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"The first thing we have to figure out is where are we going." Cleo sat back on the couch, her phone in her hand. "Are we staying in Canada? Going back to the States? Going to a different country altogether? Isolated cabin? Big city hotel? Going back to Los Angeles? What do you think?"
"I definitely don't want to be isolated in a cabin. I like the idea of going back to the States, just for the simple fact that dealing with foreign law enforcement will be a pain if it comes to that." Link ran his hand through his hair and pulled out his phone. "We're only about a four-hour drive from Buffalo." He looked over at Cleo. "We could look into some stuff on our own."
"Yes, because two fairly famous actors in a very public relationship won't be noticed." Cleo teased him. "And I wouldn't even know where to start."
"We start by renting a car and driving to Buffalo. Which means we have to find someone to drive us to Huntsville because that's the closest car rental place to us.
"Joy and Walter can do that; we can just tell them we want to spend a few days going apple picking." Cleo pulled out her phone and sent Joy a text asking when one of them would be available to take them to Huntsville.
"Okay, we'll pick up the car, park it at the marina, pack our stuff, and leave early in the morning. We'll leave the boat there and give the keys and a note for Joy and Walter with the harbour master... is it a harbour master if it's not a harbour?" Link mused to himself. "Doesn't matter."
"No, it doesn't." Cleo giggled as her phone dinged, and she checked it. "Walter will pick us up at the marina at eight tomorrow morning."
"Okay, so we'll take the car to Buffalo. I don't think we should stay in place for too long, at least until we get a better idea of what's going on here." Link paused as he thought about it. "We're going to need to pick up some different baseball hats and sunglasses. Maybe I should dye my hair."
Cleo pulled her dark ponytail over her shoulder. "Dyeing my hair is labour intensive and expensive, but it is time for me to cut it."
"Cut it?" Link reached out and ran his fingers through the ponytail. "It is a little long. I liked it in Perfect Sense."
"Yeah, I had two back-to-back movies that required longer hair, so I was just getting it trimmed." Cleo smiled. "You watched Perfect Sense?"
"I watched all your movies before we started filming; I wanted to see what kind of actress I would be working with." Link shrugged. "I knew I was going to have to bring my A game. I'm actually a little surprised it took you six movies to reach leading lady status."
"According to Haven, I give off best friend vibes." Cleo grinned, her cheeks red from Link's praise. "I didn't have to watch your movies; I'd seen most of them." Seeing his look of surprise, she elaborated. "Nico and I used to go to the movies a lot."
"Have you heard from him?" Link asked curiously. Cleo nodded.
"Yeah, we've texted a bit, just the usual stuff. Apparently, he hit it off with the chauffeur the night of the premiere, and they've been keeping each other company."
"Isn't he staying in your condo?" Link raised his eyebrow at her. Some of his things were still there.
"He decided not to move in." Cleo shrugged. "Frankie got a job with an actress based in London, so he's moving over there." She looked bewildered as she told him. "He's a great makeup artist, so I'm not surprised he found a job quickly, but how quickly everything is unfolding makes me think he was planning an exit. Anyway, he offered Nico a chance to sublet the apartment, and Nico took him up on it."
"What else have you guys talked about?"
"I sent him some of the pictures that didn't go up on social media, but there was nothing in them that could have given away where we are. Unless Will told him where we are, he doesn't know we're at a different cabin."
"Alright, so next steps." Link rubbed his eyes tiredly. "We have to get the file or a copy of the file about your potential stalker from Haven so we can see it, and we have to send a copy of what we have to them."
Cleo nodded. "Yeah, I want to see it. I also think we should have them go back through our fan mail since we started dating and our social media posts and flag anyone who's overly invested or upset."
"We need to have a video call with them so we're all on the same page." Link reached out and tucked a tendril of hair that had escaped her ponytail behind her ear. "Since we're gonna be in upstate New York anyway, I'd like to meet with the police officer who looked into your parent's death, and I'm gonna get my father to look into Jerrica, find out where she lives so we can avoid the town. I would also like to talk to the officer who was in charge of your husband's accident."
"I guess we have to." Cleo let out a huge sigh. "God, they had to dig up that crap, didn't they?"
"Fraid so Shortcake." He smiled at her sympathetically. "We haven't really discussed Nico's bisexuality yet either."
"From what he told me, he identifies as gay." Cleo shrugged. "He finds women attractive and can form deep emotional connections with them to the point of falling in love, but he 100% prefers men. He never came out and said it directly, but from the few conversations I've had with him about it, he can't perform with women. So if he did have one-night stands with my look-a-likes... I don't know. He had girlfriends until the twelfth grade when he had his first encounter with a guy, and he said he never looked back." She chewed her lower lip for a minute as she thought.
"What we need to know is, did Frankie tell the private detective about the one-night stands or did he track down the woman? Because Frankie could be lying. If he did meet with the women, did he actually sleep with them? Or did he try and not succeed?"
Link let out a little chuckle. "What, you think he was testing his sexuality?"
"Well... Like I said, He told me he can fall in love with women, but he inferred that he can't perform, and Nico and I have been best friends for a long time... He's never attempted anything more than his usual "brotherly" affection, but I started therapy for my issues with men when he moved in with Frankie, and I was alone for the first time in my life; I wanted to try to date."
"You never did though." Link pointed out.
"No, well, sort of. There were a couple of times I tried to date a co-star or let Haven hook me up. I'd either panic and cancel the date before it even started or go and end up insisting we stay friends." Cleo felt her cheeks heat up and cleared her throat. "I'm pretty well done with therapy, and I just haven't had the courage to date."
Link smiled. "But so far so good with us?"
"So far so good with us." Cleo grinned. "I think the fake relationship helped me get comfortable with you."
"That makes me very happy." Link pulled her in for a hug, his hands lingering on the bare skin of her back. "Look, sexuality is complicated and isn't the same for everyone, and love is even more complicated. I can't even begin to explain what's going on with Nico and his emotions for you. Honestly? I don't believe he cheated on Frankie with women."
"But you think he might have cheated with men?" Cleo pulled back. "Why?"
"If we were right about him and your husband's relationship, he had no problem being the other person in your marriage while befriending you." Link pointed out.
"Oh my god." Cleo's hands slipped from Link's shoulders, and she stared at him. "You're right. I didn't think about that at all. But I'm still wrapping my head around the thought that Anthony was gay."
"Well, we can confirm that while we're in New York too. It would just be a simple trip to the strip club."
"If it's still there."
"Strip clubs rarely go out of business Shortcake."
*Copyright: Stephanie Myrick, 2023. Posted to Wattpad ONLY*