They both nodded, so I led them down the hall and into the makeup room.
“Please stop hitting each other,” I said. “Threatening bodily harm is awesome, but actually doing it is just sad. Okay?”
They both nodded like scolded puppies, then sat down on opposite ends of the long bench in the room. I sat across from them in the swivel chair. Looking down, I said, “Great. I’m in nothing but my underwear. Again.”
“You look great,” Dalton said, leering at me.
Keith jumped up, whipped his T-shirt off, and tucked it over top of me like an apron.
“Thank you,” I said sweetly to him.
To Dalton, I said, “I appreciate you coming by, but we’ve got one shot left, and they’re going to be banging at that door in a minute. You do nothing but cause chaos in my life.”
“It was Alexis,” he said. “That’s how I knew you were in Malibu that day.”
“Oh.” Mystery solved, sort of. Alexis was the daughter of the p**n star actress Dalton ran away from home with a few years back. She was also a giant pain in the ass, always lurking around and taking photos when you didn’t want her to. Just thinking about her gave me the urge to check the closets in the makeup room.
Dalton explained, “She’s trying to get out of the paparazzi stuff and do some private investigation work.”
“You had her following me?” I looked around for something to throw at Dalton, but all I saw was a bowl of fruit. Good enough! I picked up a banana and a grapefruit and chucked them at him. “You f**king creeper.”
“She wasn’t following you.” He caught the fruit easily and started peeling the banana. “Bruised. Yuck.” He tossed it into the trash bin. “She has a scanner and she listens into some frequencies for leads on photos, just to pay the bills in the meantime. She raced out on a security lead and saw you, sleeping on the chair of some rich oil sheik’s vacation home, and she called me.”
“She could have at least woken me up and given me a little warning.”
He began peeling the grapefruit. “You’re not exactly her favorite person. You reamed her out pretty hard at that coffee shop in your town. Made her re-examine her life. People don’t appreciate so much honesty at once.”
I held up my hand, because I’d had about enough on the topic of Alexis. She didn’t deserve another word.
Dalton glanced warily over at Keith, who was sitting shirtless and being very patient, then he said, “Peaches, I want you to spend your last night in town at my place.”
Keith blinked at me. “Is this happening?” He blinked again, his eyebrows high. “Are you… ?”
Mitchell tapped at the open door, his face pinched in apology. “I’m really sorry to interrupt…” He waved his hand at the three of us—two of us partially undressed. “All of this. But we really need, like, two more takes of that last shot. Three, tops.”
I stood, handed the T-shirt back to Keith, and said, “I have to do my job.”
In unison, both of them said, “I’ll wait.”
I walked out of the room with as much dignity as I could muster, praying they weren’t looking at my nearly-bare ass.
Following Mitchell down the hallway, my stomach hurt from all the stress.
Out of the side of his mouth, Mitchell said, “Two guys. Aren’t you lucky.”
I snorted. “So lucky. I bet the videos are already online, right?”
“Nope. Everyone here is bound by certain terms. A couple people forgot themselves and started recording, but everything’s been deleted. I saw to it. That’s why I was only listening in at your change room door for the tail end of that exchange.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Easy to do your job when you care so much.”
I stopped walking, just short of entering the big studio space. “Mitchell, you are one of the coolest people I’ve ever met. I cannot thank you enough for everything. Or can I? What can I do for you? I could write a letter of recommendation.”
He patted my hand, the sheen of his eyes betraying emotion. His voice thick, he said, “It’s just nice to be appreciated. Send me a postcard when you get home.”
I gave him a hug.
“Thank you for not leaving me with that security guard woman,” he said.
“How did she get you tied up? Isn’t that illegal? She wasn’t a cop or anything.”
He pulled away from me, blinking and smiling. “I know, right?”
“But seriously, if you can think of anything, let me know. And of course you have a place to stay if you’re ever in my part of Washington.”
“We’d better get this shot, or we’ll be back here tomorrow, and saying goodbye one more time will feel even more awkward.”
“Good point.”
I hustled my way back over to the trapeze and climbed on. “Thank you, you’re gorgeous,” I called out to my stand-in, who was sitting on a folding chair nearby.
She gave me a limp wave in return. Fuck me, what was her name?
I ransacked my memory banks.
“Thank you, Justine!” (Big grin. Nailed it!)
She gave me a second half-hearted wave. Oh well, at least I tried.
Up I went, over the roar of the winch, and I began to twirl. I arched my back and imagined the beautiful evening I was going to have. I could hardly wait.
I reached the bottom, and the director said, “Loving that Mona Lisa smile. Keep it up. Another take. Bring her up, boys!”
Up I went again, a peaceful smile on my face the whole time. My last night in LA would certainly be memorable.
We did one more take, and doubt crept in, but by the time my toes hit the netting, I was sure.
I barely waited for them to call it a wrap, and I was off.
I stepped into the change room. Both of the guys sat holding ice packs to their eyes.
Seated across from them, I broke the news gently. “Dalton, I value our friendship, and I appreciate your offer, but I’ve already made plans with Keith. Justine is still in the building, and if you’d like to ask her out, you have my blessing.”
“She’s no Peaches.”
“Maybe she’s stardust from the next galaxy over.”
He turned to Keith and shook his hand. “Take care of Peaches, and call my manager, and also f**k you.”
They were both grinning, teeth bared like animals. “I sure will, and thanks for the suggestion, and f**k you, too.”
Dalton got up, swept his hand through his hair as we briefly made eye contact, then he left.