Second Nature (His Chance 2)

I chuckled and said, “That’s both weird and awesome.”

“How old is Alex in this scene? I remember he was twenty-two when he died,” Gabriel said.

“This is a year before, so I’m trying to pass for twenty-one,” Will said, as a frown line appeared between his brows. “I know I’m almost thirty, but I didn’t think it was that much of a stretch. At least, not until I met the novel’s author, who wasted no time telling me I was too old and dead-wrong for the part of Alex.”

Gabriel said, “Oh wow. I thought the author was a total recluse who never granted interviews.”

Will nodded. “He is. Phoenix and Lorenzo tried to do something nice for me by arranging a meeting through this guy’s niece. It was actually really devastating, since I’ve adored Alex and After since I was a teen, and the author turned out to be such a jerk. But I still love the book despite who wrote it, and I’m still honored I got to play a character who meant a lot to me and countless other people.”

I kept working on his makeup while he and Gabriel talked about the book. A few minutes later Gina arrived, wearing a big pair of sunglasses and carrying a trade publication and a cup of coffee. When I introduced her to Gabriel, she peered at him over the top of her glasses and said, “You’re cute.” Then she sat down at her station and began flipping through the magazine.

At about nine thirty-five, she said, “Don’t tell me, let me guess. Royce is late again today.”

“Yeah, I actually was supposed to meet him over half an hour ago to run lines,” Will said, as I put the finishing touches on his makeup.

“Why the fuck can’t he hire a decent personal assistant to whip him into shape? It’s not like he can’t afford it,” Gina muttered.

Will looked at me and said, “He needs Phoenix.”

“Except for the fact that Phoenix can’t stand him.” I leaned back to assess my work. “He worked for Harper for a year, remember? It didn’t exactly go well.”

“But I’ll bet Harper was on time for everything that year,” Will said.

“Probably.” I put down the brush I was holding and told him, “You’re all set.”

Gabriel sounded impressed when he said, “That’s a remarkable transformation. You don’t look like yourself anymore, Will, but you also don’t look like you’re wearing any makeup.”

Will grinned and told him, “That’s because your boyfriend is a genius,” which embarrassed me and made me feel good in equal measure.

A few minutes later, the lead hairstylist showed up and went to work on Will’s dark curls while Gabriel and I stepped outside to get some air. “So, that was the most interesting part of my day,” I told him, as we stepped back to let a member of the camera crew pass with a rolling dolly. “Gage Lang, the director, tends to have his actors do a huge number of takes for each scene, so the rest of the morning will be spent watching Will and Harper deliver the same lines over and over, then jumping in and touching up Will’s makeup as needed. After lunch, I’ll need to do a more thorough touch-up. Then we’ll have three additional actors on set for the dinner scene, and I’ll be assisting Gina and the other makeup artist as needed.”

“You really did an amazing job with Will. I’d seen the before and after photos on his Instagram, but it was even more impressive up close. Not that he looks his age, but you shaved years off of him, and you made him look…almost fragile, I guess. That’s exactly how I always imagined Alex.”

“In person, the shadows around his eyes seem a little too blue, but they’ll read correctly on film.”

Gabriel grinned at me. “Just accept the compliment, Riley.”

“Fine. Thank you for the compliment.” I grinned too and kissed the tip of his nose. Then I gestured toward a tall African-American man with a shaved head near the production office and asked, “Want me to introduce you to Gage Lang? He’s right over there.”

“Maybe later. He looks angry.”

“Probably because he just found out Harper is late for the third time this week.”

Since everything was on hold until the actor showed up, Gabriel and I took a seat on the stairs leading up to the makeup trailer, and I pointed out some of the crew members and explained what they did. A few minutes later, Harper stuck his head around the edge of the trailer and asked, “How mad is Lang that I’m late?”

“Just short of fuming, from what I saw.”

“Shit. I really tried to get here on time today, but my pet sitter canceled on me at the last minute and it took me a while to find a replacement.” Harper looked around, then stepped out from behind the trailer. When he saw Gabriel sitting beside me, he immediately went into what I’d come to think of as his ‘charming movie star mode’. He stuck his hand out and flashed his dimpled smile as he said, “Hi there. I’m Harper Royce.”