by Renee Dyer
“Thanks, Mickayla. For everything.” I hang up with her and push my foot down on the gas. I need to get to Adriana and show her this was all a mistake.
My day started out pretty normal. Cammie and I were set to shoot our first intimate scene. I knew she was nervous. All week I could see her pacing increasing, she’d been picking at her nails and eating extra chocolate, but worst of all, she’d been talking more to Grant. I wanted to help her out so I suggested to Eddie that we practice the scene in my trailer first while he films it. That way, she could watch it back and her first time would be without the entire crew watching.
I never thought Adriana would walk in in the middle of the scene.
I left the door open to help Cammie feel more at ease. The whole time I kept thinking, how would Adriana handle this situation? She’s so kind and is always helping people out. She inspires me to be a better man. I’ve been putting that into my daily life. Today I did that and now I’m racing around Vancouver, praying she’ll let me prove to her it was a trick of the eye.
This is the part of my job I’ve always been afraid of her seeing. It was different before we were a couple. She knew I had to do intimate scenes before, but I wasn’t hers then. Now I am and I have to touch other women. It’s hard to be with someone who is paid to do that even if it doesn’t mean anything. And, it doesn’t. Cammie is like a sister to me. There is no attraction there at all for me. I only hope she’ll give me the chance to show her this.
I don’t bother waiting for the elevator. She’s only on the third floor. I run as if my life depends on it and race to her door. I stand in front of room 317 and catch my breath for a few seconds before knocking on the door, wondering if she’ll open the door or ignore me. I don’t say anything, afraid my voice will make it worse. I place both hands on the doorframe to hold up my tense body and pray to God that he helps us work this out.
The door opens and I think my prayers have been answered. “How dare you fucking come here, you son of a bitch.”
I don’t have a chance to answer Adrian or dodge the fist that connects with my eye as I fall backwards into the hall. Holy shit. It feels like a hammer connected with my face and my eye is going to explode from my head. That fucker can throw a nasty right hook.
“Adrian, I didn’t cheat on her,” I shout out, my hands up in front of me as I lay slumped against the wall. I can feel my eye swelling already. Eddie’s going to be pissed when he sees my face.
“Fucking liar. She saw you. I can’t believe you thought you’d come here and try to weasel yourself back into her life. I’m going to fucking kill you.” He grabs ahold of my shirt and with my good eye, I see his arm cock back.
This is going to fucking hurt.
“Adrian, no!” I hear my angel’s voice before I see her jump around his side and yank on his arm. “Mick called. She said he has proof that he wasn’t cheating. I walked in on him practicing a scene.”
“You really believe that shit, sis?” I see the disbelief in his face and I can’t blame him. This is his sister and he wants to protect her.
“Mick says he has proof. Let’s see what the proof is. If it’s bogus, we go home. If he’s telling the truth, we apologize. Okay?”
“Fine.” He throws my shirt back at me and stammers into their room. I can see the steam rising off him he’s so angry. Adriana stands there staring at me. There’s a mixture of confusion and pain on her face. I can tell she wants the proof to be true by the way she stands there staring at me. I thank God because I know he heard me. He’s giving us that chance I begged for.
“Let’s get you some ice for that eye,” she says, her voice too quiet. She’s not whispering, but her voice is hoarse and I know it’s from crying. I hate that she was put in this situation at all. It was innocent, but I can see how it must have looked.
She grabs the ice bucket from her room and we walk in silence to the dispenser down the hall. The sound of the ice falling into the bucket rockets through my pounding head. I wonder if Adrian knows how hard he hits. I feel like a Mack truck ran over my face. She looks up at my eye and I see guilt wash across her features.
“This is not your fault, sweetness.” She flinches at my endearment and I realize it’s too soon to fall into the comfort of who we were. She needs to see proof first that I didn’t break her trust in me.
I’m thankful when we walk into her room and I see her laptop. Eddie is e-mailing me the file. We could watch it on my phone, but I think seeing it on a bigger screen will allow her to truly comprehend that this is exactly what I’m telling her. I need her to know I would never cheat on her. I would never do anything that would hurt her. I ask her if I can log on to my e-mail and she nods. I can see how hard it is for her to talk to me still. I hate it. I hate all of this.
What should have been a wonderful surprise is turning out to be a nightmare.
Adrian stands behind me, legs spread, arms folded over his chest. The look on his face tells me that if I don’t prove to them that I wasn’t cheating, I won’t leave this room alive. I hope he believes what he sees and doesn’t think it’s doctored.
I click on the file and move back so they can watch it. You can hear Eddie give the cues for us to start. He runs through what the set crew would do and gives the countdown before we begin. I watch Adriana’s face, her smile as it dawns on her that I was telling the truth, her frown, as she has to watch me take off Cammie’s shirt. Even though I didn’t cheat, she still has to watch me act intimate with someone on the screen.
I step forward and block the screen. “This is the part of my life I have feared you watching since we decided we are a couple. I can’t change this part, Adriana, but what I can tell you is there are tricks of the trade that make it look like we’re doing things that we aren’t. Sometimes, we do have to do things because there’s no camera angle that can fake it, but there, where it looked like we were kissing, we weren’t. We simply had our faces pushed together and the way we kept turning our heads and the noises we made, make it appear as if we were.”
She swallows hard and nods. I can see the gears grinding in her head; can tell she’s trying to process what I’m telling her. She’s trying to decide if this is just paid cheating. Many actor’s significant others go through this. Many relationships fail because of this. I stand in silence, waiting for her to speak.
I don’t look back at Adrian, but I know he’s there. He’s a force to deal with, but I can’t right now. I can’t fight him and work through the fears in Adriana’s head too.
A tear slips down her cheek and panic fills my heart. This is what is going to make me lose her. She survived losing Alex. She finally was able to start moving on and see that she could be happy again and this… me doing sex scenes on the screen… my job… this is what’s going to make her run from me. Motherfucker.
“How do you keep yourself from getting turned on?” There’s such curiosity and pain mingled in her voice and it rips at my heart. She’s worried that I can’t touch these women and not feel something. Doesn’t she know she’s all the woman I could ever want? I wish saying those words would be enough.
“It’s not like that, Adriana. You’re in a room full of people. All eyes are on you and unless you like an audience, you don’t get turned on by what’s going on. It’s just a job. I don’t like an audience, sweetness.” I choose now to bring my endearment for her back. I need her to know it’s just her and I. That’s all I’ll ever want.
“Oh, Tucker, I’m sorry. I feel like that’s all I ever say to you. I don’t think I’m ever going to get this right.” Her arms are wrapped around her chest and tears fall like tiny rivers down her cheeks.
I take the couple steps to her and pull her into my arms. “We’ll figure it out, together. I’m not perfect either. Remember Kansas? You let me be a mess then. We’re still getting to know each other and figuring out where we fit. We’ll get there.”
I let her cry it out, let her sag into me as I feel Adrian standing behind me. I’m sure he doesn’t like watching her upset and w
ants to comfort her himself, but there is no chance I’m letting her go.
“You two seem like you have some making up to do so I’m going to get out of your way. Adri, I’ll be down at that coffee shop we saw when we were driving in, okay? You two come find me when you’re done.”
Adriana pulls away from me to look at her brother. Silent words are exchanged between them. I don’t know if it’s the twin thing or a sibling thing. I have no experience with this.
Adrian grabs a room key and walks away. He opens the door and looks back at me. “Sorry for punching you, man, but if you ever really hurt her, you know what to expect.” He turns and walks out the door. I respect him for the apology and for letting me know he’ll defend her to the end.
Chapter Forty
Adrian
The short walk to the coffee shop does me good. I feel like an asshole for punching Tucker, but how was I supposed to know he was practicing a scene? Adri came back to the room with a red face and puffy eyes. She fell into my arms, crying that she caught Tucker with a woman wrapped around him, their faces locked together in an embrace, and they had no shirts on. It was pretty fucking cut and dry to me. All I wanted to do was hurt him for hurting her. Punching him once wasn’t nearly enough for the tears she cried.
The weird thing is, part of me still wants to punch him, even though I know he didn’t cheat. Adri still cried because of him. I can’t stand seeing my sister upset. Especially after all she’s lost. She doesn’t realize I know that she lost more than Alex that day. Mom told Katie and me. In case Adri ever broke, more than she already was, and needed us to come to save her, mom felt we should know the whole truth of the accident. We’ve never uttered a word that we know about the babies and we never will. Adri needs to come to us when she heals enough.
I can’t say it doesn’t kill me that she hasn’t come to me. Adri comes to me with everything, but she’s shut me out since the accident. That’s why I jumped on coming to Vancouver with her. I miss her. We’ve always been thick as thieves, but for the last year and a half, things have been different. We barely speak. She’s a shell of who she was. Since meeting Tucker, I see little pieces of my sister in there. I do think she’s coming back to me, to all of us that love her.
Maybe that’s another reason I got so pissed when I thought he cheated today. I thought she would break completely and I’d never get her back. Yeah, I know it’s selfish, but I love her more than I’ve ever loved anyone. She’s my other half. She’s my twin. We share a bond I can’t explain to anyone.
I just miss her.
My stomach rumbles at me and I send a prayer to the food Gods that this coffee shop has some kind of goodies in there. I’m fairly certain I’m not having lunch with Adri and Tucker now. I look up to the sign above the shop, There’s Something About Joe. Well, Joe, let’s see what that something is.
I walk in and the smell goes straight to my gut. It smells amazing in here. There are coffees and… shit, I don’t know what else, but I’m drooling. The menu shows sandwiches and I want to kick my feet up in a jig of some kind. I slowly work my way to the counter in a euphoric state of mind as I continue to read the sandwich options.
“What can I get for you, gorgeous?” A male voice breaks through my lip smacking, drool filled, food daydream. Some guys would be freaked out by another man calling him gorgeous, but mom told us that we should be flattered no matter who gives us a compliment so I roll with it. Besides, I don’t think I’m too hard on the eyes.
“Large black coffee, that turkey club with the cranberry mayonnaise you have sounds amazing, and one of those double chocolate chip brownies would be great, please.”
He laughs at me and I wonder if they aren’t used to men ordering brownies around these parts. “You’re not so bad on the eyes and I’ll get right on that order,” he says, “but I was talking to her.” He points to my left and my head follows his finger.
I can’t breathe for a few seconds. Standing before me is a true Latina goddess. She is the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on. She’s tall, very tall, and I like that. Her legs are accentuated by the tight jeans and knee length black boots she has on. Her cleavage—which I know I shouldn’t stare at—pops out so perfectly through the V-neck, red sweater she has on, showing off her caramel skin and matching her red lips.
Fuck, her lips. Those are lips that are meant to be devoured. Devoured by me. Shit, my thoughts are all over the place. Her hair even has my dick jumping around, doing cartwheels in my pants. It’s jet black and falls halfway down her back in loose curls. It makes her big, brown eyes look that much more seducing. I’ve never wanted to know someone more than I want to know this woman standing beside me.
Holy motherfucking, stupid, son of a bitching, numb ass, dumb fuck. Stop staring at her and say something.
“I’m sorry for being rude,” I say to the man behind the counter. “I let my empty stomach get the best of me. Please add whatever the lady wants to my bill.”
I look back to her and try to offer an apologetic smile. Her scowl tells me men must hit on her all the time. Of course they do. She’s beyond a ten on the chart. Christ, there’s not a chart to put her on. She is fucking stunning.
“I’m really sorry for jumping in front of you like that. I normally have better manners,” I say and look back to the ordering counter. I don’t want her to think I’m trying to hit on her even though that’s exactly what I want to do.
She doesn’t say anything. She acts as if I hadn’t spoken at all so I don’t say anything either. At this point, I’ll just look like an asshole if I say anything else. Our orders come up; I pay and thank the guy. He must know her because she never told him what she wanted, but here she stands with a steaming cup and a bag. I want to say something, but there’s really nothing to say.
“Thank you.” Two simple words, but they wash over my body like silken sex. She has a raspy tone to her voice that draws me back to her. It’s not high pitched like most women. No, hers is deeper and has that rasp, almost like she’s a smoker, but so much hotter than that. I have to hear her speak again.
“You’re welcome. I know I looked like an asshole a few minutes ago. Any chance we could sit down to lunch together and I could show you I’m not?”
“Why would you want to do that?” she asks, her voice full of irritation.
“Hey, I’m not trying to upset you. I’m just a guy asking a pretty lady to sit down and eat lunch with him. Maybe we’ll find we have something interesting to talk about. That’s all.”
“What paper do you work for? What article do you want written this time? What do you want to say Bitchtoria did this time?”
I’m not sure why she thinks I work for a paper, but it’s clear she’s upset. “I’m not from around here. I’m only in Vancouver for this weekend. I came with my sister so she can see her boyfriend. I’m sorry people are giving you a hard time. I’ll leave you alone.”
I start to walk away when her hand wraps around my forearm. Lightning races through my blood at her touch and I feel heat everywhere. This woman is going to be the death of me.
“You really don’t know who I am?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t. Should I?”
I watch as she breathes deeply a couple times. I don’t know who hurt her, but someone has. Pain is etched into all her features and the defensive way she holds her body away from me. She doesn’t want anyone too close.
“Would you still like to have lunch with me?” I can see how hard it is for her to ask me that. She can’t look me in the eye when she asks the question and I can’t help but wonder how a woman this beautiful was ever made to feel so insecure.
“I’d like that,” I say, motioning to an empty table by the window. I like to people watch. Panic fills her when I point at that table and I’m guessing she doesn’t like that table or maybe it’s the idea that people can watch her. “Where would you like to sit?”
She walks to a table tucked in the back and it’s not lost on me that the seat she chooses a
llows her to see everything. What, or who, the hell is she expecting to find her here?
She carefully pulls a muffin from the bag and looks at me, waiting for me to do the same with my food. I feel stupid that, once again, I was caught staring. It was more a case of trying to figure out what is going on with her. Her leg hasn’t stopped tapping since we sat down, a sure sign her nerves are fried. She keeps staring at the door. Something is definitely not right.
“My name is Adrian.” I figure some small talk might loosen her up a little. “I, uh, restore old cars for a living.” I don’t know why I blurted that out. The last thing a hot chick like this wants to hear about is old cars.
“Really? I love old cars.” She transforms before my eyes. “What have you worked on lately?” She’s smiling and I swear I just turned to a pile of mush at her feet. She could ask for anything and I’d do it.
“How about your name first and then I’ll tell you about the car I finished most recently.” I need to at least know her name. I’ll never see her again after today, but I need to know her name.
“Victoria. Everyone around here knows my name. I’m pretty much the most hated woman in Vancouver so I was shocked you didn’t know me. It’s kind of nice to sit and talk without being cursed out.”
I can’t imagine what she could have done that would make everyone hate her. I have a sixth sense about people and that sense is telling me she’s a good person.
She fidgets a little, picks at her muffin, takes a sip off her drink. I think her admission made her feel insecure again. I miss the smiling woman from a minute ago. This fidgety mess doesn’t suit her.
“I restored a ‘67 Chevy Impala as a gift for my sister over the summer.”
“Holy shit! Those have a 327 engine and four-barrel carburetor. There’s nothing better than the sound of those engines when you rev ‘em.” I almost lose my load listening to her talk. Women that look like her never know cars and she isn’t faking it either. She’s talking engines and carburetors and she’s spot on. This chick knows her shit.