Laura looked down at her hands. ‘Do you know how nervous you make me?’ She felt Eve sit down beside her and nudge her with a shoulder.
‘You make me nervous, too,’ she answered. Eve pulled her close. She tasted the oil on her lips.
Chapter 9: Two weeks later
Eve lay on the grass, one leg bent like the cover of a tent. Laura traced the shadow it made on the ground, trying not to toy with the idea that they were having their first fight. The thought of it left a taste on her tongue like a battery left in the rain.
‘Are you made at me?’ Laura asked, pulling out blades of grass.
‘You need to relax. You keep acting like I’m going to disappear or something.’ Eve didn’t open her eyes. She could have been reciting lines by the way she said it, unfazed.
Laura gritted her teeth. She wanted to shake Eve so she would give this conversation the attention it deserved. ‘My last relationship ended badly … I just don’t want to repeat that by not seeing things.’
‘Do you create new problems?’ Eve asked, sitting up.
The concentration of her eyes on her own washed away Laura’s desire to have their attention only a moment earlier. She dropped her gaze. ‘It just made sense to me, the things she was saying.’
Eve looked away. A herd of young boys playing soccer in the distance caught her attention. ‘I know, but you should think more of me than what Deb concocted.’
The sting hurt, right above her collarbone. She knew Eve had a right to be upset but she hadn’t planned on her words hurting like they did. While Laura and Deb were waiting around on set, she had got to talking about Eve. It was all she seemed to talk about recently. Deb had veered the conversation onto intimacy, and convinced her that Eve’s backward stance with intimacy was an indication that she was seeing other people. Laura had reacted beyond the realms of crazy, accepting Deb’s words as thought Eve had said them to her personally.
Eve made small circles with her thumb against the grass. ‘I’m not that type of person.’
Laura nodded, seeing in hindsight how much worse this could have been if Eve had reacted the same way she had to the situation. ‘I’m just …’ she broke. ‘Still trying to figure you out.’
Eve smiled. It reached her eyes, making her teeth flash for a second. ‘It’s okay.’ With two small words she forgave her. The aftertaste of anger dissipated. She found Laura’s hand among the grass and gave it a squeeze. Eve stood quickly and took off running. She weaved through the soccer game and scooped the ball easily away from a short brown-haired boy with full cheeks. The other players rushed forwards, not seeing the player but the ball, trying to get it back. Laura watched from a distance, a smile on her lips.
Back in her apartment, Eve washed the plates. The warm water covered her hands and wrists, the soap hiding the dirty ceramics. She let the water drain out, wiping her hands. Eve grabbed the small piece of paper she’d pinned to the fridge with magnets. During their first few days together, Laura had given her the address and phone number of the studio where she filmed. Laura grew nervous when she handed her the piece of paper; she normally crossed that boundary much later in any relationship she pursued. Eve pressed the piece of paper between her thumb and index finger. She was going to surprise Laura to show her everything was fine between them.
Eve walked down to the store and hung a GONE FISHING sign on the front door. She’d constructed it in the more-than-tipsy less-than-drunk hours of the night. Eve sped down the street, her motorcycle weaving through endless taxis and cars.
An insistent alarm woke Laura from a deep sleep. She rubbed her eyes and switched off the alarm, having to stop herself from punching the chirping bell she’d thought was cute in the department store. She showered, still half-asleep, and threw on a pair of jeans and a white T-shirt. Laura didn’t even remember the drive to the studio. A warm cup of coffee was slipped into her hand as soon as she entered. In her other hand were placed the edits the writers had made to her scenes. She was ushered into wardrobe and make-up.
‘Good morning, Kelly.’ Laura hugged and kissed her make-up artist on the cheek.
‘Morning,’ she beamed cheerily, despite the early hour.
‘Well, it looks like you’ve got your work cut out for you today?’ Laura stared at her tired reflection.
‘You take the least amount of time.’ Kelly unravelled Laura’s hair from a tight bun.
Laura flicked through her lines. She kept reading without pause when the hairdryer started up.
When Kelly was finished, Laura thanked her as always. ‘Hey, I’ll come and talk to you later. I want to know how Jonathan’s birthday party went. I want pictures.’ Jonathan, Kelly’s four-year-old son, had come in a month ago and had taken a shine to Laura. Laura urged her to bring him in whenever she wanted. She still remembered his laughter when Laura applied a deep rouge to his plump cheeks, and the way he’d grabbed at the brush to do her own.
The cameras and lights were set up, the sound checks done. The scripted soon-to-be-convicted criminal sat across from Laura. He uttered a short good morning as he poured over his lines, visibly nervous.
‘Where were you between the times of nine to nine-thirty last night, Mister Mondo?’ Laura shuffled the pages in front of her.
Eve pulled up to the front of the studio and parked her motorcycle at the side of the street. She bypassed a singular boom gate. The on-duty guard was leaning against the small booth, talking to a young woman. She picked up her pace. Just as she placed her hand on the back-entrance door, a booming voice called out. Eve turned. A hulking security guard seemed to block out the sun.
Eve raised her palms. ‘I’m here to see Laura Dalton.’
‘There aren’t any scheduled visitations today.’ He stood in front of the door.
Eve shrugged. ‘It’s a surprise visit.’
He shook his head gently and stared through her.
‘Look.’ Her eyes scanned his name tag. ‘Ayo … which is a beautiful name, by the way—’
‘It’s African. It means “Joy”.’ His face didn’t crack.
‘I promise, this isn’t a Bodyguardsituation. See?’ She held up her hands. ‘No glue on my fingers.’
‘Whitney Houston was a queen.’ He crossed his thick arms across his chest.
‘See? We are already agreeing, Ayo.’ She playfully punched his arm and instantly regretted it.
His eyes cut through her like daggers. ‘Do not touch me.’
‘Sorry … Look, could you please just ring through? Tell her Eve is here.’
Ayo took a moment to weigh up the options. He gave in. ‘Only because you like Whitney Houston.’
Eve watched in anticipation as he rang through. A few awkward minutes passed until Laura finally stuck her head out the door, her eyes lit up in surprise.
‘Do you know her, Laura?’ Ayo asked expecting her to say no.
‘Yeah. Yes, of course, she’s a friend.’
Ayo visibly slouched, disappointed that he wouldn’t get to detain Eve.
‘See you later, Ayo!’ Eve called through the door.
Eve walked through the unfamiliar corridor, Laura grabbed her arm. ‘What the hell are you doing here?’ she hissed.
‘Surprise?’ Eve smiled to feigned excitement.
‘Eve