Page 24 of Role Play
“Wait, wait, wait, don’t hang up.” I lowered my forehead to the wall, my brain spinning. “Pierce Whitley doesn’t want another Best Supporting Actor nod,” I said,carefully.
Roxanne snorted. “The hell hedoesn’t—”
“Hear me out. He wants aBest ActorAcademy Award. It’s time for him to step out of the shadow of other actors. To break out from the sidekick role and earn his starringrole.”
She paused. “I’mlistening.”
“If Pierce takes this role, then he can have his pick of my next scripts. Any of the leading roles are his to choose.Andif he wins Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars for this role, I can get him that extra twenty-five percent bonus, bringing him up to that fifty percent pay increase.” I needed to get clearance from Richard for both those options, but I was ninety-nine percent sure he’d be onboard.
Silence. I waited with bated breath, facing the back window of my trailer once more. Lucy was gone from the open wardrobe tent. Extras in costume milled around and I saw Kelly come out from somewhere in the back, Marly following behind her, dressed in casualwear.
“I’ll consult with Pierce and get back to you,” shesaid.
“Level with me, Roxanne… will he go forit?”
“I don’t know for sure. It’s a good offer, though. But you know how actors are… especially when they’re butthurt about not getting arole.”
I grinned and did a silent fist pump into the air. Oh, he would take it. That’s a good fucking deal and one I could guarantee no European film was offering him, if there evenwasa European film. “You let me know as soon as you can.” Now I just needed to get Richard onboard.
We each hung up and I jumped into the air, doing a little Michael Jackson spin, and came face to face with Lucy standing in the doorway of my trailer, staring atme.
I yelped, way more high-pitched than I wish she’d heard. “Lucy,” I shouted and tossed my phone onto mycouch.
“Sorry!” She held out a hand and even though her mouth twisted into a regretful expression, her eyes sparked. “The door was left ajar and I was sent to tell you the extras and stand-ins are ready foryou.”
Fuck me. She looked gorgeous. I couldn’t stop staring at her big, brown eyes or plump, pink lips and the way her gaze stayed down on the floor as she sheepishly edged her toe along the seam of the carpet. I took a few steps toward her and froze, stopping myself when I was just a footaway.
“You got home okay last night?” sheasked.
I nodded. “Idid.”
“Me too.” She rolled her eyes in spite of herself. “I mean, duh. You knew that. But I… got inside okay.” A wisp of hair slipped free of her ponytail and fell across her razor-sharp cheekbone. My fingers twitched, aching to brush it back; to feel that silken skin beneath my touch; to wrap that hair around my fist and yank her head back before I ravaged her mouth with mytongue.
“Good,” I whispered, and took another stepcloser.
She swallowed and her pink tongue darted out, swiping nervously across those full, pouty lips in a way that drove me wild. But she wasn’t doing it to be sexy—it was unassuming, which only made it that much more enticing. “I mean, I didn’t sleep all that well. Nerves maybe. I hate leaving things unsaid and then it’sawkward—”
A smile curved my mouth as I swallowed a chuckle. She was so damn cute. The nervous babbling, the way she pushed her glasses higher when she didn’t know what to do with her hands, it was all so adorablysexy.
Her eyes widened. “Are you laughing at me?” she asked,incredulous.
“Of course not.” I shook my head, but couldn’t help it when the snort of laughterescaped.
Her mouth gaped. “Youare. You’re totally laughing at me!” She reached out and smacked myshoulder.
I didn’t hold back the laughter this time, and when she moved to smack me again, I caught her wrist gently. “You talk a lot when you’re nervous, you knowthat?”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah. In my twenty-two years alive, no one’severtold methat.”
Twenty-two. Fuck me. She was only twenty-two? On top of the litany of other reasons to stay at arm’s length from Lucy, our age gap was among the top. My laughter faded and what was left was a thick silence between us, my hand still resting on herwrist.
I moved my thumb, stroking in quick, soft movements and watched as her breath hitched, shifting her breasts with the movement. Two pebbled nubs formed from beneath her white shirt, and I hissed a breath, desperately wanting to lower my face and draw those nipples into my mouth through the thin layer ofcotton.
“Ash,” she said, blinking slowly up at me. “What happened lastnight?”
I leaned closer, my groin tightening. “I got too into my own head,” I answered, intentionally vague. “It happens a lot to me,” Iadmitted.
She nodded as though she understood. But how could she? I barely understood myself. Then with a sigh, she shook her head. “I can’t do this,” she whispered. “This hot and cold thing. It’s too—it’s just too similar to another situation I wasin.”
