Page 37 of Nothing Heals Me Like You Do

“Maybe Alexis and my sister?”

“You want to tell Alexis about us?” Justine’s eyebrows arched up.

“Maybe. Yeah.” Sienna hadn’t given it a lot of thought. She was just going with the flow, but now that they’d started shooting, and she and Justine were still hooking up, and even kind of dating, telling Alexis, the actor playing Justine, was the only right thing to do—mostly because keeping it from her felt wrong. “I think I should.”

“I don’t know how things work on a movie set,” Justine said, “or what it’s like to do what you do. To act like you’re someone else opposite another person.”

“Even though it’s called acting, truth is at the heart of it. For that reason alone, I think I should tell her.” Sienna found Justine’s hand under the covers. “I wasn’t really sure before, but now I’m starting to believe there’s actually something to tell.”

“In that case, I should probably have another conversation with Rochelle.” Justine squeezed Sienna’s hand. “For some insane reason, I don’t even mind.” She gazed into Sienna’s eyes—Sienna gazed back, ready to drown in Justine’s bright-blue eyes. A wave of happiness rolled over her. It had all started so casually, yet here they lay, only a few weeks later, completely besotted with each other.

“Now, about practicing for my scene tomorrow.” Sienna inched her face closer to Justine’s. “It’s mainly a lot of kissing.”

“You don’t need any practice in that department,” Justine said, bridging the last of the distance between them. “You’re already the best.”

Justine hadn’t come to the set anymore that week, yet she and Sienna had spent a lot of time together. Even tonight, the Friday before the shelter’s drag benefit, Justine had magically found time to come to Sienna’s place—she really seemed to like it there.

“I always thought actors hated watching movies they were in,” Justine said while she waited on the popcorn in the microwave.

“I sat through so many of my dad’s movies when I was younger, with him right next to me,” Sienna said. “It’s not an affliction actors in the Bright family suffer from.” Earlier that week, Justine had admitted she hadn’t seen a single movie Sienna was in. Hence, their movie date night.

“I like that about you.” Justine stood there grinning, looking sexy again in her cheap clothes and disheveled hair. For Sienna, the fact that she didn’t give a damn about what she looked like, or what anyone thought about her for that matter, contributed greatly to how hot she actually was. “That you love watching yourself.”

“You don’t think it’s vain?” Sienna walked over to Justine, as if drawn to her by an invisible string.

“It’s what you do. It’s your job as well as your art. It’s such an important part of you, so no. In my opinion, vanity has very little to do with it.”

“I value your opinion greatly.” Acting wasn’t just Sienna’s job—it was her calling.

She might not be close to her father, but he had given her a passion for this strange profession from a young age—and thus he had given her one of the most important things in her life. He had led by example and Bobby Bright might have been a pretty absent—and not very good—parent, but he was one hell of an actor.

“My dad taught me how much I can learn from watching myself. I have to see my performance for myself. I can’t trust anyone else to tell me how I did.” Her father was the only person she did trust 100% when it came to critiquing her work. She knew that, at the very least, he was always honest about that.

The microwave pinged. Justine grabbed the bag as though it wasn’t hot and painful to the touch. Her tolerance for pain was far greater than Sienna’s. She tore open the bag and poured the popcorn into a bowl Sienna was holding—the two of them the perfect and most unlikely picture of domestic bliss.

Sienna had picked the first movie she was really proud of for them to watch together. It was the fifth production she’d been in and the first time she’d felt really confident on set, like she knew what she was doing. Like she belonged there. Like she was contributing to a wonderful movie, instead of feeling like a liability or—worst of all—the one actor the critics couldn’t help but review badly. It was the kind of movie where everything had come together, despite all the uncontrollable stuff that always goes on behind the scenes, and had worked out the best way it could.

Better Dayswas a modest indie feature about a young woman, played by Sienna, grappling with the sudden loss of her sister. Sienna’s character embarks on a road trip with her sister’s journal as her guide. Along the way, she forms an unexpected bond with a series of women from different walks of life, each teaching her lessons about love, loss, and laughter—a lot of laughter. For a movie about grief and death, it had so many jokes.

Sienna and Justine sank into the couch together, shoulder to shoulder, the bowl of popcorn wedged between them. Justine watched the movie as though she was studying a work of art, her gaze focused, her facial expressions intense. She didn’t utter a single word for the next hour and a half—and seemed too entranced even to eat any popcorn. She only spoke when the credits rolled.

“Wow,” she said. “That was really moving.”

Sienna reveled in Justine’s perfect reaction. A smile beamed on her face.

“I should watch movies more often,” Justine said.

“Stick with me and you will.”

“Gladly.” Justine narrowed her eyes. “I might be biased, but you were amazing. I’m no movie buff, but I feel that in here.” She brought a hand to her belly. “You have a gift for transporting the viewer.”

Throughout her career, Sienna had gotten her fair share of good and bad reviews, but these words about her acting from Justine meant more to her than the best write-up in the most reputable industry outlet. Because Justine was always honest and forthright—another unmistakable draw for Sienna.

“Thank you.” Sienna grinned from ear to ear.

“I was completely mesmerized.” Justine grabbed Sienna’s hand. “It’s rare that I get so absorbed by something.” Justine averted her gaze and seemed suddenly very focused on Sienna’s hand. “I might have fallen for you even more,” she murmured.

Sienna understood loud and clear. She brought their entwined hands to her lips and kissed the inside of Justine’s wrist.

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