Page 15 of The Stars Over Hollywood

Tracy put her back to the sun as she watched Hayden try to pop up from the surfboard for the first time, her wetsuit covered in sand.

Hayden landed on her feet, but she’d made normal mistakes for a beginner, using her knees rather than her arms to get off the board.

“That felt really clunky,” Hayden said, a few strands of hair slipping from her messy bun as she held out her arms to balance herself.

“And it will for a while. That’s why we’re out here on the sand.” Tracy got down on her board and talked her through what she needed to improve on. “See how I used my arms? That’s where we need to get to. When you’ve got it down on the sand, we’ll jump right in and get you catching some real waves.”

“Yeah? That soon?”

Tracy nodded, motioning for Hayden to give it another try. “Once you have the basics down, it’s better to get out there before you start overthinking it.”

They’d spent almost two hours together this afternoon, going through all the health and safety before doing some warm up exercises and learning how to paddle.

“Better,” Tracy said as Hayden looked smoother this time as she popped up. “Do another one like that and try to position your feet a little more like this,” Tracy said, showing her the proper stance, pointing down to her back foot. “Then you’ll have it.”

They spent another fifteen minutes getting Hayden to nail her pop up and get the position of her feet down.

“Tired?” Tracy asked with a smile.

“Exhausted, and that’s before even getting in the water.”

“That’s normal. It’s all new. When we have our next lesson, you’ll be out in the water, and the adrenaline will take over. I know today was long and a bit monotonous, but it’s crucial to get the fundamentals down. You don’t want to get out there without having the pop up down. And you do. Today was good.”

“Thanks,” Hayden said with what sounded like a happy sigh. “And thanks for doing this on such short notice. I have that audition I was telling you about in Spain tomorrow, and I’m driving myself crazy with it. I thought something like this might help me use some of that nervous energy and take my mind off tomorrow.”

“No problem. And did it?” Tracy asked, bending to pick up her board and tuck it under her arm.

“Yeah. It really did. I feel tired, but in a good way. Like I might actually sleep tonight, even if I’ve never been this nervous the night before an audition.”

“Will you let me know how it goes?”

“Yeah.” Hayden glanced over at her as their feet sunk in the sand, a smile curving her lips, almost as if she was surprised that Tracy had asked.

After they got their boards put away and Tracy introduced her to a few members of her team, Hayden got out of her wetsuit. “I think I’m going to go for a swim while I’m here and dressed for it,” she said looking down at her bikini.

“Mind if I join you?” Tracy asked. “I’m rarely out there without a board. And it’s going to be a little chilly,” she said. “That’s why I suggested the wetsuit in case we got out there today.”

“No. I know. But I think I need it. I live so close to the ocean, and I never seem to make the time to actually go swimming. I feel like I could do with a mental test like that. Pushing through. For tomorrow, I mean.”

Tracy never liked to give acting advice, because she had so little experience, but as they strode through the sand, she tried to reassure Hayden. “Just be yourself tomorrow. Don’t let the size of the role change anything. There’s a reason you’ve gotten every part that you have so far. You did something that caught the attention of the casting director.”

They reached the tide, letting it wash over their feet as they kept walking.

“Yeah. I know I’m overthinking it.” Hayden sucked in a breath as a wave crashed into her legs. “Maybe that is cold.”

Tracy kept going, knowing that if she stopped walking, she’d get too cold. “Come on. Once you get in, you won’t feel it.” She took another few steps before diving in, moving her hands through the water as she came to the surface, another wave crashing into her as she stood up.

She pushed her hair away from her face, unable to miss the way Hayden was looking at her, as if she was starstruck almost, but Tracy knew that wasn’t the case, so…

Tracy looked away before Hayden could see that Tracy had noticed, but she couldn’t unsee it.

Hayden had looked at her with lust. There was no other way to describe it. Some mixture of lust and awe.

Tracy shook that thought away. Maybe that was entirely innocent, and maybe Hayden was just admiring her figure. Maybe Tracy wanted Hayden to look at her like that, and maybe she really did need to put herself out there again and think about dating if this was where her mind was going.

A wave came out of nowhere, barreling into her, nearly knocking her off her feet, bringing her back to her senses and forgetting all about what she thought she saw.

Hayden had jumped the wave, diving in after it had gone by and swimming out a little further.

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