Page 63 of Method Acting

“Did you get your report done on time?” I asked, trying to keep the conversation rolling.

“Yep. Did you?”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t my best work.” I got to the bottom and held the door for him. “You know where I do my best work.”

He walked past me, giving me a what-the-fuck glare that the camera couldn’t see. “If that’s your best then?—”

“Then we need more practice,” I finished for him, not letting him finish that sentence on camera. Okay, so maybe hinting at sex wasn’t a good idea. I should have known he’d cut me off at the knees.

Lesson learned, Chase.

I fell into step beside him and took his hand, threading our fingers. “What time’s your last class this afternoon?” he asked.

“Three. Then I was gonna hit the pool. Wanna come watch me do laps? You’ve got tonight off work, so we can grab a pizza after. Let’s see what the others are doing.”

He gave me a side-eye before he smiled. “Okay. Sounds good.”

Amos held the door for me this time, and Daniel followed us into the dining hall but stopped filming. The other camera crews were already there, the other guys seated at a table in the corner.

Deirdre and some of the production team were standing with placards that read quiet please, filming, and although the dining hall wasn’t too full yet, there were enough people sitting around, breakfast forgotten as they used their phones to film the filming.

Amos and I quickly grabbed some trays of food and slid into the two spare seats at the table.

We were greeted with the usual “hey” and “morning” and we ran through small talk like we’d practiced. Talk about the food, about the hockey game, and our classes of the day.

“So,” I began, “you guys wanna grab a pizza tonight? There’s an outdoor movie at the beach tonight. I think they’re showing Jaws. Elijah and I are going if you wanna hang out.”

“Sounds good,” Tucker said.

Max looked at Holly. “Wanna go?”

She smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear before she nodded. Acting the shy, smitten love interest to perfection. “Sure.”

There was a beat of silence, and Jess was quick to fill it. “Hey, so did you hear about the two sophomores that got caught doing the walk of shame?”

Everyone laughed along, shocked but amused. Shocked that she would say that. There was no walk of shame. There was no scandal. The real scandal was the baseball sex scandal and subsequent fallout, but it wasn’t like we could say that on camera.

Or the stats professor who slept with the student, only it wasn’t a student per se but the student’s twin brother that no one knew he had. Professor Brooks accused him of lying and cheating in public, outing himself in the process. It was big news around campus but honestly, how that wasn’t caught on camera was the real scandal.

But Jess couldn’t say that either. This fake scandal Jess mentioned was just a conversation starter, and it worked. Chatter around the table began, funny and smooth.

Until Didi checked her phone. “Shoot. Look at the time. We’ve got class in ten.”

Phoebe jumped up. “And I’m on the other side of campus.” She and Jess said they’d see us tonight and left with their camera team behind them.

Max asked Holly where she was heading next and they left; then Tucker and Didi did the same. “See you guys tonight,” Didi said.

“Okay,” I replied, watching them as they walked out.

Then it was just Amos and me.

Or Elijah and Dominic, I should say. Daniel was filming again.

“What’ve you got first?” he asked, stabbing some sliced apple with his fork.

“Documentary Theater.”

He scrunched his nose up and it was the cutest thing ever. “I better go,” I murmured. Then I pulled the cords on his hoodie, bringing him closer, and I pecked his lips. “See you at lunch.”

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