by Alexa Land
“I know how insufferable a lot of people in Hollywood can be,” I said, “and I’m going to try my damnedest not to act like a total douche these next few weeks.”
“Oh, believe me, you’re already a pleasure to work for.”
“What makes you say that?”
“You’re actually talking to me, and you’re not sitting in the back seat.”
“Is that what most of your clients do?” When he nodded, I wrinkled my nose and said, “Celebrities are gross,” which made him chuckle.
“I hate to be the one to remind you,” he said, “but you’re about to spend the next several weeks with a whole pack of them.”
“I know, and it’s terrifying. Have you met any of the cast?”
“Yeah, I’ve met all four of the lead actors.”
“Come on, spill. What are they like?”
He merged onto a highway, then said, “Emma Rosen is nice. She tends to keep to herself on set, which may seem standoffish, but she’s just a private person.”
“What about the three male leads?”
“Taylor Keefe and Jack Ito are starting to believe their own press, so their egos are definitely inflated,” he said. “As for Harper Royce, he’s a total asshole. I know that because I worked for him for almost a year. Steer clear of him at all costs.”
“Why’s he an asshole?”
“He’s just completely full of himself and doesn’t care about other people. I don’t even know how I lasted as long as I did when I worked for him. The last straw was when he started dating my brother. I never should have introduced them! Can you imagine how weird and awkward it was to send flowers to my twin from my employer, complete with mushy little love notes?” Phoenix shuddered, while I wondered if he’d secretly been jealous.
I said, “I didn’t realize Harper Royce and Dallas Jaymes are gay.”
“They’re actually bi. That isn’t a secret, but they both tend to be more public about the women they date.”
“Anyone else I should know about on set?”
“Don’t let the director ruffle you,” he said. “Gage Lang is a perfectionist, and he’s going to demand a lot from all the actors. Try not to take it personally if he asks you to do a million takes and doesn’t seem satisfied with any of them.”
“Thanks for the information. I feel like I’m in way over my head, and it helps to know what I’ll be dealing with.”
“Sylvia mentioned you were feeling a little anxious, but just remember, I’m here to help. I’ve spent a lot of time on movie sets over the last few years, and I won’t let you down.”
“I appreciate that.”
We chatted about what I could expect over the next few days, and then he said, “So, tell me a bit about you. Is there a girlfriend back home who’s going to be jealous you’re doing a love scene with Emma Rosen?”
“I’m gay, so no. I’m also doing a love scene with Harper Royce, but I doubt Lorenzo will be jealous of that.”
“Is Lorenzo your boyfriend?”
“No. He’s—” I had to stop and think about a way to define what we were, but all I came up with was, “He’s someone very important to me, but we’re not actually dating.”
“Sounds complicated.”
“It is, partly because this job sprang up right when we made the move from friends to something more.”
“Well, hopefully he’ll be able to come up and visit during filming, and you can pick up where you left off.”
“I hope so. I already miss him like crazy, but we both held back instead of making plans to see each other soon. Why the hell did we do that?”
Phoenix thought about it before saying, “If this is brand new and you guys have been friends for a while, maybe you felt you needed some time to process the change in your relationship.”
“That actually makes sense.” I glanced at him and said, “You should add ‘therapist’ to your resume.”
He grinned and told me, “It’s implied in the job description.”
It took about two hours to reach the place originally rented for Trent Chambers. My home for the next four weeks turned out to be a massive, pale gray, Cape Cod-style house with white trim, which sat on a bluff overlooking the ocean. I was awestruck.
Phoenix punched in a code to get the key from a lock box. After he let us in, I turned the cat loose in the spacious living room, and we took a quick look around the ground floor. The interior was gorgeous, with a soothing gray and white color palette, a subtle nautical theme, and lots of windows that probably provided a great view when it was light out.
I went back out for my luggage, and Phoenix brought in a cooler and some shopping bags. While he moved some groceries to the refrigerator, I set up a new litter box and said, “I wonder if Trent had planned to travel with a huge entourage, given the size of this place. It’s total overkill for just you and me.”
“Actually, this is just for you. I’ll be sharing a hotel room with a friend of mine, who’s an assistant makeup artist on this movie.”
“Would you please stay here instead? Your friend is welcome to join us, too.”
Phoenix stopped what he was doing and asked, “Are you sure?”
“Definitely. I’d be lonely in this big place by myself. Plus, it seems wasteful to pay for a hotel when there’s so much room here.”
He smiled at me and said, “Okay. I’m sure he’s asleep by now, but I’ll invite him to join us in the morning.”
The cat strode through the kitchen, as if she was inspecting the place, and I told Phoenix, “Why don’t you take a look at your options and pick out a bedroom?”
“Actually, if it’s alright with you, I’d like the room we saw at the back of the house with the glass doors leading to a patio. I assume your master suite is upstairs.”
“Sounds great.”
“Do you need anything else for tonight?”
“No, but thank you for everything. I’ll see you in the morning.” We said goodnight, and he went to get his things from the SUV.
After I filled bowls with food and water for the cat, I grabbed my luggage and carried it upstairs, where I found a beautiful bedroom with a balcony. Since my phone was almost out of charge, I pulled my tablet from the messenger bag and used it to place a video call to Lorenzo. When he appeared on the screen, I grinned and said, “You’re actually awake, even though I was right about not getting here until three a.m.”
“I took a nap earlier to make sure I didn’t miss your call. Are you at the house?”
“Yeah, I arrived about fifteen minutes ago.”
“How is it?”
“Ridiculously nice. Look at this bedroom.” I panned the tablet around, then propped it up against a pillow while I sat on the bed and took off my shoes and socks. “The house is huge, so I begged my P.A. to stay here instead of a hotel. It’s way too much for one person.”
“What’s your assistant like?”
“He’s great, really friendly and down-to-earth. I forwarded his number to you earlier, by the way, in case you need to reach me while I’m on set or whatever.”
“Thanks for doing that. So, how was your flight?” Lorenzo shifted in bed while we were talking, and I glimpsed his bare shoulder. It shouldn’t have seemed so unbelievably sexy.
“Uneventful, and as it turns out, exactly long enough to read the script from start to finish.”
“What did you think of it?”
“It’s fantastic, and I’m glad they stayed true to the book. But now that the story’s been pared down to just actions and dialog, so much is left open to interpretation, and I’m worried about getting it right. I’d give anything to be able to sit down with the author, even just for fifteen minutes, and ask him what the characters were thinking and feeling in some of these key scenes.”
Lorenzo asked, “Is that an option?”
“Sadly, no. I asked about it, but the author turned down the studio’s offer to sit in on filming. He’s basically a total hermit, so that’s not really a surprise.”
&n
bsp; While we were chatting, I took off my dark gray suit and white dress shirt, which made Lorenzo joke, “Well, damn. If I’d known it was going to be that kind of video call, I’d have put on something sexy for you.”
I chuckled and reminded him, “You already waited until three to hear from me. I didn’t want to keep you waiting any longer while I changed.”
“As far as I’m concerned, you called at the perfect time.” I climbed onto the bed and stretched out on my side, and he said, “You’re probably pretty tired, right? I should let you get to bed.”
“Actually, I’m wide awake.”
He sighed and shifted positions again. “I’m so mad at myself right now.”
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t spend all of last night making love to you. We were right there, in the same bed, and I let the opportunity pass us by. Now you’re miles away and I’m aching to touch you, but I can’t.”
“I did the exact same thing.”
“What the hell were we thinking?”
I shrugged and said, “I was about to leave for a month. I guess we were both trying to disengage a bit to make it easier.”
“Well, it didn’t work. There was nothing easy about you going away.”
“No, there wasn’t.”
He watched me for a few moments before asking, “Can we please do this every night? Just a quick video call to check in with each other before bed?”
“I’d love that.” He actually looked relieved. After a pause, I grinned and said, “You know, just because we’re not in the same bed tonight doesn’t mean we’re totally out of options.”
“What do you mean?”
I sat up and slipped out of my briefs, then held them up so he could see them. “Get naked with me, Lorenzo.”
He grinned and shifted around a bit before tossing aside a pair of briefs and shorts. Then he said, “Quick confession—I’ve never done this before.”
“I haven’t, either. Not like this, anyway. Hang on a sec.”
I adjusted the tablet’s angle to make sure he’d be able to see all of me, and then I retrieved some lotion from my messenger bag. By the time I sat back on my heels in the center of the bed, my cock was already starting to get hard in anticipation of what was about to happen. “You’re in control,” I said. “Tell me what to do.”
“Are you actually going to enjoy that?”
“I’ll fucking love it.”
Lorenzo’s eyes seemed to darken as desire took over. When he told me to rub my nipples, I complied immediately and felt them harden under my fingertips as my cock twitched. His breathing sped up, and he fumbled with some lotion before reaching for his cock.
He asked, “Does it feel good?”
I murmured, “Feels wonderful.”
“Jerk yourself off for me.” I quickly dispensed some lotion into my palm and did what I was told. Lorenzo swore softly, and then he said, “Imagine me kneeling behind you. Tell me what you’d want me to do if I was there.”
The words tumbled from me. “Completely take charge. Bend me over, pin me down, and fuck me hard. Show me I belong to you.”
I was stroking myself quickly, and he said, “Slow down, baby. It’s not time to come yet.”
For the next few minutes, he controlled the pace of my hand on my cock, alternately pushing me toward the edge and pulling me back again. Eventually, he said, “I’m close, Will. I want you to come with me.”
I met his gaze through the screen and whimpered as I stroked myself harder and faster. A few moments later, I cried out and shot into my palm. It was so gratifying when he groaned and came at almost the same time.
Both of us were winded when we finished, and I was shaking as I wiped my hand with some tissues. When I finally caught my breath, I said, “I’ll be back in five minutes. Please don’t hang up.”
“I’ll be right back, too.”
I retrieved my toiletry kit from my luggage and went into the bathroom, where I cleaned myself up and brushed my teeth. On the way back to bed I noticed the door had clicked shut, so I opened it a few inches and the cat slipped in.
I burrowed under the soft, white duvet and waited for Lorenzo to return. His phone was pointed at the ceiling, so I heard him before I saw him. Then he reappeared and smiled at me as he said, “Thank you. That was fun.”
I smiled too and murmured, “Yes, it was.”
He settled into bed, and after a pause, he asked, “Is that really what you want, to give up control during sex?”
“I think what I really want is to let myself be vulnerable and totally let go. When I worked as a prostitute, I had to remain guarded and leave my emotions out of it. Now, with you, it’s so different. It was actually a little overwhelming when we had sex.”
“Do you feel like we rushed it?”
I couldn’t help but grin as I admitted, “I’ve had a crush on you for months, Lorie. But more than that, we spent the better part of last year building a foundation of trust and friendship. So, from my perspective, no. We’ve done the exact opposite of rush it.”
He grinned too and said, “That’s a good point.”
“But I know you don’t want to start a relationship right now, and I’m fine with keeping this as a friends with benefits kind of thing until you’re ready for more.”
“Is that really what you want, though?”
“I want you, Lorie, any way I can get you,” I said. “I totally respect the fact that you’re still in mourning though, so no pressure.”
“It’s not exactly a question of being in mourning.”
“What do you mean?”
After a pause, he said quietly, “Javier cheated on me and broke my heart, and I’m having a hard time moving past it.”
“I can’t believe you never told me that!”
“I never told anyone.”
I asked, “Did he confess, or did you catch him?”
“Neither. One of our mutual friends told me he’d had an affair with my boyfriend for over a year, around the time Javier and I first started living together.”
“Are you sure he was telling the truth?”
“When I accused him of lying, he showed me dozens of texts and photos the two of them had exchanged, all dated from that year. That totally confirmed it.”
“Did you confront Javier?”
“How could I? He was so sick, and then he died about a month after I found out.”
“So, he had no idea you knew the truth?”
“That’s right. He thought he was taking his secret to the grave.”
I said, “I can’t even imagine what finding that out must have done to you.”
“It broke me. He was my whole world, and I trusted him. After he died, it was way too painful to keep living in our apartment, so I returned to the States and tried to put myself back together. But I’m starting to think the damage is permanent.”
“Don’t say that, Lorie.”
“It might be true, though. I already had a hard time trusting people, which is why I’ve had so few relationships in my life. When I finally let someone in, look what happened. Now he’s gone, and I’m left with all this hurt and anger, layered on top of loss and heartbreak.”
All this time I’d been thinking of Javier as practically a saint, this amazingly wonderful man who ran a nonprofit animal rescue to help stray dogs. I knew Lorenzo had adored him, and I’d wondered how I could possibly compete with his memory. But there’d been so much more to the story.
“I’m glad you told me about this,” I said. “It needed to be let out, since it must have been tearing you up inside.”
“It was, but now I feel like an asshole.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re going to think Javier was a terrible person. He shouldn’t just be remembered for cheating, not when he did so much good with his life.”
“But he shouldn’t be put on a pedestal, either. He betrayed your trust, and he never confessed or apologized.”
Lorenzo sighed. “I kept waiting fo
r a confession, especially at the end when he knew he was dying. I thought he’d want a clear conscience, but he never said a word about it.”
“Why did this so-called friend decide to tell you about the affair?”
“We had an argument. I don’t even remember what it was about, but he got angry, and that was how he chose to lash out at me. I didn’t believe him until he showed me the evidence on his phone.”
I muttered, “Damn. Way to go for the jugular.”
“No kidding.” He rolled onto his side, and after a pause, he told me, “I should let you go, since you probably have to be up early.”
Even though I didn’t want to seem needy, I found myself asking, “Will you please stay with me until I fall asleep?”
His smile was so sweet, and he said, “Of course.” I leaned the tablet against a pillow, and he talked to me quietly until I drifted off.
Chapter 7
The next morning, I discovered a cute, dark-haired guy of maybe twenty-five chatting with my assistant in the kitchen. Phoenix said, “Good morning, Will. This is Riley Palma, the friend I was telling you about.”
Riley seemed nervous as he stepped forward and shook my hand. After we exchanged greetings, he asked, “Are you sure it’s alright if I stay here? I won’t be offended if you change your mind.” He seemed a little rough around the edges with his tattoos, nose ring, and black-on-black jeans, T-shirt, and motorcycle boots. But there was an unmistakable sweetness to him, which made me like him instantly.
“Please stay. We have more than enough room.”
A smile softened his features and made him look even younger than my original estimate. “Thanks, I really appreciate it. I’ve never been in a house this nice before.”
We sat around the kitchen island drinking coffee and chatting for a few minutes as the cat patrolled the ground floor. Then Lorenzo sent me a text to say good morning, and I grinned and sent a reply. Riley grinned too and said, “That must be from your girlfriend, given the way your face just lit up.”
