Page 43 of Method Acting

“I finished it the other day,” he said. “Remember? You made me do it and bribed me with pizza. Which totally worked, by the way.”

“Are you bribing me with pizza?”

“Nope. You get to watch me shirtless on the beach playing volleyball. That’s your prize.”

I sighed, turned to Daniel, and stared right at the camera. “Deirdre, I know you can hear this. It’s not too late to swap partners. Someone who doesn’t threaten me with having to see him naked.”

“Semi-naked,” Chase said. “Do you wanna see me fully naked? Because that’s a whole other rating level. Pretty sure we don’t have clearance for an R rating.”

I sighed and gave him a shove toward the truck. “Shut up and order your tacos.”

Chase laughed again, then ordered a bunch of tacos and two sodas. He handed one to me. “Oh,” I said, surprised. “Thanks.”

Then he held up the tray of tacos to share. “See? I’m a good boyfriend.”

“Pretty sure the word I used before was insufferable.”

He gestured to a bench seat in the shade. He sat first, and I sat down next to him, but not close enough, apparently because he shuffled over so our thighs were pressed together.

He offered the tray. “Taco?”

Bridgette pressed her earpiece. “Deirdre said we have some wind interference.”

So while they dealt with that, Chase and I ate the tacos and sipped our sodas.

“I wasn’t joking about volleyball,” Chase said quietly. “I am playing. You should totally come and watch.”

I made a face.

“You don’t have to sit with the crowd if you’re sick of people. You can just sit on the side, away from everyone.”

I grimaced at the thought. “I’ll think about it.”

“Then I will totally help you study. I mean it,” he added when I shot him a disbelieving look. “You totally helped me smash that essay out. If you hadn’t made me do those two hours the other night, I’d never have done it. And I do have a test next week, which I should totally study for.” Then he nudged my shoulder with his. “You’re actually good for my grades.”

“Gee, thanks.” I sighed, looking out over the ocean. It really was beautiful here. “Don’t your friends miss you? You’ve been hanging out with me a lot.”

“They know about the filming production. I told them I’d be scarce.” He shoved in the rest of his taco and chewed it before washing it down with his drink. “You should totally meet them. At my place or something. I know you’re not a fan of crowds, so I’m guessing the bar is out.”

I sighed. “Will they be at the volleyball game tonight?”

He gave me a half-smirk as he bumped his shoulder to mine again. “So does that mean you’re coming to watch?”

“My character, Elijah, is coming to watch Dominic play,” I allowed. “Just so we’re clear. Because Amos”—I put my hand to my chest—“would absolutely not.”

He laughed, mimicking me with his hand to his chest. “Dominic loves Elijah so much.”

Daniel held up his camera stabilizer. “That’s much better,” he said. “We’re good to keep moving.”

Bridgette nodded, holding her earpiece again. “Deirdre says to come back.”

For a second, I forgot they were even there.

We stood up, dumped our trash into the garbage, and before we got to the street, Chase slipped his hand into mine again. “Dominic loves to hold hands.”

“It’s funny because Elijah isn’t a fan,” I replied.

“Hmm,” he hummed. “Speaking of fans . . .”

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