Chapter 13
JACK
"That's a wrap!" Denver pulled off his headphones and started clapping. "Congratulations everyone, we did it!"
Everyone mobbed the center of the sound stage, clapping and cheering and whooping. I was in the center of it all, jumping around like a fool while Dave from the props department sprayed us with champagne. Someone blared ‘It's Raining Men’ from the speakers and things got...well, a little wild. For about ten minutes.
Denver indulged us. It had been a long two-and-a-half months of filming, with a lot of bumps in the road and some shenanigans, but we did it.
"Speech!" Lena screamed out as the whooping died down and the waterworks started. "Speech!"
Denver waved us off, so I pushed through and dragged him to the middle of the circle. I clapped my hands and led a chant: "Speech! Speech! Speech!"
"All right, all right. Shut the hell up." Denver laughed and motioned for us all to settle. "It's been a long ten weeks. Long ten weeks. Should’ve been more like eight weeks, but here we are."
"Slackers!" Someone yelled from the back. There was muffled laughter, because most of the cast was too busy hugging and crying.
I would miss these guys. Probably not Josh. But everyone else? Sure. I just wasn’t the crying type. I was going to look forward to sleeping in for the next month.
"You guys really brought this movie to life and surpassed my wildest dreams. I want to thank all of the crew for busting their asses, all of the cast for avoiding most prima donna meltdowns, and for everyone who sacrificed time away from their families to make this production a reality. You guys were so excellent to work with and...I'm going to miss you assholes."
"Tell us how you really feel, Denver!" I hollered.
"I feel like I aged ten years making this film, but it'll have been worth it."
Everyone laughed. There was more crying. Alison wasn't here and I hated it. I wanted to celebrate this moment with her.
"Some of the crew have graciously put together tonight's wrap party, so no one blow this off, okay? I heard someone is going to set up a dunk tank for Gerald, so you can take out all that aggression on everyone's favorite producer. Maybe we'll even get Jack in there."
"Get ready to get wet, baby!" Josh called from the sides.
Fuck that guy. I would be so glad to never see him again. Promo tour could kiss my ass.
"Now get outta here!" Denver yelled. "Go! I've got post-production editing to start so I can relive your faces every day. Out!"
We mingled for a bit, knowing the hard goodbyes were coming later. The thing about a cast was that you became like family, and leaving it could be difficult. I stood in my trailer for a good five minutes, just looking around. Some nights, I slept here, depending on the shooting schedules. I'd spied Denver napping under the hospitality table once. This was where I first slept with Alison. And then again and again and again. This was where I learned my lines.
This was where I filmed the movie that was going to change my life. Leaving it was going to be bittersweet.
"Hey Big Sexy." Lena leaned against my doorframe. "Ready to get outta here?"
"Yeah. You know me, always looking for the next thing." I slung my jacket over my shoulder and grinned, but she could see through it. "We need to hang out more. Not seeing you every day is going to suck."
"First, I'm taking a month-long vacation and none of you assholes are going to find me. But after that? Sure," she teased. "Hey, I've got a surprise for you. Come with me?"
I mean, I loved a good surprise…
“Sure, why not?”
Lena drove us out to my favorite taco place and sitting at a table was her little sister, who’d always looked up to me like an uncle. Brianna was my first fan and came to every movie premiere I ever had.
"Uncle Jack!" She jumped up to give me a hug.
We spent the afternoon laughing about the old days and eating too many tacos. Lena had apparently starved herself most days to stay thin for the filming and was looking forward to gaining of the weight back. After a long lunch, we hit the beach to walk it all off and catch some fresh air before going to get our drink on tonight.
Brianna ran through the waves, chasing birds and hunting crabs, while we walked through the white sand. I didn't grow up here, but man was I ever glad I ended up here.
"I guess Alison will be glad to hear babysitting duty is over." Lena flashed a devilish look at me. "Since filming is over and all that."
"Don't give me that look." I squinted against the sun, which was an easy excuse to not look at Lena. "Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you about that. I think I need some advice."
"What?" She feigned surprise. "Big Jack needs advice from little ol' me?"
"You know, I like you because of your mouth, but sometimes I want to pop it."
"Won't be the first and you won't be the last. Talk to me."
I sighed, not sure where to even begin. Brianna brought me a seashell and danced off again. "I know I seem like a cold asshole, but I've always wanted to find someone... special. I don't have any family, you know? I don't have people like Brianna in my life all the time who remind me that I'm not always a dick."
"But you are always a dick."
"That's what everyone thinks." I dropped the seashell in the sand. "But I'm not. And I don't want to be that guy. Not anymore."
Lena nudged me with her shoulder and handed me the seashell I'd dropped. "I never thought I'd ever see you grow up. I thought you liked being the asshole who fucked everything with tits and half a brain cell."
"Yeah, well now I require two whole brain cells."
"I'm sure Alison is very proud."
"I... like her a lot, Lena. I can't get her out of my brain. Every bit of downtime I had was spent thinking of her, trying to find ways to make her smile. It wasn't like it's hard. Being together feels almost too easy. But I want to do anything, everything, for her."
"But…"
"But." I frowned and pocketed the seashell. "I know she had to spin that goddamn story a few weeks ago about my time in the pen. I know she knows about it. I worry that's what is holding her back from me. I worry that she won’t be able to take me seriously, knowing I have a record."
"It certainly hasn't stopped her from climbing into your bed."
I shook my head. "We only see each other at work. Yeah, we bang a lot and it's great. I told her there is no one else when I'm with her and I'm pretty sure she showed the same respect. And it's great. But... what if she doesn't take me seriously because of this? What if I'm just the work fuck buddy?"
"Maybe she got all turned on by that babysitting thing after all."
"Fuck you."
"Wait!" Lena widened her steps to catch up with me. "Listen, I don't think you have to worry about a thing. That girl is pathetically into you. Trust me, Sarah gave me an earful every day about their private conversations and I now know way too much about your dick. But here's the thing: why you went to prison doesn't ultimately matter anymore. You aren't that same jackass from however long ago. You've matured. You want to be better. Alison doesn't strike me as the type of girl to get hung up on stupid shit."
"Maybe. Probably."
"Definitely. Hey! Don't go that again!" Lena yelled back at Brianna, who was trying to drop a crab down her shirt. "Fucker. Listen Big Sexy. Listen hard. The entire set knows you two have it bad for each other. Trust her. Open up and tell her what happened. Expose yourself just the littlest bit and let her see you are a real human with real feelings."
My face must have twisted into a hot mess, because she laughed. "I don't... open up."
"I know. I know." Lena gave me a hug and pointed to Brianna. "See that amazing girl who annoys the shit out of me all the damn time? She thinks you hung the moon, Jack. She thinks you are the greatest thing ever. Brianna is one of those rare pure souls who can see people for who they really are and she sees greatness in you. For once in your life, drop the goddamn act and open yourself up to Alison."
"And if she doesn't like what she sees?"
"Then fuck her," Lena said. "But she will. Give her this, and she will trust you. And then you two can happily be on the way to Mexico to be buck-ass naked and fuck while drinking all those margaritas."
"Oh, you heard about that, eh?" I winked at her. "And about my dick?"
"I don't want to talk about this anymore. You're gross."
"Like, did it make you reconsider...?"
"Fuck yourself, Jack Steele. Tonight, I'm dunking your ass so hard in that tank."
I scooped her up in a tight hug. "Thank you, Lena. You're one of the few I can count on."
She pecked me on the cheek. "Ain't no thang, chicken wang. Now go win your woman."