Page 9 of Get Me (The Keatyn Chronicles 6)
He smiles at me, kisses the top of my head, and wraps me tightly in a hug.
I close my eyes and fall into a blissful sleep.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 19TH
Milking the fame cow.
5:50am
Cooper drops Tommy and me off at a little before six, then heads back to my loft. Tommy told him there was no reason for him to sit around all day. But he and Aiden are both excited to watch the process for a bit, so I know they'll be here at some point. I also know they will get bored. It's going to be a really long day.
I get a hug from Matt, who is already on the soundstage. "Before you go to hair and makeup, let's rehearse the first scene. Since you're still in bed in the scene, it should be easy."
I lie in the bed, cover up, and pretend to be sleeping. Tommy tiptoes in from the left side of the stage, sits on my bed, runs his hand gently across my forehead, and bends down to kiss it.
I open my eyes. "Have a safe trip."
"I will. Are you sure you're going to be okay until Grandma gets here?"
"Dad, I'm nineteen. I don't need Grandma to babysit me."
He smirks at me. "Your being nineteen is exactly why Grandma is coming."
I roll my eyes. "So, one time, when I was seventeen and didn't know any better, I had a little party when you were out of town. You're never going to forget it, are you?"
"Harper, honey, I saw the video your friend posted on YouTube. You know, the one where the cops kicked the door down? Oh, and then tasered your drunk twenty-four-year-old boyfriend?"
"He wasn't my boyfriend." Or much of a friend, I say under my breath.
"At least something good came out of it," he says, ruffling my hair. He reaches in a fake pocket, pulls out a fake wallet, and pretends to put money on my nightstand. "Why don't you go to the mall and find a cute outfit for tonight?"
I laugh at him. "Probably because I'm not doing anything tonight but sitting on my ass and playing cards with Grandma. I mean, I love her and all, but it's a Saturday night!"
He nods his head toward the cash and grins at me. I squint at him, supposedly puzzled. I reach over and grab the nonexistent cash off the nightstand and see what's supposed to be underneath. I let a wide, happy smile spread across my face then throw my arms around his neck. "Concert Tickets? To see Drake? Ohmigawd! You're the Best. Dad. Ever!"
"Did you notice the seats I got you?"
I look down. "Ohmigawd. Third row? Maybe he'll sweat on me!"
"I'm not sure Grandma will like that."
"I have to take Grandma!?" I ask in horror.
"I'm just teasing. Take Michelle. Have fun. Be responsible. Don't talk to strangers."
"I won't. I promise. Have a good trip! Where are you going, anyway?"
He gives me the vague look that supposedly he always gives me when he's going on a mission. "Just Berlin. I'll be back in a few days."
"Cut. Perfect," Matt says. "All right. Let's go ahead and block it out."
Blocking out is basically planning the physical movements and positioning on set in relationship to the camera. My job isn't too difficult for this, since I don't get out of bed.
After that, I'm sent to hair and makeup. I study my lines again--so I don't screw them up--and have fun listening to gossip about Knox's latest fling.
Halfway through, I'm pulled out for a wardrobe check and when I get back to hair and makeup, Knox himself is sitting in the chair I just left.
"You took my spot," I tell him.
"The early bird gets the worm."
"The early bird looks tired."
He groans. "The only thing I hate about making movies. The early morning calls."
"I was here before six."
"You weren't at the club last night. You should've been."
"No, I was rehearsing with Tommy. I take this seriously."
"So, what's your deal, anyway?"
"My deal?"
"Yeah, where'd you come from? How are you Abby fucking Johnston's daughter and I've never seen your picture anywhere? Last one I could find of Keatyn Douglas was from like five years ago. You don't even have any social media."
"I like my privacy, maybe?"
"Why? You're young and hot. You should be milking the fame cow."
"Milking the fame cow. That's one I've never heard. Enough about last night. Are you ready for today?"
"You inviting me to your dressing room to practice our lines?"
The hairdresser who's running product through his hair groans.
I stifle a laugh. "Actually, yes. That's not a bad idea."
Knox grins. "I knew you just wanted to kiss me. Story of my life."
"It's that pretty face," I tease. "Girls can't resist."
"Thank god they can't," he says. Then he goes, "Ouch," and gives the hairstylist a dirty look.
She goes, "Sorry!" But it's obvious that she's not. At all.
Knox and I are ready but the lighting isn't, so I grab the script out of his hands and smack him on the butt with it. "I'm serious about practicing."
He wraps an arm around me. "Call it whatever you want. I'm in."
When we get in my dressing room, he plops down on my couch. "They listen and talk. You know that, right?"
"Who does?"
"Hair and makeup. Huge gossips. I'm really not hung over."
"You're not?"
"Nope, just working on that bad boy image. Speaking of that, we should go out."
"Go out where?"
"Anywhere. Dinner. Club. You like to dance?"
"I love to dance. But I'm seeing someone."
"He in this movie?"
"No."
"Even better. I've been hearing a few rumors myself. About you and I. So we need to get to know each other."
"If you tell me that involves going to bed with you, I'll pass."
He sits up, looking very serious. "I've been acting since I was ten and working on the tabloids' image of me since I was fifteen. I let people see what they want to see. When I was on a family show, I was the good
boy. The boy who visited sick kids in hospitals. The boy who took his mom to the Golden Globes. The boy who had a sweet relationship with his on-camera love."
"You two were publicly waiting until you got married, right?"
"I had to be my on-screen character in real life. Well, not real life. Public life."
"I understand what you're saying. I used to date Luke Sander."
"He disappeared for a while. Left as a child star. Came back as an adult. It was a good move. Where was he hiding?"
"Malibu with me for a year and a half. We broke up last spring, but he's still one of my best friends."
"That's cool. Malibu, huh? Do you surf?"
"Yeah, I do. My, um, ex is a professional surfer."
"Your, um, ex? Why does it sound like there's a story there?"
"There isn't, really. He left to go on tour. We broke up. Well, sorta broke up. We weren't actually going out. We'd been dating for a while. It ended. Sort of."
"But sort of not?"
"Sort of not."
"So, who are you dating now?"
"A guy from my school. He's coming by later. You can meet him."
"I'd like that. So what should we practice first? Kissing?" He gives me a naughty grin. "Or should I just take my shirt off again, so we can pretend to fight?"
"I think we should just read through our lines."
"Seriously, though. Have you heard the rumors?"
"What rumors?"
"About us?"
"Us? No, can't say I have."
"And here I thought you were connected."
"Why don't you just tell me what you heard, since you're dying to."
"Tommy doesn't want to make any more Trinity Films."
"That I am aware of."
"But the studio wants more."
"I am aware of that as well."
"Mr. Moran--your Uncle Matty--told me that you're going to make me a rich man."
"I assume, since you don't die now, that they're going to pay you more?"
He looks up at the ceiling and winces. "Shit. I didn't think to ask for more money."
"So how am I going to make you rich?"
"I think they want us. You and me. To take over the series. Like a spin-off franchise. Or the new cast. Whatever. It's going to be us."
"How? You're a bad guy."
"Have you not read the whole script?"
"Uh, not yet," I say, honestly impressed that he has. Tommy said they just finished re-writes a couple days ago.
"I have a change of heart. You change my heart. I fall for you. We have some very touching scenes. You know, in between being shot at and almost getting blown up."
