  It started with lunches. Bryce claimed it was a coincidence, but their lunch break was scheduled at the same time every day. And after two days of this, it became a routine. Roman would finish up with a shoot or a set meeting or whatever it was he was doing, he�
�d wander into the lunch tent and there would be Bryce, with two trays of food, waiting for him.

  “I was just about to come and shout you down,” Bryce would joke whenever Roman was a little late.

  “You know I can just fire you, right?” Roman would then joke as he took his tray and sat beside Roman – the lunch tent was the only place on set with seating, and by God you better have your lunch card if you're even going to think of sitting there.

  “You wouldn’t dare.” Bryce flashed his eyes at Roman, who rolled his own.

  Once these lunch dates became a regular thing, they started to find other means by which to hang out. At the start of the day, Bryce always tracked Roman down so the two could go over the day’s schedule. It was always a short meeting, but it was only ever the two of them.

  The end of the day also saw the two get together, alone, so they could go over that day’s schedule and make sure that all the time benchmarks were hit. If they were, they would discuss why. And if they were missed, they would discuss how to make sure it didn’t happen again. And really, none of this was necessary. Bryce could have done it on his own or with Sally. But Roman sensed that Bryce wanted him there... and Roman wasn’t going to complain.

  It was after a month of filming that Roman found himself at a sort of cross-roads. It was one he had desperately hoped wouldn’t appear before him, but now he knew that it was inevitable. When he had first brought Bryce on to work for him, he had just told himself that the two could be friends and that maybe, this was the only way they could ever be around one another. Now though, he knew that was impossible.

  He liked Bryce too much. He liked how funny he was. He liked how caring he was. He liked how dominant and in control he acted on set. He liked the way he got in people’s faces, the way he took charge where no one else would. He liked how he looked, he liked how he smelled, he liked... well, everything. Nothing had changed in the last five years, and nothing ever would.

  And so, Roman was faced with the inevitable question: What was he going to do about it?

  “Dinner?” Bryce didn’t even bother hiding his satisfied smirk. Instead, he folded his arms across his chest and acted as if he was just so cool. “And to what do I owe such an invitation?”

  It was just after sunrise, and the two men were in Roman’s trailer. It was supposed to be just a standard meeting, the same one they had every morning at this exact time. But Roman felt a sudden urge come on him... even if he wasn’t one hundred percent sure what he was going to do about it.

  “Maybe I just want to get dinner with you?” Roman challenged. He honestly hadn’t decided yet what this dinner meant.

  Bryce pressed his lips together to stop himself from smiling outright. “I better shut up then, before you change your mind and take it back.”

  “That would be the smart choice.” The words were serious, but the delivery wasn’t. Nor was the smirk that followed. Roman quickly glanced up and down Bryce’s frame—looking lean in a black V-neck T-shirt, with just enough happening underneath to suggest a layer of tight muscle—and came to a decision then and there. “Eight o’clock. You know where.”

  Bryce raised an eyebrow. “I do?”

  “Sure you do. It’s not like you haven’t been there before... although to be fair, that was nearly fifteen years ago.”

  Roman waited for Bryce to catch on to what he meant. The moment he did, his eyes widened, and a broad smile broke out onto his face. Roman would even warrant a guess that he’d never seen him look so happy... or maybe he was just imagining that part?

  “I’ll see you there,” Bryce said. He then quickly left the trailer, as if trying to escape any chance of an awkward silence or tense moment.

  The two men avoided being alone with one another for the rest of the day. Even their usual lunch date was cancelled when Roman decided to skip it so that he could work on some framing issues with James... and so he could avoid Bryce. He now knew what he was going to say—or at least what he wanted—and didn’t want to risk giving anything away before tonight.

  And when filming was over with, he rushed from the set to his car so that he would be gone before Bryce had a chance to ambush him for their usual, after production meeting. Although to be fair, he knew there was little chance of that. Bryce was always busy for at least ten minutes after the camera was turned off. That was how long it took for him to keep an eye on the crew and make sure they packed up on time.

  Unfortunately for Roman, he wasn’t even two feet off set before Sally charged for him like a bull from the gate. He saw her coming too, with that look in her eye. He’d been working with Sally for some years now, so he knew it well... and well enough to know to avoid her when she got it.

  “Sally.” Roman kept his head down and made for his car across the lot. A shame that it was at least two hundred feet away, which would give Sally more than enough time to blurt out whatever she had to say.

  “We need to talk.” She fell in beside him like he was magnetized.

  “Can it wait for tomorrow?”

  “It can’t.”

  Although Roman was eyeing his car like a life raft, he saw Sally produced a single piece of paper from out of her shorts pocket. “What’s that?”

  “This is a piece of paper signed by every member of cast and crew, minus yourself.” She held the piece of paper out to Roman.

  Roman reached the car and, despite his best instincts, snatched the piece of paper from Sally. And just as she had said, it was signed by every member of cast and crew, minus himself... and Bryce. “Everyone but me and Bryce, you mean.” He scanned the paper again.

  “That’s the point.” She bit into her lip and quickly glanced away. Whatever she had to say, she was suddenly nervous about.

  “What’s the point?” Roman read the page again. There was no indication as to what the signatures were for, just that they were all there.

  “It’s not...” Sally grimaced and continued to look everywhere but at Roman. “This is hard to...”

  “Sally, if you’re not going to explain —”

  “We want Bryce gone.” She took deep breath.

  “Huh?” Roman blinked. He’d understood what she said... but he also hadn’t.

  “Bryce, we want him gone – the dude is an asshole.” Sally was finding her courage again, as evidenced by the way she tried to puff her chest out, and the way she stared Roman dead in the eyes. “He’s rude, he’s arrogant, he knows squat about film making but acts like he does anyway —”

  “He’s not here to make the movies,” Roman defended. “That doesn’t concern him —”

  “But it concerns me.” She slapped at her chest. “I care about this film – and so does everyone else. But when he’s on set, barking down our throats for shit he doesn’t know about... it makes me want to quit.”

  “Is this because I gave him your job?” Roman tried. “I’m sorry, but he promised to get us back on track. And guess what? He did —”

  “It’s got nothing to do with that,” Sally assured him. “I used to love this job. Every day, waking up early so I could be here, watch movies being made... it was a fucking dream. But every day this week – every day! I’ve considered calling in sick. Just so I can avoid that asshole.”

  Roman shouldn’t have been surprised by what he was hearing, but he still was. He’d always had a blind spot when it came to Bryce. He’d just never thought about it before. “Sally, I had... let me talk to him. Get him to calm —”

  “No.” Sally shook her head and cut him off. “I’ve spoken to everyone and most of us... I reckon all of us. We’ll walk if he isn’t fired. It’s as simple as that.”

  Roman’s stomach plummeted through the floor. “You... you’d all walk? Seriously?”

  Sally clenched her jaw and maintained her stare. It looked like it was taking everything she had to keep her composure. “I’m sorry, Roman. I really am.”

  Roman knew she was. And to be fair, he didn’t even blame her. Fuck, even James’ signature was on that piece
of paper. “I know, Sally. “I get it.”

  And that was that. Sally offered him a consoling nod, and even a pat on the back as she stepped around him and headed back for the set. As for Roman, he was quick in his car and even quicker to take off. The last thing he needed now was to bump into Bryce, especially after so much had changed.

  That thing that Roman had decided earlier this morning, the reason he’d been avoiding Bryce all day. He was going to ask if he and Bryce could give it another go. With them working together, living in the same city, and seeing each other so often, he figured that finally, it was the right time.

  But now, Roman had no choice but to fire Bryce. And tonight. Could he really do that and then expect the two to date afterwards? Even Roman wasn’t that fanciful.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  It took Bryce a lot of self-control, more than he was willing to admit, to not put on a suit for dinner. Suits were what he always wore, regardless of the situation. If Bryce wanted to look nice, or professional, or even sexy, a suit was his go-to garment. Fuck, he owned enough of them. But as he got ready for dinner that night, Bryce found his hand and mind straying down a different path.

  A lot had changed for Bryce of late, so why not his dress sense? Those fancy, three-piece suits that cost more than most people made in a month were what the old Bryce would have worn. But this was a new, better, highly improved Bryce that was twice the man he used to be. Suits... those were for the past, and Bryce was too busy looking into the future.

  And so, rather than going for a suit, Bryce opted to wear a pair of straight-legged blue jeans, a white button-down shirt, untucked if you believe that, and a pair of boots. It was as casual as he had ever dressed for dinner, and that was Okay.

  It might be pretty obvious by now that Bryce was nervous. Why else would he have spent fifteen minutes debating the merit of suit wearing? But he was, and it was because of his dinner tonight... who it was with, and what he thought it might be about.