Take the Leap

by April Fire

  As the water poured over my head, my mind cleared a little. So, she didn’t want to fuck me? Fuck her. There were plenty other women in this town who did and it wouldn’t take long to find them. In fact, if I wanted, I could grab my phone and have someone over here in five minutes willing to do pretty much anything I wanted.

  The thought was satisfying, but I had no real urge to follow it through. Yeah, I could get whoever I wanted in here, but I didn’t really want anyone but her. I couldn’t believe what a kid I was being about this, getting hung up on one woman just because she’d turned me down and I knew I couldn’t have her.

  This wasn’t like me – but then, it had been years since I was last shot down like that, let alone getting as far as we did just to have her leave before we got to the good stuff. I still couldn’t figure out what had caused it, and part of me wanted to break the night down beat by beat to figure out the exact hows and whys and whens. But that would do no good. We had to work together, and I had to act the professional from here on in. Whether or not all I wanted to do was scoop her into my arms, carry her back here, and show her exactly what she missed out on tonight.

  Chapter Seven

  Dina

  It’s pretty hard to avoid a director on a movie set.

  Even if you’re making a concentrated effort, which I was, it’s difficult to steer clear of the one person who gets every single decision run by them before it goes through. No matter how hard I tried, I always seemed to stumble across him, and it was starting to get me worried.

  Not because I thought he was going to fire me for running out on him a few nights before. No, I knew he wouldn’t be that stupid. That level of assholery was usually limited to the kinds of guys who had only hired me for the way I looked in the first place, and he had made it clear that he liked my work enough to want to keep me around. No, I was worried about my resolving disappearing – and finally giving in to what I felt brewing between us.

  As soon as I had felt his hand snaking up my panties, I had known that I had to stop. It was all becoming too real. Because until then, everything could just be written off as a drunken mistake, as a couple of colleagues blowing off steam and stopping before things went too far. Except that one of those colleagues was pretty much the biggest movie star in the world and even now I couldn’t quite believe that I’d actually turned down the chance to fuck him.

  I found myself watching his hands as he went around set, staring at his fingers and wondering how they would have felt on my bare skin, travelling all over me. His kiss had been hard and hot, and I could only imagine how everything else would have been had I let myself continue. It had been a Herculean effort walking out of there and shutting him down, but I knew it had been the right decision. Well, until I was lying alone and awake in bed and staring at the ceiling and thinking about how hot it could have been if I’d just stayed and gone along with it.

  I think we both knew that we’d gone too far, the two of us sheepishly slinking around each other most of the following week – though I caught him eyeing me a couple of times, with a look on his face that told me that the memory of that night was still as fresh in his head as it was in mine.

  It would have been so easy just to sidle over to him, to tell him that I’d changed my mind, but I had promised that I wasn’t going to fall down that hole again. I’d dated dudes like him before, plenty of them, and I had no interest in repeating my mistakes, not when this could be such an amazing boost to my career. If he thought I was going to jeopardize that for some dick, he was very wrong. Though, maybe when shooting was over…?

  I had never had a man overwhelm my common sense in this way before. It was kind of ridiculous. I’d heard about this kind of chemistry before, but assumed that it was reserved for people who were willing to look for it. I had never sought it out, but it came down on me like a ton of bricks as soon as I laid eyes on Will, cracking me across the skull and acting as a staunch reminder that I didn’t get to choose who I was into.

  Sometimes, it was almost dizzying – I would find my eyes focusing in on him from across the room and then that feeling like the world was tilting out from beneath me. Honestly, it was unsettling knowing how little control I seemed to have over my own reactions to him, and I hid out in my make-up trailer as much as I could and made like he didn’t even exist.

  We made it through a whole week like that, avoiding each other almost studiously – but then, there was plenty else going on to keep our attention. One of the investors came down to see how things were progressing on set, and he didn’t much seem to like how things were going. I cracked open the door of my trailer around midday on Friday, and stood just inside the entrance so I could make out the details of the heated conversation Will and the investor were having.

  “I’m just not impressed with how you and Derrick are working together,” the investor snapped, and then paused to take a drag from a cigarette – I could smell the thick, heavy smoke through the door, like he was some cartoon fat cat puffing on a cigar. “I’m not confident that you two can reconcile your visions for this.”

  “We can, we can,” Will assured him, kicking into that hyper-charming, smooth-as-fuck mode that he seemed to be able to switch on at will. “Look, in a week’s time, we’ll have a first cut of some of the scenes and-”

  “I’m not sure I want to wait that long,” the investor cut him off. “I’m putting a lot of money into this, Derry, and I don’t want to risk-”

  “Then drop it,” Will shot back harshly. “If you don’t believe in the project, you don’t have to support it. We have plenty of people who’d be delighted to get involved with something like this, and I’m happy to find someone to take your place.”

  “Fine,” The man replied, and I heard the hiss of a cigarette as he stubbed it out on the side of the trailer. Will let out an irritated sigh at the action.

  “Well, if you’ve have no stock in this movie, I suggest you get off the set.” Will walked by the trailer, flashing through my line of sight for a split second and making me jump.

  “I’ll call my driver around.” The investor strolled past moments later, and I was left staring at the spot where he had just been. Shit. This wasn’t good. This wasn’t good at all. I knew Will talked a big game, but investors were hard to come by no matter who you were. I closed the door quietly, but moments later there came a knock on it. Shit. Had I been caught listening in?

  I opened the door, and found Will standing outside. He had a slightly manic glint in his eye and a big smile on his face, and didn’t look much like a man who’d just found out that one of his main investors had dropped out of the project.

  “Hey, Dina,” he greeted me, placing a hand on the doorframe and leaning casually. “What are you doing tomorrow night?”

  “Uh, nothing that I’m aware of?” I replied, my voice ticking up into a question at the end. My heart was pounding in my chest being so close to him, and for a second I was consumed by the thought of grabbing him the collar, pulling him over the threshold, and fucking him right here in the middle of the work day. I swallowed and forced the image from my brain.

  “One of my investors just dropped out and I needed someone to take his place,” he cocked an eyebrow. “There’s a function in town tomorrow, lots of big producers and shit are going to be there. I could use a date to help me schmooze my way into more funds for the project. You in?”

  I stared at him for a moment, weighing my options. On the one hand, Will Derry was asking me on a fucking date. On the other, I’d promised myself that I wasn’t going to let myself get consumed by his charms. But then…lots of people from the industry, at an event that I would never in a million years have been able to get near if it wasn’t for Will. I would have been crazy to pass it all up. This was a work opportunity, and I had to keep seeing it as that. Nothing more, nothing less. I rolled my shoulders back and nodded.

  “Of course,” I agreed, and he cocked an eyebrow, silently implying something that we both knew was true.

 
“For the movie, of course,” I finished up. “I’ve got a job to keep.”

  “Awesome, thank you,” he bowed his head. “I’ll swing by the trailer after shooting tomorrow night and pick you up?”

  “See you then,” I nodded, and watched as he bounced off in the direction of the set, a bright ball of energy, to pick up where they’d left off. I raised my eyebrows and turned to head back into the trailer, looking at myself in the mirror as I stepped inside. The lights were bright around the edge of the reflective surfaces, and there was a twinkle in my eye that hadn’t been there before. Motherfucker. I had a date with Will Derry, and I only had a day to prepare for it. Well, it was going to be an intensive twenty-four hours, I was sure about that.

  When shooting finished the following evening, I spent at least an hour dithering around in my trailer trying to figure out what to wear and how to do my make-up. What was I meant to look like? What was I meant to do? I had never been to an event like this one before and I was freaking the hell out, not least because I would be going there on the arm of the most famous man in the world.

  I hadn’t exactly packed for a fancy event like the one we were going to – a fundraiser for a local cinema that had been open for decades and was attempting to re-define itself as a historical monument – and I had to sneak into wardrobe and beg them to find me something cool to wear. Irina, the woman who ran the department, looked me up and down, vanished into the back, and re-emerged with a jaw-droppingly beautiful pleated blue number that fell to my knee in delicate waves, thick straps looping over my shoulder and a dramatic low neckline that showed off my décolletage.

  “Thank you,” I bowed my head to her, unable to really express how grateful I was to actually have something to wear. She nodded, and a smile flickered on her usually stern face.

  “You’re going out with William, aren’t you?” she remarked, and I nodded. She raised her eyebrows and didn’t reply. You and me both, Irina.

  I waited back in the trailer, trying to sit still and failing. I paced back and forth, checking myself out in the mirror and fiddling with my hair the entire time. I had pulled it up into a simple chignon, and hairs kept on escaping. When the knock came on the door, I practically jumped out of my skin, then took a deep breath to calm myself down and make myself up, taking my time, not wanting him to think that I had been waiting for him like some excited teenager. Even if that’s precisely what I felt like.

  I opened the door, and my heart flipped when I saw him standing there waiting for me. He was in a suit, perfectly cut and navy blue, his hair swept to the side and his ever-present stubble missing for once. He looked clean-cut and gorgeous, and as his eyes swept up and down my body, he grinned appreciatively.

  “You look amazing,” he remarked, offering me his arm. “Come on, the thing starts soon. I don’t want to be late.”

  “You’re the one who turned up twenty minutes before it starts,” I pointed out, giggling slightly with nerves as we touched for the first time since our encounter the week before.

  “Fashionably late,” he corrected himself. I tucked my hand into his arm, and practically swooned when I felt the muscle beneath his suit jacket. Okay, this night was going to harder than I thought. I had promised myself that I wouldn’t let anything happen, but how could I not? I mean, just touching him like this was enough to send my head spinning and my body shivering with anticipation.

  Did he feel the same way? I shot a look at him out of the corner of my eye, not wanting to give myself away, and found him neutral, maybe a little distracted. He was probably thinking about the investors he needed to land that night. I’d heard him and Derrick arguing about the situation earlier in the day, and it must have been weighing heavily on his mind.

  “So, what should I expect tonight?” I asked brightly, trying to keep his mind off the obvious. “I’ve never been to anything like this before.”

  “Be prepared for so much insincerity,” he warned. “Seriously, you wouldn’t believe the kind of crap people spew when they’re trying to get people on their side.”

  “Will you be doing that?” I teased, and he cocked an eyebrow.

  “Hell, yes,” he shot back enthusiastically. “And I’ll need you to do it too.”

  “Got any tips for a newbie?” I asked.

  “Be super charming, flirt your ass off, and don’t bring up anything about yourself unless they ask,” he filled me in at once. “These people like to talk about themselves more than anything in the world, and how generous they are for coming to something like this. It’s going to be a narcissism clusterfuck in there.”

  “What an interesting image,” I replied dryly, and he laughed.

  “Man, I’m so glad you’re here with me,” he reached up and squeezed my hand lightly. I felt a jolt down my spine. What was I meant to make of that? I didn’t want him to think that this was going anywhere, but I was having trouble fighting the urge to lean over and kiss him before I had a chance to stop myself. Jesus, what the fuck was going on between us?

  The event was taking place within walking distance of the set, and we made our way up there, gossiping about everything that was going down on the movie. There was already so much drama between the crew, as there always was when you got people working this close together for this length of time. We were firmly avoiding the topic of what had happened between us last week, but it was still hanging heavy between us, the heat of it weighing down the two of us as we made our way towards a bunch of very, very rich people who might deign our project interesting enough to put money towards.

  We arrived at the entrance, and the sounds of socializing waited beyond the door. The building was enormous, a giant, swooping old theatre that towered high above me, dramatic velvet curtains framing the entrance. I looked up, trying to keep my cool, but it must have been clear that I wasn’t used to this in any way, shape or form.

  “You’ll be okay,” Will nudged me, and I noticed a couple of people walking by, staring at us. There was going to be a lot of that tonight, I could tell.

  “You’re going to have to babysit me,” I warned him. “Don’t leave me alone with any of these guys.”

  “Only if you promise the same for me,” he grinned and made his way towards the door. There was a bouncer, but he took one look at us and stepped aside, half-bowing differentially as though Will was some lost member of a royal family. And just like that, we were in.

  Chapter Eight

  Will

  Dina froze for a second as soon as we were inside, and I turned to see her looking around with her mouth open as though she’d seen something unbelievable.

  “You okay?” I asked. I had to admit, these guys knew how to throw a party – the place looked amazing, decked out like it had been plucked straight from the set of some old Hollywood musical. I made a beeline for the bar, tugging Dina along behind me so she wouldn’t get swept up with the crowd. I scanned the room as I waited for the bartender to come over, and located a couple of people I knew well enough to hit up and schmooze for some cash. Dina hurried to keep up, and turned to me with her eyes wide.

  “Holy fuck, this place is amazing!” She hissed, as though she didn’t want anyone else hearing her shock at the sight of this place.

  “It’s pretty cool,” I nodded, ordering a couple of glasses of champagne. They arrived seconds later. “But we need to keep our cool. We’ve got money to make.”

  “How do we go about it?” She asked, taking a sip of her drink and closing her eyes appreciatively. “Mmm, that’s good.”

  “They usually go out for the expensive stuff,” I agreed, tapping my glass against hers. “So, you ready to do this?”

  “I’ll follow your lead,” she gestured for me to lead on. “Oh, and if you could just sprinkle into conversation what a great make-up artist I am, that would be ideal. But, you know, keep it casual.”

  “I’ll do my best,” I muttered, and I gestured for her to go first. Mainly so I could get a look at her. I could tell that she was holding back, that she
was all too aware that there was an atmosphere between us that had been just potent as it had been the week before when she’d ended up in my trailer. I sure as hell wasn’t going to push things when she clearly wasn’t comfortable taking things any further than this. But if she changed her mind, then I was right here.

  The way she looked in that dress…it was classy, but showed enough of her legs that my mind could fill in the rest. I still remembered the way I slid my hand up her thigh, how her breath came quick into my ear at my touch, how much she wanted me…

  I shook the image from my head and joined her, steering us in the direction of one of the producers at one of the studios I was contracted for years ago. He beamed as soon as he laid eyes on me – I used to earn a grimace from him for my antics, but I guess times had changed.

  “Will Derry!” He exclaimed as I wracked my brain for his name. “What are you doing in Devina?”

  “Funny you should ask,” I shot a look at Dina, and she smiled ever so slightly, enough to let me know that she was aware of what we had to do. And just like that, we were off.

  The night sped by – I kept my drinking to a minimum and watched as everyone around us got hammered, inflicting as much charm on them as I could manage without coming across as obvious. It took almost all night but eventually, I managed to catch the number of the rich socialite friend of a director I’d worked with who seemed keen to put some money into filmmaking. After talking up the production and Derrick for a while – much as it galled me to do the latter – she agreed to figure out a way to get some money across to us to sustain the production. It wasn’t everything that we needed, but it sure as hell was a start and that’s all we needed right then.