Page 79 of A Little Bit Extra

He called Carla, gave her the heads up to set up some meetings for him, and told me we would talk more details later this week once they wrote the paperwork up. I had to ensure it was okay if I wanted Cassie to be the main actress, to which he responded with one request: that I act alongside her. Our chemistry is what will sell the movie.

He couldn’t have said anything else to convince me otherwise.

So, that’s how I took a tiny script and landed a deal with January Studios. The short film is expected to last around 30 to 40 minutes, including credits and all.

My mental load is lighter. The last week on set is normally quite emotional, but knowing that I get to stay here with my girl, I’m not sad. Instead, I’m looking forward to the coming weeks as we finalize everything and get started on the film.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed Cassie will say yes. I don't want her to think that I handed her this role. It's important to me she knows she's earned it, considering the effort she has invested, this is the reward she deserves. If only to see her smile, I would give her this role and more.

It wasn’t even my original idea to ask Cassie. I knew she had an issue with past relationships, and I didn’t want to cross a line by asking her to act in a role that was based on our relationship. The movie will follow our so-called “meet cute” and the development of our relationship over the weeks, filled with our secret dating and sneaking around. Max was the one who suggested Cassie when I showed him the script a few weeks back. Of course, this was before I decided to quit acting, when I was just throwing around the idea of getting the script produced.

I was glad that a few others could see Cassie when she performed both as an extra and at her showcase. Her ability to connect to a character on an emotional level and step into their shoes is unbelievable, and I’m hoping she will say yes to being a part of this.

I think she will. Once she arrives at my apartment, which will be any minute now, she'll definitely bring it up to me. I’ve asked that it’s not revealed that it’s my movie, I want to save that for the interview. She needs to understand first that we offered the role to her because of her ability to act, not because of me.

A knock comes from the front door before Cassie comes striding through it. She walks over to me and gives me a kiss.

“Hi. I’ve been itching to do that all day.” She walks back over to the front door, taking off her shoes and setting her purse down. She’s started keeping clothes and necessary items here, so she doesn’t even bring an overnight bag anymore.

I’ve been wanting to ask her to move in, but I know she loves living with Lucy, and we can’t take that next step until we’re public and all is well with that. It would just cause extra eyes to be on our relationship before we’re ready.

“Something on your mind?” I ask. Cassie is practically pacing the apartment. She stops mid-stride and looks at me with a curious eye.

“Hm, yes, Igotofferedajobasaleadingactress.”

I walk over to her and take her hand in mine. “If I understand your gibberish, you said you got offered a role? Is that right? When?”

“This morning.”

Cassie fills me in on what happened this morning. She tells me about how Carla apparently already knew about us and how Carla handed her a folder with nothing but a title page. How Marcy and Carla wouldn’t tell her anything but asked for her trust. No, she knows nothing; she swears. We end up sitting at the island to keep talking about the movie and what little she knows about it. I make us tea, since that’s part of our thing. We sip the hot drinks while chatting some more and she lets me know Annie is telling their mom about her upcoming move to LA.

“Wait, Annie is telling your mom tonight?”

Cassie nods. She takes a sip of her tea, closing her eyes to relish in the warmth and comfort it’s bringing her at this moment.

“Well, okay, then you telling her you’re doing the movie will put a nice little bow on things and she will forget all about Annie leaving her.”

“I didn’t say I was taking the movie,” she says mid-sip, cup still inches from her mouth.

I dip my head and uptick my brows in question.

Cassie sighs. “Okay, fine, yes, I’m accepting the job. I knew I would accept it this morning, but wanted to talk to you first about it. I wanted you to know that I would be there for you after the interview on Saturday and offer to go somewhere or do something with all the free time we’ll have. I didn’t want to be the person to force us to remain in the same spot because I—”

I cut her off. “Sass, you should know that I’m proud of you.” I let go of my mug and place my hand on her left thigh. I give her one squeeze before returning my hand to the cup. “I’m more than thrilled to support you and be there for you while you film this. This is your dream. Maybe I’ll even hang out on set with you, ya know, keep you company. It’ll be you now with a trailer.” I wink at her.

She laughs.

“I didn’t think about having my own trailer. Okay, fair. Well, just know whatever you want to do with your writing, I’ll support you.”

She’s already helped me more than she knows. Not only has she been my muse while writing this script, she has given me the courage to face my parents and chase my dream. It’s only natural for me to want to help her achieve hers.

We talk for a while about the most random topics. We chat about the upcoming holidays, and I learn about what her family does to celebrate. I find out that she broke her arm in the third grade from jumping too high on a trampoline, which I tell her is cliche. I tell her about the time I got caught trying to sneak into a rated R movie when I was 12, one downside to having a famous dad. With every question she asks, I delve deeper into my past, painting a picture of my childhood experiences. We don’t normally talk about my parents, because it’s never a fun topic for me, but after she met them this past weekend, I find myself wanting to tell her more, so she understands why our relationship is the way it is.

We find our way into the bedroom after we finish our tea. Our conversation trails us as we get ready for bed together like we have done for the past two months.

Lying in bed, Cassie turns toward me to speak, her voice soft and gentle. “How do you think your dad will respond to Saturday?”

That’s the number one question in my mind, too.

---