Page 25 of All That Glitters

Chapter twenty-one

Motels and Questionable Judgment

Inside Tony’s duplex, things were a bit chaotic that afternoon as he packed for his three-week stay in Los Angeles.

The Rif Raf gang was putting him up in a motel for the duration of production on The Frat.

It would be a no-frills budget motel, the kind with free coffee in the lobby and not much else, but for someone who had been ready to sleep in his truck, it sounded like the Four Seasons.

Matt and Jeff were there, allegedly to help, but mostly to lounge on his couch, drink his beer, and conduct a post-mortem on how Jeff’s bet had gone so disastrously wrong. Debbie watched with amusement from the arm of the couch as Jeff handed everyone their winnings.

“You’re such a dick,” Jeff grumbled at Tony. “I told you to warn me before you sold that script.”

Tony grinned, folding a pair of jeans and stuffing them into the duffel bag. “How much did you lose this time?”

In response, Matt held up a wad of cash and flipped through it, shooting Jeff a smug grin.

“This much,” Matt answered.

“And this much,” Debbie grinned, waving her own wad of cash.

Jeff shot them both a frown. “You both suck.” He turned to Tony, who was trying to wrestle a hoodie into his already overstuffed duffel bag. “What do you think the chances are of the movie actually getting made? Like, for real?”

Tony couldn’t resist smiling at the desperation in Jeff’s voice. First, he’d lost money when Tony finished the script. Then, he’d lost even more money when Tony sold it. And now, he was about to lose even more if the film actually got made.

“They’ve got the money,” Tony said, zipping a side pocket on his bag. “And they already cast the lead.”

“Crap,” Jeff groaned, his shoulders slumping in defeat. He turned to Matt. “I’m canceling my bet.”

“Too late,” Matt said cheerfully, putting a rubber band around his winnings.

With a groan of pure anguish, Jeff banged his head against the wall. It made a dull, pathetic thud. Matt smiled and turned to Tony.

“Congratulations, Tony,” he said, handing Tony three ten-dollar bills. “Here’s your cut of the winnings.”

“Cool,” Tony said, pocketing the thirty dollars.

“You guys are both dicks,” Jeff moaned, banging his head against the wall again.

Tony just laughed, picked up his duffel bag, and headed for the door. He turned back to Jeff and Matt. “You guys lock up when you leave?”

“I’m selling your furniture while you’re gone,” Jeff said.

Tony chuckled and walked out. The late afternoon sun was warm on his face as he headed for his truck. Debbie followed him, leaving Matt and Jeff to their bickering.

The air was filled with a comfortable silence as they reached his truck. It was just the two of them, standing by the beat-up pickup that had seen them through so many adventures.

“Sure you don’t want to come?” he said.

Debbie smiled. “And leave all of that?” She motioned with her thumb to his apartment, where the boys were still bickering over whether you could cancel bets.

Tony laughed. And so did Debbie.

“Honestly, if I didn’t have school, I’d be piling in that truck with you,” she said.

“We’ll do it for my next movie,” he said.

She smiled and nodded. “So, I guess this is it for a while,” she said softly.

“This is it,” he said, tossing his bag into the passenger seat. He turned back to her, leaning against the warm metal of the truck door. “It still feels unreal.”

She smiled sweetly. “I’m proud of you, Tony. I knew you were gonna do it.”

“It wouldn’t have happened without my favorite drill instructor having my back the entire time,” he said. “Plus, not having to run on the beach naked was a powerful motivator.”

She laughed, a real, happy sound. “It’ll go down as one of my more genius motivators.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, folded piece of paper. “Here,” he said, handing it to her. “It’s the address of the motel where I’m staying. You better come up and visit.”

She slid it into her pocket then looked at him playfully. “So you can ply me with drinks and take advantage of my questionable judgment?” she teased. “What kind of girl do you think I am?”

“Hopefully, the kind that doesn’t snore too loudly,” he laughed.

She playfully swatted his arm. “I’d better not hear that you were slacking off on set,” she said, continuing the playful exchange. “I’ll expect to see full crew reports when I’m there.”

“I’ll prefill them out for the crew.”

“Honest ones,” she said. “Otherwise, it’s you and the beach run of shame, Private Harding.”

He laughed. “Come here, you nut,” he said, pulling her into a warm hug. Debbie melted into him as they just held each other, neither of them wanting to let go.

When they finally released each other, Debbie knew it was time to finally just say it. To let her goofball best friend know she was hopelessly in love with him.

“Tony,” she began, her voice barely a whisper. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you, and…”

The front door of his duplex flew open, and Matt and Jeff came barreling out, their faces alight like they had just won the lottery. The fragile moment shattered into a million pieces.

“Dude! We almost forgot!” Jeff said, skidding to a stop beside them.

“The most important part!” Matt added, equally breathless.

Tony and Debbie sprang apart as if caught doing something wrong.

“You have to take pictures of Carrie Thompson for us,” Jeff insisted. “Lots of pictures. High-res, if possible.”

“And it’s not too late to write a bikini scene for her,” Matt added. “Or a mud wrestling scene. Or a bikini mud wrestling scene.”

Tony just stared at them. Unbelievable. He looked back at Debbie, who simply groaned and rolled her eyes, already thinking of the most painful ways to kill them.

“Can I get these two neutered while you’re gone?” she said, motioning to Jeff and Matt.

Tony laughed. “Please. I’ll chip in.”

She laughed. For a second they just looked at each other, but the moment was gone. Tony pulled her into a tight hug, burying his face in her hair for a second. “I’ll call you when I get there,” he whispered, for her ears only.

“You’d better,” she whispered back.

He let her go and climbed into his truck.

“Don’t forget the pictures of Carrie Thompson,” Jeff reminded Tony as he started the truck.

Tony just shook his head and pulled out. He gave one last wave to the three of them standing on the curb, then headed north towards the glittering, uncertain promise of Hollywood.