Page 47 of The Love Rematch
“I do.”
In the following silence, Emily can practically hear her sister’s thoughts.It’s him I don’t trust.She sighs. “Love you, sis. I’ll call again as soon as I can.”
Twenty minutes after they hang up, Nina arrives with hair and makeup. Wardrobe is waiting at the group date location, which, as Emily discovers an hour later when they pull up in the sprinter van, is the famous Paramount Studios. By the time the guys arrive later that morning, she’s in a yellow wrap dress with leather booties. A series of thin bangles in silver, gold, and rose gold cover her wrists like cuffs, jingling every time she moves. Some are flat. Some are round. Some are laser cut like latticework, while others are strings of shapes. They’re big sellers in her shop because on the inside of each a single word is engraved—beautiful,strong,graceful,powerful,kind,generous,loved, and Emily’s personal favorite,enough. Sometimes, everyone needs a little reminder of their worth.
Today, though, she feels pretty confident as the guys line up before her.
“Welcome to Paramount Studios,” she tells them when Nina gives the signal. “It’s the only major studio still active in Hollywood, and one of the oldest studios in the world, so I thought it made the perfect stop for our second group date. Today, we’re—”
A piercing screech cuts her off.
The men jump.
Emily spins.
A black SUV careens around a corner, then shoots straight for her. There’s no time to run. No time to escape. Instead, she puts her hands out in front of her, as if that could possibly do something.
And it does.
The car stops dead, same as they practiced about a hundred times before the guys arrived. The front hood collapses under her palms when she puts a little pressure on the right spots. Then she throws her arms to the side and the car spins wildly across the studio lot. Heat warms her cheeks as the engine explodes, sending a wave of fire into the sky. A wicked grin takes over her face. She feels so badass, it’s insane.
The men gape as she dusts off her hands.
“Where was I?” she asks.
Then gunfirepop pop pops. Little dust clouds rise from the pavement, coming closer.
“On second thought, give me a moment.”
Emily strips off her wrap dress, revealing the silver-and-gold superhero costume hidden underneath—a leather corset with a miniskirt. Definitely not the most feminist, but Nina assured her she looked ridiculously hot, which come to think of it is also not the most feminist…but whatever. She feels powerful, and that’s all that matters.
Three bad guys in ski masks repel down the building at her back. Emily rushes over to meet them. They swap a few coordinated moves, and then the fun stuff begins. She kicks one in the chest and invisible strings launch him into the air, sending him flying. Then she grabs one of their guns and bends it in half before tossing it over to the guy’s feet. Another punch sends the second attacker into a brick wall, which crumbles as he falls through it. The third assailant rushes her. Emily still isn’t entirely sure how the stuntman pulls it off, even after practicing it so many times, but she sticks her arm out and he cartwheels in the air before landing “unconscious” at her feet.
End scene.
The suitors holler. Emily grins. Even the crew starts clapping, so she gives a little curtsy. When she lifts her head, her gaze goes to Jake before she can stop it. He’s there, next to Fred, practically beaming. A tingle warms her chest. They make eye contact and hold it for a second too long. Underneath all the malice, all the anger she can’t help but still feel, there’s kinship too, a shared history. All those hours Emily spent in front of his camera. All those hours she did homework on his bed while he edited shots at his computer. All those hours they watched movies and dreamed of seeing his name on the big screen. And now they’re here, in Paramount Studios, doing the dang thing.
No, she’s not an actress.
Yes, this is reality television.
Still, there’s shared disbelief.
We actually made it. We’re here.
It’s their first real moment of connection in seven years and it leaves her stunned. Emily stumbles back a step as her knees go weak. She looks away, turns back to her suitors. Fifteen perfectly eligible and notably handsome men watch her, waiting for their cue. She recovers and returns to script, telling them about the various scenes they’ll be filming for the group date. Her voice sounds airy and a bit weak, but hopefully, they’ll chalk it up to the moment.
For the rest of the afternoon, she tries her best to focus on the dates.
A half-naked Cooper dressed in nothing but fireman overalls rescues her from a burning building. It’s sexy. It’s hot. While he carries her in his arms, her rebellious gaze still darts toward Jake behind the camera. The furrow of concentration in his brow reminds her a little of the boy she used to know.
Ethan gets a spy role, and the end of his rescue involves the two of them jumping out of a window onto a massive inflatable cushion. While they’re hidden in the voluminous folds, he rolls on top of her and steals a kiss. By the time they pull apart, the camera is about two feet from their faces and the entire crew watches on. They laugh like two kids caught by their parents, but deep down, Emily actually feels a pang of guilt. It’s not fair. She’s doing nothing wrong. But the sight of Jake’s tight lips and clenched jaw twists her insides. He’s the only one on set who’s looking away.
Ben K. and Michael get superhero scenes similar to hers, but this time, Emily is the damsel in distress. While she waits for her rescue, she watches Jake from the corners of her eyes. He’s talking to some of the Paramount employees, hanging on their every word, his focus acute as they point to various places around the set. The yearning on his face makes her wonder what happened to him. He wanted to know why she left New York. Now she wants to know how he came all the way here, made it to Hollywood, but still gave up. Because he did. She sees that now. He settled into this reality TV role and stopped fighting for his dream.
Why?
The air feels different between them as she approaches him at the end of the day, same as she did at the end of the last group date. Instead of being contentious, the mood is almost somber, as if he’s also thinking about what was, what is, and how exactly they ended up in this twisted reality where nothing feels quite like it should.
