“Yes.”
“Gimmie some.”
“No fuckin’ way man, go back to the vending machine.”
In a minute they might start wrestling, like two little brothers. Two very big little brothers.
“I’m not going all the way back there now!” Corey cried. “The movie’s about to start!”
“It’s a scene dude, not a movie.”
“Whatever.”
In the past sixteen months my whole life had changed. Everything I’d known previously was gone; my job, my apartment… even my friends and parents were more than two-thousand miles away. I had a new place, a new city, and a kickass new business that was growing faster than I could keep up with.
Oh yeah, and a new relationship. Technically three new relationships, but who was counting?
I still visited home, of course. That part was actually fun. The City somehow seemed a lot more magical as a visitor, than as someone who lived and worked there. I could enjoy it now, free of responsibilities. See it through the wide-eyed view of a happy tourist, but with all the inside knowledge of a seasoned local.
All things considered, the only thing I really missed about New York was Bella. She took my moving away the hardest, which was ironic because she also understood it the best. She of all people couldn’t blame me for where I’d gone, or what I’d done. And as long as I regaled her with immersive — and yes, explicit — stories… well, she somehow managed to get on.
Bella visited too, and those were the most fun times of all. Now that I was out of the closet, so to speak, on the unorthodox nature of my four-way relationship? We were free to have all kinds of fun. Fun that included her staying over with us, taking her out, even setting her up with a few of Brody and Corey’s friends.
We took our seats, which were closer than I’d imagined we would be. The scope of the set design was really incredible. So much bigger than I ever imagined.
“Does he have a lot of lines?” asked Corey.
“Well he’s the lead,” answered Brody. “So… yeah.”
The lights blinked, several times in rapid succession. Dozens of voices went quiet at once.
“Uh oh,” said Corey. “Power’s going out.”
“No it’s not,” I hissed. “That just means quiet on set.”
“Oh. That’s kinda cool.”
“So… maybe be quiet on set?” said Brody.
“Gotcha.”
My mind drifted to Hollywood, where I’d been spending more and more time. Not just with Mason, but with a long list of new clients I’d picked up ‘in the business.’ It turned out making contacts went both ways. My handsome actor boyfriend had set me up with a list of friends — some of them halfway to being quite famous — in need of promotion and publicity. In fact, we’d spent the last two days — all four of us — looking at commercial real estate… to start my new field office.
“Where are we going after this?” whispered Corey. “I’m hungry.”
“You’re always hungry,” hissed Brody.
“So?”
“So nothing. We’re here for Mason.”
I laughed inwardly at Corey’s glum expression. He caught my gaze beyond Brody’s back, and I rolled my eyes playfully at him.
Wanna get out of here? He mouthed silently.
In a little while, I mouthed back. Maybe on break.
It would be a long day, sitting in these chairs. After an hour or so, I would certainly need to stretch my legs. Knowing Corey, we’d probably get in trouble. End up exploring too far into the studio lot, and get tossed out by security.