Page 87 of Absolute Certainty
“There are a few things I can’t guess,” he said finally, his voice low with gravel.
Jay and Sahar stood so close together that onlookers would surely mistake them for a couple. All she had to do was move a fraction, and her shoulder would be touching his.
Something had shifted.
A warmth stretched between them.
Their gazes locked.
He was staring. So was she.
“Like what?” Sahar asked.
He inhaled, eyes narrowing in thought. She heard the engine of a car approaching, shifting both their attention off each other and onto his open phone.
Blowing out an exhale, he veered toward the silver Kia Odyssey. Jay opened the door for her, guiding her inside with his hand at the small of her back. The goosebumps, the butterflies—every ember inside of her came alive. Again and again and again.
Her burning question was left lingering in the air as they mostly sat in silence inside the Uber. Everything else would come later.Maybe.
Midway through the film,she realized that the random chap beside her kept leering at her. It was discomforting, so she readjusted her position, scooting closer to Jay.
Catching her movement, he quickly averted his gaze from the screen and noticed what had been happening. He eyed the man, explicit irritation coating his glare, and dropped his hand possessively to Sahar’s knee. The chap’s head immediately swerved toward the film.
Encouraged by their slight predicament, she took it one step further, placing her hand atop his and sliding her thumb across his knuckles. Jay looked down, then back up at her. Their eyes locked again. An inhale, an exhale. He smiled, scattering warmth and comfort all over her.
She smiled back, then turned toward the screen.
At the after-party held at the Bill Hotel across from the theatre, Jay’s hand remained stabilized at the small of her back. He’d spotted his friend, Pete, the director, first and wanted to introduce Sahar to him.
“Jay!” Pete bellowed. He was a cheery man, perhaps somewhere in his early forties.
The two of them clapped each other affably on the shoulder.
“Man, I’m so proud of you. You’ve done such an unforgettable job with this one,” Jay declared. And then he turned, introducing Pete to Sahar. “This is Sahar; she’s the sole reason I haven’t lost my damn mind with my latest project. Sahar, Peter. Pete and I are old friends from undergrad. He was also one of the executive producers ofCuts.”
Sahar’s eyes lit up at the mention ofCuts.She’d think back on how fondly Jay introduced her later. Pete reached for her hand, shaking it with a hearty grip. “It’s so nice to meet you. And Jay’s right. The film is so very lovely. You should be so proud!”
He held his hand to his chest. “Ah, shit.You two. Thank you. And it’s so nice to meet you, Sahar. You look so familiar.” He eyed her as though he were attempting to figure out how.
“Sheisa Tony-nominated star whose face is on buses around the city,” Jay said.
Pete’s eyes widened, putting two and two together. “Midnights at Pemberley!”he declared.
Sahar blushed, giving him a closed-mouth smile. “Yeah.”
“With Sam,” Pete added, looking around the small, reserved ballroom that had been crowded with people. “My wife and I came to one of the pre-shows.”
“The very one, yeah. Did you?”
“We’d been in such a hurry that day, we couldn’t stick around. Otherwise, I would’ve made Sam introduce me to everyone there. But thank you so much for coming tonight. It means so much to me,” he said. “Bothof you.”
Sahar smiled. Jay gave him another pat on the shoulder. “Proud of you, man.”
When Pete walked away to talk to someone else, Sahar turned back to Jay. “Well, he was a delight.”
“He’s such a good guy,” Jay confirmed. “And he’s been working so hard for so many years. He deserves all the attention for this movie.”
“It was phenomenal. And that ending? Youknowwhat made it so special, don’t you, Jay?”
