Stunt Doubled: A Movie Star Standalone

Sierra talked to her driver and then we went inside. I was pleased to see that Kylie was tending bar again. We made our way over to her.

“You’re back! Are things any better at your job?” Kylie said before I could even say ‘hi.’ She sure had a good memory.

“The jury’s still out. Kylie, this is Sierra.”

“Hi,” Sierra said.

Kylie scrunched her face in concentration while she looked at Sierra. Finally, she said, “You look familiar.”

Probably actors got that kind of thing all the time, but I’d gotten the impression that Sierra hadn’t been in many things yet.

Apparently, Sierra didn’t want to get into it. “I just have one of those faces.”

“No, you don’t,” Kylie said, her words slow and thoughtful. “Were you in Troop Seventeen?”

I cocked my head in surprise. “You two were in the same scout troop?”

Sierra laughed. “No, it was a kids’ movie I did a long time ago.”

“You were great in that,” Kylie gushed. “After I saw it, I begged my mom to put my hair in pigtails, like yours was, but the rubber bands always slid out.” She ran a hand through her fine hair. “It just doesn’t have enough body.” She shrugged her shoulders and dropped her hand. “So, what brings you two here?”

I knew she wasn’t talking about what we wanted to drink. “I think Sierra here could use someone to talk to.”

Sierra nodded. “But first, a drink.”

“Definitely a drink,” I echoed.

A half hour later, Kylie had secured us a spot at the end of the bar where there was a bit more privacy. We could’ve gotten a booth, but then Kylie wouldn’t have been able to talk with us. It wasn’t like the joint was jumping, but still, the moderate number of customers kept her busy.

“Sorry,” she said as she rushed back over after getting a round of draft beers for a group of old-timers. “Where were we?”

“We were talking about the scene I filmed today.” Sierra said, sipping her wine. “And how it really, really sucked.”

“But you had the motions down pat,” I said.

“It wasn’t that. It was the kiss.”

Kylie’s eyes lit up. “Who did you kiss? Aiden Hunt?”

“Yeah.”

I sympathized with her, but then a thought hit. “Wait, should we be talking about this?”

“It’s either talk about it or cry about it.” She blinked rapidly, and I saw moisture in her green eyes.

“I know, but I signed an NDA, didn’t you?”

“Oh, that.” She nodded. “But come on, it can’t be a secret that Aiden and his leading lady kiss. What else is going to happen in a Chase Cooper movie?”

I giggled. “True. It’s not like they’re going to sit down and have a nice conversation.”

Kylie held up her right hand as if she was swearing an oath. “I won’t tell a soul. It’s part of my job, and we bartenders take that seriously. When you’re talking to one of us, it’s like talking to a priest in a confessional.”

I smiled at Kylie. She was fun to hang out with and she really was a good listener. I owed Evan for telling me about this bar in the first place.

“Anyway, so what if I break the NDA?” Sierra continued. “They’re probably going to fire me anyway.”

“Was it that bad?” I stirred my cocktail with a little red straw.

“Yeah. Probably worse. Aiden said it was the least passionate kiss in the history of movie making.”

“Ouch,” Kylie said.

“Did he yell at you?”

“No,” Sierra said. “But he practically had steam coming out of his ears. He’s such an arrogant ass.” Then she glanced at me. “Sorry, I know he’s your stepbrother.”

Kylie’s blue eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she turned to me.

I spoke before she could. “Only technically. I didn’t even know that until last week. He’s not my family, and I can confirm, yes, he is an arrogant ass.”

Kylie nodded rapidly, trying to keep up. “Okay, so he’s your stepbrother but not really and you don’t want to talk about it and he thinks Sierra’s a bad kisser. Am I up to speed?”

I nodded. “Oh, and he has a twin brother who’s his stunt double and also—technically—my stepbrother.”

Kylie’s mouth dropped open in surprise, but Sierra was still stuck on an earlier point. “I’m not a bad kisser,” she said. “At least I don’t think I am.”

Perhaps it was the alcohol, but that made me laugh. “You know, if this were porn, this would be the moment when one of us would volunteer to kiss you to see how you do.”

Sierra laughed too.

Someone at the other end of the bar called Kylie. “Guess you’ll have to do the honors,” she said to me, chuckling as she walked away.

Sierra sipped her drink and seemed lost in thought. “It could be true. I mean, how do you know if you’re a bad kisser?”

I shrugged. “I had a high school boyfriend who was awful at it. He was so sloppy and slobbery. I ended up telling him that I just didn’t like kissing. He’d go around saying things like, ‘Can you believe my girlfriend doesn’t like kissing?’“