Alex’s heart was beating a mile a minute as she walked the couple of blocks to Gabe’s set. She hadn’t wanted to waste time changing after work; it wasn’t like he hadn’t seen her in her uniform anyway, as much as jeans and a branded t-shirt could be considered a uniform. She was happy that Ben was lax about things like that when it came to the restaurant. She’d thrown her sweatshirt on for the walk over, since the chilly breeze coming off the water made everything a little bit colder.

The restaurant had been a little busy that night. It wasn’t as busy as the night before when everyone had just arrived, but there were certainly a few crew members there grabbing a bite, along with townies who wanted to look at all the outsiders. Once again, her pockets were heavy with tips and she was excited to see just what Gabe did on-set. She showed up to the location he’d specified in his text.

There were tons of people wandering around in headsets, carrying equipment and props from one place to another. There were even a few golf carts whizzing by. The place was a flurry of activity. One of the guys in a headset approached her.

“Are you Alex?”

“Yeah, I’m Alex,” she said, a little uncertain.

“Okay, I’m Greg. I’m a PA on the set and Gabe sent me to come and get you. Come with me. I’ve got a few things for you to sign and then I’ll take you to Gabe; he’s doing some lighting setups now.”

“Okay,” she said, following her escort through the frenzy of activity. She followed the PA to a trailer, where they had some non-disclosure agreements for her to sign. They also took her phone. She was taken aback at how intense they were about the project. She was happy they’d let her on set at all at this rate.

After signing all the paperwork and getting the locker key for her phone’s temporary prison, she had to have her picture taken for her visitor’s badge. Finally, Greg motioned for her to follow him to a golf cart and took her to an area of the set that wasn’t quite so busy. Two rows of trailers lined the entire walkway. The PA knocked on the third one on the right and Gabe popped his head out.

Her heart gave a little flip and she couldn’t contain the smile that spread across her face. She was happy to see that he looked as dopey as she felt. She stepped out of the cart and the PA smiled and nodded before he sped off, already talking to someone else through his headset.

“You made it,” he said.

“I did,” Alex said, suddenly a little out of breath and lightheaded. He extended a hand and helped her up the two steps into the trailer.

Alex was surprised when she looked around the trailer; it wasn’t at all what she expected. There was a small kitchenette area with a fridge, toaster oven, and sink. A small seating area with a big leather couch ran along one wall with a flat screen TV opposite it. She was looking around and he asked if she’d like a tour.

“Sure. I’ve never been in a film-set trailer before. Hell, I’ve never been on a film set before!”

“I look forward to being your guide.” He showed her all the little amenities such as the stocked cabinets and fridge, then pointed out the tiny bathroom with a toilet and a shower. It verged on luxurious.

“Why do you even stay at the hotel when you have this thing on-set?” Alex asked, plopping down on the huge leather couch that spanned half the length of the trailer. She could definitely live here.

“The studio orders these for every set. I guess they don’t take into account how close the filming is to the hotel. This covers the bases for when you’re a bit further out. When we were doing principal photography, it was a twenty-minute ride to get to the hotel and back, so these trailers were a godsend.”

They spent the next couple of hours relaxing in the trailer. Lesley, his romantic interest in the movie, stopped by. She was immediately jealous of the leggy blonde who had a smile that could rival the sun, but her mind was quickly put at ease with the friendly, but not sexually charged, rapport the two seemed to have with one another.

“And then there was the time when Gabe nearly boiled his dick off when we were filming that water scene in Bulgaria!” Lesley exclaimed, laughing so hard that there were tears running down her cheeks.

“Hey! That wasn’t my fault,” he said. “The PA didn’t mix it with the cold river water. Why would you hand someone boiling water to pour down the front of their wet suit? Who does that?”

“You seriously nearly burned your penis off?” Alex asked, horrified.

“He had to have gauze wrapped around it for a week!” Lesley said, doubled over and gasping for breath. He picked up one of the pillows off the couch and threw it at her, knocking her off her chair. Lesley clutched the pillow and used it to muffle her laughter.

“Sorry, Gabe,” she said, wiping the tears out of her eyes. “Sorry, I know it’s terrible to laugh, but it was so damned funny! You should have seen your face!”

“Lesley, I hate you,” he said, glaring at her, though he could only hold back his smile for a few seconds.

“I’m sorry Gabe. I’m sorry,” Lesley gasped, swallowing the last of her giggles. Alex couldn’t help but smile at their interaction. She was glad that he had a friend on-set and enjoyed the half an hour or so that they spent talking about a little bit of everything.

There was a knock at the door; a PA was there to shuttle both Lesley and Gabe off to wardrobe and makeup. They all hopped in a golf cart, then made their way through trailer city until they reached a much larger trailer. Gabe held the door for Lesley and Alex, then followed them inside, where it was cool but well-lit.

“What happened to your nose?” The makeup artist screeched the moment her eyes landed on Gabe. She pulled him into the trailer. Lesley gave Alex a ‘you’re in trouble’ look before climbing the steps to the trailer. They replayed the entire parking lot non-mugging mugging to Lesley while they were chowing down on popcorn and watching a random movie in the trailer. Ducking her head, she walked in to the trailer and looked anywhere but at the makeup artist while Lesley choked back a laugh.

“I knocked myself in the nose with my carry-on bag on the plane yesterday,” he said, covering for her.

The artist tutted as she covered it up. Just as she was finishing up with Lesley, another PA with a headset came and knocked on the door. “Five minutes to set,” he called.

He stood and clapped his hands together. “That’s my cue. Come on. Let’s go; you’ll get to see where the magic happens.”