Second Act (His Chance 1)

“It will,” he said. “I’ve always known you’re a great actor. Now everyone else is going to know it, too, and the parts will start pouring in. Just watch.”

Lorenzo joined us a moment later, accompanied by Ren and his boyfriend Colt, who were handing out glasses of champagne. Beck climbed up onto the edge of the fountain and lifted a glass as he called, “Let’s all raise a toast to our dear friend Will!” He turned to me and said, “We’re going to miss you, but we’re so happy your dreams are coming true.”

Over the next few minutes, that same sentiment was repeated in ten different ways by every friend I’d made at Seahorse Ranch. Then Vee and Gabriel brought out a huge sheet cake that said Knock ‘em dead, Will, next to a little cartoon of some kind. I studied the cake and asked, “What does the golden dildo with eyes represent?”

Vee chuckled and told me, “That was supposed to be an Oscar statue, because Beck claimed he could draw one. Apparently his talents lie elsewhere.” He looked for Beck’s husband and called, “Right, Leonidas?” The man just grinned at him, and then he put his arm around Beck’s shoulders and kissed his forehead.

A few minutes later, Beck joined my cat and me on a lounge chair. He’d brought a slice of cake and two forks, and he said, “I figured you wouldn’t want a whole piece, but if I’m wrong, there’s plenty more.”

“This is perfect.” I ate a bite of the chocolate cake, and then I gestured across the courtyard and asked, “When did that happen?” Two of our friends were snuggled up in a corner. Petite, dark-haired Ezra was sitting on the lap of a big blond named Isaac, and they were kissing tenderly. We all knew they were best friends, but up until then, I hadn’t even been sure Ezra was gay.

“New Year’s Eve, apparently,” Beck said, before licking some vanilla frosting off his fork. “Ezra told Isaac he loved him, and Isaac admitted he’d felt the same way for a long time. Now they’re a couple and are moving in together.”

“Just like that?”

“Yup. Just like that.”

I murmured, “They make it seem so easy.”

“I guess it can be, for some people.” Beck glanced at Lorenzo, who was chatting with Ren over by the fountain, and asked, “Did you and Lorie have a romantic night last night?”

“We actually regressed back into just-friends mode. After I talked to you, he got up from his nap and we spent the evening watching movies and playing video games. Then we slept in the same bed, but nothing happened.”

“Why do you think you both pulled back like that?”

I shrugged and said, “Maybe subconsciously we both thought it’d be easier, since I’m leaving.”

“Yeah, but you’re not going away forever.”

“Everyone’s acting like I am, though. They’re all saying goodbye like they’re never going to see me again.”

He thought about that before saying, “Maybe they assume you’ll go on to bigger and better things now that your career is taking off. I hope you come back here when filming wraps, but I can see why relocating to L.A. would make sense.”

“I honestly have no idea what’s going to happen once I finish the movie, or where I’ll end up. But I want you to know these past few months meant everything to me, Beck. This time last year, my world consisted of you, my agent, my parents, and a cat. Now I feel like I have a whole family here, and—”

When a lump in my throat cut me off, Beck set aside the plate and grabbed me in a hug. “You do. No matter where you end up, we’ll always be your family. Nothing can change that.” It felt like it was already changing, but I nodded and tried to smile.

A little while later, I got a text from the assistant Sylvia had hired, whose name was Phoenix. We messaged back and forth a few times because he was planning to do some shopping for me when he reached Northern California, and he told me he’d pick me up at the airport later that night.

My phone was almost dead, so I got to my feet and scooped up the cat as I told Beck, “I’ll be back soon. I need to plug this in and call my parents, because they haven’t heard the news yet.”

Lorenzo caught up to me on the way to my room and asked, “Do you need help packing?”

“Probably, but I’m going to do that later. Right now, I’m on my way to call my parents. You should join me, because it’s usually pretty entertaining. I bought them an iPhone two Christmases ago, and I’m the only person who ever Facetimes them, so they go nuts with all the filters and stickers.”