Loosen Up: Up Series Book 3

by Robin Leaf

  Three weeks into the fake dating thing, the internet and various media outlets were going crazy. Fans either loved our relationship or they hated it. I found it infinitely fascinating how the love lives of two actors could take up so much time and be so much in demand by the masses. It was hilarious how many fake stories popped up everywhere.

  It did draw attention to the show though, which made our bosses crazy happy.

  The publicist for the show arranged so many appearances for us. Kota had slept over in my second bedroom almost every night. It was fun, but I had no time to myself. I needed a break.

  “Can’t we just take a little break from the dating for a couple of days?” I whined quietly. “I’m exhausted.”

  “I guess you didn’t know dating me would be such a sacrifice,” Dakota whispered in my ear, wrapping his hands around my waist. Ever since the story broke, paparazzi seemed to stalk the set. We suspected that some of our crew were taking secret pictures and selling them to the highest bidder, too. Therefore, we were always acting coupley.

  “It’s not a sacrifice for just me, Kota. You haven’t seen your, um, friends in at least a week.”

  He grunted and put his forehead next to mine. “It’s been two.”

  “Poor baby,” I caressed both sides of his face.

  “But yes, I’ll drive you to your place. I think we can pull off ‘we’re having a couple of quiet nights at home’ for once.”

  “One of the Irish brothers can drive you to their house. I know they miss you.”

  He gave me a chaste kiss. “Thank you, Darby.” He kissed me a little longer. “You don’t know how much this means.”

  “I need to try to call Jase again anyway.” I grabbed his hand and began walking to his car.

  “He still busy?” With all this fake dating, we needed something to discuss. Now Kota was fully immersed in all things Jase and Darla.

  “I keep leaving messages. He called yesterday, but I was in the middle of a scene. He didn’t leave a message.” I sighed. “I miss him.”

  “And how’s Allison?”

  “I haven’t seen her except in passing since I started dating you.”

  “Well,” he reached around me and opened my car door, “you have to promise to try to hang out with her tonight.” He kissed my nose.

  I smiled. “Promise.”

  ~~~

  Jase still didn’t answer, but this time I left a desperate-sounding message. We kept missing each other, and it sucked. He knew about my arrangement with Dakota the same day we made it. I didn’t want him getting the wrong impression.

  Since the call was a no-go, I took off to wander around the building, hoping to find something menial to do. I blindly ended up on the third floor.

  The music beckoned me forth, some current hit by a popular female artist, so I followed, all the way to the training room. The blinds on the windows were down but opened, so I could peek through the slats without being noticed.

  Allison was alone in her workout attire, kicking the shit out of one of those bags boxers use; she was in perfect rhythm with the beat of the song. The song changed, and I watched her transform.

  The song said something about how the singer could be your girlfriend, also by some young-sounding female artist. Allison began dancing and punching, and the routine almost seemed choreographed. I smiled, mesmerized by the shy girl who had become so animated. The show was fun to watch.

  Next was a song I loved by Maroon 5: “Makes Me Wonder.” They were the only popular band I could stomach as most of the current music played on the radio just seemed so dumb.

  Allison took her game to a new level by singing the explicit lyrics as she danced, kicking and punching, accentuating the words with her movements. She sang horribly off key, and the cursing seemed a little out of her comfort zone, but it only upped the cuteness of the experience. I wished I had a way to record so I could put it on the internet, or better yet, send it off to that TV show. This would win the 10k for sure.

  The song changed again to that classic MJ song, “Who’s Loving You,” a song my mother used to play all the time. She stopped the workout to lip sync her ever-loving heart out, performing so convincingly, I would swear she sang the song for real.

  “Hey,” Noah said in my ear, which caused me to jump damn near out of my skin.

  “Damn, Noah. You need a bell,” I said, clutching my chest. “Welcome back. Where were you, anyway? You were gone for a long time.”

  He blinked. “I had to go… out of town.” I got the sense he wanted to say more, but he was holding back. I was about to ask, but before I could, he changed the subject. “Actually, I’ve been looking for you. I have a special delivery. It’s in my office if you want to come get it, or I can have it delivered to your apartment.”

  “Yeah,” I breezily answered. “Just have someone put it inside my door.”

  He grinned. “I can tell you really like what you see.”

  I turned back to the show, leaning my arm on the glass. “Yeah, she’s definitely entertaining.”

  Chuckling, he placed his arm around my shoulder. “That’s not what I meant.”

  “So what did you mean?” I asked absently, concentrating on her perfect, yet fake crooning.

  “Darla,” he said lowly. It’d been weeks since someone called me by my real name, so hearing it felt weird. “You forget I know what you look like when you are turned on.”

  “Hmmmm,” I continued watching. Another song change. Some guy singing about a “Crazy Bitch,” which was a completely surprising choice for this seemingly introverted, unassuming girl. She started shaking her ass and throwing in some stripper-style moves. I was transfixed. I never noticed how perfectly round her ass was before this moment. And her breasts bouncing to the music were hypnotic.

  Then what he said registered.

  I shook my head. “I’m not turned on.”

  “Right. Then why are your nipples hard?”

  Looking down at the ridiculously thin scoop-neck t-shirt I wore, sure enough, I could see that my nipples were embarrassingly visible. Damn myself for not wearing my padded bra. “It’s cold in here,” I lied, shrugging his arm off my shoulders.

  “Uh huh.” He nudged me with his elbow, keeping his voice low where only I could hear him. “Then how do you explain that you’re flushed? Also, your breathing is ragged. Your eyelids are heavy, and you’ve swallowed six times since I’ve been here from the excess saliva in your mouth. Those are your tells, D. Part of my job is to read body language, and I paid attention that night.” I turned to look at his shit-eating grin. “I’d bet money right now that your panties… need to be changed.”

  I focused back on Allison, and my clit pulsed, but I refused to admit that to him.

  Holy fuck, he was right.

  “Why haven’t you been paying attention to the universe, Darla?”

  I blinked. “What are you talking about?”

  “Well, the first time you came in contact with her, what happened?”

  I stared at him.

  He smiled. “And the second time?”

  I cocked my head to the side, confused.

  His smile got bigger. “And you honestly haven’t noticed her flirting with you? Blushing, touching, wanting to be around you?”

  I thought back through our times together with open eyes for the first time. She did almost break my nose. My tummy did jump the first time we touched. She did catch me at the restaurant. She smelled like jasmine. She was ridiculously sexy. I analyzed every look we shared in a nanosecond. Was it possible that Jase, Dakota, Brantley, and now Noah were onto something? That lightning-bolt moment, the one I’d been waiting for, happened right then. My face, betrayer that it is, must have shown it.

  “There. Now you see it.”

  “So, you’re new title is match maker, Boo Boo? I bet, if the tables were turned, I would…”

  “…meddle and tell me to pull my head out of my ass, just like I am doing to you.” He grinned. “Because it’s what friend
s do.”

  I bit my lips so my grin didn’t rival his. “I accept that.”

  “So,” he drawled, nodding his head toward Allison, “my question is… what are you going to do about it?”

  I looked him in the eye and squared my shoulders. “This.” I turned and strutted toward the door.

  “Atta girl,” he smacked my ass as he walked by, turning toward the elevator. “Go get her, Kung Fu.”

  It was so loud in there, she didn’t hear me come in. I took a second to lock the door and close the blinds. There would be no peep show for any of the boys.

  I knew better than to sneak up on her, so I watched from the side of the room, giving her the chance to notice I was there.

  Her shriek indicated I’d been discovered.

  She grabbed a remote and turned down the music.

  “You scared me.”

  “Obviously,” I smiled.

  She grabbed a towel off the floor and wiped her face. “How long have you been in here?”

  “About a minute.” I smirked. “But I’ve been watching you for a while through the window.”

  She looked over at the window. “The blinds are closed.”

  “Yes, I know.” I stalked toward her. “I closed them.”

  “Why?”

  I smiled and got close enough to feel the heat coming off her skin. “Because I didn’t want an audience.” I ran my fingers lightly up her arm to her shoulder and felt her breathing change.

  “Don’t you have a boyfriend?” she panted as I ran my fingertips across her collarbone.

  “In public, yes,” I whispered close to her ear. “It’s for publicity only.” She swallowed. “He is in a different kind of relationship that would probably not be acceptable to the general populous.”

  “But I thought you…” She stopped herself, closing her eyes to maintain her control.

  “You thought I what?”

  She looked me in the eye. “I heard you thank them for giving you what you needed and taking control. They said you were amazing.”

  I thought back to that day, trying to remember what I said. Right as it clicked, I figured out what she assumed from what she heard. A giggle bubbled out of me.

  The giggle quickly morphed into snorting laughter, the uncontrollable kind. I stepped back and grabbed my sides. “You thought we…” I wheezed out another laugh. “Oh my goddess, you thought I had a threesome with them?” I had a hard time catching my breath. She was getting increasingly irritated at my amusement. “Is that why you ran off so quickly?” Crossing her arms and throwing me some serious stink eye, her jaw flexed.

  It just fueled another round of my cackles.

  She grabbed my shoulders and pushed me back against the wall.

  “Stop,” she seethed through clenched teeth.

  I sobered, the laugh dying in my throat. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to be intimidated, but I felt myself get even wetter.

  “You assumed incorrectly, Allison,” I panted, half because of the laughing, and half because I was so turned on.

  “Obviously.” After staring into my eyes for a moment, she moved closer. “Well, Darby,” she began in a low, huskier voice, “or should I call you Darla?”

  Twenty One

  “Whole Lotta Love” – Led Zeppelin

  “Call me Darby,” flew out of my mouth without thought.

  She leaned in close to my throat and inhaled. “Tell me, Darby,” she said in my ear, “are you sexually involved with anyone?”

  I shook my head. “Not for a long time.”

  Her lips turned up at the corners. She moved her nose across my cheek, barely grazing the skin there, and leaned back to look in my eyes. “Am I correct to assume that you are attracted to me?”

  I nodded, which earned me a quick grin.

  “Good.” She bit her lip, some of the shyness seeming to return. “Now, do I have permission to touch you?”

  “Oh, goddess, yes,” I breathed out quickly.

  She snickered. “Eager. I like that.”

  Running her hands from my shoulders to my collarbone, she stroked along the neckline of my shirt, finally pinching the fabric between her fingers. Her eyes were still locked on mine as she pulled my shirt down, exposing the almost sheer lace underneath.

  “This is nice,” she husked, as she fingered the soft lace at the top of my bra.

  I smiled. “Thank you.”

  She carefully peeled back the lace, exposing my nipples, which were desperately reaching for her. Pushing back, she removed her hands from my bra. My nipples practically sobbed in response.

  “Stay right here and do not move,” she demanded in her low, throaty tone.

  I watched her walk away from me toward the door.

  “I already locked it,” I called.

  She turned and smirked at me over her shoulder. “I know.” I heard the click of it unlocking.

  I watched her saunter very leisurely toward me, much like I did when I started this. I found it almost amusing how the tables had turned in such a short amount of time, but I dared not laugh again. The look on her face as she surveyed my body, nipples exposed and begging for attention, was downright predatory… and so hot.

  “You want us to get caught?” I asked, shifting on my feet in an attempt to relieve some of the crazy level of throbbing taking place between my thighs.

  She smirked and slowed her pace. “The idea of someone walking in right now, seeing you like this, is intriguing to me.”

  “Why Miss Carlisle, I would never have taken you for an exhibitionist.”

  Smirking again, she purred, “I’m not the one on display.” She approached me, just out of arm’s reach, and walked around me in a semicircle. “I have to say, Darby, that you are absolute perfection.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Uh uh uh, don’t thank me yet.” Clasping her hands behind her back, she continued to pace back and forth in an arch. “I’ve been driven crazy by this perfection for weeks, watching your body react to mine, yet you were so unaware.” She stopped and looked me dead in the eye. “Now that you’re on board,” she stepped close enough to almost graze my nipples with her shirt, “I get to return the favor.”

  “What favor?” I whispered, reaching out to grab her hand, but she blocked me and smiled.

  “You do not have permission to touch me yet, Darby.” As she pinned my wrist against the wall, I arched into her, gasping as my nipples made contact against her breasts. “Please don’t move.” She leaned forward and whispered in my ear, “I want to drive you a little crazy.” She let go and stepped back. “Now, with your consent, I’d like to ask you a few questions.” Her innocently raised eyebrows contradicted her playful attitude. “Answers will get you rewards. Are you game?”

  I shrugged, trying to downplay my arousal. “Sure. Sounds fun.”

  The smile that graced her face was beautiful. “Good.” She began her slow pacing again. “What is your relationship with Jase?”

  “He’s my best friend,” I offered without hesitation.

  She studied me. I could see her trying to hide the vulnerability in her next question. “So you’ve never…”

  “No, I’ve never had sex with him. We have slept in the same bed, and we’ve kissed, but we have never been together like that.” It was the absolute truth. She didn’t need to know the rest. I would take the secret of that night to my grave.

  She abruptly moved forward and licked around my left nipple. The movement was so sudden, I arched and moaned.

  “I love how responsive you are,” she husked, and licked around it again. “Now, you said you’ve been hurt before.” She took my nipple in her mouth and sucked gently. “What happened.”

  “I fell in love with someone unattainable. It was my fault.”

  She reached up and rolled my other nipple in her fingers as she sucked again, this time harder.

  “Do you still love this person?”

  “Yes,” I panted. “I always will.”

  She pulled me aw
ay from the wall and turned me around. “Bend over and put your hands on the wall. Don’t move them, please.”

  Damn, for a shy girl, she sure can command.

  I turned toward the wall but looked over my shoulder at the door.

  “Don’t worry about who can walk in right now. If we get caught, we get caught.” My thighs clenched at the thought. The idea of it made this so much hotter.

  Once I was in place, she lifted my long, flowy skirt slowly. “If at any point you want me to stop, just say so.” My skirt bunched around my waist, I felt her eyes on me. “Damn,” she whispered. Her fingertips grazed the back of my thighs. “Gorgeous.”

  She peeled my underwear over my ass almost to my knees. Both her hands slid up my legs, prompting me to widen my stance, which was difficult with my underwear stopping me. “Wow, you are really turned on.”

  “I am aware.”

  “Okay, Darby, next question. If that person were to show up in your life… suddenly attainable, would you be with them?”

  “No,” I gasped as her thumbs creeped higher. “I’ve been told we aren’t compatible.”

  Her thumbs moved along the sides of my pussy, not touching it, just teasing. “That’s good to know.”

  “Dammit, Allison.”

  She stood, keeping her hands where they were, and bent over, pushing her breasts against my back. “What, Darby?”

  “Please touch me.” I’d resorted to begging.

  “Oh, but I am touching you,” she teased.

  “You know what I mean.”

  She giggled. “Another question,” her thumbs moved inward, but still not where I needed them. “How do you define your sexuality?”

  “I don’t. I’m just me. And to answer what is probably your next question, I have been with both men and women, but I like girls better.” I grunted, “Now, please fucking touch me.”

  She bent at the knees, I assumed to watch what she would do. Her finger found my seem, rubbing lightly from my clit to my opening. My knees buckled and I gasped, but I righted myself before I fell to the floor.

  “Where do you need me, Darby? Here?” she asked, circling around my clit three times, “or here?” pulling back and inserting her fingertip in my pussy and rubbing.