Page 106 of Method Acting

But then Chase whipped off his swimming trunks and I held up the towel just in time, before the whole world saw his junk. Everybody cracked up laughing. “Almost an Only Fans,” Chase said, totally proud.

I groaned. “God, now you all see what I have to put up with?”

Then, on-screen, the swim coach yelled at us for language and Daniel’s filming cut away as me and Chase made our way out. It looked absolutely candid because it was. I had no idea we were being filmed.

Viewers were gonna love it.

Little would they know that was filmed just before Chase quit, before he had a meltdown and cocooned himself in his bed...

I gave Chase’s hand a squeeze.

They wouldn’t know the personal cost. Like all viewers of any form of entertainment. It’s a different story when the cameras stop rolling.

And I got it. It was an actor’s job to present a persona on-screen. Personal lives were purely incidental. Sometimes personal lives were fodder for ratings and social media clicks.

It was a very good reminder to swear that if I ever did crack the big time in Hollywood, be it TV or movies, I’d keep my private life exactly that.

It got me thinking about what Chase had said about us moving to West Hollywood together, chasing auditions and dreams.

It sounded perfect.

If not impractical and way too premature.

But perfect.

Chase snapped his fingers in front of my face. “Earth to Amos.”

I startled. “Sorry. I was . . . thinking.”

Chase’s face lit up. “Of me?”

“No,” I lied.

It’s not like I could admit to wondering what our place might look like, apart from tiny and dingy, or why I imagined a Rick and Morty poster on the living room wall...

I hadn’t realized everyone was off doing their thing, getting ready for this afternoon’s big scene. Holly came over, looking uncertain but hopeful.

“Hey,” I said. “Ready for this today?”

She shook her head. “Not really. I have an idea. It’s not scripted, not that much of what we’ve done is.” She rolled her eyes. “But I need your help.”

Chase put his arm around my waist. “We’ll do it.”

Chapter Fifteen

Chase

I didn’t know what Holly was going to ask, and honestly it didn’t matter.

Because for all the shit that Amos and I were going through—okay, so the shit I put him through—it paled in comparison to what poor Holly and Max were going through.

I had no idea what Amos and I were, or if everything we felt was all because of this stupid acting project. Maybe being fake boyfriends, having to act all lovey-dovey together, made us think we were more than acting.

Okay, so yes. Maybe it made me think we were more than friends.

Maybe it made me think I’d finally gone and fallen in actual stupid love with him. Maybe it was all real on my behalf and completely fake and just acting on his.

That was the bottom line that had made me lose my shit earlier.

---