Read Online Accidental Action Star by Emily Evans - Free Book Online Page A

“Marissa won’t let me bring that home.” He arched his eyebrows at me.
    The kitty was soft under my fingertips, and I pursed my lips. “I live in a dorm.”
    “I’ll take it,” Max said.
    We stared at him.
    A flush of color darkened his high cheekbones. “Not for me. Dad’s been talking about getting Aidan a pet.”
    “Who’s Aidan?”
    “My younger brother.”
    This was a whole lot of personal for Max. I had it in my mind that he was an only child like me.
    Max got out his phone and called his dad. His dad and his brother arrived not two hours later.
    Max went straight over to them. He greeted his dad, who looked like an older version of him. His brother was the surprise. Aidan was about six years old, and he smiled at Max like Max was his hero.
    Max lifted Aidan into his arms, and they walked toward me with their dad. Aidan held a small dinosaur in his hand, and Max admired it as they reached me.
    I sat on the mat with the kitten. When Aidan caught sight of Kickers, his eyes lit. They were green-gold and large. He shoved his toy in his pocket and patted Max’s arm to get down. It was the softest I’d ever seen Max’s face.
    “Oh,” Aidan said.
    His dad grinned.
    “Be gentle.” I lifted up the kitten I’d started to covet and placed it in his hands. At his expression, I was okay with letting my cat go. This pet would be loved.
     

 

Chapter Seven
     
    The next day, my call sheet set me up to train with an acting coach, which was a bit of a relief because I’d winged the scene last time. Afterwards, I stopped by the makeup area to check in with Powder. “Thanks again for helping me with my hair.”
    Powder, who’d been sorting brushes by size, checked out my hair and nodded, her mouth pulled in with satisfaction. “Looks good.”
    “Thanks to you.” Over in the workout area, Max was going through a Tai Chi routine. I didn’t let him distract me. “So, you said you could tell me how to work it?”
    Powder glanced from me to Max. Her eyes narrowed, and she turned to her makeup kit. She searched through the lipsticks and emerged with a lip stain and an applicator. She motioned toward the makeup chair. “Take a seat.”
    “I thought red was for nighttime.” I waved my hand, careful not to knock into her as she came at me with the lip stain. “And, not really for someone with my coloring.”
    “Anyone can wear red. It has to be the right shade.” She dabbed the stain on my lips and made me blot with a tissue. Then she followed with lip liner and a coat of deep matte red lipstick. I blotted again. Next came the gloss, a blue shimmery color. “Good.”
    “Now what?”  I smiled in the mirror, and she dusted my cheeks with powder. “Do I ask him out? Make my move?”
    “Nope.” Powder re-sorted her supplies. “But bring up dating. Plant the thought in his head.”
    I liked the idea of that.
    “Remember. You are woman. You have the power.”
    I popped out of the makeup chair. “Thanks.”
    “Sure. Let me know how it goes.”
    “I will.”
    I went straight to the workout mat. “Hey, Max. How’s Kickers?”
    “Good.”
    I got into place and stretched. “I finished the Dragon Night script.”
    “Yeah?”
    I bounced over to where he stood. “Yeah. The half animé, half real-life shots will be amazing. I gave notes to Justin. He’s going to go over them with me later.” I braced my feet apart and held my arms akimbo, imitating Max.
    Max led me in a flowing arm motion to warm-up. Midway through the Bow and Arrow move, he arched a dark eyebrow. “Who’s Justin?”
    I bent at the hips to scoop air from the ground, enjoying gravity’s pull on my muscles. “One of the artists.”
    “Hmm.”
    “I think Justin can take the notes and come up with something amazing.”
    “We’ll see.”
    “Exactly.”
    Max went to work on the punching bag after that and chatting ended. Well, his chatting ended. Mine ramped up. Max was a good listener that way. He got to hear about the acting coach