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boxers and yanked the blankets over his body. The warmth of the bedding, plus the scent of Jonathan on his pillow comforted him. He’d get through this, and with a little luck, he’d end up with the guy of his fantasies. He chuckled. Maybe even better, he’d end up with exactly who he needed—Jonathan.
    * * * *
    Sean flopped over and buried his face in the pillow. Something was ringing. He sighed. No, whatever it was, the item wasn’t ringing… It was screeching. He opened his eyes and yawned. How long had he been out? He barely remembered falling asleep. He heard someone talking.
    “Sean Banks, this is your wake up call. Get your butt out of bed.”
    He rolled onto his back and grunted. Ah, the director’s blunt attempt at getting him onto the set on time. Since filming had started, he hadn’t been late. Apparently, today would be another matter.
    No, he wouldn’t let Tony down. Sean sat up and scooted to the edge of the bed to grab his phone. He tapped the buttons to send Tony a text.
    I’m not needed ‘til 10. Going for a run.
    The fresh air would do him good, plus he hadn’t exercised in two days. He drew a long breath into his lungs. Time to run and forget his issues for a while.
    Within ten minutes, he’d dressed, grabbed his mp3 player and stood outside the trailer. The sun wasn’t bright in the sky yet. He debated wearing his sunglasses. It was early. If anyone was looking to spot the actors on set, he didn’t mind if they saw him, but he liked the barrier the glasses provided. He went back into the trailer long enough to scoop up his sunglasses then ran through his battery of stretches. He’d learned not to break into a sprint straight from getting out of bed when he’d pulled a muscle in rehab. When he bent over, someone whistled.
    Sean rolled his shoulders then switched on his music. He needed the loud rock music to energize him. He started along the perimeter fence. According to the specs, the current configuration of the set was just over a mile. Five laps should be a good workout. He’d gone nearly the length of the set when he came to the entry gate. Some of the extras were already filing in. At least, the people were prepared and ready to go.
    A figure caught his attention. The man kept his gaze low and quietly handed the guard his entry card. Sean stopped. He’d know that body anywhere. He yanked one of his ear buds from his ear. “Jonathan?”
    As if in slow motion, Jonathan tipped his gaze to Sean. The corner of his mouth pulled up for a split second then the smile vanished. He stepped out of the way of the other extras but didn’t say anything.
    “You’re back.” Sean switched off the player. He needed to give Jonathan his full attention. “I’m glad. Did Tony get in touch with you last night?”
    Jonathan shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. “He did. I thanked him and turned him down.”

 
    Chapter Five
     
     
     
    Jonathan bit back a whimper. Turning down the director for a plum part in a vignette for the series was really foolish. He could get his career going with that one short film. Instead, he’d used his pride as a shield and said no.
    “Why would you do that?” Sean blurted. He removed his sunglasses and massaged his temple. “Can we talk? Like not in front of everyone?”
    “Sure.” Jonathan didn’t trust himself to be alone with Sean, but he didn’t have much choice. He didn’t want the others to know his business, especially not Michael. That guy had turned out to be so nosy. He reminded Jonathan of an old-time gossip writer from the movies.
    Sean strode past a couple trailers then stopped. Go figure. He’d stopped in front of his own trailer. “Okay, so you were offered the part of Owen in the short film, and you said no. Want to tell me why?”
    “You.” Jonathan leaned against the side of the trailer. “Do you understand how hard this is?” The words tumbled out faster than he could sort out what he wanted to say, but oddly, he didn’t care.