Page 10 of A Little Bit Extra

Momentarily breaking his gaze from the TV, he looks at me. “You just have this look on your face.”

“I don’t have a look on my face.” I look the same as I always do. Sure, I have Cassie on my mind, but that doesn’t have any effect on my facial expressions.

“You’re making that face again,” Tyler says.

I sigh and decide to change the subject.

“First day going okay?”

He nods. “Yep, already met with Marcy and her new assistant. Have you met her? She’s—”

“Mine,” I interrupt, quickly shaking my head. I’m digging myself into a hole.

Tyler’s eyes widen. “Cassie and you? Already? How?”

“Not like that.” Great, now I need to explain. “I met her at the diner last night. She was here right before you came over.” Tyler’s eyes grow wider with every word. “Ugh, not like that. Get your mind out of the gutter. Marcy asked me to give her a tour of the trailer.”

He turns back to face the TV, crossing his right ankle over his left knee. “Hm, okay. We can talk more about this later.”

Not the outcome I wanted from that conversation, but at least it’s tabled for later. Tyler knows I don’t see women often, if at all. I stay to myself. My parents aren’t the best around new people in my life, so I’ve closed myself off from forming any new relationships.

Growing up, they only supported relationships that helped the Davis name. My dad would make sure I wasn’t friends with anyone that wouldn’t strengthen our reputation in Hollywood, even when I was little. It wasn’t enough to just be kind or fun to be around, they also had to be famous or have a lot of money. He argued it would “help my image.” My image doesn’t need help. I do just fine by myself. I tried to hide my friends at first, but that didn’t work. The older I got, the more my “friends” wanted to exploit me and use me for my last name. I suppose that’s what my dad was trying to avoid, but it didn’t help me find genuine friendships until I started working at January Studios.

I met Tyler first but ignored him in the beginning. Trying to keep things professional, I wouldn’t talk to anyone about anything other than work. One day, there was a knock on my door and Tyler was standing on the other side of it with a bag full of food leftover from that day. He said he heard I had an Xbox and he had dinner if I wanted to hang out. That was the start of our friendship. He introduced me to Max and Lane. For the past year, it’s been the five of us, including Marcy. Best friends. Something I never thought I needed until I had it.

They all come over most days, even if I’m not here. It’s the best place for us to get together on set. Tyler has an office but no couch. Max and Lane don’t work out of anywhere… At least, I never see them in an office. They’re either on set, in the wardrobe department, or in my trailer. Come to think of it, they might work out of my trailer the most.

I turn my head back to Tyler. “Are Max and Lane coming over?”

He shrugs. Extremely helpful.

I take my phone out of my pocket. I have an urge to text Cassie, even though I know she’s still on set with Marcy. Since she’s the new production assistant, they included her number in this week’s memo with the schedule.

What would I even text her? I just saw her an hour ago. Would it be too soon to ask her to spend time together? This is always the time I wish I wasn’t me but someone with the freedom to do things like grab coffee with a pretty girl. If I go anywhere, I’m mobbed by photographers or bombarded by people asking for selfies every five minutes. It’s why I stay home often and only go out in controlled environments, like the diner, where they don’t allow photographers to camp out.

I turn to face Tyler again. “What would you say about coming over tonight?”

He sighs heavily. He hates when I interrupt his show. I can see him roll his eyes before he presses pause on the remote and turns his head to me. “I would say we always fucking come to your apartment. Why are you being weird? Is this because you want to invite Cassie to hang out but you don’t want it to seem like a date?”

Tyler takes the opportunity of our conversation to stand up and walk into the kitchen to grab another snack and a drink.

“Want one?” he asks, lifting the sparkling water in his hand. I nod. He walks back to the couch, hands me the drink, and sits back down. He’s waiting to play the show until I answer him, not wanting to be interrupted again.

“And yes, it’s because of Cassie. She’s just everywhere. All I want is another chance to talk with her, preferably in a non-work environment. Asking her to come to my trailer during a workday doesn't seem like a good idea. I don't want to invite her over without others being present because of what happened when we were alone today…” I shake my head, blinking slowly. “I just want her to be comfortable and say yes.”

“Hold up, what happened when you were alone?”

“Nothing.”

Tyler raises his eyebrows, not believing me in the slightest. “Okay, we can talk about it later with the guys. I’ll text Max and Lane. Now, shut up and let me watch my show.” He takes his phone out of his pocket to send a message before pressing play on the remote.

I don’t know how to describe the feeling I had when I was alone with Cassie. It was a mixture of what the fuck am I doing and holy shit, I want this girl. I enjoyed watching her squirm. I didn’t know it at first, but I chase the red overflow on her cheeks. Observing her response to me is enthralling. It’s different.

I’m used to women and fans throwing themselves at me. They don’t respect my boundaries. Every time I leave my apartment and go somewhere normal, I’m always given some girl’s number or asked to take a photo with them. At first I liked it. I felt wanted. That feeling is fleeting though, more than this feeling for Cassie might be.

With others, I didn’t want to get to know them. I most definitely didn’t want to invite them over to my apartment. The last thing I need is some girl selling my underwear on the internet and an article being written about me.

I’m going to text Cassie and see if she wants to come over. Actually… I look at my phone to check the time. She might still be here. I’m going to go find her and ask her in person. It might be harder for her to say no.

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