Page 67 of Jace 4Ever
Jace was staring at the actor who was going to play Xavier Renegade’s older, not-really-dead brother with his jaw hanging open. I jerked a thumb at him. “This is the guy. I really should have exposed him to some more famous people before dragging him down the red carpet, I guess. I thought hanging out on the regular with Up Down Left Right and Robot Servant might help, but apparently…”
“Zach Quinto,” he said, holding his hand out.
“Huh? Oh! Crap. Sorry.” Jace laughed at himself, shaking off the shock. “Jace McIntire.”
“He’s adorable.” Zach laughed.
“Hands off. He’s mine.”
“Oh, is he?” A moment of shock passed over his features, then a giant smile. “Well, well. Good to know. I’ll keep the hands off. Watch out, Jace. There are sharks out there.”
“I figured there would be,” Jace answered.
We made our way slowly down the lines to the front of the theater. We posed in front of backdrops for a few different major television networks and sponsors, and posed together with people I had been in other films with, and a few upcoming prospects.
The ripple of the news that I was here with someone I was calling my boyfriend passed through the crowd of reporters and fashion critics. They teamed up to chat with us, and some of them were genuinely shocked that I was gay.
The only people from the press there who didn’t seem fazed at all were the fashion critics. Shawn deVries walked right up to us with a mic and his camera men—one with a live feed and one with a still camera.
“Nelson, darling, you look amazing. Please, tell us what’s going on here?”
Grinning, I swept my hand down my outfit and then down Jace’s. He blushed again, but I turned back to Shawn. “They’re amazing, aren’t they? I was going to go with a typical Oscar, but at the last minute, Vera Wang sent me to a friend of hers. These are personally created by Severn Galbraith of Galbraith Wardrobes. He has a marvelous little shop on Rodeo that is a must see. Emily Vishanza was there the other day too, but I don’t know if she’s wearing his creation—”
“She is!” Emily’s voice interrupted me brightly from my right. “Severn is amazing and I could not be happier with what he made!”
“He’s so humble too,” Jace added. “He really just wants to create magnificent clothes.”
“He did a fantastic job on all three of you.” Shawn turned the mic on Jace. “Jace...?”
“McIntire,” he said. “Key grip.”
“And writer,” I added. “You just keep forgetting that part.”
“Not used to it.”
“Get used to it.” I dropped a kiss on his cheek. I was pretty sure he was going to spend the entire time on the red carpet imitating the color of it.
“Purple?” Shawn asked.
“My mom’s favorite color...” Jace was adorable admitting that, and I didn’t stop the urge to pulling him in for a hug. It was news to me that this was his mom’s favorite color.
“Is Mom watching from home?”
Jace shook his head. “No. I lost her years ago. Wearing the purple is kind of like having a bit of her with me.”
Holy shit. Even Shawn deVries, the coldhearted bastard, had a shimmer of tears in his eyes. But I was glad I’d gone along with matching his colors. It felt a bit like I was showing him that I respected his parents.
“Well, I’m going to have to go and have a look at this Galbraith Wardrobes place. I hope that Severn is as delightful as you portray. Emily, tell me more about your outfit...”
As he moved over to her, I guided Jace farther down the carpet. More pictures, more posing, more surprise that I was there with a man. I heard a familiar voice behind me again, but this one wasn’t nearly as welcome as Zach or Emily had been. It was the dislikeable tones of Archie from Gimme Gimme.
“God, he even wears makeup.” I guessed that the words weren’t supposed to be audible, but they were. Probably because he was standing so close and wanted us to hear the smart-ass remark. I didn’t turn around but kept Jace moving forward.
That only worked for another few steps before Jay appeared to my right and grinned. It wasn’t a polite grin at all. It was cruel and he was clearly planning something. Without too much fanfare, I moved Jace so he was on my other side and tucked slightly behind me. They weren’t going to really pull something on the red carpet. Were they?
“Nelson!” Jay crowed and pushed in close on my other side. “I was so glad to have you read yesterday! I can’t wait to work together on this film!”
“Not working with you at all, Altern. Go away,” I bit the words out quietly and tried to push past.
