Page 43 of Say Yes to the Nemesis
“Sounds lonely,” I tell him.
That finally gets his attention. He looks up. “It’s not. It’s actually very relaxing. I get a massage and everything.”
“All right. Well, if you don’t need me…”
He waves a hand. “We’re back on call Monday morning. I don’t expect to hear from anyone until then.”
I stand up in the production office and make my way out toward the house set. Rich’s idea does appeal to me, but there’s something more important right now.
Wren pops into my head. The way she looked at me after I kissed her the other night… That image is burned into my brain. This whole show is going to drive me insane.
I’ll never stop remembering the way her lips curved up as she challenged me.“You think I’m the only one who enjoys this?”
I shudder. Wren avoided me all day yesterday. During the horseback riding excursion, she was radio silent. We had a group movie night in the common room and she sat behind a couch on the floor. When I called her name, she flinched.
What I did to deserve that? I don’t know. Okay, yeah, I teased her about being a virgin. But I didn’t know I was crossing a line. It was just a joke. I didn’t mean to hit a nerve, but apparently I did.
It was a joke. A dumb, careless joke. I didn’t know it would hit like that. I didn’t know it would hollow her out from the inside. Now I can’t stop replaying Wren’s face as she walked away.
Maybe I could ignore it. Pretend I don’t care. Let her stew in it.
That’s what I’ve always done. Shut the door before someone else can slam it first. But she didn’t even slam the door. She disappeared through it like I didn’t matter. Like I didn’t exist.
She wouldn’t even look at me at the catered early dinnerThe Last Kisshosted. I tried to talk to her. She set down a plate she’d been piling with salad and walked off the set.
Yikes.
Now she’s stuck in my head in a way that’s not even fun anymore. It’s just distracting, I guess. I don’t mind being the villain in her story, but not even appearing on the page? That’s unacceptable.
I spend a few minutes scrolling on my phone before I hit on exactly what I need. A local event on the other side of Atlanta. A little rinky-dink ice skating rink that pairs nighttime skating with overhead projections of constellations. It just so happens that tonight is “Stargazer Night.” Constellations and mythology and all that. I don’t think she’s into skating, but stars? Maybe.
I remember her rambling once about some Greek myth, eyes lit up like she was casting spells. I didn’t listen closely back then. I wish now that I would have.
I hope this little excursion is enough to act as an apology for what I said to make it weird between us.
When I knock on the door to the room she’s staying in, I find her alone. She’s stacking some books beside a backpack, so I assume she’s packing to head home. When I interrupt her, Wren looks up, then flushes.
“What do you want?” she asks. Not angry this time. Just flat. Without tone. “Haven’t you gotten your kicks out of tormenting me for the week?”
“What are you doing right now?” I ask instead of answering her question.
I glance around the room and purse my lips, thinking how it kind of sucks that the women are all bunking together like this.
“What am I doing?” she repeats. “Throwing some books into my bag so I can go home and not look at anyone.”
“Is your apartment fixed then?”
Wren fixes me with a look. “No. Jay said they found mold, so the apartment has to be completely stripped and renovated. Good timing, I guess, since I have to be here for the next month and a half.”
I tilt my head. “Well, rather than go home to your brother’s house, I think you should throw on some jeans and sneakers. Dress like you used to.”
Her eyes narrow. “Why? You gonna stop me from flirting with guys at bars again?”
God, she tries my patience. But this Wren, combative Wren, is better than the one who flinched when I said her name.
“You’ll see.”
She shakes her head and looks down. “This better not be a date, Haart. Are you dreaming? Because if not, we’re in reality, and we are not going on a fucking date. Now get ready.”
