Charlie

“Alright.” Hugh’s voice came over the walkie talkie. “Everyone in place? Action!”

I leaned back in the driver’s seat, relaxing while squinting my tired eyes to focus on the seemingly abandoned road. Rob, in character, had the seat laid back, closing his eyes, arms crossed over his chest to sleep. On cue, I drove to my mark.

“Mark, look.” I pointed out of the car window.

He opened his eyes, rubbing the grogginess from them as he sat up. “What?”

He adjusted the seat with a groan before following my finger out of the window towards a truck crashed into the riverbank, lights still on.

“We should check it out.” I said, already throwing my door open.

“Woah, woah!” He lunged towards me, grabbing my arm to pull me back into the car. “You crazy? Someone most likely called the cops already, we shouldn’t even be in this area.”

“We’ve been driving down this road for miles.” I pulled my arm from him. “We haven’t seen another car in hours. Come on.”

Grabbing a flashlight from the glove compartment, I stepped out of the car, making my way through the damp unkempt grass. I could hear him groan loudly behind me as he followed reluctantly. That was the thing about family, we followed each other no matter what. No matter how good or bad the idea was.

That was probably why we were in this mess to begin with.

The closer we got, the truck started to look vaguely familiar, but with all the damage to it, I couldn’t make out where I’d seen it before. Mark shined his light inside before turning towards me with a weary look on his face.

“It’s a bloodbath in here.”

“Anyone inside?” I asked, checking the damage on the side.

Someone had hit the bed of the truck causing it to swerve off the road. I looked like it had rolled a few times before landing here.

“No, but i see a bag. Looks expensive. And a suitcase.”

Walking around to look inside, I cringed at the scene. Blood was smear everywhere. Slow rock and roll was still playing from the radio. Clothes were tossed. Glass was everywhere.

“Check it out.” Mark said, passing me a few ID cards. “Three of ‘em. Different states. Different names. Amber Scott. Rebecca McNally. Margaret Moore.”

I took the cards, looking them over. “I’ve seen her before. We both have.”

He scrunched his brows, grabbing one of the ID’s from me and looking over the picture again. “Noh, I would’ve remembered. She’s too hot to forget.”

I shook my head at his comment, before it hit me. “Mark this is her! The girl from the bar. This is her truck.”

“Didn’t you fuck her?” He opened his eyes in realization. “Shit. I knew something was off about that chick, you always attract the damaged ones. None of these are from Louisiana. A person having this many fakes could only mean one thing.”

“You think she was on the lamb?”

“Looks it. And whoever she was running from caught up to he.” He said motioning around at the crash site.

“Cut!” Hugh yelled out and we broke character. “Beautiful, just beautiful! Jess, are you at your mark?”

“On Mark.” We heard her return from the walkie-talkie.

“You two good to go? Bathroom break, drinks?” He asked us from the director’s seat.

“All good.” I replied.

“I’m good.” Rob called out.

“Alright. Action!”

“Check the area, she could still be here.” I ordered, shining my light towards the surrounding trees.

“August, it looks like this shit’s been here for hours. Judging by the blood there’s no way no way she would’ve made it this long. Either way, it ain’t our problem man.”

“That’s fucked up.” I shook my head. “She didn’t have to help us either but she did.”

He rolled his eyes, nodding his head towards his left. “Fine. You check that way. I’ll look over here.”

I lit the way, walking by the riverbank and through the grass. I could feel the wetness of the grass seeping through my jeans as I followed a trail on the ground coming from the water.

“Hey!” I whistled over to Mark. “Think i got somethin’.”

“What?” He asked, making his way over.

“Looks like something was either dragged in or out of the water.” I pointed towards the trail across the riverbank.

Mark shined his flashlight into the water, kneeling for a closer look but found nothing. By now any sort of trail would’ve been swept away.

“Follow it out.” He ordered. “Maybe this ain’t a worst case scenario. From what I remember, she was a tough broad.”

I nodded, finding the path in the dirt again, the two of us following it closely.

“Over there.” Mark hit my shoulder. “Something’s by the trees.”

Squinting my eyes, I could see a silhouette against one of the tree trunks. Without hesitation, I ran across the field, Mark following closely behind before I dropped to my  knees in front of the body.

It was her. She was wet and pale, her lips a dark set of purple from the freezing temperatures, her face scraped and dirty from blood mixed with river water and mud.

Immediately i threw off my jacket to wrap it around her while Mark knelt beside me.

“She alive?” Mark asked, pressing two fingers against the side of her neck.

“Well?” I asked, wrapping my jacket around her, pulling her into my arms for more warmth.

“There’s a pulse. It’s there but it’s weak.” He answered standing back up.

He looked around thoughtfully for a few seconds, hands on his hips as he tried to figure out the next steps as the girl laid limp in my arms.

I brushed my thumb against her cheek, wiping dirt off with the stroke before I tapped her lightly. “Hey. Hey sweetheart, you with me?”

Nothing.

I tapped again and no response.

“Get her in the car.” Mark said, looking at me expectantly before heading back towards the SUV.

I did as I was told, carefully scooping her up in my arms, following him.

Stomping up the semi-steep slope, I held her tightly against me, her head nestled on my shoulder. Then all of a sudden, I felt a bite and it broke me right out of character from unexpected shock.

“Hey!” I laughed, almost dropping her.

She burst out laughing and Hugh called cut, not bothering to look our way as he checked out the footage from the screen.

Jessica jumped out of my arms, playfully running away while Rob laughed.

“You little – !” I yelled after her, chasing her across the field.

I caught her in my arms from her waist, her back pressed against me as I spun us around, laughing uncontrollably.

“I’m going to vomit, if you keep spinning me!” She laughed covering her eyes with her hands.

“Let’s test that out, huh?” I joked, spinning once more before tripping and falling back with her on top of me.

“That’s what you get!” She smiled, laying flat on her back over me.

Even with all the prosthetics and dirt she smelled amazing. The sound of her voice was angelic. I could listen to her laugh all day.

“Alright you two, let’s get one serious shot of Charlie putting Jess in the car, then we’ll break for lunch.” Hugh directed.

---

  Jessica

Sitting in the makeup chair, I leaned back letting the ladies do their work while I read the script for the next scene. It’d been a hell of a day already. Between makeup, dirt, blood, more dirt, and more blood, I’d taken a total of 6 shower. I could practically feel my skin starting to crack. I had a few more scenes for the day, then I could go home and bath in some lotion.

Gross. The image of that was nowhere near as good as it sounded.

“Alright, all set for wardrobe.” Lisa smiled, patting my arm.

The process didn’t take long. Surprisingly Blake Prescot looked a lot like me before I’d dyed my hair darker. Blonde wig, red lipstick, messy smokey eye, a couple bruises. The perfect damaged socialite.

I got the call that the set was ready and finished getting dressed before heading over. Unlike the last location, we were in a studio for this one part would be shot normally, the other would be on a closed set for privacy. The scene consisted of an old dive bar. Low lights. Neon signs, small dance floor and drunk locals hanging around. It was supposed to be Charlie’s flashback of our first meeting in Louisiana. The bar, the slow dance, the sex. Then me covering for them when the cops started asking questions.

I’d done sex scenes before but this time was different. My stomach fluttered at the thought of being that close with Charlie. I knew from the start that we would have a few intimate scenes but I hadn’t been this nervous about it in years.

“Let’s get going.” Hugh instructed, placing a hand on my back to lead me to my marker. “Okay, you’ll be sulking at the bar staring at your drink, conveying a mix of sadness, fear, anxiety, and determination at once. You’ll spot Charlie standing across the bar, leaned against the wall” He pointed across from me where Charlie was already in place. “and it’ll be almost like this electromagnetic current running through the both of you. You’ll both start walking towards each other.” He motioned Charlie over. “You’ll fall into place, nothing needs to be said. You’ll notice the fresh blood and bruising on his, he’ll notice it on you and you both ignore it, opting to forget about everything except the sound of the music flowing through you then as it ends, you kiss. Deeply. Passionately. Desperately, before you leading him out to the truck.”

We both nodded. Charlie watching me as Hugh spoke so enthusiastically about the significance of the mood in this scene. He shot me a wink and returned his attention towards the director.

“Alright, let’s run this through. Places!”

“You brushed your teeth right?” Charlie asked playfully, his fingers grazed my arm, giving me goosebumps as we separated.

“Nope, actually the tuna sandwich I had at lunch was just too good to wash away the flavor. “ I joked, making him laugh.

He took his place against the back wall, a beer in hand. I took my place on the bar stoo and the lights dimmed as slow rock started playing from the speakers against the walls. The extras took their places. Laughing. Dancing. Speaking.

“Action!”

I sighed, staring down at the whiskey in my cup. I swirled it along the glass, focusing on the movement of the liquid as if it would suddenly have all the answers I needed.

As the songs changed, I spun around in my seat, leaning my back against the bar as I looked out onto the dance floor. Each person had a story of their own. A life of their own. I was finally getting mine back. It’d been far too long since I’d had any shred of freedom. Any say in my life. That all ended tonight.

A glimmer of blonde caught my eye across the floor and I looked up to a pair of eyes staring back at me. If this were any other night, I would’ve looked away. I would’ve run away for fear of angering Adam, but not this night.

I stood, glass still in hand as I took one final sip of courage before placing it down, curling my finger to call him over.

He came. No hesitation, no objection, meeting me in the middle of the dance floor. Without so much as a word, my arms snaked around his neck, my eyes never leaving him. I took all of him in. As much as i could under the flashing lights. The scar across his brow, the busted lip, the fresh blood still staining his hair, the trouble behind his blue eyes. I could tell he was doing the same.

His hands dropped to my hips. They were strong, calloused, as they rested under my shirt, warming my bare skin. We swayed. Slowly. To a beat of our own.

His fingers dug into my skin, pulling me closer to him. My body flush against his. With a sudden surge of courage, i cupped the back of his neck pulling his head down to meet my lips.

The kiss felt too real. I wasn’t kissing August in that moment. I was kissing Charlie. His tongue caressed mine and i happily accepted. His fingers sliding up my spine under my shirt, arching me into him further. I gave in, gripping his shirt to pull him with me as I stepped back towards the doorway, desperately trying to get back into character.

“Perfect!” Hugh yelled from behind one of the screens. “Let’s run it once more then I need everyone who doesn’t need to be here, off set.”

Once more we ran through the scene and the same feelings were there. Neither of is said a word about it but I knew Charlie felt it just as much as I did.

Everyone else cleared out and we moved to the next set. Starting at out positions at the door. We waited for ‘action’ before his hands immediately grabbed my hips, pulling me flush against him again.

Our lips connected again and we panted for air in between desperate kisses. We’d moved outside, away from the noise. Away from the crowd. I realized that i knew nothing about this man. He actually seemed quite dangerous but I wasn’t going to stop. Who was I to judge?

I pushed him back against my truck, breathlessly moving my lips down to his neck, nipping and sucking on the exposed skin. His throat rumbled in a low groan before he lifted me up in his arm, turning us around in one swift movement. He ravaged my neck, his hands roaming roughly against my body, keeping my legs around his waist.

He felt so good, too good.

With my best effort to get enough focus, I unlocked the doors, popping one open. He didn’t miss a beat, lifting me up into the truck and laying me on my back as he climbed on top. Shutting the door behind us, he rested himself between my legs, his lips meeting mine again, hands exploring their way to the hem of my shirt, pulling it up over my head.

Our tongues fought for dominance in between breathless moans and undressing before I climbed over him, breasts flush against his had chest.

We stopped in between the take to have protective cloths and have oils applied to make us look sweaty. Assistants came give us robes before the makeup department arrived.

“Looks like you lied about brushing your teeth after all.” Charlie laughed, leaning against the bed of the truck.

“Common courtesy.” I shrugged with a smirk, letting my eyes wander down to the bulge in his pants, before lowering them to the ground.

He chuckled, playing with the string on my robe mindlessly as I stood in front of him. “Dinner later? Rob and I are heading to that restaurant from the other night.”

“Dinner is the last thing I want to think about right now, i was so full the other night, i almost died!”

He laughed, shaking his head. “I’m going to take that as a yes cause you gotta eat.”

“Jess, right this way.” One of the makeup girls came to get me.

I shot Charlie a smile and followed her towards a dressing room to apply a modesty patch over my groin while she sprayed me with oil, fixing the smudged makeup.

When I returned, Charlie was in the car. His jeans dropped in a pair of tan boxers that wouldn’t be visible in with me over him. I took off my robe and his eyes glistened with something dark as he took me in.

Shivers went up my body as I climbed in the car over him, straddling my legs on either side, his hardened member pressed against my center.

He ran his hand through his hair, his body hard as a rock, flexing his muscles as he smiled.

“My bad. Its one of those ‘sorry if i do’, ‘sorry if I don’t’ type things.” He smiled nervously.

I laughed, cupping his cheeks as I was given my mark, tucking a piece of his hair behind his ears. “Judging by your size, i don’t think you have a thing to be sorry about.”

He smirked, licking his bottom lip. “Can’t say that I do.”

“Alright, let’s finish this and we can all go home. Action!”

His hands slide over my bare ass, fingers digging into my cheeks as he grabbed roughly, pressing me further down on his lap as I grinded my hips against his. I bit his bottom lip, bouncing slowly on his lap. Our moans filled the car as the windows began to fog.

He lowered his head into my chest, his mouth cupping around my nipple as he sucked it in, causing my to throw my head back in a moan, my nails digging into his back..

I bounced harder. Faster. i was almost there and so was he. His lips roaming my neck to my ear, he sucked the lobe into his mouth and I couldn’t contain myself any longer, coming hard and unrestrained. He followed soon after, holding me against his chest as I collapsed into him.

“Perfect!” We heard from outside. “That’s it for the day, we’ll start back up at dawn.”

Someone came with a robe and I threw it on before getting off of Charlie, he smirked  watching me before throwing on his robe. His face changed when he looked behind me and I turned to see Chris with a bouquet of flowers approaching us.

“Surprise!”

“Chris!” I yelled excitedly, running towards him, jumping into his arms. “What are you doing here?”

He laughed, returning my kiss as he held me up. “I finished shooting a few days early, thought I’d come surprise you.”

“Yay!” I squirmed in his arms, hugging him tightly.

With everything going on in my personal life, Chris was a welcome distraction. With him – what you saw was what you got. No hidden agenda. Nothing.

I heard Charlie clear his throat and got down off of Chris. He looked behind me, holding his hand out to shake Charlie’s.

“Hey!” Chris smiled. “Big fan of your work.”

“Thanks, man. Fan of yours too. Wish Jess had been more specific about who she was dating. I’ve seen every one of your movies.” He smiled but it was different. Standoffish.

“How long are you here for?” I asked, looking up at Chris.

I could feel the weight of Charlie’s glare on me but I couldn’t look at him. I’d lost myself in that last scene and that wasn’t okay. I was with Chris and this was my job. I knew better than this.

“Just tonight. I have promotional shoots in LA all day Sunday. I know you’re going down to see your mom tomorrow so I didn’t want to get in your way. I made reservations for dinner. You ready?”

Dinner? Shit.

I looked back at Charlie, biting the corner of my lips. “Rain check?”

“Yeah!” He waved me off, a sweet but disappointed smile on his face. “Not a problem. You two have fun.”

“Thanks man, great meeting you!” Chris smiled turning his attention back to me. “You want to get cleaned up babe?”

---

Charlie

Apparently the walls in this place were paper thin. After dinner with Rob, I’d gotten back, taken a shower and popped a seat on the couch nursing a beer when I heard them come in. It wasn’t long after that, that the moaning began.

I could hear her voice, smooth as caramel ringing through the walls of my apartment. Sure, I’d heard her moaning earlier on set. I’d felt her gyrating on my lap. Seen most of her incredible body, but that was different. That was an act. All it would ever be.  Hell of a good one at that. It took everything in me not to stare. Not to get hard and ruin everything.

That lucky bastard in there got the real thing.

I could still taste her skin on my lips. The feel of her nipple in my mouth and the way her body molded to mine. Her nails in my back. Her tits bouncing against my chest.

What I wouldn’t give for the real thing right now.

Fuck that guy.

Chris Ryans was the lead actor in one of the new superhero movies. Kids loved him. Women loved him. Guy had it all. The two were essentially perfect for each other. Figured mister perfect would be the one to land her.