On the Outside (Caught Inside #3) (8 page)

Chapter 14

The next few days passed by at a snail’s pace. Sure, the days were filled with rehearsals, wardrobe fittings, and some other miscellaneous pre-production chores, but to me they dragged on excruciatingly. For one, each morning I’d automatically glance out my window expecting Xavier’s ostentatious Jeep to pull up, and then each morning I’d be heavily disappointed when I remembered he wasn’t in town. The one ray of light in the situation is that he’d text me every day. Even if the text was about something stupid like whether or not I knew my way to the nearby grocery store, it felt good to know that he cared about me somewhat. I hated to admit it, but my feelings for him were growing steadily by the day. It didn’t help that I had no other friends in the area, so I had nothing to do but pine for the man every waking moment. After my experience at
Joy In and Joy Out
, I’d made it a cardinal rule not to befriend any of my coworkers. Sure it was a bit lonely, but it was safer, and safety was what I needed in my life. However, after being left with nothing to do but stare at the clock after work, I was more than willing to break that rule. Of course that would mean I’d have to contact them first. Like that was going to happen.

Knock. Knock.

My head snapped up from the magazine I was reading. I hated to admit it, but after reading and rereading the same article for ten minutes, I still had no idea what it said. Stupid Xavier was filling my mind! Shrugging it off, I glanced at the door and frowned.

“Who is that?” My heart immediately began to pound. “Maybe Xavier came back early!” Just as soon as the words left my mouth, I shook my head and scowled. “Come on, don’t be stupid, Harper. He wouldn’t come back for you.”

At least he’d text you first before showing up.

Groaning at my stupidity, I threw the dog-eared magazine to the side and shuffled toward the door. Placing both hands gently on either side of the peephole, I looked outside and gasped in surprise.

I quickly yanked the door open and lost all my breath. “Charlie! What are you doing here?”

The gorgeous actor leaned against the door frame grinning from ear to ear. The sunlight glowed behind him, giving him a halo effect. He looked like a gorgeous angel or a gorgeous Greek god. Did I mention he was gorgeous?

“I was a bit saddened when you didn’t answer any of my texts to hang out with the rest of the cast.”

Saddened? Wow, he’s so proper.

“
Thought I’d come in and check on you to make sure you hadn’t fallen off the face of the earth.” His thick Australian accent covered each word like molasses.

I gripped the edge of the door and gulped, still flabbergasted that
the
Charlie Daniels was standing right on my doorstep. How did he even find out where I lived?

Studio rented corporate apartments, idiot.

I cleared my throat and giggled nervously. “Um, I never got any texts from you.”

“Oh, you didn’t?” He scratched at his forehead and shrugged. “Guess that explains the silence. We’ve been wondering where you’ve been at.”

“We?” I repeated flatly.

“The rest of the cast. We’ve been hanging out together a few nights out of the week to get comfortable with each other.” He paused and threw me a sad smile. “Can I be honest with you?”

I fidgeted uncomfortably. “I guess so?”

“Honestly, we thought you just wanted nothing to do with us. We can’t blame you, really. After everything we’ve heard about your past, we’d be wary about meeting other people too.”

And just like that, any feelings of idolization I felt were gone. Though his sincere expression told me that he probably hadn’t meant to insult me, I couldn’t help but feel there was a jab somewhere in his words.

I cleared my throat and sighed. “Well, can you tell them that you all had the wrong number? As much as a pariah the public made me out to be, I’m not in any way, shape, or form a snob.”

Charlie’s blinding white smile faltered. “Um, okay…sure.”

“Good.”

“So…can I come in?”

Biting back a sigh, I nodded and pressed my lips together into a stressed smile. “Come right in.”

Charlie walked in and gazed around my apartment.

It’s probably a craphole compared to his digs.

“This place is nice,” he commented, fingering a lamp that had crystal tassels hanging from the end of the shade. “Did you decorate it yourself?”

“Uh, no. It’s a corporate apartment. It was already decorated when I moved in.” I shut the door, watching him in confusion. What the hell was he doing here?

“Oh.”

Spotting the rolled up script bulging out of his back pocket, I frowned. “What do you have there? The script?”

Charlie once again flashed his cover page worthy smile. He reached behind him to pull it out, causing his grey shirt to rise a bit. I had to consciously tell myself to stop ogling his defined abdomen.

Smiling knowingly, he responded, “Yeah, I figured you might be keener on getting to know each other while running through our lines than going out and partying. You seem like a pretty steadfast, hard worker.”

The left corner of my upper lip lifted into a perplexed scowl. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Perfect! Want to grab a cup of water and get started?”

“A cup of water?”
What am I, your maid?

He nodded eagerly. “Trust me. Once we get started, you won’t want to stop. Your throat will be parched once I’m through with you.”

My cheeks warmed instantly. There was no way he couldn’t hear the innuendo in his words. Surprisingly, he didn’t pause enough to gloat. Instead he motioned toward the kitchen.

“Come on, let’s get started. It’ll be fun running lines in private.”

I glanced hesitantly toward my fridge and shrugged. “Yeah, let me get some water then.”

His blue eyes twinkled before shooting me a wink. “You go do that.”

***

“I can’t expect you to wait for me! Don’t you see? I’m not worth the risk!” My mouth quivered as my nose prickled with the feeling of ten thousand pins.

“You
are
worth it.” Charlie grabbed onto my hands and peered into my eyes. His striking blues were like an abyss I wanted to get sucked into. They were like two jewels I could almost see wars starting over.

What the hell are you thinking?

Suddenly feeling overwhelmed and a bit suffocated, I pulled away and laughed. “And scene.”

Charlie took a few moments to blink and took a deep breath. “Yowzer, that scene was pretty intense.”

I rubbed the back of my neck, which suddenly felt tense, and chuckled. “Yeah, it was. Needless to say, your American accent was quite impressive.”

“Yeah, blame it on that series I was on for four years. It took me a while to lose the southern drawl that I obviously don’t need to play a Californian.”

I nodded, remembering his old TV show. I had caught a few episodes of the thriller and was really impressed by his acting chops.

How the hell did I land the part of his love interest?

Charlie leaned back onto my couch and lifted his legs, placing his feet on top of my coffee table. I inwardly cringed, but reminded myself that I had lived in filth during my last few days in New York. I lifted my gaze and noticed the actor eyeing me curiously.

“What?” I asked, feeling a bit self-conscious. I glanced down at my clothes to make sure I hadn’t stained them or flashed any unnecessary body parts.

“Just wondering what your deal is,” he replied nonchalantly.

“What do you mean?” I asked in alarm.

“Something tells me that even if the rest of the cast did have the correct phone number, you wouldn’t have come out with us anyway.”

Chagrined, I smiled and shrugged uncomfortably. “I just like keeping to myself.”

“Really? From what I heard—”

“Fuck what you heard!” I snapped angrily.

His eyes widened in surprise. “I’m sorry…I just meant—”

“I know what you mean,” I shot back with a sneer, allowing months’ worth of hurt and aggression to consume me. “Trust me, I’ve heard it all before, and that’s precisely why I was hesitant to get to know you all. God knows how ‘getting to know’ the cast worked for me last time.”

And just like that, I finally realized why it was so hard to move on from
Joy In and Joy Out
. I was hurt. Hurt that all the ‘friends’ I made didn’t stick up for me during the infamous Bennington Scandal. I was hurt that no one stood up for me when the writers decided to kill me off. I was hurt that nobody came to my aid when I needed it most. Nobody but Riley, that is, and Lord knows how I ruined that.

Outsider.

That’s what I always was, right? It’s what I’ll always be. There was no point in trying to get to know people and forcing all of us to pretend to like each other.

Charlie frowned and reached out to pat my arm. Expecting the familiar warmth I got whenever Xavier touched me, I was surprised to find nothing but a chill. “Hey, just because your other castmates were douchebags doesn’t mean we are. Besides, you definitely moved up in the acting ranks getting cast in this movie.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you’re free from Coby Evans, aren’t you?”

Okay, now
that
caught me by surprise. My initial anger quickly subsided, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, thanks for the reminder. I needed to hear that.” Cocking my head to the side in curiosity, I asked, “Have a history with the jerk too?”

“Oh yeah.” He grinned. “We’re the same age, and though we look different, we often auditioned for the same roles. Needless to say, he wasn’t really into good sportsmanship.”

“You can say that again.”

Charlie nodded his head slowly. “Shooting begins in a week. You think you’re ready to put aside past grievances? Trust me; they’ll only deter you from acting your best.”

Recalling what Xavier told me earlier, I shrugged. “I think my quirks will help me, thank you very much.”

A slow smile spread across his cheeks.

Seriously, does this guy ever stop smiling?

“What?” I asked hesitantly.

“Forget about it.” He brushed me off and jumped to his feet. “Guess I better go. A few of us are heading down to grab some drinks later. I’d invite you, but something tells me you might say no.”

I rolled my eyes as I led him to my door. “If this is your idea of reverse psychology, sorry to say it won’t work.”

I’ve already had my share of disobeying my gut instinct, and we all know how that worked out.

Just as Charlie was about to respond, my cell phone went off. Frowning, I fished it out of my tight jean pockets and couldn’t help but smile when I saw who the text was from.

Xavier: You’re right, 30 years old and I’ve certainly been missing out. Finally found myself in New York. How am I here and you’re there?

New York? Reading the words made me wilt a bit, though I couldn’t blame it on homesickness. In fact, New York could kiss my ass if it wanted to. No, I guess a part of me was hoping that someday I’d be the one showing him around the big city. Knowing he was there without me stung a bit.

“What’s he doing in New York?” I whispered.

“Who’s in New York?” Charlie asked, leaning forward with interest.

I shook my head and hastily placed the phone back into my pocket. “No one. Just a friend.”

“A friend, huh?” His eyes darkened.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Charlie took a deep breath and sighed. “Listen, I know you don’t know me well.”

Try at all.

“But can I give you some advice?”

I nodded my head, unable to fight my curiosity.

“You know Xavier?”

How could I not?

I nodded again, only this time I did so hesitantly. “What about him?”

“Be careful with him. I know he seems like an awesome guy and all, but…”

“But what?” I demanded, suddenly feeling overly protective of my friend. “You know I don’t feel comfortable talking shit behind people’s backs. Hell, I certainly know how it feels.”

He bowed his head in apology. “I’m not trying to talk shit about anyone—I’m just trying to tell you the truth.” He paused and smiled sheepishly. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you don’t seem to be a good judge of character.”

“What do you mean?”

He certainly was digging himself into a larger hole each time he opened his mouth.

“I know you think I’m a bad guy, but I’m really not.”

“I don’t think—”

“Just like you think Xavier is a good guy.”

“He
is
a good guy,” I argued.