23. Twenty-Three

23

TWENTY-THREE

M ornings in Salem were the favorite part of my day. Sure, I liked the nights—I was spending all of them with Sam avoiding the main downtown area—but the mornings were quiet and peaceful.

I normally woke up, headed downstairs to workout with Jax, and then returned to my room to either shower or wake up Sam. We were still splitting our time between both rooms—it didn’t really matter since they were right across from one another—and we each had keycards to both.

Sam was still buried under the covers when I let myself into my room after a hard workout. I was careful when closing the door. They were heavy, so there was a decent amount of noise if I let it fall shut. She didn’t even stir at the click this morning, though.

I stood at the end of the bed and smiled at the lump. There was some blond hair poking out of the covers at the top, but her face was hidden. And, boy, did I love her face. It showed every emotion she was feeling. She’d been smiling a lot in the week since we’d gotten back from New York. Nobody—well, other than Daisy and Jax—knew we’d even left. That was sort of telling. The rest of the cast was going out regularly to drink and carouse. We were lost in each other, though.

I moved to the side of the bed so I could sit next to her and rummaged under the covers until I came up with her hand and pulled it out, my fingers tracing over her nails.

“What are you doing?” she mumbled. The covers stirred a bit but no face appeared.

“I was wondering if we had enough time for me to get another workout in,” I teased.

“No way.” Her head finally popped out from beneath the covers. “We have a big day of filming ahead of us. We can’t show up to set exhausted.”

“See, sex pumps up my juices and gives me more energy.”

“It makes me want to take a nap.”

“I’ve noticed.” I leaned in and pressed a kiss to her mouth. I didn’t care that she had morning breath … or bedhead … or would grunt and groan her way into the yoga pants she’d stripped out of the night before prior to crossing the hall to get ready. She was perfect however she was.

“Today is the day,” she said as she straightened and stretched. The covers fell, giving me a clear view of exactly why I should’ve skipped the gym this morning.

“Hmm?” I had to force my eyes up. She was watching me with narrow-eyed suspicion. “What did you say?” I asked, desperately searching my memory for something to save myself.

“Today is the day,” she repeated.

“What are we doing today?”

“Today is the day my character finds out your character is a vampire.”

“Ah, right.” I nodded. The scenes we were working on today were emotional. “That means tomorrow is naked day,” I realized aloud.

“Excuse me?” She huffed out a laugh. “Naked day?”

“Today we’re doing the big reveal. Tomorrow your character is falling into bed with me because, apparently, being a vampire is a turn-on.”

“How are you just figuring this out? Vampires have always been sexy.”

“Name one sexy vampire.”

“Um … Angel.”

“Who the hell is Angel?”

“From Buffy the Vampire Slayer .”

“Aren’t you a little old for that show’s demographic?”

“No way. I watched it when I was a kid. I didn’t get all the cool references in it until I watched it as an adult in preparation for this show, but I definitely watched it.”

“Interesting. Who played Angel?”

“David Boreanaz.”

“I can see that. What other vampire is sexy?”

She didn’t even have to think before she started rattling them off. “Louis in Interview With a Vampire , Eric in True Blood , Jerry in the Fright Night remake, Edward in Twilight .”

Slowly, I tracked my gaze back to her face. “Please tell me that sparkly vampires don’t do it for you.”

She laughed at my outrage. “In general, sparkly vampires would not be my preference. I find Robert Pattinson hot, though.”

“Really?” I folded my arms across my chest. “I’m way hotter than him.”

“We’ll have to see how you pull off the scenes today.”

“No, you’re not leaving this room until you say I’m hotter than Edward the punk.”

“When did that become the rule?”

I threw myself on her and started tickling, loving the way she squealed and squirmed.

“Edward is hot,” she insisted. “I don’t know what to tell you.”

“I’m not stopping until you tell the truth.”

We grappled for a few more seconds, things turning hot and sweaty, and when we were face to face, I lost my breath. The sweetest moments of my entire life had been spent with Sam. Everything she did made me adore her even more. That included the sparkly vampire admission. I would’ve been perfectly happy to hole up with her in this room forever.

That’s not reality, I reminded myself. I knew that, though. There was a timeclock on this relationship, and it was getting painful. I found myself coming up with ways to extend our time … including reshoots. What if the show wasn’t a success? What if I didn’t get the movie? I could always stay in Salem with Sam until I figured out my next move. Maybe I would be forced to stay on the show. Would that be so horrible?

That wasn’t the plan, my inner voice whispered. Why aren’t you sticking to the plan?

In truth, the plan didn’t sound as appealing as it had almost a month before. When I first arrived in Salem, I couldn’t wait to make my escape. Now, though, it was starting to feel like home.

I knew some of the people I saw on the street when getting coffee. I even waved and smiled at them. I knew the bartenders at the bars the locals frequented. More importantly, they knew me … and didn’t scowl when they saw me. The air was crisp. The houses Sam was so in love with, the ones that looked two hundred years old, were starting to be appealing.

I didn’t even recognize myself, and that was almost as frightening as admitting the truth. I was falling for Sam. Heck, I’d already fallen. Every day I was sliding more and more into bliss. This wasn’t the life for me, though. I wasn’t the sort of person who could be happy. I needed to stop falling and start thinking, because I would have some decisions to make … and sooner rather than later.

Perhaps sensing that I’d slipped into deep thoughts, Sam flopped back on the bed and studied my face. “Have you heard about your audition yet?”

I shook my head and pulled away from her. I needed to insert some distance between us, at least for a few minutes. Her pull, the need to be lost in her, became overwhelming sometimes. It was only when I was away from her that my mind cleared these days. It was only then that I could remember “the plan” and push myself to look at a future that didn’t include her.

“You shouldn’t get down on yourself,” she chided as she rolled out of bed and started rooting around on the floor for her clothes. “It hasn’t even been a full week.”

“In two days it will be.”

“Yeah, but sometimes it takes weeks for them to make decisions.” Sam’s expression was hard to read when she turned to me. “You know that. I have faith in you. You’re going to get it.”

That hurt more than the notion I wouldn’t get it. Because, if I did, filming was set to start within weeks. That had been made clear at the audition. At most, once the filming on Evermore was finished, I would have a week before I had to head to Nevada. Our first scenes on the movie were scheduled to be filmed in the desert.

“I’m not thinking about it too much,” I said. “I’ll know when I know.” I forced a smile for her benefit. “Today I’m focused on my secret coming out.”

“You have to wear the fangs.”

I frowned. “I hate the fangs.” So far, I’d only had to wear them for one scene. I’d taken out a man who had been following her character. He was going to try to force himself on her, but I stepped in and saved her. Sure, it was an overblown scene that was filled to the brim with cheesy angst, but I’d relished playing it out. I wanted to be the one keeping her safe.

“I can see where you would hate the fangs,” she acknowledged. “The first time you wore them they made you drool.”

“That was you.”

Her eyes went wide. “Oh, that was the corniest thing you’ve ever said.”

“And I stand by it. That was totally you.”

“Oh, whatever.” She burst out laughing. “You’re hilarious when you want to be.”

“Maybe I should try comedies.”

“You would be good in comedies.” She didn’t bother pulling on her shoes. “I need to hit the shower. Are you going downstairs for breakfast when you’re ready?”

She never came out and asked if I wanted to have breakfast with her. We ate together often, pretending all the while we weren’t sleeping with one another and instead just plotting out our scenes. It made for a cozy, if innocuous, scene. She always framed it around what I was doing, though.

“I am,” I confirmed. “I’m having breakfast with you.”

She broke out in a wide grin. “Then I’ll see you down there in thirty minutes.”

“You will.” I caught her for a kiss before she could leave. It would be my last chance to lay my lips on her until tonight. “I’ll see you in a few.”

“You will. I’ll be the one with toast crumbs on my face.”

“Just how I like you.” I gave her bottom a playful smack as she disappeared through the door. Then I stood there and stared in her wake. “What am I going to do?” I asked out loud. There was nobody there to answer. Even my pesky inner voice was nowhere to be found.

I was digging myself in deep. I couldn’t deny that. How was I ever going to get myself out?

HALF THE CAST WAS ON THE SPEAKEASY SET for the big reveal. It was a tentpole episode, meaning everybody was coming together for what would likely be the most memorable scene of the first season.

Sam’s plucky but naive heroine was about to find out that vampires were real … and it was going to rock her world. She was going to scream … and cry … and pretend she was horrified. Then, in the next episode, we were going to end up in bed together. That’s how it went with a soap opera I guess. Personally, I couldn’t decide if I was looking forward to the sex scenes or if I was dreading them. Pretending I wasn’t comfortable climbing on top of her would be the best bit of acting I’d done in a good long while.

We had to get through this first, though.

“Okay, Sam, you’re on the stool.” Miles pointed. “Bethany, you and Sylvia are arguing behind her. You both know something is wrong, but only Sylvia knows what that something is. You’re going at her because you know that she knows and you want her to tell you. Got it?”

Bethany skewered Miles with a disgusted glare. “I’ve got it. You don’t have to write it out in crayon or anything for me. I’m not Sylvia.”

I straightened. I was behind the bar. When the attack came for Sam’s character, the other vampire would shove between Bethany and Sylvia and go for Sam. I was to leap over the bar—I had wires attached—and rip out the other vampire’s throat. It was actually a fairly cool scene. Apparently, I’d missed something, though, because I hadn’t realized that Bethany and Sylvia were no longer getting along. That was obvious when looking at them, though.

“What’s going on here?” I asked Dexter in a low voice.

“Oh, you haven’t heard?” Dexter looked far too amused. “They’re sworn enemies now.”

“I thought they were friendly.”

“Oh, no.” Dexter shook his head, his smile growing wider. “They were friendly, until they found out both of them were sleeping with Ed.”

I shouldn’t have been surprised. I was, though. “Are you kidding me?”

“Nope.” Dexter was all smiles. “Ed took your challenge to heart, and he’s been romancing them both.”

“I want to hurt him so badly right now,” I gritted out.

“Personally, I’m surprised he didn’t go after Sam—she would’ve been a feather in his cap—but she’s not around enough for him to get his hooks into.” Dexter’s gaze was heavy when it landed on me, suggesting he knew exactly why Sam hadn’t been around. I didn’t acknowledge his curiosity. It wasn’t his business.

“How long has this been going on for?”

“Apparently, he started romancing both of them right after you picked a fight with him. They didn’t find out until two days ago, when he screwed up who he was texting and they both showed up to his room at the same time.”

I didn’t even know what to say. “I want to kill him,” I admitted. “How hard is it to have a modicum of respect for your co-workers?”

“Is that what you’re doing?” Dexter asked. “Having a ‘modicum of respect’ for Sam?”

I narrowed my eyes. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I lied.

“Really? So that wasn’t the two of you I saw over by the witch village three nights ago?”

My heart skipped a beat. “I … don’t believe so.”

“Don’t.” Dexter shook his head. “Nobody else knows if that’s what you’re worried about. I was alone when I saw you. Your mouths were mashed together, though, and you had a case of wandering hands.”

I remembered the moment well. Sam had decided to climb me like a tree again, and I’d helped her by grabbing her butt. “Don’t tell anybody,” I said finally. “She doesn’t want anybody to know.”

“I have no intention of telling anybody,” he assured me. “You don’t have to hide it, though. She’s pretty great. The others are too self-absorbed to even notice. You’re fine. I’m just smarter than everybody else combined.”

A smile came to my lips, unbidden. “She is pretty great. I like spending time with her. I figured anybody who might come across us would just assume that we were acting for Miles’s little project.”

“I didn’t even consider that for a second.”

“Well, she was climbing me.” I grinned before shooting Sam a look. She seemed to be enthralled by the fight that was breaking out between Bethany and Sylvia. “Miles, however excitable, wouldn’t request that.”

“You look happy,” Dexter noted. “No offense, man, but as long as I’ve known you, you’ve never looked happy. You do now, though.”

He wasn’t the first person to make that observation. Jax had brought it up more than once. His attempts were pointed. Dexter’s seemed more curious. “I am happy,” I realized.

“So, is it the real deal?”

“It’s real, but it can’t last.”

“Why not?”

“You know why.”

“Maybe you don’t have to live the life you think you have to live,” he argued. “Maybe you can live a different life. I would hate for you to go back to being that angry dude who never smiled. You always smile now.”

“I can’t give her what she needs.”

“You don’t know that. You’re not even really considering it.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“I just—” I didn’t get a chance to finish what I was going to say.

Sylvia had caught my attention. She was making a screeching noise as she shoved Bethany, both hands on her shoulder. Bethany, although younger and stronger, was caught off guard, and she flew backwards.

Sam, who was behind Bethany, saw the collision coming and gripped the back of the stool. It was too late, though. The stool was knocked sideways, and Sam went flying toward the hard ground. She hit with a sickening thump, her head flopping against the hard cement.

And that’s when I lost my shit.

“What in the hell!”

I raced around the bar, ignoring the wires that I was strapped to for my jump, and shoved Sylvia and Bethany away from Sam. They’d immediately gone to her when she hit the ground.

“Stay away from her,” I hissed. I was careful when reaching for Sam. Her eyes had sprung open after the fall, but she looked dazed and confused.

“Ow,” she muttered as she reached for her head.

I caught her around the waist and pulled her close, cradling her gently. “Shh, baby. It’s okay.” I yelled the next part at the top of my lungs. “Where is medical? Why isn’t medical here right now? She’s hurt!”

Miles started flapping his hands like a nervous mother. “I’ll call them. I’ll get them right over here.”

“I’m so sorry, Sam,” Sylvia offered. “I didn’t mean for that to happen. I just … she’s just … well, she’s just such a whore.”

Bethany straightened. “Who are you calling a whore, you old witch?” She launched herself at Sylvia with everything she had.

I turned my back to them to serve as a buffer and protect Sam from anything they might throw at her. “It’s okay.” I pressed my lips to her forehead as she struggled to get her bearings. “You’re okay. I’ve got you. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

I meant it with every fiber in my being. I wasn’t going to let her get hurt. Never again.