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Marcus tapped his fingers nervously on the table top, the thumb of his other hand poised over the lock button of his cell phone. His eyes strayed to the magazine on the table, then to the phone again.
“Stop being such a fucking pussy about it,” he muttered to himself, and winced at the imagery that phrase suggested. “Not the best way to phrase it.”
His thumb finally pressed it. The phone beeped and waited for his next move. Another number and another. More and more until he had enough. He’d even managed to press them in the right order. Heaving a sigh and sending a prayer up, he pressed send and waited anxiously through the first three rings.
She’s not going to pick up.
“Kane! Good to finally hear from you!”
“Raven,” A relieved sigh pushed past his lips, which then curved into a smile. “How’ve you been? Busy as hell?”
“Yeah, it’s been a bit crazy. But you’re one to talk!” Raven laughed.
“True, true.” Marcus tapped the table top again, biting his lip. His fingers walked themselves towards the magazine and he picked it up, gazing in silent awe at the image on the cover.
Abigail Griffin. He’d heard the name before. Knew she worked with Raven. He’d caught enough snatches of The 101 to recognize her character. But goddamn, he’d never seen her like that. Absolutely, breathtakingly, stunningly gorgeous. He’d been in an airport, looking for something to flip through during another boring flight, and he’d seen that issue of Vanity Fair, with her smoldering eyes boring into him, practically daring him to deny that she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
“So, to what honor do I owe this call, Kane? I didn’t think you even knew how to work a phone.” Said Raven, breaking Marcus’s reverie. He blinked a few times and forced himself to look away from the magazine so he could focus on his real objective.
“Haha, very funny. I just wanted to catch up with you. Feels like it’s been ages since we’ve properly hung out.” Marcus cleared his throat. “I’ve been hearing rumors about you, you know. All this shit in the press about you dated Kyle Wick for his money. I wanted to get the truth from you. It isn’t true, is it?”
Raven laughed loudly. “Oh my God,” Marcus listened to Raven laugh for a moment. “No, no, you know the press. Ninety percent of it is total bullshit and the other ten’s a gross exaggeration. It just didn’t work out, and right now I’m kind of busy with my new movie.”
Oh yes, her new movie.
“And also the press have got it in their heads that now you are seeing the leading actress of your new movie. Abigail Griffin?” Keep it cool, Kane.
“Abby? Yeah, I’ve heard those rumors. I’ll tell you, though, if I were attracted to an older woman, it would be tough to resist her. She’s wonderful. Oh God, I don’t even know why they got that idea, but I like the second rumor than the first one.”
Marcus knew that. After buying the magazine and practically memorizing every word of the article, he had made a new goal to find out more about Abigail Griffin. For almost two whole days Marcus had devoted himself to learning about her. He started from watching her movies, her interviews, and staring at her photos for eternity. It was borderline obsession, but he couldn’t stop.
“Ah, yeah, I know she is- I mean, I’m sure she is. Hey, Raven, I was wondering-” This is where it got sticky. Marcus wasn’t sure how to breach this subject. What was the most appropriate way to ask this burning question?
Can I score her number?
Hypothetically speaking, if I were to come to Vancouver, do you think she would be available for a date?
She is really hot, think she would like me?
“Hang on a sec, Kane. Hey, Abby!” Raven was talking to someone else. Her voice was muffled, like she had taken the phone away from her mouth. “I was just talking about you… no, spreading nasty rumors about you… Marcus Kane, heard of him? Why don’t you say hello, he was just asking about you.”
Marcus sucked in a breath.
“Kane, got someone here who wants to talk to you. This is Abigail Griffin.”
A second later, a new voice came on the line. “Marcus? Hi there. I’m Abby.”
Be cool. Be suave. Be smooth.
“Hey, Abiga– Abby. I’m uh, I’m Marcus.” Cringe. “Um, how are you, uh, doing?”
He barely resisted the urge to smack himself in the forehead.
“I’m fine, thank you. How are you?” There was quiet amusement in her voice, and Marcus wanted to bash his head in a wall. This was not exactly how he’d envisioned their first interaction.
“Good, good, I’m just great. Thanks.” Get it together, Kane. He looked at the magazine cover again and took a breath. “I’ve been thinking about coming to Vancouver. Raven’s always talking about it, making me jealous.”
“It’d be cool if you could come out to visit,” said Abby. “I know Raven would love it.”
“Yeah. I’d love to see her again. Anyway, I’ve seen you on The 101. You’re incredible.”
“Thank you,” she said softly, and he imagined that a faint blush was spreading across her cheeks. “Hey, if you come out here, maybe I could show you around when Raven is busy. The production team is still looking for a new leading actor because Thelonious Jaha turned us down.”
“That would be great!” Tone down the enthusiasm, she’ll think you’re off your end. “I’d really like that.”
“Raven is yanking the phone out of my hand. Hold on. Raven, please, let me talk to him!” Abby laughed. “I can’t wait to meet you, Marcus. Raven told me a lot about you already. You should give me a call when you know when you’re coming out.”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea. Could you give me your number?” He kept his voice natural, but he had already leapt out of his chair and was frantically searching for a pen and a scrap of paper. She recited the number and he wrote furiously, tucking the little piece of paper safely in his pocket.
“It was nice speaking with you, Abigail.” He slipped and used her full name, but it sounded so lovely, he couldn’t help it. “I’ll be sure to let you know when I’m coming. I can only take so much of Raven, it would be great if you could show me around a bit.”
“Excellent. It’s a date.”
A date. Marcus grinned like a fool. He felt like a teenager, but he couldn’t control his enthusiasm. She’d called it a date.
She gave the phone back to Raven, and they talked for a few more minutes. After hanging up, Marcus picked up the magazine and wandered into his bedroom. Still grinning, he got under the covers and switched off the light. The magazine was resting on his bedside table.
In Vancouver, Raven slipped her phone in her pocket while she gave Abby a cheeky grin.
“Told you it would work. He’s drooling for you, Abby, I could tell.”
“Never thought I’d trust Raven Reyes to be my matchmaker,” Abby sighed, running a hand through her hair. She smiled shyly and dropped her voice to ask, “You really think he likes me?”
“Abby, that’s like asking if the fish likes the sea.” Raven smiled and put her arm around Abby’s shoulders. “I told you everything would work out. This was even easier than we had planned. I promised you would have a date with him, now I’m betting you’ll be married next year.”
“Raven!” said Abby, laughing. She punched Raven’s shoulder lightly. “Anyway, Marcus is one of your best friends and his acting skills are amazing, how about you call him again and ask him to be our leading actor?”
Raven’s smile grew even wider.