‘Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games.’
‘I could totally see you playing her,’ Amanda said. ‘Would have to dye your hair though. Katniss is totally dark-haired. Kick-ass role though.’
‘How about you, Amanda?’
‘Oh, there are so many amazing roles to choose from... Princess Leia, Hermione in Harry Potter, or Rey in Star Wars.’
‘Lily?’
‘I’d definitely go for a period film like Elizabeth – the Cate Blanchett version – anything where I can get my hair and make-up done and have incredible costumes.’
‘You wouldn’t get fed up of having to wear a corset?’ Jenna asked.
‘Probably, but I just love the theatrics of it.’
‘I can see you as Elizabeth with your stunning red hair.’
Lily smiled and tucked a stray red curl behind her ear. ‘You ask one, Amanda.’
‘Okay,’ she said slowly, drumming her fingers on the table and looking at Lily. ‘Love of your life?’
‘Easy. My boyfriend, hands down. You?’
‘Matt Tulsa, a boy I met on holiday when I was thirteen. I fell completely head over heels in love with him.’
‘Not your boyfriend?’
Amanda laughed. ‘He comes a close second.’ She looked across the table at Jenna. ‘How about you?’
While listening to the others, Jenna had been trying to think who was the love of her life so far, and had come up with no one.
‘I’m not actually sure. Perhaps I’ve not met him yet.’
‘You’ve been in love though, right?’ Lily asked. ‘Had butterflies in your stomach when you see someone, want to spend every minute with them, your thoughts constantly consumed with them.’
‘That could be seen as just lust, though, couldn’t it?’ Amanda said. ‘Love is that feeling when you just know. It’s hard to explain; I guess it might be different for everyone.’
Jenna bit her lip, realisation flooding through her that the only person who’d ever affected her in that way was Finn.
‘Greatest acting ambition?’ Lily moved the questions swiftly on, meaning Jenna had no time to dwell on the fact that Finn meant more to her than just a fling.
~
‘By the way, Timothy and Ade should be here soon,’ Lily said, once they’d exhausted their one-answer questions. ‘We invited them, hope you don’t mind?’
‘Well technically they invited themselves.’ Amanda sipped her wine. ‘We saw them back at the hotel and were itching to do something this evening.’
‘Is Milo coming?’
Lily shook her head. ‘Don’t think so.’
‘Ah, yes of course.’ Jenna sat back in her seat. ‘Silly me, he’ll be with Heidi.’
‘Do you mind?’ Amanda asked.
‘You have to ask?’ Jenna immediately felt the earlier tension return. ‘I’m not with Milo, I don’t want to be with him and I couldn’t care less what Heidi gets up to.’
‘Okay. Sorry for asking.’ Lily folded her arms.
‘It’s just what it looks like, that’s all, Jen. Lily wasn’t meaning anything by it. We’re just checking that you’re okay.’
‘Sorry, yes.’ She gave Lily a weak smile. ‘I didn’t mean to snap – I’m just fed up with the whole situation. I attempted to talk to Milo this afternoon, but he’s enjoying the attention too much to be bothered about how I’m feeling.’
‘You know what you need to do...’ Amanda placed a cool hand on Jenna’s arm. ‘Get laid, but like for real.’
‘Amanda!’ Jenna playfully slapped her arm.
She held her hands up. ‘Sorry, it’s just with all this gossip of affairs and “hot sex” with Milo, and you not actually getting any, I figured you might be a tad sexually frustrated.’
‘Well, I lost my chance, didn’t I, to do anything about that.’
‘You’ve not spoken to Finn?’ Lily asked.
‘If you count arguing with him, then yes.’
‘That bad, huh?’ Amanda gave her a sympathetic look.
‘He doesn’t want to listen; and he doesn’t believe me. He’s been shown up in front of his friends. I think he’s been hurt by a woman in the past and just saw red. The whole thing’s a mess.’
‘He’ll calm down eventually, I’m sure. He’ll see the truth and then it’ll be fine.’ Lily slid her arm across Jenna’s shoulders.
‘And by then we’ll be done filming and leaving Cornwall for good. Realistically it was only ever going to be a one summer thing, so maybe I should just forget about him and move...’
‘Hey ladies.’ Timothy appeared by their table with a pint in his hand.
‘You made it.’ Lily smiled at him. ‘Where’s Ade?’
Timothy motioned across the bar. ‘He’s got a larger table over there, if you want to join him. I just need a minute with Jenna.’
Lily glanced at Amanda, then Jenna. ‘Yeah, of course.’ She patted Jenna’s shoulder as she and Amanda picked up their drinks and headed across the bar.
Timothy sat down next to her. He clasped his hands around his pint and stared across the pub.
‘Lily and Amanda said this was a decent place. They also said you bumped into that builder of yours here the other week.’
Jenna leant back against the cushioned seat. ‘He’s certainly not mine any longer. Milo put paid to that. And if you’re here to threaten me into silence, then don’t worry, I’m not going to say a thing. I don’t bloody care what you and Milo get up to in private. What I do care about is being dragged into the situation and being lied about.’
Timothy placed his hand over hers. ‘Jenna. I came over here to thank you. You have every right to go to the papers and spill the beans and put the story straight, but you haven’t. Who knows if they’d believe you or not, but as you well know, once gossip gets out there – whether true or made-up – it takes on a life of its own.’
‘Do you mind? Milo behaving like this? Hiding your relationship, flirting with every girl he can lay his hands on?’
‘If I want to be with him, that’s just the way it is. On his terms.’
‘It’s sad, you know.’
‘I know. A lot of things are sad. It’s sad he feels the need to hide he’s gay for fear of ruining his career.’ Timothy picked up
