Page 88 of Lights, Camera, Love

‘Austin,’ I say, swallowing the morning frog in my throat. ‘Sorry, I’m … I’m still catching up on sleep after all those long days on set.’

‘It’s all good, honey. I’ll wait for you out here.’ He wanders back in the direction of the living room, andMum shoots me a playful eyeroll—she’s going to have to entertain him while I get dressed.

I throw on a white hoodie and a pair of grey sweatpants, brush my teeth and hair, and pad into the living room. Austin sits perched on one of the kitchen stools, nursing a cup of tea. Mum is leaning towards him from the opposite side of the counter, her face glowing with the smile that got her cast inSandy Street.

I guess entertaining Austin Reynolds isn’t such a hardship after all.

What the heck is he even doing here?

‘Sorry that I haven’t gotten in touch until now,’ he mumbles when I slide onto the stool beside his. ‘I’ve been laying low.’

‘That’s okay.’ I school my features to stay neutral. Austin doesn’t need to know that I watched the video of him humping his own fist yesterday. His clenched orgasm face pops into my vision, and I shove it back out.

I toss Mum a look that says something like, ‘Privacy, please?’ She mutters something about a dress she needs to order and disappears into the spare bedroom.

Austin blinks down at his tea for a long moment, then looks back at me. ‘Can I ask you a question, Evie?’

‘Sure.’

He pauses, and all the blood drains from his face. ‘Are you and Kye together?’

I inhale a sharp breath.Honestly.I’m so tired of feeling caught in the middle of these two guys. So, this is why he turned up at my apartment unannounced?

‘Apart from work and stuff like that, he’s not really talking to me,’ Austin goes on, ‘and I … I need to know. Are you two …’ His voice trails off.

‘Austin,’ I begin with a weighty sigh, ‘I think you and I need to have a talk.’

His face tenses with an expression I can’t figure out the meaning of, so I keep going.

‘I think you’re an amazing guy,’ I offer gently. ‘And I’d really like to have you as a friend.’ I pause so he can let that last word sink in.

A small smile shadows his lips. ‘I’d love to have you as a friend, too. You’re an awesome bird.’

After I’ve gotten over that last word, I carefully ask, ‘So then … why do you seem so funny about me and Kye being together? Why does it make you so upset? Unless it’s because you see me as more than a friend—’

‘I don’t.’ He laces his fingers behind his head, his chest expanding with a tightly held breath. ‘That’s not it.’

Austin’s tortured voice, his restless body language, the complete change in his demeanour whenever Kye’s name comes up … out of nowhere, it slots into place like a puzzle piece I didn’t know was missing.

‘It’s not me you want,’ I realise in a breath. ‘You don’t want me, you want …Kye.’

‘No, I—I’m … I don’t know.’ He bows his head, but the anguish smothering his voice tells a different story to the answer he just gave me. It’s clear what—who—he wants.

I don’t push him to say any more. He doesn’t have to tell me anything he’s not comfortable with. But he looks so torn up right now, and I can only guess that he turned up here today because he thought I might be able to help with whatever he’s going through.

‘Austin, I don’t know what to say here,’ I admit helplessly.

He grips his brow, his fingers quivering against his blond curls. ‘You don’t have to say anything, darlin’. I’m just … I don’t know; he’s got my head all messed up.’

‘Yours, too?’ I half-joke, smiling softly. I’m trying to lighten the atmosphere, but I feel as if I’m driving in the dark without a map.

His gaze tilts to mine. ‘How fuckin’ infuriating is that man.’

I smile. ‘He’s definitely a one-of-a-kind. You know, I’ve noticed that after he puts on his shoes for my lessons, he won’t set foot onto the studio floor unless his shoelaces are of equal length. He’ll go back out into the hallway and try again if they’re not.’ I’m bringing up random stuff now to keep the mood buoyed.

A chuckle tumbles off Austin’s lips. ‘Oh yeah. He’s been doing that one for years. I was late seeing the newStar Warsmovie with him once because of his damn shoelaces.’

I laugh. ‘When we were filming at the farm, I noticed him heating up his boiled eggs in a glass of hot water before he peeled and ate them. Who does that?’

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