Page 74 of A Little Bit Extra

But I wasn’t. I was just comfortable with where I was at and I wasn’t growing in the places that mattered. When it came to acting, I realized I wasn't pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I only accepted gigs in genres I was familiar with and felt confident I could nail effortlessly. I wanted to avoid more rejections.

I also was fine with the limited people I had around me. While I was growing up, my mom spent most of her time alone, and she appeared to handle it well. She didn’t thrive all the time by any means, but she didn’t seem lonely. I guess a small part of me deep down thought that since my mom was fine, I didn’t need anyone either. It wasn’t worth the heartbreak to find out whoever I chose wasn’t in it for forever, or wouldn’t want me once we had a family. I didn’t want to go through what she went through, so I thought it was easier to be alone after what happened with the last person I was seeing.

Emmett is different, though, and he’s proven that to me. He has layers that I would have never thought to look for. I see something new in him every day. From the way he always makes sure I eat breakfast, to how he just looks at me when we wake up in the morning. He makes me feel appreciated, wanted, safe.

Now, we just need to get through this dinner. I’m not scared anymore, though, because I trust Emmett won't treat me like the previous guy did. I know he won’t leave me and I know he would stand up and defend me if anyone thinks I got a role because of him. He knows I have his back and would never use him to advance my career.

Communication is important. Without it, relationships fall apart because you’re not on the same page as your partner. Communicating about each other’s fears, wants, and wishes has been one of my favorite things about these past two months with Emmett.

Getting to know each other in the comfort of his apartment is something I won’t take for granted. I don’t think it would have been the same if our relationship was public from the beginning. We would have had a lot more to worry about. More cameras would have been around to capture our relationship, for one. For two, I think there would have been more pressure to be perfect. To have a face for our relationship, some script where we say nice things about each other.

I wonder if Emmett would have quit acting or if I would have been comfortable working with him at the studio. But again, I don’t want to dwell on the what-ifs because that’s not the timeline we are in.

Things happened the way they did for a reason. He came to the diner. I got a job at January Studios, and we fell for each other when we least expected it. Or at least, when I least expected it.

There’s a knock on the front door that breaks my train of thought. It’s probably for the best because I’ll keep thinking about how perfect all of this is, and I’ll start crying, and Emmett will wonder what’s wrong because we have literally just been sitting here watching a movie in silence.

“I’ll get it,” Emmett says. He stands up and walks to the front door.

Tyler walks in. He’s talking to Emmett about some movie he just watched. I swear these men are movie obsessed. He finally looks over and sees me sitting on the couch, watching him. I give a small smile and wave.

“I knew it,” Tyler says. “You two are fucking.”

Emmett laughs and I blush. Yep, pretty accurate representation of how we respond to things.

Tyler shoves Emmett’s shoulder. “I had a feeling that things were about to get interesting when you brought up Marcy’s new assistant in the trailer.” I roll my eyes and stand up from the couch, walking over to give him a hug. “I would have stolen you for myself if Emmett didn’t already stake his claim.”

“Mhm, yeah, sure, that’s why,” Emmett says, walking to the kitchen. He opens the fridge to grab a drink for Tyler. We’ve talked about Tyler a lot, and we secretly think he’s into Lucy. I thought there might have been something going on at Emmett’s party, but she never mentioned him after that. She wouldn’t hide it from me, or at least I wouldn’t think so, since she knows about Emmett and me.

Max and Lane are next to arrive, driving together like always. If they notice anything, they say nothing. It could be because Tyler is already here, so maybe they just thought I also arrived here on time. Marcy shows up next, walking in with Lucy. They’re chatting about Lucy’s art show that will be here before we know it.

I help Emmett grab drinks and snacks for everyone. I set them on the coffee table and take a seat in one of the big chairs instead of on the couch.

“Alright, so what’s the meaning of this dinner?” Marcy asks. “Not that I don’t love y'all, but I had plans tonight, and Emmett made me cancel them because he said I just had to be here and to trust him.”

Emmett looks at me, so everyone else does too. The familiar rush of nerves floods through me. I shouldn’t be so nervous, considering telling them that Emmett and I are dating is small compared to telling them that Emmett is quitting acting.

We have decided to announce our relationship first because, although it will be shocking, the news that he will not act after this movie will upstage it. At least, he won’t pursue any big time movies. I can see him still acting in smaller films because I know deep down he loves it.

Emmett walks over to where I’m sitting and places a hand on my shoulder. I nod in confirmation that it’s time. We wanted to get it over with right away before we eat because pizza is a good way to win over all of them and apologize for hiding this from them at the same time.

“Cassie and I are dating,” Emmett says. At first no one speaks. They’re just staring at us, taking it in. I wonder what’s going on in their heads. I know Lucy and Marcy already know, so I don’t expect them to look shocked. Both of them are currently snacking and looking around at everyone else, trying to also gauge everyone’s reactions.

Tyler already confirmed his suspicions. Max and Lane are going back and forth between looking at us with their jaws dropped to looking at each other with wide eyes.

“Wait, did you know?” Tyler says, looking at Marcy.

“They told me last night, but we all already knew anyway.” Marcy throws a piece of popcorn in her mouth.

Tyler looks back at Emmett and says, “I can’t believe you told Marcy before me.”

Emmett shrugs. “We needed her to confirm Cassie’s job would be safe.”

“Alright, I get that,” Tyler says.

I glance over at Lucy, wondering if maybe she told Tyler the truth.

“I didn’t say a word. Don’t look at me,” Lucy mutters.

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