again. It’s too hard to pretend we aren’t more than friends. When you come back here again, there’s a side entrance you can take up to the elevator. I can’t have the paparazzi catching on. And don’t go out on the balcony. Sometimes they get pictures of me out there.’ Laura blew out a long breath. ‘And we can’t act like a couple when we go out into the city. It’s just too risky.’
Eve clenched her jaw, ‘So, basically you want me to be invisible … to not exist.’
Laura caught Eve’s shirt. ‘I’m just protecting you.’
Eve sighed and looked around the apartment. The gravity of who she was still hadn’t sunk in. She didn’t know the type of things Laura had had to endure for her lifestyle. Even though she was less than thrilled by the idea, she agreed. ‘Okay, if that’s what you need. But you picked one hell of a city to try and be anonymous in.’
Eve changed back into her own clothes and promised Laura she would see her later tonight. Even though she agreed to her terms, she couldn’t help but feel uneasy, like the pit of a seed had grown in her stomach overnight. There were so many parts of her that wanted to walk away in that moment, but something, a part of her she wasn’t sure she had or would ever have a word for, made her agree. Made her stay.
Laura read through the edits for the day, memorising them quickly. She beamed when Kelly came in with Jonathan. He ran towards her, his small fingers grabbed at the air until they reached her. Laura heaved him onto her lap in one swift motion.
‘My, my … I heard it was someone’s birthday.’
Jonathan squeezed her arm. His eyes widened. ‘Mine!
‘I think … that’s right, I have something for you.’ Laura reached into her back pocket and handed Jonathan four VIP passes for the Central Park Zoo. Kelly mouthed her a wide ‘Thank you’ in the mirror. Jonathan stared back at Laura, still unsure of what he had been given for his birthday.
‘These,’ Laura pointed to the tickets, ‘are for you to go to the zoo, but they’re special. You go when no one else is there, with private tours of the enclosures.’
Jonathan looked back down at the tickets and bounced on Laura’s lap. He reached for her and wrapped his small arms around her neck. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and giggled.
‘Laura … honestly, it’s too much. I … don’t know what to say.’ Kelly put a hand on her shoulder.
‘You don’t have to say anything. Jonathan’s my little man, aren’t you?’ He nodded up at her and clutched the tickets to his chest.
Laura let Jonathan play in her lap and stare at her in wonder when Kelly applied her make-up and did her hair. Laura changed and gave Jonathan one last squeeze before she was collected by one of the assistants. They had a brief read-through with the rest of the cast, where Deb sat next to her and gossiped about the new actor she described as a ‘total hunk’. Laura watched with a detached curiosity as he sat across from Laura and gave a loud ‘Good morning’ to the rest of the cast.
Laura listened half-heartedly. ‘I’d just like to say, how honoured I am to be …’ He droned on and on with fake gratitude. She finally caught his name, Alex Levi. The name sounded familiar in a far-off Days of Our Liveskind of way. Laura looked away when she noticed him staring at her.
Laura scoured the catered lunch table, picking at the fruit and sandwich pile. She felt someone standing too close to her. She turned to see Alex watching her closely.
‘Hi.’ He grabbed for an apple by her side.
Laura took a step back. ‘Hey.’
‘You know,’ he leaned in close, like he was about to tell her a secret. ‘I’ve never been on a show with someone like you.’
‘Like me?’ Laura raised her eyebrows.
‘Someone of your distinction.’
Laura didn’t like the way he looked at her, like he was stripping back parts of her. Cataloguing her in some way. He gave her the creeps. ‘Is that so?’ She silently prayed that someone, anyone, would call for her.
‘Hey, maybe we could get some coffee some time?’
Laura’s eyes widened in shock. She watched him bite into the green apple. A bead of juice ran along his chin and dripped onto his pressed shirt. The bead expanded and pooled. She felt her feet carrying her away, leaving her lunch on the table.
Laura found Deb outside on the lot, with a cigarette between her manicured fingers. Through a daze, she explained what had just happened.
‘You know why they got him, right?’ Deb asked, a cloud of smoke drifting outwards. ‘He’s your kiss in the finale. Weren’t you in the meeting we just had? Maybe he wanted to establish some chemistry before then.’
‘Great.’ Laura crossed her arms.
‘Just do your job and go home. We pretend, we go home and you, my dear, are very good at pretending.’
Eve slid into the elevator and leaned back against the cold interior. She pressed PENTHOUSE and slipped in the card Laura had given her. Once the elevator doors opened, Eve waited outside Laura’s door. She checked her watch. It would be another half an hour before she got home. Her eyelids grew heavier and, within a few minutes, she was fast asleep.
The black sedan rolled to a stop in the underground parking garage. Laura thanked her driver and took the elevator up to the top floor. She pulled at her clothes, happy to be rid of them soon. Laura was taken aback when she saw Eve asleep at her door. She’d slumped and fallen slightly, her dark lashes flickered slightly as she dreamed. Her head angled to the side, her lips parted. Laura knelt in front of her. The stress of her day washed away the closer she got to Eve. She stirred in her dream. Laura whispered her name.
Eve’s eyes fluttered open. ‘Sorry.’ She mumbled, getting to her feet. Laura kissed the side of her sleepy face and opened the apartment door. Laura changed into an old pair of cotton pants and a T-shirt, while Eve slung herself on the lounge. She stretched out next to her. Eve pulled her into a tight embrace and littered soft kisses on the top of her head. Laura laughed. She kissed the side of Eve’s wrist and matched her arms with her own. A mix of milk and olive skin in a tangle of arms.
Laura settled back into Eve. ‘I was thinking about your tattoos today.’
‘Which ones?’
‘All the ones I haven’t seen.’
Eve lifted up her right foot and peeled back the sock with her left toes. She turned her foot inwards to reveal a string of black block letters: If you want me again look for me under your boot-soles.
‘It’s Whitman.’
Laura touched the words with her own foot. ‘I like it.’ She lowered her foot. ‘I was distracted by you in a meeting today. I started doodling down questions to ask you.’
Eve readjusted her shoulders. ‘What did you come up with?’
‘You don’t seem like a ballet dancer.’
Eve smirked. ‘Is that a question or an observation?’
‘I
