Page 38 of Star Struck

There was a tap at the door and Felix’s voice came through the frame. ‘Skye? Jack?’

After a long, weighted pause, Jack opened the door to reveal Felix, wearing the biggest smile I’d ever seen. ‘What’s up?’

‘They’ve sent me up to ask if you’re okay? Only they want you downstairs. For the signing?’

‘Shit!’ Jack shook his head briefly, as though trying to bring himself back to consciousness. ‘Forgot.’

‘They’ve been doing my pictures already, God, it was brilliant — like being Miss World. I explained about you, darling, not being fit to take the part. They might want a little siggy from you, but they can wait until you feel better, they said. And if you’re poorly Jack, they’ll put it off.’

‘No. No, it’s okay. I’ll go. Get it over with.’ He checked his reflection in the mirror which hung opposite the bed, pulled a face, ran a hand over his unshaven cheeks and grimaced again. Both Felix and I were transfixed, watching him move around the room searching for his glasses and then splashing aftershave randomly across his stubble with the expression of someone who knows it’s too late to shower and who hopes no-one will notice. When he unbuttoned the front of his shirt and splashed some of the aftershave across his chest, Felix gave a small whine. ‘Oh Lord, will you look at him? It shouldn’t be walking the streets, it really shouldn’t.’

Jack raised his eyebrows and rebuttoned his shirt. ‘I’d better put my face in front of them. Get up when you’re feeling like it and lock up after you.’ He slipped his glasses on. ‘Do I look okay?’

‘Be still my beating heart,’ Felix said.

‘Actually I was asking Skye.’

I looked at him for what felt longer than decent. ‘Oh yes. You look okay. But, no shoes?’

‘Nah. Catch you later.’ And, with a flip of his hand, he was gone.

Felix immediately went over to the laptop and switched it on.

‘What are you doing?’

‘Just looking, lover. He might have something incriminating on there. Or some script, something, anything I can work with. Some insider secrets.’ He turned to me, his eyes full of fire and life. ‘You did it, my darling, you actually did it. I’m gonna be on Fallen Skies!’

‘Might be just a bit part. Walk on.’

‘Don’t care. Think how great it’ll look on my CV. And I’ll get a name check on the closing credits; you never know, might jog someone in Hollywood into asking for me.’

‘I thought that’s why you had an agent?’

‘He’s useless. Told me to stick to EastEnders auditions. Ah, here we go.’

The screen burst into life. ‘It’ll be passworded. He’s not going to risk someone stealing his ideas.’

‘Yeah, but he might have left something running in the background. He’d never suspect you of trying to sneak a look at his Great Work, would he? Silly, silly boy.’ A sharp look. ‘He seems pretty serious about you, darling. Can’t keep his eyes off you. You getting any action in that direction yet?’ Felix scrolled down the screen. ‘Because I am seriously jealous, he is definitely on my things-to-do list. I tell you, he shows the slightest inclination and I am going for it.’ A moment’s silent reading. ‘You, or no you.’

‘We’ve got things in common, Fe, that’s all.’

‘Huh.’ He went quiet, then bounced away from the laptop, shutting off the power and carefully tipping the screen to the exact angle it had been before he touched it. ‘Yeah. Useless, but, hey, it was worth a shot. Never mind, tall order really. Right. Okay. You ready to get off your man’s bed yet?’ Then he sat on the bed and the manic choirboy persona dropped away so quickly that I was derailed. ‘Skye, are you really okay with me taking this part? I mean, you can do it if you want to. I won’t mind.’

‘Yes, you would. And yes, I’m really okay with it. I’d half-hoped for the dinner with Gethryn . . .’

‘I knew it! I fucking knew it!’ Felix jumped up, but didn’t look annoyed. ‘I said to Jack that I reckoned you’d try and throw it, just to get a date with your Welshman. I told him last night. Just the sort of thing you’d do.’

‘It’s okay, I’d changed my mind. Not even sure I’m going to go to the fancy dress ball, to be honest.’ I tried not to think about those searching fingers, the mouth that wouldn’t give me space to breathe, that insistence . . .

‘So, you’ve gone off the luscious Gethryn, have you? What, switched allegiance to Mr Dark and Mysterious? That was quick and, if I may say so, rather shallow of you.’

A quick pang of shame speared me. Eighteen months. For eighteen months I’d lusted after Gethryn, so yes, Felix was right, superficially I was being petty and two-faced. ‘It was . . .’ But I couldn’t do it. Couldn’t even bring myself to mention letting Gethryn kiss me and then chickening out because he got a bit forceful about it. ‘Gethryn is a star. There’s millions of women clustering around him, he doesn’t really want me and my scars, he was just being . . .’ What? Nice? ‘I don’t know about Jack. He’s not very forthcoming.’

‘Maybe he’s shy.’

‘Maybe I’m not his type. Maybe he’s not mine.’ I stared at Felix for a moment. ‘Was Michael my type?’

Felix turned his head away, running his hands through his hair until it spiked up in random peaks. His shoulders hunched forward. ‘You’ve seen the photos.’

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