“Ryan—Bryan Hart.”
“Bryan Hart— Oh.” She tapped at the screen of a tablet perched on the desk. “You’re not reading today.”
“What?” Oh for fuck’s sake, had they cast the role already and forgotten to call Mike?
“We’re auditioning for the male lead—the seventeen-year-old male lead.”
“I see. Okay.”
Well, damn. He really was too old to play a teenager on television. It appeared he’d be taking that film role after all. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he fired off a quick text to Mike.
They’re auditioning a different role today. Office a shambles, they just moved in.
Mike’s reply came almost instantly. I spoke to the show runner yesterday. Check again.
“Ms. Adams? You might want to check your appointment list, because I was here to read for the teacher role—”
She held up a finger, her eyes widening as she read something on the screen of her tablet. “Mr. Hart, can you just—can you just sit for a minute?”
Disappearing around a corner with her cell phone pressed to her ear, she looked as panicked and stressed out as he felt. When she reappeared, loose-limbed and smiling, his stomach dropped. She was obviously vindicated, and he’d fucked up. Or his agent had. What did it matter? He started tapping out another text. I’m in for Tex
“Mr. Hart?”
The concern in Ms. Adams’s voice brought his chin jerking up.
“Hi, I’m sorry for interrupting you, and again, I apologize for the mix-up. Mr. Brady is sending someone down for you.”
Ryan’s stomach resurfaced and his heart fluttered. He shoved his phone back in his pocket without sending the message. “West? West Brady?”
“Yes, sir. Mr. Brady is the show runner, and he’ll be directing the pilot we’re casting. I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize you had a direct appointment with him.”
“I didn’t either—my agent didn’t mention I was auditioning for West—Mr. Brady’s—show. He and I know each other—” don’t say biblically, you idiot “—socially.”
She smiled warmly. “It may be a few minutes before his assistant makes it down here. Can I get you anything? A bottle of water? Coffee?”
“No, thank you.”
He hadn’t seen West since he and Ali had eloped shortly after the summer-stock season had begun. He’d seen Ali a handful of times, but only once since tiny Bea Brady had made a rushed, slightly early arrival at the end of October.
“Bryan?” A pale, freckled man in a gray suit with a bright-pink bow tie approached, walking with a quick, assured step. When he reached Ryan, he extended a hand. “I’m Calvin Reynolds, West Brady’s PA.”
Ryan blinked—taken aback by the man’s deep low-country accent, then shook the proffered hand. “Um, hi. What happened to . . . Camryn?” He hoped he’d gotten her name right.
“Camryn has taken a job with Warner Bros. We’re all very happy for her,” he said in a flat tone.
“I see.”
“If you’ll follow me, Mr. Brady and his co-exec are waiting for you.”
Ryan followed Calvin to the elevator, and they rode in awkward silence to the thirtieth floor. West. Why the hell hadn’t Ryan asked for more details on this project? Was he so wrapped up in his own self-loathing he’d let himself be blindsided by a casting call from a dude he knew . . . socially?
As they stepped off the elevator, Calvin gave him a gentle smile. “You were my favorite in Gravity Wells. I know it’s not appropriate to fanboy at work. But sometimes I can’t help myself.”
Ryan blushed. “Thanks. That’s nice to hear. Too bad it got canceled, eh?”
“Oh, I don’t know. You wouldn’t be here if it hadn’t been, and that would be a shame.” Calvin opened a door on his right and held it for Ryan, who took a deep breath and walked inside to meet his fate.
West sat at the end of a long conference table, and next to him, positively radiant—and positively delighted with herself—was Ali.
Calvin quietly shut the door behind Ryan. Ali leaped to her feet, ran over, and hugged him tightly. “Are you surprised? I wanted you to be surprised. Chihiro accidentally gave it away downstairs, but damn, the expression on your face when you walked in here and saw me was priceless.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? I was shitting myself in the elevator. You’re the co-exec? That’s—that’s really super awesome.”
“Hi, Ryan.” West stood and came over to embrace him. “It’s good to see you, buddy.”
“It’s good to see you too. Um, congratulations, you know, about the elopement and the baby and stuff.”
West’s broad grin warmed his whole face. “Thanks, Ry. Why don’t you have a seat and we’ll go over our vision for this role. If you’re interested, we’d like some of the kids auditioning for the teenage lead to read with you this afternoon.”
“Is this—is this an offer? Because—”
“We’ll negotiate through Mike. But you’re our first choice.”
Wow. This afternoon was giving Ryan whiplash.
“Before we get started, I want to make it clear that if the series is picked up, the entire first season will be shot on location in North Carolina. Is that going to be a problem for you?”
Ryan’s heart sank. At the beginning of the summer, he’d have given his right nut to have a movie offer. At the end of the summer, he’d have given his left nut to have a job offer allowing him to stay in North Carolina.
If he said yes, would Trey even want to see him? In hindsight, Ryan wished he’d been more patient with Trey that last morning in Banker’s Shoals—but like everything else in his life, he’d rushed in feelings-first and made a mess. He wouldn’t blame Trey if he didn’t want to reconcile—but could Ryan bear to be so close to Trey and not with him?
“How soon do you need my decision?”
Walking up the steps to Trey’s house, Ryan felt a flutter of nerves in his belly and a roil of nausea. Something was off, and he couldn’t pinpoint what until he rang the bell and . . . nothing. No barking. Nothing. Maybe they were out for a walk?
He peered through the window in the door, but he couldn’t see anything. He crossed back over to his brand-new car and searched inside for paper to write a note on. All he had was a Starbucks napkin. It would have to do.
Trey—I’m in town, staying at West’s place for the weekend. Call me? I need to see you.
Love,
Ryan
He walked back up the steps, opened the screen and tucked the note between the doorframe and the doorknob. Taking a deep breath, he let the screen door close and started toward his car, disappointment bitter on his tongue.
Well, what the fuck had he expected? That he could just show up, knock on the door, and be welcomed with open arms like this was some Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks movie? As he sat there, berating himself for his stupidity, a truck rumbled into the driveway next to him. He lifted his head. Stared.
Trey.
Trey stared back, then slowly got out of his truck, walked around Ryan’s car, and opened the driver’s-side door.
“What are you doing here?”
“I needed to see you. I needed—” Ryan stood up. “God, you look so fucking good.”
Trey smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Let’s go inside. We need to talk.”
An icy chill slid down Ryan’s spine. “You’ve met someone else, haven’t you?”
“Just come inside, Ryan.”
“Where’s Ferdy?”
“He’s at Kim and Danny’s place.”
“Oh.”
Trey opened the screen door and the napkin fluttered to the ground. Raising an eyebrow at Ryan, he picked it up and read it, then smiled and tucked it into his back pocket.
Ryan stared at it for a moment while Trey unlocked the front door. Could the ground please open up and swallow him right here, right now?
When the door swung open though, his embarrassment was forgotten. “Holy shit, dude, have you been robbed?”
<
br /> The place was a mess. But an . . . empty . . . mess. No sign of Trey’s impeccable housecleaning. And . . . shit. Those were moving boxes stacked in the corner.
“I haven’t been robbed.”
“You’re moving?” Ryan’s heart sank.
“Not exactly. Just putting some stuff in storage because I’m going out of town and don’t know how long I’ll be gone. Didn’t want to worry about possible damage if there’s a flood.”
The unfairness of it all stung so badly, Ryan wanted to punch something. “I couldn’t drag you from this island kicking and screaming before, but now you’re going traveling?”
Trey unlocked his phone, swiped the screen a few times, and handed it to Ryan. It took a few seconds for the information on the screen to register. When it did, his breath caught.
“You bought a one-way ticket to LAX?”
“Yeah.”
“You trying to make it in Hollywood?” Okay, so, those were fucking tears in his eyes and he didn’t fucking care because Trey had bought a one-way ticket to Hollywood, and Ryan was pretty sure he was the only person Trey knew in Hollywood.
“I messed up. I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life. Marrying Vincent. Not leaving him sooner. Moving here with him. But I think maybe the biggest mistake I’ve ever made was making you believe I didn’t care what you wanted. Making you feel like you didn’t matter. You matter so much. And I wanted to be with you so badly. You were right, Ryan. I’m sorry. I love you. I was going to go to LA and try to win you back. I don’t even know how. But I had to start with an apology. I owed you that. I— Wait. What the hell are you doing here?”
Ryan swallowed and reached for Trey. “I’m spoiling your grand gesture, you big jerk. I fucking love you. I took a TV job in North Carolina, because once you asked me to stay. I hoped you’d still want me.”
Trey grabbed him, pulled him into a rough embrace, then kissed him, hard and biting, and they both started laughing into the kiss. Yeah, Trey wanted him.
“Please promise that you won’t ever stop laughing when I kiss you. I’m so sorry.”
“Apology accepted, but Trey—I’m sorry too. I know you’ve been through hell, and it was wrong of me to expect you to just get over it and change your whole life for me.”
Trey shuddered. “I need to tell you something.”
Ryan stepped away and met Trey’s worried gaze. “What’s up?”
“I’m still dealing with a lot of fallout from Vincent. I’m having to learn how to live with being scared and angry out of the blue and finding constructive ways to manage those emotions.” He made a face. “Ugh, I sound like my shrink. I’m working on it, is the thing.”
“Okay.” Ryan nodded. “I’m glad. Is there anything I can do?”
“Maybe you can come to a therapy session with me and talk to Doc Wharton about that?”
“Whatever you need.”
“You. I need you. I never got a chance to tell you how much I love you.”
Ryan gasped as Trey’s lips, then teeth found that sweet spot behind his ear. “Then show me.”
“Cut!”
Ryan turned away from the camera and drew in a deep, shaky breath. He’d just filmed the most intense scene of his life, and the physical and emotional strain had been tearing at him all day. They’d ended the season on a dramatic cliff-hanger, only revealed to the cast that week, and his heart was beating fast.
“That’s a wrap on season one. Thank you for your hard work, everyone.” West moved around the set, shaking hands as the cast, crew, and the few audience members allowed on set applauded the season finale. When he got to Ryan, he pulled him into a hug.
“Bravo, you excellent fucker. That was some fine television we just made.”
“Goddamn, you and Ali make a great writing team. If you don’t get an Emmy for this shit, society is broken.”
Ali wrapped her arms around his waist from behind and whispered her congratulations in his ear. As he looked over his shoulder and saw the small audience who had collected to watch the filming, he couldn’t help but be proud of what West and Ali and their ragtag cast of character actors and newcomers had accomplished.
A teenage schoolhouse drama that was as riveting for adults as it was for teens? That didn’t belittle them or talk down to them, but respected who they were and the difficulties in their lives? That featured a diverse cast of characters across multiple ethnicities, and sexual and gender identities? Yeah, he was damned proud of that.
“Where’s Trey?”
“He and Kim took Bea and Jamie outside when we came back from the break. They didn’t want the babies crying on set.”
Ryan smiled. Trey’s nephew and Bea had been born on the same day on opposite coasts, and Ali and Kim had grown close over the last few months.
Ryan made his way out of Banker’s Shoals High School, where they’d filmed many of the schoolhouse scenes, and onto the football field, where Kim was sprawled on a blanket with Jamie, and Trey had a crying Bea in a sling. His attempts to woo her with a bottle were met with a pout and a shove against his chest. He kept trying though, and it made Ryan smile.
“Hey, you,” he called.
Trey glanced up and waved. “Are you guys done in there?”
“Yup.”
“Thank god. I think this kid wants boob, and I can’t help her.”
As he walked past, he stopped to kiss Ryan, thoroughly and deeply, and laughter bubbled up between them.
“I’ll wait.”
Trey came back a few minutes later, a wide smile on his beautiful face and the baby still snuggled to his chest. “She and Calvin are talking, but she said she’d be out in a minute. So, America’s favorite teacher. How was class?”
Who would have thought taking a role as a high school teacher—one barely older than the students he taught—would turn out to be the most riveting role of his career? “School’s out for summer.”
“So what are you going to do now?”
“Mason offered to let me play Oberon.”
“Summer stock again?”
“Yeah. Live theater—there’s nothing like it.”
They walked hand in hand back toward the set, stopping for a familiar face.
“Ryan, Trey!”
“Annsley!” Ryan hugged her tightly. The last time he’d seen her, she’d been covered in fake blood.
“Thank you for recommending me.” She pulled out of the hug and put a hand on his shoulder. “This is an awesome credit for my résumé.”
“I’m sorry it was just for three episodes.” He grimaced. “I told Ali not to kill off the lesbian.”
Annsley stuck her tongue out. “Believe me, I wish I hadn’t had to play that scene. Shit, here she comes.”
“Talking trash?” Ali winked at Ryan as she scooped Bea out of Trey’s sling. “Hiya, Bea-bea. How’s Mommy’s girl?”
“You don’t get to kill the lesbian and not have queer folk talk trash.” Ryan crossed his arms over his chest.
“Annsley, call your agent.” Ali, by some magic known only to nursing mothers, managed to get Bea latched on to her breast while digging the fingernails of one hand into Ryan’s arm. “And you, darling, should probably read next season’s script before you go posting your next AMA on Reddit.”
“We’ve been renewed?”
“Yes, fucker.” West came up alongside Ali. “We’ve been renewed.” He grinned down at his wife and baby, face going all soft. “For two more seasons.”
“I’m going to go call my agent.” Annsley gave Ryan’s hand a quick squeeze. “I suppose stabbings aren’t always fatal?”
Next to Ryan, Trey flinched.
“Let’s go,” Ryan whispered, and Trey nodded.
“It’s been a pleasure, Ali, West, Annsley. I’ll see y’all later.”
Trey echoed Ryan’s sentiment in fewer words and a curt wave.
As they crossed the parking lot to the security perimeter, Trey slid his big, warm hand into Ryan’s.
“All of this—and I
do mean all of it—is okay with me.”
“I’m sorry about what Ann said. She didn’t know.”
“Ryan . . .” Trey turned Ryan around so his back was pressed to Trey’s chest and pointed out at the shoreline, just visible behind the school. “I used to be jealous of the sand. It got swept out and away while I was stuck here like a lighthouse with the waves beating against me. You hear me?”
Ryan turned around and touched Trey’s lips. “You brought me home safely.”
“Caro warned me that you’d never call Banker’s Shoals home.”
“I think it’s time I learned to eat crow.”
“Yeah?”
“As long as you’re here, Banker’s Shoals is definitely home.”
Dear Reader,
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Thanks to my wonderful editor, Caz, and to the rest of the Riptide team for putting their all into every book we create together. Your relentless pursuit of excellence makes me a better writer, and I’m grateful every day.
The two plays performed by Shakespeare by the Sea are William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar and Much Ado About Nothing. While there are many sources online for these public domain works, I referred frequently to shakespeare.mit.edu during my research.
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