by Rymer, Adair
“I forbid you, Valentine!” the red-faced tyrant hollered.
Val froze. She was torn, physically wincing when Hugh yelled at her. She'd never so much as disagreed with her father, let alone disobeyed. This was a huge decision for her. She swallowed hard and then finally decided.
Val took my hand, defying her father for the first time ever.
Hugh was still screaming threats when we closed the doors of my truck and began to drive away.
“My father isn't the type to let things go, he'll send someone to get me. They might even be waiting for us, when we get to prom.” She looked both worried and relieved.
“We're not going to prom anymore.” I squeezed her hand in between shifting gears. It was a hard choice, but I was glad she made it.
“What?” She asked, surprised and curious. “Where are we going?”
I winked at her, then cracked a devious smile. “Just trust me.”
Present
The way Phillip looked at Val made my blood boil.
“Go ahead and take your top off, Valentine.” The director, Allen, casually waved at Val while also flipping through production notes. He was a short, gaunt man in his late sixties with beady distrustful eyes.
Val looked at me tentatively. I was so focused on Phillip that I was as caught off guard as Val was. Was this some kind of joke?
“It didn't say anything about nudity in the script?” Val tried to sound assertive, but it came out as a question. The pressures of auditioning in front of the most powerful people in the industry were weighing on her. This was her dream after all, she didn't want to screw it up.
“It'll show the audience that you're more of a whore- your character, rather. You know what I mean. Both Phillip and I believe that it's better for the film.” Allen looked like an easily flustered man, but Val told me he had more awards under his belt than anyone else.
Val paused to think about it. I knew that look on her face, this wasn't something she was prepared for, especially not in an audition.
“You are comfortable with nudity aren't you?” The director folded the notes over in his hand and fully regarded Val.
“I... Yeah, I guess.” Val stammered. “It's just that—“
“Great, that's wonderful.” Allen motioned for her to hurry up and take her shirt off.
My knuckles cracked as I balled them into fists, I was fuming. Allen and the producers had done nothing, but railroad and bully Val since we got here. Now they wanted her to strip without any warning on a full set, just for an audition?
Like, hell.
I wanted to punch every smug son-of-a-bitch in that room, then I remembered something Hugh had said to me when I dropped Val off on Prom night. I unclenched my fists.
This wasn't my world.
Violent solutions wouldn't work here. I needed to protect both her and her career, and if I was going to do that I had to play this smart.
“If the script's been changed, then Val's agent will need to renegotiate her salary.” I spoke loudly and with confidence. I wasn't intimidated by these guys. “I'd hate to see the Screen Actors Guild have to step in and suspend production on your film for one of their actors not being treated fairly.”
It was a bluff. I had no idea what Val's union could and couldn't do, but it was worth a shot. I wasn't too worried about any backlash either, this was Val's second audition in as many days. If they wanted her that badly, they wouldn't get rid of her for just following the rules.
“Alright, you can keep your shirt on for this scene,” The director frowned, thoughtfully. “Until we work out the details.”
Val looked at me and mouthed a silent 'thank you'. I may have stopped it today, but if she got this job, she might have to go topless on screen for millions of people... Fuck, could I handle that? I've been so busy trying to sort out, or run from, my own feelings for Val that I never stopped to consider what would happen if we found a way to actually be together.
Allen ran her through a few takes of this heavy scene where Val and Phillip get caught in the affair by Phillip's wife. A lot of the wife's accusatory dialogue stung pretty close to home. Val and I were basically doing the same thing, but instead of being married to a person, Val was married to the public.
If they found out about us they'd crucify her.
The director brought the audition to a close. He was then joined by Phillip at the camera to review the takes. Val was pleased with her performance, as she very well should've been. She crushed it like always.
“What'd you think?” She asked, trying her best not to run right over to me.
“I think it needs some work, Val.” I leaned in close. “Let's practice that scene later, but do the version with you topless.”
“Arsen!” Her eyes flared in the way that drove me crazy. They then darted to either side to make sure no one heard or was watching us. A slow, promising smile crept along her face, that made me adjust my pants so that my hardening cock wasn't visible through my jeans.
“Thank you for that earlier, by the way.” Val blew out her air, looking very relieved. “That totally caught me by surprise.” She sized me up with a proud expression. “You actually solved a problem without using your fists, there may be hope for you yet.”
“Day's not over yet.” I glanced over Val's shoulder at Phillip, who was staring directly at her ass. She started following my gaze to see what I was looking at, but I stopped her. “Hey, are you sure this project is right for you. I don't trust any of these guys.”
“Arsen, I appreciate the concern, but I need this.”
“The Oscar, I know.” It was all her father was ever concerned about. 'It was the pinnacle of acting, reserved only for the greats of the craft', etcetera, etcetera. I thought it was all bullshit, but I didn't bust on it too much because I didn't want to hurt Val's feelings.
“It's not about that, not really. It's hard to explain, I just— I dunno... I need to feel like I deserve to be here, y'know?” Val looked away a moment, struggling through her feelings.
All of this wasn't for some trophy, she wanted to be out from under her father's shadow. She wanted to stop being introduced as 'Hugh Dawson's daughter,' and just be- 'Valentine'. I think I finally understood.
I nodded.
I didn't have to say anything else. Right now, she needed someone to listen to her, not give her an opinion. And in that moment I decided that I would support her even if she had to appear topless. I wouldn't like it, but I would at least try not to murder everyone.
“Valentine,” said the director, walking over to us. “On behalf of the entire production team, I would formally like to welcome you to Mercy Lane.”
Val was speechless for a moment, then shook the old man's hand and thanked him. Val remained composed and professional until the director left the area, then she flipped out as quietly as she could. She was even more excited than when she heard she got the audition.
She jumped up and down and threw herself into me. I caught and hugged her, then whispered congratulations. This was going to be the biggest movie in her career, she had every right to be happy. I, on the other hand, felt really uneasy about the whole thing.
Over Val's shoulder, on the other side of the large studio, I could see Phillip. His crew shifted and slithered around him like a multi-headed snake. They were doing his hair and makeup, making calls and generally harassing anyone that came too close.
Phillip completely ignored them. He just stared at us with that fake Hollywood smile plastered across his face. When his gaze shifted from Val's ass to my narrowing eyes, he spread his first two fingers into a 'peace' sign.
I didn't like any of these people, their true intentions were sharpened like knives and hidden behind their backs. Then Phillip licked his tongue up and down in between the 'peace' sign, giving me the pussy eating gesture.
'Day's not over yet...'
Chapter 19
Valentine
Past
Arsen opened the door on my side of the truck. It startle
d me because he was gone for so long. We'd been driving for what seemed like forever, then when we arrived, he told me to wait in the truck for a while.
“Are we at a beach?” I stepped out and one of my heels sunk into the dirt and broken gravel of the aged parking lot.
“You might want to take those off,” he motioned to my suddenly impractical heels. He was lit by only moonlight. The sound of the tide receding in the distance gave him and this place a hint magic.
“You want me to go barefoot? I'm in a prom dress.”
“You can take that off too, if you like.” His dark eyes seemed to twinkle with mischief. That look always melted me, especially because I knew he wasn't kidding.
I shivered in the crisp air. Summer was supposedly right around the corner, but New England didn't seem to care. Arsen covered me with the heavy work coat that his dad left in the trunk. It looked absurd over my dress, but it was too warm to complain. We both kicked off our shoes and he led me down the deserted beach.
“What's in the bag?” I asked about the satchel Arsen had swung over his shoulder. The ground wasn't cold enough to make my feet go numb so I was able to feel the sand between my toes.
The sky was clear, which made the white sand almost shine. The black ocean was alive with crashing waves and a brilliant wavering reflection of the moon and stars. I could see all the way to the horizon and felt like Arsen and I were the only two people in the world.
“You'll see.” Arsen wrapped an arm around my back and pulled me close.
If my life were a fairytale, I would want this to be my 'lived happily ever after' moment.
I shifted to put my arm around him as well when something crinkled in the breast pocket of the coat I was wearing. I pulled it out. It was a picture of his mother, Pamela, holding Arsen as a baby.
We stopped at a wooden staircase leading to a boardwalk that would bring us back to the parking lot. Arsen snatched the picture away from me, crumpled it in one hand, then dropped it. He might have come home, but he'd never truly been the same after those Marines showed up to give him the news about his father.
Arsen never came out and said it, but I could tell that he was upset with himself for not having a better relationship with his father while he was still alive. Arsen loved his dad, but was always pissed at him for bouncing his family around. He could never make any real friends because he would never be in one spot long enough.
“I'd seen pictures of my mother growing up. My father had them all in a drawer somewhere.” I wanted to help Arsen through this, but I didn't really know what to say. So I just said the first thing that came to mind. “She was a fashion designer, I guess. And she was so pretty. Prettier than the models that wore her clothes.”
“That explains where you got your good looks from.” Arsen offered a half smile, trying to ignore his own pain. “You sure as hell didn't take after Hugh.”
He wasn't the first one to tell me that my father and I looked almost nothing alike. I think it was because my father wore a perpetual displeased scowl on his face whenever he wasn't acting.
“How did she—” Arsen stopped himself, he was searching for a way to ask that wasn't too abrasive.
“Me.” I took a breath. “Complications during my birth. They couldn't save her.”
It was in the news at the time, but I'd never told anyone directly before. I didn't know why I told him, but it felt strangely good to get that off my chest.
“That wasn't your fault.” Arsen was kind, he just rarely showed it. I could tell he wanted to take my pain away.
“I know.” I said, quickly. “I just wanted you to know that I understand what it's like to carry grief around with me too. I don't know if it'll ever go away, but I do know that being around people you care about...” I looked up at him earnestly. “It helps.”
Arsen's normal mask of carelessness fell away. His upturned eyes looked at me in a way I’d never seen in him before. Real hope glimmered in those hard, dark orbs of his. Maybe someday things would be ok for him, maybe even for both of us.
Arsen leaned in and kissed me so quickly that when it was over I barely knew what just happened. Looking back at him, my eyes became huge saucers. I'd fantasized about that moment for as long as I had known him and when it finally happened it caught me completely by surprise. It wasn't earth shattering or time-stopping, but it was wholly ours, and it was still wonderful.
That was our first kiss!
“C'mon, Val.” Arsen's mouth parted in a genuine smile, amused by my paralyzed shock. He swung an arm under me and picked me up. “There's one more thing I want to show you.”
Arsen carried me up the wooden walkway, and as we crested the final sets of stairs I began to see the light. Glow sticks lined the entire boardwalk on both the right and left sides, giving the wood a fluorescent green glow. Arsen set me down on a blanket that was about midway down the walkway.
He pulled out and lit a few candles that were stuffed in his satchel, then he grabbed a bottle of champagne. Arsen looked at me and shrugged. “It's not prom, but it's something.”
“It's perfect.” I crushed him in a great hug. It was simple, thoughtful and beautiful. I could never have imagined someone doing something like this for me. “Even if the champagne is just sparkling apple juice.”
“What?” Arsen took a closer look at the bottle, then sighed. “I should've just gone with a case of beer.”
“Oh, God, I'm glad you didn't!” I laughed at him. “That stuff was terrible.”
Arsen didn't pack any cups so we just drank the sparkling cider out of the bottle. I put the jacket I was wearing over our feet to thaw them a bit and protect them from the sea breezes. Arsen held me close, keeping me warm and we gazed at the stars together for a while.
“I think it's past midnight.” I nuzzled my head into his.
Arsen shrugged. He didn't care what time it was.
“You know what that means?”
“Please don't.” He sighed, suddenly realizing why I'd brought it up.
I didn't have a musical bone in my body, but that didn't stop me from singing him the worst rendition of 'happy birthday' that had ever been sung. He groaned, rolling his eyes, but smiled all the same.
“I also got you something.” I peeled his hand away from his face and put my present in it.
“What is—” Arsen turned it over in his hand. It was a small pendant of an anatomically-correct heart, ventricles and all. There was a little 'V' carved into the middle of it.
He had my heart.
“This is super lame.” His small smile broke into a full grin.
Arsen slid a hand past the side of my face and kissed me. This time I was ready for him, and this time the kiss was more than a quick peck. It lasted long enough for all the fireworks to go off in my heart. This was the kiss I always hoped for, and in so many amazing ways, it was even better than I could have imagined.
“But I also kinda love it,” Arsen said, between kisses.
Present
“Studio, please.” I told the limo driver as he lowered the little window between us and him.
“Yes, ma'am.” The man nodded and started the car.
“This is so goddamn unnecessary,” Arsen grumbled, reluctantly getting in. He did not like to be pampered in any way. “Look at all this shit. It's a ten minute ride, why the fuck do we need a fully stocked bar at ten in the morning?”
“This is just how it's done when you sign on with a production company.” I shrugged. It wasn't a big deal to me because of how my dad always traveled when I was growing up. Limos were just a thing we did.
“Have you received any word about that thug who attacked you?” Arsen rotated the labels on the champagne bottles.
“The police said they're still looking into it. They did link the attacker to a major NYC loan shark, but I didn't get many more details.” All of it still made me really anxious. I didn't want to think about it anymore. I switched gears to something else that had been on my mind for the last few weeks, eve
r since we met Phillip. “Hey, I have a favor to ask.”
Arsen cocked his head toward me to continue.
“I don't think you should come to set when I do the topless scene.” Production wanted it to be a full on sex scene, but Michelle had it knocked down considerably. Unfortunately, I'd still have to be half naked in at least a few shots.
“Why the hell not?” Arsen's tone went flat, he was not pleased.
“Arsen,” I said, raising my eyebrows. “You were my estranged boyfriend, turned legal sibling... who I'm also still having sex with. Let's be honest, You're a PR nightmare.”
“So what? We've kept it a secret so far. I'm going to be there, Val. Remember what they almost made you do last time? These guys are fucking assholes.”
“That's exactly my point. Are you going to be able to not tear Phillip's head off if you see him touch me.”
Arsen went dark for a moment, and I knew right away what the answer was. Arsen was incredibly possessive, and I loved that quality about him. But parts of my life were water to his oil, they just couldn't mix. I braced for a massive argument, how could I not?
Then, surprisingly, he nodded. “You're right, I'd rip his fucking arms off and shove them up his ass.” He eyed me dangerously. “You'd better not enjoy any of it,” Arsen demanded, but it was a more playful than domineering.
At this point, he had to know that he was the only man for me. Didn't he?
“You can't drive me anymore, and no one's attacked me since we've been in the west coast.” He seemed crazy reasonable about my request, so of course I had to push my limits and rib him a bit just to make sure it actually was alright with him. “You're not the least bit worried that I won't need you anymore?”
'Challenge accepted', flashed in his eyes. His hand grabbed my knee. “You could never stop needing me.”
“Yeah?” I teased. “And what can you do that my vibrator can't?”
“With a vibrator, you'll only get touched. With my cock,” Arsen dragged his nails up my nylon-covered thighs, creating little bunches and tears. If there was one thing Arsen didn't care at all about, it was my clothes. For every ruined outfit I had, I also had an amazing, heart-stopping memory of how he ruined it. “You'll get fucked.”
