Page 76 of Off Script

“Okay? To be shackled to a woman you aren’t actually romantically involved with? What’s going on, Tristan?”

“Nothing. Scout’s honor,” Tristan said.

No matter how close he and Doug were, he wasn’t going to share what had happened between him and Jada. One, because she’d kill him. Two, because it was too special to ruin by getting nosy commentators involved. And third—

“You’re falling for her, aren’t you?!” Doug exclaimed, causing Tristan to choke on his water.

“Keep it down!” he said once his chest stopped burning. “And no, I’m not, but we’re getting along.”

Doug opened his mouth to investigate further, but Tristan held up his hand. “Didn’t you mention over the phone you wanted to advise me on something for the Hot Pop radio interview tomorrow?”

“But—”

“Doug . . .” Tristan said, his dark underlying tone telling.

Doug sighed, knowing he’d lost the battle. “Fine.”

They spent the next hour hashing out details about the upcoming interviews. Dinner was delicious, but it was a tedious conversation, and Tristan was glad when he could head home for a good night’s sleep. Nevertheless, his last thoughts before he fell asleep were of Jada.

With his morning interview at the radio station, Tristan was thankful he’d had an early night.Rival Warriorswas set to be released in a few days, and the announcer tackled the usual questions about the film. He’d be asked the same ones repeatedly throughout the day. Press junkets always had the same repetitive rhythm. So far, things were moving smoothly as he made his way from one appearance to another. Halfway through the day, he encountered his first engaging exchange on a panel for the E! network. As Tristan sat next to his co-star, Davie Harlson, their interviewer started them off with a game of What Would Your Character Do? Since the two played mortal enemies in the film, Tristan knew this would be entertaining.

“Okay, guys, so the gist is I’m going to ask you a bunch of questions, and you’re going to tell me how your character would react to that situation. Got it?”

“Got it,” Tristan and Davie said in unison, then laughed at their joint answer. Once you did enough of these events with your co-workers, you ended up in sync.

“First question. If your character was faced with a hostage situation, would he try negotiating with the kidnappers or sneak into the danger zone to take them out?”

“Negotiating. Rick wouldn’t risk lives,” Davie said, speaking for his cinematic counterpart.

“Danger zone, baby! All the way,” Tristan followed up.

“Great! Next question: In the film, you both kind of stumble upon the same mission and end up working together in not so perfect harmony. But if you were told straight-out you needed the help of your rival to save the world, would you team up willingly?”

Tristan reflected a bit, then responded with, “More like very begrudgingly.”

“Agreed. I’d do it, but detest him the whole time,” Davie added.

“But then he’d end up falling for me. His character’s already in love with mine. He just hasn’t realized it yet.” Tristan teased Davie.

“Speaking of love and falling for someone . . .” The interviewer jumped on Tristan’s response. Yeahhh, he’d walked right into that one.

“Yes?” he asked, playing innocent.

“You and Jada Berklee have been quite close these past few months. How is that going?”

Had it been that long already? It had flown by because of Jada. Usually, Tristan got bored by the two-week mark, but Jada . . . fighting with her, getting to know her, “falling” for her, it had all been such a rush, it’d passed by in a whirlwind. After some cajoling from Davie and the presenter, Tristan answered honestly.

“It’s been good. Very good. We’re happy.” Tristan smiled, his sincerity radiating through. He didn’t care about Davie’s “awwws” and teasing. He meant it. He was happy with her. So much so that he planned on texting her about meeting up once the long press day ended.

24

Tristan’s cheeks ached from all the smiles and pleasantries he’d put on during the plethora of interviews. All he wanted was to take a shower before heading over to Jada’s. But before he got to the front door, he spotted something curious.

The light in his living room was on, throwing a soft yellow glow onto his front lawn. He’d heard plenty of stories about two-bit criminals breaking into celebrities’ houses, but if these scumbags thought they could pull one over on him, they were in for a surprise. He’d taken his fair share of martial arts lessons for various roles and figured he could take them. On guard, Tristan unlocked his front door with a minimal amount of noise. He snatched an umbrella near the front door and headed for the living room.

“I’ve already called the cops, you son of a bitch!” Tristan shouted as he turned the corner, brandishing his weapon. (He totally hadn’t but they didn’t need to know that.)

The umbrella fell from his hands as he came face to face with Isabella Moreno.

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