Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss(76)

“I don’t know. Not that it excuses his behavior, but I sort of understood his motivation. He’s feeling neglected,” I said. “I’ve been there before.”

“Me too,” Donavan said. “It was nice of you.”

“I know. I’m brilliant.”

Donavan gave a soft laugh. “Yes, you are.”

“I don’t have zombie makeup on anymore,” I said.

“I noticed.”

“That means you can kiss me now.”

He leaned over to where I was still resting on his knees and kissed my forehead.

“That’s nice,” I said, turning around and moving up on to my knees. “But I need more.” I pressed my lips against his.





Epilogue


One Year Later

I knew it wasn’t going to be a blockbuster, but that didn’t mean I hadn’t dressed up like I was some world-famous star for the premiere of Dancing Graves. They had rolled out the red carpet, after all. I was pretty sure they did that for every movie premiere, or just whenever the carpet needed airing out, but whatever. It was red, and I was walking on it.

My dad and mom were bypassing the carpet and meeting me inside. But I had a handsome date decked out in a tuxedo on my arm and was owning every second of this experience.

“Lacey, Lacey! Look over here!” A photographer called, and Donavan and I paused for a moment to pose for a shot.

“Is this more what you had in mind when you thought of people yelling your name?” Donavan asked quietly from beside me.

“Yes, actually.” I squeezed his hand. “Is this what you had in mind when you banned yourself from dating actresses?”

“This part hadn’t even occurred to me. It should’ve gone on the cons list for sure.”

We continued walking, the same scene playing out with the photographers until we were inside.

Amanda and Grant were there, looking amazing. They’d come together, but I didn’t think they were still dating. They’d been on again off again for the last year. I didn’t see them much. I ended up finishing out the school year at the school that had hosted my independent study, surprising both my dad, my mom, and myself. I missed my Central Coast friends, but I wanted to spend more time really connecting with my dad. And the fact that Donavan was there didn’t hurt at all. I also decided I wanted to wait to film another movie until high school was over. It was my senior year; I wanted to experience it. And I had. And now I had my first audition the following week.

Amanda rushed over to give me a hug. “How are you feeling? Are you ready to see your face on a huge screen?”

“I’ve never seen it on one quite so big, so I’ll let you know later.”

Grant sauntered over. “You brought a critic for your date?”

“I’m only your critic,” Donavan said to Grant.

I laughed. “He’s teasing you, Grant.” When he still didn’t laugh, I asked, “How is your shoot-’em-up movie going?” He’d been hired again for his reoccurring role as Heath Hall, the teenaged spy. The role he thought he’d lost.

“Very well,” he said. “There are loads of special effects.”

“Are you trying to say there aren’t any in the movie we’re about to watch?”

He smirked, finally loosening up a bit.

“See you guys later,” I said. “I see my parents.”

My mom and dad had come together as well, even though they were, of course, not together. My mom was still happily married, and my dad was single again. He and Leah had dated only a few months, and last I heard she was back together with Remy. I wondered if I’d see them here tonight. I wondered if that would be awkward. Dad smiled as Donavan and I approached.

“How are you feeling?” Mom asked, sounding like she was the one who might not be able to contain her excitement.

“Excited and kind of terrified.”

“We’re proud of you,” Dad said.

“For what?” I asked. “Getting dressed up and coming to a movie premiere?”

“For seeing it through, even when it got hard.” That was big coming from my dad. He was part of the reason it had been so hard. But he had let go a lot in the last year. My mom was still as busy as ever, but I knew she was happy for me.

“What do you mean? It was never hard,” I said.

Donavan smiled beside me. He looked so good in a tux.

“So really?” I asked Donavan. “Are you going to review this movie? I know you’re done with the school paper and everything, but maybe for your first piece at college?” Donavan had been accepted at Berkeley, majoring in journalism and communications, and my plan was to be as close to him as possible when I wasn’t filming.

“I’m just going to be your boyfriend tonight,” he said.

“Good answer.” People starting filing into the theater. “Are you all ready?” I asked.

“It doesn’t matter if we are,” Donavan said, kissing the back of my hand. “Are you?”

“More than ready.”