Porter (Dick Dynasty #1) by David Michael Page B

comes to the actual audition, but nobody gets in that door until you decide they look the part.”
    This was a conversation we’d had dozens of times before and it had a way of getting heated pretty quickly. I was half tempted to go back to talking about Porter just to avoid the fight.
    “Becks, we both know that making it big in this shit show is like winning the lottery. The only way to make it is to keep playing the game and hope that, eventually, someone takes notice.”
    “I know,” she agreed, “it’s just a pain in my ass. I’m really tired of being the dumb girl in b-line horror flicks.”
    “But you’re so good at it, honey!” I teased, “Your death scenes are always spectacular!”
    “My death scenes are always CGI.”
    I burst out laughing before I could stop myself. The way she had said it just struck a chord with me and I couldn’t help it. It was probably the wine. Luckily, it appeared to be doing its job with her, too. She added her quiet giggles to my own unrestrained laughter.
    I swiped at the tears of laughter that had begun to form on my lashes and took a few deep breaths while I attempted to gather myself.
    “So who’s the flavor of the week that has caught Mitch’s attention?” I knew my best friend wouldn’t have let him out of her sight without a proper “interview”, as she called them. The rest of us called them inquisitions.
    “Some bartender he met on one of those gross dating apps. I’m willing to bet the guy just wants to hook up and never talk to him again. I keep telling him that the internet is not the way to meet guys, but he just doesn’t listen. One of these days he’s going to get chopped up into little tiny pieces and dumped in the ocean. There are some psychos out there, Holly. Like, Norman Bates status.”
    Becks was our resident pessimist when it came to relationships. Nobody doubted that she would be the last man standing when it came time to take the trip to the altar.
    She had gone buck-wild in our college days. The girl had been in more laps than a napkin. Unfortunately, she wasn’t the type to think with her hormones. She always got her heart involved and I watched it break every time a one-night-stand never called her back.
    When we graduated, she jumped on the chastity bandwagon and turned into a bit of a cynic. She dated, but never anything serious and, to my knowledge, never slept with any of them no matter how many dates they took her on. It was like she was testing them without letting them know that there were rules to follow. It was a game that her poor guys never even knew they were playing. Each time one of them got tired of her pulling away, she became more resolute in her belief than men are scum.
    I never could figure out what she expected from them and I knew better than to ask. I always just assumed that she loved the thrill of being chased, but had no desire to actually let one catch her.
    “Earth to Holly!” Becks snapped her fingers in front of my face, pulling my gaze from the swirling red of my wine.
    “Huh?”
    “You zoned out on me. Do you even know what I was talking about?”
    “Um, yeah,” I shook my head, “You were talking about Mitch’s date.”
    “I was, yes. Ages ago. Did you miss my whole diatribe about Ryder’s money shots?”
    “Porter,” I corrected automatically, “And yes, apparently. I can’t say I’m all that upset about it either. I don’t want to talk about the Clit Wizard anymore. I’ve already decided that I’m not seeing him again. There’s no way we’d work out, Becks.”
    “You don’t know that!” she protested.
    “Oh, but I do,” I said coolly, “We’re just too different. No amount of chemistry can bridge that gap.”
    “You’re just determined to suck all the fun out of my life, aren’t you?”
    “Yes, Becks. My sole purpose in life is to not date a porn star just so you miss out on all the dirty details. If you like him so much, you go date him!”
    Her mouth snapped shut as she