Only You by Jerry Cole (the top 100 crime novels of all time TXT) 📕

was all he could do to keep it together. And, as petty as it might have seemed, seeing Bradley suddenly become the breadwinner hurt.

So, Sherman decided to take the immature route by trying to put Bradley back in his place. It had backfired terrifically and he was glad for it. They’d needed that fight to get their relationship back into gear. Now, he was sure, it was going to be all smooth sailing...

God, he hoped so.

“So, you saw Nick, huh?” Bradley asked once he finally saw fit to let Sherman go.

“I did.” Sherman ducked around Bradley and headed for the kitchen. He could still smell the pasta from earlier and he was suddenly aware of how hungry he was. “I haven’t seen him since lockdown, so figured I should pop in,” he finished over his shoulder as he disappeared into the kitchen.

“Plus, you wanted to get away from me?” Bradley joked, joining him in the kitchen.

“That to,” Sherman winked and grinned.

If there was any doubt as to how Bradley was feeling about Sherman, any chance of a lingering resentment, that was all washed away when Sherman walked into the kitchen and spied the bowl of pasta sitting on the tabletop as if waiting for Sherman’s hungry hands to grab at it. Bradley, despite their fight, made it especially for him and left it there, knowing that sooner or later he would come home hungry. Fuck, how did Sherman get so lucky?!

“How is Nick?” Bradley asked. He lowered himself into a seat at the counter, looking tired but still interested. “How’s he taking the whole DreamLine thing?”

Sherman shrugged. “Taking it, I suppose.” He shrugged again. “He acts tough and everything... but you know how he is.”

“A big baby?”

“Exactly.”

And just like that, the two were back to acting like nothing was the matter. And on the surface, this was perfectly true. Sherman told himself then and there that he would work harder to not be a dick, and to support Bradley where he needed it. And as for Bradley? Well, he didn’t really have to do anything. Most of this was on Sherman.

Even still, as the two men spoke and as Sherman demolished that bowl of pasta, a huge cloud of guilt hung low over his head. He had lied to Bradley outright, knowing that Bradley would believe him without question. It was one of the many things that Sherman liked so much about him...

Sherman couldn’t get that meeting with Curly out of his head. And if Bradley ever found out... there was no number of hugs and kisses that would make up for it. If Bradley ever found out what Sherman was doing, he would leave Sherman faster than it took to heat that pasta up in the microwave. Worse too that Sherman would deserve it.

Chapter Nineteen

Things were going well for Bradley. Really well. And perhaps there was no better indication of this than where he was currently, and what he was currently doing. It was early-June, roughly two weeks after the more intense aspects of lockdown had ended, and he was walking through the back hallways of Shine Studios Australia, on the way to what would soon be his very own dressing room.

“Granted, right now, the room belongs to someone else.” He was being led by the Executive Producer of the show, Harmony... yes, her name was Harmony. Somehow in her forties, she was a little pixie of a thing with bright pink hair and a bubbly personality to match. “Some crappy show about cooking or whatever – I dunno. But when filming for that ends next month, we’re kicking ‘em out and putting you in.”

“That’s more than fine by me,” Bradley assured her.

“Ah, pre-fame,” Harmony mused. Although the two were walking through a series of complex hallways, she spun around and walked backwards so as to size Bradley up. “I always like you guys better before you become famous. After that, you’re mostly a bunch of wankers.”

“Us guys?”

“Actors!” she exclaimed happily as she spun back around and picked the pace up. “Right now, first show under your belt, you’re as soft as a kitten – fuck, I bet I could tell you that you didn’t even have a dressing room! That you had to share! And you wouldn’t care one wit.”

“I wouldn’t,” Bradley assured her. “I still can’t believe this is real.”

“Exactly! Give it time though... maybe a month or so into filming, and you will become as egotistical, as manic, as crazy as the rest of them!” She sounded serious, like it wasn’t even a question. Just fact.

“Yeah, I don’t think that will be me.”

“Whatever you say, New Blood – and here we are.” She took a sharp turn which led to another hallway that looked like all the rest. The main difference being that this time she came to an abrupt halt outside a closed door. “Your new changing room... well, when production starts, anyhow. Ready?”

Harmony waited a moment before opening the door; it was as if she was trying to build anticipation around the moment. Indeed, her eyes were wild with glee and Bradley got the sense she was enjoying herself a little too much.

But then, with extreme suddenness, she threw the door open and took a quick step back so Bradley could peak inside. And when he did... fuck, he might have been new to this but Bradley couldn’t imagine a world where what he saw wouldn’t make him feel like a kid on Christmas morning. To say he was excited would be an understatement.

“Holy shit...”

“Cool, huh?”

“Yeah...” his eyes looked over the crappy little room. Truth be told, there was nothing special about it; Sherman’s reading room was bigger, and his own apartment was cleaner. But it was a sign of where his life was going and that alone was enough to