Breaking New Grounds

by Amy DeMeritt

  “How does it feel to be defeated by a wolf?”

  Bethany scowls at me with a small smile and shakes her head. “You actresses are so delusional.”

  I laugh and catch her fist as she tries to punch me again. I pull her up from the floor, and she gives me a cute smile.

  I take a deep breath, as I say, “Ok, fine, if we’re being for real, you would have massacred me.”

  “Wow, you didn’t implode. The way you kept hanging onto that tiny thread of remaining ego made me think you might actually be destroyed if you had to voice the fact that you lost horribly to me.”

  “Horribly? Ok, now who’s delusional? You barely beat me. I was obviously just being polite with that massacre bit.”

  Bethany lunges forward and tackles me back down to the mat, pinning me on my back. I try to fight her grip, but her hips dig into mine, causing our groins to grind against each other’s so I freeze.

  “Really? That was just poor sportsmanship.”

  “You are really asking for an ass kicking.”

  “Am I supposed to believe you’re going to give it to me?”

  Bethany falls forward laughing. She shakes her head, and looks in my eyes with her face hovering a few inches above mine.

  “You really can’t keep that mouth shut, can you?”

  I smile, but I don’t say anything. Bethany’s smile widens and she glances at my mouth before looking in my eyes.

  “Ah, wonderful silence.” I pout and scrunch my brow, making her laugh hard. She releases my shoulders and sits up on my groin. “Are you done talking shit now?”

  “Till our next match.”

  Bethany’s smile widens and she grabs my hands to help me stand up. “Sure, I’d love to kick your ass again.” I open my mouth, but she laughs and presses her hand over my mouth. “Silence, young grasshopper.”

  I laugh against her hand, and she releases my mouth with a pretty smile. “Ok, I’m done talking shit.”

  “Good. Now, introduce me to your family.”

  “You’re so bossy.”

  Bethany laughs and shoves my shoulder, turning me to walk to my wives and friends. Kelly is standing next to them with an amused proud smile on her face. She grabs my arm and rips me into a hug.

  “You know, I feel kind of slighted. This was supposed to be my last training with you for a few weeks. Instead, I had to deal with her.”

  Kelly laughs hard as Bethany kicks me in my ass, sending me stumbling into Kelly, who easily restores our balance and delivers a hard spank on my ass.

  “Ok, you two, play nice now.”

  “Fine. Family, this is Kelly, my amazing master. And this,” I jerk a thumb back towards Bethany, “well, this is some wannabe…”

  Bethany leaps forward and bends my hand behind my back in a painful way, sending me down to my knees.

  “You were saying?”

  Everyone laughs, including myself. I look up at Bethany before dramatically letting my head fall in defeat.

  “Fine. This is Bethany – a badass old lady that…” I groan in pain as she twists my thumb back. “Ok, ok, ok.” She releases the pressure and I laugh. “This is Bethany – just Bethany.”

  “Just Bethany?”

  I dramatically hang my head again and exhale hard. In a disgruntled voice, I say, “This is the mighty Bethany – three-times world champion of sword fighting. And all-time giant pain in my ass.”

  Bethany pats my head and releases my arm, saying, “Much better.”

  “That was very entertaining. Has your training been like that every day?”

  Kelly nods at Madison’s question, saying, “Pretty much. Normally, it’s only me and Kayla, but I wanted to test her with more than one opponent wielding weapons she has never worked with. I figured it would be more entertaining for all of you. Plus, it helps me to know where her head is so I can formulate a plan for her sword training. Now, I have to ask. What is with the toes?”

  Kelly points down at my feet and I laugh as my cheeks blush beet red. I rub the back of my neck and look at Sorina.

  “Uh, well, Sorina decided to tag me like I’m a brick wall or something.”

  “It’s very cute.”

  “Hey, don’t encourage her! She thinks she’s doing this again!”

  Everyone laughs and Sorina flashes me a beautiful brilliant smile. “Oh, I will be.”

  Chapter Eight

  As I walk into the studio, my wives and Sorina smile as they scan me up and down.

  Sam leans forward to kiss my lips, and coos, “Hey, sexy. You look hot in that fighter pilot uniform.”

  “Thanks, baby.”

  This is the first time while working on this movie that I have been able to bring anyone to the studio with me. Before the rest of our wives arrived, Jaime and Symone have been busy with the squad working on another film. Since they have off today, and my time is so limited with my family during production, I brought all of my wives and Sorina with me. Sara and Keira are watching our babies and Aura for us, otherwise Sara would have been here too. We’re supposed to be filming four scenes, including one love scene, which they won’t be allowed on set for, but that will be the last scene we do today, if we even get to it. There is a big fight scene we’re filming today and big action scenes can take a long time to film – there’s a lot that can go wrong with them.

  “Fuck, your ass looks good in this jumpsuit.”

  A hand firmly grips my ass, making me jump and spin to face my assailant. She laughs and clumsily throws her arms around the back of my neck as she leans in with a big grin. A huge breath of air hits me in the face and my head involuntarily jerks backwards and I exhale hard to clear my airways.

  “What the fuck, Sydney? Your breath reeks of alcohol. Are you drunk?”

  “No, baby, of course not!” Her voice is loud and her words are drawn out and her eyes are a little red and glossy.

  “I’m not your baby. And you are drunk.”

  Her pretty face scrunches in a pout as she presses her body against mine. She’s wearing tight brown leather pants that look like a cross between biker pants and carpenter pants with a patchwork brown suede vest with nothing on underneath and it’s very tight, so her breasts are spilling out of the top of it. She looks good, but her drunkenness is ruining it.

  “Getting cozy already? Save it for the cameras, ladies.”

  “Brett, wait.”

  The director looks back at me as he’s walking by and his face gets more serious as he fully turns to face us. “What’s going on?”

  “Sydney is drunk.”

  “I am not!”

  “Are you fucking kidding me? Angie! Get me Sydney’s manager on the phone. Unbelievable. Can you even work? Let go of Kayla and walk over here.”

  “You are no fun.”

  With a grumpy pout, Sydney lightly slaps my chest and releases me. With a switch in her hips, she walks over to Brett with a hint of imbalance in her steps.

  “See, I’m fine. Kayla is just being dramatic. Jeez, Kayla, save it for the cameras.”

  She waves a flippant hand at me, then struts off towards the first set. Brett runs a hand over his anger reddened face before pulling a skinny e-cigarette from his breast pocket and taking a long drag. He releases a huge plume of sweet-scented vapor into the air, then shakes his head in annoyance.

  “Come on, let’s see if she can pull this off.”

  He walks away and my wives and I give each other a look of dread. I roll my eyes and lead them over to the set.

  Sydney is a very pretty girl with peanut butter toned skinned and has a great curvy fit figure. And she can act well – if she’s sober. Half of every rehearsal we had, she was tipsy. Her breath smells worse than I’ve smelled it yet. I’m hoping she can actually act today because if we lose a day in filming, I may lose my days off that I was going to spend with my family.

  “Places!”

  We get positioned with Sydney standing behind a bar and me sitting on a stool leaning over the bar top on my forearms.

>   This scene is pretty simple and leads us into the major fight scene. Sydney’s character is the bar owner, and while my crew and I are trying to take a rest before we invade the intergalactic planetary council’s capitol, my character connects with Sydney’s. But before we can really talk much, the government will come in looking for us. After the fight, Sydney will help us escape to hide out in her house. She and I will share a nice “end of the worlds” conversation, then we’ll make love.

  As Brett calls action, Sydney leans over the bar, and before I can react, she grabs my face and kisses me on the lips.

  “Cut! What the hell was that? There is no goddamn kiss in this scene!”

  While Brett yells at Sydney, I have to pry her hands off of my face. I growl in frustration and stand up as a makeup artist rushes over to check my face. I glare at Sydney, and she gives me an amused proud grin and winks at me.

  “Sydney, cut the shit or you’re out. Stick to the script. Got it?”

  “Brett, baby, it’s all good. I’ve got this. I know what I’m doing. Let’s do this.”

  “Stick to the script!”

  I take a deep breath with my eyes closed, then glance at my wives once more before I turn to take my seat. My wives and Sorina look angry, which somehow comforts me and settles my own anger – I’ll let them be angry for me so I can focus on my job. I hope Sydney doesn’t push it too far. Sydney is a real pain in the ass to work with. I’m worried about how Sam will react if Sydney tries another unscripted act of intimacy. She is not very tolerant of people trying grope me, and unfortunately, it happens pretty often when we’re out in public. I don’t normally have this issue when working though.

  As Brett is about to call action, Sydney turns to face Brett with her hands on her hips and licks her lips with a grin. “I’m not feeling this scene right now. Can we start in the bed?”

  “No! Sydney, get your ass in gear or get the hell out of my studio! You do the scene as scripted or you’re out! Do you hear me? I’m not dealing with anymore of your bullshit.”

  “Who sucked all of the fun out of this place? Fine, we’ll do this boring scene.”

  Brett calls action and Sydney gets through half of the scene before she loses it again. She walks around the side of the bar and turns me on my stool.

  As she’s lifting a leg to straddle my lap, Brett calls, “Cut!”

  He storms over as I’m pushing her off of me. He slams a script down on the bar top and jabs a finger at it with his face redder than a fully ripe tomato.

  “Stick to the fucking script! There is no kissing, no touching, no sitting on laps, and no sex! Stop trying to turn your character into a fucking whore!”

  “Are you calling me a whore?”

  “Do not try to twist my words. You have one more chance to get this scene right.”

  Without waiting for a response, he walks away screaming, “Places!”

  “Sydney, just do the scene.” She gives me a grumpy pout and walks back to her place behind the bar. She looks in my eyes as I take my seat and her lips curl into a grin. I shake my head and lean in closer to her. “Sydney, seriously, you need to focus. You know the scene. You’re good at the scene. Just own it, without changing it.”

  “You’re so fucking adorable with that smoldering serious expression. Thanks for the pep-talk, baby. Ready to get acquainted?”

  I take a deep breath and try to push my agitation down. Brett makes a couple of warning calls, then calls action. As Sydney leans across the bar and kisses my lips, Brett explodes.

  “Get the hell out of my studio! You’re done!” Brett storms over to us again, throwing the script down and points towards the exit, screaming, “Get out! You’re done! Security, make sure we get the costume before she leaves.”

  “Oh, Brett, you’re so dramatic. Like I want to leave in this hideous getup.”

  In a panic, I jump up, and say, “Wait, let me talk to her.”

  “Kayla I am…”

  “If we have to recast the role, it will set us back. I have other obligations and so do several other members of the cast. We can’t afford a major setback like this. Not to mention how much money it will cost the producers for extra studio time.”

  “Fine, you have twenty minutes to get her sobered up and able to perform.”

  As he storms away, Sydney wraps an arm around my waist and kisses my cheek, filling my nostril with the scent of alcohol and my veins with agitation.

  “You’re so…”

  “Save it. We have work to do. Let’s go.”

  I pull her arm off of me and firmly hold her hand while I walk her off of the set and across the studio to the refreshment bar. I open a bottle of water and hand it to her.

  “Drink.”

  “I don’t…”

  “Sydney, you are a talented actress and you are gorgeous. This role is yours, but only if you get out of your own way and play it the way it’s scripted.” I look around to see if anyone is listening and I lower my voice to protect her privacy. “Look, I don’t know enough about you to understand your reasons for drinking yourself stupid all the time, but I know that most people don’t get to this point because they think it’s fun, despite what they may claim.” Sydney rolls her eyes, but she starts drinking the water in large gulps, guzzling the water quickly. “I’m sorry if I was insensitive to what you’re dealing with. If you ever want to talk…”

  “Ok, don’t get all Dr. Phil on me, ok? I don’t need a shrink and I’m not a lost cause for you to get behind or something.”

  “I’m not trying to be a shrink and I’m sure as hell not looking at you as some wounded charity case. When you’re not drunk off your ass, I actually like working with you and I wouldn’t mind if we get the chance to work together again. But if you get yourself thrown off of this project, you know it’s going to be next to impossible for you to get a good role again.”

  Sydney finishes the bottle of water, then walks a few paces to get a cup of coffee. She takes a few sips, then walks back to me, saying, “You’re probably right about that. Brett could destroy my career if…”

  “No, you will destroy your career if you don’t get your shit together.”

  “I’m surprised you’re fighting so hard for me to keep this role with how many unscripted kisses I tried to take.” She releases a small laugh then drinks a gulp of coffee. “So, you think I’m gorgeous, huh?” My eyes narrow and my jaw tenses in agitation as I turn around to grab a bottle of water. Before I can say anything, she concedes, saying, “Fine, I’ll get my shit together and stop trying to make out with you before we get to the bedroom.” Her thick lips curl into a grin as she looks over at my wives and Sorina, and she asks, “Are your wives going to be in the audience for our love scene?”

  “No, they’ll wait in my dressing room while we film that.”

  “Too bad – I was kind of looking forward to it, especially the tiny blonde. What’s her name?”

  My nerves and agitation cause my pulse to increase a bit and my body tenses. “Sam.”

  “That’s right. She was looking at me like she wanted to throw acid at my face or something.” She laughs a little and nods towards my wives, who are trying not to stare, but they keep looking over periodically. “Even now, she looks like she wants to storm over here and pull you away from me. It’s so cute.” She gulps down the rest of her coffee, then throws the cup away. “Ok, I guess we should do this before Brett blows a blood vessel in his head. Did you see how big that vein got on his forehead? Good lord. I thought it was going to jump out of his face and attack me like a little devil or something.”

  She laughs and starts walking ahead of me with her hips switching in an alluring way, but the unstable drunkenness that I detected before is missing now. Good, maybe she’ll really be able to pull this off. While Sydney goes to the set and the makeup team works on touching her up, I stop off with my wives first.

  With a hushed voice, Madison says, “I guess you weren’t exaggerating when you said she’s drunk all the time. Is she go
ing to be able to do this?”

  “She says she can. She really isn’t that bad when she’s not drunk. If you guys don’t want to stay and…”

  Sam bursts, firmly saying, “No, we’re staying. I know you don’t want to risk production taking longer, but if she gropes or kisses you again when it’s not in the script, I don’t want you acting with her anymore.”

  I rub the back of my neck, taking a deep breath, and nod, saying, “Yeah, I know, babe. I don’t think Brett will give her another chance if she screws up again. Anyway, I better get up there.”

  I take another drink of water, then Madison takes the bottle from me and rubs my upper back in a comforting way. As I start walking back to the set, the other actors and actresses also get back into position sitting at tables and at the bar or standing in clusters.

  After the makeup team looks me over, I take a seat on a barstool in front of Sydney, who looks much more focused than before. In this scene, my character is sullen and reserved, while Sydney’s character is intrigued by me and subtly flirty.

  Brett calls action and the bar comes to life with everyone walking around, drinking, laughing, and talking. I place my order for a drink and Sydney gives me a cute smile as she turns to grab a bottle and a glass.

  “You look like you have the weight of the worlds on your shoulders.” She leans forward with her arms resting on the countertop in front of me and places the drink down next to my hand. She tilts her head to the side, and asks, “Where you headed?”

  I take a drink, and flatly respond, “Who says I’m headed anywhere?”

  “This is an outpost, honey. Anyone who sits on a stool in this shithole is only passing through.”

  “Yeah? How did you end up on the other side of this shithole?”

  Sydney releases a cute laugh and stands upright while she glances around the bar, then says, “I own this shithole.”

  “Well, in that case, it’s the loveliest shithole on the outpost. But that doesn’t answer my question.”

  Sydney laughs again as she refills my glass, then fills one for herself before leaning forward again. She looks in my eyes and slowly licks her lips while she studies my face.