Dedicated to dinoslifeforme because all of the suddden I have a bunch of comments on my chapters which mean you're reading quickly and I'm hoping it's because you enjoy it :) Thanks for reading and commenting!!
Chapter 16
I had an idea of how I should deal with things today, but unfortunately my morning had not been going according to plan.
I’d hadn’t been able to sleep well last night because every time I closed my eyes I saw Holly with rosy cheeks and subtly swollen lips, a hint of something in her eyes that I'd never seen there before. That kiss had been intense and sexy.
It had all started out innocent enough, with me asking her to help so I could be sure I had my lines down one day. But then we did a scene where I pushed her hair out of her face the next day and with that I only wanted to touch her more. From then on we’d been running lines nearly every day and she’d put up with some of the slightly physical scenes, though nothing too drastic; just holding her hand or a quick embrace.
With each scene I felt myself grow more attracted to her and my need to kiss her became all consuming. I knew it was wrong and she was just doing her job, but still I continued to ask her to help me, feeding her some rubbish about getting the flow down before shooting started. I knew my lines completely by then, but I couldn’t help but take advantage of the opportunity to touch her. I felt like complete scum for taking advantage, but I hadn't slept with anyone in months and I couldn’t stop wanting her to fill that void.
I knew that day in my trailer that I would be crossing a line. I was sure that she wouldn’t kiss me back, might even slap me, but I had to try something. She was wearing black tights and a long tightly fitted navy blue shirt that stopped just below her ass, which it clung to of course. She had on black ballet flats and her hair was curled and flowing around her face and down just past her chest. She looked beautiful and with Paul out of the picture and us getting closer, I thought maybe something could happen between us... though I didn't know what. I didn't really do the girlfriend thing, but we were friends so a little friends with benefits scenario seemed extremely appealing.
She had agreed to do the scenes without even looking and since she handled the first with ease I thought it was time to work in a kissing scene. She wiped away the tears that came easily when I was in character and in turn I used my thumb to remove the small tear from her cheek. I wasn’t sure if she was reacting to the scene or if she was acting as well. Truth be told that when we practiced I wondered why she wasn’t an actor too. She was pretty believable and part of me hoped it was really just because she felt something for me too.
When we started the next scene she turned her back as the script had told her to and I was silently screaming with excitement as I pulled her hair out of the way and kissed her neck. She smelled sweet and delicious and I couldn’t help but put my hands on her hips and pull myself closer. The moment was coming and the anticipation was simultaneously turning me on and terrifying me. And nothing ever terrrified me.
When she whipped around and pushed me back I worried she was going to stop me, but she continued with her lines so I did too. The look in her eyes was pure shock as my lips made their way to hers, but she gave in and kissed me back. It was meant to be a passionate kiss per the script, but I knew that it was still supposed to be a short one. That didn’t stop me from sliding my tongue in her mouth or pulling her tight against me. When her arms went around my neck I started to believe she wasn’t acting anymore.
I didn’t want it to end; she had me so turned on that all I could think about was what I wanted to do to her in that moment. I forgot that I was supposed to be on set already and that she was my assistant and now also my friend and that this could ruin everything. Instead I remembered how cute she looked eating breakfast in my kitchen, hyper from all of the coffee she drank, how hard she worked to make my life easier, even when it wasn’t necessary, how sexy she looked now that she was wearing normal clothes, and how much I wanted to take her right there in my trailer.
When I finally reached my hand down to grab that perfect round ass, Tony knocked and walked into the trailer. She pushed away from me fast and left me yearning for her and angry at Tony, but I think I hid it pretty well.
That image though, of how she looked after our hot make out session, was still engrained in my mind and it was keeping me awake with a hard on. I refused to relieve the tension. If I was gonna get off to Holly Preston, she was damn well going to be there for it. I tossed around in my bed, throwing off the covers and struggling to remove the image of her swollen lips from my mind.
That's when I realized that stranger than her kissing me back, was her attitude afterwards. I was on set for almost two hours before Holly showed up. It was common for her to be out running errands while I was working and I was glad she wasn’t there because for some reason I didn’t want her to see me doing that very same scene with my co-star.
As luck would have it, she did anyway. I didn’t notice her until the director said we were good with that part and moving on to another, but there was something about the way she was looking at me that had me worried she had been there for a while.
When I went up to her I expected some sort of reaction to either the scene I had with her in my trailer or the similar one she witnessed me act out on camera, but she continued about as if it were just another day for us, as if our lips and tongues hadn’t explored each other. I thought maybe she wanted to wait until we were alone, but it was hours before the day was over and we were finally headed home. Even then, she was her usual self, discussing how much longer we had to film, talking about having Lola tuned up by the mechanic that she uses for her motorcycle, and joking about seeing Sammie’s ridiculous revealing outfit when she and Tony turned up.
I couldn’t help but wonder if she had really been just acting when she kissed me. Was I reading too much into that kiss? I knew I should be happy that she wasn’t angry or quitting or suing me for sexual harassment, but her indifference to it bothered and puzzled me. I'd been with my share of women but I had always maintained not to get involved with someone I worked closely with. The one time I cross that line the girl doesn't even seem phased by it, let alone interested. My ego was taking quite the hit.
When we got home, she said she was exhausted and she’d see me in the morning. Hours later I still couldn’t sleep and it was already nearly two a.m..
In the end I got a couple hours of restless shut-eye before waking again and deciding to just stay up and work out. I used my muscles to push as hard as I could and release all the tension and worry running through me. The time flew by and before I was truly relaxed I looked at the clock and knew I had to hurry and take a quick shower before Holly came in at six as per usual; As it turned out, the rush was pointless.
That is how at 5:30 a.m. –wearing nothing but a towel around my waist, with water still dripping from my hair and down my body- I literally ran into Holly in my dining room.
I hoped she’d still be out getting coffee, but apparently she was up earlier than usual. My arms were around her waist to keep her on her feet and she grabbed onto my shoulders for the same reason. It was still dark out and the light from the kitchen was shining into the dining room, illuminating her face. She looked tired, like she hadn’t slept either and I could see her cheeks grow visibly redder the longer we held onto each other while something in her deep blue eyes reminded me of the day before. I wondered if she was replaying the kiss because I was.
I saw her swallow and the look was gone, replaced by a big, but forced smile.
“Thanks for knocking me over and getting me all wet,” she pulled away, “Now tell me, why are you not clothed yet?”
She lifted her coffee from the table, sipping it as she awaited my reply. I had to push away the dirty thoughts about her telling me that I'd gotten her wet to answer.
“It’s only 5:30, Holls, you’re early.” I pointed at the big clock over the doorway.
She nodded and sat at the table. “I didn’t realize. Hurry up and get dressed, we have a long day and I’m starving. I seriously hope that there’s bacon on today’s menu, I need protein.”
She was looking through her planner with a nonchalant demeanor as she spoke and I wondered if she realized that everything she said could be taken sexually. I really needed to get my head out of the gutter and away from the the thought of the protein I could provide her with. What was wrong with me? I was acting like a hormone ridden, sex obsessed teenage boy.
I rushed into my room to get dressed for the day and headed back into the kitchen to make bacon and eggs, deciding that if she was going to ignore the kiss, I would let it go as well.
As a matter of fact, I needed to relieve some of the leftover tension and I knew just who to call. I smiled at the thought as I cooked.
There were only a couple more days left on the set before we would be all wrapped up with Long Winter. Once they were done, I'd have plenty of time to take a beautiful woman out on the town. All the work I'd been doing, filming and with Holly, even just hanging out with Holly, had me so preoccupied that I hadn't realized I hadn't been out with anyone lately.
Time to change that, I though, with a big grin on my face.
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Thankfully, the filming on Long Winter was finally done and I wouldn't have to spend anymore time in that trailer with James.
The Emmy Awards were in full swing and I was excited to see how James' show, Satan's Soldiers, would do. Apparantly the previous year they had been somewhat snubbed, but this year there were quite a few nominations. I stayed home because I felt it was no place for an assistant and he really wouldn’t need me, and even more importantly, I just wanted some space. Ever since the kiss I found myself day dreaming about his lips on mine and the feel of his scruffy face against my neck, not to mention his strong arms wrapped around my waist. When I ran into him the morning after our kiss and realized I’d managed to put myself back in his arms and without him in any clothes I nearly had a heart attack. He looked so hot, but I knew that I had to act like it never happened.
I can’t say a part of me wasn’t disappointed that he did the same, but it was for the best. In only a matter of days we were back to normal, aside from my internal fantasies. All in all, things were on track. It was just lust and I maintained the confidence that it would go away. Unfortunately, my resolve on that issue began wavering when he knocked on the guest house door requesting help with his tie and asking if I thought he looked presentable.
I hadn't seen him all day and to my surprise, at some point in the previous hours he had chopped off that long sexy hair, cropping it short and shaved of his scruffy goatee revealing a now soft and smooth face. He looked amazing, but I tried to keep myself calm. We were dangerously close as I tied his skinny black tie and told him that he looked dashing in his suit and that I approved of the new hair cut. When I finally stopped avoiding his eyes, I saw that they were sparkling more than ever as he smiled down at me. It didn't help that I could smell his minty breathe as it caressed my cheek. It was all I could do to not kiss him again, so I pulled away and reminded him that the Emmy's would go on without him if he didn't leave soon.
Aside from his attractive new look, another reason I didn't go was because I didn't want to intrude on his date with a very beautiful super model. When he told me who he'd be going with I shamelessly googled her. She looked like all of the other women I remembered seeing him with in magazines before I was hired; flawlessly beautiful and statuesque in her gown and even from my point of view watching the television during the preshow, on the red carpet, the two of them looked like the ideal Hollywood couple.
She was nothing like me and my short frame. She was graceful and elegant, two things I never felt I could pull off, with long wavy sandy blonde hair. It didn't matter though, there was no reason to compare myself to her, it wasn't as if I was going up against her for James' affection. James and I were just friends and coworkers whereas she could very well end up as much more.
It was strange seeing him with a woman, not because it bothered me or because I was jealous, but because over the last four months I had never witnessed it except when he was filming a scene -though I rarely watched and never felt like it counted. We weren't together every second of every day and I tried to avoid tabloids if I could though, so maybe he was dating and I had been oblivious.
Despite him having a date, I was still required to meet them at the house afterwards so I could join them to one of the after parties because if his show did well at the Emmy's, there would be a lot of business talk and I'd need to schedule the necessary appointments and interviews for the coming weeks.
There was a live stream of the Emmy's on television so I sat in the living room of the guest house watching intently as actors, acresses, writers, and director of Satan's Soldiers- including James- won several awards. I was in my pj’s beaming at the television like a crazy person, happy for him and- from the grin that never left his face- I could tell he was feeling pretty great too.
Once the awards were over I started getting dressed. I knew he’d be busy for a while doing interviews and taking photos so I wasn’t in a hurry.
An hour and a half later he arrived with Alessandra the supermodel latched firmly to his strong arm. I nearly knocked her over as I ran and hugged him, forgetting about the kiss for once and just being his assistant and friend. He chuckled at my display, but hugged me back.
"Thanks for the enthusiasm Holls," I could hear the smile in his voice.
He finally pulled away, "This is Alessandra, we met a couple years ago at a mutual friend's birthday party. Alessandra, this is Holly, my friend and assistant. She basically makes my life managable so I can get places on time and not go crazy."
I shook her delicate hand and noted her warm smile. After some polite conversation, we headed out. On the car ride I was surprised to find that she was incredibly sweet. It was a little hard to understand her through her thick accent, but I didn't mind because of how comfortable she was with me as James' assistant. I had been worried she'd be jealous that her date was bringing his female assistant along, but I suppose she understood the way the parties went and that she had absolutely nothing to worry about with me.
The two of them sat next to each other and aside from her hand on his thigh, they really didn't act like a couple, for which I was grateful. It would have been awkward to feel even more like a third wheel.
It felt like things really were back on track. As we arrived they went one way so they could celebrate and I begrudgingly said good bye to James and went another so that I could find Tony, discuss some important details, and get to work.
If I had known what would happen at the party I would have stayed in the guest house in my pj's and feigned illness instead.