she asked.
“At those hot springs where we went to that party. I told the guys it’s the best.”
“Travis!” Celeste exclaimed in surprise. “You can’t take the guys there. That’s only supposed to be for Pinyon staff.”
“It’s the desert, Celeste. It’s public,” Travis said.
Celeste noticed Nick watching the exchange with lively interest. She turned back to Travis.
“Whatever,” she said. “Do whatever you want. I just think that spot would be better if everyone didn’t know about it.”
Travis exhaled. “Stop worrying, okay?” He shoved back his chair. “See you later, babe. Have fun with the plates.” He leaned down and kissed Celeste on the mouth, complete with tongue. She tried to pull away after a moment but he held on to her. Why did she feel like a preschool teacher with a class of two?
There was a moment’s silence after Travis left. “That went well,” Nick offered.
Celeste rolled her eyes. “It did not.”
Nick gave her his slick little smile. “I know. I was just trying to make you feel better.”
Celeste punched him in the arm. “All right, let’s get some work done.” She started shuffling around the place settings. “Hey, by the way, when do you want to screen the film? We should block out, like, two hours, right?”
Nick looked embarrassed for a minute. He fidgeted with a napkin. “Well, it’s, um, only twenty minutes.” He stared down at the table and then glanced up quickly, as if expecting Celeste to laugh or something.
“What? What’s wrong with that?” she asked him.
“Well, most people are used to feature-length movies.
So they usually smirk when they hear my film is only twenty minutes.”
“Well, that’s just stupid,” Celeste told him firmly.
“They just don’t understand that there are other kinds of movies other than the big, splashy Hollywood type.”
“Right!” Nick’s face lit up. “I mean, it’s like everyone expects a sex-in-the-shower scene and a car chase, or it’s not a good movie.”
Celeste tilted back in her chair, balancing on the two back legs. “So what’s your film about? We’ve been planning this whole party and everything, and I keep forgetting that it’s not just a party—it’s actually all about the film.”
Nick’s tanned face started turning pink again, and Celeste thought in spite of herself that he looked cute when he blushed. It was also kind of cute that the arrogant Nick got embarrassed talking about his film.
“Well, actually, I um, brought it with me.”
Celeste banged her chair forward on the floor. “You did?”
Nick’s face was now so pink, he looked like he had a terrible sunburn. “Yeah. It’s on my laptop.” He lifted the MacBook Air onto the table and then put his hands in his lap.
Celeste waited. “Well, okay, let’s see it!” she finally said.
“Only if you’re sure you really want to.” Nick
fumbled with the catch on the laptop lid.
Celeste scooted her chair around next to his and he opened a file labeled “Director’s Cut.” An intense wash of color immediately grabbed Celeste’s attention. She watched, rapt, as an ocean crashed and, in the fore-ground, two sailboats raced side by side. A girl was sailing one and a guy was sailing another. The film had clearly been shot by someone who loved the ocean—Celeste really felt like she was part of the race. The sailors struggled to overtake each other until the girl finally won.
The scene shifted and the girl and guy were shown tying up their boats in a harbor. They were staring at each other. Then an older man appeared and the girl went off with him, her head on his shoulder and her arm around his waist. For reasons she didn’t entirely understand, Celeste felt an intense pang of sadness as the camera showed the guy on the dock, staring after them. The scene shifted again and the camera showed the outside of a small white house in a gorgeous, sun-drenched seaside town. The guy from the race walked up to the door and went inside. The girl from the harbor was waiting for him on the sofa. The camera faded to black.
Nick clicked the screen closed and wiped his hands on the sides of his jeans, as if his palms were sweaty. “So, what do you think?” he asked, looking at the table instead of Celeste.
She considered a moment.
“Okay, just say if you don’t like it!” Nick burst out, his cheeks still pink.
“Hey, calm down,” Celeste said. “I was thinking, that’s all. I think it’s really interesting—who was the girl?
Why did she go off with the older guy?”
Nick looked up. “So you don’t think it’s totally ama-teurish?”
“No!” Celeste reassured him. “I mean, I don’t know anything about film, but every shot was really beautiful.
And the story builds quietly, you know? Like, you go through this range of emotions without even really knowing why.”
Nick let out a giant sigh and flopped back in his chair.
He dangled his arms and let his head fall back. “I was a little nervous showing it to you.”
Celeste stifled her giggle. “Oh yeah? I could never tell. So come on, who was the girl?”
“Well, I know who she is,” Nick said, straightening up and regaining some of his usual composure, “but I like to let the audience figure it out for themselves—I mean, she could be anybody. People can make her whoever they want.”
Celeste sat back and draped her arm over the back of the chair. “Wow,” she said. “That’s good. I …” She looked down at her hands and let her sentence trail off.
“What?” Nick asked. “Wait, no, don’t say—let me
guess.” He tapped a pencil on one of his teeth, pretend-ing to think. “You’re really surprised that a suave ladies’
man like me could actually make something so delicate, insightful, sensitive, and thought-provoking. A movie so heartbreaking that it rivals even—”
“Stop!” Celeste held up her hands, laughing. “I’m just surprised. It’s not what I expected from …” She stopped again.
“Spit it out,” Nick said. He folded his hands as if waiting for a scolding.
Celeste smiled a little. “Well, from the annoying, spoiled kid who won’t stop
