Page 40 of Hot Set

My mind went to Brandon, seemingly for no reason at all. I hadn’t seen his name or his number in the group chat. But he was there. I sucked in a deep breath and forced down the fluttering feeling that rose in my chest, threatening to overwhelm me.

I loved him. And suddenly, all my elation at being offered this job, mydreamjob, deflated. If I accepted it, I’d have to quit being a make-up artist. I’d have to move away, and I couldn’t possibly ask Brandon to come with me. That was too selfish and too much pressure to put on someone. And I didn’t even know if he was or wasn’t in love with me, anyway.

Even assuming he was, surely it would be too quick for me to justspringthis on him. I could only imagine how that would go down.

“Hey, Brandon, I know we’ve only known each other for a few months, but I’m in love with you. Will you abandon your life here and move to Washington, D.C. with me right away?”

Yeah, right!

I sighed and tucked my phone back in my pocket. The other option would be to stay, and I couldn’t do that, either. No, the best thing to do was tell everyone that I’d been offered a job and would be moving, and I would just keep the rest of it to myself. What would be the point in telling Brandon that I liked him if I was just going to move away and leave him? That sounded cruel. Sure, I’d get to avoid all the problems Seth had pointed out—like having to deal with potential awkwardness at work—but what point was there in some elaborate love confession?

I grabbed my keys off the kitchen counter and headed out. It seemed grossly unfair that I couldn’t be wholeheartedly excited about this wonderful offer I’d just gotten. I was excited, of course, but that excitement was tempered by thoughts of Brandon. I’d onlyjustrealized that I loved him, and before we’d even been anything, before I’d even had the courage to tell him, we were already done.

Entering the set always felt a bit like entering a circus. I’d never been to a circus, but from what I’d seen on TV, it seemed to always be an explosion of chaos and color, with only the slightest hint of control. I took my usual place with Bioncia, halfway through what looked like some sort of fantasy, snow queen make-up on Celeste. I couldn’t remember what scene that was for. I hadn’t even realized that Celeste was set to appear in any more scenes. Maybe I’d missed a round of rewrites.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey,” Bioncia said, swatching vivid turquoise eyeshadow onto her wrist and comparing it to an emerald green. “You look happy to be here.”

“The FBI called,” I said.

Brandon probably ought to be the first person to know I was leaving, but I hadn’t seen him. My stomach sickened slightly when I thought of having to look into his friendly blue eyes and confirm that, yes, I was leaving. Worse, I feared Brandon would treat the event as insignificant. There was no way he’d feel the same uncomfortable jolt of pain that I kept feeling every time I thought of leaving.

“Do we call you “Special Agent”now?” Bioncia asked.

Celeste grinned, unleashing a tiny burst of silver glitter into the air.

“Not yet,” I replied, “But I did get the job.”

Bioncia pulled me into a hug. “Congratulations!” she exclaimed.

“So, you’re going to get to hunt down forged artwork now?” Celeste asked. “It sounds terribly glamorous. Try to avoid all thefemme fatales.”

Somehow, I doubted working for the FBI’s art forgery team was going to be quite that exciting, but it would be a job where all my hard work and degree would pay off. It had a good salary, too, with dental and health insurance, both of which I’d never had.

“So, when do you start?” Bioncia asked.

“I don’t know yet,” I replied. “They’re going to call me with details. I’ll have to move to Washington, though.”

“The state or D.C.?” Celeste asked, a gleam of mischief in her eyes.

“D.C.”

“Darn! No pot for you!” Celeste exclaimed, laughing.

“I don’t really think the FBI wants their agents getting high,” I replied.

“Well, you have to havesomedays off,” Celeste said.

Bioncia held up a finger, smeared with blue body paint. “Quiet, you,” she said. “We finally got Seth to show up on time. We have to finish before he decides to leave or something.”

Celeste wrinkled her nose and stuck out her tongue before growing obediently still, submitting her half-done face to Bioncia’s brush and pigments.

“That’s wonderful, though,” Bioncia said, grinning at me. “I saw Brandon earlier, but I think he had to make a coffee run. I’m sure he’ll be excited to hear the good news.”

He probably would be. I could already imagine Brandon grinning, his blue eyes lighting up, as he offered his congratulations. Because Brandon was gracious. Or maybe itwas just that Brandon wouldn’t be heartbroken, so it was easier for him. Sure, we were friends, but losing a friend wouldn’t be as bad as this deep ache that had taken up residence in my chest.

“Okay, cool,” I said. “I’ll let him know when he gets in.”

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