Falling Down(14)

"Mhmm."
"But mostly because you didn't lacquer my hair and you never will. It's amazing that Simone can brush through this and whip my hair up into a bun like that without it being sticky. How do you do it?"
"I'll never tell."
"I want to hire you to go everywhere I go. I'll take you with me to every movie and tell them to f*ck off with their makeup and hair people. I'll have my Spenser."
"I'd follow you anywhere, Luce."
"I'm not kidding, Spenser. You have no idea what damage those… those… people do to my hair when we're filming."
"Oh, I see it and I wasn't kidding either."
"Seriously?" I perk up, nearly kicking water all over the floor.
"Seriously. But I'm not cheap."
"Well, that's a given. I'll pay you double. You're entirely worth it."
"Woman, you're crazy. You'd have had me at this rate."
"You're worth more than that to me. That means you, Simone, and you, Carmen, will be with us forever and ever and ever."
They cheer happily and Sera snorts out a snore. We all burst out laughing.
"Regina's going to be calling soon to talk me off the rocker ledge."
"Jump, Lucy. Do it. Just jump. You're an amazing actress, but your heart is music. I heard it and saw it when you sang."
"It's not that easy, Spense."
"It is that easy. You're a grown-ass woman now and your mother needs to back the f*ck off. It's your life. Let her glam it up with Joey. That's all she needs. He's top tier."
"I know. I know. I don't understand why it's such a big deal."
"Control. She doesn't know shit about the music industry so she can't manage you there."
"Hmm. That's true. I don't have any movies lined up for a while. I'm taking a break. I was back to back for the last five years with only a short break in between. Except for this last one."
"What happened?"
"Aiden f*cking Jensen happened."
"Don't even get her started," Sera says through a yawn.
"Well if it isn't Snorey McSnorelson."
"I was awake."
"You snort-snored."
She flits a hand in my direction. "We're going to do it, aren't we?"
"I want to but we need to see what there is out there for us first."
Sera nodded. "Irene will know. She's always got the hookup."
"That she does."
"I'm on hiatus until further notice from modeling."
I turn to her. "You didn't tell me that."
She shrugs. "It's not what I want to do. Sure, it's glamorous and makes me feel sexy but I want to eat a cream-filled donut. If I want to eat the entire pint of Ben & Jerry's Salted Caramel Core, then I'm going to eat the entire f*cking thing."
"Damn right you are! You can have a fat ass like me."
"Cupcake, your ass is anything but fat."
I stare at Sera for a minute with wide eyes, then take a deep, calming breath.
"Jesse Kingston, what are you doing back here? We could have been naked," Sera says with a grin.
"A man can hope."
"How disappointing for you." I say with a grin.
"Not so much. You're still here."
I suck in a breath. Oh my. No. Yes. No. Oh my God. I wasn't prepared for Jesse Kingston today. I'm not prepared now. Truth be told, I will never be prepared for the hotness that is Jesse Kingston. What is he doing? Here. With me.
He flops into the chair next to mine and Ben strolls over to the sofa. Next comes Kennedy, Ethan, and Xander.
"Sera?"
"Yeah, Luce?"