by Sam Crescent
“It will certainly be interesting to see how these two unlikely love interests make it on the big screen. Adam is known for starring alongside beautiful starlets on the screen, and Sarah’s known for being in the background. It’s going to be interesting to see how these two make it in a movie together. We’re all going to keep an eye out and see how Beauty and the Beast make it.”
Adam was disgusted with what he just heard, and clicked off the television. They were vultures, all of them. He hoped the movie was a massive fucking hit, and not just for his career. He wanted all of the haters to have egg on their fucking faces.
****
Sarah handed a coffee to Mitch as she took a seat beside his. She’d just spent an hour in makeup after being told what she was going to wear. Dressed for the part, she glanced down at the time to see Adam was due on set any minute. The past week they’d done several scenes to see how they sounded and looked. Now, today, she was going to be in front of the camera on her first official movie as a lead. She was excited, nervous, and scared.
“You didn’t have to bring me coffee. We pay people for that.”
“They always get my coffee wrong, and I like it a specific way.” She waved away his comment. No matter how many times she was told to leave the coffee for someone else to get, she just couldn’t do it. What was wrong with her getting her own coffee and getting it for others?
“I wonder if he’s going to give me cause to fire his fucking ass.”
Mitch hadn’t wanted to hire him, and he didn’t want to work with Adam. “He’s been on time for all of our rehearsals.”
“Look, he’s not the kind of guy I like to work with. In the early days of making a name for myself, sure, I’d have worked with anyone. Now, I work because I want to work, not because I have to. My time of putting up with divas is over.”
Sarah laughed. She’d worked with a diva or two during her time. “You’re so sweet.”
“Not at all, babe. I’m a hard-ass.”
She took a sip of her coffee and listened as Mitch got to work organizing the whole crew. They had three months to get most of the normal scenes out of the way. He’d then organized for another month to be spent on the sex scenes. She wasn’t going to show her breasts or pussy. The sex scenes were going to be done tastefully. Dean had made sure that it was part of her contract.
The moment Adam entered the room, she saw everyone tense. He was dressed exactly how she imagined David to be. She had been sent the script last year for her to read. The moment she’d read about a fuller woman trying to find love, only for that same romance to come in the form of her friend-slash-boss, it had gripped her. It wasn’t just a chick flick. Her character, Piper, was torn apart with emotion, used and abused by those close to her. The only person who didn’t use her was David.
It was a beautiful love story.
He walked toward his chair and took a seat. She watched as he rubbed at his temple. “Do you want some coffee?” she asked, offering him a sip of her own cup.
Adam took her coffee without saying thank you. Rude, very rude.
“Are you always so nice?” he asked.
“What’s wrong with being nice?”
“It’s an act.”
She frowned. “No, it’s not.”
He snorted. “Sure it is. This is your first major movie. Drop the act.”
Mitch cleared his throat. “It’s not an act, Adam. Maybe you should take a leaf out of her book and actually be nice to those around you that turn you into a superstar.”
Their director walked away, and Sarah rubbed her cold hands together. “I’m going to get some more coffee.”
Leaving her chair, she made her way toward the coffee machine. They had another twenty minutes before Mitch would want them.
She reached out for the cream, and froze as Adam’s hand came into view. He grabbed a couple of the creams and handed it to her.
“It’s not an act?”
“Being nice?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s not an act. I just don’t see the point in being mean.” She opened the cream and placed it in the coffee.
“It’s not about being mean.”
“Fine, a diva, a hard-ass. Whatever you want to call it?” She pointed at everyone moving around them. “They’re all busy. They don’t need me making their life hard. Is that why Mitch didn’t want to hire you? You’ve got a reputation for being a pain in the ass?”
“You don’t know about me?”
“I don’t read the newspapers, and I don’t listen to speculation.” She held her coffee in front of her. Sarah had always preferred to have something in her hands when she was talking to someone. She always got nervous facing someone new. Adam, he was intense, and she didn’t have a clue why. They had kissed once, been doing multiple scenes together, and yet, he was making her nervous.
“You must have watched my movies.”
She scrunched up her nose. “Not really.”
He looked shocked. “Seriously?”
“I’ve got a lot of different tastes. I’m not just an action movie buff.” She stepped away from him, and made her way toward her seat. No one was nearby as they were preparing the final touches to the set. Didn’t anyone want her? How could she tell Adam that she found his movies boring, repetitive, and just not something she liked to spend her time watching?
“Why did you want me as your costar?” he asked.
“Mitch had the final decision with you.” She’d hated kissing so many men, and none of them being near as perfect as Adam. Mitch had wanted to keep on trying, but her lips could only take so much abuse.
“Niles told me you recommended me.”
Sighing, she turned toward him. He’d taken a seat beside her. “Yes, I recommended you. No, I don’t watch your movies. They’re all the same.” There, she’d said it.
Chapter Three
It wasn’t exactly thrilling to be told your movies were all the same. Adam respected her for it, and he folded his arms, staring at her.
“What?” she asked.
“When was the last time you saw one of my movies?”
Her cheeks heated a beautiful shade of red. Holy shit, there was a woman who still blushed. It was utterly sweet and charming. He couldn’t recall the last time he watched a woman blush.
“A while ago.”
“So you’re not an Adam Feltworth fan?”
“I like different things. From what I’ve seen of you so far, you can offer a lot more than firing guns and beating people up. You make a good David.”
What the hell was happening to him? She pays him a compliment, and to him it was one of the nicest things someone had said to him in a while. He was pulled out of his thoughts by Mitch calling them. Moving toward the set, he waited for Sarah to get into position.
The set had been created to be Piper’s apartment, and across from them was another set for his building offices. The sets had been made up in a secure location for one main reason: this was going to be the place where they had sex. They were not filming sex scenes today, and he was thankful for it. He wasn’t in the right place to be pretending to have sex.
Over the years he’d gotten to the stage where having sex on set didn’t affect him. It was probably pitiful that he could have a sexy hot woman grinding on him and his dick remained flaccid. That one kiss during his audition for the role with Sarah, and his cock had a mind of its own. He’d not been able to get it up in the last week and a half since they’d been together, yet the thought of Sarah and he got hard.
The only reason he could think of was the fact it had to be this job. His entire career depended on this movie being perfect. He’d seen the news reports about the movie, alone with him and Sarah.
Taking his seat in the apartment, he settled into the sofa and waited for Mitch to shout “action”.
For the next three hours, they completed one scene, and he was so damn happy with his performance. He stood behind Mitch with Sarah at his side, and they watched the scenes that h
ad been performed. Adam couldn’t help but notice the chemistry they seemed to share.
“I love the way you both turn toward each other. This is the stuff that can’t be taught and is always natural.”
They turned toward each other, and there were light touches showing their comfort with each other. He’d never had so much chemistry with a costar before. After another two scenes, they stopped for lunch, and he noticed that Sarah went to her trailer. Frowning, he wondered why she had gone to the privacy of her own trailer.
Against his better judgment, he moved toward her trailer and knocked on the door.
Sarah opened it seconds later, and the scents coming out of the trailer were amazing. His mouth watered for a taste.
“Adam? What’s the matter?”
“Why are you here and not eating lunch with the rest of us?”
Her cheeks went a bright shade of red once again. “It’s nothing personal. I just like to make my own food and eat in private.”
“Do you mind if I ask what you’re having?”
“A vegetable stir-fry. Would you like to come in?” she asked. She moved out of the way, and he walked into her trailer.
Sarah moved toward the stove where a pan was on top. The first thing he noticed were the diet books open on the counter.
“You’re on a diet?”
“Erm, yes and no.” She tucked some hair behind her ear, and her blush seemed to deepen. “Did you watch that report on us? The one that mentioned about us being Beauty and the Beast?”
Shit! She’d watched that.
“I saw it.”
She gave him a watery smile. “It’s time I did something about this.” She pointed at her body.
He didn’t see a problem with her body. She was beautiful, and in that moment he hated the news reports that picked up on her fuller figure.
“I’ve always wanted to lose weight, but I’ve always got work on being the fatter woman, the bigger best friend. Why change something that’s paying you money?” she asked, smiling.
“Don’t call yourself fat.” He didn’t like it.
“Anyway, the only way in this industry to lose weight besides starving yourself is to cook for yourself. Do you know how much fat a sandwich can have?”
“No, I can’t say that I do.”
“Over fifty grams if it uses mayo. I mean seriously?”
She added vegetables to a wok, along with some rice noodles.
“Have you had any problems with your weight before from other people?” he asked.
Sarah sighed. “Yes.”
“I don’t think you need to lose weight, Sarah.”
“We’ve got to do the romance scenes. Trust me, you’ll be wanting me to lose weight.” She served the stir-fry into two bowls, handing him a fork. He took a bite, and it was delicious. The flavor of garlic and ginger was incredible. She was a good cook. He’d not tasted anything this good before.
“You should lose weight because you want to, not because someone else wants you to. Have you spoken to Mitch?”
“Yeah, I’m not allowed to lose too much weight as the entire basis of this movie is for the fuller woman. I’m not going to ruin this opportunity.”
He watched her eat, and together they shared lunch in silence. She really was a nice woman inside and out. The world around her wasn’t nice though, and that just sucked.
“You’re sweet.”
That’s the last thing he was.
****
“How is everything going?” Dean asked.
Sarah lay in bed reading a book, winding down, hoping to relax. They had been filming for a week. Every day at lunch Adam joined her, and they talked all the time. During the whole of her career, movie and television, she’d never grown close to anyone. The more she thought about the life, the more pitiful she felt. It sucked, but there was no reason why she couldn’t change it. Adam was a sweet guy once you got past his asshole ways. In the past week, she’d taught him to get his own coffee, and to say please and thank you. It was early days, but she was determined to make it work.
“We’re doing good. Mitch hasn’t screamed at any of us. We’re on schedule, maybe even ahead of it.”
“How’s the man-boy?”
She chuckled. “He’d love that.”
“I doubt it. How are you feeling about the intimate scenes?”
Sarah lost all humor. “I’m nervous as hell. Everything else is going well. I’m scared, Dean.”
“Don’t be scared. I’ll be there on the day, and I’m going to make sure you’re protected, okay, honey?”
“How’s Martha?” Sarah asked. Martha was his wife, who’d recently been diagnosed with cancer. One of the reasons he wasn’t on set with her was because Martha had a round of chemo, and she’d asked Dean to be with her.
“She’s coping. It’s tough. Thank you for understanding.”
“We’re a family. Take care of her, and I’ll take care here.”
Dean and Martha had adopted her without any of the paperwork. Sarah’s own mother hadn’t wanted anything to do with her, and it was only when she’d started making a name that she’d come out to act like the doting mother. Dean and Martha had taken care of her and made sure no one took advantage of her.
“I’ll see you soon,” Dean said.
She said her goodbyes and hung up. The moment she put her cell phone down, someone knocked on her trailer. Climbing out of bed, she made her way toward the door, and opened it to find Adam waiting.
“Hey, costar, what ya doing?”
“I’m reading, and relaxing. What are you doing?”
“I figured we could go over some of these scenes that you’ve avoided like the plague.” He held the script up, and she was surprised to see a lot of notation along the side.
“I’ve not avoided it. We’re not even close to actually filming those scenes.”
“You’re chicken.”
“Screw you,” she said, smiling. “I’m not chicken.”
“It’s a Friday night, everyone is probably out partying, and we’re stuck in our trailers.”
“We’ve got to be here early tomorrow, Mitch said.”
“Yeah, and next week we’re traveling to our set, where we join the real world.”
She was terrified of that. Come Monday, they’d be traveling on location to film, and then staying in hotels of the company’s choice. Sarah didn’t like moving around, which was strange considering her life was all about moving around.
“What do you want to do?” she asked.
“Let’s start with a kiss.”
Moving away from the door, she turned to watch him close and lock it. “You want to practice kissing?”
“It’s supposed to be natural for us. I figure what better way to make it natural than actually doing it.”
In the script Piper and David were so close that they kissed each other hello and goodbye.
Everything he said made sense to her, and she couldn’t figure out a reason for them to not do it.
“Where do you want to do this?” She glanced down at herself, in her pajama bottoms and crop top for a shirt. She wasn’t wearing any underwear, and she suddenly felt on display.
“Here. There’s no reason for us to be out there.”
Nodding, she smiled. “Okay.” Tucking some hair behind her ear, she took a seat at the table.
“Have you been kissed properly? Doing it across a table sucks.” He grabbed her hand, and led her toward the bed.
“This is really inappropriate.”
“Nothing is going to happen. You’re safe with me.” He took a seat on the edge of the bed and she blew out a breath, staring at him.
“What scene do you want to do?” she asked, reaching for her script, which was beside her bed.
“Actually, I was wondering if we could just practice kissing. I kiss you, you kiss me, and we get used to the feel of each other.”
She swallowed the lump in her throat and let out a sigh. “Okay, I can do that.”
Th
ey placed their scripts beside each other on the bed. She licked her lips and forced herself to stare into his eyes.
“Don’t panic.”
Sarah burst out laughing. “That’s not something you should say when you’re about to kiss someone.”
He laughed along with her, and she liked the sound. Adam took her hand, locking their fingers together. He leaned in close, and his breath fanned across her face. “Don’t flinch.”
“Why would I flinch?”
“You’ve tensed up. I’m not a monster, Sarah. Just an asshole.”
“I think you’re getting out of your asshole tendencies.”
She gasped as he closed the distance, pressing a kiss to her lips. It was friendly, kind of like kissing a relative. He pulled away, and she bit her lip, staring into his dark eyes.
“How was that?”
“Fine.” Her voice came out as a squeak, which made him chuckle.
“Now, you kiss me.”
Taking a deep breath, she pressed her lips to his and pulled back. “There. We’re done.”
“Have you ever actually kissed a guy?”
“I did a lot of kissing for this role. People would think I was the kissing whore.”
“That’s a job, I mean actual kissing. Have you kissed anyone for fun?”
Her cheeks had a mind of their own as they heated up.
“Oh my God! You haven’t.”
She looked away, unable to handle the humiliation of him knowing that she didn’t have a clue what she was doing. Every single kiss she’d ever experienced had been in front of an audience with camera crews or directors.
Chapter Four
For the past week he’d been unable to get this woman out of his mind. Adam stared at her flushed cheeks, and just knew she’d never been kissed properly. Had she been with a guy at all? Sarah had gotten under his skin from their first audition. Instead of being out partying, screwing random women like he usually did on a Friday, he’d been pacing his trailer trying to think of an excuse to come here.
Staring at the script, he’d figured out how to get into Sarah’s trailer. He’d noticed how devoted she was to having a brilliant movie. When she didn’t know he was looking, he’d take his time to watch her, get to know her. She always appeared nervous, no matter what she did. Every single scene, she searched for perfection.