Page 56 of The Reunion

I don’t say this, because I don’t want to make him worry for no reason, but what’s happened to Gemma in the wake of her breakup with Ransom is legit terrifying—what if things don’t work out between us for some reason? What if the fans turn on me like they’ve turned on her? And honestly, that could happen even if things do go well. I’ve noticed a worrying number of comments from random people who are convinced they’re meant to be with Ransom, and feel threatened by anyone who stands in their way.

This is why—one reason, anyway—I prefer to keep private things private. No one else should have a say in who we love, how we love. If we ultimately decide we’renotin love.

He pushes up to sit beside me, sighs. “You’re right. I wish you weren’t.”

We sit in silence, watching the waterfall crash into the pool, alonetogether in our secret alcove for at least a little while longer. He’s right, too—if this continues, we’ll have to tell people. Probably sooner rather than later, especially if I’m going to go out on a limb to ask Vienna if he can play my love interest in the new film.

For now, all I want is to sit here and enjoy him, us,this.

I weave my fingers through his, find his lips with mine; his other hand slips over my skin, both of us slick from the pool. It isn’t long before we find our way out of the alcove, find more of each other. Everything begins in crisp, vivid focus—the pool, crystal blue and glittering under the dark night sky, and the way the lamplight catches on the beads of water rolling off his skin, and his eyes his smile his lips his tongue—

And then it all becomes one sparkling, beautiful blur.

Spotted: Sasha-Kate Kilpatrick with Mysterious Silver Fox

By Zenia DiLitto // Editor in Chief, Pop Culture, DizzyZine.com

Ohhhhhhh, Spinnerssssss, do *I* have some *news* for *YOU*! Around here, you know we’re on 24/7 SKK watch, because she’s always serving up some new tantalizing and delicious treat—well, I hope you’re extremely hungry this morning, because I am about to present you with a FEAST.

It will come as no surprise (to anyone paying attention) that things have come to an end between Sasha-Kate and her most recent boyfriend, Nikola Miloševic. Their relationship started as abruptly as it ended, we hardly ever saw them together, and lo and behold, he was spotted out clubbing last night with his longtime party-bro Luka Kilpatrick (SK’s brother, and her original connection to Nikola) along with a pair of stunning brunettes. It’s safe to say he’s either quite over Sasha-Kate, or he’s trying his best to forget her.

And THAT is merely the tablecloth for our breakfast feast, friends. Grab your mimosas and take a seat!

While Nikola, Luka, and the stunning brunettes were getting ready for their night out on the town, Sasha-Kate was doing her best to slip out of it in secret. It’s not unusual forSK to take a one-night escape to eclipse,herposh island resortof choice that’s just an hour up the coast—she often visits the resort as a guest of Garbiñe Itiriti (famed heiress to the eclipse chain) for the occasional R&R spa day with hergroup of girlfriends. This time, however, we have on good authority that Garbiñe is off at eclipse: Turks and Caicos chairing a fundraiser this week, which means she was very much not in California hosting a girls’ day. So what brought Sasha-Kate to the resort?

All we know is that Sasha-Kate was spotted climbing into an unmarked helicopter, not too far from the studio where she’s been shooting scenes for theGirl on the Vergereunion special. Flight records show the helicopter landed at the resort at around one in the afternoon and returned in the dark, early hours this morning; flight records (and a good bit of digging) also reveal the charter went to great lengths to keep their identity a secret.

From the photo, we can easily see the iconic celebrity incognito look—stylishly slouchy gray hoodie, short denim cutoffs, oversized sunglasses, baseball cap over messy braids. We also see her holding the hand of someone already inside, and (here’s the juicy part, y’all!) leaning in close for a kiss. Although we can’t make out the face of the lucky guy from the photo, that shock of silver hair tells us enough to know he’s quite a bit older than the guys Sasha-Kate usually goes for. Anyone else have a hard time remembering she’s *thirty-three* now? She’ll perpetually be Honor St. Croix’s little sister in my mind.

ANYWAY. Here’s where YOU come in, Spinners! We do love a good mystery around here, but what we love even more? A good SOLVED mystery! If you have any idea who SK’s mystery silver fox might be—or any connections at eclipse who are willing to defy their rock-solid nondisclosure agreements to spill the beans (good luck, definitely already tried that, definitely did not work)—you know where to find me!

18

It’s past nine in the morning when I wake in my own bed, my phone vibrating on my nightstand. Sunlight streams through the windows, a welcome sight after having predawn call times all week. It’s my first morning to sleep in, and I definitely needed it—Ransom dropped me off sometime around midnight, despite best efforts to tear ourselves apart earlier. (Okay, maybe notbestefforts. Moderate efforts. A bit of effort?) He wasn’t as lucky with the call sheet and is probably dragging on set today.

“Do you want the good news first, or the not-so-good news first?” Mars asks half an hour later, after I’m up and reasonably clearheaded. I’m still in one of my favorite pajama sets, a blush-pink camisole with shorts to match, curled up with a leisurely cup of coffee on my back patio. The waves roll in, one after another, crashing on the sand before retreating back out to sea.

“They both go hand in hand, actually,” she goes on before I can answer. “So I’ll just tell you: the reboot is on. But, unfortunately, what Attica heard is true—they want to center it on the three of you this time.”

“Wow,” is all I can manage. I don’t know what to say.

“I know. When I asked Shine for insight, she said the producers were hesitant to hang the entire reboot on you, given that you’re all but committed to the Vienna Lawson project—Xan’s been in their ear, apparently, and it looks like Vienna gave some comments about it. They’ve decided to preemptively green-light the reboot in hopes oflocking you in to a schedule that’s ontheirterms. I’ve gotta say, Liv, I don’t like it.”

A seagull swoops low over the water, then takes a sudden plunge, snatching an unsuspecting fish. “And the money?” I ask.

“As you’d expect.”

I take a long pull on my coffee. None of this bodes particularly well. I especially don’t like the implication that I should give up the chance to star in a potentially award-winning film for the reboot when I wouldn’t even be its main focus. I hadn’t realized how much I was starting to come around to the idea of doing a huge production likeGirlagain—the reunion has been a good experience so far, and under the right circumstances, the reboot could be amazing.

These are not the right circumstances.

“This might be hard for you to hear, Liv, but I honestly think we might want to consider passing on the project. Hear me out—they know you’re in high demand elsewhere, and they’re trying to manipulate you into a suboptimal commitment because they know you’re emotionally invested in the show, what it’s meant for you. Fanlinehasthe resources to pay Millie and Sasha-Kate more, as much as you would have earned as the sole lead—they’re about to close on an acquisition of CMC/Snapaday, but you didn’t hear that from me. Butbecauseof the merger, they’re trying to cut corners where they can and pass it all off as a decision to go in a fresh direction creatively.”

“Even Shine is on board with what’s going on?” I ask.

Shine Jacobs built Fanline’s empire out of nothing all on her own and has given countless commencement speeches and keynotes about her commitment to empowering women.

So much for empowerment: I feel powerless. Like Fanline is convinced I would never say no after all the show has done for me. After all I’ve done for the show, though, the way they’re trying to pin me down—while at the same time diminishing my role—makes me feel entirely taken for granted.

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