Page 11 of In Her Arms

“I want you to bend over now. Can you do that for me?” Cameron asked in an assertive tone which made Goldie’s head rush.

“Yes” was the only word she could summon the energy to respond with as she flipped over and got on all fours.

“I knew you would be purefilth,” Cameron said as she brought her body closer behind. Her hands softly stroked over Goldie’s thighs. Cameron rubbed her swollen wetness, teasing Goldie slowly. Gently, she pushed in two fingers, her breath louder, excited by the view. With fingers curled slightly, she began pushing deeper. Slipping in and out, faster and harder. Goldie pushed herself back against Cameron’s fingers. Wanting it. Wanting more. She wanted everything Cameron could give.

The pace quickened, and Goldie reached down and massaged her clit in time with the thrusts from Cameron.

Heat pooled in her stomach and thighs as she shook toward an intense finish. “Fuck!” Goldie panted as she came harder than she had in a very long time.She couldn’t have guessed when Cameron had first walked into her trailer that they would end up like this. She never expected to getthiskind of reaction from her. But she liked it.

Goldie collapsed on the bed, her breath heavy and body like jelly. She could feel Cameron move away from behind her and get off the bed.

Goldie watched her walk through the doorway and return a few moments later with tissue and clean underwear, leaving them on the end of the bed.

“I need to get home.” Cameron leaned in the doorway, her expression neutral.

Goldie nodded in return, unsure of what exactly she could say. She was rusty, to say the least.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Cameron finished, before turning to leave.

“See you then,” Goldie replied, her voice breathy in a way she did not expect.

7

CAMERON

Afew days passed, both working and non-working, the latter much rarer. On one of these non-working days, Cameron found herself sitting on the sofa in her living room. White-walled and sparsely decorated, she used the small apartment as a base of operations more than anything else. She was constantly worried about having to move on, an old habit from previous living situations. Now, it felt a little bit silly since she knew her housing was secure. Still, she thought, it didn’t hurt to be ready. Whenever she brought somebody home, she would normally tell them she was a minimalist, which she guessed was technically true. The sofa was a plush black leather three-seater, and Cameron could comfortably stretch her legs across it, her back supported by a cushion as she scrolled through the internet on her laptop.

She genuinely did not know what to do with herself. Outside of work, she had very little to do other than waste time, so she tried to waste time. She was nearly always too tired to go out, and in a way, it was really unusual that she hadn’t had sex in a while. Well, she hadn’t had sex in a while until Goldie.

Her mind filled with questions about what had happened, but she decided to just take it for what it was. Goldie was a star. An icon. She was drop-dead gorgeous and a total pain in the ass. She could get whoever she wanted whenever she wanted, so Cameron knew it wouldn’tmean anythingto her, surely?

Cameron scrolled through a celebrity gossip forum, a development of her late-night talk show habit. She always felt a little guilty checking the forums, but the drama called to her with a siren’s song of nosy information. She loved it.

Reading an anonymous confession about Goldie’s co-star Leon, Cameron couldn’t help but feel like she was becoming a little obsessed with Goldie’s presence. Sure, she was contractually obligated to stay attached at her hip unless Goldie needed something or it was Cameron’s day off, but she found herself thinking about the little glimpses of theactualGoldie she had gotten to know through cracks in what she now knew was a veneer of rudeness. Goldie’s last assistant hadn’t been able to deal with her attitude, and in all honesty, Cameron couldn’t blame him. Then again, he had almost certainly never gone down on her. That probably made her a little biased.

At least Goldie wasn’t as rude as some of the people on these websites, she thought. People were truly horrible about Goldie on some pages, even on pages that were supposedly about uplifting women in film. Her appearances, her prior roles, and the few parts of her personal life that were online were torn to shreds. People did not hold the same contempt for internationally beloved man-of-the-decade Leon. Women and men alike talked about how much they admired him, wanted to date and have sex with him, and respected his craft. She wished Goldie would get the same recognition. She deserved it.

She knew she had a very limited understanding of how fame worked. Sure, Cameron was popular—some might say infamous—but she wasn’t having her every move scrutinized on socialmedia or by gossip rags. Guiltily, she stopped reading, switching to another website. She was getting too close to Goldie to enjoy those kinds of things anymore.

She had been shocked when she first met Goldie, not by her ego or entitlement but by how abrasive she had been. Goldie’s attitude toward her had been defensive, she had come to realize. Defending herself from Cameron and the threat she might have posed to her reputation. She thought for the first time that Goldie may have been trying to scare her off.

The idea cut her train of thought short. Goldie wasn’t out, she knew that, and it didn’t align with her public persona. It made sense that the isolation of that experience would lead to some...unusual methods of flagging.

Still, Cameron supposed, she had understood the signal.

As if on cue, her phone buzzed. She felt a warm affection spread through her when she read the caller ID and saw Esme’s name. The photo was a selfie of the two of them taken years prior. Esme wanted to have an actual photo of her pop up instead of the little default gray icon. Cameron and Esme had spent about twenty minutes trying to take a photo that they both liked, and eventually they were laughing too hard to continue.

She answered the call. Esme was at the Lounge, and if the noise and general business of the background was any indication, it was busy. Cameron could hardly hear her when she said, “You around for a couple of hours tonight?”

She said a loud “yes,” hoping Esme could hear her.

“Okay, fantastic! Can you be here at seven? Mia’s home from tour and is doing a little set, but word has gotten out in whatever musical whisper networks there are in L.A. because we are swamped. The new kids are awesome, holding up for now, but I’m gonna need you here tonight.”

She didn’t need to ask twice. Cameron pulled on a sweater over her shirt and threw on a pair of comfortable sneakers.Locking the door behind her, she set off for the Indigo Lounge, knowing she would probably not be returning home again until early that morning.

The walk to the Indigo Lounge was short and pleasant. The heat of the day had subsided and become more humid than anything else. She ended up taking her sweater off midway through the walk, alone with her thoughts without earbuds. She was looking forward to this. Whenever Mia was in town, people came in droves and the atmosphere was always electric. As she approached the Lounge, she could see people excitedly walking in groups, some wearing t-shirts with Mia’s face on them.

By the time she arrived, Cameron nearly couldn’t make it through the front door and had to squeeze her way through the crowd. When she made it to the bar, she saw the new workers were quite literally red in the face. They seemed grateful for the extra help, and together, the four of them managed to tend the bar at a reasonable pace until Mia arrived. Cameron couldn’t see Mia get on stage, of course, with all of the people around, but she sure did hear her. The crowd was deafening and energized for Mia’s set. This also left the bar mostly empty. She sent two of the bar workers on their breaks, knowing Esme would not only not mind but be relieved that they were getting some rest.

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