The Coffee Shop

Part 5

Callum:

I get off the plane in Australia with severe jet lag and a pit of nerves in my stomach. These nerves are partially because of the daunting movie ahead of me and partially the fact that I lost the phone number of a great girl and left a moronic message for her work. God she is probably laughing at it now with her coworkers. What an idiot I am. A buffoon.

"Come on Callum!" Frank calls from ahead of me, "Get a move on!"

I walk to join him and we grab our bags and head to the hotel. We are sitting in the car and Frank turns to me. "So, I spoke to Shelly the other day. As your publicist she thinks it would be a great idea if you went out with someone."

"Like a PR relationship?"

"Sort of," he said, "But it doesn't have to be a relationship. Only a few dates to keep the media interested."

I rub my neck. "I don't know. We all know how my last PR relationship ended." I wince at the thought.

"Yeah well this time we will put you with someone less..."

"Particular?" I offer.

"I was going to say unbalanced or spoiled put your way is nicer," Frank says with a shrug.

I have had two relationships in my life so far. One in secondary school. It only lasted a few months before we called it quits. And the second was to Paisley Scott. She is a runway model who I met three years ago through our publicists who wanted us to start a PR relationship. She was pretty and seemed cool when I met her and our fake relationship ultimately turned very much real. I was in love. For the first time in my life. 

I'll admit it wasn't always easy or perfect with her. We were very different. She loved a night out at the busiest club while I preferred a drink at a pub with some friends or staying in. She despised nature while I adored my annual summer camping trip. She never wanted to stay still and I liked having the same apartment to return to every night. Despite all that, we made it work. Near the end our relationship went off the rails, but deep down I believe that we did love each other at some point. There wasn't a big break in the relationship. No main event that ended it all. We just grew apart. She was constantly traveling as was I. We talked less and less. The gossip magazines would post her partying with different guys frequently. She never cheated to my knowledge, but if I hadn't ended it when I did I think she might have. Neither of us wanted to end it, to admit there was nothing left to salvage. But one of us had to. I haven't spoken to Paisley in a year. I have gone on a few dates since then, but nothing felt right. I didn't feel that chemistry. Until I met June. Then I had to go and lose her bloody number.

We get to a hotel on the mainland of Australia. Exhausted, I take a quick shower and flop down on the bed. I close my eyes and drift off.

BANG! BANG! BANG! I startle awake with someone banging on my hotel door. "Wake up Turner!" Fred yells, "Big day ahead of us!" I groggily rub my eyes and stretch. "Okay okay. Be there in ten minutes," I respond with a yawn. 

I get up and wash my face and change into pants and a t-shirt. As I am brushing my teeth I look at my phone on the chair. I realize that I never checked to see if June got my message since I was so tired last night. I turn on my phone and see nothing. No call. No text. Nothing. "Great. You really blew your shot dimwit," I think, "Maybe the Australian data is slow? Maybe she is trying to call me? She is the one who gave me her number in the first place." My mind does somersaults as I try to come up with a plausible reason why she would not respond to me. She's not working now and didn't see the message? Phone broke? Got a new number? Or maybe she thinks I am an arse because who loses a number in less than three hours and then cannot find her because he is in a foreign country? Great. But I can't worry about that now, I have a movie to film. I grab a jacket and head out the door.

We are filming on a beach. It is sunny and windy, perfect for the scene we are shooting. I walk up to the director and introduce myself. "Nice to meet you. We are going to get going soon. But first, meet your co-star, Lucy Handley." A pretty woman turns to face me. She has dark brown hair and light green eyes. "Oh well hi there honey! My name is Lucy and I am positively thrilled to be working with you! I just saw your recent film in theaters and thought you were amazing!"

I smile at her southern accent and reply, "Well it is a pleasure. I am honored to be working with you."

"Oh please Callum, don't flatter me! My ego is already as large as life!" she laughs.

The director cuts in and says, "Okay we are going to get started!"

Author's Note: hehe I'm back (also I love Dua and Callum; don't come for me) :)