Page 6 of Dumbstruck
“I never said I didn’t.”
Does he ever stop smiling? I can’t decide if he’s perpetually happy or if something about me amuses him, but either option unnerves me. I’ve gotten used to seeing the same people day in and day out, so I don’t know how to act around this guy. He, on the other hand, gets paid millions of dollars to play pretend. I can’t trust that any of his charm is real.
The last time I trusted a charming guy, he turned out to be narcissistic and manipulative. Besides, even if Jonah is genuine, he’s only here until they’re done filming, so I shouldn’t drink in the way his muscles shift and stretch with each movement. I shouldn’t wish he’d keep talking so we can spar like we did on the set the other day.
I shouldn’t be itching to invite him inside before he freezes.
Something down the street catches Jonah’s eye, and a wider grin stretches across his face. “Looks like my bodyguard has caught up to me, so I’ll be on my way. I’ll see you around, June.”
“Don’t count on it.”
He chuckles and takes off running. A few seconds later, the trunk-limbed guy from the store huffs and puffs past, a look of desperation in his eyes as he gasps out Jonah’s name and lumbers onward.
Samson yowls again.
“Oh, shut up,” I tell him and leave the can of tuna on the step, heading back inside with no plans to hit play on the Jonah James movie I pulled up earlier.
Definitely not going to watch it.
Chapter Four
Jonah
“Idon’tunderstandwhythis keeps happening.” Beckett runs his hands through his hair as he paces in the small on-set trailer we have in town. I get that he’s frustrated, but the more he paces, the tighter this space is going to feel and the more I’m going to want to escape for the wide open skies outside.
I clear my throat. “Things go wrong. It happens.”
Laughing, he gives me a wild look and doesn’t slow his steps for a second. “I understand that things go wrong. It’s part of filming a movie. But this is getting ridiculous!”
I have to agree with him, as much as I don’t want to. What started out as a couple of accidents and malfunctions is turning into a pattern of safety issues and set disasters. I’ve seen my share of mishaps on set, but something about this movie has drawn more than normal.
A few days ago, one of the crew members said something about this movie being cursed. Most people laughed him off. But as things keep happening—like light bulbs going missing and furniture randomly falling apart, more and more people are starting to think he was right. I’m not one to believe in curses or ghosts, but enough disasters have hit us that my convictions are feeling slippery. It’s like someone said “Macbeth” instead of calling it “The Scottish Play,” and the theater geeks are spooked.
I can believe in ghosts for a few weeks without it turning into a whole thing. Right?
“Okay, you have to stop,” I say, grabbing Beckett’s arm as he passes me. “You’re makingmenervous.”
“It’s Bonnie’s fault.” Beckett drops onto the couch next to me and drops his face into his hands. “She convinced me to change the script, and now I’m being punished.”
I’ve known this guy for a while now, but I wouldn’t have expected him to buy into the curse nonsense. He’s too pragmatic for that, and I thought his confidence had no bounds, which is one of the reasons I try to work with him as often as I can. But I guess when a caterer comes across an entire crate of empty but intact eggshells that were fine the day before, it’s difficult to toss the curse idea aside.
I have to admit, empty eggs are creepy.
The trailer door opens, and Bonnie comes inside with a bright smile. “Good morning!” she says but pauses when she sees Beckett hunched over. “Everything okay?”
“Great,” Beckett says in a groan.
Meeting Bonnie’s gaze, I shrug. “You ready for your big stunt today?”
Though she nods, Bonnie’s smile is nervous. “So ready! My stunt double said she’s been perfecting the stunt all morning and will show me how it’s done before I try it out.”
Good for Bonnie. Growing up on a farm, I got used to doing hard things, but I’ve grown soft over the years and rarely do my own stunts. If anything were to go wrong, I could get injured and be out of a job, and it’s not like I have many skills outside of acting. I guess I could do voice-over work, but that’s way less fun than being on the set and in the moment.
Not that it matters. I’m not jumping across a building like Bonnie’s planning to. Maybe she shouldn’t do it, if the set is cursed…
Okay, wow, I need some air, and Bonnie is staring at Beckett like she’s worried he might fall apart. Time to run some interference. “I want to see Anne in action,” I tell Bonnie, gesturing for her to lead the way outside to where her stunt double has been for the last couple of hours. As soon as we’re out of earshot, I add, “There was an incident in catering this morning, so he’s on edge.”
“What kind of incident?”
