Casting Lacey

by Elle Spencer

  ***

  By the time they were seated, Quinn was still busy trying to explain herself. “It’s awkward, getting out of the car, and you’re used to it. You know where to hold me and how to shift your weight so we don’t both fall. Do you know how embarrassed I’d be if I fell and someone got a shot of my bare ass? Or even worse, my…you know.”

  Lacey narrowed her eyes. “Are you saying you’re not wearing any underwear?” She leaned in closer. “You little slut, you. And with a short dress like that?”

  “No! Yes! I mean yes, of course I’m wearing…” Quinn threw her napkin on her lap. “Just…never mind.”

  “Fine. You’re right,” Lacey acquiesced, picking up the menu. “And I was right to make sure my contract covered wine.”

  “I’m having some too, so just deal with it.” Quinn said, getting a mom-glare from Lacey. “Let’s just enjoy the atmosphere and the good food and this fabulous view. The ocean is right there! Have you even looked at it?”

  Lacey set her menu down and leaned forward. Lowering her voice, she said, “You know what I’m going to enjoy tonight?”

  Quinn motioned with her head. “Look at the damn ocean.”

  “I’m going to enjoy watching…”

  “Uh uh! Look at the ocean first.”

  Lacey eyed Quinn for a second and then turned to her left to glance across the dining room. Everything from the floor to the tables to the ceiling was made of rich Japanese wood. The room opened up completely to a patio overlooking the ocean, and the sun was just starting to set. “Gorgeous. Now, how the hell are you going to eat sushi with chopsticks, using your left hand?”

  Quinn gasped. “That’s what you’re going to enjoy watching tonight?”

  Lacey glanced over Quinn’s shoulder. “That, and Robert De Niro. He’s right behind you.”

  “Nice guy. He owns the place. And you have an admirer.”

  “What?”

  Quinn picked up her glass of water and nodded at someone behind Lacey. “Studio exec. All your worries would disappear in an instant.”

  Lacey didn’t turn to look. She kept her eyes on Quinn. “Oh, yuck. Let me guess. Sixty-ish. Portly and balding. Recently divorced. Or maybe still married. Probably owns the very understated white Rolls Royce parked out front?”

  “More like forty-five. Never been married, to my knowledge. Quite fit. Full head of hair. And if I’m not mistaken, she drives a Tesla.”

  Lacey tucked her hair behind her ears and clasped her hands together. “Are you ready to order?”

  “You think I’m fucking with you?” Quinn whispered loudly. “I’m serious! She can’t take her eyes off of you.”

  “I like spicy tuna,” Lacey replied.

  Quinn shook her head. “I’m not touching that one.”

  “So you’ve mentioned.” Lacey picked the up menu again. “And oysters. I want oysters.”

  “Your wish is my command.” Quinn looked for a waiter, but didn’t see one. She lifted up her cast and reached under it, letting out a frustrated sigh. “Something’s not right.”

  Lacey stood up. “Let me look at it.” She leaned over, giving Quinn a perfect view of her cleavage. “You’ve got the sling all twisted.”

  “Do I?” Quinn’s voice sounded so innocent as her eyes raked over Lacey’s body.

  “Stop looking at my tits,” Lacey whispered.

  “You smell so good. What is that?” Quinn whispered back.

  Lacey untwisted the strap and smoothed it down, making sure her hand grazed Quinn’s breast. She kissed her head like you would a child and whispered, “It’s called, we are never going to fuck, remember?”

  Lacey sat back down and Quinn’s eyes widened as she looked past her. “Oh, this should be fun. Studio exec coming your way.”

  “Quinn! So good to see you. How’s the arm doing?”

  Lacey watched as the woman kissed Quinn’s cheek and rested her hand on her good shoulder, giving her a reassuring, though slightly melodramatic, squeeze. It was as if a director had once told the woman it was a sure-fire way to indicate genuine concern.

  “Getting a little better every day,” Quinn said. “It was such a stupid accident.” She blushed and smiled nervously, not able hold the woman’s gaze.

  Well, well, well. Now wasn’t this interesting? Lacey narrowed her eyes and watched the interaction closely. Was Quinn’s hand shaking? Were her cheeks getting redder? And was that a nervous little giggle?

  “As soon as you’re ready, I know a fabulous sports therapist,” the woman said. “He’ll have you back on your mountain bike in no time. Worked wonders on me when I had that rotator cuff nonsense.”

  Quinn glanced at Lacey, suddenly remembering her manners. “Ginny, this is my friend, Lacey Matthews.”

  Ginny turned to Lacey and offered her hand. “So pleased to meet you, Lacey. Is there any chance we’ve met before?”

  Lacey stood up and took Ginny’s hand, covering it with both of hers. “It sure feels like we have. Are you ever in New York?”

  “All the time!”

  “That must be it, then. I’m new to L.A.”

  “Lacey’s an actress,” Quinn interjected. “She was on Light of Day in New York, and she’s about to make her mark here.”

  “Well, aren’t we lucky? How ‘bout I introduce Lacey to a few friends?” Ginny suggested, turning toward Quinn. “You don’t mind, do you?”

  Quinn seemed surprised by the suggestion but quickly shook her head. “Not at all.”

  Lacey wanted to ask if Quinn would be okay while she was gone, but obviously she would be. “Order an appetizer?”

  Quinn nodded and forced a smile. “Yeah.”

  ***

  Had Lacey been gone forever, or was Quinn just imagining it? And what was with Ginny stealing her away, anyway? And where did they go? Quinn had turned away long enough to order an appetizer and when she turned back, they’d disappeared from Ginny’s table.

  Ginny had put her hand on Lacey’s lower back as they’d slowly walked away, like she owned her or something. And once they’d sat at Ginny’s table, she’d given Lacey a sip of her wine. That seemed a little too intimate. It was, wasn’t it? And knowing Ginny, it was probably a $500 bottle of wine.

  God, why did Quinn care? She shouldn’t care. She forced herself to look at her menu, refusing to look back up.

  It seemed like forever went by before Lacey slid back into her chair. “Sorry. She wanted to show me the patio. It’s gorgeous out there.”

  Lacey looked flushed. And was that red lipstick? Quinn squinted. “Did she kiss you?”

  Lacey rolled her eyes. “It’s courtesy of some French actress sitting at her table. I wasn’t expecting the double cheek thing and we kind of collided. Is it everywhere?”

  Quinn snorted. “You mean you accidentally kissed? Because it’s…” She motioned with her hand, indicating it was on the corner of Lacey’s mouth.

  Lacey quickly dabbed her mouth with a napkin. “Stop laughing or I won’t share the very expensive bottle of red that is being uncorked for us, care of Ginny Strong.”

  “Oh, I’m having a glass. Don’t even with the mom-look.”

  Lacey glanced back at Ginny. “Yeah, I need one too.”

  Quinn furrowed her brow. “Everything okay?”

  Lacey smiled. “Yeah. Fine.”

  “A bottle for the ladies, courtesy of Ms. Strong,” the waiter displayed the bottle and Quinn gestured, giving him permission to pour.

  They both held up their glasses to Ginny and gave her a nod of thanks. Quinn took a sip and moaned as her eyes shuttered closed. “God, that’s good.” She’d missed her daily glass of wine. Coming back to it with a bottle this good was heavenly. She took another sip and swirled the wine in her glass.

  “She’s nice,” Lacey said. “Ginny is nice.”

  “And pretty,” Quinn added, her eyes going back to Ginny’s table. “And smart, and has a wicked sense of humor, and very good taste in wine.”

  Lacey’s eyes widened. �
��I see. And the second you break up with your fake girlfriend, you’ll be all over that shit?”

  “Well, I’m certainly not going to flirt with her right now. With this stupid thing on my arm, I have zero sex appeal.”

  Lacey took another sip of wine as she eyed Quinn. “Are you fishing for compliments again?”

  “Would it be arrogant of me to say I don’t have to fish for fucking compliments?” Quinn snapped back.

  Feeling rather amused by Quinn’s frequent use of the F-word now, Lacey leaned back in her chair and smiled. “Yes.”

  Quinn put her glass down and focused on the menu. “They don’t have oysters. Some problem with the delivery today.”

  “What a shame.”

  “And we’re not even enjoying the view.” Quinn set the menu back down. She didn’t really care what they had for dinner. For some reason, she’d lost her appetite. She turned slightly in her seat and stared out at the water.

  Lacey watched her for a moment and then said, “Why would I look at the ocean when there’s an extremely fuckable woman sitting at this table?”

  Quinn turned back to her and smirked. “Fuckable?”

  “Hey, you wanted a compliment.”

  Ginny walked back over to their table as she was leaving. “So good to see you, Quinn. Let’s do lunch soon.” She turned to Lacey. “You have my number?”

  Lacey held up the business card. “Right here.”

  “Good. We’ll go out for oysters some time,” Ginny said with a wink.

  Quinn cranked her neck around and watched Ginny walk away. “Well, she’s about as subtle as a Mack truck.”

  Lacey leaned in. “She doesn’t know you’re gay. If she did…well…I wouldn’t even exist in her world.”

  Quinn couldn’t help but smile. “See? Now, that’s a compliment.”

  Lacey threw her hands in the air. “What the hell is wrong with fuckable? That seems like a compliment of the highest order!”

  Quinn giggled as the woman sitting behind Lacey turned around and glared at her. Lacey covered her mouth with her hands. “Sorry,” she whispered.

  ***

  Lacey gave her ticket to the valet and walked back over to Quinn. “It’s going to be a few minutes and there are two cameras across the street. What would you like me to do?”

  Quinn stepped a little closer. “Just stand there, looking like my hot friend.”

  Lacey stepped even closer. “So…you don’t want me to run my thumb over that incredibly plump bottom lip?”

  Quinn bit her lip, trying to hold back her smile. “That would be a bit premature, don’t you think?”

  Lacey’s gaze fell to Quinn’s cleavage. “Yeah, I guess friends don’t really do that.”

  Quinn looked down at her drab, beige sling. “Maybe you could bedazzle this piece of shit sling for me, so I don’t feel so frumpy. That’s a friend thing, isn’t it?”

  Lacey giggled.

  “What?” Quinn asked.

  The giggle turned into full-on laughter. “Nobody…and I mean nobody…is looking at your sling. Your legs…yes. Your amazing eyes…double yes. Your tits…”

  “Still fuckable?” Quinn shyly asked.

  “Here we are.” Lacey motioned to the car as it rolled up. “And I can’t believe you asked me to bedazzle something. Do I look crafty to you?”

  “What if I asked you to embroider the word, Fuck, on my sling?”

  “Is there a Michael’s in Malibu?” Lacey asked while getting a tip out of her purse.

  “I’m pretty sure you’re the only person to ever utter those words. And no, there isn’t.”

  “Hobby Lobby?” Lacey tipped the nice young man and then held onto Quinn’s good arm as she backed into the seat and swung her legs into the car. Once she was settled Lacey pulled the seat belt out enough for Quinn to grab it. “Or, how about one of those JoAnn fabric stores?” Lacey didn’t wait for an answer. She shut Quinn’s door and walked around the car, getting in the driver’s seat.

  “For someone who isn’t crafty, you sure know where to shop.”

  “My mom…” Lacey stopped. She took a deep breath and said, “My mom was crafty. When I was young, she needed something to do when I was working, so she would sit on the set and knit these beautiful afghans. She even sold a few of them to the cast and crew. They were beautiful.”

  Quinn put her hand on Lacey’s leg. “I wish I could’ve met her.”

  “Yeah. Me too.” Lacey put the car in drive and pulled out onto the road. They drove for a while in silence, Quinn keeping her hand right where it was.

  Lacey finally broke the silence. “I’m sorry I haven’t talked about her. That doesn’t really honor her memory. I need to be better about that.”

  “Did she know that you were gay?” Quinn asked. “She died when you were sixteen, so I just wondered…”

  “No. I kind of knew I was different, but I didn’t have the guts to talk to her about it. It’s something I regret, that she never knew the real me. All of me.”

  “You were so young.” Quinn gave Lacey’s leg a gentle squeeze.

  “Do you think they got a good shot of us?” Lacey asked, needing to change the subject.

  “I hope so.”

  “Well, even if they didn’t…” Lacey took Quinn’s hand in hers. “…it was nice having dinner with you.

  Quinn smiled. “Yeah, it was.”

  ***

  Lacey followed Quinn into her bedroom like she did every night, ready to help her get ready for bed. She’d kicked off her heels at the garage door, but she was still wearing her tight skirt and top. Quinn stood in front of the mirror and pulled her ponytail to one side, giving Lacey access to the zipper on her dress. Their eyes caught in the mirror and Lacey hesitated. Had the temperature in the room just skyrocketed? Was that a heated blush slowly creeping up her chest? Shit. It was.

  It shouldn’t have felt different. Not more than a couple of hours ago, Lacey had zipped this same dress up. She knew there was a lacy white bra underneath. No big surprise there. But as she tugged on the zipper, the anticipation of what she’d find made her breath catch. “You really did look beautiful tonight,” she said, her voice softer than she’d meant for it to be. She didn’t dare look up. Keeping her eyes on the zipper, she gently pulled. And there it was – that too-sexy-for-its-own-good bra.

  Maybe it was the ride home that had Lacey feeling things she shouldn’t feel. At one point, Quinn had shifted in her seat, trying to find a comfortable position for her arm, which caused her dress to ride up, showing off her mouth-watering thighs. Lacey found herself wanting to reach over and push the dress up a little further. If Quinn were her real girlfriend, she would have. And she would’ve left her hand there, her fingers gently tickling Quinn’s inner thigh.

  “Thank you,” Quinn replied. “You looked amazing too.” Her eyes were firmly set on Lacey’s reflection in the mirror. “Would you mind? It was hell trying to get this bra on by myself.”

  Their eyes locked again. Why did it feel so different? So dangerous? Was it because they’d just been on their first date? Not really a date, though. Just two friends having dinner together. Lacey broke the eye contact and focused on her task, sliding her fingers in between Quinn’s soft skin and the bra. She gently unhooked it and dropped her hands to her sides, fearing what else she’d touch if she didn’t control herself. Sexy, Lacey thought. So sexy. “Anything else?” she quickly asked, trying to hide the fact that her heart was racing.

  Quinn shook her head. “No.”

  “Okay, then.” Lacey took a step back. “Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight.”

  Lunging forward would be a bad idea. Taking Quinn in her arms, kissing her neck, her shoulder – letting the dress fall to the floor. Quinn would gasp at the touch. She wouldn’t know what to do at first – how to react. She might even enjoy the feel of Lacey’s lips on her neck. But she would quickly come to her senses.

  Lacey wouldn’t lift Quinn onto the bathroom sink and make love to her. She wo
uldn’t take Quinn to places she’d never been before. She wouldn’t hear Quinn’s bedroom voice, begging her for more. Don’t stop, Lace. Don’t fucking stop.

  She wouldn’t watch herself in the mirror as Quinn Kincaid rode her fingers. Quinn Kincaid, naked and sweaty and breathless. And oh so sated.

  Lacey wouldn’t get on her knees and bury her face between Quinn’s legs. She wouldn’t taste her for the first time and hear Quinn moan out her pleasure. She wouldn’t stay there, teasing and licking until Quinn came again, this time, shouting profanities, mixed with Lacey’s name and, of course, God’s.

  No. That wouldn’t happen.

  Quinn would push her away before that ever happened. We have a contract, she would say. And it doesn’t include this!

  And it didn’t of course. That would make Lacey a…

  “Goodnight,” Lacey said again. She closed the bedroom door behind her and stood in the hall for a moment, her chest heaving. She felt a little unsteady on her legs so she leaned against the wall.

  She touched her cheeks to see if they were hot. Shit. They’re on fire. She slowly made her way to her room and stood in front of the bathroom mirror, staring at herself. “You can’t fall for her,” she whispered.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Lacey woke up grumpy and sexually frustrated, which is how she ended up doing yoga by the pool. She’d found a mat in the garage and a YouTube video on her iPad called “Yoga for Beginners.”

  Yoga has a calming, centering effect on people, or so Lacey’d been told. This was obviously bullshit since all Lacey could do was grunt and groan her way through another plank. “Beginners…my…ass.” She could barely get the words out, what with her weak core and all.

  Last night had all felt a little too real. She kept telling herself it was a fake date, but once they’d gotten past the whole Ginny Strong thing and ordered their meal, they’d settled in. And it was lovely. Quinn had sat across from her looking gorgeous with her blonde hair pulled back, showing off her high cheekbones and those eyes. God, those eyes. Lacey could easily get lost in them if she let herself. It had been a constant battle not to last night.

  Quinn had talked about her show and how much she loved her work. Jordan’s Appeal was a spin-off from another show. A very successful spin-off. Something she was proud of. Her eyes lit up when she talked about it. She’d done a few movies that had put her on the A-list, but she didn’t consider them her best work. Jordan’s Appeal was her best work.