Double Take: A Leading Man Romance (8 page)

This morning, I saw him catch a glimpse of me holding Rob’s hand, and though we parted quickly, I made an effort to talk to him and see what his observations were.

He was cagey. It was weird. And he disappeared for a while into his trailer. I’m almost self-conscious about the whole thing, but when I have those moments during the day, I turn my attention to Rob in his zone, remember his lips on mine, and the feeling dissipates.

I have the right to be selfish once every so often. I can’t be worried about the fragile egos of porn stars.

During lunch, I’m back to watching the camera, but this time Rob joins me. He has a plate with him, sandwich on it, and hands it off. “No more passing out,” he says.

I can’t help but smile from my place sitting on the bed. “No more.” I take the plate from him and take a bite. Two meals in a day,
and
a boyfriend? I’m on a roll. “Thank you.”

He reaches forward to brush some mustard from the corner of my mouth, and he sucks it from his thumb. “I want you to know that you’re doing a great job, kid.”

“Inside the bedroom or out?” My eyes are lit with amusement.

“Both.” He glances outside of the room to make sure no one is there, then dips his head in and catches my lips with his in a quick kiss. “God, I wish I could fuck you right now.”

I set the paper plate on the bed, worried I’ll drop it. Rob tends to make me weak at all turns. “You could, if you wanted.”

Delight dances in his eyes for a few moments, but he refuses with another quick kiss. “I’ve got some asses to crawl up and angles to set. Later?”

I nod. “Good enough.”

“I don’t know how long I’ll be stuck here tonight, but I’ll come over when I can.”

“Take your time.”

Rob has a process, and his devotion to this film is admirable. The last thing I’m going to do is keep him from it, even if my body wants him now completely. He’s made me voracious. I’ve never been like this before.

He squeezes my shoulder briefly before he backs up towards the door. “Eat that sandwich,” he says, and he turns to leave.

I pick back up the plate and nibble as I wait for the rest of the crew to return from lunch and relieve me of my camera-watching duty. But suddenly, the job doesn’t seem quite so bad.

It’s the second time we’re trying to film the sex scene. Production had been halted completely yesterday. It was the first time I’d ever seen Rob leave set early, taking Kylie home. We have a lot to catch up on.

It’s almost a complete repeat of yesterday, except now, Rob and Kylie are exchanging glances. Instead of being drunk, Melanie is hungover.

At least it seems to be taking care of some of her nerves. She doesn’t give a shit about being mostly naked in front of a crew anymore; her robe is hanging partially open, and her tits are fairly visible. She’s wearing the pasties again, but one of them is off center and her areola is in partial view.

No one cares.

They’re too busy setting up the camera, or brushing up on our hair and makeup. I try to keep my attention away from the new happy couple.

There are crumbs on the bed. I task myself with brushing them away.

It plays out a lot like yesterday, just in slow motion. Melanie takes off her robe, I take off mine. I rise. The crew gets the camera rolling, sound rolling, and Rob calls action.

Today, however, Melanie has lost some of that sexy spark she had yesterday. She was toying with me before. She was playful and slurred. Now, she looks like she’d rather be anywhere but here. She looks sick.

I kiss her, and all I taste is toothpaste and mouthwash. She’s trying too hard to cover the taste of stale alcohol from her breath. I want to tell her that it’s okay, we’ve all been there, but I don’t. I pull back to look at her, and her eyes are red and hazy.

And suddenly, Rob calls for the camera to cut. I glance back at him as the wardrobe mistress hands back our robes. He looks bewildered. “Melanie. Honey. What’s going on with you?”

Melanie sniffs once and digs her palm into her eye, smudging some of her eyeliner. “I’m sorry, I’m just…”

“You’re out of it. I see that. Can you rally for me? What do you need? Coffee? Tea? Hair of the dog?”

She looks apologetic. “No, I just… I don’t know, I guess I’m not feeling sexy right now.”

Rob pauses, nostrils flaring. I can see the thought going through his head now.
Why didn’t you say this before I dragged in the whole fucking crew?

He’s looking at her for a long moment before he finally gives a little motion. “Come here for a second.” She obeys, following Rob behind the camera to look at the video display. Rob gives Kylie a small tap on the shoulder. “Go into frame for me, kid.”

It’s Kylie’s turn to look surprised. “What?”

I don’t like where this is going.

Rob insists, “Just get into frame, on the bed. I want to show Melanie the placement we did the other day.”

I’m practically fuming as Kylie goes, climbing high onto the bed. She lies on her back, her legs partially spread, pushed up onto her elbows, as Rob motions to the monitor. “See that? How she’s got that body language? That’s enough. Just body language. At least give me that. Here… Brett, go through the blocking.”

I pause. Did he just ask me to climb on top of Kylie? Kylie doesn’t look thrilled by the prospect, but gives me a look with raised eyebrows.
Just do it
. I take in a slow breath and obey, slowly crawling onto the bed over her. I can’t see Rob and Melanie from this angle, so I wonder how intently they’re actually watching.

I settle between Kylie’s legs, looking down at her, and murmur, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to kiss you.”

She snorts a small laugh, responding, “Good, because this is weird enough.”

I stay here, frozen between her legs, thinking about anything else that I can, but my body responds anyway. I feel a slight wave of arousal that threatens to stiffen my cock, and it’s all from the depth of Kylie’s eyes. We’re looking at each other,
really
looking, and it’s the most intimate I’ve gotten with a woman in a long time.

Kylie seems to feel it, too. I see a slight flush across her cheeks, I see her breath pick up. My hair is mercifully falling so it blocks my face from the rest of the crew. It would have been so obvious what I was thinking and feeling otherwise. I am beyond aroused, but it’s so much more than physical.

I’m coping with this new feeling when I hear Rob’s voice calling out, “Brett! That’s good, you can get up.”

I do. I climb back and pull my robe in tighter, just in case my reaction
has been obvious. Kylie pushes up from the bed, too, crawling off, and Melanie takes her place, resuming the position Kylie was in. Yes, it does open Melanie up. It makes her look more appealing.

It reminds me so much of Kylie.

I watch as Kylie takes her place next to Rob, and he leans in to murmur something to her. A smile grows on her lips, and he looks pleased by it. I don’t realize my jaw is set until Keith clears his throat and gives me a pointed look.
Danger, Will Robinson, danger.

Yes, this whole thing is dangerous. Rob and Kylie on one side, and me on the other side of the wall, stuck wanting what I don’t have. I had a sample of what it was like, small as it was, and all it’s done has made me ravenous for more.

I remind myself to be professional and turn my attention back to Melanie, my reluctant scene partner. She seems to have some of her wits about her, and as Rob orders the camera to reset, she says, “Thank you for getting me home safely last night.”

I’m standing at the foot of the bed, but I lean in a little. “Don’t thank me for that. I just did what anyone else would.”

“Not anyone else. Very few people would do that.”

I shrug. It’s true, but I don’t need to lecture her on things she already knows. “We all need a little help every now and then.”

Once more, Rob’s voice punctuates the room. “Are we ready?”

I look back behind me, and Kylie is back to looking at Rob again, practically drooling over him. I don’t want to focus on this anymore. “Yeah.”

When
action
is called this time, I put all of my remaining energy into the scene, channeling my desire for Kylie into desire for Melanie. It seems to work. We finish the scene in three takes. Just like that, the nightmare is over. Kylie is back to menial tasks on set, and I’m back to avoidance. It seems to be the only way to cope.

It’s late. I’ve stuck around on set for longer than was needed, but it’s mainly because I’m hoping Rob will finish and we can leave together. Part of me is secretly worried that this was all some one-night-stand dream and he’ll forget about me the second I’ve left.

He’s pouring over the dailies in the living room when I find him, and I sit next to him, my head resting on his shoulder. “Did everyone else go home?”

“Mmhm.” He kisses the top of my head in acknowledgement, even though his eyes don’t leave the screen.

I catch a glimpse of skin, hear a soft moan, and avert my eyes out of near respect. I’ve already watched Brett get off before on tape, I don’t need to do it again, faked for an audience.

“I think it’s coming together,” Rob mutters, but it doesn’t seem to be directed towards anyone in particular.

He’s not wrong. I was surprised by how well the scene went today. The way it was filmed seemed tasteful. I should have trusted Rob from the beginning. He knows what he’s doing. He knows himself as a filmmaker. He’s one of the best in the industry, and this proves why.

I don’t want to interrupt his process, so I remain relatively silent, only answering with a, “Yeah,” and a small kiss to his shoulder.

He pauses the dailies and gives me a look, his attention on me for the first time since I got here. “You can go home if you want.”

I bring my head up and look at him, eyebrows knitting slightly. “I don’t mind. Unless you want me to go.”

Rob’s expression softens at that, and he leans in to lay a kiss to my lips, soft and sweet. “You don’t need to. I’m happy to have you here.” I’m relieved, until he adds, “Just maybe give me a few to review this on my own.”

I don’t blame him. He’s in his process now. I’m on my feet before his apologetic look can turn into an apology. “Say no more. I’ll be… somewhere.” I jut my thumb over my shoulder as though showing off where I’ll be, though it’s a general movement.

“Thanks, kid.”

I smirk at him, amused. “We’re sleeping together now. You can call me Kylie.”

His smile turns somewhat fond, and he nods. “Kylie.”

It’s the first time I’ve heard Rob say my name, and it sounds so beautiful coming from him that I’m shocked at how much I love it. I want to thank my parents for the name just because Rob utters it so perfectly. I respond pathetically with two thumbs up and back out of the room, wondering what I did in a past life to deserve a man with such ingenuity.

As I leave the room and leave Rob to his methodology, I realize I’m living my life’s dream at the early age of twenty-three. Grateful doesn’t even cover it. I have reached nirvana.

Rob finds me outside the house about fifteen minutes later, and he slips his hand into mine as though it’s one of the most normal things he’s done. I squeeze his hand in response and he leads me to his car. “Am I coming home with you?”

I try to appear casual as I climb into the car. “If you want to.” I pause as he closes the door behind me, gets around the car and into the driver’s seat. As he buckles his seatbelt, I add, “I’d love to have you there.”

He’s got a push-button start, and he gets the car into motion, heading out of the driveway of the house, heading towards mine. It’s like he’s driven it dozens of times before instead of one. “How convenient. I’d love to
be
there.”

I’m trying to muffle my excitement when he reaches over to lay his hand over my thigh, and it’s all I can do not to beg him to pull over and have his way with me then and there. Instead, I angle the air vents towards me, like I’m taking a cold shower.

“You’re incredible,” he says under his breath.

I respond pathetically, “I’ve felt the same way for a long time.”

We’re barely through my front door when Rob’s lips find mine. I’m in desperate need as he backs me into the door and tears my hair-tie out. My hair falls, hitting my shoulders, and he cups the back of my head to keep me against him as he tastes me.

He has a condom in his teeth before I realize that he’s reached for it, and I pull my shirt from me quickly, my famished eyes on his. He unbuttons and yanks down my jeans, follows suit by dropping his own, and hoists my leg up over his hip. He pulls the condom over his cock and stoops down to guide himself inside of me. With one firm thrust, he’s inside of me.

It isn’t like before, when he measured each breath and took his time. This time, he is giving way to baser needs, thrusting into me with abandon, my back slamming against the door with each rock of his hips.

I cling to him, my arms around his shoulders, bunching up his shirt, and I bury my face into his neck. My cries of pleasure are muffled there, lost against his skin, and he reaches to clutch my thigh, keeping it poised over him.

It’s hurried and torrid and it doesn’t take him long before he growls and comes hard, jerking into me unevenly. I feel his cock throbbing with his release and it makes me weak. My legs are trembling as his breath heaves and he finally pulls out of me carefully. He hugs me around my waist, holding me up, and peppers kisses up my neck to my jaw. He ends on my lips, lingering, where he murmurs, “Sex with you is incredible.”

I’m suddenly vulnerable and I cling to him tighter, replying with a request. “Stay.”

The sun hasn’t come up yet when I wake up. It’s hot under the covers, even though the ceiling fan is on at full blast. I hook one of my legs over the top of the duvet and shift from my back to my side to let more of the cool air hit me.

Rob is still sleeping.

However handsome he is when he’s awake, he’s even more so when he’s asleep. There’s something about him that I’m able to appreciate when he’s not in motion. In life, he’s like a photograph that gets blurred because the subject was moving around too much. In sleep, he’s a freaking painting.