Chapter 8
Sebastian
The Soft Pass
“The producers want to fire you, you know that, right? They didn’t like you making threats. They think you have a big head,” Anderson said.
“They, or Glenn Thornton?” I asked, trying on the costume I’d just been handed. One thing I liked about the Simon Says movies was the costumes. They were nothing fancy, usually just casual clothes. For Simon Says Six: Six Six, it was no different.
“How are the pants?” the costumer asked.
I gave him a thumbs-up and raised my arms, moving in a circle.
“Good, good. I’ll order a dozen of these. You can head over to makeup.”
“Has Dante made the call yet?” I asked as we headed to the next part of my day. Today was hair, makeup, and wardrobe. Tomorrow, I’d start stunts. I couldn’t help but notice that neither Evie nor Skye were here for any costumes. That had to be intentional.
“Not that I know of,” Anderson said, following close behind while glued to his phone. “You know, they were planning on going with the second script anyway, until you opened your mouth. Now we’ll be lucky if they don’t kill you off and make them have the sex scene instead.”
“I’d like to see them try.” I snickered, but inside, I was slightly worried.
Had I overdone it? Would I get pulled from the franchise that had given me everything?
As we went into stunts the next day, I made sure to check my attitude at the door and do as told.
Not just for safety reasons, but because people were watching and reporting back.
I was riding a thin line, but I wasn’t about to lose my job because I’d gotten too cocky. This franchise meant everything to me.
I apologized to Bryce and the rest of the old guard. Bryce—who’d been playing the character Simon Says since the first movie—laughed it off.
“Hey, no problem. We’ve all been there once or twice. I’ve threatened to walk away unless I got my way before. How do you think I got the bigger trailer?”
Everyone else seemed to feel the same, and by the end of the week, I felt like I’d redeemed myself by working hard and shutting up long enough to ask Dante if he’d made a decision about the script.
“I appreciate you giving it your all this week. The producers have noticed.”
I gritted my teeth. Every time someone mentioned the producers, I knew they were referring to Glenn—who wanted me off the movie just so he could fuck Evie.
The very idea sent my blood boiling. I didn’t want him alone with her at all if I could help it.
From what I’d heard, he was just like his father; and his father had been a bastard.
“And what about the scripts?” I asked point blank.
“Well…” Dante’s eyes shifted away from mine. “I want you to do intimacy tests. With both girls. Next week.”
“I don’t need them,” I said, keeping my tone even. “Look, I’m going to be real with you—”
“It’s obvious you’ve got a thing for Evie. I get it. She’s fucking hot, and you were friends back in the day. But with the money these execs are shoveling out for this movie, I have to make sure everything is perfect. I can’t pick a script until I know who has more chemistry with you.”
I bit my tongue. We had been more than friends.
I left his trailer pissed and with a list of things to go through before next week.
There would be three days—one for Skye, one for Evie, and the last for callbacks if they weren’t entirely sold on one particular woman.
That third day wouldn’t be necessary. They were going to see that it had to be Evie and me on day one.
Skye was plenty nice, and in a different scenario, I would have no problem playing opposite her. She’d made her desire for the role clear on our date. Getting the role of my love interest was all she talked about.
“We’ll look so cute together on screen!”
When I’d escorted her to her room that night after Evie basically pushed me from the elevator, I’d politely explained that the flowers had been for Evie and that I’d be campaigning for her to get the part because we had history.
She’d seemed a bit hurt, but otherwise okay.
I couldn’t blame her, though. Who wouldn’t want the lead in the biggest horror movie of the year?
The weekend came and went, and my anxiety over the intimacy tests had taken over my brain. Instead of my usual party schedule, I worked out and sat at home.
Waiting for Evie to call.
She had my number. It was killing me not reaching out to her, but I’d already overdone it at the table read. If I pushed my luck, she’d run even harder into Glenn’s arms, and I might never see her again.
Alive, anyway.
I silently begged for a call, a text, or for her to just show up at my house. Something, anything, to acknowledge my existence. But there was nothing.
Monday came, and I was the first one on set. It was Ronny’s bedroom from Simon Says Five, with some minor changes for the new movie.
Dante arrived shortly after, with the intimacy coordinator.
“Kate is going to be helping with everything. But if you and Skye want to talk privately first, that’s fine too. She should be here any minute.” He looked around.
My heart sank. I’d hoped to be with Evie today.
“Did you read my notes and directions?” he asked.
“I did.”
The scene was pretty hot, even I could admit. From an artist’s standpoint, I admired Dante’s vision. I thought it would be good if done right—with the right people. He walked over to the fake door.
“You’ll start here, bringing her inside, kissing her, frantic to be with her. You’ll fall to the bed, clothes will come off, and that’s where your big reveal happens.” He smirked at the pun.
I rolled my eyes.
“Then it’ll just be whatever you and your scene partner want to do. Today we’ll play around with different positions and angles. We want to make sure you’re comfortable with each other before we go into filming.”
Dante stepped away to speak to someone else as a costume designer came in with two satin robes. One maroon, one powder blue. “Here’s yours.”
Dante, who’d been talking on the other side of the room with Kate, paused to look at me.
“Go get undressed and come back to set,” he called from across the room.
I did as told, and when I returned, Skye was there in her blue robe.
“Hey, Seb!” she greeted me warmly.
“Hey.”
“What are your hard limits?” Kate asked.
“I’m down for anything.” Skye winked. She was entirely too chipper for this. “Sex sells. So, let’s sell this baby.”
“And you?” Kate asked.
I shook my head. “I’m not sure. I guess we’ll see as we go?”
“We can do that. If we do something that makes you uncomfortable, say stop. We’ll adjust. That goes for both of you,” Kate said.
I knew this, as I’d worked with an intimacy coordinator before.
“Let’s start with some kissing,” Dante said.
I turned to Skye. Her eyes were hungry as they raked over me. Her fingers curled as she prepared to pounce. I shoved the pit in my stomach even further down and forced myself into professional mode. I’d kissed plenty of women on screen. Shooting this was nothing new.
Ruining the take was though.
Even though none of what we filmed today would see the light of day, I needed to make sure Skye and I had zero chemistry.
I closed my eyes and pressed my lips to Skye’s.
She tried to encourage me by putting her hands on my chest and moving closer, but I gave her nothing.
There was nothing to give. My lips moved, my hands ran along her thighs and up her body, but it all felt wrong.
Evie was at the forefront of my thoughts.
It was almost painful, knowing that I wasn’t trying to be bad at kissing Skye. I just was.
“Okay...” Dante sounded confused, but after a few minutes of being stiff and cold, he moved us deeper into the room, leading us to the bed.
“Let’s remove the robes.”
We spent the whole day going through every movement, every touch, and every line.
I gave them nothing. I couldn’t with Evie on my brain!
I was fumbling. Dante had to keep saying stop and readjusting us.
We were only doing things when directed, and none of it felt natural.
My dick didn’t get hard once, which Skye took offense to.
According to an assistant, she’d gone to her trailer and cried.
Guilt riddled my stomach. This wasn’t just my career I was affecting.
This could be a big break for her. But I wasn’t going to allow her to get it.
It was a selfish move, but I couldn’t risk Evie getting away again.
Her getting this part gave us more time together, and every moment I had was another chance at convincing her to stay here… with me.
I tried to do better that afternoon. Give Skye a little more to work with, but it was still lame. I knew I could do better, and yet, I just—didn’t. By the time Dante called it, everyone looked pretty defeated.
“Where is the guy from Step-Devil?” he asked me after I’d gotten back into my regular clothes. “You know how many times you said stop? Or claimed something was a hard limit? If this were real, you’d be a monk.”
“Sorry. I just struggled to get into the scene,” I muttered then fled the lot before I could be questioned.
The next day, I arrived first again, the excitement over what I knew was coming too much to contain.
I’d slammed a blue Red Bull on the way in and was bouncing on my feet as I waited.
Slowly, everyone rolled in, dragging in their moods from the day before.
I could see it in the way they gave me tight, exhausted smiles that they expected a repeat of yesterday.
I ignored them, keeping eyes locked on the door as I waited for my Final Girl.
I went to change, and when I returned, Evie had arrived. She was talking with Kate.
Seeing Evie in just a robe, this one white, knowing she was bare underneath and what we’d be doing all day, my cock sprang to life.
“There we go!” Dante cheered.
I turned, my attention pulled from Evie.
Dante was grinning ear to ear. He gave me a thumbs-up, and I realized you could see my erection through the robe.
Everyone on the closed set zeroed in on me, and I quickly covered myself with my hands, embarrassed at the sudden attention.
My face flushed with heat, and I forced myself not to glance in Evie’s direction.
“If that’s any indication of how today’s going to go, it’s gonna be good.” His mood from before shifted to one of excitement. “Thank fuck. Let’s roll.”