Then There Was You

VII

Our flight back to Glasgow was at 3pm. So we had to make our lunch with the directors a brunch. Rachel and I made it to the cafe, both hungover and slightly worse for wear, at 10.30am.
"Miss Williams! It's great to finally hear your natural accent- Not that I didn't love your English one yesterday. You had me fooled.
It wasn't until I was studying your file that I noticed you've lived in Scotland all your life.
Tell me, why did you pretend to be English the whole time?" Frank asks, looking at me with intrigue.
"Well... I wanted to be believable."
"And believable you were! Well done! A great display of dedication."
Thankfully, Rachel done most of the talking after our awkward exchange. I just sat back and nodded or shook my head where necessary, gripping onto my coffee for dear life.
We managed to wrap up the meeting by 12pm. And after two coffees, a cheese toastie and a glazed donut- I was feeling much better and excited.

It was official. Today, I signed my first TV contract. In two weeks, I would be jetting off to Dublin and put up in a hotel with the rest of the cast- all expenses paid. I would receive three hundred pounds every week, for six weeks. It wasn't much, but I really didn't care. I was getting to do real acting. On TV. With real actors. It was going to be amazing!
I am going to be on TV!
And six weeks in Ireland! This was the biggest opportunity of my life so far. My prior greatest achievement had been a minor role in Singin' in the Rain at the Edinburgh Playhouse. This beats that already!

We're about twenty minutes into our flight back home, when I realise I haven't done something extremely important.
I look over at Rachel, she's looking out of the aeroplane window, a dreamy look on her face.
"Thank you Rachel," I say, taking hold of her hand. She turns to face me. "I would never have got this if it wasn't for you. You're the best agent in the world. And the bestest friend I could ever ask for."
I mean every word.
Her blue eyes swim with tears, and she suddenly throws her arms around my neck.
"Oh Lara! I love you," she says into my hair.
I laugh and hug her back tightly. She sniffles and then pulls away, flattening down her long dark hair. She lets go of my hand and looks back out of the window, a happy smile on her face.

Back at home, I'm greeted and celebrated like I've just won an Oscar. My mum and sister all pile into my bed, and we stay up most of the night chatting. I give them all the details of my trip but I purposely leave a few details out about Henry.
"Well, what does he look like?" Louise asks excitedly, wagging her eyebrows at me. I laugh and type his name into google. I show them the first picture. Louise snatches the phone from my hand and inspects it closely.
"Well, well, well... Can I come to Dublin with you?" She asks naughtily.
"Louise! Behave! Let me see," my mum says, taking the phone from her hands.
"Hmm..." she says, looking at the picture for a very long time. Louise and I look at each other and giggle.  "He is very handsome. But not as handsome as our James."
Louise and I both erupt into laughter at the same time.
"What? It's true!" My mum says indignantly.
"I know mum," I say, finally regaining my composure. "No one is more handsome than James."

The next day, I spend it with James.
I have to do a lot of begging but he agrees to let me take the six weeks as holidays. I tell him all about London, and I tell him all about Henry. Everything. About my reaction being real. The flirting. Giving him my number. Everything.
He looked at me for a long time and didn't say anything. Until eventually he shrugged and said, "I'm not worried. I know you love me."
James never was the jealous type. I love that about him but it also makes me worry about him too. How can someone be so cool and casual about their feelings all the time? Especially on this occasion. Surely your girlfriend telling you that she was attracted to another man would raise some sort of emotion? I didn't get it. But I was thankful, and it was a considerable weight off my chest.

That weekend, Rachel plans a big night out in the city of with all my friends to celebrate.
When I say all my friends, I only have five. Two of them being James and Rachel, and the other three are Morgan, Kelly and Ashleigh. I met them all in high school, and we've remained close ever since.
We're all going out clubbing in Glasgow.
It's mid June in Scotland- the peak of summer. So that means I can actually wear a dress outside without catching hypothermia. I won't even need a coat!

I look at myself in the mirror one last time. I'm wearing a deep gold bodycon dress, it shows off my muscular, round bottom and draws attention to my slim waist. It clings tightly to my breasts. Luckily, I'm only a B cup so I don't need to wear a bra with this kind of dress. The tight fabric keeps them firmly in place. My hairs left loose and curling wildly about my face. My skin has nice summer glow which makes my green eyes seem brighter. I've applied a light layer of make up, but my lips are screaming red.
I look good. Happy with what I see, I blow myself a kiss and head out to have fun with my friends.

The two weeks fly by wildly. I barely have time to see James, in between studying and script learning. It's been over a week since the audition when I realised Henry still hasn't text me. I'm leaving for Dublin in three days! He wanted to meet up to go over our lines. Get a head start, he said. Did I maybe give him the wrong number? No. Even if you did, he could have emailed you or even got your number from Frank. If he wanted to see you, he would have by now. I wonder what that was all about then? Asking for my number and not using it?
Men are strange.

The night before my flight finally came. I was already packed and ready to go, so I stayed with James. He was going to take me to the airport in the morning. He had been acting strange since I told him about Henry.
He hadn't tried to kiss me once. The last time he touched me was when we were out dancing last week. I was staring to feel a little miserable. How was it possible to miss someone who was sitting right next to you?
"James?" I say shyly. He doesn't look at me. We're in bed, under the sheets. He's lying on his back and I'm nestled into his side, my chin resting on his chest so I can look up at his face.
"Mmm?"
"Do you love me?"
He looks down at me then, and he brushes my hair from my face. I lean into his touch, sighing loudly.
"Of course I do," but he drops his hand.
I wait for him to say more, but he doesn't. He's closed his eyes now. I sigh again and try to wind myself down to sleep.
Tomorrow is going to be a big, big day.