Chapter 9
Evie
The Method Act
“How are you feeling, Evie?” Dante crossed the closed set.
My stomach was tight with nerves. I pushed them down.
Keep playing along.
“I’m ready.”
“Good, well, Kate has given you the rundown. We’ll try to stop only when you say. You and Sebastian run the show. Let’s start with some simple kissing.”
Sebastian came over, and my brain and nerves went into overdrive. What was he wearing under it? Was he naked, like me? Butterflies fluttered in my belly. I ran my eyes down his frame, and as I brought them back up, they caught his piercing, hungry gaze.
With little direction from Dante, Sebastian grabbed my waist and pulled me in, his lips crashing down on mine with the most lustful, needy force I’d ever experienced in a kiss.
His tongue was searching for mine in seconds, and I found myself too stunned to reciprocate.
I pulled back and pushed his hands away.
“What?” Sebastian frowned.
“That was a lot at once.” I grimaced.
“Okay, Sebastian, take it slow,” Dante ordered.
Sebastian’s chest rose in a huff, but he came back, this time kissing me slower, softer. I closed my eyes and forced myself to focus on the act—here, today. Not on the memories this kiss was trying to force up and out.
Don’t let yourself get distracted. Stay focused on why you came back. You need your revenge.
I repeated the words over and over, and it helped me stay grounded in the handsome man’s embrace.
However, remaining grounded turned into downright distracted.
His hands began to roam up and down. He reached for my ass, and I flinched.
He stopped, and we started again. And again.
Every time he tried to do something other than chaste kissing, I froze, and we had to stop.
After an hour, Dante finally called for a break.
“Let’s take thirty to consider what we’ve tried thus far and how to proceed, hmm?” he said.
I hurried off set and rushed into my trailer, where I paced, trying to settle my heart. Why was I struggling so much?
I’d known when I was offered the role that we’d be doing this. And I’d told myself once every one of those men who had taken part in my mom’s murder were dead, it’d be worth it. But thinking of Sebastian and being here with him in real life were two different things.
I couldn’t let myself fall. But, I had to sell that I was to Dante and the other bigwigs in order to land the part that would give me daily access to the studio in which all these men worked.
Having spent the morning trying to do it, I wasn’t quite sure I could.
I was no Lita Reyes.
A moment later, there was a knock on my door, and I called for them to come in. Dante entered, an awkward smile on his face.
“Hey. Do you have time to talk?”
“Sure. What’s up? I know that wasn’t great. Skye warned me that her test was bad, so I think I got in my head.” I sat on the couch, and he came to sit on the other side, a distance away.
“Definitely. So…I just got an email from one of our producers. He wants us to consider a rewrite, where you’re not a lead character at all. You just make a cameo.”
“What? No!” I shot to my feet. I needed to be on set for longer. A cameo didn’t give me enough time, enough excuses, to be near everyone. This role was my in to places I might not have access to otherwise.
“I know. I replied back that the change wasn’t ideal.
I love the scripts we have. If it weren’t for Sebastian’s little ego trip the other day, we would have already picked you as the lead.
They know taking him out of the movie is impossible without fan backlash, but they couldn’t let him have his way just to prove a point.
That’s why the execs are making us do this bullshit.
This new email tells me they are not happy with us. ”
“What can we do?” I stopped pacing and turned to him.
Dante lifted his shoulders. “Show them they’re wrong about dropping you from the cast.” He leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees. “Evie, you and Sebastian looked like siblings kissing out there. We need chemistry.”
I stared at him blankly, and he continued.
“Give him a chance. Stop pushing him away. Get to know adult Sebastian.” He stood. “I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. He’s not always the jackass celebrity he pretends to be.”
“I don’t know if I can believe that.” I rolled my eyes.
“Why don’t we leave you two on set alone for a while? You can get used to each other in private, and we’ll come back and see if we can run some of the scenes.”
He left, and when I returned to set thirty minutes later, I found only Sebastian. He was standing awkwardly, his hands in the pockets of his robe.
“Hey, I didn’t mean to come in so hot.”
I soaked him in, admiring the earnest look in his eyes. “It’s okay. It was kind of cute. I’m sorry I’ve been giving you frostbite.”
“Frostbite?” He smiled.
“Cold. Nothing. I’m not a professional actress, and it shows.
” I sighed. I’d jumped so fast at this opportunity that I didn’t realize just how hard it was all going to be.
Sebastian came over and put his arms around my waist. I stiffened and started to pull back, but Dante’s warning of the recast forced me to push through my nerves and stay in Sebastian’s embrace.
“Don’t think of it as acting. No one’s here to watch and review. Let’s just…”
“Talk?” I suggested, stepping out of his arms. I went to the bed and patted the spot beside me. He joined me. We stared at each other, soaking in the moment.
“What do you want to talk about?” he asked.
I stared deep into his jade eyes. Suddenly, the years washed away, and we were back in time, just the two of us.
Everything.
My heart yearned to tell him everything. Every little detail of my life he missed after I left. To pick up right where we left off. To laugh and joke like we were kids. But we weren’t. Dante’s words ran through my mind.
Get to know adult Sebastian.
If I wanted to stay in this movie, I had to make them see chemistry. And chemistry with Sebastian should be easy. It was, at one time. I raised my hand slowly, touching his shaved cheek. Oh, how I wished I hadn’t missed this transition from teenage Sebastian to the man in front of me.
His breathing hitched at my touch, his eyes dipping to where my robe parted, revealing the tops of my breasts.
I leaned in, and this time, our kiss was...good.
Would it be so bad to enjoy my time with him while I had it? Sebastian let me lead, and eventually, I opened up and let our tongues touch. His hands slid up my arms, pulling me closer, not in a forceful way, but a needful way.
“Evie, this feels like a dream. You’re here, about to be my scene partner for the hottest sex scene of my career.”
This was the Sebastian I remembered. The one I’d left behind. We were each other’s firsts, and we’d never gotten the chance to explore that further…
I melted into his arms, shifting so his mouth could find my neck and collarbone.
“You know there’s a thing in the industry called unsimulated sex? Most of the stuff you see is simulated, but it doesn’t have to be if we don’t want it to...”
I moaned and closed my eyes, letting myself enjoy his touch as he continued seducing me with his words.
“Everyone has their favorite Final Girl, Laurie in Halloween, Nancy in Nightmare on Elm Street, Ripley in Alien. My personal favorite was Kirsty from Hellraiser, but you top them all, Evie Reyes. You’re the ultimate Final Girl.”
The doors suddenly opened, and we jolted apart as the limited crew came in. Dante’s face lit up when he saw our flushed expressions.
“That looked amazing! Let’s keep that up. Can you do that with a room full of people?” he teased, causing us both to chuckle.
The private time had helped. Or made things worse. While I was confident now that I could kiss him on screen, I wasn’t entirely sure I was acting. I shoved away the nerves, watching with hungry eyes as Sebastian disrobed.
Anthony C. Hopkins.
He was even more…impressive than I’d remembered. Or imagined. I averted my gaze and allowed him his time. He did the same when it was my turn.
Kate taught us how to use body positions and camera angles to make it look like we were having sex.
Unless it was a close-up, hardly anything was intimate or arousing.
In fact, oftentimes they’d have us trying out positions that didn’t even seem possible.
We were essentially playing Twister at times on the bed, but the lack of sensuality in it all often created laughter between Sebastian and me, which helped relax us both.
It made the times when we stopped laughing… good.
There were times when the crew was in the room where the lines of acting and reality blurred. Dante had directed me to sit on Sebastian’s lap nude and make out with him. It was clear that Sebastian was struggling as well. His erection had pressed against my body almost all day.
Skye had said she hadn’t felt it once.
“I’d like to play with blocking for a simulated oral sex scene,” Dante said. “Are you comfortable doing that?”
“I’m down for whatever,” Sebastian said cheerfully. He’d been in a pleasant mood all day. It was a stark difference from what I’d been expecting, based on Skye’s experience. I was beginning to believe it may have been an intentional move on Sebastian’s part.
The idea sent nervous butterflies through me, but I quickly forced them away. I wasn’t here for love. And this movie was more than just revisiting my mom’s legacy. It was for avenging her.
We took lunch, which Sebastian and I ate together in his trailer.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Good. You?”
“Great, Final Girl.” He winked.
I stared for a moment as he walked away, my gaze drifting to his backside. Suddenly, I liked being called Final Girl.
We returned to set, and Kate offered us a tray of flesh-colored tapes, bandages, and pouches.
“Let’s get new modesty barriers.”
I scrunched up my nose.