I kissed him softly for a few minutes enjoying the salty taste of him. “I’ll lie down with you for a little while, but then I want to get this wall board finished. I thought I’d do a time-lapse video of the rest of it.”
We made our way back to the RV, making a list of different video clips we’d taken in the last few days to use for our next YouTube video. I sat Cooper down at the table and began pulling out sandwich stuff when his phone rang. I expected him to take the call outside for more privacy, but he must have been more tired than I’d thought, because he stayed right there at the table.
“This is Cooper. Oh hi.” His voice betrayed sudden interest in whoever it was on the other line. I tried not to listen in, but it was impossible with him two feet away from me. “Good to hear from you… wow, that sounds exciting… mm-hm… Would there be an audition, or…? Yeah, sure… Okay… okay… That sounds great. Send me the info… Sure, absolutely. Sounds good.”
For some reason, I got a bad feeling about that call. Not a bad feeling for Coop, but for me. Of course I wanted him to have every opportunity to follow his dreams, but if he was being offered an acting opportunity, it probably meant going back to LA. And I would miss him. Terribly.
“Who was that?” I asked, still facing away from him while I finished cutting up some apples to put on each plate.
“Jesus, that was my agent. He heard from a casting director representing Sam Gwan. Do you know Hae Gwan who directed Red Stone Alpha?”
I knew the movie, of course. It had been the must-see action movie last summer. “I mean, I don’t know movie directors’ names, but okay?”
“Well, her son Sam is an up-and-coming director himself who’s made a few indie films. One of them is this really cool suspense film where the lead is gay. It’s not a big deal in the movie, it’s just… the detective has a husband at home instead of a wife.”
“That’s cool.” I didn’t really know what else to say. “So this guy wants to talk to you about a part in a movie?”
I finished fixing our plates and set them on the table before sliding into the booth across from him. Our legs found each other under the table naturally and tangled together. Whenever I was within touching distance, my body seemed to seek out a physical connection with Cooper whether it was a conscious move or not.
“I guess. It’s still too good to be true. Even auditioning for him would be amazing. Just being in the room, you know?”
I nodded and bit into my sandwich. Cooper deserved my excited support even if I selfishly wished the phone had never rung. “Tell me everything,” I said between bites.
He shrugged and took a sip of his water. “I don’t know much. It’s some kind of medical drama, and the part they want me to come in for is one of the nurses. It’s a supporting role, but my agent said it’s a big speaking part.”
“Wow, that’s great. What happens next? Do they… need you to fly to LA, or…?”
He shrugged. “Not sure yet. He’s going to send me an email with options. He said they know what I’m working on because that’s how they found me.”
I snapped my head up. “Really? That’s cool. You mean this stuff? Cooped Up With Nine?”
He grinned. “Yeah. Super cool. It was one of the things I was hoping for when I agreed to do this, but I never really thought it would happen, especially this soon. Apparently Sam—the director—is a big YouTube watcher. Which makes sense because he’s young. In his midtwenties I think.”
I made a mental note to search for this guy on the internet to find out if he had a good reputation. Even though Cooper had lived in LA for several years, he was still a small-town Colorado boy at heart. I’d hate for someone to take advantage of him.
Which was stupid since Cooper Heath had way more street smarts than I did and had been taking care of himself and his family for years. Still. I would worry about him regardless.
“That’s amazing, Coop. I’m really happy for you.” I tucked back into my lunch and tried concentrating on chewing every bite thoroughly so I didn’t choke myself in the rush to finish and get out of there. I needed to think. I needed to get myself into a better headspace where I could tell him I was happy for him and really mean it. He deserved that. He deserved my support.
“Thanks. I need to call Jacks and tell him.” He picked his phone back up. “Do you mind me calling him even though we’re eating?”