Page 51 of Stay for Me
“We’re going out to the tree house!” Hadley exclaims.
“That’s great. Listen, Sebastian, don’t let this girl have an inch or she’ll take a mile. Trust me, this goes for all women.”
I roll my eyes. “That’s not true, don’t listen to him.”
He squats in front of the two of them. “Are you practicing your lines?”
Sebastian nods. “Every day.”
“Good. You ready for tomorrow?”
“I really hope I get the part.”
Jacob doesn’t give him false hope. He doesn’t lie or offer promises. “Whoever does the best will be cast. I know you want the part, and no matter what part you get, I know that you’ll try your best, right?”
“You mean if it’s not what I audition for?”
“Not every actor is meant for the role they want. Sometimes, we have to do whatever we’re asked in order to improve and grow. Like the role I took in that crappy movie you watched.”
Sebastian’s eyes grow wide. “You did that to learn? I thought maybe you were just broke.”
Jacob laughs once. “I was that too, but I learned a lot about disappointment because I auditioned for the lead and didn’t get it. I could’ve been angry and said screw it, but I didn’t, and guess what?”
“What?” Hadley asks, as interested as Sebastian.
“The director of that crappy movie was Noah Frazier.”
Sebastian’s eyes widen. “You mean the same Noah Frazier who madeNavigator?”
“The same one, and do you know why I probably got that part?”
He shakes his head.
Jacob grins. “Because I didn’t complain once. I worked harder than any actor on set. I was there, even when it wasn’t my day to shoot, so I could learn more, and Noah noticed. Never underestimate the value in working hard when no one is looking.”
Hadley sighs heavily. “Come on, Sebastian, Uncle Jake isn’t making sense. No one wants to work when no one is looking.”
Ellie groans and looks heavenward. “You guys go and work on Sebastian’s lines while I pretend you didn’t say that.”
What he just said makes me want to weep. He taught Sebastian a lesson that I hope he takes with him. I know he’s only eleven, but that advice is gold no matter how old you are. My son may never be an actor, but he’ll have to work at anything he wants to do in life.
The two kids rush off, the screen door slamming behind them.
I hear the scrape of the chair as Ellie stands so she can kiss his cheek. “I didn’t know you were coming today.”
“It’s your night to feed me.”
“You need to learn to cook.”
“I have no running water, and you want me to cook in that thing?”
I let out a little giggle at the sound of exasperation in his voice.
Jacob’s gaze finds mine, and that tingly feeling rushes over me. My breathing grows a bit labored as I wonder what it would be like to kiss him, to give into the want that is growing each time I see him. I imagine the way his hands would feel on my body, those soulful green eyes watching me touch him.
I swear he can see it all. It’s as though he can read every thought, desire, and need that is racing through my head.
I blame Cybil for these thoughts.
