Ethan"Get up." Deza's voice wasn't nearly as annoying as her smacking me on the back of the head over and over."Fuck," I groaned and rolled over, cupping my hand over my face as she pulled open the curtains to let the sun in. "Get out.""No. You get up. You and I are having a come to Jesus meeting. Now!" She pulled hard on my feet, surprising me with her strength. She half pulled me off the bed. "Get the fuck up.""Don't curse in front of Jesus, D. It's rude." I rolled over and fell off the bed, hitting the floor hard. "I think I drank too much.""I'd say that's true." She stepped on the back of my head with her heel, pushing a little. "I'm so fucking pissed at you right now. I swear there are very few times in our lives together that I've wanted to kill you, but now is one of them. Get up!""All right. Shit." I swatted her foot off of me, ready to throw her down and choke her out if she didn't let up a little. I'd been pulled from a deep sleep into a full-on bitch session mixed wit
RileyI rolled over in my bed, and ignored the soft knock at the door."Riley... you okay? I thought I heard you crying last night," she whispered roughly as if trying to not wake me if I was still asleep.I lay still and held my breath, making sure to keep my eyes closed. Tears welled up in my eyes again, and it had nothing to do with not being good enough for Ethan and everything to do with the embarrassment of rejection. I was a silly girl who thought that just because the universe opened its hand and offered me one dream that I might get access to another.I wanted James Bond. Steve Sumner. Philip Jessing. All the men Ethan had made us believe he was. What I didn't want was to stare the real man in the face and know that he could see right through me. That he could almost smell my arousal each and every time we got close. My stomach turned at the thought.The door closed and I turned onto my other side, letting out a soft cry in the wet cotton below me. I wanted to run from all of
RileyI drove to the studio in silence, trying to decide if my dreams of being someone important were great enough to overcome the truth that I wasn't important at all. I didn’t know if I could handle that truth, much less have it shoved in my face for the next year. After parking and sitting in the lot for a few minutes, I gathered my courage and opened the door, pulling my jacket from the backseat and wrapping it around myself. My long gray skirt danced around my legs, whipping me around as if I weighed nothing."Slip into character. You're a young film student with a handsome boyfriend who loves you like you can't imagine a man loving a woman. Your dreams are finally coming true, and you've been offered the starring role in the biggest movie of the year. You're not passing this up. Just hold your head high and make them believe that you're okay. That you're strong. Sexy. Sassy as fuck." I forced myself into the part though tears burned my gaze.Deza moved up beside me and smiled.
EthanIt had been a little over a week since Riley signed the papers to join me in Down Low, and yet the excitement in me hadn't even had a chance to surface yet. A dark depression over all the shit we'd put each other through during the process tainted my resolve to be my normal happy-go-lucky self, but Deza had been working laborious hours to pull me from my funk."Stop dilly-dallying and get that streamer up. I swear you're as useless as a vibrator without batteries." She glanced back at me as she tossed her long black hair over her shoulder."I'm so much better than a vibrator. You know they say girth is far more of a stimulant than any jerking motion could ever be." I shrugged and tossed the packet of streamers to her, hitting her in the butt with them. "Score.""Watch it.""I am, and I sure do love what I see. You've been working out, haven't you?" I slipped my hands into my slacks and moved to the floor-to-ceiling window as I scanned the parking lot.“You know, I’ve always want
EthanI lifted my leg and shook it like a dog might. "That feels good. Scratch my belly and move lower?""Gross." She popped me and sat back. "Spill, Ethan. I know you've been struggling with something since she signed the papers. What happened?""I already told you, D. Shit. The story doesn't change. She came over for a conversation, I did as you asked and played gentleman. It sucked to not let her see the real me, but obviously they prefer the mask." I put another balloon to my lips, blowing hard."I don't believe you." She reached out and gripped the balloon, pulling it hard. My hard work deflated before me, and I picked up another and pulled it tight between my fingers before releasing it and laughing as she squealed."Look, she wanted something to happen between us, and I sure as fuck did too." I shrugged. "But, you were right. I need to respect her as my co-worker and not give in to the animalistic urge I have to see how far I can press my-""Okay." Deza stood up and lifted her
Riley"Excuse me! Excuse me! Waitress!" The older lady that stood, yelling at me from the back of the restaurant, had been giving me hell since the moment she sat down at my table.I cleared my throat and apologized to the guy who was trying to order at one of my other tables."I'll be right back. Sorry about this." I gave him a sweet smile that I didn’t feel and walked back toward her in time to watch her drop down into her chair with a loud huff. "I'm sorry, ma'am. What can I help you with?""Firstly, you can take this steak back to the kitchen. I said medium rare and this is not medium rare at all." She poked at the steak on her plate and glanced back up at me. "What did you write down? Medium well?""No, ma'am. I wrote down medium rare. I'm happy to-""Let me see your tablet." She extended her hand and watched me with complete disdain. It had been that day already, so having the wicked witch of the west seated in my section was no big surprise. The fact that I had exactly thirty m
RileyHow ready I was for a different life. I wasn't sure the life that Ethan lived was necessarily the one I was after, but one where I didn't have to search for change in the bottom of my car for gas or a loaf of bread at the store would be righteous. To have people pawing at me and worshiping the ground I walked on sounded horrid, but I would take that any day for a paycheck capable of pulling me out of poverty.Charlotte's phone sent me to voice-mail, and I growled loudly and called Jace instead. He answered on the first ring."Hey, baby girl. What's up? Need me?" The laughter in the background told me quickly that he wasn't alone."I'm stuck on the side of the road off Vance and Timmons. Can you come give me a ride or are you too busy?" I kept my tone light. Jace was a good guy with a healthy lust for women – all women. He didn't deserve my shit, and after us being friends with benefits since our senior year in high school, he didn't much put up with it either."I'm good. Just le
Ethan"Oh, you look much better." Deza stopped in front of me as I walked into the auditorium where the press was buzzing about in droves."So I looked like shit before?" I glanced around and groaned as several of them headed my way. "I fucking hate these things.""Smile and be nice." She patted my chest like someone would a pet."And what's in it for me if I do?" I gave her a cheeky grin as she rolled her eyes and moved away from me."Mr. Lewis. Do you have time for a question?" The reporter shoved his microphone in my face and bumped it against my lips. "Sorry about that."I hid my disdain and brushed my fingers over my mouth before smiling. "Of course. Make it quick though. I have no favorites and you're sure making it look like I do. Someone might run a story on me being in bed with your station if we're not careful."The guy laughed. "No, really, I just wanted to ask how you guys decided to go with a nobody for this role. America is amazed at your generosity and such, but this gi