by Naomi Niles
“Oh, so you model?”
She looked at me. “Yeah. I model. I’ve been doing it for a few years now, and I like it, you know? Good money. Free trips to different cities and shit. It’s a piece of cake job, and all I have to do is take my clothes off every now and then.” She laughed and took another swig of her drink as I undressed her with my mind. “Anyways,” she continued, “I took her to one of my shoots and introduced her to my photographer, then he introduced her to a guy named Leonard–”
“The movie director.”
“Yeah, I guess. But after that, the rest was history.”
I tilted the bottle to my lips. “Well, I guess I should be thanking you, then. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have met Hannah.”
“Yeah, I should be charging you two a finder’s fee or something.”
She chuckled just as Hannah stepped into the living room. Suddenly, the sexual attraction I felt with Carrie disappeared, and it was like she wasn’t in the room. Hannah stood near the entrance of the living room in an elegant dress that brought out her best features. The slit in the front of the dress showed her inner thighs, and my heart raced as it did during the first time we had sex. I scooted to the edge of the couch and placed my beer on the table. My chin hit the floor as she stood bashfully, like we were headed on our first date. “So,” she said, holding her hands to the side, “what do you think?”
I stood up, “You look amazing,” I said as my eyes scanned her body like a metal detector. “Wow.”
Carrie walked beside her and fixed the strands of her that dangled on the side of her head, “I told you, Hannah. I told you. This dress was going to do it.” She tapped her on the behind as Hannah playfully pushed her hand away.
“I’m sorry I took so long, I was just–”
“Nah,” I said, interrupting her. “Nah, don’t worry about it. The wait was worth it. The wait was definitely worth it.”
I walked beside her and looped my arm as she stuck her hand inside. We headed to the door as Carrie trailed behind us. “Well, it was good meeting you, Ezra. You have my daughter back before 12 am, understand?”
I laughed. “Your daughter, huh?”
“Shut up, Carrie!”
“Hey, I’m just saying. The freaks come out at night, and I need to make sure she is home before that happens.”
“She’s in good hands,” I said with a smile.
“I bet.” She winked at me. “All right you two, have fun! Be safe.”
I walked her to my car and opened the door for her to get in. Afterward, we headed to an upscale Italian restaurant in Beverly Hills. “So, that’s Carrie, huh?”
“Yeah. That’s my girl. She is a lot blunter than I am and her confidence is through the roof. I wish mine was that high, but she has a reason for it. She is beautiful, and her body is banging. She models, so, I guess she found her confidence while doing that.”
“You don’t have confidence in the way you look?”
She sighed. “No. Well, at least not like her. She walks around dripping confidence like she has a fucking leak somewhere.” She laughed to herself, then continued, “She helps me, though. I went to one of her shoots, and I saw her undress in front of the cameramen like it was nothing. She poses nude sometimes, and I was just like, ‘Wow. I don’t think I’d ever be able to do something like that’.”
I looked to my right just as a couple passed my car, holding hands, headed for the restaurant. The moonlight seemed to illuminate the brick pathway to the front door. I thought about what things would be like if we stayed together. If we would make it big in the movie business and become regulars out here in Beverly Hills and maybe even relocate out here. This is where dreams come true, and I was determined to make mine a reality. “But now, you’re about to not only do that but… possibly have sex in front of cameras and random people.”
She put her hand over her face, “My God, don’t remind me. I don’t even want to think about that until it happens, you know? That is kind of scary to me. I still don’t know how I will handle it once it happens.”
I grabbed her soft hand and held it in mine. She exhaled and looked out the front window. “Look, I can see why Carrie has confidence. She is a pretty woman, but you? In my opinion, you are a step above her. You are beautiful, Hannah. I mean, no, you are not beautiful. If I was smart enough to come up with a word that is stronger than ‘beautiful,' then I would say it right now.” I laughed as she cracked a smile. “But, whatever that word is, that is what you are. You should have that same confidence, if not more.” She tightened her grip on my hand as if my words drew her closer to me.
“And as far as the movie scenes go, this is my first time doing something like this on set, too. It will be a little weird at first, but I will do my best to keep you calm. Honestly, I think the fact that we are connecting right now will go a long way to helping both of us through that process. It is a road that we’ve never traveled before, but I am happy to be traveling the uncharted territory with you. I wouldn’t want it to be anybody else.”
She smiled. Her eyes sparkled like diamonds under the moonlight as she lowered her head. She was so shy at times, but that made me like her even more. It showed that she was human; vulnerable. It showed me that she needed somebody to come in and strengthen her. Somebody to help her see her strengths and help her evolve from a caterpillar to a butterfly, and I knew I would be the man to do it. “So, shall we head inside? I made the reservation for 10:30 pm.”
“Yes,” she said, calmly, “Let’s go.”
Just as she turned to get out of the car, I grabbed her arm and held her in place. As soon as she looked in my direction, I leaned towards her and softly pressed my lips to hers and slid my hand behind her head. She tilted her head to the side as her tongue passionately searched the depths of my mouth. Before she pulled away, I sucked her bottom lip and kissed her one more time as if to seal our connection. When her eyes locked with mine, I caught a glimpse of her soul smiling brightly like the stars hanging in the sky above.
Chapter Twenty
Hannah
“Um, excuse me? Where are you going?”
I walked into the front room just as Carrie was gathering her things to leave. “I have a photo shoot, hun. I didn’t tell you?” She wandered around the front room aimlessly, searching for the rest of her things.
“No, you didn’t tell me. It is your turn to cook breakfast, though.”
“I know, I know,” she said, as she looked inside the front room closet and then quickly slammed the door closed. “I will cook two times in a row, but I can’t talk about it now. I am running late, and I can’t find my goddamned bathing suit! I knew I threw it in here last night, but–”
I reached behind the couch and pulled her bathing suit from the floor. It took her a few moments to notice that I silently held it in my hand. She breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you!” She took it out of my hand and held my cheeks as she kissed me on the lips. I pushed her away as she laughed out loud. “Now, I’ve gotta do 70 just to get there on time. I hope I don’t fucking run into a police officer because I don’t have time to show him my tits just to get out of a ticket this time!” She scooped her duffle bag into her arm and ran towards the door. “See you later, Carrie.”
It slammed shut before I could respond and a wave of silence swept through the loft. Oh well, I said to myself, more food for me, I guess. I walked to the kitchen and pulled the items out of the cabinet and refrigerator to prepare for breakfast when suddenly, there was a knock at the front door. I figured that Carrie had forgotten her keys in her rush to leave. I opened the door, “What did you forge–”
I stopped mid-sentence once I realized it was Ezra standing with a box of chocolates and a teddy bear. My eyes popped open. “Oh my God!” I slammed the door shut and threw my back against it as if he would try to barge in.
He knocked again, “Um, Hannah? If you just told me that you didn’t like candy and teddy bears, I wouldn’t have brought it with me.”
“No,” I yelled as I grabbed a small mirror from the table. “That’s not it!” I had just woken up 15 minutes ago, and I didn’t have an ounce of makeup on my face, and my hair was stretched in each direction on top of my head. “I just wasn’t expecting you, that’s all. I’m not ready to see you yet.”
“Hannah, baby, come on, now. I saw you for a split second when you opened the door, and you don’t look like shit. I mean, your breath might stink a little bit if you didn’t brush your teeth, but we can work around that.”
“No! Just come back in about an hour!”
“An hour? Hannah, come on. Please. Just open the door. If you don’t, I’m going to keep knocking and then somebody will end up calling the police, and I will have to explain myself to them. Shit, that probably won’t help because I’m sure they will find a way to take me to jail. Do you want me to go to jail?”
“No, I don’t! But still, I look a hot mess!” I turned around and looked through the peephole as he stood there with the teddy bear and chocolates in his hand. My heart melted as I saw the bear cradled in his arm like a baby. It looked soft to the touch, and I had a thing for teddy bears. It had been years since I’d gotten one, though. I turned the handle on the door knob, quickly reached out to snatch it from his arms, then slammed the door closed again.
He laughed out loud, “Really, Hannah? Come on, babe. Look. I’ll close my eyes, and you can just hold my hand and walk me into the front room. I will keep my eyes closed.”
I looked through the peephole. “Do you promise?”
“I promise.”
“Well, close them right now! I can see you! I’m looking through the peephole!” I waited until he closed his eyes tight, then opened the door and led him to the front room. I checked to make sure his eyes were still shut as we walked through the hallway. “You better keep your eyes closed, mister.”
“They are closed. You just make sure you don’t walk me into a wall or something just for shits and giggles.”
I laughed. “I thought about it, but I knew that would make you open your eyes, so I decided against it.” I helped him to his seat. “Now, just stay right there. I’ll be back in here in 15 minutes. And DON’T open your eyes until I say so!”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, chuckling.
When I was halfway to my room, I yelled down the hallway, “OK! Open them!” I went into my room, washed my face, and brushed my teeth. After that, I applied a little foundation and eyeliner just to help liven my face up a bit. I wasn’t ready for him to see me with my morning face just yet. If I had Carrie’s confidence, I wouldn’t have cared one bit, but I wasn’t there yet. I still needed a crutch to help me walk.
I came back into the living room as he scrolled through his phone. Once he looked up, he smiled. “See. Now, I saw you a little bit before you slammed the door in my face… twice… and you still look as good as you did when I first saw you. I don’t know what you did, but you didn’t need to do it.” He got up from his seat and stood in front of me, “Baby, you are gorgeous, and I mean that in every sense of the word.” He kissed me on the lips.
“Thank you, Ezra,” I said as I grabbed his hand and led him to the kitchen. “But I wasn’t expecting you to show up right now. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it is a pleasant surprise, but what if I was naked or something?”
“Then,” he said as he grabbed my ass, “I would’ve broken this door down and hopped on you like flies on shit. Because you’re the shit.”
I rolled my eyes, “Whatever, Ezra. With that tired-ass line. I know you have better things to say than that.”
“Come on, Hannah. Go easy on me. It’s early. I let you slide a little bit this morning with your funky breath.”
My mouth hung open in shock that he had spoken about my breath. “See! That’s why I didn’t,” I stopped myself. “You know what, get out! Get all the way out!”
He wrapped his arms around me as the room filled with laughter. “I’m just playing, baby,” he said as he kissed me on my neck. “I had to get you back, though. I thought it was a good line. I heard Lil’ Wayne said it in one of his songs a while ago. I figured I’d use it myself.”
“Maybe you should leave that stuff to him, OK?” I tapped him on his lips, then kissed him again. “But you can take a seat. I was just about to start cooking breakfast. Carrie was supposed to do it today, but she had to leave for a photo shoot.”
“Yeah,” he said as he sat down, “I saw her on my way up. She was the one that cleared me past the security guard.”
“Yeah,” I said, “I was wondering how you made it in. But anyway, what brings you over here this early? Were you ‘just in the neighborhood?”
“No. I wanted to take you somewhere today.”
“Where?” I poured the pancake mix into a bowl and used a fork to stir it up.
“It is a surprise.”
“Really? I love surprises! Where is it?”
“Yeah, if I told you, I don’t think it would be a surprise anymore.” He laughed. “I mean, that’s the whole purpose of calling it a surprise. You have to be, um, surprised about it.”
“OK, OK, Ezra. I get it! I can’t wait, though.”
He grabbed the Satin Sheets book off the table. Carrie had been reading it last night to get a better idea of what I would be doing in the movie. She told me what to expect when we started shooting the movie a couple weeks from now, hoping that it would ease some of my anxiety, but all it did was shoot another wave of nervous blood through my veins. “So, you’re reading the book again, huh?”
“No, Carrie was. I have the script. I know what to expect now.”
“Yeah. To be honest, I’m excited about it.”
I poured the first round of pancakes onto the skillet. “I mean, I am, but I’m not. I’m just nervous about the… you know…”
“Yeah,” he picked up what I was trying to say. “I understand. Let’s try not to focus on that right now, though. Let’s just think about how this is going to do wonders for our career. I’m thinking we are going to skyrocket into the industry after this one is done, you know? I think it is about time, though. I’ve been doing a bunch of bullshit movies for long enough, so if this is going to be my way up, I’m going to make sure I knock this performance out of the park.”
“Yeah, that is my goal, too. Without a doubt.”
After we had finished up with breakfast, I headed to my room to get dressed for my surprise date. A part of me felt like he was going to walk into my room unannounced and we would proceed to have another afternoon of fucking. In my heart, that is what I desired, but I wasn’t the one to bring that to him. I intentionally left my door unlocked in case he wanted to explore the opportunity, but that was my limit. As time passed, I knew he wasn’t going to come back to my room. I was a little disappointed, but something told me that we would have our time together in abundance, so I wasn’t worried about it.
As I was getting dressed, my phone rang on top of my dresser. The number wasn’t saved in my phone, so I was a little hesitant to answer at first, but after I had convinced myself that it could be someone from the movie, I answered.
“Hello?”
“Hannah Black?”
“Speaking.” I looked into the mirror as I tried to decipher the voice, but it wasn’t ringing a bell. “And, who is this?”
“Brian. Brian Watson. I met you at the audition a little while ago.”
I lowered my eyes until I thought about the man who escorted me down the hallway and showed me the exit after my failed audition. “Oh,” I said in a voice full of shock, “Brian? Um, hey. Hi. How did you get my number?”
“Oh, I have my ways,” he said with a chuckle. “I was just checking on you, though. I wanted to see how you were doing. Maybe catch a bite to eat or something if you have the time. I have a few inside tracks for some movies coming up, so I wanted to give you the opportunity to get cast before anybody else finds out about it. Kind of erasing the competition beforehand, you know?”
“Um,” I said, n
ervously, “No, I am good. I actually have a role right now, so I don’t have the time for another one. Thanks for the offer, though.”
“Oh, sure thing,” he said, trying to hide his disappointment. “For the Satin Sheets film, right?” He didn’t give me a chance to respond. “Wow, that is a sexy film! I can’t wait to see how you perform in that!”
“Yeah, um. Thank you. I’m going to have to ask you to refrain from calling me, though. I don’t know how you got my number, but um, I am a little uncomfortable with the fact that you have it, especially since I didn’t give it to you.” There was a long pause between us. I could hear him breathing on the other end, but not a word left his lips. “Um, Brian?” Suddenly, the phone call ended. I wanted to say that that would be the end of it, but for some reason, I felt that it was just the beginning.
Chapter Twenty-One
Ezra
“Are you all right, Hannah?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah. I’m fine. Just thinking about some things, I guess.”
“Good things?”
“Not really.” She looked down at her phone as I drove to the set of our movie. She didn’t know we were headed there, and when Marc told me that we had the freedom to go and check it out at our leisure, I wanted our first time on set to be together. “I don’t know. I mean, it could be nothing at all but, there is this guy…” My heart sunk deep into my chest, expecting the worst. Does she have a boyfriend, I thought, anxiously waiting for her to continue. “I met him at an audition a while ago. He seemed sweet at the time, and I ran into him twice after that.”
She paused. “Now that I think about it, it seemed kind of odd that he happened to be in those two places at the same time as me. But anyways, he found a way to get my number, and he called me when I was getting ready to leave the house. Since then, I’ve gotten two phone calls, both from blocked numbers.”
“And you’re worried?”
“I don’t know. I mean, like I said, it could be nothing at all, you know? Like, I could just be overreacting. He really did come off as harmless, but he just…” she looked at me curiously. “You think I am nuts, don’t you?”
