Page 9 of Steamy on Set

“I don’t know.”

She looks at me like she does in fact know, but isn’t going to get into it now. I appreciate that. I try to find anywhere else to look at, but my eyes go back to them.

“I know you’re going to hate me for this, but I like Errol.”

My neck hurts from the force with which I turn to stare at her. I can’t tell if she is joking or not.

“How can you like him?” My voice hits new octaves.

“I don’t know, I just get a good feeling from him. Plus, he put Mira in her place, which was cool.”

“You don’t get a good feeling from anyone.” She literally hates almost every guy I introduce her to.

“You’re right, I don’t get good feelings from the people you’ve dated. Then again, so far I have yet to be wrong.”

I cross my arms upset that it’s the truth.

“He literally insulted me. You’ve disliked people for less.”

“I have, but I don’t know, something about him just seems okay. Maybe it’s that you hate him so much and you have shit taste.”

I push her in the water, satisfied when she goes all the way under. She pops back up, cussing and throwing her hands in the air.

“You’re lucky I got braids in.” She tries to grab my legs, but I leap up and run back towards the fence laughing.

Like we’re still the kids we were when we met, she starts chasing me around the pool, caring little for the looks from the other people. Screaming and laughing, we fight until eventuallyshe gets me in the water. My freshly pressed hair gets wet, but I’m too giddy to care.

I can’t stop giggling until I look up and see Errol staring at me with this intense look, probably disapproving of this behavior as well. I wait for him to walk over and reprimand me. Instead, we lock eyes until Monty drags me towards the deep end.

I spend the rest of the night trying not to watch him, and I get the feeling he’s doing the same.

Chapter 5

Lastweekend,Ifinallygot the chance to explore LA after having been swamped with work for the past two months. The city doesn’t hold a candle to the beautiful architecture of San Francisco, but it has its perks. Today, I’m enjoying one of the shops Monty and I found, as I wear the new tangerine suit I got when we went shopping. The tailored look of it brings me tons of compliments on social media. Even without the jacket on, the pants paired with a nice white tank top look good on me.

Feeling confident in both my look and my skills, I get lost in work. I look up to see that a couple hours have passed since I sat down at the sewing machine to make Dante’s suit jacket, and I need a break. Putting the garment down, I stand and throwmy arms up. Tension rolls from my core out into my limbs as I stretch out the aches from being hunched over. I turn to Mira, who stands across the room from me sorting through samples.

“I’m going to make a tea, do you want anything?” I ask.

She shakes her head, and I leave the room. With each step I take, my body wakes up a little more. Fully back to normal by the time I walk through the door, my limbs feel loose.

That is until I come face to face with Errol. Suddenly it feels like I’ve been electrocuted and I’m going into rigor mortis. Standing with his back to me, he looks down at the coffee pot as dark liquid slowly drips into it. I’m not in the mood to deal with him, so I turn to leave.

“Hello Farrah,” he says, his gaze still focused on the coffee.

Having now been acknowledged, I decide to walk the rest of the way into the space.

“Hello.” I try and fail at sounding cordial. “How did you know it was me?”

He turns to face me, a half smile hanging off his face as he takes me in.

“No one makes as much noise as you do with those things on.” Gesturing to my feet, his problem with my heels has surfaced again.

I raise an eyebrow in annoyance while looking up at him.

“Why do you care so much about my shoes?” Opening the box of blueberry tea I brought with me, I grab a packet as I wait for him to answer.

“I just don’t get why you wear them.” He crosses his arms. “They are a painful man-made invention that women shouldn’t have to wear to be professional or sexy. As a feminist, I just believe—”

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