An hour later, the six of them were gathered around Ethan’s dining room table, surrounded by empty serving dishes. Grey wiped up the remains of her saag paneer with a piece of garlic naan, chiming in with the occasional detail as Kamilah regaled the rest of the group with the story of the time the two of them had misread a package of edibles, accidentally eating quadruple the recommended dose before going on a hellish trip to Disneyland after finals their sophomore year. Grey scooted her chair closer to Ethan’s and snuggled into his side, feeling tipsy and warm and perfectly content.
Once the conversation reached a lull, Nora opened another bottle of wine and topped off all their glasses—with the exception of Ethan, who’d been drinking bourbon all evening. She sat back down and beamed at Kamilah, Grey, and Andromeda, lifting her glass.
“I just wanted to tell you again how thrilled I am to be working with the three of you.” She knocked on the wooden table. “I mean, you know how it is. It could all fall through tomorrow, of course. But I’m going to do everything in my power to make it happen.”
Grey raised her glass, too. “We’re so grateful that we found you. Like, we truly couldn’t ask for anyone better.”
They all clinked their glasses and took a drink.
Kamilah set her glass down and laced her fingers through Andromeda’s on the table. “Our other meetings were a fucking nightmare. You were kind of our last hope. Literally the first one we went to, one of the guys looked at her like this—” She gave a leering, exaggerated once-over. “And then was like, So I assume you’re comfortable with full nudity?”
Grey fake-gagged as Ethan squeezed her shoulder. “That wasn’t even the worst one. Last week we did the whole pitch and then they were, like, we want to do it—with a different director. We bailed the fuck out of there after that.”
Kamilah’s mouth twisted as she and Grey exchanged glances. She’d been so upset after that meeting that she’d practically vibrated as they walked out, Grey embracing her tightly in the hallway until she’d calmed down enough to drive home.
“Fuck ’em,” Jeff grunted. All their eyes locked on him. It was one of the only things he’d said all night.
Grey had quickly learned that Jeff was a man of few words. He was a good match for Nora, though, and he obviously adored her. Their calm, stoic energy mirrored each other. He was handsome, but not ostentatiously so, with a salt-and-pepper beard and warm brown eyes. The tawny skin of both arms was covered in full-sleeve tattoos, and he carried himself with the quiet confidence of someone used to being the tallest person in every room—he was six five at least, even towering over Ethan.
Kamilah lifted her glass at him. “Cheers to that.”
They drank again. Next to her, Ethan drained his glass. Grey half rose and began gathering up the empty plates. Andromeda leaned back in their chair.
“So, what’s the next step? Is it too early for me to start working on the music?”
“A little, but if you’re feeling inspired, that’s always a good thing.” Nora tore off the corner of a piece of naan and chewed thoughtfully. “Right now I have to start working on the budget projections, figure out the schedule, round up some coproducers. It would be better if we could shoot on location in New York, but that might be too expensive. I have a couple of people I want to talk to when I’m there next month.” She nodded at Grey and Ethan pointedly. “If you two do end up coming, you’re welcome to join me, Grey.”
Ethan’s arm tensed around her shoulder. She felt his eyes on her, but she didn’t look at him. She realized that he’d started the meal cheerful and gregarious, but had grown more withdrawn as the night had gone on, silently nursing his bourbon next to her. When he spoke, his voice was gruff. “I didn’t realize that was something you had discussed.”
Grey shrugged, keeping her voice casual. “She just brought it up in passing.”
Nora didn’t say anything, her eyes locked on Ethan’s—firmly, but not aggressively. It seemed like something passed between them, some kind of ex-spouse ESP that the rest of them weren’t privy to.
“Give it a rest, Nor,” he finally grumbled, ducking his head.
The table was silent. Grey saw Andromeda and Kamilah exchange uncomfortable glances.
Nora cleared her throat and stood up, collecting the pile of dishes. “Enough shop talk. We can worry about all of this tomorrow. Tonight is for celebrating.”
* * *
—
THEY CLEARED THE table and decamped to the pool with another bottle of wine. The LED lights gave the bright blue water an otherworldly glow, wispy clouds of steam rising into the cool night air. Ethan was drunker than he’d been in months—but then, they all were. Grey cuddled against his shoulder on the lounge chair, legs strewn over his lap, playing with a strand of her hair. The weight and warmth of her body against his was nothing short of a miracle, he thought absently. He let himself zone in and out of the conversation without contributing, their voices dulling to a pleasant hum.
Kamilah took a fortifying sip of wine and sighed dramatically. “Ethan.”
Ethan looked up. “Hmm?”
“Can I ask you a personal question?”
He felt Grey’s breath speed up against him. He rubbed her shoulder reassuringly. “Go for it.”
“Where’s your Oscar?”
Ethan was so surprised he couldn’t stop himself from laughing. “I think it’s buried in the closet in my office.” He paused. “You want me to get it?”
Kamilah grinned. “If you wouldn’t mind.”
He untangled himself from Grey and went inside the house, his head spinning slightly as he reoriented himself upright. As expected, it was in his closet behind a pile of old screeners, some old enough to still be on VHS cassettes. His shoe nudged a crumpled pack of cigarettes on the floor, poking out from under his ski gear. They were months old, if not years, but the stale scent of tobacco triggered something in his bombed-out brain like a sleeper agent being activated. He dug a pack of matches from his desk drawer and had one lit and in his mouth while he still had one foot inside the house.
It wasn’t until he saw the confused look on Grey’s face that he realized what he was doing.
“Oh. Shit. Sorry.” He let the cigarette fall from his lips and stubbed it beneath his heel. He shuffled back over to Kamilah and handed her the Oscar before returning to Grey’s side, slightly abashed.
Kamilah’s arms immediately collapsed into her lap from the unexpected weight of it. She lifted it to her face to examine it, rotating it under the dim light.
“He’s kinda hot, right? Like, why is he so buff? Was that necessary?”
“Um, excuse me, I’m right here.” Andromeda placed their hand on their chest in mock outrage as the rest of them laughed.
“What? You know I’ve always had a thing for bald guys.”
“Well, he’s not coming home with us tonight.”
Kamilah laughed and passed it back to Ethan. “Not tonight, but one day. I’m manifesting here.”
He rested it against his bent knees, running his thumb across the gold plate at the bottom, smudging his name with his fingerprints. He glanced up to see Nora watching him, leaning against Jeff’s shoulder.
“Do you remember that night?” she asked, softly enough that he almost didn’t hear her.
He nodded. “Of course.” Grey rested her head against him, tethering him to the present as he felt himself start to drift into his memories. “Nobody thought I would win. I sure as hell didn’t.”
Nora smiled. “You tried to get us to leave early. You were hungry.”
“Yeah, well. We all thought—” He stopped himself short. Sam had seemed like the sure thing that night, his consolation for being pushed into supporting while Ethan was up for lead with an equally sized role. Ethan had barely been paying attention when his category was called; it had taken Nora’s and Sam’s twin expressions of shock on either side of him for him to realize what had happened.