Kris T. Bethke's Something Like Box Set

Chapter 5-1

Chapter 5I didn’t have to be on set until Friday, so I did my best to put the whole Lucas situation out of my head until then. It wasn’t easy, and I’d had to take a few cold showers, but when Friday dawned and I got out of bed, I felt ready to deal with it.

I wasn’t sure if Lucas was scheduled to shoot any scenes today, but I had a Plan B if he wasn’t. Namely, I hoped to weasel his phone number out of Dan and then leave Lucas a message, asking to talk. That way the ball was in his court, and if he didn’t do anything with it, then it wasn’t my fault.

I may have been hoping for Plan B.

My makeup call was for nine-thirty, so I showed up a bit early. I didn’t see Lucas’s Camaro in the lot. I tried not to let my relief get the better of me. It could be that he had a later call. I took a deep breath and headed into the building. I walked straight toward my dressing room, knowing I would pass Lucas’s on the way. The door was shut, and when I paused and listened, I couldn’t hear anything from inside. All right then. I’d wait. If I didn’t see him by the end of the day, I’d talk to Dan.

Court was lounging on the couch in our dressing room, an e-reader in his hand and his glasses perched on the end of his nose. He looked up when I entered, and I gave the older man a grin.

“Thought you were supposed to be shooting already.”

Court made a disgruntled noise and waved his hand. “There was a malfunction with the lighting board. There were sparks. They’re trying to sort it out.”

I nodded and moved toward my side. Court had had the room to himself before I’d been made a full-time cast member, but he was gracious about sharing his space. Okay, so maybe my side of the room was less than half, but that didn’t bother me. Court was a great guy, and we’d found a friendship.

“That’s for you,” Court said from behind me. I turned to see where he was pointing. There was a box on the low table by the couch, white and wrapped in a red bow. I quirked a brow at him as I lifted the card from the top. It had my name on it, but nothing else.

“Who’s it from?”

Court shrugged one massive shoulder. “I don’t know. Was here when I got in.”

I picked up the box, surprised at how light it was. Court sat up, moving his feet so I’d have someplace to sit. I did and placed the box in my lap. Security was fairly tight, so I wasn’t worried about who had left it. Only someone with access could have gotten in, and anything sent by fans was screened before it was given to us. Of course, I didn’t really have fans per se. I knew it had to be from someone on the inside. But I couldn’t imagine who would be leaving me a gift.

I untied the ribbon and set it aside before cautiously lifting the lid. When I saw what was inside, my breath caught. With a great deal of care, I lifted one of the slippers from the box. Hand tooled dark brown leather, supple and giving, and lined with sheepskin. They were gorgeous. And I knew, because I knew slippers, that they couldn’t have been cheap. They looked warm and cozy and exactly perfect. There was no card inside, no indication of who had left them.

Realization dawned. There was only one person who knew about my slipper collection. But I couldn’t fathom why Lucas would buy me a gift, let alone such an expensive one. I didn’t make any sense.

Unless my father was right and he had been pulling my pigtails.

The question was why he’d changed tactics and was now giving me a present. Maybe it was just an apology? Perhaps he felt bad about what he’d done, about that kiss, and was trying to make it up to me. My brain spun, trying to rationalize the slippers I held in my hands.

“Those are nice.” Court’s voice broke into my musings. “Who gave them to you?”

“No clue,” I lied, standing up fast. By Court’s expression, I hadn’t been convincing, but thankfully he didn’t push. There was a beep and then the intercom crackled to life, announcing that the lighting problem had been fixed. Court stood and placed a hand on my shoulder as he moved past me.

“Back to work for me.” He was almost to the door when he paused, then turned slightly to look over his shoulder at me. “Whoever gave those to you must think pretty highly of you.” And then he was gone.

I knew Court was right. But it still didn’t make sense. There was no help for it now. I was really going to have to find Lucas and ask him what the hell was up.

* * * *

I was in the middle of shooting a scene and on a five-minute break while they reset, when I finally saw him. It was early afternoon, and it was just a glimpse as he poked his head into the room to see what was going on. I knew he saw me, because it wasn’t until I lifted my hand in a wave that he ducked back out again. Now he was just being weird. I put it out of my mind until I finished the scene, knowing I had to be in the right mindset to get my character right.

Three hours later, we were done, and I went in search of the elusive Lucas. He wasn’t on set, or in his dressing room. I was just headed to craft services when I spotted him walking down the hall. I sped up to catch him, but by the time I did, he’d ducked onto the bullpen set and was in conference with one of the producers. I waited, trying to look inconspicuous, but I was drawing stares. Giving it up as a lost cause, I headed back to my dressing room and changed. Then I loitered in the doorway for a while, thinking I’d catch him when he came to change.

Two more hours dragged by and I felt like a fool. He had to be avoiding me, but I couldn’t figure out why. He must have been trying to tell me something with the gift, but now he didn’t want to talk to me? He was confusing as all hell. And I was the i***t waiting around.

I packed up my stuff, and the slippers, and headed out. On the way, I veered down the production office hallway and sneaked a look at the call sheet for the next day. Lucas was scheduled to be in makeup at seven-thirty, and I knew it was his habit to get to the set at least an hour early. New plan in place, I headed home.

* * * *

I got to the set at three minutes after seven the next morning, and when I saw the Camaro in the parking lot, I moved quickly. I walked straight to Lucas’s dressing room. The door was cracked open, and I could hear the soft strains of some 80’s rock ballad. I didn’t knock, didn’t ask for permission, just walked in the room and shut the door quietly behind me.

It took him a second to realize I was there. When he did his face lit up with a grin, before a scowl quickly took its place.

“I wanted to say thank you.” I kept my voice soft and calm. “They’re beautiful, and I really appreciate it.”

He opened his mouth, and for a second I knew he was going to deny that he knew what I was talking about. I could see it all over his face. But then he deflated and blew out a breath. “You’re welcome.”

I waited, but he didn’t say anything else. Okay, then. It was up to me. I cleared my throat. “Look, Lucas, I think we need to talk—”

“Yes,” he cut me off fast, his gaze darting wildly around the room like the thought there might be someone spying. “But not here, okay?”

I nodded slowly. I didn’t know the source of his nerves, but I didn’t want to spook him. “Okay. Not here. Where?”

“Um.” He licked his lips, and then his gaze finally settled on a spot somewhere over my left shoulder. His voice dropped even lower, like he didn’t want to be overheard. “Come to my place tonight? I should be done and home by eight.”

I weighed that for a long moment, really thinking it over. It had to be a good thing that he was inviting me over. He must finally be ready to talk, and I took that as a good sign. As I stood there studying his face, I saw something like hope in his eyes. He was a terribly confusing individual, and I didn’t understand anything about him or his motivation. But there was only one way to find out.

“Okay, yeah. I’ll come by tonight.” I hadn’t taken my gaze off him, and I did not miss that brief flash of relief that crossed his face.

“Good. Okay. Good.” He blew out a breath, and he focused on me. His lips quirked into a tiny smile. It wasn’t much, but it was nice to see. “I’ll pick you up on my way through, okay?”

But I didn’t want to be stuck there if things went south. I wanted to be able to leave if it got ugly. I shook my head, but softened it with a smile. “Just text me the address. I’ll find it.”

“Um. All right.” Lucas looked disappointed, but he dutifully rattled off his cell number for me to put in my phone. I quickly shot him a text, a smiley face, so he would have my number as well. That concluded, we both stood there, awkwardly staring at each other.

I broke first, laughing at the situation. Lucas’s smile was sheepish, and he shook his head.

“I’ve got to go to makeup,” he murmured.

“Yeah,” I responded. Then looked him straight in the eye. “I don’t have to be here today. I came to track you down.”

His nostrils flared as he sucked in a deep breath, and his pupils widened. “We’ll talk tonight.”

My gaze didn’t waver. “I’m looking forward to it.”

* * * *

I somehow wasn’t surprised to see the upscale address that Lucas texted, and it was easy enough to navigate downtown and get to Olive Way. The building itself was stunning, all curved lines and glass. I parked in the guest lot and headed for the front door. Because I had done as Lucas asked and sent him a text when I left my place, he was waiting for me in the lobby. His smile was broad but a little guarded as he let me in the front door.

“Hi,” he said, his voice soft. I didn’t miss the way his gaze traveled all over my face.

I smiled back. “Hi.”

We stood there for an awkward moment. Neither one of us knew exactly what to do. But then Lucas shook his head, his smile turning rueful, as he placed a hand on my back and led me through the lobby and to the elevators. The ride up was silent and we got off on the twenty-third floor.

When Lucas opened the door to his apartment, I nearly caught my breath. We entered into the kitchen, but the entire space was an open floor plan with high-end furnishings. I was drawn to the view out the window. It was gorgeous, the whole of downtown Seattle laid out before me. The sun had long ago set and everything was lit up.

“Beautiful view,” I murmured as I walked through the kitchen and into the living room. I stopped before the window, taking it all in.

“I like it.” Lucas’s voice was soft. “I’m glad you came, Aaron. I was a little afraid you wouldn’t.”

I lifted my gaze to meet his in the reflection of the glass. The worry in his eyes belied his soft smile.

“If I’m honest,” I said, keeping my voice quiet. “I came just because I wanted to know what the hell is going on. You haven’t been exactly nice to me, and I never could figure out why. Ever since I came on full-time, you’ve been avoiding me, shooting me dirty looks, and…” I trailed off and blew out a breath. “Can you please just tell me what the hell?”

Lucas’s chuckle was full of self-depreciation. He lifted a hand and rubbed the back of his neck. “You don’t pull any punches, do you?”

I turned around to face him. “The time for that is past, don’t you think? You kissed me, Lucas. Kissed me like I was the last breath of fresh air you’d ever taste. You bought me slippers. You took care of me. But we haven’t even had a conversation. Not a real one. So how about we do that now?”

For a very long, tense moment, Lucas didn’t say a word. Eventually, he blew out a breath and finally looked at me. “You want the unvarnished truth?”

My response was quick and heartfelt. “Please.”

A beat of silence and a deep breath. And then Lucas said, “I’ve wanted you from the first moment I saw you.”

I was floored by his admission. And it took me a minute to realize my jaw had fallen open. I shut it with a snap. I tried to wrap my brain around the information, but all I could manage to do was eke out a single word. “What?”