Alex had visited him almost every day on set for the rest of the shooting and he’d managed to pry another pancake breakfast out of her. When he wasn’t rehearsing or filming and she was working, Gabe became a fixture at the restaurant, which was usually packed with crew members who got tired of hotel or on-set food.

The bone-crushing hug Ben gave him on his last day showed him that perhaps the business that ran through there was more than he had expected. “Happy to help,” he said, wheezing as air finally rushed back to his lungs.

Aaron, his agent, flew in a couple of days before they were set to fly back to LA. Gabe had introduced them and that could have gone better. He spent the entire time trying to size her up and when she finally left and Gabe told him that she would be coming with them to LA, he’d freaked.

“You can’t bring her to LA with you!”

“Why the hell not?”

“You’re going to be busy and there’s a lot you need to know about for the upcoming press tour.”

“Aaron, she’s coming with me. I already bought her ticket. It’s no big deal. We have a little while before the press tour starts and she’s cool with hanging around for that stuff.”

“Gabe, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“I didn’t ask for your opinion, Aaron. I’m letting you know.”

“Fine,” Aaron said, exasperated, before storming out of the room. He hadn’t seen him since then. Aaron’s assistant let Gabe know that he had flown out early and would meet with him once he was back in LA.

After he persuaded her to let him pay for her ticket, things had been smooth sailing. She’d put up quite a fight about it, until he convinced her that he had some frequent flyer miles he was able to use to get her there. Really, he’d put it on his credit card, but it got her on the plane, so he was happy to stretch the truth there. And once his check came through for the movie, it wouldn’t be an issue anyway.

The trip to LA was fun and uneventful. There was a car waiting for them at the airport and it took them straight to the hotel. He felt like a fraud trying to show Alex around town; he’d only been there a few times himself and he was usually working, so there wasn’t much time for sightseeing.

The first week they were in town was a flurry of activity. Gabe had to record a lot of ADR voiceover work for spots in the film where his lines couldn’t be heard clearly. There were fittings for suits that he would wear for the premiers and other events in the coming months. It was all new to them both, so they worked hard at enjoying it, and she was happy to be along for the ride. She’d loosened up a lot from her first hesitant orders of room service or letting him pick up the tab when they went out to dinner. He was just happy she was there; paying for a few things to make their time even better was nothing.

They went to the zoo, did touristy stuff, and spent a nice portion of their time in bed when possible. Their first time together was nothing compared to the whole evenings they had been able to spend exploring one another’s bodies. The only downside of hotel life was that there wasn’t a kitchen, so none of her ridiculously delicious pancakes could be had. Next time, he would make sure they put him up in an apartment instead of a hotel, if there was a next time. The reshoots were making it difficult to see a future in the movie world for him.

When his phone vibrated on the nightstand before sunup one morning, he fumbled around, trying to find it. They’d had a late night out at a club the night before. It was the first time he’d gone to an LA club and he wanted to give her the VIP treatment. Someone from the studio had made the arrangements and they walked right in and sat in a private area. It had all been so foreign to him, and from the look on her face, it was foreign to her too, but he was glad they could share in the absurdity together.

Finally, he located it and hit the home button, squinting as the light from the screen nearly blinded him. He turned down the brightness, so it wasn’t scotching his retina. It was a text from Aaron.

Aaron: At my office at 8 a.m. sharp

Aaron was making Gabe come to his office. This was generally not a good thing and he had a lot to do today. A lot of that revolved around a certain studious young lady, who had kept up with her online classwork while they had been wandering all over LA. He hated to wake her, so he debated letting her sleep.

Alex had been a bit nervous about their time in LA, but doing things together for the first time helped them both with their nerves. He wanted to make sure that she had a great time before her college classes started again in January. He was going to make the most of their time together and perhaps get her to consider moving out here after she graduated. Where had that come from? They hadn’t known each other that long. He liked himself when he was with her. He felt like himself—the happy, pre-college Gabe. While he knew that she was definitely enamored with the new his exterior, when they were hanging out together and being silly, he had the feeling that she would have gotten along with pre-college Gabe just fine.

The town car pulled up to the front of the building and he didn’t even wait for the driver to open the door. The quicker he got to the office, the quicker he could get back. The drive to Aaron’s office was traffic-free, which meant they made it in record time. Hoping it was a good omen, he hopped out of the car and headed into the building. Nonetheless, a pit of uneasiness was growing in his stomach as the elevator climbed and shuddered as it stopped at the tenth floor. Usually Aaron would come to him; meeting at the office seemed to mean something a bit bigger.

He stopped by the department receptionist. “I have an eight o’clock with Aaron.”

“Yes, of course, he’s finishing up on a phone call and will be right out. Would you like something to drink? Coffee, water, champagne, sports drink?”

“No, I’m good,” he said as he plopped down on one of the chair in the waiting area. He picked up a magazine and started to flip through it. After looking at his watch for the tenth time in as many minutes, he stood up and started to pace. Aaron finally called out to the receptionist, telling her she could send him in.

He walked into the office and sat in one of the two chairs in front of the desk. He sat back when Aaron sat opposite him, instead of behind his giant wooden desk. He wasn’t sure what this newest development meant.

“I’ve got some excellent news for you, Gabe,” Aaron said as he plopped down a huge folder on the small table between them.

The huge folder and Aaron's tone got his attention. He sat up a bit straighter. Aaron was doom and gloom and downplayed anything favorable, so this had to be huge.

“The studio loved the rough cut of the movie. Freaking loved it. And they are confident test audiences are going to go crazy for it. They haven’t even gotten that far yet, but they want you to sign a franchise deal with them. Four movies in the next five years.”

Gabe jumped out of his seat. “What? Are you kidding me? Are you freaking kidding me?” he nearly shouted as his heart raced and hands started to shake. The studio loved the movie? The studio loved the movie! “They really liked it?” he said, staring down at Aaron. “Holy shit, I can’t believe it. I thought you said that with reshoots like we had to do, the movie was probably sunk?”

“Well, it looks like we have a Bourne Identity outlier here. Matt Damon thought the same thing; they had to do massive reshoots and usually that’s a terrible thing, but in your case, it looks like it all worked out!”

He couldn’t believe it and started pacing all over the office. “So, when do they want to start the next movie? What are the next steps?”

“Next steps are the contracts. They have given you a pretty hefty pay increase for the next four movies with bonuses depending on the box office returns. The press tour is going to be massive. I’m talking three months of non-stop travel and interviews for each one, but we’ve contracted for private travel, great hotels, and events all over the place to increase your exposure.”

“Wow, I can’t wait to tell Alex about all this. She’s going to freak. I wonder if I can convince her to come,” he said, as a huge smile split across his face.

“About Alex ... ,” Aaron started and Gabe’s smile faltered.

“What about Alex?”

“I don’t think it would be a good idea for her to be seen with you very much, especially where the franchise is concerned, and the studio agrees.”

“Why the hell not?” he said, incensed.

“Well, for one, the fervor hasn’t even hit the country—hell the world—about this series and people are going to be all over you.”

“Yeah, so what? It’s not that big of a deal.”

“No, I don’t think you realize how much of a big deal this is. Every moment of your life outside of the four walls of your house—hell even then—are going to be scrutinized. Everyone you’re seen with is going to be living under a microscope. The studio also thinks that cultivating the appearance of a romance between you and Lesley would help raise the profile of the franchise even more.”

Gabe stood looking out the window over the city that he almost had in the palm of his hand, and didn’t know if he wanted it anymore. He loved Alex, he knew that. But this was a dream he didn’t even know he had. He would talk to her, he could explain it.

“I’m not sending her away. She’s going to be here until her next semester starts in January and she starts classes again.”

“No one said you had to send her away. I can arrange for things for you guys to do and ensure that there aren’t any photos taken. Or make sure that the photographers know you’re just friends. For any official events, she’s going to have to stay away. Lesley is your love interest as far as anyone outside of you, me, Alex, and the studio goes. That’s the agreement you must make to get this deal,” Aaron reasoned.

“Yeah, I understand. I just don’t know how I’m going to explain this to Alex,” Gabe said as he flopped back into his seat. “Can’t you go back to the studio and have that taken out? I can just be friends with Lesley.”

“Gabe, you don’t really have a choice. In the first contract, it stated that if you backed out of the franchise, they would hold you personally liable for damages,” Aaron said, sitting down on the glass table in front of him.

“What?” he asked, shocked at the revelation. “Why didn’t you tell me that was in the contract? I was supposed to be going back to school in January. What if I’d wanted to do that?” he questioned.

“Gabe, come on,” Aaron said, giving him a disbelieving look. “Would you honestly turn down the chance for a four-film studio deal with points on the back end because you want to go back to college? Or for some girl?” He started to speak up, but Aaron cut him off. “I know, I know … you really care about this girl, but she knows this is your dream. If she cares about you, of course she’ll be supportive,” he said, pulling a pen out of his inside jacket pocket.

“The studio needs this all by ten a.m., so let’s get signing,” Aaron said as he held out a pen to him.

He stared at the pen for a long time. This was a dream he’d only recently discovered. The chance to star in a major studio franchise. How many people got to do that? He could get her to understand. He was sure she wouldn’t want to be in the limelight anyway. She wasn’t an out-there person. This would work.

He’d make sure she knew how much he cared for her and wanted to be with her; they just had to play by the studio’s rules. All that ran through Gabe’s mind before he grabbed the pen and started signing where the sticky notes said he should.

This would definitely work. She would understand.