I arrive at the set early to watch it come to life. Cam tags along and assists in making sure everything is as it should be. He seems to understand what Chauncey and I are going for here, so I am glad to have him here. Cam even throws in a few ideas to tweak some of the scenes that make it better than our original plan.
MTV cameramen are already here filming and asking questions about the video, song, and set. Cam and I answer them, then they leave to go bother Chauncey. They’ll be around for two days and I need to remember that.
“Can I talk to you and Henley in private when she arrives?” Chauncey asks.
“Sure,” but I’m not sure why he wants to speak with us.
I continue to work on the set, proud of the work I’ve put into it. An hour passes before Henley arrives. I know she’s here before I see her. I feel her presence when she’s near and suffer her absence when she’s not. The ache in my chest grows stronger when she’s nearby.
Since I still don’t see her I ask Cam, “Where’s Hen?”
“Makeup. They have to fit those large wings on her,” he answers.
Chauncey had the dress and wings specially made for her. I saw the wings when I arrived hours ago and they’re exactly what I pictured. I can’t wait to see her in them. Koi, Jagger, Memphis, Rhys, Griffin, and Jessica arrive together and I realize it’s almost go time. I’m a little nervous this shit won’t work since it was my idea. I really don’t want it to fail.
“The set looks great, bruh,” Jagger says.
“Thanks.”
We don’t speak often. I try to remain cordial with him. Maybe one day he will be the person he used to be and we can be the friends we used to be. I don’t know if anything will ever really happen with Henley, but I don’t look forward to him finding out if it does. I stayed back, watching all the shit unfold between them. I wanted to be happy for them, but I knew something was up with Jagger, but I had to let it all play out. I wasn’t going to be the one to tear their relationship apart. If it was meant to be, it was meant to be. If it wasn’t the failure had to be on them. I didn’t mean for the shit to happen the other night in the club, it just did. When she let me touch her I just kept going further with it.
Jessica works to get all band members to wardrobe and ready to film. It will be a long two days. I want to check in on Henley before I change though and make sure the wings wont’ be too heavy or large for her. When I open her dressing room door she’s smiling at the makeup artist. Her smile lights up the whole room. She’s already in her dress, her right leg peeking through the slit. The wings are on her back in all their glory. They peek up from her back and touch the floor. She looks exactly like what I’d want an angel to look like. I don’t think she’s ever been more beautiful.
She finally notices me standing in the door, “Oh, hey Kip.”
I hope she doesn’t realize I haven’t made it through the door yet because I was staring at her.
“Hey. I just wanted to make sure you liked the wings,” I say.
She spins around so I can see them, so I take a few steps closer to her. She looks over her shoulder but can’t see me through the wings, so she turns her body.
“Aren’t they beautiful?” she asks and twirls around like she’s a little girl again.
“God yes,” I whisper.
“I love the color, too,” she adds.
“I designed them,” I blurt out.
“What? You did? Kip these are amazing. Can I keep them after the shoot?” she asks.
“I don’t know. I’m sure we can smuggle them out of here. Shit, you can just wear them out of here and no one would say shit to you. But just in case you’re stopped and questioned we need to come up with a good story about where you acquired such lovely wings,” I wink.
“Hmmm, I’m sure I’ll think of something,” she says.
“Gotta be careful though, if you try to use government conspiracies of any kind they’ll put you in the looney bin,” I warn.
“Damn,” she snaps her fingers. “That really narrows my fucking choices down, Kip. Way to fucking steal my show!” she pouts.
“Hey I’m just looking out for you. If you get your mugshot taken in those wings and that dress you know they’ll report all kinds of crazy shit. More importantly if your mugshot is taken in those Samantha will kill you. Murder is so uncool.”
“Fuck! Good thinking. Maybe we could tell anyone who stops me I’m auditioning for Victoria’s Secret. I’ll pretend I want to be one of their angels.”
“I wanna go,” I whine.
“Go where?” she asks.
“To the fucking audition, Hen!”
“Kip, there’s no audition. It’s our cover story remember?”
“Fuck that, you said you were going to a Victoria’s Secret audition and now it’s all in my head and I can’t get it out. This is all your fault, so now you have to go to an audition so I can watch,” I argue.
“I don’t want to be a model,” she clarifies.
“It doesn’t really matter what you want, this is all about my gratification. You said Victoria’s Secret, which made me think really bad thoughts, then you said audition and I was thinking to myself, ‘Kip you would be an amazing lingerie model coach’, and now you’re just trying to stomp all over my fucking dreams.”
“A lingerie model coach?” she looks at me like I’m crazy, which she usually does when she wants me to continue on my absurd rants.
“It’s like any other sport, Hen. Modeling is a real sport just like cheerleading,” I answer.
“Cheerleading is not a real sport, it’s a gateway to porn,” she retorts and makes me smile because she’s correct.
“I won’t argue that matter. Modeling is a real sport, and the coach tells them when they need a bigger push-up bra, thong or boy shorts, and how best to sway dat ass!” I shout.
She laughs.
“You’d be a great lingerie model coach, but you might get sued for sexual harassment.”
“You’re right, thank you for that insight. I’ll stick to drumming.”
“And playing the guitar,” she adds.
“And pretending I know how to play the guitar,” I smile at her.
“And designing amazing angel wings,” she continues.
“If you keep talking about those angel wings we will end right back where we started with the audition,” I wink.
The makeup artist vacates the room leaving us alone, but Jessica sticks her head in to yell at me so I’ll get to wardrobe.
Once she closes the door, I close the space between us and touch my fingers to her face.
“You look so fucking beautiful, just like I knew you would,” I whisper.
She presses her lips to mine in an answer. There’s no tongue, just her lips on mine and when she pulls back she has a mischievous grin on her face.
“You’re making me think about that audition again,” I tease.
“Maybe if you’re a good boy, I’ll audition for you,” she winks and continues to pack her clothes into a bag.
“Fuck,” I say at the thought of her prancing around in lingerie… or nothing. I grab my dick and adjust because she got his attention.
She winks again when she notices me adjust my junk, “I said you had to be a good boy.”
“Kip, if I come back in here I will drag you to wardrobe by your balls,” Jessica threatens.
I wink at Hen who smiles and leave with Jessica before my testicles are threatened again.
Once wardrobe is finished I head to the set where I notice the candles are already lit. Chauncey is speaking with Henley, so I head in that direction.
“I see you’ve met,” I say when I get to them.
“Yes, I was just telling Henley how you drew the set and her costume,” Chauncey says.
Henley looks up at me with pride in her eyes and my dick jumps.
“Yeah,” I shrug.
“It’s beautiful. You did an amazing job,” she compliments.
“I’m glad I have you two together. I wanted to tweak part of the theme by taking away something from one scene and creating an entirely different scene,” Chauncey begins.
“Okay?” I wait.
“We would originally have you two seated in the window ledge with the whiskey bottle and digitally have Henley’s feathers fall off a few at a time until they are all gone and the wounds from their detachment bleed. I was thinking about the whole angel/mortal concept, and I thought it would be better to have her wings come off during a love scene. I don’t know, it just seems to make more sense for an angel to lose her wings from making love to a mortal,” he finishes.
“Love scene?” is all I can manage.
“Yes, with you and Henley,” he answers.
“Um…” I run my hands through the hair on the top of my head. It’s not everyday someone asks you to be in a fictitious love scene, so my handy dandy arsenal of witty comebacks is failing me on this one.
“We’re not actors, so I think we’d be seriously lacking in the acting department,” Henley saves me.
“Look love scenes can either be a lot of fun or really awkward. I’ve found the people who laugh so much we have to do more takes enjoy themselves and know it for what it is. It’s art. It’s a representation of two people making love. If you let it be awkward there will be no chemistry and that will show in the video. I want to see chemistry,” he finishes his passionate argument.
“I get the entire concept of why the angel would lose her wings that way instead of merely falling in love with a mortal. I think it’s a good idea, but Kip and I need a moment to talk it over,” Henley answers saving my ass again.
“Great! You guys talk and let me know. Can you be on set in twenty so we can begin?” Chauncey gets excited.
“We’ll be here,” I answer.
Henley and I go to her dressing room and I lock the door because I don’t want anyone barging in during this conversation.
“What are your fears, Kip?” she asks not wasting any time.
“Umm…”
She grabs my hand and pulls me with her to the makeup station where she turns and sits on the ledge. She looks like a fucking angel sitting there. She pulls me in between her legs.
“What are you afraid of? I didn’t tell him we would do it, I said we’d talk about it, so you have to use actual words.”
“I don’t know… I mean I’m not sure… No, I’m… fuck, Hen,” I plead with my eyes.
I don’t know why I’m so freaked out at the prospect of a love scene with her.
“We’re not actors. There’s this… I don’t know… shit between us now. I could’ve used humor to get me through it before, but I’m being honest when I say I don’t think that’s an option any longer. If you’re anywhere near naked under me, it won’t be for Chauncey’s art. It won’t be for this video, Hen,” I confess.
“I don’t understand,” she says.
“I won’t be fucking pretending shit with you,” I admit.
“Then don’t. He wants chemistry? Do you remember what it felt like in the elevator when you kissed me?” she asks.
Yeah it felt like my entire body was on fire.
“Yeah,” I say and peer into her grey eyes.
“Show me what it felt like to you, Kip,” she says.
I take in her face and the breathiness of her voice and know she’s for real. So I lean down and brush my lips against hers, then again, and again, and again until I pull her bottom lip between my teeth and she moans. Her moan drives my tongue straight into her mouth where we both battle for control. I step as close as I can in between her thighs and pull her flush to me with my hands on her hips.
I break the kiss so I can explore her neck, and she moans out my name. I feel like a middle school boy about to blow a wad in his pants. Her hands rub up and down my chest and I wish she’d just take my fucking shirt off and touch my bare skin already.
“God damn you smell good,” I whisper.
I feel her hand push my shirt up enough to get her hand under it and every fucking nerve in my body stands on end when she makes contact. She surprises the shit out of me when she doesn’t continue her assault on my chest, but goes south instead. Her index finger teases the inside of my waist band, and I try to mentally calculate the distance between her finger and my dick. That just about pushes me over the edge.
“Fuck,” I groan.
A knock on the door puts our shit on hold. Maybe if we say nothing they’ll go the fuck away.
“It’s Chauncey,” he says through the door.
“Give us another minute?” I ask.
“Sure, no problem,” he answers.
“Fuck,” I whisper.
I place my forehead on hers and let out a sigh of frustration.
“There’s plenty of chemistry, Kip. We should do it if you’re comfortable enough. This is your song and video. Your masterpiece, so it should be perfect. If you want an angel to lose her wings for loving a mortal, it should be done this way, with passion,”
“I don’t think you’re making a big enough deal about this,” I say.
“I think you’re making something out of nothing. I wouldn’t offer to do this with just anyone. I trust you implicitly.”
“I won’t let him exploit your body for this.”
“Then figure out what you’re willing to do and ask for it,” she says.
“Why do you have to go and make this shit sound like it’s no big deal?”
She looks down where her index has yet to move from, “Oh it’s a big deal all right.”
“You’re going to fucking kill me. My gravestone will read, ‘Here lies Kip Paxton, he’s a bitch boy who fucking died because he prematurely ejaculated on Henley Hendrix. Death by Premature Ejaculation’, and that’s so not cool Henley.”
She laughs.
“Why don’t you go sit down and throw a pillow over your lap while I let Chauncey in?”
I find a chair quickly and cross my ankle over a knee to hide my monster as she lets Chauncey in.
He looks excited.
“So?” he asks.
“We’ll do it, but I want a closed set and no nudity,” I inform.
“You will have to appear naked,” he laughs.
“I understand, but we do it tastefully,” I say.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he agrees.
“She’s been exploited enough,” I clarify.
Chauncey looks at Henley, “Yes, my dear you have. Such a beauty, but everyone should have a say in who sees their body. I won’t take advantage of you. I simply want Kip’s vision to be complete,” he says.
Hen smiles at him, “Thank you Chauncey. It’s a beautiful story.”
Chauncey looks at me and winks, “Yes it is.”
What the fuck was that?
Hen and I walk back out to the set together, and as I’m called to my position I turn to her and say, “It’s not my song, Hen.”
She looks confused as I walk away from her, but when I turn around moments later, I think I finally see understanding.
***
The first day of the video shoot consists of us playing in our designated spots on set. Each of us is seated on a stool, and Camden at a baby grand piano. The massive candles glow around us, and we play through the song at least twenty times so they can get different shots. For the next two hours, Henley dances barefoot through the set, her wings brushing against us as she twirls and glides between the musicians. She does the same thing for another hour with a cigarette in one hand a whiskey bottle in the other.
The next two hours comprise shots of Henley lying on the piano with her hair and wings splayed around her. Next, shots are taken of her dancing on the piano, and then playing it. When these scenes are over, Chauncey orders her to eat and take a break.
He approaches me next, “The next scene is of the angel on her knees crying.”
“Okay.”
“She’ll have to actually cry. Makeup will make it appear that her eye makeup is running, but she’ll have to put the emotion into it. I wasn’t sure if she’s ever done anything like this before,” he says.
“We’ll see what happens I guess. The girl’s been through enough shit in her life I’m sure she can get there. She’s not much of a bawler, more of a silent crier most times.”
“In the video…,” he starts.
I take a moment to realize what he’s referring to.
“Caleb,” I whisper.
“That was the most beautiful instance of raw sorrow I’ve ever seen. I’m not saying the death was, but her reaction was… real, pure, and unadulterated.”
“I was there.”
“I know,” he says sadly.
“You want to recreate that emotion,” I state.
“Something close would be amazing. I won’t ask her to cause herself pain, I just wanted to give you some insight into what I envisioned.”
“I’ll talk to her,” I say.
I turn to find Henley and finally locate her with Cash in a trailer outside of the set. She’s stuffing her face full of food and talking to Cash.
“We have to get you matching wings, Cash,” she says.
He barks.
“Although you’re far from an angel, so yours will have to be covered with soot too you little monster,” she laughs.
He whines.
“You ate my shoes!” she justifies.
He covers his eyes with his paws as if it will make his naughty little deed go away.
”I told you he was Johnny Cash reincarnated, so he wants a guitar. He’d stop eating your shoes if you gave him a guitar,” I interrupt.
She looks up at me with those big grey eyes and I melt on the spot… like a little bitch.
“He doesn’t have opposable thumbs,” she retorts.
I sit down by Cash and rub his head, “Ah, karma is a bitch little man. You were born into this life without opposable thumbs to pay for your bad karma when you were the Man in Black.”
He whines again.
Guitar Face Series Box Set: Books 1-4 Page 80
