Wildest Dreams

14. Pierre

PIERRE

I t’s hard to leave Kendall after our dinner date. I stand at the bottom of her steps, kissing her for what feels like an hour. I could’ve stayed all night, but I know she isn’t ready for that, and I do have pre-production stuff all day Sunday.

I call Harriett on the way home. It’s late, but she is two hours behind me. I tell her all about my evening with Kendall.

“You’re getting in way over your head. I’ve never heard you talk like this about a girl.”

“I know! It’s crazy. This definitely is not what I expected to find in Alabama.”

“What happens after filming ends?”

“She wants to keep it light so we can part ways with fond memories, but I don’t know. When I’m with her, I keep picturing her in my house in Bel Air. I want her on my arm at premieres. I want her in my trailer on movie sets. I just don’t know how to make that work. I don’t think that’s what she wants.”

“It sounds like she’s not ready anyway.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

“Be careful.”

“I’ll be fine. I’m just enjoying it while it lasts.”

We hang up as I pull into the driveway. Once I get inside, I strip down to my underwear, brush my teeth, and lay on the covers in the bed that once was Kendall’s. It should still be Kendall’s. This was her dream house and that asshole ruined it for her.

Hopefully, by the time I leave Magnolia Row, she’ll be able to live here again, on her own, with happy memories instead of sadness. If nothing else comes from this relationship, I at least want to give her that.

* * *

S unday is a blur of last-minute wardrobe fittings, meetings with the director about script changes after yesterday’s table read, pre-production photography for PR photos, and a trial run of hair and make-up. I text Kendall several times throughout the day so she knows I’m thinking about her. She sends me a song on Spotify—“Daylight” by, of course, Taylor Swift.

I think of how awesome it would be to get tickets to her next tour and take Kendall, but I catch myself and try to focus on the fact that this is a short-term thing. Kendall does not want a commitment or long-term promises. She’s made that very clear.

It’s difficult not to think about the future with someone like her. She’s not a short-term girl. She’s a lifetime girl.

Marina, on the other hand, is a no-term girl. Throughout the day, she’s driven me insane. First it was walking into my dressing room while I was changing during costume fittings, then she made a snarky comment about my phone working while I was texting Kendall. In our meeting with the director, she put her hand on my arm no fewer than twelve times, and during our still photos she squeezed me hard enough that I thought my ribs would break.

The highlight of my day is calling Kendall before I crash in the bed. She tells me she’s thought of nothing but kissing me since I left her apartment. Since her office is closed for Memorial Day on the first day of shooting, I invite her to the set to watch filming. She declines, saying the town is already abuzz with rumors about us. Her parents even called her from Florida because they caught wind of our budding romance.

It seems small towns can be as bad as Hollywood when it comes to other people’s business.

When I look at my schedule for the week, I don’t know how I can fit in another date with Kendall. I’m going to have to wait until the weekend to see her again.

I tell myself the wait will make our next meeting that much sweeter, but I miss her so much I can hardly contain it.

Harriett was right. I am in over my head.