Charlie

“I feel like we need to capture more of Mark’s emotions.” Jess said as we gathered around Hugh to prep for our scene. “He’s been looking our for August forever. I think his struggle with his little brother’s defiance should be displayed with a mixture of anger and disappointment that August isn’t just taking his word when he knows what’s best for them.”

Hugh looked at the script thoughtfully, nodding his head. “I can see that. These boys have only had each other and suddenly a girl comes around and August is gung-ho for taking her side.”

Rob nodded, “I can do that.”

“The cameras should get close and personal on their faces so we can practically feel the emotion.” She added.

Hugh nodded for Rob and I to get on our markers and we watched as Jessica moved a camera between us. Hugh watched from the monitor as she focused on Rob’s face in the camera then on mine.

“I’m liking the angles.” he said, motioning for Jess to get off the set and take a look.

The two spoke amongst themselves before he called action.

“You did what?” Mark asked, his nostrils flared in anger letting me know that he’d heard me. “There’s no way in hell we’re going anywhere with her. The deal was, we make sure she’s alive then we leave.”

“We can’t leave her. She told me what happened. She wasn’t kidnapped, Mark. She’s on the run from her husband. Said he was looking to kill her.”

“That ain’t our problem August. We got enough shit of our own as it is. I know you think this is some cosmic sign bringing you together but I need you to trust me on this.”

“I’m not leaving her behind. She ain’t got no where to go.”

Mark sighed, running his hands through his hair in a pained restraint. I knew he wanted to reach out and beat some sense into me but it wouldn’t make a difference. He might not believe in signs but I did.

“I’ve been looking out for you since you was a kid, Auggy.” He finally spoke, eyes now glossy from tears. “I will always look out for you. We are on the fucking run, man. We’re wanted for murder. This shit ain’t no joke. Now ain’t the time to get caught up in some crush.”

“I’m not a kid anymore, man. I haven’t been for a long long time.” I defended but he shook his head.

Wiping his eyes, he looked into mine. “Then stop acting like one! This isn’t a debate. Just get your shit and get in the car.”

“I’m not leaving her.” I replied standing my ground.

The cameraman took his place in front of Rob again and concentrated on his face as he conveyed the emotion they wanted from him.

Jessica pointed at something on the monitor as she spoke with Hugh quietly. Hugh nodded his head seeming to agree with whatever she was saying before he started pointing something out.

“Cut!” He called out, waving us over. “Come take a look.”

Rob and I walked over to see him rewind the last minute of the footage. It looked incredibly powerful. You could feel what Mark felt. You could see his disappointment. You could see everything.

Rob laughed and hugged Jess. “Well who knew you had an eye for this, huh?”

She did have an eye for it. None of us were able to see the intimacy needed for that scene. Especially since most of Rob’s scenes were him fighting with August, we didn’t want him to be seen as a bad guy. We needed the audience to sympathize with him and this was the perfect way.

“I did.” Hugh laughed. “She’s worked miracles with every movie we’ve worked together on.”

 

Lunch time came around and I walked out to the food trucks. Rob was there eating with Jess. The two laughed and she picked food off of his plate. That literally was us less than two weeks ago. Why was it so fucking weird now?

Oh yeah.

“Charlie! Grab a seat mate.” Rob called over.

Jessica looked over her shoulder at me. I shouldn’t have walked over there but I had too. Rob was starting to see that we weren’t spending any time together.

I grabbed a plateful of food and took a seat next to her. Jessica wiped her mouth and stood up.

“Welp, I gotta get in a workout before my scenes tonight.” She said grabbing her tray with a pleasant smile. “I’ll see you guys later.”

“Awh come on, stay a little longer.” Rob begged.

“I wish I could but this is show business and they’ll fire me if I get flabby.” She joked, giving us a wave before leaving the table.

Rob turned back to me, taking another bite of his burger. “I don’t care what she says, if show business means I can’t have burgers, I don’t want any part of it.”

I laughed, moving my rice back and forth on my plate mindlessly. “I hear ya.”

I couldn’t pay attention enough to hear him. I wanted to talk to her. I wanted to share a laugh with her comfortably. This fucking sucked. When we hung out it felt like the most natural thing in the world. Now we couldn’t even make eye-contact without it being awkward.

 

 

Jessica

I sat on the floor in the center of the gym. The punching bag continued it’s swinging momentum from the aggression I’d released on it. Now with a desperate need to catch my breath, all I could do was sit and watch it move.

After taking a year off to be with my mom, I was able to live calmer. Quieter. Aside from the frequent visits to the doctor’s and hospitals, we spent time together. We’d go out for brunch and lounge by the pool. At night we’d put on movies and laugh and gossip. It was something neither of us had ever had enough time to do. I’d realized that I’d fallen in love with the normalcy of it all.

Now that I was back at work, it all seemed overwhelming. With tension between Charlie and I, I was struggling to fully immerse myself into my role. My mind was either always on him or at work. On top of that, I had started to feel bad for brushing off Chris every chance I got.

I loved my job. I really did. When I was a kid, I loved playing dress up with my mom’s makeup and heels. I’d make up stories and act them out with my imaginary friends while my mom was at work and I was left home alone. I’d known even then I wanted to be an actress.

It was so fascinating being a whole other person and experiencing things from a point of view other than your own. When I acted, I immersed myself completely. I delve as deeply as I could into my character’s state of mind and it seemed to translate amazingly on screen.

But this time it felt different. I was living out my connection with Charlie on screen. His character was my character’s soulmate. There was something so conflicting about having to hide your feelings behind a role. I knew our connection was deeper than just what was scripted, but it was the only way we’d ever be able to play it out.

The last scene of the night would be between Charlie and I. We were to be sitting on the floor of the motel room while Mark was out looking for the guys next move. A few drinks in, a few secrets spilled, and we’d end up making out. It wasn’t love at first sight type thing. This far into the script, our character’s just hooked up to release tension until they get to spend more time together.

I sat on my marker, reading the last the last few lines of the script then handed it to an assistant. Charlie did the same before he came and took his seat next to me. Neither of us said a word to each other until Hugh called action and we had a job to do.

 

I laughed at the blonde’s overly exaggerated impression of his brother. He laughed as well before we both finished the remainder of our bourbon. Turning his head to look at me, he nudged me with his shoulder, a sly smirk on his lips.

“So that night at the bar -”

“Yeah?” I cocked a brow, barely holding in a giggle from my drunken state.

“Was I like a spur of the moment rebound?”

I nodded my head and covered my face with my hands in embarrassment.

“Yup. A damn good one too.” I admitted. “Who knew all I had to do was have a one night stand with a stranger to finally have an orgasm.”

His eyes widened as he refilled our glasses. “Your husband never got you off?”

“Nope!” I shook my head, “Not once in all 5 years of marriage.”

“Jesus Christ.” He laughed. “Well, if you ever need another one, I’m happy to help.”

“Is that so?” I smirked, turning my body to face him.

He licked his lips and my eyes followed his tongue, watching as he nodded his head. “Yup.”

I knew it was the alcohol in me talking. I should’ve been working on my next move. I couldn’t stay with these guys forever, but right now – all I wanted was to forget about it all just as I had a year ago in that dive bar.

I leaned in close and my lips touched his. Almost instantly, his hand reached around to grab my ass and pull me on top of him. With my fingers running through his hair, I held him closer to me, deepening the kiss.

It wasn’t long before I felt his dick hardening against me and with his hands guiding my hips I grinded against him eliciting the sweetest sounding groan from his throat.  Our tongues fought for dominance and soon his hands were running under my shirt, raking his nails down my back as I pulled his off over his head.

 

Fuck. There it was again. That spark. His eyes opened to meet mine and I knew we were both out of character this time. He lifted us up in one swift movement and laid me down on the bed, resting himself in between my legs.

All of this was scripted but we weren’t acting anymore.

His teeth found my lip, biting it softly and my legs wrapped around his waist to keep the friction as he pressed against me. At this rate, if he kept going I might actually orgasm. His lips found my neck and he started sucking and pulling at the soft skin with his hands grabbing the ends of my shirt to start lifting it over my head.

The “motel” door opened and we both snapped back into character.

 

    “Seriously?!” Mark growled in anger looking between the two of us.

 

“And cut!” Hugh called out.

Charlie stayed on top of me a second longer than he should’ve, gazing into my eyes to see if I’d felt what he had, then pulled away. We both sat up, still panting for air from the intensity of the scene.

“Jesus, you two make shit seem so real.” Rob laughed as we were handed bottles of water.

I took a sip to hide the blush from my cheeks as Charlie laughed.

“Well we wouldn’t be successful if we didn’t.”

 

Charlie

That’s it.

That was fucking it.

I wasn’t going to torture myself this way any longer. I knew what I felt and I knew she felt it too. I saw it in her eyes.

I was done ignoring it.

After filming, I headed to the apartment and I’d heard her get in a half hour after me. I thought a shower and a wank would calm me down but it had done nothing but make me more determined than ever.

I wanted Jess. I wanted all of her. I wanted to taste her. I wanted to feel her pussy wrapped around my dick. I wanted to make her moan for me louder than Chris had ever made her.

I wanted her to be mine.

Not bothering to throw on anything but a pair of sweats, I crossed the hall, knocking on her door.

My heart began to race and I stared down the hallway to make sure nobody was around. Not that they would be at this time, but paranoia tended to get the best of me.

The door opened and before she got the chance to speak, my hands cupped her neck and my lips found hers, pulling her in for a long, desperate, passionate kiss. I kicked the door closed behind me and spun us around, holding her pinned against it.

There was clearly something between us that we were to scared to explore but I wasn’t anymore. I was done holding back.