Camila stood impatiently in Dinah's dressing room, or what Dinah had introduced as her dressing room, but felt to Camila more like a janitor's closet. "Cozy" had been Camila's diplomatic reaction, and it might've been true enough if not for the random clothes and hangers strewn about the floor, or the strange smell emanating from a mysterious bag in the corner. It was a shared space, Dinah explained, as if that, in and of itself, were a big deal.
"You move up in the world," Dinah continued, matter-of-factly. "Lauren's dressing room is huge. I glanced in the other day. Huge. It's got like a living room in it, practically. One day, that one will be mine."
Camila only nodded and silently wished that Lauren would drop in. If there was such a thing as being in withdrawal from another person's company, then that's what Camila was. She felt jittery and anxious.
"So," Dinah said, digging through the small bag on her lap. "I need your opinion on something."
"Hmm?"
"What flavor lip gloss do you think Lauren would like most?" Dinah held up various colored tubes. "I've got cherry, mango, orange, strawberry, apple—"
"Apple," Camila said automatically.
Dinah looked over at her. "Yeah?"
Camila wanted to kick herself. What was she doing trying to help Dinah select the right flavored lip gloss? "Or... strawberry."
"You're no help." Dinah threw the tubes back in the bag and sat back in her chair. There was only one chair in the room, as only one chair would fit in there. They'd agreed to take turns sitting. "Waiting has to be the most annoying part of filming." She sighed and then brightened. "So, are you going to tell me about your mystery lover yet?"
"Tonight," Camila promised.
"Why not now? You're so infuriating with this stuff. Can I at least ask questions?"
"Sure, why not." Camila was happy enough to talk about Lauren, albeit indirectly.
"What's she like in bed?"
It was entirely unsurprising for Dinah to open with a question like that, and still Camila blushed. "I don't know... yet."
"Oh no, no," Dinah said, shaking her head. "You haven't slept together yet? Why in the world not?"
Why in the world not. Camila didn't know Lauren's reasons, nor if Lauren even had reasons.
The actress always seemed content to let Camila set the pace. "I'm just not ready," is what she told Dinah, and that was really the bottom line, as far as she was concerned. She wanted someone to talk to about all of this first. She needed to divulge every last detail of the past few months and sort through all the pieces. She needed Dinah to forgive her for lying and hug her and tell her that falling in love with a closeted movie star was actually a good thing.
She didn't know why, but it felt important not to have all of these secrets weighing down on her.
Dinah looked very much like she wanted to protest the very notion of not being ready for sex, but Camila was spared the lecture by a knock at the door. "Come in!"
The door opened and Ally appeared, and Camila couldn't help but look behind her to see if Lauren was nearby.
"Hey, I was just looking for Marshall, have you seen him?" Ally directed the question at Dinah, but she glanced strangely at Camila.
It was then Camila noticed that Ally had a piece of paper in her hand and that she was discreetly urging Camila to take it.
"No, he dropped by earlier to make sure I was here, but I haven't seen him since."
