Better Than Revenge (Special Edition)

Chapter 6: Christian & Sophia

Chapter 6

Christian

"No. No way. I'm not doing it."

I knew it. I knew Nora and that casting director were going to try to rope me into doing this movie. I knew they didn't want me to read those lines with Sophia just because it was "convenient." They wanted me to do it because they were using her audition as my audition, too.

"I know this isn't the kind of movie you're interested in doing anymore, Christian, but you're perfect for this role," the casting director said. Rachel. That was her name. I wasn't the best with names. "We've offered the role of Eric Knight to Blake and he's already accepted. We need a William Knight."

I looked over at Blake accusingly, moving the phone away from my mouth. "You took the role of the brother and didn't tell me? Why didn't you tell me? We always tell each other this shit."

"I was going to tell you. I was going to tell you after Rachel broke the news to you that they want you to be Will," Blake said. When I glared at him, he just grinned like he was proud of his betrayal.

I lowered my voice so only Blake could hear me. "No. I already said I'm not doing this. There's no way."

"Come on, man, it'll be fun. It'll be just like old times. Remember? It's how we met."

When he saw the look on my face, he added, "Come on, Chris, don't make me do this alone. I want to expand my portfolio, too. I want to be seen as someone who can take on more serious roles. But I also have a movie quota to keep up, and this one should bring in a nice amount of cash."

"Christian?" Rachel said, directing my attention back to the phone call.

"Yeah." I reluctantly brought the phone back over my ear. "Yeah, I'm here."

"What do you say? Has Blake convinced you?"

Blake looked over at me with pleading eyes. "Don't leave me alone with those girls. Come on, man. What have you got to lose?"

I moved the phone away from my mouth again. "What girls?"

Blake shrugged, but it wasn't a convincing shrug. It was a suspicious shrug. The mischievous twinkle in his eyes didn't help ease my suspicions.

"You'll have the highest salary, the biggest trailer, an intern to cater to your every need, and anything you need that can be done within reason will be given to you," Rachel said. "We just need you to say yes."

I sighed. I had a feeling I was going to regret this sooner than later. Actually, I had a feeling I was going to regret this several times over. "Alright. Alright, fine, I'll do it. I'll take the role."

***

Sophia

"Why don't you just ask him out yourself?"

Tori looked at me like I had grown two heads in the last five seconds. "I can't ask him out myself. Are you crazy?"

I sighed, unsure what to say to make her feel better. I'd spent the last hour listening to Tori rant about Nick and was about ready to burst.

While they'd certainly hit it off at the airport, things weren't moving as quickly as Tori had hoped. They texted a lot, but she was waiting for the "big ask." Unfortunately, the closest he'd come to asking her out so far was saying they needed to "hang out sometime." It was better than the guys who asked you to come over and "chill" but not by much.

"Ooh, we should go in there," Tori said, heading for a store called Retail Slut. We were in the middle of the best cure for boy troubles that I could think of: a shopping trip. Tori's situation didn't quite call for a sappy romance movie, ice cream and wine. Retail therapy, however, seemed to be doing the trick, based on the way her eyes lit up when she saw that store.