Page 19 of Out of the Gold

I pluck the rubber band on my wrist. “They need to be treated like they’re normal people. Sure, it’s their faces on the posters for the movie, but without us, where would they be?”

The men laugh at something being said and continue walking across the room. Everywhere they go, people let them pass as if they were some sort of royalty.

“You have a point. Chase is just an asshole older brother, and Mark’s the biggest player there is.”

The actors keep coming our way. I whisper, “What the hell? It seems like they’re heading to us. Why?”

“Dunno. Maybe Chase wants to talk with you about his costume?”

I consider her words for a moment. “Doubt it. Besides, we have two hours together in the morning to discuss it,” I whisper back.

Stopping right in front of us, Chase says, “Hey, Melody. Sophia.”

Oh for goodness’ sake. What do these two want? I tilt my head upward, lick my suddenly parched lips, and fiddle with my hoop earrings. Sophia gives the men the once-over, but not in a good way. Hint, much?

When they remain in front of us, Sophia mutters, “Hi, Char—Chase.”

Chase offers us his megawatt smile, which causes an unwanted thrill to race through my body. In disgust, I focus on the floor. His voice enters the awkward breach. “Sophia, this is Mark Ivan. Melody, I believe you’ve already met Mark.”

As if we both don’t know who his co-star is. Mark launches into a commentary on how nice the club is. Then he jumps into a soliloquy about Amalfi. Gotta hand it to him, he is a one-man show—neither Sophia nor I need to do much more than nod. Chase is quiet, too. For once.

After a while of Mark’s rambling, Chase shakes his head. “It was nice seeing you, but I have an early call time.” His piercing blue eyes land on me, but I school my features to remain neutral. “See you at six.” He grabs Mark and the two leave us.

I watch the pair as they exit the club. “Well, that was weird,” I remark.

“Totally,” she replies. “What do you think that was about?”

“No clue. But they’re actors. Who knows what motivates them?”

“You’re certainly right about that, Mel. Other than what the writers tell them.” We both giggle. “Are you ready to head back?”

“Yeah.” We say our goodbyes to our friends and retrace our steps to our hotel. Given the small size of the town and its hotel capacity, everyone in the movie is scattered in various locations. Sophia and I are in a delightful spot right across from the water. We walk along the marina on our way back.

As we tread through the cobblestone sidewalks, Sophia muses, “Why would they come over to us like that, Mel? What was Mark’s deal talking about Amalfi?”

“As I said, I have no idea. But who cares? We don’t have to be friends with them, we only have to work with them. And pray the Doctor Manipul8 costume holds up for the rest of the shoot.”

“Amen, sister.”

I’m also praying that any wayward tingles the man inside the suit evoked were merely the result of a Cosmo on an empty stomach.

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