“It’s refreshing,” Leo said, looking off into the morning sun.
The dawn light washed over his features, making everything about him shine gold. He looked like some type of golden god, a true idol.
“It’s refreshing talking to you too,” I admitted. “We’re both from the midwest. We’re both down to earth, not like all of these Hollywood people…”
Leo nodded and smiled. It was this nice, boy-next-door smile. “I know exactly what you mean. I was raised on a farm.”
“No way!” I said with a chuckle. “Does Oliver know?”
“No. I’m very… guarded around everyone here,” he said slowly. “From my perspective, the less these people know about me, the better. They don’t need to know anything about me. All I have to do is my job; that’s what they’re paying me for. I show up, do the job, and then I’m done. Getting involved with all of the drama is just… it takes so much extra energy.”
Leo was looking more and more handsome to me by the second.
“So you grew up in Ohio?” he asked, changing the subject back to me. That’s what I always did to people when I got uncomfortable with talking about myself too much.
“You’re introverted, aren’t you?” I asked out of nowhere.
He sighed. “Is it that obvious?”
“Not to anyone except other super introverted people,” I winked.
“Well, thanks for being here. It was… lonely without someone who gets it,” Leo said. “Most people around here think I’m aloof or whatever, because I never want to hang out or be a part of their reindeer games. But I’m fine with everyone — it’s just that my idea of a good time is being alone at a coffee shop working on some project, or reading quietly, or going on long road trips.”
“Me too!” I said excitedly, coasting on the sensation of validation at finally being understood. “People around here don’t get that. It’s all party this, brunch that, let’s go to a happy hour, let’s all go dancing…”
Leo laughed. “You hit the nail on the head. Being in Hollywood, it’s just… it’s all so exhausting. I find myself thinking about being on the farm again from time to time. I don’t think city life is for me. The money is nice, though.”
“Yeah, I saw my contract the other day for finishing this show. I’ve never seen that much money in my life…” I admitted.
“It makes all the difference in the world,” Leo said. “For people like us — coming from small-town midwest, it’s like a whole new kind of culture shock. I kind of feel like an imposter half the time.”
“Oh, you feel like an imposter?” I asked incredulously, punching him on the arm playfully. “I’m just some hairstylist that Reese decided needed to be an actor.”
“Hah, yeah that’s pretty amazing,” Leo said. “But seriously, that scene you did with Mason… it was impossible not to watch you.”
“Wait, are you serious?” I asked, my mouth dropping open.
Leo nodded. “There was talent in that room, and it wasn’t coming from Mason,” he said softly.
I burst into laughter. “You’ve got to be pulling my leg…” I said.
“Charlie, you can’t let that get to you,” Leo said. “That midwest modesty doesn’t get you far here. This is the land of fake it till you make it.”
“I know, I know,” I said. “I just have trouble believing that some rando like me is so over-the-top talented— and that all I was doing was a sex scene, and now all of a sudden I’m an actor in The Black Castle! If I’m so talented, why didn’t any of those plays I auditioned for call me back?”
“Because that’s all bullshit,” Leo said, his face pulling into a frown. “Nepotism. Bad scripts. Layers of managerial bullshit. Only a few lucky ones have the keys to the kingdom, like Mason. His parents are both in show business, so he could have screwed up if he tried. Otherwise, if you’re like you and me, you have to have talent of course. But that’s not enough. There are a thousand points of failure between talent and fame, and they’re all in the hands of other people. People like us — we’re talented, but we got lucky is all.”
I liked that — I liked the way he said us like that.
For once, I felt like I was good enough. Leo wasn’t like the others. He wasn’t gatekeeping or protecting his ego by trying to make me feel rejected from this little club.
No; Leo had summited the Mt. Everest of fame and instead of pushing me off the peak, he was reaching down to lend me a helping hand.
“…thanks,” I said, looking down and blushing.
“I’m just telling it how it is,” he said stiffly.
We walked in silence for a few minutes, and I found myself wondering what it would be like to be with Leo; if we were a couple. Now that we were both standing on this mountain, that he was inviting me into this world, I felt like I might be good enough to be with him.
Just maybe.
As we were walking side-by-side, our hands grazed. Neither of us said anything about it, but there was that wonderful spark of chemistry, still alive and well.
“So… you and Mason,” he said out of the blue.
My heart began to beat faster. “What about Mason?”
A million questions whizzed through my head at supersonic speed. Was Mason spreading rumors? Were other people talking about me and him? Was he talking shit about me to get me off the show?
“There’s something between you two,” Leo said.
I tried to examine his face out of the corner of my eye. His jaw was tight.
“There isn’t,” I lied.
Leo visibly relaxed.
“Isn’t there something between you and Reese?” I asked before I could stop myself. “Sorry, I—”
“No, it’s fine,” Leo said with a wave of his hand. “There’s nothing between me and Reese. I don’t think it’s right to have something with my boss.”
“But you like him,” I said, my face falling.
“What I feel isn’t important,” Leo
