“I’m guessing you got my text,” Crim said to Mason.
“I did,” he said.
Something intangible shuddered through the air.
I tried to catch Oliver’s eye, but he was focused on Crim and Mason.
Something was going on here. Part of me wanted to turn around and leave, but the other part of me wanted to see what would happen.
I didn’t know Crim’s feelings about Mason, or vice versa, but there seemed to be more than a little rivalry between the two men.
Oliver leaned back against the edge of the pool, looked up at me with his startling green eyes and asked, “You getting in, Charlie?”
There seemed to be so much more to that statement than what was said. For a moment, a flash of fear fluttered through me as I thought about going back to my trailer and having some pleasant alone time for the rest of the day; time to think about my interaction with Mason. But still, that little wild streak of craving adventure wound through my mind. When would I get another chance to hang with three celebrities in a place like this?
“When in Rome,” I said as I eased my way into the water.
“We’re not in Rome,” Oliver said sassily.
“Close enough,” Mason said as he dipped into the water.
I felt a small trickle of camaraderie with Mason then; like he was on my side for once. I began to wonder if I had earned a small amount of his respect back in the locker room.
Maybe Mason was the kind of guy that only responded to insults and arguments.
“I brought champagne,” Crim said, his purple eyes heavy-lidded.
“For what?” I asked.
“To celebrate being done with this location, and on to the next adventure. Plus, being one day closer to the end of my contract,” he said.
Disappointment settled in my gut. “You really want out of here that bad, huh?” I asked.
He reached one of his tatted up forearms out of the water and pawed at a cooler nearby. “I’m not meant for film, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory.”
“Then tell us, Crimson,” Mason said dryly as Crim passed him a sparkling champagne flute filled with bubbling gold liquid. “What are you here for?”
Crim passed a flute to Oliver, then me, and then finally poured one for himself. “I thought that was clear,” he said smoothly. “I’m here to fulfill my end of an obligation to the production company. Cheers,” he said, stretching out his arm to hold his champagne flute high.
We all clinked our glasses together.
“But… what is that obligation, exactly?” Oliver asked.
I was happy that someone else asked that question instead of me. Though even though Oliver had been the one to ask it, Crim still fixed his purple eyes on me.
“You want to know the truth?” he asked with a smirk. “It has something to do with Reese’s Pieces.”
I couldn’t help but lean in a little, eager to know more.
Mason’s champagne was vibrating a little, and I noticed his hand was trembling. He cared about this, big time. He probably cared more about Reese than he let on.
“Well, if you must know,” Oliver downed his champagne and set the empty glass on the stone with a clink. “Mister Riley did a favor for me back in the day. It was related to the same type of thing young Charleston Chew over here took such an issue with.”
The pieces were falling into place. “He… he helped smuggle you into the U.S.?” I asked, feeling my sense of justice swirl uncomfortably.
“Bingo!” Crim said, clapping his hands for emphasis. “Only I’m from Canada.”
“Why is every music star from Canada?” Oliver grumbled.
“Despite what you may have heard, I don’t have all of the answers, Olive Oil,” Crim said dryly.
“So Reese helped you get citizenship and all that?” I asked.
“They were married,” Mason grumbled menacingly.
“What?!” Oliver cried, jerking so hard he nearly spilled his champagne into the pool. “H-how?”
“Same way everyone else does a quickie wedding,” Crim said, his eyes dancing with delight at the chaos. “Vegas.”
Mason’s hand tightened around his champagne flute.
Crim’s eyes were on it. “Oh, calm down Mason Jar. Everyone knows that it wasn't real — it was a marriage of convenience. It’s clear you still carry a torch for Reester Bunny.”
“Then… how do you owe him a favor?” I asked.
“He got me into the U.S. I’m a citizen now, and I can tour without any pesky time limits. It really helped my career. After we divorced — all planned, mind you — access to the U.S. market boosted the number of people that liked my music. The more ears I’d get, the happier I was.”
Me, Mason, and Oliver were all enraptured with Crim’s story. We were moving closer and closer to each other in the tub.
“So, imagine when I was just going about my business, planning on disappearing to Iceland for a year and getting away from all of this nonsense, and all of a sudden our fearless leader gives me a call. Calls in a favor, if you will.”
“He wanted you in the Black Castle,” I said breathlessly.
Crim rolled his purple eyes. “Ugh, it was the very last thing I wanted to do. But Reese reminded me that he stuck his neck out for me all those years ago, so I had pretty much no choice. I’m a gentleman, after all.”
“So you show up here, intent on ruining everything,” I said accusingly, the champagne making my tongue looser than I’d like.
“Not to ruin, Charizard. I’m here to have fun at this point. There’s just too much going on here for me to want to ruin it.”
“Fun? This is your idea of fun?!” Mason spat.
“Well… yeah?” Crim said, looking at Mason like he just sprouted a third arm. “We’re in a roman bath, sipping champagne. This isn’t
