Page 39 of Take It Till You Make It
With a smirk, I rush into my room to get my hoodie and purse. I don’t think my mom has blinked since Crispin walked into the house.
When I come back out, they are both laughing. “What’s so funny?”
Crispin pauses a beat, waiting for my mom to answer. When she doesn’t, he explains. “We’re laughing that on set, you look thirteen and I look seventeen, but in the wild, we look our actual age.”
“Ah, yes. I love looking thirteen again.” Then I tilt my head and examine him. “That’s what’s different about you. You are just you.”
“I’m different?”
I nod. “Yeah, something is.” In no world will I admit how attractive I find him like this. He may not be the arrogant jerk I originally thought, but he still doesn’t need his ego stroked.
He looks down at the jacket clutched in my hand. “You ready?”
I nod and go to Mom to kiss her on the cheek. I lower my voice so only she hears me. “You can leave your dishes if you want. I’m happy to do them when I get home.”
“Have fun.” She pats my hand.
When I turn back, Crispin has his hands in the air as he steps from foot to foot while Queen Brie weaves around him. I freeze. “Wow, she never even shows herself to strangers.”
He’s still acting like the floor is hot lava. “I’m allergic.”
“Oh! Go on, Queenie. Shoo.” I wave my hands and rush at her. She saunters away with her nose and tail in the air, but it’s enough to free Crispin. “Sorry about that. They always seem to know, don’t they?”
“Every time.”
“See ya, Mom.”
Crispin holds the door for me and says goodbye to Mom before closing it behind him, so I jog down the stairs in front of him, feeling oddly awkward. Since I have no clue where he parked, I have to wait for him at the bottom and fall in step beside him. I’m hyper aware of the difference in our height as I practically run to keep up with him.
“Have you had a chance to do many tourist-y things since you got here?” he asks.
“No. The most tourist-y thing I get is to sit on the beach to watch the sunset.”
He groans. “Oh man, I would do that every day if I lived across the street from the beach.”
“Where do you live?”
“Studio City.” At my quizzical look, he adds. “Inland.”
“You should move to the beach if you like it so much.”
He sighs. “What am I kidding? I’m always working when the sun sets. I’d never get to see it anyway.”
“Is that what I have to look forward to after I turn eighteen? Long days? Being overworked? I love my schedule now.”
“When’s your birthday?”
“In a month and a half.”
“I’m not sure they’ll take advantage on this film. We’ll be so close to finishing up by then. But your next director will for sure.”
I laugh. “My next director?”
“Yeah. On your next film.” Crispin opens the passenger door of his gorgeous black sports car for me to slide inside.
“Who says there will be another film?”
“Huh.” He closes the door, talking again as soon as he opens his own. “I just assumed this was a career path you’ve chosen.”
