Will the Real Abi Sanders Please Stand Up? (2 page)

Matt’s nowhere to be seen, but as I get to the bottom of the stairs, the white entrance door swings open and he comes charging through. He’s tall, around six feet, and his lean but muscular frame fills whatever space he’s in. He sees me, stops in his tracks, and flashes a wide smile that transforms his dark-and-broody movie star face into something almost boyish.

My heart does a little flip, as usual, when I see him. He’s like Henry Cavill’s much better-looking younger brother. But I ignore it. Deep down, I’ve always had a thing for Matt. He’s never felt the same about me, though. Yeah, he flirts, but he does that with everyone. It’s part of his DNA, so it doesn’t count.

And we’re friends. Good friends, and that is what’s most important. I’ve pretty much put my feelings for him in the back of my mind, where they belong. Nothing can happen between us, because it could ruin our friendship. And no way will I ever let that happen.

“Hey, Abi. Not in trouble are you?” He glances up at Bill’s office, which is the only room on the second floor. He knows as well as I do that being up there isn’t always a good sign.

I move past him and take a place on the mat. “I’ll tell you later. Come on, let’s warm up before we
do
get in trouble.”

“What’s with you being so secretive?” he asks as he stretches out his calf muscles.

“I’m not,” I say, smirking.

I’m hopeless at keeping anything from him, so I walk away before I break down and tell. Anyway, Bill goes crazy if we stand and chat while we’re supposed to be working.

We put on our helmets and face each other. Matt signals for us to start.

As soon as we’ve finished warming up, I throw the first punch. Matt blocks, kicks back. I block. We fall into the rhythm of the fight. Punch, block, kick. Roundhouse, front kick, block, jab, low kick, hook. And so forth. I throw myself into our sparring, trying not to be distracted by the way his muscles bunch and flex as he does his moves, and almost forget the chance of a lifetime Bill dropped into my lap.

“You’re gonna spill, Saunders. And I don’t just mean in the ring.” Matt grins and winks, his hazel eyes—green mixed with gold—sparkling as he dances back out of my reach.

I snort. As if that’s gonna break me.

“So not happening,” I yell in his direction. Just in case he thinks he’s got a chance.

…

“Of course you’ve got to do it. Why wouldn’t you?” Matt asks while we’re sitting on the patch of grass outside the dojo. Despite my having toweled off numerous times, sweat is still dripping down my neck and back, staining the neckline of my fitted tank in a very unladylike way. Matt still hasn’t cooled down, either, judging by the way his chestnut-brown hair curls damply around his face. We went for each other hard.

“Shut up. You know why not. M-m-m-matt.” I exaggerate my stutter to make a point and glare at him, but all he does is pick a blade of grass, put it between his fingers and blow, making a loud squeaky noise.

I roll my eyes toward the sky. He knows how hard things have been for me in the past, so why is he acting like this is an easy decision for me?

“This is Tilly Watson we’re talking about.” He won’t admit it, but from the way he looks when he mentions her name, I figure he’s got a crush. “I understand you might be nervous, but this is, like, one chance in a million. You’ve got to do it.” He drops the grass and lifts his head so our eyes meet.

But as for me being her stunt double…

Yes, of course, I’d love to meet Tilly. But I can only imagine what it would be like.

Hi, T-t-t-tilly. N-n-n-n-nice to m-m-meet you.

Yeah,
so
not happening.

“No, Matt. I can’t.”

“And what does Liv think?”

Liv’s my other best friend, and I’ve known her since grade school. The biggest mistake I ever made was introducing the two of them. They’re always ganging up on me, even if it’s usually in a nice way.

“She doesn’t know.”

“If she agrees with me, then you’re going to do it. Okay?” He leans across me and picks up the towel, and the sight of his toned six-pack showing underneath the hem of his tight white tee momentarily distracts me. I swear he lets that thing ride up on purpose to see my reaction—or that of any female standing nearby. I shake my head to bring my thoughts back in line.

Well, at least Liv will be on my side. She understands what I went through as a kid. Unlike Matt, I don’t have The Abs to mesmerize people with. “Fine. Text her.”

He glances up, looking at something over my shoulder. “Already did.”

I swing my head around and see Liv’s battered green Civic squeal up to the curb. She gets out and slams the door, charging over toward us.
What the…

“Abi! I can’t believe it,” she says as she plunks herself and her bag down between Matt and me. “When’s the audition?” Her china blue eyes are as wide as her mouth is open.

I can’t believe it either. This so isn’t what I want to hear. My shoulders sag, and I lean against the big old oak we’re sitting under.

“But Liv…” My voice sounds all pathetic and pleading, even to my ears. But it’s how I feel.

“Don’t even think of telling me you don’t want to go,” she says sharply.

“You don’t understand. This is way too big for me to get my head around.” I throw my hands in the air out of sheer exasperation. “I don’t know why Bill couldn’t have asked someone else.”

“Like who?” Matt says. “No one else is remotely at your level. Plus, you’re the right age and the right size. An obvious choice, if you ask me.”

“What is it with everyone thinking Tilly and I are similar? We’re most definitely
not
. And I should know—I see myself in the mirror every day.”

“Look, Abi,” Liv says, locking eyes with me. “You’ve got to put yourself out there. You can’t always hide in the shadows. This is your chance to show everyone what you can do.” She busts out into a series of stereotypically girly punches to illustrate. I know she means well, but there’s a reason field hockey is her thing. “No way are you turning down such an opportunity. Absolutely no way. Is she, Matt?” Liv turns her head in Matt’s direction, obviously confident he’ll take up where she left off.

It’s like she’s got a hotline to Bill, practically repeating his every word. If I didn’t know better, I’d say that Bill talked to them both before he even approached me to get them on his side. All we’ll need now is Mom to get involved, and we’ll have triple the fun. I get that they think they’re ganging up on me for my own good, but maybe they should leave me alone to make my own decisions. Which I am quite capable of doing. Most of the time.

“A once-in-a-lifetime chance,” Matt says. “That’s what I’ve been telling her.”

“Exactly,” says Liv, folding her arms and subconsciously assuming her I-am-a-wall-and-nothing’s-going-to-get-past-me goalie stance.

“Look, if you’re so thrilled, then
you
go,” I say to Liv. “You’d be much better than me.” I conveniently ignore the fact that unless she has a hockey stick in her hand, Liv hits about as effectively as Kermit the Frog. “There’s bound to be hundreds of people there. You know what these movie crews are like. Even the assistant to the assistant kitchen hand has an assistant. I’d sooner be fed to sharks than have to face all that.”

“That can be arranged,” Liv retorts. “Don’t underestimate us just because we’re in Nebraska.” She turns her body toward me and rests her hands on my shoulders. “Look,” she continues, her voice slightly more gentle than before. “I’m your best friend, and I know you better than anyone else.” She’s right about that. I owe her big time. We started school the same day, and I couldn’t have coped without her protection from the merciless, teasing bullies. She’s been fighting my fights and standing up for me for as long as I can remember. “There’s no way it’ll be as bad as you imagine. You don’t even have to talk to anyone if you don’t want to, so don’t worry about that. They want you for your kickboxing; just pretend it’s one of your matches.”

She makes it sound so easy, but then it
would
be for her. She couldn’t care less about walking into a room full of strangers and talking to them. I’m feeling beyond sick just thinking about it.

“I suppose that could work.” I bite down on the inside of my mouth as I process what she’s been saying.

I love Liv to bits, and I know she has my interests at heart, but she’ll never know what it’s like, however much I try to explain. It’s not her fault. You have to experience wanting to say something and not being able to get the words out to know what it feels like.

“Of course it will work,” she says. “Just remember, it’s only an audition, so it’s not like the real thing. You’re not going to be faced with all the actors and crew, are you?”

“I guess not.” I sigh. Something tells me Liv’s already made the decision for me.

“So you’ll go?” she asks, her eyes bright with anticipation.

“I’m still not sure,” I say.

“Abi, stop it. You can do this. Have some faith in yourself. After all you’ve been through together, do you really think Bill would ask you if he thought you couldn’t?”

“She’s right,” Matt adds. “If Bill thinks you’ll be okay, you will be. Go on. Tell him yes. We’ll come with you to the audition if you want.”

“Sure,” Liv replies, nodding, which causes her dark bangs to fall across her forehead. “It’ll be hard having to hang around a movie set with lots of celebs. But I’ll be there for you, Abi, because that’s the sort of thing best friends do for each other.”

She bursts out laughing and Matt follows. I can see I’m fighting a losing battle. I smile at them both—at least I think it’s a smile. I’m probably going to regret this, but what the hell.

“Okay. Okay. I’ll go.” A shiver shoots down my spine, and I’m not sure whether it’s from excitement or fear. Whatever. If this does work out, I can never again complain about my life being boring. Not that I ever do, but just saying.

“Awesome. And just think, when you’re famous there’ll be a line of guys wanting your number. How cool would that be?” A dreamy expression crosses her face.

Guys all wanting my number, huh? That would be a first. We’d see how many were left standing after I took an hour to recite it to them. I glance across at Matt, to see if the thought of guys wanting to ask me out bothers him at all, but all he’s doing is grinning. Probably thinking that I’ll be able to introduce him to Tilly. Well, that’s definitely not on my agenda.

“I haven’t got the job yet,” I say. “I’ve got to audition first. And there’s every chance that I’ll get there and then make a mad dash away from the place.”

“I can assure you, that’s not going to happen. I’ll be holding your hand every step of the way.” She folds her arms tightly across her chest and narrows her eyes, her lips locked together in grim determination. You don’t mess with Liv when she’s like this. Not if you know what’s good for you.

Chapter Two

“Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?” Mom asks as I’m heading out the door to where Matt’s waiting to take me to the audition.

We’ve had this discussion a few times, but I persuaded her that I’ll be fine going with Matt. I don’t think bringing parents to an audition is a great look for a stunt girl. I’m eighteen, not eight. Liv wanted to come, too, but she had hockey practice.

“I’m sure. I’ll call you after.”

“Okay. Good luck and break a leg.”

I laugh. “Now you’ve done it. Actors say break a leg instead of good luck, since saying that is
bad
luck.”

I’m still smiling to myself as I run down the drive and hop into the car.

Matt starts the engine, and we take off down the road with a squeal of tires. Matt owns an old BMW, and he likes to push it to its limits.

“How do you feel?” he asks, fast approaching a Honda Civic that seems to be creeping along at just under the speed limit.

“I’ve had better days,” I say. “And Matt, slow down! Unless you want to kill me before my audition and put me out of my misery.”

He hits the brakes, and a gap forms between us and the car ahead. I check the side mirror and relax my tense muscles. Thank goodness there’s no one close behind, or we’d have been in trouble.

“Sorry,” he says.

“Well, keep your eyes on the road and not on the girl in the car next to us,” I say shaking my head.

“What girl?” We come to a stop next to a small blue hatchback, but the blond ponytail I’d glimpsed on the driver turns out to belong to a woman who has to be at least in her forties. Oops. “I wasn’t looking at a girl,” Matt continues. “I just don’t want you to be late. It makes you tense.”

Okay, so maybe I misjudged him. This time. He knows that there’s an anal time-keeping gene in my family, which I inherited, and we are never late for anything. As in
never.
It drives Matt and Liv crazy at times, since they’re much more relaxed about time than me.

I glance down at my waterproof Armitron watch—one I can sweat all over at the gym without busting it—which isn’t exactly at the height of fashion. “The audition isn’t for another thirty minutes.” And the studio, where I’m meeting this Danny character, is only about ten minutes away.

“In my world, you have plenty of time. In Abi world, we’re almost late,” says Matt. “And, knowing you, you’ll need the bathroom to freshen up.”

“Throw up, more like,” I mutter. For the last two days, I’ve eaten virtually nothing and spent the time in a permanent state of panic. My concentration’s been totally shot, even at the dojo. I’ve played over and over in my mind how I think it’s going to go and am convinced that I’m going to be a total screw up. Doing choreographed fight scenes for a movie isn’t kickboxing. It’s never gonna be kickboxing. So what the hell was I on when I agreed to try it? How many more times in my life do I have to look like a fool? Bile rises in my throat. I’ve made a big mistake.

“I can’t do it, Matt. I’m sorry. Turn the car around.”

Matt pulls over to the curb and turns to face me. He takes my hand in his and gives it a squeeze, causing my stomach to knot. I remind myself it’s only done in friendship, nothing else. “Don’t back out now. It’s just nerves, and they’ll go once it starts. Let’s sit here for a few minutes and talk about something totally unrelated to the audition.”