by Julia Bright
“Who uses these things?” Rose held up a silver contraption that looked kind of evil.
“What is it?”
“An eyebrow curler—I mean an eyelash curler. God, I pity the person who can curl their eyebrows.”
The visual made him burst out laughing. “There was this—” Cam was laughing so hard he couldn’t complete the sentence. “God, I can’t…my sixth grade teacher, he had these long brows that stuck out from his face. I think he could have used one of those.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes, his name was Mr. Vanderslice. I bet you can’t guess what his first name was.”
“What?” Rose breathed out as she placed a hand on the middle of her chest.
Cam started laughing again and shook his head. “It’s too much.”
“Tell me,” Rose begged.
“Richard.”
Rose’s brows pinched together. “Richard Vanderslice?” She cocked her head to the side, and in that moment, he realized she really was a sweet, good person who he wanted in his life.
“Richard or Dick. Dick Vanderslice.”
Rose rolled her eyes and shook her head. “God, how old were you then? That’s so junior high.”
He sat up and made tight fists of his hands, placing them on his hips, “Hey, I was in junior high at the time.”
“You’re too funny. I like you, Cam. I’ll let you dress me up in a disguise and take me down to the debauchery filled kitchen or den to get food.”
“Okay, but I’m going to dress up too.”
“As what?”
“I don’t know, maybe a pirate.”
“God, just what we need, you as a pirate. That won’t draw any attention. How about you dress as a woman. We could just switch clothes.”
Cam’s mouth opened and he started shaking his head. Rose was tiny compared to him. “There’s no way your dress would fit me, and it’s too pretty to damage.”
“You think my dress is pretty?” Rose’s cheeks turned pink as she shifted and started looking through another drawer.
“You’re very pretty, beautiful even.”
Rose scoffed. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Please, then why haven’t I gotten any parts?”
“Rose, Hollywood is hard. Parts aren’t given based on beauty. It’s so much more complex than that. Then there’s who you know. Really, it’s almost impossible to get a good part unless you’re connected.”
“How did you get your first part?”
“My brother slept with the producer.”
Rose’s face went blank and her eyes wide. “Really?”
“Yep, and that got us in.”
“Wow, I’m not—” Rose’s cheeks turned bright red, and she started looking through the drawers again. “Oh, I found it.” Rose held up a bobby pin, her grin wide.
His heart stuttered. He was in trouble. This girl was too special for him. She was pure and innocent, and he was tainted by the business.
“That’s awesome. Let me see if I can work any magic.” Cam took the bobby pin and started picking off the plastic covering the end. Rose moved close and looked over his shoulder.
“What are you doing?” Her breath tickled the back of his neck and he shivered.
He stilled, wishing he knew her better and could pull her to his lap for a kiss. “Getting rid of the bump at the end. I need to be able to fit it into that tiny hole.”
“Oh, yeah, that is small. Do you really think this will work?”
“No clue, but we’re going to have fun trying.”
Chapter Six
Rose held her breath as Cam slid the end of the bobby pin into the door handle. He wiggled the pin a bit before he glanced up and smiled.
“I think I did it.” Cam turned the handle and the door cracked open.
“We’re in!” Rose shouted before covering her mouth. “I hope it isn’t empty.”
When he turned up his face and smiled again, she thought her heart would burst. Being with this guy was absolutely amazing.
“Let’s take a look.” Cam’s voice was smooth and sultry, making her go weak in the knees.
Cam stood and flipped on a switch just inside the door. Light spilled out of the space, and she glanced around his shoulder, surprised to see so many clothes lining the racks.
“Wow, it’s like they have a full wardrobe in here.” She stepped in and ran her hands over the clothes, realizing that the closet was probably bigger than her room in her apartment. “Seriously, who has this many clothes?”
“They look nice,” Cam said.
“Yeah, I don’t think I could wear them. We’d get in too much trouble.”
In the middle of the closet was a huge built-in shelving unit with about six drawers and a bunch of shoe racks. She’d never seen anything like it and stood staring in disbelief as Cam walked to the end of the row of clothes and stepped behind the shelving unit.
“Oh shit,” Cam said.
“What?” Rose moved closer, seeing multiple garment bags. One had unusual looking fabric sticking out. “What are those?”
Cam unzipped one of the garment bags and stepped back. “Looks to be costumes. This is awesome. We could dress up.”
Rose moved closer to the bags and unzipped another one. She pulled out the material and fingered a skimpy skirt. “As what, a hooker? Isn’t that why I’m here, because I already look like one.”
Cam rolled his eyes and pulled her into a loose hug, wrapping one arm around her shoulder while he scrubbed her head with his knuckles. “You don’t look like a hooker.”
“These show too much skin,” Rose said.
Cam reached around her and unzipped another bag. “Look, this one.” He pulled out a fuzzy brown costume. “This would be great.”
Rose wasn’t sure about what he was suggesting. “What is that?”
Laughter from Cam filled the space, and she breathed in, warmed by his joy. “It looks to be a gorilla. I could wear it.”
Rose unzipped the rest of the bags and huffed out a breath. “But the rest are girl stuff, and I’m a girl. It would be obvious I was a girl in any of these and that’s exactly what we are trying to avoid.”
“Oh…Oh, that would be bad. They can’t know you’re a girl. You wear the gorilla, I’ll wear…” Cam pulled out a dress and held it up. “This. It looks maybe like Bo Peep?”
“They would see your face.”
He nodded and shot her a goofy grin. “Yeah, that would be bad.”
Rose thumbed through the rest of the costumes, looking for something suitable. There was a black dress with leggings, and a pink something or other that had scraps of material cut out of the bodysuit and would show a lot of skin, then there was some gauzy thing that had a lot of layers of material.
“What’s this?” Rose asked.
“I don’t know. Let’s grab the gorilla suit and this. We’ll see what we can do.” He winked heavily before moving to the bedroom carrying the gorilla suit.
She followed with the gauzy material and laid it out on the bed next to where Cam had placed the gorilla costume. Cam lifted the thing she’d placed on the bed, fingering the material.
“It looks like a dress but with some pants.” Cam held it up, and his eyes went wide. “I think this is a scarf, not pants. It’s a belly dancer outfit.”
“You have to be the belly dancer,” Rose squealed as excitement filled her.
“I—but, my, um…you know. How will I keep—this material is awfully thin.”
Rose let her gaze travel down Cam’s body to the front of his pants. That had been a mistake. Cam would probably be voted the sexiest man alive in the next year or so, maybe even the most eligible bachelor if he cleaned up his act and got some good movie roles. His looks were off the charts, and he had been nice to her, which was more than she’d gotten from many of the less famous guys she’d known.
Rose bit her lower lip and her gaze met Cam’s. Heat filled her. “Um, just
keep your underwear on.”
Cam glanced down then back to her. “Okay, I think that will do.” He smiled wide and he slapped his hands together. “Let’s get to work.”
Cam pulled off his shirt, and Rose had to fight the gasp wanting to escape. The man was sculpted perfectly. It was as if an artist had built him to perfection, leaving nothing to chance, molding his muscles to the most pleasant form available.
Rose turned and grabbed the gorilla suit, sticking one leg in before steadying herself with her hand on the dresser. She stuck the other leg into the suit then felt a hand on her waist. She looked back, seeing Cam right behind her, his naked chest almost pressed against her back. Heat shot from the pit of her stomach outward, all the way to her toes and then doubled back to her core, heating her even more.
“Hey, you might not want to wear that dress in the suit.”
“What else would I wear?”
“I don’t know. It just doesn’t look comfortable.” Cam placed his hand on her shoulder. “Let me help you if you’re going to wear it under that costume. It’s getting caught in the back.”
“Oh.” Rose held still as Cam reached down and grabbed the bottom of her dress. His hand brushed over her leg, leaving sparks of desire behind. When his hand touched her rear, she jumped and they both stilled.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to touch you like that.” Cam’s voice was low and right by her ear. Goose bumps erupted all over her body as her desire spiked. Rose stepped away, trying to hide her reactions.
“It’s okay,” she said.
His hand on her leg had felt amazing, and she shivered, hiding her trembling hands by pulling up the suit. “How is your costume coming?”
“Fine. I just… Tell me if it looks stupid.”
Cam’s voice dropped, going softer. Rose studied his face, seeing the bunched brows and pinched lips. Cam Harris, the sexiest man she’d ever seen without a shirt on, was worried that she would think he looked foolish.
“You look fine.”
Cam brought the scarf up to his face, covering the lower half and batted his eyes as he rocked his hips then circled them like a belly dancer. “Really?”
She laughed and shook her head. “You’re funny. Remember I’m the one wearing a gorilla suit. I’ll look like a total idiot.”
Cam rolled his eyes as he tugged on the bra for the get-up. “You were saying?”
Rose had to bite her lips to keep from laughing, but it didn’t really work. The deep belly laugh escaped, and Cam joined in, doing some cross between a Hawaiian dance and some weird belly wiggle.
“Would you zip me?” Rose turned so he had access to the back of the gorilla suit.
“Sure. I think we’re ready to go down. No one will recognize you, and as for me, hopefully I’ll go unrecognized.”
“That does cover most of your face, so you should be fine.”
“You look great. Now all you need is to cover your face.”
Rose smirked then pulled the head mask up and over her head. She shook her head. “This is crazy, but I’m starving.”
Cam laughed as he unlocked then pulled open the bedroom door. “I’ll do anything to fix that. Come with me, my hairy beast.”
She placed her fuzzy mitt in Cam’s outstretched hand and followed behind him. Her life had turned crazy. Prostitutes, possible drugged wine, near megastars, and an ape costume. What was her world coming to?
They walked like normal down the hall, but the sound of someone speaking downstairs had them pulling up short. Cam placed a finger over his covered lips and his eyes went round. She stepped back, away from the edge of the stairs. Her gaze never left Cam’s. The joy shining in his eyes was contagious. She smiled, though he couldn’t see her face at all. The people downstairs walked past and disappeared but Cam didn’t take his eyes off her. Instead, his gaze grew warmer. The seconds ticked by until Cam blew out a breath, causing the blue, gauzy scarf to flutter. He rolled his eyes then took her hand and led her down to the entryway.
Navigating the stairs in a gorilla suit that was a few sizes too large was difficult. She had to hold up the legs to keep from tripping, but she was still holding onto Cam’s hand, so she had to really hold on to the middle of the costume, pulling the legs up. It must have looked ridiculous with her grabbing the crotch of the gorilla suit. When they reached the bottom stair, Cam turned and picked her up, swinging her around before placing her back on her feet.
“Oh, that…wow. We look silly. I should be the one picking you up and spinning you around.”
Cam let go of a huge laugh that filled the empty entryway. “I would crush you if you tried to pick me up.”
“I could pick you up.” She reached for him but the ape mitts she was wearing weren’t the right size and she couldn’t get a grip on his hips.
Cam shrieked and then covered his mouth with both hands. She giggled and watched him pull his knees up and rush down the hall on his tiptoes as if he were some weird ballerina girl who didn’t know how to dance. When he got to the end of the hall, he lifted his arms and twirled around.
Had she had any liquid in her mouth, she would have sprayed. Cam Harris was a thing to behold in the belly dancer outfit. His hairy armpits were revealed, and a nice dusting of hair on his chest was on display. The thin line of hair running from his bellybutton lower made her feel funny. Rose drew in a deep breath, calming her desire. She rolled her eyes at herself and marched forward, glad Cam couldn’t see the evidence of her desire. Her cheeks were flaming hot, and she was turned on enough that her nipples were hard as rubies.
Before, when Cam had been dressed in his own clothes, she’d been able to stay detached, but watching him move in the skimpy costume overheated her, and the gorilla suit wasn’t helping her to stay cool. She feared how messed up she would look once they ditched these getups.
Cam held up his hand, and she froze. His eyelids narrowed and he grew serious. “I hear people. This is the most dangerous part of our mission. We are entering the lion’s den, or well, the orgy den. We have to go through here to get to the kitchen. Follow closely behind me and don’t let anyone grab my butt.”
Rose giggled and nodded, the ape head bouncing around a bit. She sobered, hoping she could impart her sincerity through the small eyeholes of her costume. “Okay, I think I can do that.”
Cam winked and leaned close to her. For a second, she imagined that he was going to kiss her on the cheek, but he pulled away and turned quickly, hiding his face from her. Disappointment slid through her.
Cam looked around the corner and waved her on. She followed closely, walking as quietly as she could in the way-too-big-for-her gorilla suit. Cam paused and held up his hand, stopping them.
He turned and moved in close, his lips at the side of her head. “There are people in the next room, but they are passed out. Be very, very quiet.”
She wanted to giggle, but stayed silent. Cam stepped into the room and began overemphasizing his movements, lifting his knees high as he weaved through passed-out bodies like a pro. Watching Cam was like watching a cartoon, one of those old ones with the coyote and rooster.
As they moved past a naked blond woman lying on a set of pillows, Rose tripped on the gorilla suit foot and grabbed onto Cam’s shoulders. He froze and turned slowly. A passed out, totally naked guy grunted on the couch and Cam’s eyes went wide. She knew hers were bulging too. The drunk dude didn’t wake up, so she and Cam moved again. This time, she took it slower, holding up the legs on the suit so she didn’t trip on the ends.
The kitchen was empty, and they both breathed a sigh of relief when they stepped into the space.
“I didn’t think we would make it when that dude moved,” Cam said.
“Everyone is naked, aren’t they?”
“Yeah, if we get seen we’ll stick out like a sore thumb.”
“Do you think they’re all really having sex with each other?”
Cam turned to her, his gaze serious. “Do you want to know the truth?”
She sho
ok her head, hoping the movement was obvious to him though she was dressed as a gorilla.
“Okay, how about that food. We have bags of chips. They haven’t started smoking any weed, or if they have, they haven’t gotten the munchies, so we can take a bag of whatever chips you want, don’t touch the brownies though.”
She stared at him opened-mouthed and started shaking her head. “Really? People actually put marijuana in brownies?”
“I’m not positive that those are pot brownies, but I wouldn’t chance it. The Oreo cookies should be safe since the package is closed.”
She sighed and looked over the food. “So anything closed up in a package?”
“Yes. And I think I could get us some meat and bread for sandwiches. The pizza is probably dead by now.”
“Wait!” Rose moved to the stack of pizza boxes and took the bottom box, clumsily opening the lid. Inside sat a fully decked out supreme pizza that hadn’t been touched. “We can’t walk away from this pizza and not try to do it some justice. No one has touched it.”
“Ah, I see you have impeccable taste. If you insist, I will agree with you. We can’t leave this behind. It would be criminal.”
She nodded again. She must look like a fool with the suit on. “Yes, it would be.”
“Okay, drinks. What shall we drink?” Cam asked.
“No alcohol.” She was still feeling the effects of what she’d consumed before and didn’t want to get drunk again.
“I agree. No alcohol. There should be some sodas in the fridge.”
“Got it.” Rose pawed open the refrigerator and found two regular sodas and two diets along with four bottles of water. Somehow, she got the drinks in a bag without dropping them. Cam shut the pizza box and had gathered the chips and the package of Oreos. She turned, looking for more food, and saw two women stepping into the kitchen. They blinked then slowly backed away, leaving the room. Her gaze met Cam’s and they both cracked up.
“We’ve got enough. Let’s head up. We don’t want to be caught.”