Nerdy Little Secret

by M. J. O'Shea

  Xara caught Blair and pulled him aside when he crossed the threshold. “Thanks. I know you thought you were done for the day, but this scene really isn’t gelling at all. Can we do another couple of takes?”

  No, we can’t. I’d really prefer to go back to Margaritaville and serve hurricanes to groping tourists some more. “No problem.”

  “Fantastic. You remember your mark? You’re at the corner table with Charlotte, and you two are discussing how she’s going to sleep with Hudson after the fall formal.”

  “Got it.”

  Blair nodded to Cutter, who was going over a packet in his hands with his typical scowl firmly in place, then made his way back to where Lizzie, aka Charlotte, was waiting with her messy auburn bun, maxi dress, and typical sardonic smile. She looked just as hot as he felt, but they both shook off the heat and their exhaustion. Xara called action, and all thoughts of getting the hell off set and into a pool somewhere had to be pushed away.

  ON HIS way back to wardrobe for the final time that day, Blair came across Sander, who was off in the corner of the set that was Ryder’s living room on the series. It was weird seeing Sander in his space, with people Blair didn’t associate with home and growing up. He knew Sander deserved the job, and he was happy for him. It was still going to take some getting used to. Sander was bent over his tool bag, rummaging around for something. Blair decidedly did not check out his butt in those low-slung carpenter jeans. Nope, nope, nope. Didn’t do it. Still, something—hmm, wonder what?—made him walk over and perch his hip on the wingback chair that was part of the set. He watched Sander for a minute until he looked up.

  “You done with your scene?” Sander asked. “It feels kinda weird asking you that.”

  “Yeah,” Blair said. “All done.” It still felt weird for him to just talk to Sander, period, let alone about work. He had to keep reminding himself that high school was over and Sander was just another guy like him. “You’re in my living room, you know.”

  “Really?” Sander grinned. He checked his clipboard. “Ryder. You’re right. Spend much time here? The place looks cushy. Just like home.” He tilted his head back and looked up at the lack of ceiling, where cameras and lights filled in when they were using the set.

  “Yeah.” Blair found himself grinning back. “I just like to kick back and read on that supersoft couch. It’s relaxing to hang around in ceilingless rooms.”

  “I bet.”

  “What are you doing?”

  Sander looked at his notes. “I guess the bannister on the staircase is loose. Nobody wants the talent falling and scraping their pretty faces, right?” It could’ve come off as bitter or pissy, but it was obvious from Sander’s face that he was just flipping Blair shit. His smile was gentle and teasing.

  “Yeah, wouldn’t want to ruin my perfect nose. It brings all the boys to the yard.”

  Oh my God. Why did I just say that?

  Sander snorted, and Blair decided he was just going to start running. Maybe he’d stop when he got to Canada.

  Escape, escape, escape…. “Um, yeah. So I need to go get out of my costume before I start ripping it off.”

  “That bad?”

  “Yes. It’s hot and tight, and I’d kill for a pair of shorts and some flip-flops right about now, so I’ll see you later?”

  Sander nodded. “I’ll see you later.”

  BLAIR CAUGHT Tony back in wardrobe. If he’d jogged the entire way there to escape from his unfortunate verbal diarrhea, well then, that was just a thing, wasn’t it?

  “Hey, Tony. You still going swimming tonight?”

  Tony looked up from where he’d been peeling off hot, sticky khakis. “Hell yes. It’s fucking ridiculous out here today. You wanna join me? Pretty sure Jenna’s going to be out there too, and Flynn said something about bringing some vodka and a few mixers down. Nobody has a bathing suit scene tomorrow, so we can have one or two.”

  “That’s such a pain,” Blair said. “I’ve been a rail my whole life, and now I all of a sudden have to watch my calories ’cause it’s in the contract. I’m starving half the time.”

  Tony shrugged. “We all cheat, dude. As long as our wardrobe fits and we don’t look bloated when we’re in our swimsuits, Xara’s not going to have a cow. Probably best not to do it right in front of her.”

  “So that spaghetti I had for dinner the other night isn’t going to get me fired?”

  “Spaghetti.” Tony groaned. “That sounds so good it’s not even fair.”

  Chapter Four

  COCONUT COVE’S cafeteria was packed that day. It had rained earlier and all of the outdoor tables were soaked. Ryder didn’t feel like dealing with the crowds of commoners, but at the same time, he hated not being there if something happened. There was nothing worse than being the last to know. He hefted his bag over his shoulder, the one he knew Brooke and those other bitches still drooled over—like they were going to touch it anytime soon—and staked a claim to the only empty table. Ryder didn’t squish in with other people. Please. He let other people sit at his table. Sometimes.

  Brooke waved at him. She had on a cute outfit, good makeup, a passable handbag, and her hair was in a high shiny ponytail. She’d be acceptable. Ryder beckoned her over to his table.

  “Hi,” Brooke said as she sat down with her salad and a roll. Roll? It was swimsuit season every day in the Cove. He couldn’t believe she was scarfing down white flour. Still, she was one of only two girls at the school he thought were truly worthy of being seen with. And just barely at that.

  “Hi, B. Nice carb bomb. Last time I checked, bread didn’t go with Prada.”

  Ryder felt a warm stab of satisfaction when Brooke glanced at her roll guiltily. He planned to have a bagel or two at home later, but it wasn’t his fault he was a guy. As long as he wasn’t seen eating it in public, nobody would be the wiser.

  “What’d you do over the weekend?”

  “Oh, you know.” Nothing, really. Kelly had been out with Mack the whole time, and as much as Ryder wanted to be a third wheel… he’d opted to stay home and watch a few movies with his little brother. Not that he’d tell anyone else that. He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

  “I can’t believe you.” Brooke shoved at him.

  “What?” Ryder tried to fake fake-innocence. Faking something fake was harder than he thought it would be. But he had to make sure he left enough hints about what amazing things he was doing without outright lying or bragging like a loser.

  “You were probably in Miami partying with celebrities while I was at home watching a movie with Chad.”

  “I don’t get why you mess with that guy.”

  “Not all of us can date TV stars, you know?”

  Ryder’d had a brief fling with a soap star the summer before. He’d made sure everyone found out. Not from him of course, because that would be tacky.

  “Not all of us can date ripped-out greaser boys who are new in town either.” He looked across the cafeteria to where Mack and Kelly were cuddled on one of the suede love seats. Mack’s typical broody stare had softened to the point of melting Velveeta. He ruffled Kelly’s hair and kissed his cheek. Ryder yacked in his mouth a little.

  “Please don’t tell me you’re after Mack.” Brooke shook her head. “He’s dating your oldest friend, Ryder. Even for you that would be low. You don’t really want him.”

  “Every boy deserves his hottie from the wrong side of the tracks. It’s part of high school. Why does Kelly get him?” Ryder made a face. Kelly got everything—thick blond hair, golden skin, adoring parents who were even more loaded than his. If Ryder didn’t love Kelly so much, he’d hate him.

  “Because Kelly really likes Mack. Don’t ruin that for him, Ryder.”

  Ryder didn’t answer her. Instead he did what he always did when someone was annoying him. He flipped through his phone and pretended they weren’t there. Maybe if he pretended Kelly wasn’t in the cafeteria hanging all over Mack like a puppy in lust, he’d be able to swallow some lunch while he was
at it.

  “HIYA, B.” Ever since the night he’d hung out at the Orchid Palms’ pool with Tony, Flynn, and Lizzie, he and Tony had gotten to be even better friends. He’d always liked the guy—it was hard to resist his sunny smile—but what had once been just a surface friendship on set was quickly turning into something else. He’d even brought Tony home a few days ago for a very platonic dinner with his mom. Tony had charmed her like he did everyone else, with his dimples, floppy hair, big eyes, and adorable grin.

  “Hey, Tony.” Blair grinned at him and looked down at the ground, chuckling.

  “How were you feeling this morning?” Tony asked.

  They’d taken advantage of another nonswimsuit filming day and had gone out for Mexican and margaritas the night before with Lizzie and Jenna, the girls who played Charlotte and Brooke. Blair had been a little wary of the two girls at first, but a few margaritas had turned them into best friends. They’d cackled and told loud, dumb jokes until they’d closed the restaurant’s bar down. Needless to say the 6:00 a.m. call time had been painful. Very painful.

  “I felt pretty much like shit. How ’bout you?” Blair rolled his eyes, and then he wished he hadn’t, because he had a huge headache still.

  “’Bout the same. Those margaritas were really strong.” Tony cringed.

  “Somehow I didn’t notice after the first two.”

  He wasn’t sure how many he’d had, but it was probably closer to five. He was glad he’d had the good sense to walk his bike home from the restaurant instead of trying to peddle it. He’d have probably ended up facedown on the pavement somehow with his bike on top of him.

  “Right? Hey, we have to film that scene today where I try to get you to go hiking with me and we’re supposed to have our little near-miss romantic moment.”

  Blair rolled his eyes again. He thought that maybe Ryder was rubbing off on him a little. “I don’t know what they’re thinking. Ryder and Joey would make the most ridiculous couple.”

  “I know.” Tony laughed. “I don’t think they’re going to actually roll with it. Dakota kinda hinted at me that I might end the season with Robbie after all.”

  “Really?” Although he supposed it made sense. Why wouldn’t the writers put the sweet kid with the bad boy? So what if those two characters would be a raging mess in real life? That’s what drama TV was all about. The biggest train wreck possible. “Have you and Levi talked about it?”

  “No.” Tony shook his head and made a shushing motion. “Dakota wasn’t even supposed to tell me. He said that Xara would kill him if she knew he’d said anything, but he was watching the way I played my crush on Robbie the other week, and thought I might do a better job if I knew he and the rest of the writing team planned for it to go somewhere.”

  Blair chuckled. “Sometimes I wish they’d just hand us one huge script for the whole season. I want to know what’s going to happen as much as the audience, I swear.”

  Blair noticed Sander coming around the corner. Instead of his usual tool belt, he had a can of paint with a paintbrush sticking out of it. A bit of white was smudged on one of his cheeks. It was way cuter than it should be. Sander saw Blair after a few moments. He lifted his hand to wave, but he looked hesitant.

  “Hey, Sander. Come here.” Blair couldn’t believe how chill he sounded. Actually, how chill he felt. It was different having Sander around the set, like he had a chance to get used to him again. Blair had no problem waving him over to introduce him to Tony, something he’d have never in a million years done back in school.

  Sander ambled over with his paint and his gorgeously worn-in jeans and boots. “What’s up?”

  “Have you met Tony?”

  “No, I haven’t.” Sander wiped his hand on his jeans. “Hey. I’m Sander. I’ve seen you around the set.”

  “Tony, but I guess B just said that.”

  Sander’s mouth tipped in a sly smile. “B?”

  “B for my bestie.” He gave Sander a huge grin.

  Blair thought he might melt into the ground. “Are you still tipsy from last night, man?”

  Tony made an exaggerated yelping noise and mimicked stabbing himself in the chest. “Not feeling the love,” he said.

  “Sorry. This is what it’s like hanging out with actors.”

  Sander elbowed him. “You are one of the actors now.”

  Sometimes it was hard to remember that.

  “SO. SANDER.” Tony raised an eyebrow.

  Of course. Blair should’ve known it was coming. Any friend would ask after the pathetic puppy eyes he must’ve been shooting at Sander for that entire exchange. Hell, he probably did it all the time without noticing. So of course Tony would ask.

  He and Tony had made their way to the Pirate’s Booty Friday evening after filming wrapped for the weekend. The place was kitschy and cheesy in a good way, filled with pots of treasure, awesome greasy food, and a drink menu that would make anyone blush to order from. Plus, it really wasn’t tough to look at the barely clothed waiters. A few of the others wanted to come, but Tony had wound his arm around Blair’s shoulder and declared it a bro-date and said nobody else was invited. Blair wasn’t used to anyone paying so much attention to him. He’d had his best friend, Jared, back in high school, but nobody had ever exactly battled Jared for his attentions. The others had shrugged and said they might stop by anyway. If Tony was going to grill him about Sander, well then, hopefully others would come and rescue him soon.

  “Sander,” Blair said. He didn’t put any inflection in his voice. Play it cool. Sander is just a guy. Of course, Blair’s insides did a melty little happy dance every time Sander’s name was so much as mentioned. That hadn’t changed in the years since school.

  “You’ve gotta give me something, dude. The sparks flying off you two on Tuesday were intense.”

  “What?” Blair nearly choked on his Cobb salad. “No. It’s not like that. We went to high school together.” And if there were any sparks flying, well, they came from me and nobody else.

  “Old flame, then?” Tony wriggled his eyebrows and elbowed Blair over the table.

  “Not exactly.” Blair sighed. “So you know that video where nerdy Taylor Swift watches the hot jock from her bedroom window the whole time?”

  “I have a little sister.”

  “I take that as a yes. Anyway, it was a lot like that. Without the ending where he realizes she’s the one for him at the prom.” Blair loved that he got to relive his entire embarrassingly impossible high school crush in front of someone who didn’t actually think he was the biggest loser on the planet. Yet. “We grew up as neighbors, he’s two years older than me, he was the star of the school, I was part of the backdrop.” End of story.

  “But there’s chemistry there now, right?”

  “If you’re getting that vibe, it’s coming from my sad butt. I still swoon inside when he walks by just like I did when I was fifteen and he was perfect.”

  “But you’re not fifteen anymore, and you’re far from wallpaper.” Tony lowered his voice to a whisper. “You do know half the tables in this place are watching us, right? And everyone who’s watching us has their eyes at least halfway on you. You’re Ryder now. Even better, you’re Blair Fletcher now.”

  “I’ve always been Blair Fletcher.”

  “Then don’t you think it’s time you started to act like it?”

  “What do you mean?”

  Tony grinned. “This might come as a shock to you, but I wasn’t always the prime beefcake you see before you.”

  Blair giggled. Tony was cute as hell, adorable, and sweet. Beefcake? No. “You don’t say.”

  “I do. Just imagine, if I look sixteen at twenty-seven, well, when I was sixteen?” Tony shuddered. “It wasn’t cute. Let’s just say I’d barely hit five-three and my braces were bigger than my face.”

  “Ouch.”

  “Exactly. Add gay on top of that, and an older sister who half the male population of the school was terrified of, and I wasn’t exactly living large. I spent m
ost weekend nights on my computer playing games.”

  “Sounds about like me. Except there wasn’t a computer. We were too broke.”

  Tony winked. “Then it’s a good thing we’re not in high school anymore, right? At least not after the cameras stop rolling.”

  “True.”

  Tony laid his hand on Blair’s arm. “Sander’s been watching you. I promise. You going to listen to me now?”

  “Maybe.”

  “I’ll take a maybe if you take him to dinner.”

  “I don’t even know if he likes guys. He sure as hell didn’t act like he did in high school.” Blair plunked his head down on the booth’s sticky wooden table. “You’re trying to make me pass out, aren’t you?”

  “Just consider it a learning experience.” Tony nudged his arm. “And I don’t know if he liked guys in high school or not, but he totally likes you.”

  Chapter Five

  “DEVON JONES here again with some of the stars of the new hit TV series Coconut Cove. First, we have Blair Fletcher. You play Ryder on the show. Tell us a little bit about your character.”

  Interview. You can do this. No problemo.

  “Ryder’s a lot of fun to play. He’s the queen bee in every sense of the word. He’s spoiled and vindictive, and he gets some really great one-liners. I’ve been having a great time getting to know him so far.”

  “Thanks, Blair. We also have Howie Morasco, who’s everyone’s favorite character, Kelly. Howie, what inspiration do you use when you’re playing Kelly? He’s such a nice guy.”

  Howie smiled, a big glossy smile that Blair didn’t buy for a single second. “You know, Kelly’s really familiar to me. I was a lot like him in high school. The character isn’t a huge leap, but it feels great to settle back into familiar territory.”