Page 4 of Best Friends for Never

I brace myself, ready for David to come unglued, but it doesn’t happen. The set remains quiet, and I swear all eyes are on me as I stop in front of the director.

He stares at me, his dark eyes blank, not giving away his feelings.

Then, as soft as I’ve ever heard him say, he tells the crew, “Cut.”

And the set bursts back to life.

I blow out a wobbly breath, shaking off the character and bracing myself for the hell that’s about to rain down as the rest of the crew moves around. From their furtive glances, it’s obvious that they are pretending to do their jobs but secretly eavesdropping, waiting for the same thing I am.

David rises from his chair, his headphones now around his neck as he steps toward me. He works his jaw back and forth, and I just know it’s going to be bad. So, so bad. There’s no mistaking this tension rolling between us. He’s pissed.

Fuck. Why couldn’t you play nicely, Noel?

“David, listen. This was me. I was the one who—”

He lifts his hand, shutting down Bridget’s attempt to take the blame. “Save it, Bridge. Noel here can make his own decisions.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “Can’t you, Noel?”

One thing I refuse to do is be intimidated by him.

So I answer, “Yup, and I stand by them.”

His nostrils flare.

Then just like that, all the tension dissipates, and David gives me the biggest smile I’ve ever seen.

“You should. Becauseholy shit, Noel, that was incredible. Magnificent!” He grabs me by the shoulders, giving me an excited shake. “I don’t know where all that came from, but that was ...Wow.” Another jostle, then he lets me go. “The angst ... The emotion. It was perfect. Just what I was looking for. Audiences are going to be blownaway by that. Hell, evenIwas sucked into their relationship. Truly some great work.”

I’m stunned. Speechless.

David claps my shoulder. “Seriously, great work, Noel. We might need to bring you in to look over our next script if that’s the kind of stuff you can pull out of nowhere.” He laughs, then squeezes my shoulder. “Let’s take a break for dinner, then we’ll reconvene at seven.”

He leaves me standing there staring after him, my mind still reeling.

It’s not until Bridget throws her arms around my neck that I realize she’s still beside me.

“Noel! That was amazing! I can’t believe you pulled that off and didn’t lose your job. I mean, I doubt he could have fired you now with just a few days left in the shoot, but still. That was incredible!”

She hugs me, and it’s only when her hands wander a little too close to my ass that I pull myself from my stupor, removing myself from her embrace as politely and quickly as I can.

“Thanks, Bridge,” I tell her, putting at least a foot between us. “I don’t know where it came from.”

“I do! You’re a rock star! You totally pulled from real life, didn’t you?” She pokes my stomach. “I knew you had it in you. I knew there was heartache in there somewhere that you could use.”

I chuckle softly, subtly taking a step back. If only she knew. “Yeah, maybe.”

“So, I’m going to head back to my trailer. You’re more than—”

“Agent!” I interrupt, not wanting her to say those next words. I really don’t need her inviting me back to her trailer. I’ve managed to keep us in public spaces over these two months and intend to continue doing so until we wrap. “I have a call with my agent. I’m sorry. Maybe next time?”

It’s a lie. I don’t have a call with my agent. In fact, I don’t have any plans other than to go back to my trailer and sleep until our next scene. If I’m lucky, I’ll grab a quick snack from craft services, but I’m not holding my breath on that one.

Bridget gives me a saccharine smile. “Sure. Next time.”

She shoots me a wink, then flounces off, calling out to her on-screen husband, who I’m pretty sure I saw leaving her trailer last week when they thought no one was looking.

I blow out a relieved breath, scrubbing my hand through my hair, not caring if I messed it up. The team will have to fix it before the next scene anyway.

“Great job, Noel,” Darius tells me as he passes, that clipboard I’m almost certain he sleeps with under his pillow in his hands.

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