Page 18 of The Reality Duet

Her hand rests on my chest and she gazes into my eyes. I start to lean forward to kiss her, but the oohs and ahs behind us make me stop. Joey must sense this because she steps out of my grasp and pulls us up the stairs toward our suite for the week.

Joey gasps when she opens the door and I peer over her shoulder to see what caught her by surprise. The room is white and red; everything is pristine and crisp with just enough red to set off that romantic vibe. The white comforter is adorned with rose petals that also lead a path to the bathroom, where I know theJacuzzitub is waiting. I shut the door and lock it, giving us our first bit of privacy since we got here.

“I didn’t ask Millie what this room was like because I didn’t want to spoil the surprise,” she says with her back to me.

“They change it for everyone,” I add, reminding her that this was done for us based on what the producers have learned about us.

Joey moves around the room with her finger trailing along the furniture. She then disappears into the bathroom.

“The water is hot, we should take a bath,” she says when she comes out and faces me.

“Joey—”

She puts her hand up and stops me from denying her. Joey walks toward me with a glint in her eye. I have a feeling I’m going to be in trouble with her this week. “With our suits on, Joshua. I’m not going to ask you to do anything you don’t want to do.” Her hand finds the waistband of my shorts and pulls me to follow her. “You can give me this, at least.”

Each step I take is with the intent on giving her just that. When I step into the bathroom, I see a dressing room off to the side. I remove her hand from my pants and kiss the back of it before disappearing into the room where I change quickly.

I hear splashing and know it’s time I step out. I need to be the best husband I can be since I’m shortchanging her in the most important department. Leaning against the doorframe, I watch as she relaxes in the water. Candles are lit and there is some type of perfume smell washing over us. Whatever it is, it’s making me feel calm. Her eyes are closed, but there’s a smile on her face.

“Are you going to join me?”

Laughing, I push off the doorframe and walk to her. When my hand touches her wet shoulder, she opens her eyes. Joey’s smile never fades as she moves forward and I step in behind her. The water is warm and inviting, and the moment I submerge, I’m thankful that she invited me to join her. I probably would’ve been jealous if she hadn’t.

Joey leans back into my chest and my hands roam over her arms, massaging as I do. “This feels good,” I say, for lack of anything better. I push the button to turn on the jets and Joey starts to laugh. The way her body is moving against me coupled with the vibration of her laugh does things to me that I’m sure she can feel. When she presses against me, I know I have to find a way to curtail this moment, but for the life of me I can’t bring myself to move. I can’t leave her by herself on what the show calls our honeymoon. That is what the master suite is supposed to represent. If her former fiancé hadn’t cheated, she’d already have had a honeymoon.

If he hadn’t cheated, I wouldn’t be here with her right now. She may be my short-term wife, but even in the few months we’ll share it’ll be better than that asshole could’ve ever given her.

I start to massage her neck, and the moan I get in return heads straight for my hard-on. “That feels so good. I think I want to live in this tub. I bet you have one, don’t you?”

“Nah, I wish.”

“Tell me about your apartment.” Joey asking about me means the world to me. No one ever asks. They just assume that they know everything from the countless interviews and articles.

I dip my hands into the water, and when I pull them out I let the water drip off my fingers and onto her arms. I repeat this over and over.

“You know when you watch a movie about a young actor breaking into Hollywood and they show you where they live?”

“Yeah.”

“My apartment is nothing like that,” I laugh. “Rent in LA is extremely expensive and it seems like it’s a waste until I’m ready to buy my own house. My room is barely large enough to fit a queen size bed. I had to buy one of those over the toilet cabinets to keep a few things in because my bathroom is tiny. I don’t have a dining room table because I haven’t bought one yet, so I eat on the counter. I have a roommate, but you probably already know that.”

“How would I know that?”

“Well, I figured with me being your celebrity crush and all.”

“You’re not my only crush.” Her voice is barely above a whisper and I want to ask her not to remind me, but I can’t bring myself to say those words. Each second that I’m with her, I find another thing I like about her. Even the most mundane things, like how she brushes her hair fascinates me.

“I live with my parents,” she adds, maybe sensing that I’m starting to feel bad for myself. “I wouldn’t move in with Tony until after we were married. My room isn’t anything on the grand scale, but I do have my own bathroom and my mom cooks dinner every night that requires us to sit down at the table. My mom, she’s very proper sometimes.”

“Hmm, sounds like I need to move into your house.” She freezes momentarily when I blunder. “Anyway, everyone thinks that you’re automatically rich when you become an actor and you own all these cars and houses. I’m not there yet, but maybe someday I will be. I have to pay my agent every time I get a movie deal or an endorsement, as well as my lawyer and don’t forget the fact that Uncle Sam sure likes his portion, too. I’m investing for a future and not spending every cent I make.”

The water starts to turn cold. We need to decide whether to run some more, or get out. I pick up her hand and look at her pruned fingers. “We should get out,” I say, but don’t move. If she wants to stay like this, I will. We can keep each other warm. I wrap my arms around her and bury my head into the crook of her neck.

“I don’t know what it is about you, but I feel like I can tell you anything.”

“It’s because I’m your wife. It’s the law or something,” she laughs, and pulls away from me. I feel the loss of her immediately, but it’s going to be short lived because I have every intention of holding her while we sleep. I stay in the water while she steps out. The bottom of her swimsuit has risen, showing off her ass cheek. I picture myself biting it as I pleasure her, but that will just have to be a fantasy. Joey disappears into the dressing room and I pull the plug, letting the water drain out of the tub. When she steps out, she’s dressed in a black negligee, one I haven’t seen yet. It’s short and perfect, showing off her sexy, tanned legs. The valley leading to her breasts is inviting me to let my tongue explore. Teasing me about everything I’m missing and denying not only myself, but also the both of us. I swallow hard and start to stand.

She looks at me and shrugs. “All of our clothes have been washed. I didn’t want to dirty up one of your shirts.”

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