Free The Accidental TV Star by Emily Evans Page A

me nervous was trying to keep my attention on the lesson instead of him. Shirtless. Garrett. Water. He was taking his role as instructor seriously and I only caught him staring a few times.
    “Why haven’t you learned on your own?”
    “My mom’s a bartender. She comes home with lots of life gone wrong tales.”
    Garrett shook his head. “Client confidentiality should be sacred. In Scotland, a barkeep would rather cut out his own tongue and serve it to the cattle with a side of whisky than reveal the private stories of his clients.”
    “Well, it’s not the same in Trallwyn. Mom brings it all home. She’s a sucker for a sad story. When I go to try something new, all these warnings are in my head. For me to take a leap, I have to really want it.”
    “Copy me.” He stroked his arms overhead, like an Olympic swimmer. “You really wanted to come to LA then?”
    I mimicked his motions. “No. I already had a ticket. When Ashley told me about the summer job, it all fit.”
    Garrett stopped the arm motion and made me demonstrate treading water. Though it wasn’t swimming because I stayed in one place, it made me feel successful. I grinned at him. “Two other things swayed me. I’ll tell you one day.” Him and getting fired. He didn’t need to know either of those things.
    “Now.”
    “One day.”
    We worked on kicking to the side next. I knew I looked more like awkward dog paddling than Olympic contender, but I was happy to make progress.
    “My family wants me in college.”
    I spit water out of my mouth and blinked. “Take Ultimate Frisbee or some cool movie class. I bet you can find a cool film class out in LA. You could take one with Ashley or Caz. That would be fun.”
    “Will you be taking it with me?”
    “Sure, if you move to Houston and go to culinary school with me.”
    His face wrinkled up. “Not likely. Enough for today. Shallow end or out for you while I do some laps.”
     

Chapter Four
     
    The director tapped her foot and checked the clock. “Hannah, where is she?”
    “I’m sure Ms. Sims will be here any sec,” Hannah said.
    We all glanced at the door as if Sara Sims would walk in. She didn’t. It took two more hours for her to arrive, and then everyone flew into high speed. We took our desserts out of the fridge and added the ingredient they’d surprised us with at the start of today’s episode. Mine was strawberries. I sliced them thin, sprinkled sugar on top, and placed them between the layers of my cake.
    “Two minutes, Chefs,” Sara Sims said.
    I smoothed cream on the outside then placed the strawberries in an artistic pattern on the top.
    “Three…two…one…” Sara said.
    We threw our hands in the air.
    “Cut.” The director motioned for the new kitchen-hand to get us ready for the next stage of taping. He gave each contestant a slice of green apple. The apple dried our mouths to cut down on smacking sounds when we answered any questions about our dishes.
    Now we were ready for judgment. I braced myself for the critique. As the substitute contestant, I knew this was probably my time to go and I’d prepared a gracious speech for my exit. Thanks for the opportunity. Good luck to everyone remaining, etc…
    “Remember, when Ms. Sims reaches you, step one foot forward and angle your shoulder toward the camera,” the director said. “This will give you better dimension and your best shot.”
    Ms. Sims moved in front of me. “Explain your dish.”
    This was likely the last time I’d see her so I had to tell her how much she inspired me. “Hi, Ms. Sims. I’m a huge fan. I’ve seen every episode. I’m from Texas too and just wanted to say what an amazing opportunity this is.”
    Ms. Sims smiled, but the director cut in, “No, no Marissa.” She sighed. “Introduce your dish.”
    I felt the heat in my face, but this I could do. I’d been practicing this on cell phone videos for more than a year now. “What we have here is Ex-Boyfriend Lemon Cream Cake. Tart like the