Take Three

by Mia Masters

  He left and I sat back down in the chair. I guessed that that had gone about as well as I could have expected. He didn’t seem too hot to work with me again, but nor did he seem anxious to destroy my career, either.

  I had presented my strength to him and maybe some common sense that he took to heart. Jim was a bit of a monster, but maybe he wasn’t all monster. Maybe there was a kernel of good that he could revive and use to make amends for what he did. Who am I to judge?

  Peter came in and did my makeup. He gave me a sideways glance and asked if I was okay. I told him I was, and he seemed to relax. I guessed Jim was another one of Hollywood’s open secrets. I also guessed that I had really dodged a bullet.

  Finally, I got on the set. It was one that was dressed like a train accident.

  Everywhere on the ground, injured extras or just fake bloody bodies were lying around. The train cars were stacked up on various angles and there was smoke coming from different places near the accident. There was also a smoke machine off camera and a fan to blow smoke in front of us, to give the illusion of depth on the screen.

  Monk was made up to look gravely wounded. This would be his death scene, something the Academy might have looked at if this had been a higher quality movie. Still, it was a chance to really act.

  It’s a poor actor that turns down a chance to die on screen. Christian, as the corrupt FBI agent, and Zack, as my heist accomplice, were also dressed with some fake wounds.

  “And… action!” shouted Jim.

  I staggered through the train wreckage looking stunned. Then I ran into Christian.

  “Tyler?”

  “Are you okay, Jenny?” he asked.

  “Like you care! This is all your fault,” I insisted. “Oh, God. Barry!”

  I rushed to Monk’s side and lifted him up. He spit up some blood.

  “C’mon. You have to help me get him to a hospital!” I said to Tyler.

  Tyler folded his arms.

  “It’s too… late for me,” Monk gasped. “We never… should have done this. I’ll confess to everything. The heist was my idea.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” said Christian. “With you both dead, I’ll be free to take the money.”

  “Both of us?” I said, curiously.

  Christian drew his gun.

  “You didn’t really think I was going to let you live, did you, Jenny?” smiled Christian.

  Suddenly, a shot rang out. Blood started appearing on Christian’s shirt. He collapsed. In the background, an injured Zack lowered his gun. He staggered over.

  “C’mon!” he panted. “We have to get out of here.”

  “No! Not without Barry,” I insisted.

  “No, you go,” he insisted. “It’s over for me. Live your lives. Live with purpose and know… that I loved you…”

  Monk expired and I started to cry. Zack dragged me away as I got hysterical and dramatic.

  “No. Nooooo! Barry,” I cried.

  Zack dragged me off camera as the sirens sounded. The camera zoomed in on Monk and he exhaled and went limp. The camera swung up above the train and to the green screen. Ultimately, it would be replaced by a nighttime field of stars.

  “And… cut!” said Jim.

  Jim applauded and then the crew started to applaud, too. It was a really good take and we were all pleased with it. We did three or four more, but none were as good as that one. That one would make it into the movie, along with a few cutaways, which we also shot.

  When a movie finally wraps, there is a lot of hugging and congratulations for the cast. The bulk of the work was done. The majority of it was editing now, which would take many weeks. In the weeks that followed, we would come in to redo our dialogue, or parts of it, but otherwise, life would move on.

  There was a cast and crew party that night. I continued to avoid Jim, but he no longer seemed interested in me. At the party, he brought Melissa.

  Who knows? Maybe he was trying to be nicer to her.

  Mallory was here, and even though she wasn’t part of the filming, as my guest, she was welcome. Plus, she was always welcome anywhere she went in Hollywood, since lately she was the new “It” girl.

  She’d brought Naomi, who had returned from Sacramento and seemed like a genuinely nice person and someone I could also be friends with, after all. My worrying had been for nothing, which I guess was how it often went with worrying.

  We had been talking about parts for her, but I wasn’t even sure what my next move would be, so I was more on the look out for parts for me.

  However, I promised both Naomi and Mallory that if there were any opportunities that came up with whatever I was doing next, I would certainly put in a good word for Naomi.

  Everyone from the cast and crew came up and congratulated me during the party. Some couldn’t help but wish me well with the guys or ask what our status was.

  “Oh, we’ll see about that,” I told one co-worker. “Time will tell.”

  “So, do the guys get it on, too, or do they all just pleasure you?” asked another.

  When I didn’t answer, she blushed and said, “I mean, no judgement. I’m jealous, in all honesty. Because that would be hot, either way.”

  “It would be hot either way,” I agreed, thinking about some of my previous fantasies, with one of the guys going down on the other while he fucked me. “But I don’t kiss and tell.”

  “I understand,” she said, and hurried off, looking a little embarrassed.

  “These people have no shame, with their nosy questions,” Naomi said, shaking her head and making a slight tsk sound with her teeth.

  I really liked this girl and could see us hanging out more often.

  “I know, right?” I asked.

  “Yeah, and they don’t even seem to care who might be listening in.”

  She nodded towards the corner when she said that, and it was only then that I realized Monk had been standing nearby and had overheard the conversation.

  “Crap,” I said, under my breath. “How embarrassing.”

  “Oh, I’m sure it’s fine,” Naomi whispered to me. “Other than the fact that you were probably teasing him to death with all that talk of the guys joining in on the action, together.”

  “So,” Monk said, coming up to me and putting his arm around me.

  Naomi slinked off to go join Mallory at the bar – even though Mallory was only drinking water – and to give me some privacy, for which I was grateful.

  “I’ll get you a mai tai!” she shouted back at me as she went, and then I was double grateful.

  “You think it would be hot for us guys to get it on?” Monk continued.

  “Maybe,” I said, smiling seductively.

  “I never know that,” he remarked, looking suddenly serious.

  “Well, I guess I just know it probably couldn’t be a real possibility, so I didn’t ever say anything,” I admitted. “I just… you know… thought stuff.”

  “Is that so?” he asked, looking excited. “What kind of stuff?”

  “Well, I can’t exactly tell you here,” I said. “Plus, what good is it to tease ourselves when the other two would probably never join in, right? You’re the only one who’s bi.”

  “We’ll just see about that,” he said, and my panties got soaking wet.

  Could it really be that all of my fantasies could come true with my three lovers?

  I knew one thing for sure, and that was that if anyone could make it happen, it would be Monk.

  “Do you want to try our luck after this party?” he asked, nodding to where Christian and Zack stood by the bar. “I could see if they’re down for it.”

  “Oh, wow, that would be great,” I told him. “But I can’t. I already cleared out my trailer and I told my roommates I’d be home to celebrate with them. They have really missed me and are glad I’m done filming.”

  “Okay,” he said, shrugging. “But maybe soon. I’ll see what I can do.”

  “All right,” I told him, smiling at our little inside plan.

/>   After that, we joined the other two, along with Naomi and Mallory, and had a couple more drinks, said our goodbyes and wished everyone well.

  We probably wouldn’t see most of our fellow actors until the premiere, some months in the future.

  Except when it came to my guys and me, of course.

  I planned to continue to see them every single day, if I could.

  And hopefully I’d be seeing them in a new and exciting way.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Christian

  I was making one last round in my trailer, cleaning up last minute things I had left out and doing a final sweep to make sure I didn’t forget anything, when there was a knock at the door. It was rather late, so I thought it must be Blythe. My heart quickened and my dick hardened at the thought.

  “Come in,” I shouted. “It’s unlocked.”

  “You shouldn’t let just anyone waltz right in,” said a familiar, but male, voice, and I looked up to see Monk walking through the door.

  “Oh, hey, there,” I said, a little surprised. “What brings you round these parts?”

  “You mean the next trailer over from mine?” he asked and laughed. “I noticed the three of us were still around, but Blythe headed home after the party. I thought maybe we could talk. Do you mind if I text Zack and ask him to get his ass over here?”

  “Umm, sure, that’s fine,” I said, wondering what he wanted to talk about. “Do you want a beer?”

  “Yes,” he said, sounding grateful. “Now that filming’s over, I plan to get properly drunk.”

  “Sounds like a great idea to me,” I said, as I pulled open my refrigerator door and bemoaned the slim pickings of beer selection, considering that it was the last night I’d have the trailer and I hadn’t expected to drink much here.

  Settling on Pacifico, I took three of them out of the fridge and screwed the tops off while Monk texted Zack. Then I handed one to him. It wasn’t long until Zack was walking through my door, saying, “Yo, dudes, what’s up?” and I handed him one, too.

  “Cheers,” Monk said, holding his bottle of beer up for us to meet. “To the end of a successful movie shoot.”

  “Cheers,” Zack and I said, as the bottles clinked.

  “Now, I know you didn’t pull me out of my trailer just to celebrate the end of the movie, since we already spent all night doing that,” Zack said bluntly. “So, what’s up?”

  Monk looked at us thoughtfully, as if second guessing wanting to talk to us about whatever it was that he had initially wanted to talk to us about at all. But then he shrugged, as if telling himself to get to the point, and he did.

  “I am really, seriously into Blythe,” he announced, with a small smirk as if to say he couldn’t help himself.

  “Fuck no,” Zack groaned. “Not this again. We already agreed we should share her.”

  “Yeah,” I said, mildly offended. “You came over here to try to start up this competition again? You want her all to yourself?”

  “No, no, it’s nothing like that,” Monk said, shaking his head pretty vehemently. “In fact, it’s just the opposite. You guys didn’t let me finish. What I was trying to say is that I’m really into her, and I can tell you guys are, too. And not just for the random hook up or causal date. But really, really into her.”

  “Yeah,” I said, nodding. “I mean, for sure. I really am.”

  “When we were at the after party, someone asked her how serious we were and she did a good job of handling it but I feel as if we should make it really clear that we’re all in, so that the whole world knows,” he continued.

  “Agreed,” I said, and so did Zack.

  “So, this is something we’re going to have to plan strategically,” Monk said. “I don’t want her to have any more doubts about any of this. I think we should let her know we’re serious.”

  “Okay,” I said, shrugging. “But how?”

  “I just wanted to initiate the conversation,” he divulged, “and give us something to start thinking about. I’m sure if we put our heads together, we can come up with a way to let her know how special she is to us.”

  “Sure,” Zack agreed. “I’m down. I understand what you’re saying about wanting to make it serious and real. It’s been really hard on her, with the press breathing down her back, and the whole thing with her brothers coming to down to let her know her grandfather doesn’t approve.”

  “Yeah,” I added, grateful that Monk had brought this up.

  Now that I thought about it more, he had great points. It wasn’t fair that Blythe had been labeled the slut when we were all equally involved in this relationship. We should protect her reputation and let everyone know that this was for real.

  “There’s one other thing,” Monk added, and it looked as if he wasn’t sure he should say it but was going to anyway.

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “Someone also asked Blythe at the after party if the three of us… you know, hook up together, too, or if it’s just her that hooks up with all three of us,” he said. “She indicated that she’d, be, well… interested in that arrangement.”

  “Woah,” Zack said, steadying himself by putting a hand behind him on the counter in my trailer’s small kitchen area. “That is just really far-out-there crazy.”

  “Yeah,” I agreed, shaking my head. “No offense, Monk; I know you’re bi, but Zack and I are as straight as they come.”

  “That’s what you say,” Monk said, looking at me. “But your actions speak differently.”

  “What does that mean?” Zack explodes.

  He is obviously feeling very defensive, but I’m trying to be open-minded. To be honest, I couldn’t say the thought hadn’t crossed my mind, but I had assumed it was just a matter of practical logistics.

  How could I be that close to other mens’ body parts, while we’re in the throes of passion with the same woman, all doing things to her together, and not at least wonder what it would be like to do something with them, too?

  “Well, not every guy would agree to share a woman, especially not all together,” Monk said. “I think there was some kind of chemistry between us that allowed that to even be possible.”

  “Oh, come on,” Zack protested. “We’ve been through this. She wanted to be with all of us and we reluctantly said okay when it came to sharing her. For her benefit. For her pleasure. Not because we wanted to get it on with each other!”

  “That’s funny, because I’ve seen you both looking at me, and at each other, during sex,” Monk said, in his typical blunt style. “And your eyes told a different story. So, I am not really believing your denials that much.”

  “Can you believe this guy?” Zack asked me, pointing at Monk. “He really thinks we’re into him just because we wanted to share Blythe when the only choices were share her or lose her? That makes me really mad.”

  “Let’s not fight,” I said. “Come on. We had a great time celebrating the end of our movie. We did a fantastic job on it. We’re happy in our relationship with Blythe.”

  “And in our relationship together,” Monk said. “All of us in are in the same relationship with her.”

  “Yes,” I admitted. “That’s true.”

  “So, you see my point, right?” he asked.

  “I mean, just because we’re all in this situation with Blythe doesn’t necessarily mean we have to be in a relationship with each other, too,” I said.

  “That’s damn right,” Zack interjected.

  “But maybe our lives could be even further enriched if we were?” Monk proposed. “There could be something we’re missing out on by acting as if it’s only about Blythe. When really, it’s about all of us. We each have a connection with the other.”

  “That’s some very Zen-like stuff, as usual,” I tell Monk, “but how would it work out in practice, not just in theory?”

  “Oh, my God,” Zack said. “Don’t tell me you’re becoming a softie, Christian. Don’t give into his ridiculous ideas.”

  “Look, maybe he has
a point,” I told him, shrugging. “We all want to be in this with Blythe for the long haul. So maybe we should take all of her desires into consideration. And all of our own?”

  I gulped as I said it. I was known for speaking my mind – I was never one to be passive or wimpy – but that was still hard to get out. It was the first time I had ever mentioned any kind of attraction for another guy out loud. Hell, it was the first time I had ever really felt it. And I hadn’t even known just how much I felt it until Monk had brought it up.

  “There you go,” Monk said, looking pleased. “I knew you would see reason.”

  “I don’t know how reasonable it is,” I admitted. “I’m mostly just trying to follow my heart.”

  “Being open-minded is very reasonable,” Monk insisted. “And what about you, Zack? Can you open your mind and follow your heart? For Blythe’s sake? For ours? For your own?”

  “I don’t know,” Zack said, with a slight shrug.

  It was further than we’d been able to get him in this conversation, so I took it as a win. I knew that if he had some time to think about it, he’d see the light.

  “Okay, no worries, it’s up to you,” I told him, with a nod to Monk as if to tell him we shouldn’t pressure him any further right now.

  “Yeah, it definitely is,” Monk agreed, clearly understanding what I had meant. “Think about it. And let us know.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Blythe

  I knew I was dating three rich actors, but it didn’t completely hit home until they told me to meet them at the airport, and that they’d be waiting for me outside a private jet.

  “Woah,” I said, as soon as I walked up to them. “What’s all this for?”

  I gestured to the luxurious vehicle that was apparently waiting to literally sweep me off the ground and up into the clouds.

  “This is for you,” Monk answered. “Because we love you.”

  “And we want you to show us a great time,” Christian said.

  “Okay…?” I said, feeling confused.

  But before long, we were touching down in Montana and they were asking me to show them the places I had talked about growing up. Of course, I couldn’t do so without my brothers, so we brought them along. Even my parents came, despite their initial misgivings due to the untraditional nature of our relationship.