Page 21 of The Stars Over Hollywood

“Oh,” Lara said, bumping her hip. “That didn’t take long. You’re trending.”

“Why?” Hayden asked as she saw all of the alerts and mentions waiting for her on just about every social media app.

“Not only are you joining a cast of well-established actors for a new sci-fi drama,” Lara said, reading from her phone, “But you’re also getting lessons from a renowned surfing instructor, because a biopic is in the works—”

Hayden struggled to read through the comments that were flying in while Lara read some headline, her eyes drawn to the photo of Tracy and her on the beach, walking towards the shore, surfboards tucked under their arms.

Charlotte wiped a hand across her face. “Lara, what did you do?”

Ada looked up at them from where she was sitting. “Did you fund this project or something, Lara? I’ve never seen someone work so hard to find an actress for a movie. Seriously. Me, then Charlotte, then Tracy, and now you’re feeding the press this rumor judging by the look of absolute disbelief on Hayden’s face?”

Charlotte pushed herself off the couch, holding out her phone to show Lara what she was reading before she could answer Ada. Then Charlotte looked at Tracy. “I assume this isn’t true.”

Hayden felt as shocked and disorientated as Tracy looked.

Lara exhaled. “Look, this might not have been the best way to get the idea of Tracy and Hayden taking this movie on together out there, but it’s fucking genius. I drove down to the beach to see how Hayden was doing with her lessons, and once I saw it, I couldn’t unsee it. It’s not that you two look alike, it was just… Seeing you side by side, walking along the sand. Tracy was always perfect for the part, but Hayden? If this movie was split into her early surfing career, you would be the woman for it. And that would take the pressure of Tracy. It wouldn’t even have to be a fifty-fifty split. They only wanted one actress, but two is so much better. I know if the studio sees this—”

Tracy didn’t say anything. She just grabbed her bag and left the room while Lara was mid-sentence, the door slamming in the distance.

Hayden shook her head in disbelief. “Lara…” She didn’t even know what to say. Lara wouldn’t know what Tracy had told her about why she’d stopped acting, but Lara had asked Tracy about this movie months ago, and she’d declined. Hayden remembered how disappointed Lara had been, but she should have left it at that.

Charlotte sighed. “Lara, what is the story with this movie? I told you to drop it when it came to trying to get Tracy involved.”

Lara pressed her lips together. “Fuck it.” She blew out a breath. “I told her I wouldn’t let anyone know, but if it’s just you guys… It’s Kerri’s screenplay.”

Charlotte groaned and Ada’s mouth fell open.

Lara put her phone away, her hands on her hips now. “And she wrote it when I met Tracy for the first-time last year, after you all reconnected, and she found out what Tracy was doing now. Right around that time, she heard about this story and read everything she could about this woman and her historic career, and that’s when Kerri started writing the script, completely inspired. And she wrote it with Tracy in mind.”

“When is she going to stop doing that?” Charlotte asked. “Writing parts for her friends. It just doesn’t work.”

“I wanted to say yes,” Ada said softly. “For Dreaming of Home. It was just bad timing.”

“I should go,” Hayden said, her mind all over the place. “Thank you, for this evening.” Lara had the right intentions; she just had no idea that pushing Tracy and blindsiding her like that was not the way to go. Hayden felt a little betrayed too, but she’d deal with that another day.

Hayden said her goodbyes, and then she was driving to Tracy’s, hoping that she wasn’t too upset, but her photo was out there, all over the internet, and Hayden needed to tell her that this was Kerri’s screenplay.

Hayden didn’t want to defend Lara completely, because what she did was wrong, but that bit of information did add some context to her almost desperation to get Tracy involved.

15

Tracy was unlocking her door when she heard a car pull up behind hers, blocking her in. She was about to tell them to keep going, that they couldn’t park there, but it was Hayden who got out of the car. In the dark, Tracy hadn’t recognized it.

Tracy had taken the longer way home, needing the drive to calm herself down, because she knew as soon as she got home, she’d scroll through social media, and there would undoubtedly be comments about her and her acting history, about whether she was still relevant, maybe even rumors about the two of them dating.

And Tracy planned on putting that off for as long as she possibly could.

She pushed open her front door, flicking on some lights, and Hayden was there, hovering in the doorway.

“Can I come in?” Hayden asked.

“To apologize?”

Hayden arched an eyebrow. “Well, I’m not sure that I have a reason to apologize, unless you mean for getting you mixed up in all this, but even then… I didn’t have anything to do with it.”

Tracy searched her eyes. They were still standing in the doorway, her heart pounding in her ears. “You’re telling me that you didn’t ask me for surfing lessons so you could do this movie?”

Hayden’s mouth fell open. “What? Are you being serious? No! No. Why would I do that? I had no idea… Can I come in?” Hayden asked, lowering her voice and looking around her, but there was no one walking by.

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