Page 36 of The Fake Script
“Dating,” she finishes with an awkward chuckle.
“Just friends,” he adds with a firm nod.
Marissa places a hand on his torso. “Really good friends.”
He wears a tight smile. “Almost like brother and sister.”
Wait. How are they not together?They look more together than Emma and me, and we’re actively pretending to be.
The photographer clears his throat, not sure what to do with himself.
“Oh! The picture,” Marissa exclaims. “Right. Yeah, we can take it.”
Furrowing his brow, he asks us to gather behind a palm tree, then snaps a few shots of us. Emma is standing next to me, her head leaning toward mine, and it’s exactly where I want her to be.
15
Books vs. Movies
Emma
All night long, I dreamed about Auston. Surely, this is perfectly normal in a fake-dating scenario. Actually, I’m positive it is—I’ve read about that plenty of times in romance novels. Except in my case, I won’t actually fall for the guy. I know better.
Too late, honey,an annoying voice says in my head.You’re already falling again for him.
No, I’m not! I am a professional, both as a movie consultant and a fake girlfriend.
If that’s what you want to tell yourself.
“It’s the truth!” I yell, my own voice amplified like a loudspeaker. I glance around the empty street, feeling the flush rising to my cheeks. Gripping the script harder in my clammy hands, I keep walking toward the end of the street.
I am in control, and I know myself better than this stupid voice does.
Taking a deep breath, I knock on Auston’s trailer door. He opens it right away.
“Hey! Right on time,” he says with a smile, inviting me in. His hair is slightly ruffled, like he just got out of bed. It somehow makes him even more attractive. Why does he have to look so sexy all the time? It’s totally unfair.
Inside, Cillian is sitting on the couch, finishing a cup of coffee. “Hey, Emma,” he says. “It’s good stuff. You’ll like it.”
I shoot a questioning look at Auston, who just smiles brightly. I avert my gaze, my cheeks warm. It’s way too early to melt into the floor. I’ve only had one coffee so far.
“Talk to you later,” Cillian says as he gets up, walking past me and exiting the trailer. That’s when I notice it. The brand-new coffee machine that takes up most of the counter space.
“What’s this?”
“I know how much you hated my coffee,” he says matter-of-factly. “So, I got a new machine. Marissa said it was good. Even sold me some beans.”
“You got a new coffee machine just for me?” I can’t tear my eyes away from the shiny contraption.
“I love coffee too, you know. And that way, we won’t lose time with your many,manycoffee runs.”
I place a hand on my hip. “Are you saying I’m slowing us down?”
“Oh, you definitely are,” he teases, handing me a cup of coffee. “Your addiction is way out of hand. I told you that before.”
My head falls back as a laugh bubbles out of me. “Right. Well, let’s not lose a second then. Shall we?”
As we sip our coffee, we work on his character for today’s scenes, and I don’t have much to say. Shocking, I know. But Auston is nailing Diego Loma’s personality, and it’s getting harder and harder to watch him perform. Especially now that I’m helping him rehearse the first kissing scene.