Page 17 of The Stars Over Hollywood

“And this is just a few minutes away from your surf school,” Hayden said, turning to meet Tracy’s eyes.

“Yeah. There’s that too.”

“Oh, I meant to ask you,” Hayden said, her cheeks burning as she remembered waking up in the middle of the night last night with this thought. “I never paid you for that lesson or the next one. How does it work? Do you want me to book ten or twelve with you and pay in advance?”

Hayden didn’t really have the money for surfing lessons, but Lara had raved about them, so she just figured she could cut down on eating out for a few weeks. She had some savings she could use if she had to.

Tracy’s eyebrows furrowed. “Lara told me she’d pick up the tab if you ever started taking lessons.”

“What?”

“Yeah. She said it on maybe her second or third lesson. She’d said you wanted to join her, but your schedule was too busy at the time. Probably when you were right in the middle of filming. So, she said, if you ever found the time, to send her the bill. Is that okay?”

Hayden looked out across the ocean, the sky a beautiful canvas of pinks and purples. “Yeah. I had no idea.”

“You two are close though, right?”

“I’d call her my best friend, but she’s also my agent, so it is a little tricky at times. More so because we’re getting to the point now where we both would have thought that I’d have achieve more, if that makes sense?”

“But you’re confident about today?”

“Yes.” Hayden breathed in the salty sea air. “Yeah. I’ve honestly never walked out of an audition feeling like that, like I couldn’t have possibly done anymore. It clicked. It felt like I was meant for that role.”

“Did they say how long it would be before you heard back?”

Hayden exhaled. “Soon. Some day this week. They’re anxious to get started, and since it’s a smaller production, there’s more control, you know, less hoops to jump through. So, it makes it even more… Stressful isn’t the right word. But knowing that I’ll find out any day this week has me on edge. In a good way.”

“Tell me about the show or the part you auditioned for.” Tracy motioned towards the loungers. “And we can watch the sunset.”

Tracy went inside to get them something to drink, coming back with non-alcoholic cocktails when Hayden said she didn’t mind what she had, and Hayden told her what she knew about the show and her potential character with the sounds of the waves hitting the shore beneath them and the sunlight fading until the string lights hanging from the railing came on.

Hayden already knew that she was attracted to Tracy, but it was getting harder and harder to ignore now that she was comfortable with who she was. Thankfully, her crush on Charlotte had been fleeting, because that would have been extremely awkward, but this almost magnetic pull she felt with Tracy was safe.

Hayden didn’t think she had a chance with her, and it was just so easy to be around her, that Hayden could accept the friendship that was growing between them without feeling like she was missing out on anything more.

11

Tracy came back outside with a blanket, pushing the lounge chairs together while Hayden was on the phone, pacing the other side of the deck. She didn’t want to eavesdrop, but there was a lot of silence on Hayden’s part, and for some reason, Tracy’s senses were heightened, sure that there was bad news on the other end of the phone.

Tracy was about to slip back inside when Hayden put her phone in her back pocket of her jeans, gripping the railing with both hands as if she might fall over.

Tracy strode over, ready to pull Hayden into a hug, almost certain that someone had died, but Hayden raked a hand through her hair, an infectious grin on her lips.

“I got it,” Hayden said, her eyes almost sparkling in the dim light. “I got the part.”

“What?”

It took Tracy a second to register that there was nothing to worry about, and she didn’t think. She just wrapped her arms around Hayden’s waist and lifted her off the ground, spinning her with Hayden’s hand on her neck, their bodies pressed together until Tracy put her down.

Tracy wanted to congratulate her, to tell her how happy she was for her, but when Hayden’s feet hit the wood, they were still standing so close together, Hayden beaming with excitement and probably relief too.

Neither of them spoke, and their eyes locked in an intense daze, both of them smiling, and before Tracy even know what happened, Hayden’s warm hand was on her cheek, bringing their lips together.

Tracy sighed into the kiss, too stunned to think or move, her hands still resting on Hayden’s hips as their lips parted, and Tracy kissed her back, the sensation of being wanted, of having someone’s body pressed against her own, their lips craving hers so foreign to her at this point in her life that all she could do was give in and match that passion no matter how surprising this situation was.

Hayden’s fingers were splayed across her cheek, her lips hungrily kissing Tracy, and both of them moaned when their tongues met for the first time, a wave of heat and desire washing over Tracy, still unwilling to process why this was happening, too caught up in the moment to allow herself to question it.

Tracy’s hand slid higher, up along Hayden’s ribs, staying outside her shirt, gripping the fabric as they deepened the kiss. When Hayden’s fingers grazed her scalp, combing through her hair, Tracy could feel it everywhere, her skin tingling.

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