Page 18 of Wildest Dreams

“Oh God, no. I could never trust him again. Patsy would kill me.”

“That’s a good friend.”

“She is.” Her face softens.

“It sounds like you’re in a rut.”

She nods.

“We can change that.”

“Oh, can we now?” Her energy shifts back to being sweet and cheery and she chuckles. “Patsy is going to love you. She was ecstatic that I was hanging out with you today. She’s the one who picked out this dress, actually.”

“I love it. When we meet, I’ll have to thank her.”

She blushes again and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. We stare at one another for a moment before two girls approach the table.

“Hi, Kendall!” They address her but look straight at me.

“Oh, hi,” Kendall says, sitting up and looking slightly uncomfortable. She gives me a tense look.

“Hi, I’m Pi-” I begin before they cut me off.

“We know!” They sit down, uninvited, telling me how much they love my movies and asking what other celebrities are in town. I try to keep my answers short and to the point, but they aren’t taking the hint. Kendall takes the opportunity for a restroom break, but when she gets back, the two girls are still there, not so much talking to me as talking at me. Kendall smiles at them when she approaches the table, but doesn’t sit down.

“Pierre, maybe we should—” She gestures towards the door.

“Right!” I stand, taking the hint. “It was nice to meet you ladies.” They ask for a selfie, which I oblige. Kendall walks away, waiting for me by the door while I close the tab. The entire time I’m standing at the bar, I can see her ex looking at me—along with everyone else in the place.

When we leave, Kendall opens the door before I have a chance to get it for her. She points to where she’s parked and I follow. I place my hand on the small of her back and feel her body tense, though she doesn’t say anything. Once we get to her car, she stops and turns to me.

“Thank you for inviting me out,” she says. The soft light of the setting sun makes her glow, and I wish there was a way I could capture this without ruining the moment.

“We’ll have to do it again,” I say. “It sounds like you need to get out more.”

“I apologize for everyone staring at you, and for those two girls who came to the table. I would’ve introduced you, but I could not remember their names for the life of me. I think one of them hooked up with Patsy’s little brother under the bleachers during a Homecoming game my senior year.”

I make a face and she shrugs.

“It’s a small town. No one has secrets. Also, we’re not used to having celebrities in Magnolia Row, so you might get more of those encounters while you’re here.”

“It’s fine. By the way, you really need to get better at not apologizing. You have nothing to be sorry for.”

She laughs. “I’ll work on it.”

“Listen, I have kind of a packed schedule with table reads over the next few days, then we start shooting. But I would like to see you again.”

“Oh! Um—” She sounds surprised. Why would she be surprised? “Yeah, I guess that would be okay.”

“Great! I’ll be in touch once I get a better idea of my schedule.”

“Sounds good!”

The familiar awkward silence settles between us again. The sun is beginning to set and casts long shadows from the pine trees on the edge of the property. Kendall doesn’t break my gaze, so I lean in to give her a kiss before we leave. As soon as my mouth is less than an inch from hers, she gasps and takes a step back, nearly losing her balance in the gravel. I grab her arm to catch her.

“I, uh, I—” Her face turns bright red. “I want to apologize, but you keep getting on to me about it.” We both laugh.

“Don’t apologize. I’m the one who is sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed it was okay. I enjoyed talking to you tonight, and you looked radiant. I just…I don’t know. I thought it was okay.”

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