Jack didn't waste time once he got to his room. The shower was quick, just enough to wake himself up properly. By the time he stepped out, the fog in his head had cleared, replaced by a sharp awareness of what he had messed up.
He pulled on a clean T-shirt and joggers, ran a towel through his hair, then grabbed his phone from the bedside table. The screen lit up with missed alarms and a couple of notifications. He unlocked it and scrolled through them.
"Huh?" He noticed a notification from the publisher his dad selected to take care of his book releases. The second Harry Potter book will be released on Christmas, and the third will be released in March. That'd keep the fans engaged and hyped without creating a big gap. "Sounds good."
After that, he closed the messages and opened the contact. "Alright, time to call my girl." He tapped on Haley's name and called her.
She picked up the call after a few rings...
"Hey, boyfriend," Haley's voice came through, casual but warm, like she had been expecting him.
A small smile pulled at his lips without him realizing. "Hey, girlfriend, you busy right now?"
"Not really," she said, and he could hear a bit of movement on her end, like she was shifting things around. "Just getting stuff ready for the photoshoot. What about you? Survived the late-night shoot?"
"Barely," he said with a quiet breath of a laugh. "Got home, blinked, and suddenly it was morning. I don't even remember falling asleep properly."
"That bad?" she asked, a hint of amusement slipping in.
"Yeah, I was completely out," he said, shaking his head slightly even though she couldn't see it. "But I'm good now. Shower fixed most of it."
"Good," she said softly.
He let that sit for a second, the comfort in her voice settling something in his chest. "I want to hug you so bad," he admitted, quieter this time.
There was a brief pause on the other end, not awkward, just filled with something softer.
"I want to hug and kiss you," Haley replied, her tone easing. There was a little silence before she continued, "I missed you." They haven't met in three days.
Jack exhaled slowly as he sat down on the bed. "Yeah… same. Everything's been a bit crazy here. But we'll be wrapping up the shoot soon. After that, we'll be spending lots of time together."
"I can't wait..." Haley replied.
Another small pause...
"So, you're doing good though, right?" she asked. "Like… with everything?"
"Yeah," he said, nodding to himself. "I am. Just tired. But it's going well."
"Good," she repeated, and he could hear the smile in her voice now. "Because I need my talented, hardworking boyfriend functioning properly."
He chuckled under his breath. "Oh, is that what I am now? Talented and hardworking?"
"Don't let it get to your head," she shot back quickly. "You're still annoying sexy sometimes."
"Sometimes?" he said, raising an eyebrow.
"Okay, fine. Often," she admitted, laughing lightly. 'Who am I kidding? He's hot and sexy and handsome all the time... Like three in one package.'
He shook his head, smiling, then let the moment settle for a second before his expression shifted just a little. His fingers tapped lightly against his knee.
"Hey… I need to tell you something," he said, tone turning more serious.
Haley picked up on it instantly. "What happened?"
"It's nothing bad," he added quickly. "Just… something from the shoot last night."
"Okay…" she said slowly, her curiosity sharpening. "What is it?"
Jack took a small breath, choosing his words carefully. "They added a small change to one of the scenes."
"What kind of change?" she asked, more alert now.
He didn't drag it out. "There was a kiss."
There was a short pause on the line.
"...with who?" Haley asked, straight to the point.
"Leslie Mann," he answered honestly.
Another pause, slightly longer this time.
"Wait," Haley said, processing. "Isn't she like… 37 years old?"
"Yeah," Jack replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "Around that."
"And how long was it?" she asked, her tone shifting into that mix of curiosity and something a little sharper.
"Five seconds," he said. "It was quick. She pulls back right after."
There was a small beat of silence, and then Haley spoke again, a little more pointed now. "You didn't have fun kissing her, did you?"
Jack blinked, then let out a short laugh he couldn't stop. "What?"
"I'm serious," she said, though there was a hint of teasing underneath. "I know it's only five seconds, but don't young boys love to dream about doing it to an older woman?"
He shook his head, still smiling a bit. "Okay, first of all, stop making it weird. I ain't doing it to her or even thinking of anything weird. It was just a professional scene, that's all there's to it. You're the only one I dream about."
"Mm-hmm," Haley hummed, clearly not letting him off that easily. "So you only think about doing me?"
"Oh yeah," Jack replied without missing a beat. "You know I do."
There was a soft pause, and when she spoke again, her tone had shifted. It was lighter, but there was something underneath it now.
"In two years," Haley said, almost casually, "you can do it all you want with me."
Jack chuckled. "I'm holding you to that."
"You better," she replied, a quiet smile in her voice.
He let the moment breathe for a second before straightening slightly. "So… are you free today? Around four or five?"
"For what?" she asked, though she already sounded interested.
"For a date," he said simply. "You, me, no work. I'll plan something nice."
There was a small pause, then a softer response.
"…yeah," Haley said. "I'm free."
"Good," Jack replied, a smile settling in again. "I'll pick you up. Oh, by the way, can you wear that deep red dress? You know, the one you used to tease me last week?"
Haley smiled as she pushed her hair behind her ears. "You really loved that dress, didn't you?"
"I loved it," He replied instantly. "You were looking so hot in it that..."
"You got a boner?" Haley asked with a smirk.
"I... Fine, I got a boner," He sighed after telling her the truth.
"I love when you're honest with me. It's one of the many things I love about you," She said, sounding really happy. "And yes, I'll be wearing the red tonight."
"Alright. I'll pick you up at five then."
"I'll be waiting."
"Bye, girlfriend," Jack made a kissing sound.
"Bye, boyfriend," Haley also made a kissing sound.
...
[10 minutes later]
Jack finished the sandwiches faster than he intended, hunger still lingering from the previous night's shoot. He washed his hands, grabbed a bottle of water, and headed upstairs toward the home studio, already imagining the steps.
The studio door was slightly open.
Music drifted out into the hallway, soft but rhythmic, the kind of romantic track that immediately set a tone before anything even began. When Jack stepped inside, Willa was already moving through the choreography, her focus locked in as she ran through the steps alone. She had taken off her jacket. Now she was wearing a fitted top and black shorts that made the movements more fluid and natural.
Jack leaned against the doorway for a second, watching without interrupting. "Those are nice steps," he said after a moment as he took in the timing and flow.
Willa slowed down instantly, like she had been waiting for him to arrive anyway. She smiled lightly as she walked over to the nearby table and picked up the small remote. The music cut off as she paused it.
"Good, you're here," she said, setting the remote back down. "I was starting to feel like I was dancing alone in a love story I didn't agree to star in."
Jack let out a small laugh, stepping further into the room and dropping his bottle on the side table. "That sounds dramatic for someone who looked pretty comfortable doing it alone."
Willa tilted her head slightly, studying him in a way that didn't feel random or distracted. "Comfortable is one thing," she said, then glanced briefly toward the speaker setup. "But chemistry only works when there are two people actually in the room."
She walked back toward the center space where they had marked the positions. Jack followed, rolling his shoulders a little as he mentally shifted into rehearsal mode.
The choreographer had already recorded the full sequence for them last week. Right now, it was about repetition, timing, and getting used to each other's space so nothing felt forced once the cameras started rolling again.
Willa started the music again.
The music filled the room, carrying a slow romantic rhythm that immediately shaped the mood. She stepped into position first, and Jack matched her without hesitation, falling into the pattern they had practiced before. Well, only once last week with the instructor and choreographer.
At first, it was technical. Steps, spacing, turns, and hands meeting at the right points before separating again. Willa stayed close enough to guide the flow, but not so close that it felt overwhelming, letting him settle into the rhythm naturally.
Then the movement shifted slightly.
The choreography brought them closer, and Willa didn't hesitate to close the gap a little more than necessary, her hand brushing his shoulder before sliding into the next turn. Jack adjusted smoothly, but he noticed the change in energy immediately.
"You're slightly off your mark," Jack said quietly as they reset for the next loop, eyes flicking down to the floor marks for a second.
Willa smiled like she had been expecting him to notice. "Or maybe I'm just trying to make it feel more natural."
'Ah, crap. I see what's going on here. First Dakota and now her... Next thing I know, it's Leslie. Haa... Let's try to keep it on a professional level,' Jack looked at her for a brief moment, then moved back into position. "We don't really have the luxury of improvising too much yet."
"We do when it looks better," she replied simply, stepping in again as the music looped. 'By the end of the day, you'll only think about me. I'm gonna steal you from that girlfriend of yours. Wait! Oh, freak, I'm acting like a homewrecking bitch. Shit! But as they say, everything is fair in love and war. Maybe I should meet this girlfriend of his and declare war of love... Okay, that was cringe as fuck.'
They ran it again.
This time, Willa leaned into the romantic framing more intentionally. Her hand stayed on his shoulder a fraction longer during the turn, her gaze holding his just a little past what the choreography required. It wasn't sloppy; nothing was out of place, but it definitely wasn't neutral either.
Jack noticed, but he didn't stop the flow. He just adapted, keeping his movements clean while matching the timing. On the last step, he pulled her closer with his right hand resting on her lower back... For a moment, they held eye contact before pulling back.
"You're trying to make it feel real," he said after they finished the sequence and came back to the starting point.
Willa didn't deny it. She reached for the remote again, lowering the volume instead of stopping it completely. "Isn't that the point of a romantic scene?"
"The point is controlled chemistry," Jack replied as he walked over to the table and took his bottle. After taking a sip of water, he caught his breath. "Not whatever this turns into when people start freelancing emotions."
Willa leaned back slightly against the edge of the table, arms crossed loosely. "You say that like chemistry is something you can fully control."
"It is when you respect the boundaries of the scene," he said.
'He's super loyal. I threw so many hints, yet he never looked at me that way. Darn it! If you keep acting like this, I'll fall even harder for you, Jack.' Her smile widened just a little, not teasing exactly, more like she was interested in how far he would go with his reasoning. "And if the boundaries make it look fake?"
'Nope. Not gonna happen, girl.' Jack exhaled slowly, then nodded once toward the floor marks. "Then we fix it in rehearsal, not by rewriting it with our body language on the fly."
Willa stepped closer again, stopping just within the space where the next move would naturally begin. "You're very disciplined," she said, her tone softer now.
"Helps with not messing up takes," Jack replied.
"And relationships?" she added casually, almost like it was part of the same thought.
Jack didn't respond immediately. He just looked at her for a second longer than necessary, then shifted his stance slightly to reset the space between them.
"That depends on the relationship," he said finally.
Willa nodded like she accepted the answer, but she didn't step back. Instead, she reached out and lightly adjusted his shorts and was ready to dance again.
"Let's run it again," she said, letting the moment pass without forcing anything further.
The music started once more.
They moved together again, this time smoother, more synchronized. The steps were already correct, but now there was a natural ease forming between them, the kind that came from repetition mixed with awareness of the other person in the space.
Willa kept it close, intentional in how she timed her proximity. Jack stayed focused, matching the choreography precisely, but the awareness between them kept building in a quiet way without any words... just present in every turn and pause.
...
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