Page 5 of In His Skates

I want to say hell no, but Keanu speaks before I can. “I’m fine with it. It’s up to her.”

Oh, you smug son of a bitch. I know exactly what he’s doing. He’s challenging me. But if he thinks I’m going to back down, he’s sorely mistaken.

“I have no issue with it. I’m an actor. I can make anyone believe I want to kiss him even if it’s the last thing I want to do.”

Keanu narrows his eyes, but the director either doesn’t notice my jab or chooses to ignore it.

“Excellent. The change is minor. Per the old script, you’ll skate toward each other and stop short of colliding. The scene would cut there, but now, it’ll continue. Keanu will wrap one arm around your waist, pulling you closer. Then he’ll cradle your face tenderly with his free hand and lean in for the kiss. Just a peck, nothing crazy.”

It all sounds very innocent. But my stomach coils nonetheless. I’d never thought I’d get near Keanu at all, much less brush my lips against his.

Oh well. A job is a job.

“Sounds easy enough,” Keanu pipes up.

“You need to look like you’re in love,” Vincent chimes in.

Keanu gives me an appraising glance, starting from my skates and slowly traveling up the length of my body. “In love is a stretch. I can sell that I want to rail her.”

“You’re such a pig, Keanu,” I blurt out.

“I can work with lust,” the director replies, ignoring my outburst. “Let’s give it a try.”

I’m not surprised Vincent didn’t care about Keanu’s comment. Most men in Hollywood are narcissistic jerks.

I need to control my emotions better. Keanu is trying to get under my skin, and he’s winning. This whole situation is all fun and games to him. If he screws up, there won’t be any repercussions to his career. But if I blow up a simple commercial, it could hurt mine.

KEANU

I’d never thought I’d have so much fun spending the day with Leigh, but shooting this commercial is giving me all sorts of opportunities to mess with her.

I didn’t always dislike her. When we were kids, I enjoyed teasing her because she made it so easy. My hatred for her came when we were high school seniors. She caught me cheating on a math test and ratted me out, knowing full well what it would cost me. I got revenge, but it wasn’t enough.

So far, we’ve shot my solo portion of the commercial and the wide view of us skating toward each other. That took several hours. Now it’s time for the lunch break. They’ve set up a buffet in the team’s lounge, though the commercial crew is calling it the greenroom for whatever reason. Must be lingo from movie sets.

Leigh takes off ahead of me. I could catch up with her if I wanted to, but I’m enjoying the view. She might be a hateful shrew, but I can’t deny she has a smoking hot body. In the skintight clothes she’s wearing, her ass looks damn fine.

My teammate, Jack Schaefer, is already shoving food in his face. I knew he was in this commercial too, but I barely saw him this morning.

He freezes and follows Leigh across the room with his eyes. I roll mine. He’s a horndog and can’t see a pretty girl without losing his mind. I know he’ll try to score with her. Normally, I’d stay out of it, but not when it comes to Leigh. I don’t want her anywhere near my teammates.

“What’s up, Jacks?” I greet him.

He peels his eyes away from Leigh to look at me. “Hey, Key. How’s it going?”

“Not bad. Are you done shooting?”

“Yeah. We finished like an hour ago.”

I grab a plate and start filling it up with food. “Then why are you still here?”

“Two words—Leigh Matthews. Damn. She’s even hotter in person.”

“She’s not that hot,” I lie.

“Dude, are you blind? Look at her.”

Despite my better judgment, I do look. She’s with Bobbi, her best friend since elementary school, and an older lady who looks like she could be a Sanderson sister from Hocus Pocus with the way she’s dressed. Leigh glances at me and scowls. I’m not sure why, but her reaction annoys me.