by Nelson, Cara
“I’ll email you the details right now, along with Jessie’s email. I’m sure she’ll be calling you soon,” Brynn said.
“Right now, in fact,” I said. My phone beeped and I looked and saw a number from the Boston area. It wasn’t a coincidence.
“Great. Gotta’ go. Talk tomorrow,” I said.
“Jessie, hi, thanks for calling.”
“What’s going on with this plan?” she asked, not wasting any time.
“I assure you, my intention is good. I’m just trying to get through to Trinity and honestly, I’m struggling and it fucking sucks.”
From there, I believe Jessie sensed my heart was genuinely in it. Of course, she warned me, too. “Don’t mess with her emotions, she doesn’t deserve it. You’ve got to be vested, you know.”
“You know what, I am. I really am,” I said forthrightly.
By the time morning came around, I was tired from a lack of sleep, but excited because it was fun setting up an elaborate trap to get someone to confess. The few times I dove into what Trinity might say if the plan were to be pulled off successfully, I both smiled and cringed. She’d either say something so beyond her character that it shocked me in a good way, or she’d unleash on me, making me think she was a kraken claiming me for the sea, lashing out at me ferociously with her tentacles.
I got up and made my way toward the set, stopping to get a breakfast sandwich and a coffee along the way. I needed to be super charged. When I pulled into the parking lot of the coffee house, I noticed a crowd of people up ahead. I had no idea what was going on? There was always a protest going on in LA somewhere; either it was for something silly, like forcing small dogs to wear clothes, or something major—a violation of some civil liberty or another. March and protest away, that was my thought, as long as it didn’t interfere with my desire to not protest, and get to work on time.
I couldn’t tell what was happening so I went inside, got my coffee and a sandwich, and headed back out. However, the action was still there. They were blocking my way and I had no choice but to walk over. “I don’t feel like this shit this morning,” I mumbled.
As I got closer, I saw that someone was sitting on the ground. Someone realized I was there and shouted, “Hey, it’s Hunter Martinez,” one voice called out.
“What’s going on here?” I asked.
“Some guy is withdrawing or something, just sitting on the ground, rocking back and forth,” someone called out.
I ran closer and everyone parted so I could get by the guy. “Did you call anyone?”
I glanced up and everyone was looking at me like they didn’t speak a fucking word of English. “ Did you call anyone?” I repeated more loudly.
“No, I’ll call,” one woman said, suddenly smiling and trying to earn brownie points with me.
I had no tolerance for gawkers to others hardships, especially an addicts. “Never mind, I’ll call. Why don’t you all get out of here.”
They stepped back, but didn’t leave. “Are you okay?” I asked the guy, who looked to be about fifty but was probably only thirty max. He was a meth head, I could tell from the scratch marks on his face and his teeth.
“Cold, can you spare some money so I can take the edge off?” he asked.
“Here, have this,” I said, offering him the coffee and sandwich. He needed some food for certain, the coffee, probably not.
He held it, shaking and trying to eat, crumbs falling everywhere and sweating like it was midday and a hundred degrees out.
I pulled out my phone. “Sally, hi, I need you…yeah…” I gave the address and hung up. “I’m going to help you out. What’s your name?”
“Gary,” the guy said with food in his mouth. He wasn’t chewing.
“Chew and relax, I’ll stay with you, Gary. One of my friends is going to come help you.”
He thought I meant to get him a fix, but that was not what I meant at all.
We talked casually and I had no idea how much time had passed, but finally Sally pulled up in the familiar plain, white van that she drove. Two other people by her side, big guys that could handle situations when they became rough.
“Sally, this is Gary,” I said, glancing at her and then nodding at the other two. “She’s going to help you out. Listen to her and don’t worry about it, okay, I’ve got you covered.”
“What?” Gary asked. He was confused, but he’s soon learn.
“Gary, we’re going to take you to a safe place, okay?” Sally said. “Will you come willingly?”
“Yeah,” he said. He agree, but I knew from past experiences with these poor people that they really didn’t process. They’d agree to anything if they thought it meant getting a fix.
Two minutes later, Gary was in the van and they were driving off. I looked down at my watch. Shit, I was running a half hour late.
I ran to the car, no coffee or breakfast for me that morning.
I’d arrived on the set, and Dara immediately blasted me for being late and with the news that after today we’d have one more day of shoots, and it would be on Monday. One day after I’d know for sure if the trap I was setting for Trinity had worked. I laughed at the thought of it, not having any idea of how Trin would feel about that. Could be good, or very bad, depending on how the plan played out. Just thinking about the plan made me smile.
“You’re happy today. What’s going on?” Trinity asked, looking at me curiously.
“Just thinking about all the crazy things happening lately,” I said, still grinning.
“I don’t even want to know the details,” she said, walking away.
We were on the same page at least. I didn’t want her to know, either.
“Today, we’re going to reshoot the restaurant scene,” Dara said, walking over. “I just couldn’t salvage any of it, but now that Trinity seems to have bounced back, we should be able to do it fairly quickly.”
“I think she’ll be great,” I said, smiling.
“What are you so smiley about?” Dara asked me.
“Just in a good mood.”
“Well, it’s too smiley for the shoot so calm down. It would be just my luck that Trinity would be back to normal, and you’d be out of sorts,” Dara replied.
“Smiling is out of sorts?” I asked playfully. She was so funny, and I loved her direct approach to everything, now that I’d gotten used to her style. To get into character, I thought about Gary, the guy I hoped I could help. There were no guarantees and unfortunately, the rate of success in those situations was never as high as the rate of failure.
She paused and looked at me, peering in closer. “Wow, you can switch personas quickly, good work, Hunter.” Then she walked away, barking out orders to someone else.
I walked over to wardrobe and saw Steve in the room by Trinity. She was smiling at him, but had a guarded look. I hated to admit how glad I was to see it, too, because thinking of him making her laugh, let alone the image of her doing even half of the things with him that she’d done with me was driving me crazy. Even though I didn’t have any real claim on her, I wanted to, that was the thing.
Fifteen minutes later, we were at the mock restaurant, sitting at the small table, and talking with our bodies and expressions—not our mouths.
My hand reached over to Trin’s and I started to trace softly on the top of it. Her skin was so soft and damn if it didn’t give me a thrill, seeing a trail of goose bumps start where I’d caressed her, and travel up her arm. That was something that couldn’t be rehearsed.
From there, we went through the motions, looking at each other, our lips pressing together softly as we looked at each other, and it all went great. It was acting, I supposed, but inside I was thinking about how easy it had been to have those types of moments with Trinity, when the cameras weren’t rolling and she wasn’t getting paid to be there.
Much to both Trin and my delight, cut was not called until all the footage had been taken. It was a huge success!
“And we’re done shooting. Monday will be the wrap-up and review.
I want everyone here—just in case,” Dara said.
“This isn’t going to mess up your next job back in Minneapolis, is it?” I asked.
“No, because they called last night. It fell through, got delayed until the spring, some crap like that.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. What are you going to do?”
“What I always do, I guess,” Trinity said. “I’ll figure it out.”
“Maybe I can help you find something out here, or Chaz can.”
“I don’t want you to go out of your way to help me out,” she said.
“I’m sure you don’t, but it’s not really out of my way. Chaz is about thirty feet away from us, and we’re in the same building,” I said.
Trinity held back a smile and said, “I’m not even sure I can keep staying with Brynn, although she’s not there all that much.”
“We can figure something out. If there is anything I know about LA, it’s that there are a bunch of people who are always willing to have a roommate to cut down on expenses, and help keep their dream alive for another day,” I said.
“Keep the dream alive for another day, huh?” Trinity replied. “I guess that’s how you have to think about it when you work from job to job. Kind of a pisser, though.”
“You think? Don’t you have a back-up plan?”
“No,” she said, looking at me oddly. “You do?”
“Kind of,” I said. “I’m no Simon, plans for the rest of my life in place, but I’m pretty sure that I could find something to do that I loved if music was no longer an option.”
“You’re lucky. I’ve never been able to figure that out,” Trinity replied.
“Why?”
“Well, Hunter, probably because I haven’t put much thought into it,” she said. She started to laugh, and I laughed, too. I liked how normal and easy this unexpected conversation felt.
Then I looked over to Chaz, and called out for him. He came walking over, kind of reminding me of a faithful Golden Retriever, which was crazy. I owed him, he didn’t owe me—not yet, anyway.
“What’s up?”
“Trin lost her next job because this is taking too long. Is there anything you can find her this upcoming week in LA? She’s talented at a great many things,” I said. I smiled at him, and then turned to Trin.
“You don’t have to if you don’t want, no big deal,” she said to Chaz.
“Oh, he doesn’t mind, do you, Chaz?”
“I, uh, no. Let me look. I’ll give you a call later, Trin, okay?”
“Thanks. I appreciate it,” Trinity said.
Then Chaz looked at me and stuck out his finger, waving it up and down a slight bit. “I almost forgot, what happened at the coffee house this morning?”
How would he know about that? “The guy, you mean?”
“Yes, brilliant PR, my man,” Chaz said, wagging his head eagerly.
“PR? That wasn’t PR. It was helping a guy down on his luck,” I said. His lighthearted tone about it was unnerving to me and I felt instantly compelled to relay the serious nature of it all.
“Okay, chill,” Chaz said.
“How did you know about that?”
“I follow my clients’ Google trends. Have to stay in the loop, and in the recent, in this business.”
“Google?” I asked him.
“Well, someone captured the footage on their smartphone. They got the entire thing. I poignant moment in the life of Hunter Martinez.”
“Or an invasion of privacy for a guy down on his luck,” I retaliated.
“Look at it however you want, but it’s good for you,” Chaz said. “Well, I’ve got to fly. Call you later, Trin.”
He left and I turned to Trin, who had a peculiar expression on her face. “You always get attention, even when you don’t want it, don’t you?” she asked me, shaking her head.
“As do you,” I said.
“Touché,” she said softly.
“Well, any special plans this weekend?” I asked. I knew Trin would think I was hinting to her and if her past behavior was like her present that would freak her out.
“Jessie is coming to town. Girls’ weekend. I’m so excited, can’t wait to chill with my ladies.”
“Great, have fun. I guess I won’t see you until Monday, then.” I walked away because it was the only way to hide my smile, my nervous smile. I was not used to putting my intimate thoughts out there on display, especially for a girl who I’d known for such a short time. She’d was the kind of person who made an impression, and I’d definitely been impressed.
Chapter Thirteen:
Out with My Besties
Going out with Brynn and Jessie was just what I needed. A fun night with the people who kept me grounded. All the problems I’d been having processing the entire Hunter situation would be cleared up after a night out with them. And it was to be just us girls, no one else. Ideal!
“I cannot believe you’re here, Jess,” I said. “That was so awesome. What a great last minute surprise!”
“Yeah, just some good fortune,” Jessie said. I looked at her, sensing a slightly guilty look. What was that about? Then I saw Brynn look at her, with her “watch it” eyes.
“Something going on?” I asked, staring right at Jessie. If anyone was going to break, it would be her.
“Just having fun,” Jessie said, lifting up her Mojito glass for a toast. I didn’t buy it, but I figured the two of them just had a little something special up their sleeve. Like a surprise visit from Jessie wasn’t enough.
“Good. I’m so excited that it’s just us for dinner tonight,” I said. “This week has been crazier than I could have ever imagined.”
“Your weeks are always crazy, Trin, that just goes with the territory for you,” Brynn said.
“This one is crazier, trust me,” I said.
“Why?” Jessie asked.
“This entire video shoot with Hunter. It’s just gotten to me.” I went on to explain Dara, the retakes, almost losing my job, then losing the one in Minneapolis, and Chaz getting me some catalog work for next week. Of course, I didn’t want to elaborate because I wanted to have fun, not be a dud. So I wrapped it up. “Enough of that, it’s over and done with. Can’t wait to have fun.”
“What’s good here, Brynn?” Jessie asked.
“Well, I like the shrimp Alfredo myself,” Brynn said.
“Mm, that sounds good. Maybe I’ll try that, too,.” Jessie said.
“Come on. We each have to get something different so we can try each others,” I said. “Has it really been that long that you two have forgotten that?”
Brynn and Jessie looked at each other, and I saw their smirky smiles. So, okay, the sharing and sampling was my thing, not theirs. What could I say? I loved variety. Having the same old, same old made for a dull Trinity. Sex popped into my mind, along with an unwelcomed thought: nothing was the same old, same old from day to day in the sexual arena with Hunter. I shook my head.
“What’s wrong?” Jessie asked, looking at me with concern.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“You’re twitching your head and frowning, but kind of smiling, too,” she said to me.
“She’s been doing that a lot lately,” Brynn commented. “You might as well confess it. You have a case of Hunter on the brain. I can tell.”
“Boy, when these ProVokaTiv guys get to you, they really get to you, don’t they?” Jessie commented. “They’re like a disease.”
“Well, consider yourself fortunate that you don’t have it,” I said with a laugh. I meant it seriously. “Thankfully, for me, it’s nothing that a fun night with you ladies can’t cure. I cannot wait to go dancing, have some fun, and circumvent a hangover so we can enjoy our day at Catalina tomorrow.”
“It’s going to be awesome. Supposed to be a perfect day,” Brynn said.
“Can’t count on the weather here not to change last minute,” I said.
“Well, not up there, but here in LA, it’s pretty consistent, easy to monitor,
” Brynn replied. “Since when are you so opposed to unexpected happenings? I thought you were a live life by no rules type of woman, the kind who went with the flow and accepted things for what they are.”
“I am,” I said defiantly. Another sip of Mojito covered my eye roll. I knew what Brynn was doing, and I wasn’t going to let her. “Let’s hurry and eat so we can get dancing.” That was my best line of defense because the talking and questions had to stop once our bodies started moving on the dance floor.
I was trying to outwit my pesky thoughts about Hunter by being a diva, indulging in flirting and enjoying some drinks. Thank goodness for high metabolism because I did love to party, a lot. Well, I’d cut down when I got older and had to get serious. But screw that! I needed to let loose, and dance those thoughts of Hunter out of my mind. If only those sexy video scenes didn’t keep popping into my head, or the wild encounters that we seemed to be able to conjure up anywhere, any place. And oddly enough, I kept thinking about the bungee jumping, and how Hunter helped to calm my nerves, how he’d helped me enjoy the adventure. Out of the great qualities he had, helping me push my limits was one of the best. STOP! I screamed in my head, and then I turned to the girls. “Ready to dance the night away, and do a little twerkin’?”
“When I twerk I look more like an ostrich with a dislocated hip,” Brynn said.
“Do ostriches have hips?” I asked.
“Of course they do,” Jessie said.
“Okay brainiac,” I taunted. “Well, we’ll just save the twerking for Jessie and me. Let’s go,” I pleaded.
Jessie and Brynn exchanged a glance. Jessie’s expression, the way she kept shifting around and looking away, made her seem uncomfortable. “What’s the guilty expression for?” I asked.
“Huh?” Jessie said, all too quickly.
“You look guilty. Why?” I pressed.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Let’s go dance,” she said.
I didn’t know what was going on, but I wasn’t going to argue.
We were at Playhouse, a seemingly cool dance bar, and it was huge, three floors with various tables and bars, a few private rooms off to the corner. I really loved the lights that were hanging over one of the bars. From a distance they looked like paper lanterns floating to the sky—or in this case, the ceiling of the bar area.