by Marion Myles
Rebecca’s heart stuttered. Please don’t let him mean I was the inspiration, she thought, both thrilled and terrified. I don’t need this right now.
“It’s lovely, Liam. Really nice.”
“Thanks. It’s been a long time since I had such a clear notion in my mind for a song. Makes me feel like a kid again.”
Quickly, she tore her gaze away from his warm eyes and that big, genuine smile. She sensed Cindy side-eyeing her. When Liam changed again and starting singing the chorus to “Satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones, she grabbed her Gross Anatomy textbook, flicked open a page at random, and began reading about the endothelial lining of the vascular system.
An intricate fight scene was being filmed on set that day between Liam’s character and two of the bad guys. They’d been rehearsing for almost a week, and Rebecca tried not to be nervous for him. It wasn’t so much she worried he’d be hurt more that it seemed impossible to remember the choreography with all the steps and blocks, twists and turns.
Liam was a picture of total concentration in the trailer while they waited for the call time. He stepped through the sequence time and again, often referring to the iPhone footage of the previous day’s practice Cindy had shot for him. When the time came for Rebecca to offer him another Jack and Coke, he said no, he’d wait until after they’d done the bulk of filming.
It was a long wait. The scene took hours to shoot. Over and over they did small sections of the fight while the camera was moved multiple times to capture it from all angles. Roz stayed close by to ensure continuity with the makeup. Liam and the other two actors were soon wringing with sweat, the real kind, not the stuff from the bottle Roz sprayed so liberally on their necks and faces.
Finally, the director called a break. Liam collapsed down on his chair beside Rebecca. “It’s almost in the can,” he said happily.
Cindy was, as ever, at the ready. “What do you want? I have water, protein bars, cashews, gummy bears or I can run to catering.”
Liam blew out a breath. “I’ll have a water for now. First, I’m gonna hit the john.”
When he got up, he tilted his head at Rebecca. “What? You’re not going to come and supervise?” he asked.
“I’m pretty sure you’ve got this.” She waved him away. “Off you go.”
He smiled triumphantly and sauntered toward the golf cart. Rebecca found she couldn’t stop smiling either. This was turning out to be a fantastic day.
Beside her, Cindy frowned and shot texts off at rapid speed.
“Everything okay?”
“Sure. It’s just this music guy. They’re running so late with the shooting I’ve had to push the interview back a couple of times, and somebody’s being all grumpy about it. He should be so lucky Liam’s making time for him in the first place. Instead, there’s nothing but attitude.”
“Maybe he has a deadline,” Rebecca said, trying to offer a sympathetic point of view.
“Yeah, I guess.” More tapping then she said, “Oh, shit.”
Rebecca couldn’t remember ever hearing Cindy swear, so her head immediately snapped around to stare at her. Cindy was no longer looking at her phone. Now her eyes were fixed across the warehouse, and her hands were clenched together in her lap as though in prayer.
Rebecca followed her line of sight but couldn’t see anything worth cursing about. The crew appeared to be rigging the camera up on some sort of high pulley system. Various people milled around. A tall, slim woman was talking to one of the actors playing a villain. The stagers were resetting the fight area, picking up fake broken furniture and the like.
“What is it?” she asked Cindy.
“See that girl, the really tall one? That’s Marisa Flare. Supermodel and Liam’s sort of girlfriend. I didn’t think she was getting back until next week.”
The earth pitched under Rebecca, and her heartbeat thudded in her ears. So what if Liam’s girlfriend was here? It didn’t matter to her. This was nothing but a job, and the fact he’d maybe written a song about her was neither here nor there.
Still, it didn’t hurt to look.
Scanning the area again, her eyes latched onto Marisa Flare. Even from this distance, she could see the woman had amazing bone structure. Her long, dark hair shone as though under a spotlight and cascaded in straight, silky lines over her shoulders and halfway down her back. She wore a creamy blouse tied at her waist, fashionably ripped skinny jeans that barely skimmed her ankles, and black booties with platform soles and high, high heels.
“It’s bad that she’s here?” Rebecca asked, working to keep her voice neutral.
“You’ll see,” she said ominously. “Though maybe it won’t be so bad now that His Highness is being such a good boy.”
The chuckle came out so fast she didn’t have time to strangle it back. “You called him ‘His Highness.’ I love it,” Rebecca said.
Cindy’s grin was brief but genuine. “It kinda suits him. And now that…thanks to you…he’s under control, it seems funny rather than mean. Word of warning, Marisa likes to par-tay.”
Marisa glided over on impossibly long legs. Rebecca couldn’t help noticing her thighs were barely wider than her knees, and her waist was so teeny-tiny she wondered if there was room for any of her organs.
Up close, her face was arresting in a way that seemed otherworldly. Eyes of crystalline blue, lashes so thick they must be hard to see through, slashing cheekbones, and pillow lips. When she smiled, it just about took Rebecca’s breath away.
“Hi, Cindy. Where’s Liam?” She spoke in a soft, little girl’s voice.
“He’ll be back in a second. How are things?”
“Great.” She flashed that smile again then nodded at Rebecca. “Who’s this?”
“Sorry. I should have introduced you. This is Rebecca Diaz. Liam added her to the team a few weeks back.”
“Oh. Well, hi, Rebecca, I’m Marisa. You’ve probably heard about me from Liam. We’re kind of a thing.”
Was this girl for real? “Sure, of course. It’s nice to meet you,” she said.
Marisa climbed onto Liam’s chair beside Rebecca. Digging into a handbag the size of a hippopotamus, she fished out a pack of clove cigarettes and a gold lighter.
“I don’t think you’re allowed to smoke in here,” Rebecca said.
Marisa seemed to have trouble processing this information. She stared down at the cigarette in her hand then swiveled her head to glance around the area, lines of confusion etching her forehead. “Oh, but doesn’t everyone smoke on movie sets. Besides, it’s just a dusty old warehouse. I think it’ll be fine.”
She crossed one leg over the other, and taking a deep drag from the cigarette, blew a stream of fragrant smoke toward the ceiling. “How are things going?” she asked Cindy.
“Great. The movie’s almost done, and Liam’s been fantastic. Everyone’s talking about his performance. He’s really concentrating right now. Staying focused on the work…if you know what I mean.”
“Oh, yeah. I get it. Sometimes when I’m on the runway, I have to kind of get myself into this trance. I keep saying over and over in my head, ‘you are the clothes, and the clothes are you.’” She smiled sweetly. “It really helps. But then, after it’s over, I have to decompress. Have some fun, you know? That’s why I came. I knew Liam would need help blowing off steam so he could really do his best work.”
Cindy looked like she was struggling to keep a straight face. Her eyes flicked to Rebecca then quickly away. “Sure. Of course.”
In her peripheral vision, Rebecca saw the golf cart coming into view. She turned, watching Liam park in line with the other carts. He sat for a moment, head down while he concentrated on his phone, before finally hopping off the cart and starting across the warehouse.
When he finally lifted his head, his gaze went to Rebecca’s face first. He flashed a huge smile and gave her a thumbs up. Then his eyes panned across, and he stopped in his tracks, his expression blank…the forgotten hand still in its thumbs-up position.
Marisa rained kisses down all over his face like a happy puppy, and then her lips locked on his. The kiss was scorching hot. Rebecca wondered why her eyes didn’t burn. They fitted together perfectly. Marisa, in her heels, was Liam’s height, but so slender against him she looked like the delicate stem of a flower. She wrapped one leg around his waist, and his hands latched onto her butt and locked them together while they devoured one another.
Someone whistled, and someone else shouted “Go, Liam.”
“This should be interesting,” Cindy muttered.
“Yeah,” was all Rebecca could muster in response. She dropped down to the floor and began shoving everything back into Marisa’s fallen purse before quickly stomping on the dropped and still lit cigarette.
“Hey, ladies, look who’s here?” Liam’s face was riddled with candy pink lipstick marks.
“Yes, it’s wonderful,” Cindy said.
“Thanks, Rhonda,” Marisa said when Rebecca passed over her purse. “I was so excited to see my baby, I forgot I even had a purse.”
“Her name is Rebecca,” Cindy said.
A cloud passed over Marisa’s face. “Are you sure? I could’ve sworn you told me it was Rhonda. She really looks like a Rhonda, too.”
“No,” Rebecca said. “Definitely Rebecca.”
“Oh, well. I was pretty close at least.” Marisa smiled and hugged tighter against Liam.
“How soon until they’re ready to start?” Liam asked.
“Not far off,” Cindy said. “You’d better check in with Roz. You have a lot of lipstick on your face.”
Marissa giggled. “I like him like that. That way everyone knows he’s with me.”
If any other woman had said those words, they would have sounded threatening, but in Marisa’s breathy, lispy voice, it came off as cute.
Liam eventually disentangled himself from Marisa and went to hunt down Roz. The first AD called the actors back to the scene, and the energy on the set picked up again just as it always did in the last few minutes before the camera rolled.
Marisa happily climbed back onto Liam’s chair beside Rebecca. “The first day of coming on set is always so fun.” She sighed. “Like a magical land.”
Rebecca nodded. “But there’s so much waiting around, it gets pretty dull pretty fast.”
“Sure,” Marisa agreed. “But I don’t mind. Last year I dated Carter Charleston while he was shooting the next Avengers movie. That was pretty exciting.”
“I thought he was married.”
Taking out another cigarette, Marissa shrugged. “Yeah. He is. But they were on a break. They do that sometimes.”
“Oh.”
“Cindy, I hate to ask, but I could really use a coffee. I’ve been up since yesterday, so I’m kinda lagging low if you know what I mean.”
“Catering’s right outside,” Rebecca pointed out.
“I get lost real easy. You remember that, right?” she said to Cindy. “There was this time we went to see Hamilton. You know, that play about apartheid? During intermission, they started flashing the lights to go back in, except I forgot I needed to go to the bathroom. After, I couldn’t figure how to get back to my seat. I called Cindy, and she talked me through it. She was a real lifesaver. Anyway, I don’t want to miss any of Liam’s work. You don’t mind, do you?”
“It’s no problem,” Cindy said. “Do you still take it black with two sugars?”
“Maybe today I’ll have three. I could really use the protein.”
Rebecca went to correct her on the nutritional value of table sugar, but Cindy quickly shook her head.
“You know, I’m actually pretty hungry. I think I’ll come with you,” Rebecca said.
They didn’t start laughing until they were outside the warehouse. “Oh…my…God,” Cindy gasped. “I’d forgotten about that Hamilton thing. Marisa called me, they were in London, and I was in LA, by the way. And she wanted me to talk her through getting back to her seat. She wouldn’t ask any of the ushers, and she didn’t want Liam to find out. I swear I don’t know how she gets through life.”
“She must have a hell of a PA,” Rebecca said.
“She has two. Lisa and Cara. They’re great. I wish she’d brought one of them with her today.”
“At least she’s not bitchy.”
“Clueless yes, bitchy no. I’m amazed some of those other models don’t eat her alive. They can be pretty brutal. Though I guess it’s hard being snotty to someone when the person doesn’t even understand you’re cutting them down.”
“Why did you make it seem like doomsday had come when you saw Marisa was here? She doesn’t seem so bad.”
“You’ll see. I wasn’t kidding when I said she likes to party. I’ll bet in that Hermes bag of hers you’ll find all kinds of drugs, prescription and otherwise. Some of the models go that route and unfortunately for her, she’s one of them.”
“I didn’t see anything when I picked it up. Just a wallet, cigarettes, all the usual stuff,” said Rebecca.
“Maybe, like Liam, she’s cleaned up her act. I hope so.”
“Me, too.” Rebecca rubbed at the knot of anxiety in her stomach.
For the next few hours, Marisa smoked and drank coffee and said things like, “Last week when I was in Rome,” and “Kate Middleton served regular bread at her dinner. Not gluten free, regular. Can you believe it?” and “Shoot, I forgot to tell Emma Stone I can’t make lunch today.”
After a while, the constant chatter became nothing more than background noise to Rebecca. She went inward, checking to see how she felt about the developing situation. A little shaky, she could admit. The pang of jealousy she’d experienced when Liam and Marisa were wrapped around one another was cause for concern. She couldn’t dare let herself develop feelings for him. It would be bad news for everyone concerned but most especially her.
“Cut,” someone yelled. “Resetting for the stunt team. Actors, we’ll need you back here in two hours.”
Once again, when Liam started walking toward the seating, Marisa bounded over like a giraffe on stilts and threw herself into his arms. This time Rebecca looked away.
“Hey, Cindy,” Liam called over during the brief moment his mouth was free from Marisa’s. “Could you grab me a chicken teriyaki wrap and some fries. Me and Marisa are heading back to the trailer.”
“Sure. Does Marisa want anything?”
“No. She said she’s good.”
Marisa broke away from him and hurried back to the chair where her purse had once again been left behind in a jumble. “I think I’ll need this,” she said with a giggle.
“Don’t forget the Rolling Stone guy,” Cindy said to Liam when he came up beside Marisa. “I need to give him a time.”
“Tell him to come in an hour, ’kay?”
“I don’t know if that will be long enough. We have so much catching up to do.” Marisa ran a finger up and down the side of Liam’s neck.
“They’re not actually going to do what I think they are?” Rebecca asked when she and Cindy were finally on their way back to the trailer.
“Yep. They totally are. FYI, Marisa’s not shy about walking around naked as a jaybird. I guess it’s a modeling thing.”
“Great. That’s something to look forward to.” Shifting the bags of food on her lap, she groaned and rubbed her eyes. “I’m not exactly sure how to handle this. I can’t sit in there while they’re having sex and make sure Liam doesn’t take anything. That’d be so creepy.”
Cindy wiggled her eyebrows and gave her a wicked smile. “If you joined in, it wouldn’t be creepy.”
“Gross and double gross. Besides, I’m pretty sure that’s not in my job description.”
“With her around, I can guarantee you’ll be earning every dollar t
hey’re paying you.”
“This sucks,” Rebecca whined. “Everything was finally going well. And only seven days until I’m done.”
“I wish you’d stay,” Cindy said. “I wasn’t sure at first, but I like having you here.”
“Yeah, well, I really can’t.”
Cindy sighed. “Bummer.”
Once inside the trailer, they were assaulted with the sounds of rhythmic moaning and Marisa’s high pitched, “Oh, baby, yes.” Cindy shook her head and walked over, sliding the door to the bedroom firmly closed. It helped, but not enough. She grabbed the remote and flicked on the TV, then pressed the volume up nice and high.
“That’s better,” Rebecca said while carrying the food into the kitchen area. “Though I’m not sure I can eat right now.”
“I can,” Cindy said cheerfully. “After a while, you get used to it.”
“I don’t see Marisa’s purse anywhere. Shit, what should I do?”
“I’d say you should relax. If he’s gonna take something, it’s probably already happened. Let this play out, and then deal with whatever comes.”
“Yeah. Okay. I guess that makes sense. You know, he still hasn’t had his first drink today?”
“Fingers crossed he sticks with the program. Anyway, I’m gonna eat.”
They left the TV on in the sitting area and chose the table in the dining section as it gave that little bit more separation from Liam’s bedroom. In the end, Rebecca managed to get through her chicken taco salad. When Marisa wandered out, she was thankfully wearing a robe.
“Liam’s in the shower,” she said. “He’s hungry and wondered if you could heat up his food.” She opened the fridge and bending over, stared at the contents for a minute or so. “I can’t see the wine.”
“There isn’t any,” Rebecca said. “We’re keeping the trailer alcohol and drug-free so Liam can stay nice and clear for the shoot.”
Marisa’s mouth formed a surprised O and confusion filled her eyes. “But…that’s weird. He didn’t say anything about being…”
Liam appeared from the bedroom, also in a robe. His face still showed fake bruising and dirt marks across his brow.
