Summary: Simon and Charlie, actors on a long-running sci-fi show, can’t stand
one another. Charlie is impetuous, outgoing, and basically feral, and
Simon thinks he should have stayed in reality television where he
belongs. They’ve spent the better part of a decade quarreling over the
spotlight and pretty much everything else, and everybody in the industry
knows it. Now that Simon’s contract is finally done, he can move to New
York, start fresh with work he actually likes, and get away from
Charlie.Simon’s only problem is that people might assume he’s been pushed off the show due to being impossible to work with. And he is kind
of difficult to work with. He doesn’t get along with people—unlike
Charlie, who somehow tricked everyone on the show into adoring him
despite some outrageously bad on-set behavior during the show’s first
season. Simon would rather never have to see Charlie again, but
reluctantly agrees to stage a very public friendship during the short
time before he moves. When Charlie has to leave town to deal with a
family emergency, this means Simon comes along. Their road trip brings
Simon to places he would never have willingly chosen to visit—and he
finds he’s actually not having a terrible time.
The more he gets
to know Charlie, the more Simon suspects he’s underestimated his former
coworker. Simon also realizes that after seven years, Charlie might know
him better than anyone ever has. Even stranger, Charlie seems to be
starting to actually like him, despite knowing him so well. Still, Simon
is about to move three thousand miles away, so whatever’s starting
between him and Charlie can’t really amount to anything... right? (Pub Date: Mar 03 2026)
