Life in High Def

by Kimberly Cooper Griffin

  “You seem tense. Maybe I can help take the edge off, lover.”

  Warm lips trailed up Reilly’s neck.

  “Later, Syl,” she laughed and bumped Sylvie away. The contact made her nipples hard, but she wasn’t in the mood.

  “Come on, Rye. It’s been over a week. Plus, I’ve done enough coke to give a whale perma-wood,” whispered Sylvie into Reilly’s ear, as she leaned into her, and then took Reilly’s earlobe between her teeth. “I’ll probably explode as soon as your lips wrap around my clit.”

  Reilly shivered from the vibration of Sylvie’s deep voice and the warm mouth on her skin. The thought of her own mouth on Sylvie made her mouth water. Maybe she was in the mood. But she grabbed Sylvie’s wrist just as fingers slid under the barely there thong she wore.

  “I don’t want to walk out of this room looking like I just got laid, Syl. The rag-trolls are out in force this weekend. I’m nervous enough as it is.”

  “They think that’s what we’re doing anyway,” said Sylvie with a smirk, though she stepped away, smoothing her lipstick with a finger.

  “I’ll take care of you later, babe. Promise,” said Reilly with a smile. She gave Sylvie a quick kiss and headed toward the door. She watched Sylvie wipe away the vestiges of dust they had left on the dresser and put the nearly empty vial back into her bag before she opened the door. She hoped that Sylvie didn’t make her follow up on the promise. Reilly was still a little raw about Sylvie’s absence the Saturday morning before, though Sylvie’s side of the story had gone pretty much the way she had predicted. They had made up that night—kind of. Reilly still carried resentment, but she tried to put all of that behind her as they rejoined the party. She didn’t want the negative attitude to affect the night’s fun.

  Back in the main rooms, where everything was well under way, Reilly and Sylvie pushed through the crowd to get to the bar, which was near doors that stood open into the backyard. Reilly took in the scene and let her eyes roam over the partygoers on the temporary dance floor installed over an elaborate flagstone deck. Next to it was a huge pool that had been covered with a thick floor of Plexiglas. Flowers and candles in clear bowls floated on the surface of the lit pool below. Strings of white lights had been strung across the yard, and footlights illuminated the tropical foliage that gave the yard a lush intimacy. Beyond the crowd, toward the back of the yard, a deck jutted out over the steep slope that fell away from the house. The lights of the valley shimmered below. The crowd was full of Hollywood’s biggest players. Even Reilly was impressed with the star-studded view.

  Reilly surveyed the crowd looking for Cray, but she didn’t see him. Her eyes did land on someone else, though. Why was Parker suddenly everywhere she went?

  “What’s she doing here?” Reilly asked. She knew that she was supposed to have mended fences with Parker, but that was before the fight with Sylvie, and now her feelings were all over the place. Reilly was struggling to figure out what she was supposed to feel about Parker’s presence just as Parker spotted them and headed their way.

  “Who? Oh, Parker. Why wouldn’t she be?” retorted Sylvie after following Reilly’s gaze. Sylvie smiled and gave Parker a hug in greeting. Reilly wondered again when Parker and Sylvie had become so friendly.

  Reilly knew Sylvie well enough to know that she wasn’t applying the artificial sweetness that glazed most Hollywood greetings. She seemed genuine in her happiness to see Parker. Something about it rankled Reilly, but she tried not to let it show. The weekend was too important and busy for an argument. She filed the thought away with an internal reminder to confront Sylvie about it later.

  She dragged her eyes off of the two women and was shocked to see someone else that she never expected to see there. Drew was standing right behind Parker, and her eyes were already on Reilly. A small smile played on Drew’s mouth and Reilly’s eyes moved to her lips. A memory of the light kiss she had given Drew in the bathroom filled her head and other parts of her anatomy. Her irritation and angry tension suddenly fled.

  Reilly heard her name being called, and realized that she had been staring. She pulled herself from the hypnotic gaze with Drew and turned toward Sylvie, who was now beside her.

  “Hmm?”

  “What do you want to drink, Reilly?” repeated Sylvie. “Parker wants to do a shot to celebrate your nomination. Patrón? Sambuca? Both?”

  Reilly tried to remember what Sylvie had just said when Drew stepped closer. An excited flutter filled her stomach. Drew was dressed in a long silk sheath dress with a plunging back. The dress fastened around Drew’s neck accentuating the length of smooth skin that was exposed by an upswept hairstyle held by two chopsticks in the back of her head. Reilly admired her strong yet sensual shoulders and toned arms.

  “Reilly? Drink? Patrón or Sambuca?” repeated Sylvie.

  “Uh, I think I’ll stick with the tequila. I’d like to at least try to avoid a headache tomorrow morning,” replied Reilly, distracted. She really didn’t want any more to drink. She wanted to stay sharp now that Drew was around. She’d do one more shot and that would be it.

  Reilly’s thoughts of Drew were interrupted when Parker’s hand encircled her wrist.

  “No kidding. I was a mess Saturday morning after all of us went dancing.” Parker laughed. She leaned toward Reilly and lowered her voice. “Hey, sorry about the drama last weekend. That was completely my fault. We haven’t really talked about—stuff, and—well, I know that things are still sort of new for us.”

  Reilly glanced at Parker’s hand. Although Parker sounded sincere, she wanted to step away and shake out of her grasp. She ignored the sense of distorted anger she felt and smiled back at Parker. She was an actress. She could fake it until she figured it all out. Besides, it seemed silly to perpetuate a feud that she had never been the one to fuel in the first place. They were adults now. Maybe it was time to bury the hatchet.

  “No worries,” she said to Parker. She was thankful when Parker let go of her wrist.

  “Are you nervous about tomorrow? I’d be shitting bricks. But you’re probably used to it, since this is the second one, right?”

  “I’m pretty nervous,” admitted Reilly. “I’m not sure if you can ever get used to being under this kind of spotlight.”

  “I’d like to give it a shot, though,” laughed Parker. Reilly doubted Parker would ever be in the running for an Academy Award, but she was being petty and she held her tongue.

  Sylvie moved closer to Drew, and Reilly lost track of what she and Parker were talking about.

  “Drew, right?” asked Sylvie, fixing her sights on the beautiful black-haired woman who stood beside Parker. Reilly recognized the tractor beam intensity in Sylvie’s stare, and an unfamiliar jealousy swept through her—and it wasn’t over Sylvie. She watched Sylvie run her hand up Drew’s bare arm in a re-enactment of their bathroom meeting. “I remember you. What’s your pleasure?”

  Drew ignored the innuendo, which pleased Reilly more than she would ever admit.

  “Just soda water for me tonight. I’m the DD.”

  Her smile was polite, but not inviting.

  “That’s why God invented car services, Drew,” coaxed Sylvie, circling a finger on Drew’s bare shoulder.

  Drew stepped away from Sylvie’s touch and looked around as if she were looking for one of the wandering wait staff. Reilly hid a grin. She knew a practiced move to avoid unwanted attention when she saw one.

  “Thanks anyway. I have a class to teach tomorrow morning. I’ll stick with water tonight.” Drew smiled and pointed to a waiter with bottles of water on his tray. Some of the tension inside of Reilly eased.

  “Maybe I should stick with water, too. It seems to work for you,” said Sylvie, glancing up and down Drew’s tall frame. “It works very well.”

  “Jeez, Sylvie. Roll your tongue in,” said Reilly, sidling up to Sylvie and pushing her toward the bar, embarrassed and irritated by the lascivious come on.

  Parker punched Sylvie in the arm as they walked away, and Re
illy lifted her eyebrows at Drew in an apology as she turned toward the bar and placed their order.

  Reilly stood next to Sylvie and tried to control her vacillating emotions.

  “Parker said she was going to bring a date, but I had no idea that she knew that beautiful creature,” said Sylvie, as they waited for the shots.

  “You knew Parker was coming?” asked Reilly, wondering when Sylvie had stopped being her protector. The old Sylvie would have warned her.

  “Yeah. She told us both last weekend. Remember?”

  Reilly had no memory of that, and Sylvie’s tone indicated that Reilly should feel bad for doubting her.

  “I must have forgotten.”

  “Sounds like we need to take another vacation when this craziness is over,” Sylvie said with a hollow laugh. Sylvie signaled for the others to move over to the bar, and she distributed the shots that the bartender had lined up for them.

  A few other people joined them, and the bartender poured more for them. Reilly watched Drew sip her water and wondered what the serene woman was like when she let her hair down.

  “This is it for me tonight,” said Reilly, lifting her shot glass at Sylvie’s suggestion. “I mean it. Don’t let me get stupid tonight.”

  “I’m not your conscience, Reilly. Besides, I’m not sure I’ll be a suitable chaperone after a couple more of these,” Sylvie smirked. Then she held her shot up and addressed the small circle of people that had gathered around them. “To Reilly! Here’s to the Academy’s next Best Actress!”

  Reilly felt like the toast was for someone other than her, but she smiled and nodded with what she hoped was a graceful acceptance.

  The small group tossed back their shots and then slammed their glasses down on the wooden bar.

  “Yum!” declared Sylvie. “Now let’s dance!”

  The small group went outside to the dance floor.

  As Reilly stepped onto the parquet surface, strong hands grasped her hips from behind and she was led with a rhythmic sway into the middle of the floor. Like a scene from a movie, the crowd parted, the first notes of a familiar song played, and confident arms pulled her back into a hard body. Reilly was loose from the tequila and amped from the coke. She eased into a slow grind with her dance partner, letting the music build. It felt easy and right, and she loved the feeling of the appreciative eyes on her.

  She hoped that Drew was watching. A low thrum filled her belly thinking about Drew watching her dance.

  “You ready for this, sexy lady?” asked the deep voice from behind her, and the song picked up the tempo.

  “Bring it, hot daddy,” she purred, and then she laughed as Cray pushed her away and then snapped her right back to him in the beginning of a spicy salsa.

  They must have performed the dance a thousand times in rehearsals, and there were times that Reilly thought that she would scream rather than hear that song one more time. But tonight, when it was just for fun, she let her body respond and her feet do their thing. Gone was the cu-cum…pa, cu-cum…pa repetition of her dance coach’s voice in her head. It was just she and Cray and the salsa beat. She let go.

  The emerald green dress her mother had selected for that night was perfect for the dance. Simple, strapless, and light, with a slit that ran from foot to hip, showing flashes of her toned thigh and calf as she took the long graceful strides that embodied the sensual dance. The black suede heels with thin straps that wound around her calf could have been treacherous, had she not been forced to learn to move with practiced confidence in heels during her hours of rehearsal and training. She and Cray danced better than they ever had before. The music became part of them; the dance an extension of their sensuality, and all Reilly could think about was the silver-gray eyes that she felt watching her. She danced like she was showing Drew the secrets of her body.

  When the song ended, she and Cray separated to a roar of applause and requests for another dance. But they knew to leave the crowd wanting more, and Cray made her promise to save another dance for him even as his eyes tracked a beautiful young man across the floor. He kissed her cheek and left.

  With a smile, Reilly made her way to where she had left her friends, turning down a few requests to stay on the dance floor. The performance had filled her with a sense of anticipation that bordered on craving. Her eyes scanned the crowd for Drew, though she didn’t know what she would do or say once she saw her. There seemed to be so much in the way. Still, Reilly’s eyes sought her out.

  She found Parker and Sylvie on the edge of the floor, dancing and laughing at a joke one of them had made. A shadow of disappointment fell over Reilly when Drew wasn’t with them.

  Then she saw her.

  Drew danced near the middle of the floor, one of many on the crowded parquet, but alone, while Parker and Sylvie performed a racy grind several feet away. Reilly slowed her approach as her eyes slid over Drew, and she felt the music moving through Drew’s body as if it were her own. Drew’s eyes were closed, her arms were raised, and she swayed in sensuous rhythm. A small smile sculpted her mouth and Reilly once again remembered the kiss. Though no more than a brush of skin, it was still vivid in her memory, and she wondered how a real kiss would feel.

  Reilly’s fingers went to her lips and a buzz filled her from head to toe. Something more powerful than she had ever experienced pulled her to Drew.

  Under normal circumstances, when another woman caught her eye, Reilly enlisted Sylvie’s efforts to arrange for the woman to go home with them. Reilly would do more than just watch this time. The thought filled her with a restless ache as she watched Drew dance. But when Parker and Sylvie moved closer to Drew, who didn’t seem to notice them, Reilly realized that she wanted Drew to herself.

  That was a problem.

  She and Sylvie were a couple, and they played as a couple, but it was part of their agreement that they wouldn’t play on their own. Early in their relationship, after they both realized that they enjoyed the dynamic that other women brought to their sex life, Sylvie had made Reilly promise not to sleep with other women without her. Sylvie had said that she didn’t like the thought of Reilly coming while another woman held her if she wasn’t there to see it. Reilly had agreed to Sylvie’s request, even though she didn’t care if Sylvie had sex with other women, with or without her there. Just as long as Sylvie came home to her. Reilly knew that the agreement was unconventional, but she also knew that their relationship wasn’t a forever thing.

  So, feeling like a cheater, she stood in the crowd and watched. She had no idea how long Drew had been watching her in return, but when she realized that the silver-gray eyes were locked on hers, her body responded and she instantly forgot all of the things that had just gone through her mind. She found herself moving toward Drew. Without touching her, she began to dance with her. It was as if they had danced together a million times before. Reilly was so in tune with the energy emanating from Drew that she knew exactly where each part of Drew was in relation to her own. The awareness allowed them to move together in a seamless flow. Still, they didn’t touch. There was nothing but the connection of their eyes and the music in their world, and Reilly let the sensation fill her up.

  The music changed, but Reilly didn’t notice until arms wrapped around her from behind, breaking through the trance that she was in. She kept dancing though, unwilling to break from the power of Drew’s gaze. But when she saw hands wrap around Drew from behind, and Parker’s face appeared over Drew’s shoulder, Reilly felt the loss of connection like a cold stream of water, and she turned to face Sylvie. Containing her disappointment, she continued to dance, though she could barely feel the music anymore.

  “That was hot, baby,” purred Sylvie, nuzzling her ear. “I never get tired of watching you dance. Drew has some moves, too. I wonder…”

  Reilly watched Drew over Sylvie’s shoulder and was relieved to see Parker let go of her and walk toward them.

  “Hey, Drew is going to head home. I’m going to walk her out, but I told her that you guys would
take me home. Is that okay?” It was the first time that Reilly welcomed Parker’s presence.

  Then it hit her. Drew was going to leave.

  “You can’t talk her into staying?” asked Reilly.

  Sylvie’s eyebrow rose in a knowing smirk, and Reilly decided that she wanted Drew to leave rather than let Sylvie near her.

  Parker rolled her eyes.

  “I already tried. Apparently, she really does have a class tomorrow, and I want to cut loose tonight. She’s a yoga instructor or something. I really don’t know her very well. She did on-set yoga classes on a pilot I just shot and one of the producers who knows us both hooked us up. She’s hot, but not my type, it turns out.”

  Reilly was glad to hear that last part.

  “Well, I’m sure we could get her to loosen up a little,” said Sylvie, and Reilly didn’t like the reaction she had to Sylvie’s insinuation. “Besides, Reilly has decided to go all old lady on us tonight. Maybe we can convince them both to cut loose.”

  “Let her go, Syl. I want to party after all. We don’t need to have a sober judge watching over us,” said Reilly.

  Getting her party on was the last thing that she wanted, but Reilly would rather let Drew leave than watch Sylvie drool over her all night.

  “Okay. We’ll be by the bar when you get back,” said Sylvie, with an impish smile, her scheming mind off of bedding Drew for the time being, which gave Reilly a measure of relief.

  Reilly and Sylvie watched Parker escort Drew back into the house so that Parker could send her on her way. Reilly tried not to think about kisses goodbye.

  “Hey, was that Parker Stevens?”

  Reilly turned to Cray, who had come up behind them.

  “Yes. As a matter of fact it was. Why did you invite her?” asked Reilly, turning to him. She didn’t mean to sound shitty, but she was annoyed about the goodbye kisses that she didn’t want to think about.