And then she’d dipped out sometime in the morning, never to be seen again.
Nah, Hollywood was a small town. He’d probably see her again, it was just a matter of when. He was pretty sure he’d seen her hanging around with Helene Sawyer, his costar from his breakout film,Inferno.Wait until after her wedding, he reminded himself. Helene was getting married at the ranch that upcoming weekend. He knew she had much more to worry about than his sex life.
He’d ask her after the reception.
Which reminded him. He dug back through his texts and found the messages his brothers had sent him during the ceremony. He’d called them quickly in the limo, but they didn’t get to talk long.
Zach: CHECK OUT YA BOY!
WINNING OSCARS AND SHIT.
WHAT DID I TELL YOU!
Jesse: So proud of you. And you know
granddad would be over the moon.
Another wave of strange emotions crashed over him as he tried to think of a heartfelt response. He couldn’t do it. Not over text. So he settled for their signature greeting.
It’s the rock!
Zach: Yeah, mane!
We’re throwing a big party for you as soon as
you get home.
So proud, man. So proud.
Thanks man.
I still can’t believe it.
Jesse: Well believe it cause it’s true.
You got your statue.
Sam sank down on the bed and let his head hang between his shoulders. His brain just wasn’t processing. He’d really done it. He’d won an Academy Award.
A moment later, he heard the keycard lock engage and Walls came striding into the room.
“What’s up, man? How you feeling? I got your breakfast.” Walls set a travel cup of coffee and a small pastry bag down on the table. Sam’s ritual was always to eat whatever the fuck he wantedaftera big event. He’d put in his order with Walls over a week ago. The biggest almond croissant he could find. At the moment though, he had no appetite.
“Pretty good, pretty good. I can’t complain.” Sam forced a smile and straightened up as Walls crossed his arms over his skinny chest.
“I’m real happy for you. For real. But I do have one question.”
“Yeah? What’s that?”
“You lose something last night?”
“No, I don’t think so. Why?” Sam glanced down like he wasn’t sitting there in his boxer briefs, then quickly glanced around the room. His suit, the phone, and his swag bag were all there. “What are you talking about?”
“A JackRabbit runner dropped off your statue over at TCA a few hours ago. Coffey’s assistant has it.”
“What?” Sam jumped up and crossed the room. He opened the swag bag that was still on the floor near the door. He searched through it and sure enough his Oscar statue wasn’t in there. But there was a small, see-through makeup bag with some mints, lip gloss, and the extra condoms they hadn’t used the night before.
“Shit. She must have taken it by accident.”