by Blythe Stone
“You look hot,” Iris commented, putting it off a little.
She didn’t want to mess up Nat’s hair or makeup but she wanted to just lay on her for the rest of the day. That would solve all of her problems.
“Um, it was okay. I ripped him for a while and then he told me some stuff I didn’t know. You should know it too if no one on your side has told you,” Iris said.
“What?” Nat asked, worried. “They try not to bother me with anything that'll piss me off.”
“Some guy who apparently has been sending me weird letters for years saw the photos of you and me and put up a homophobic and threatening blog post. Stan was worried and that’s why he came. By the way, he never told me about the letters and I’m pissed,” Iris said.
Nat already had enough of this stuff in her life. Iris could imagine her not wanting a part of this after the threat.
“What,” her heart sank. This information was a lot.
“Yeah. He apparently put a target over my face, which was the worst part but I really don’t think he’s going to do anything and Stan said he was on it,” Iris said.
She took one of Nat’s hands and pulled it into her lap.
“I’m sorry to drop this on you and I’m sorry it’s happening at all. You don’t need this. I get it if you need some space,” Iris said.
“What? What are you talking about,” Nat asked, still holding her thigh. “This is bullshit,” she said, easily affected by the news. “What do you mean Stan’s on it? How is Stan on it? He kept the letters from you?”
“He said he was getting security, whatever that means. I told him I was staying with you, which he was not happy about,” Iris explained.
“Yeah but, why didn't he tell you about the letters? That's not something you should hide from someone.”
“He said it was to protect me and keep me from worrying. I told him that he violated my trust and that I deserved to know that kind of thing. Also, that I wasn’t going to stop seeing you unless you decided you didn’t want to see me,” Iris said.
Nat stood up and paced a little, holding her stomach. “I took you out to the woods,” Nat remembered, getting angry at herself.
“Natalie,” Iris tried to stop her and make her be still. “You had no idea what was going on and neither did I. Stan figured I’d come here and do what I always do, which is, sit in my hotel room and go nowhere. Do not start blaming yourself. I’m fine, you’re fine, and this is Stan’s fault for not telling me,” Iris insisted.
Nat evaded her grip and kept pacing and Iris let her for a minute, knowing that energy had to go somewhere.
“I can't believe this shit is happening again,” Nat breathed, tears of anger springing up to her eyes as she felt the panicked feeling of being helpless rising up in her chest.
“Baby,” Iris said, standing and stopping her with gentle hands. “I’m so sorry.”
She watched Nat’s face for any kind of recognition or something that would tell her what to do. This was so bad. If she stayed was it doing the right thing? Nat could be safe if Iris wasn’t around or would she be safer if they were together and with security.
“Can I do something?” Iris asked.
Nat looked at her to ground herself. She could feel her heart pounding fast in her chest. She bit her bottom lip and shook her head back and forth, coming back to the now. “No,” she said. “No, I'm fine. It's just…” Her voice trailed off. “I'm fine,” she said, running her hands through her hair and trying to calm down about it.
The hair and makeup team was gonna have a fit. Her eyes were all red and she felt it, she'd definitely messed her makeup up and now she was starting in on her hair. “Fuck,” Nat muttered, openly weeping now with a shaky breath. “I gotta. I gotta go back to hair and makeup. I ruined all this,” she waved her fingers up toward her face.
“You don’t have to go this second. Just talk to me. Elena will have it all put right in no time. I just need to know you’re okay,” Iris said.
Nat hugged her arms around her own stomach and waited. “When did the letters start,” she needed to know. If this was about her she needed to know.
“A long time ago when I was just starting to get known. It’s been years,” Iris answered.
She touched Nat’s arms and kept her there, breathing in her scent just in case she didn’t get to for a long time.
Relief hit Nat. If it had nothing to do with her it could just be a troll. Nothing real like she'd known. She held her neck and relaxed.
“Are you okay? I can get some water or a shot or something,” Iris suggested.
“Uh. I'm good, I'm good,” Nat said, feeling a little better. “I was just worried that this was happening to you because of me.”
“No, this is happening because people are assholes,” Iris said.
Nat cracked a smile at that and pulled her in by her neck for a hug.
“Has anything bad happened? Anything in person?”
“No, not at all. I had no idea that this was going on. I’m probably going to have bodyguards now if I know Stan,” Iris rolled her eyes.
“Babe…” Nat was sad for her. In her mind though the situation now wasn't as bad. Lots of people just wanted to feel important. Having a celebrity notice you was an end result, not an assault or a death. Nat held her and felt the relief.
“Yeah, I know. I’m probably exaggerating. We should go get your makeup fixed. You should look perfect for your fake het time,” Iris joked.
“You're not exaggerating,” Nat smiled. “And I hope this weirdo is just a bored person who doesn't ever leave their home.”
“Me too, they better leave us alone. I don’t care what they put online as long as they keep it there,” Iris said.
There was a weight lifted and she sighed. Nat wasn’t running.
“Tonight, we’re going to forget about this and hang out,” Iris insisted.
“If anyone even looks at you wrong I will murder them,” Nat said.
“You might be murdering a lot of people if you do that so probably best not,” Iris said.
She stepped back and smiled, trying to lighten things. All this depressing talk was hitting them both and she needed to do something else.
“At this point I’m excited to see you have fake sex with Michael over what’s been going on this morning,” Iris confessed.
Nat smirked lazily. “It'll be fine,” she soothed.
“Oh yeah, it will be. You’re finding out how fine it’ll be later,” Iris teased.
She pulled Nat toward the door, knowing that they would be looking for her soon.
“Maybe I can convince the director to write you in on the sex scene,” Nat teased.
“And write Michael out?” Iris asked with a laugh.
“Nah,” Nat teased. “That'd be mean. Plus, I can handle you both.”
“Oh yeah? What if I don’t like to share?” Iris asked.
“It's in the script,” Nat teased. “What can I do? My hands are tied.”
“Maybe they will be later,” Iris teased.
They walked to the door and she opened it for Nat.
Nat leaned on the door frame and just stared at her.
“What?” Iris asked.
“You're just pretty,” Nat smiled, reaching out to tug her closer.
“So I’ve heard,” Iris said, kissing Nat. “Mmm, I really wish we didn’t have to work.”
They did though and Iris eventually got Nat to the hair and makeup trailer before they were ready to shoot the scene. Once she was touched up they walked over to the set and Iris let Nat go with a long kiss.
She was probably going to laugh at all of this later but right now, she was just glad they were all right and they had an evening together to look forward to.
Michael hammed it up during the shoot and he and Nat joked around a lot to lighten the mood. It was warm and she could tell that Nat was getting hot with the lighting all around and the heat in the room. A shower would be nice for later.
The director made t
hem do some retakes. Iris watched, arms crossed and thought of all the ways she would tease Nat about having to touch Michael in places she couldn’t imagine having to touch. She could do the scene too but she’d have to mentally prep herself. This was something Nat had done before. Iris had never kissed anyone on screen even.
They took lunch together after that scene and then she filmed a few things with Michael and a few things with all three of them. She was tired and she had no idea how Nat was even standing at the end of it.
Once they changed clothes and met back at Nat’s trailer Iris just wanted to find food and fall asleep on Nat. It was exhausting. They made it to the car and were on the way back to the apartment now and Iris was drifting.
“Hmmm,” she looked away from the window and concentrated on Nat to keep her occupied. Her face was still totally made up and she had this relaxed feeling about her. She was just being Nat and that was beautiful. So, Iris just watched her.
Nat smirked a little after a second and turned her gaze over to her. “You're sleepy,” she smiled.
“Yeah, but you’re pretty,” Iris replied.
Nat's gaze traveled, taking in Iris's features one by one. “I'll be here,” she reminded. “Not going anywhere.”
“Good. I need you so…” Iris just kept looking, imagining what it would be like to be adoring this same face a year from now. “Don’t go anywhere.”
Nat felt a tug on her heart. “That'd just be foolish,” she said. “If I left I couldn't kiss you.”
“Your logic is impeccable and I support it,” Iris said, putting her head on Nat’s shoulder.
“Now, can we find food and sleep? This day has been long,” Iris said.
“Of course,” Nat said. “I'll get us something. You can crawl right into bed.”
“As long as we don’t have a repeat of last night,” Iris said.
“I did keep you up a long time, kissing you,” Nat teased.
“That, we can totally repeat. I’m insisting on kissing. Let’s do that. Just no people coming in and we get to chill,” Iris expressed.
“I guess this is a bad time to confess I promised Olivia I'd call her tonight.”
“Why bad? I can play with your hair and stare at you while you talk. I’m down for that,” Iris said.
“Yeah?” Nat asked.
“Yeah, I just want to be with you. I don’t care what we’re doing,” Iris told her.
“Okay,” Nat sighed, a little relieved.
“You’re sweet,” Iris said before she fell asleep.
The car stopped at the apartment building ten minutes later and Nat woke Iris up, helping her out of the car. They walked arm-in-arm all the way to the elevator and then rode up and walked out the same way. When they were in the apartment, Iris went straight for the bathroom and washed her face and then back to the bed, getting rid of her shoes and diving in.
“Naaaaaaat, I love your bed. Can I have it?” She laughed.
“Sure,” Nat said. “I'll have it mailed wherever you want.”
Nat was taking her makeup off at her desk, wiping her face with cotton rounds and clear liquid. In the mirror she could see Iris laying down and it made her smile.
“Mail it to wherever you are,” Iris said.
She was a little silly and delirious now. If Nat could put up with her like this things looked good.
“Okay, we'll bring it on all of our flights,” Nat joked. “I'm sure it won't be a problem.” She let her hair down and tiredly scratched at her scalp.
“Perfect, I'm glad you understand,” Iris mumbled and scratched an itch on her nose before faceplanting back into the pillow.
She let her muscles relax and then turned her head so she could see Nat.
“Hey, how are you still functioning perfectly and not a mess like me. Tell me your secrets, Miss Reyes,” Iris requested.
Nat blushed a little and smirked. She got up from her chair and crawled up onto the bed to be closer to her.
“See, you just took off all that makeup and you're unbelievably stunning. Even prettier but more importantly, you're sweet and you have good taste in beds,” Iris babbled.
She was getting sleepier by the second and she knew she would fall soon. The last thing she took with her into slumber was Nat's face and the sound of her voice when she replied.
Chapter 16
In Need of Some Healing
Nat hadn't the heart to tell her that the bed came with the apartment and it wasn't even hers.
She laughed and pulled Iris's hair away from her face. The plan had been to order food but she'd probably just heat up the leftovers from last night's Chinese if Iris was going to be out cold.
Nat laid down beside her for a second and just stared. It wasn't fair that life could be so ugly to someone so sweet.
Exhausted, she shook her head and got up. From the bedroom, the apartment locks itched at her, so left Iris alone and went around to check every one. What if the window was open? What if someone got on the roof? What if the front door wasn’t really locked?
The thoughts could nag, so Nat was proactive and snuffed them each out, checking the deck and the doors. When she finally finished, she relaxed inside enough to get food.
Grabbing a fork from her drawer, she carried some left-overs over to her couch and sat down. Pulling her phone from her hoodie pocket, she set it up against a large candle on the table and pressed a button to start a videocall with Olivia.
Fixing her hair and trying to remain normal, Nat came off a little flustered at first.
“Hey baby. It's early. You surprised me,” Olivia said.
Her ex was sitting on her couch with a blanket over her legs and a book in her lap.
“Uhhhg, you're so cute,” Nat groaned. “What are you doing?”
“Uhh, well, I had orders to read a book so... I take your advice seriously.” Olivia had her reading glasses on and her hair up.
“You feeling better?” Nat wondered. She'd already taken to eating with a little more vigor. Olivia cheered her without knowing it and her vitality returned.
“Yeah,” Olivia grimaced guiltily. “I'm sorry I've been such a pill. I'm just down because you're gone. School sucks and Avery's been practicing too much.”
“Well, you look fantastic if it makes you feel any better.”
Olivia smiled and laughed. “You're insane.”
“Little bit,” Nat teased.
“Where's your new musician friend?” Olivia wondered. She leaned back on the couch and laid down so the camera could be closer to her eyes and she could see Natalie better.
“Long day,” Nat said. “She passed out in my bed.”
“Sounds adorable,” Olivia realized. She stared openly at Nat, taking in all her individual features. “You look beautiful.”
“Thanks baby. You do too.”
“Does she tell you that?”
“Of course,” Nat blushed and laughed.
“Just making sure,” Olivia teased. “I mean it though. You're getting prettier.”
“Iiiii just took my makeup off,” Nat teased.
“Guess that's the key,” Olivia swallowed and breathed.
“Where's your baby tonight?”
“You know,” Olivia said. “Working to become the next gold medal fiend,” Olivia teased.
“Is she happy?”
“I think so,” Olivia nodded. “Something about this stage in her life is really working and… It's actually really beautiful. I only wish you could be here to see.”
“Well, I can be,” Nat said. “In a week or two. Would you be up for that?”
“Are you kidding?” Olivia asked, smiling big and rolling her eyes. “Of course. Of course I'd be up for that. I fucking miss you.”
“Okay but are you sure because you literally just saw me.”
“Do you even know how sad it is to get on a plane and know I'm flying away from you?”
Olivia tried not to but the waterworks came and she shook her head at herself pulling some Kleenex out of
a box she always kept on her coffee table. “Blah,” she said, patting her eyes. “Come. We want you to come.”
“And what about a stowaway…” Nat slyly eyed the space where her room was, where Iris was sleeping.
“We are definitely open to misfits,” Olivia smiled. “Wait. Just a quick question. Have you met Avery Lockhart?”
“I believe I have,” Natalie laughed.
“She loves musicians,” Olivia teased.
“That makes two of us,” Nat stared, adoring her best friend. For a second they both got lost in each other’s stares. There was so much history and love. More than could fit on one small little screen.
“Oh. I forgot,” Olivia said. She got up and started to walk with Nat up her stairs. Nat loved when she did this. She loved to see Olivia walking around and living her life. It was sweet.
The sound of the light being switched on was followed by the phone being set down.
“I've been doing some research,” Olivia said.
“What are you talking about,” Nat wondered. Olivia was the craziest and the most adorably brilliant person she had ever met.
“Iris Dupree,” Olivia said, sitting down in a chair and pulling up the head of her very expensive looking wooden cello. After a moment, Olivia took her bow up and began to randomly play.
Nat listened and watched. Olivia always lost herself in her music.
The only time Nat had seen her play cello was at her wedding. Nat didn't know she still played.
The song was very dreamy and intense, enough to get Nat to want to relax and lay down.
When it ended, it was like someone turning the lights on at the end of a film.
“So? What do you think?” Olivia asked, walking back to her phone and getting close to the camera again as she smiled happily.
“Wha- ah, well,” Nat said, trying to come up with some worthy praise. She sat up again and looked at the camera really close. “I think it's beautiful baby. Did you write that?”
“Well, kind of but, you know,” Olivia shrugged. “It's an elaborate play on her piece. Its Iris's piece.”