“That’s very considerate of you. I may just take you up on that offer.”
“Well I hope so. I don’t offer such services up to just anyone.”
Aspen bit her lower lip. “I should hope not.”
They both grinned, knowing where this conversation was headed, and Aspen knew this wasn’t the best time for such banter. “So, you and JT okay?”
“Yeah, actually. We are. He’s just got to stop apologizing. It’s getting old.”
“So, you don’t need me to have a talk with him?” Aspen joked.
“No, he and I had a pretty good conversation. I really don’t think he will ever do such a thing again. I think he’s still trying to come to terms with how it even happened. I mean, it’s really not like him.”
“I blame it on all the hours and pressure. I know Malachi and I fight like cats and dogs.”
Wren nodded. “I think the added pressure on JT and I to look like we’re together doesn’t help the situation either. His last attempt to show me some affection was obviously an epic fail.”
“I hope he’s given up on testing any real affections out with you, for good.”
“Everyone take your places,” Director Wolff called out.
Wren turned to Aspen quickly for one last reply. “I’ll be coming over to your trailer tonight for dinner. Expect me around seven.” She winked at Aspen and ran toward her actors’ chair.
Aspen watched Wren dart across the set as she popped her helmet on over her head and hooked the buckle beneath her chin. A wave of adrenaline shot through her and landed in the sensitive core of her body. She felt hungry for something, but it wasn’t food.
She adjusted her goggles to get a better view of Wren sipping from her water bottle and chatting with JT from across the studio. Seconds later, Kerri appeared at Wren’s side to touch up her hair and make-up. Aspen wished it was her hands on Wren, brushing her long dark locks. She noticed Wren staring at her from the distance and she smiled beneath her helmet. She revved the engine and got into position near Jasper.
“Ready?” He yelled over the noise of the engine.
She put her thumb up. More than you know.
~~@
“Knock, knock.” Wren yelled in the doorway as she let herself in.
“Just finishing up with some snacks.” Aspen’s back was turned toward Wren when she felt her arms wrap around the front of her stomach. She tried to control her inner temperature, but the gesture sent a rush of heat throughout her body. She turned to face Wren.
“You look like the main course,” Wren said playfully. She looked down at the shirt’s plummeting neckline over Aspen’s chest. “Blue and lots of skin really bring out the blue of your eyes.” She thought how embarrassing it would be if she actually drooled. She made a conscious effort to swallow the excess liquid that pooled in her mouth.
Aspen drew her hand against the back of the silky tight blazer Wren wore. The neckline of the white shirt beneath swayed low enough for Aspen to see glimpses of Wren’s lacy bra. Several silver necklaces hung at different lengths across Wren’s bare skin; one in particular draped low enough to reach just below the neckline of the shirt. She reached for the locket at the bottom of the chain and caressed it. “Damn, Wren. You look absolutely stunning.”
“I hoped you would like my outfit.” She took a step back and turned in a circle. The shirt accentuated Wren’s mounds of flesh barely tucked inside the bra.
Aspen gulped as she grabbed the bowl of fruit and raised it in the air. Her eyebrows arched. “Ready for a snack?” Her voice squeaked.
Wren stepped forward, took the bowl from Aspen’s hand, and set it back down. “Those would go great with some whipped cream, don’t you think?”
Aspen prayed she had a bowl of the creamy-white sweetness in the freezer. “I…I have something for you.”
“For me?”
Aspen retrieved a bunch of flowers hidden behind the table. She handed them to Wren. “They’re kind of telling a story.”
“For me?” Wren took them in her hand and inhaled their intoxicatingly sweet scent. “They are beautiful, Aspen. What story are they telling?”
Aspen took a deep breath. “Well, these…” she pointed to some yellow flowers, “These are Acadia. They mean concealed love.”
Wren lifted an eyebrow and nodded. “Really? What about these lovely blue ones right here?”
“Those are Ipomoea. They mean, I belong to thee.”
Wren smiled. “I like them very much. And this tall one?”
Aspen blushed. “That’s a Daffodil.”
“And?”
“And it means…Please Love Me.”
Wren set the bouquet down and pressed into Aspen. “But I already do.” She leaned in, but stopped just before their mouths met. “I have been wanting to kiss you all day. Please don’t make me wait any longer.”
Their kiss seemed gentle at first, but quickly escalated into agitated accord under their growing desire to connect. Aspen stiffened, constricting her body against Wren’s. Their hands started to claw at each other’s backs.
“Wait.” Aspen barely caught her balance when she took a step back. “I need to slow down.” Her chest heaved.
“Oh my God, you’re still healing. How stupid of me. I’m sorry I got so aggressive. I’ll do whatever you tell me to do, Aspen. Just don’t ask me to leave.”
Aspen wondered if her own lips were as a vibrant pink as Wren’s. “I hadn’t planned on you leaving any time soon.” She raised Wren’s hand and kissed the soft skin on its back. “I’m just trying dearly to suppress my appetite,” she joked. “The intensity of my feelings are hard for me to handle.” She hoped her words didn’t sound stupid. She just wanted to be honest about her growing feelings. She felt dizzy. “Do you like my tree?” She gestured toward her mini Christmas tree.
“Tree, eh?” Wren stifled a laugh as she approached the mini pine and inspected the ornaments. Her blazer shimmered when she reached for the light switch near the door and flipped it to the off position. “You don’t mind, do you? I prefer to see it in the dark.”
Aspen admired her physique as Wren bent to get a closer look at the various ornaments. “You have more ornaments than me.” She grabbed a shiny metal piece with jagged teeth around its edges.
“Well, I kind of improvised with bike parts. That there’s a sprocket.”
“Ingenious.” She looked around some more. “There it is.”
Aspen eyes shot up to look into Wren’s. “There’s what?”
“The cross your dad gave you. I love mine.” She caressed it gently in her hand. The nails on her fingertips were rounded to perfection.
“It’s my absolute favorite ornament.” She approached Wren so they could admire the decoration together, but the moment she placed her hand against Wren’s back, she regretted it. Her breath caught.
“Every stitch is perfectly placed. You can tell your mom took great pride in making them.”
Aspen wrapped her hands around Wren’s stomach and kissed her near the back of her neck. She tucked her nose into her hair and took a deep breath. “I love the softness of this shirt.” She made swirls in the fabric above Wren’s stomach.
“Now, that’s hardly fair.” Wren placed the ornament back in place on the tree and pulled her hair to one side to expose more skin on her neck and shoulder. “You best enjoy my shirt now because it won’t be on much longer.”
Aspen’s breath became stuttered as she reached up under Wren’s shirt and made circles along Wren’s stomach. “I can work around it. Jasper says my flexibility is improving.”
“He does, does he?”
Aspen slipped her hand up under the cup of Wren’s lace bra, the peak of flesh already roused.
Wren arched backward, allowing Aspen to explore her chest by hand and her neck by mouth.
Wren gasped. “I think Jasper’s right. You do seem more…supple.” She turned to face Aspen and without hesitation, pulled her on top of her as she fell onto the loveseat. Wren sprea
d her legs to allow Aspen to press her hip in between them. Her head lurched forward to meet Aspen’s lips, but instead of a kiss, she sucked in her lower lip and bit it just enough to keep her locked there. She smiled into Aspen’s mouth.
The tugging of her lip between Wren’s teeth made her tremble. She squeezed Wren’s breasts harder as she pressed her hips forward and deeper between Wren’s legs.
Wren released her bite when she moaned into Aspen’s shoulder. This gave Aspen free reign to move from kisses along her neck to her shoulder, sucking lightly, resisting the urge to leave any marks that would have to be concealed from the cameras later.
Wren grabbed onto the back pockets of Aspen’s jeans to urge her thrusts on, harder and faster. “Yes.” She reached up around the back of Aspen’s neck with fingers tangled in her curly hair. “Keep going.”
“You okay in there?”
Aspen jumped up.
“Kerri!” Wren exclaimed. She sat up and tried to adjust her shirt.
“Kerri? Is that you?” Aspen frantically tried to fix her hair, but the tangles superseded the curls.
“It’s me. Can I come in?”
They shot each other a look.
“Sure.” Aspen walked over to the door and opened it. “Wren and I were about to fix dinner. Want to join us?”
“Wren?” Kerri reluctantly entered in the doorway while Wren sat at the table with her fingers linked in front of her. She looked at the small Christmas tree that gave off the only light in the trailer and then back at Wren.
“Hey, Kerri.” Her cheeks were flush with blood, but not nearly as flooded as the sea between her legs.
“Hi, Wren. I didn’t realize you were here.” Her eyes were blinking rapidly behind her scowl.
“Yeah, we have some lines to go over.”
“I could have helped you.”
“I know, Kerri. I’m just keeping Aspen in the know.” She forced a giggle. “You know, per Director Wolff’s directive.”
Aspen grabbed the bowl of fruit and sat it on the table in front of Wren. “Yep, Gideon just wants to try and keep me in the loop.” She bit her bottom lip.
Kerri’s eyelids tightened. “What’s up with the hair, Aspen?”
She patted the top of her head. “My hair?” She saw her helmet sitting on a nearby shelf. “I was trying on my new helmet. It seemed kind of tight during filming today.” She looked over at Wren who wouldn’t break her gaze from the bowl of fruit.
Kerri eyed the flowers. “Holy Shit! You guys were just….” Kerri took a step back.
Her statement went uncontested. Panic shot over Wren and Aspen’s face.
“Well, ah, I guess I’ll let you two girls have at it.” She stormed out the door.
“Kerri, wait!” Wren chased after her as Aspen sat down at the table with her forehead pressed into the palms of her hands. This wasn’t going to be good.
Chapter 13 – Gossip Travels Fast
“Don’t touch me.” Kerri yanked her shoulder away from Wren’s hand.
“Kerri, please don’t be like this.”
“Be like what? I thought you were my friend.”
“Okay, then let’s talk through this like friends should.”
“I hardly think your behavior warrants the title, friendship.” Kerri stopped in her tracks and turned toward Wren, almost causing them to run into one another. “And since when is the great and mighty actress—Wren Emerson—gay?”
Wren looked around. “Kerri, can we please take this to somewhere private?”
Kerri sneered. “Oh, like Aspen’s trailer?”
“Kerri, can you please keep it down and give me a chance to explain?”
“What? No. Why should I? You broke my trust, Wren. You went after the one person I was interested in. I so don’t owe you any favors.”
“I know this looks bad, but please try and see it from my point of view. I didn’t purposely try to hurt you. What’s happened…well, it’s a surprise to me as well.”
Kerri folded her arms across her chest and tipped her head to the side. “Oh, I’m feeling so much better already.”
“Kerri, let’s go to your apartment and talk.”
“Right here is fine.”
Wren watched two Extras walking into one of the studios nearby. She gave them a quick smile before the door closed behind them. “I would prefer to talk where we can be alone.”
“Oh, I see. The trailer was shaking, Wren. Shay-king. And now you want to be discreet?”
“Yes I do.” She grabbed hold of Kerri’s wrist. “Please.”
Kerri stared at the firm hold Wren had of her wrist until her eyes blurred with tears. She looked back at Wren and the corner of her lip stretched. “Get your hand off me.”
Wren let go and took a step back. “Kerri, please.”
“You go back to your little stunt double fling and I’ll do as I see fit.” She turned and stomped away.
Wren’s arms slumped forward. She questioned whether or not she had done the right thing falling for Aspen, like she even had a choice. Her feelings for Aspen were stronger than herself.
She watched as Kerri vanished into the darkness. Did she really owe her an explanation? She wasn’t so sure. After the production they would more than likely part ways—unless, of course—Kerri needed another favor. Wren clenched her teeth. Everyone always wanted something from her, yet they never offered to do the same for her. That is, everyone, but Aspen. She took a deep breath. Aspen never asked for anything, but her company and, of course, her affections. She laughed between tears when she thought of the recent event in the trailer. She could get lost in herself when she was with Aspen. And that meant more to her than anything else in the world. Or anyone.
~~@
The daylight crept in through the cracks of the window in Aspen’s trailer. She raised her head up from her arm, still disoriented and confused. She had passed out while crying, her upper body sprawled across the table, and Wren had never returned. She looked at the flowers still in their vase and then at the little Christmas tree still lit by a string of white Christmas lights. “Now what?” She looked at her watch, trying to make out the time. “Damn!” She had thirty minutes to make it to the set. She rubbed her eyes and switched off the tree lights before taking a quick shower. There was no doubt she felt frightened of what the new day may bring.
~~@
Whispers went silent as Wren entered the studio. “Well, Kerri. That didn’t take long,” she said under her breath. She marched to her chair and sat her bag on its seat.
“Wren.”
She jumped when Director Wolff appeared out of nowhere. “Yes, Sir?”
“I understand that my request for you and Aspen to keep in close contact has surpassed my expectation.”
He doesn’t beat around the bush. “Yes, Sir. It has.” She wasn’t apologetic.
He paused before speaking again. “I appreciate your candor, Wren, but this is quite a predicament we are in. We are nearing the end of this production and I need your complete and utter professionalism intact, until the very end, and even then some. Do you understand? We can’t have personal attachments interfere with all the hard work and dedication everyone has put forth.”
“Yes, Director Wolff. I do understand and I can assure you my personal attachments will not become an issue.”
“How so?”
“What Aspen and I have outside of filming is really no one’s business, and although I don’t plan on denying it, I certainly don’t plan on making a big deal of it.” She fought swallowing in her tightening throat. “You pay me for my acting abilities and as you have said before, it is in my blood. You can expect no less than my commitment to professionalism.”
“Very well. Kerri is waiting for you in hair and make-up. She has been informed and understands that she can and will be replaced if she can’t handle her job. Let me know if you have any concerns.”
Wren nodded. “I’m sure all will be fine.” Even her own words and conviction couldn’t assure her.
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“I believe you can handle whatever it is you need to handle for the benefit of this production, Wren. I hope Aspen is up for the same challenge.” He walked away.
“I hope so too,” she whispered.
~~@
“Well hello, Miss Emerson.” Kerri could always be counted on for an overabundance of sarcasm, mixed with a side of dramatics.
“Hi, Kerri.” Wren sat down in her usual seat.
“Lovely day. Isn’t it?”
“Sure.”
“Did you sleep well?”
“Kerri, just cut to the chase. If you have something you want to say, say it.”
“Ooh, so aggressive. I guess some extra rest would have done you well…if you weren’t so busy working on your lines with Aspen. What, did it take all night?”
“My sleeping patterns or the lack thereof is of no concern to you.”
“It is when I’m the one challenged to hide those dark circles under your eyes.” She started tracing Wren’s mouth with lip liner before Wren could respond.
Wren puckered her mouth with a deliberate scowl when she heard the door to the room open and shut.
“Oh, hi JT.” Kerri snickered.
He got to Wren’s side and squatted down next to the chair. “Well…well…well.” He grinned. “I hear you and I have something in common.”
She pulled away from Kerri’s hands with half her lips traced in a rosy pink. “Spit it out, JT.”
JT stood up quickly. “It’s no big deal to me, Wren. But our fans may be surprised when they find out you left me, for a girl.”
“Well, since it’s all perception anyway…as you know I would never truly get with you in the first place,” she paused to let the words sink in, “I’m sure even you can figure out a way to use this to your advantage. I mean, this could really help your career as a playboy, JT. Just imagine all the heartstrings you could pull with your poor, ‘she-left-me’ spiel.” Her sarcasm came out sharp and biting.
JT cocked his head to the side. “That’s a low blow, Wren. Even for you.”
Wren turned her head toward him. “JT.” She pushed Kerri’s hand away before turning her body toward him. “I don’t know what you want me to say. We work together and I respect your acting, but that’s about it. You are comparing your one-night stands to a meaningful relationship I am trying to build with someone I absolutely adore and—thank goodness—feels the same way about me.”
Aspen's Stunt Page 17
