Page 26 of Fa-La La-La Land
14. Get a tattoo that means something (not just because it’s cute).
15. Road-trip with friends—no GPS, no agenda.
16. Swim in every ocean that’s not freezing (Atlantic, Pacific, Indian).
17. Live in an amazing apartment, by myself, in a big city
18. Try something completely ridiculous and dangerous (skydiving? base jumping? TBD).
19. Help Mom finally take that trip to Italy she’s been putting off.
20. Enter a pie-eating contest (and win).
21. Successfully make pasta as good as Mom’s.
22. Spend a whole day without looking at my phone.
23. Have a kiss that stops the world.
24. Own a houseplant that survives more than three weeks.
25. Crowd surf at a concert.
26. See my company’s name on something real—billboard, bag, whatever.
27. Say “yes” to something that terrifies me.
28. Say “no” to something that doesn’t feel right.
29. Make someone else’s bucket-list dream come true.
30. Make exceptions.
Chapter Nine
Rhys
When I leave Stella’s—it’s not really my pool house anymore; she’s made it hers—the only thing on my mind is her list.
The best thing acting ever taught me was memorization, so despite what I told her to ease the embarrassment, I didn’t need to study her 30 Before 30 for long to have it locked in my head. A few points in particular stood out.
Number one—she’s determined not to fall in love before she’s thirty. Interesting. I wanna know more about that. The why behind it. Heartbreak? Ambition? Maybe both. The contrarian in me can’t help seeing it as a challenge. Or maybe it’s because there’s a lot about Stella I like.
Then there are the things I could help her cross off. Those are the goals that really caught my attention. I can’t even think about the skinny dipping one without grinning like an idiot. So I focus on the others—kiss a rock starandkiss underwater.
I happen to be a rock star. With a very nice swimming pool. Perfect for underwater kissing. (And skinny dipping—but I’m not going there. Yet.)
I know exactly the scene she meant fromRomeo & Juliet.I watched it a dozen times before auditioning for a local production back in Australia when I was a teenager.
What I’d like most, though, is to stop the world for Stella with one kiss.
As I walk inside, I’m smiling just thinking about kissing Stella like that. Really smiling—for the first time in months. Not only because of the list, but because I had a genuinely good time with Stella, decorating for Christmas in October. The absurdity of it still makes me laugh.
Truthfully, I think I’ve been smiling since I walked into her North Pole remake, even with my stupid song blasting. Maybe not on the outside at first, but something in me warmed up listening to her talk about Christmases in Paradise. The Yulefest, the month-long celebration her sister-in-law Hope puts on—it all sounded so…innocent and full of joy.
I’ve spent every Christmas for the last decade in LA—sometimes with my parents, sometimes with mates, sometimes with a performance or concert to do. Rarely with the kind of magic Stella described. And never with snow.
December’s summer back home, so a white Christmas has always been a bit of a fantasy for me, even after moving here. Usually, whether in Australia or LA, I spend the day surfing and having a cookout on the beach. Even beforeSurf City,Dex, Archie, Frankie, and I spent a few Christmases on Burleigh Beach. Since moving here, it’s been South Bay or Malibu.
