Page 65 of Salacious Star

Huh. Wonder whose place he wants to take.

I didn't let myself get lost in my musing, though, instead walking over to Emmett and tapping him on the shoulder without saying anything. He looked up, an eyebrow arched, and I jerked my head towards the door of the set, indicating that I needed him to follow without saying a word.

"Need to talk to you," I mouthed.

His expression cleared and he nodded, standing and following me off the set. I wandered down to one of the dressing rooms and slipped in, closing the door behind us when Emmett followed so that we could talk without being interrupted.

"What's up, Xan? I didn't expect to see you here today." Emmett smiled at me, reaching up and scrubbing his hand over the scruff covering his jaw.

"I wasn't planning on being here today," I huffed. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and pulled up the email that Cole had sent rescinding the shoot, and I handed it over. "What the hell is this?"

Emmett furrowed his brow as he looked at my phone, but after a moment, his expression cleared. "Oh, that. Nothing important, I'm sure that Cole will have something different for you in the next few days."

He handed my phone back to me, looking at me with an open and honest expression, and it was only the fact that he didn't seem upset with my obvious attitude that gave me the courage to ask, "Okay, fine, butwhywas it rescheduled without warning? I...I don't get it."

Understanding dawned on Emmett's face, and he offered me a smile. "Tristan came and let Cole know about the situation regarding your relationship. We're all very happy for you, by the way." His eyes twinkled, and he winked. "Cole found someone else to take your place in that shoot until further arrangements can be worked regarding both of your schedules. That's all."

I stood there, a little stunned, and...yes, alotannoyed with my boyfriend.

"Oh, okay," I said through gritted teeth. "Well, in that case, I think that I'm annoyed with the wrong person, and I need to go and have a little chat with Tristan."

Emmett's brows pulled down, as if confused, but I was already nodding at him shortly and pushing my way out of the dressing room before he could say anything else.

I stormed out of the Studio Black building and slammed the driver's side door of my car a little harder than necessary when I climbed in, and it took everything in me not to callTristan as soon as I was out of earshot of anyone else to give him a piece of my mind.

No, no. He could have thehonorof seeing me in person when he heard how annoyed I was with him. And then he could grovel good and long before hefixedthis.

31

I stormed up to the front of Tristan's house with the same vigor and frustration floating around me like a cloud that I had when I'd walked up to the Studio Black building. Only this time I didn't have to worry about anyone seeing me and worrying that there was something going on, so when I pounded my fist on Tristan's front door and then stepped back, folding my arms over my chest with righteous indignation, the only person whose reaction I worried about was Tristan's.

Luckily - for him - he didn't leave me waiting on his porch long. Less than a minute passed after my rather rude pounding on his door before the lock clicked and the door swung open, and my mouth immediately went dry at the sight of my boyfriend, shirtless and a little wet, his curls hanging damp around his face as if he'd just gotten out of the shower.

"Xan, baby. I didn't know that you were coming over." He smiled widely at me and stepped to the side, clearly inviting me in, and I stormed in, refusing to let myself be distracted by how sinfullygoodhe looked wearing a pair of slow-slung black sweatpants and literally nothing else.

"Well, you should have, after the stunt that you pulled earlier today." I whirled around on my heel and glared, and Tristan looked at me with an odd expression as he closed his front door behind him and then faced me fully.

"What stunt?" he asked, his brows pulling together.

"The scheduling shit at work, Tris!" I burst out, unable to contain myself anymore. "Look, I know that we're...this." I gestured between the two of us with one finger frantically. "And I love it. And I love you. I'vetoldyou that. But you can't get in the way of me being scheduled at work. There has to be a line. I can't...I mean.Ourlivelihood can't be affected by what we are together. They rescheduled my shoot and I don't knowif and when I'm going to be getting work again. Emmett said that it's just temporary, but I don't know how it works in this industry. Maybe they'll stop scheduling me because I'm a little too difficult, or maybe they'll terminate my contract. God, maybe they'll terminatebothof our contracts, and it'll all be because you decided to put your stupid, pretty nose where it didn't belong..."

I knew that I was ranting and rambling, and Tristan's expression cleared as I continued, and then - to my fury - he chuckled softly before walking up to me and putting his hands on my shoulders. His touch immediately soothed me and shut me up, though I didn't want it to, and I glared at him so that he knew that no matter how unfairly sexy he was, I was stillmad.

"Xander," Tristan said, his voice patient. "I didn't tell Cole or any of the others that they couldn't schedule you."

That took the wind out of my sails, and I settled back, my shoulders relaxing under his grip. "Oh." I frowned as he nodded. "Then what did you tell them? Why did they reschedule my shoot?"

The smile that Tristan offered me was soft and sweet in that moment, inadvertently melting me from the inside out, no matter how strong I wanted to stand in the face of his charms. "I told them that we were dating, and that I was in love with you. And that we were exclusive, and that I didn't want you shooting with anybody else at the studio. Not just because I'm a difficult bastard who doesn't want to work with other people, but because the idea of anyone else having their hands on you makes me want to go on a rampage through the studio and destroy everything that we've all built."

He looked at me meaningfully, and I took a moment before the true intention of his words settled in my mind, and in my heart. "So...you told them that you were jealous?" I asked, clarifying. "At the idea of me shooting with anyone else?"

"Like a teenage boy that just found out his girlfriend has to kiss someone else in the school play," Tristan confirmed, his smile bright. His hands rose from my shoulders until he was cupping my face, and he stepped close, his eyes the only thing that I could look at as he did so. "I'm not going to apologize for it, baby. And if it makes you feel better, I told them that I didn't want to shoot with anyone else, either."

I couldn't stop myself from snorting. "Okay, but how is that any different than how you operated beforehand?" I teased. "From what I understand, you've always been a difficult asshole, both on set and off."

He hummed, stopping even closer to me. Our chests brushed together as he did so, and he leaned forward to gently rub the tip of his nose over mine. "It isn't different, but now, you're the only one that gets to put up with my being difficult. Boyfriend privileges."

Warmth bloomed inside of me at his words, and it took everything inside of me to remember that I had stormed over here, upset with him for a very legitimate reason.

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