Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
R achel Morris was a lipstick-coated devil, Piper decided. She was satan in stilettos. A deranged demon capable of crafting a purgatory filled with innuendos, subtle insults, and gaslighting.
Blake had been right about Rachel’s need to be a royal pain. Her fake sister managed to stretch minor voice work out for over a week. The excuses were always plausible, believable, and complete bullshit. She had a family emergency that lasted two days, her dog was sick, her throat was sore, the air was too dry, the sun was too hot, and the sea was too wet.
Once they finally had all of the voice tracks done, Piper got the unwelcome news that they had to wait another week to re-record the songs because the soundboard was taking longer to repair than anticipated.
Rachel suggested they use her friend’s studio, but Tamar politely turned her down. Piper was relieved to have a week away from the she-devil, but at the same time, she really wanted to get it done so she wouldn’t have to ever be in the same room with Rachel again .
When the soundboard was finally in working order, they had to pause for another three days due to Rachel’s scheduling conflicts, after which she turned recording the opening song into a six-day session of mind-numbing, complaint-filled do-overs.
At long last, Tamar declared her time with Rachel finished a week before Thanksgiving.
Piper crawled out of the studio that day feeling exhausted and questioning every decision she’d made that led to this point in her life.
Through all of the crap, the only bright spot had been knowing she’d see Blake when she and Rachel were done.
She liked being around him. A lot.
The last guy she’d dated, a redhead with punk vibes named Radish, of all things, had been a fun one-week fling followed by six months of public speculation. She didn’t have nearly as much sex as the internet seemed to think she had, and why they only cared about her sex life and not his was annoying. Since they’d split, he’d gone on to three other women while she spent her nights alone, but she supposed that wasn’t nearly as much fun to talk about.
Piper arrived at Day Dreams Studios the Monday before Thanksgiving an hour early, amped up on caffeine and her desire to see Blake again. She really had to tamp down on the excitement before she went inside; people would know something was up between them, and she didn’t want that right now.
She sat in her car and drained the last drop of coffee out of her travel mug. She should have brought two or stopped for Starbucks on the way over. Maybe if she overdosed on caffeine it would get the image of him lying next to her in bed out of her mind.
It was nerve-wracking enough trying to navigate a new career without adding pressure to the process by pouncing on her costar like a teenager in heat. She could only imagine what Rachel would do if she found out they’d slept together even once, much less if they made it a regular habit.
This was ridiculous.
“Get out of the car, Piper. Time to go be an adult and get to work on a kids’ movie.”
She obeyed her own command and forced herself to walk into the studio with her head held high just in case Rachel had snuck back in there like a snake.
Jeanette was already in the booth, as she’d expected, but there was no one else in sight.
Piper breathed a little sigh of relief and handed over the two dozen cookies she’d bought with an apologetic smile for last week’s torture.
They chatted for a few minutes, and then Piper went into the studio. Her throat was a little dry, and last week had been rough on her vocal cords. She popped a lozenge into her mouth then started warming up.
Blake strolled in thirty minutes later carrying two venti Pumpkin Spice Lattes like an angel of mercy.
“You’re a true prince, don’t let anyone tell you different.” She took a cup from him with a happy sigh and sipped.
He looked good. Really good.
He wore a black T-shirt, tight jeans, and sunglasses like he’d just stepped out of a cool club or maybe a detective novel. She wanted to ditch the recording session and run away with him.
“I shouldn’t be feeding your habit like this.” He looked amused. She loved that unguarded expression.
“Shush, you,” Piper said. She clutched the to-go cup with both hands like a dragon protecting her diamond. “First, I drink the coffee, then I do the things. I don’t know how you get started in the morning without it.”
“It’s a skill. Like cooking and doing laundry. You should try it. ”
“Um, no. Life’s way too short to live without coffee.” She watched him take a sip from the other cup. “You’re starting to like it aren’t you.”
His smile invited her to join him somewhere cozy. “I just didn’t think you should be drinking alone.”
“Ah, my animated love birds,” Tamar said as she walked through the door. “Are you awake and alive and ready for a fantastic week?”
“Definitely,” Blake said, but he wasn’t looking at Tamar. He was looking at her.
“Good morning, Tamar,” Piper said. “What are we tackling first? I saw the duets have new lyrics.”
“Paul has requested we start with the forest, first. The animators would like to track your movements so we would like you to suit up and then shift to the performance capture studio. Sound good?”
“Sounds fun,” Piper said. “I was bummed when they said only Gina needed to do that.”
An hour later, they were both suited up in black tracksuits covered with reflective markers. Tamar showed them to the space where they’d done the read-throughs. The tables and chairs were gone, and the center of the room was empty except for the large man in an identical tracksuit waiting for them.
“This is Rolfe Peters. He will instruct you on how to move, and then we will get going on the forest scene.”
Rolfe shook their hands. “Since you’re basically playing yourselves, we’d like you to just move naturally. Get into character and see where that takes you.”
Piper glanced around. Equipment had been shoved up against the walls, which made the place feel like a big storeroom or a warehouse. “It doesn’t look anything like a forest.”
Blake picked up a chair and moved it to the middle of the room. “Here’s that big rock they had in between us and the river. ”
“Can we borrow a blanket or something to make the river with?” Piper asked.
“How about something longer?” Rolfe crossed to a corner of the room and returned with a thick yellow rope.
He helped them arrange it on the floor where the imaginary river would be.
“When you’re both ready, go for it. I’ll be over here.” Rolfe stepped to the side of the room where a bank of computers waited.
“This feels awkward,” Piper said. “I was just getting used to the other setup but now there’s no mic to stand behind.”
“Just pretend we’re in my living room,” Blake murmured.
“Right.” She gave him a conspiratorial smile.
It didn’t take long for her to sink into the moment with Blake. Soon, she was Princess Jewel with her magic map deep in the forest, meeting a handsome, if annoying, man. It was awkward, and real, and so much fun she never wanted it to end.
The next couple of weeks passed by in a blur of laughter, longing, and frustration. Since production was so far behind, Day Dreams Studios hosted Thanksgiving for the entire cast and staff to make up for the fact that nobody could leave town, and then it was right back to work.
Every morning, she showed up early so she could see Blake arrive with coffee in his hands and a smile on his face that made her feel like she was the only woman in the world.
Every day, she suited up in that ridiculous outfit and acted out a fantasy where she fell in love with him.
Every night, she wanted to follow him back to his amazing house and not leave until someone forced them to, but instead, she went back to her own home, alone.
By the time the kiss scene rolled around, she was more than ready to get her hands on him for the motion capture. She dreamed about planting her lips on his the night before. He'd tasted like pumpkin spice and cream.
When they arrived at the studio, though, Jeanette ushered them into the recording booth instead.
“The animators wanted to start compiling, so they’re going to work with what they have. It takes a while to run the programs, and if they start now they get to have Christmas off.” She tapped her tablet. “It looks like we only have three scenes left for voice and then you’re all done. Tamar’s on her way. Give us a second and we can get going on the kiss, okay?”
“Sure,” Piper agreed, feeling a little hollow.
Three scenes and they were done.
She wasn’t ready for their time together in the studio to end. February was a long, long way off. She wouldn’t see him for two months, and by then, he’d be deep into Conned and probably wouldn’t have time for her.
Couldn’t they have just a few more days? Or maybe one more night? Nobody would know.
“Are you busy tonight?” Blake said, cutting into her thoughts. “I have a set design problem I could use some help with. I was hoping you could stop by.”
That sounded like an excellent excuse to spend quality time alone with Blake. Her heart pounced on it. “Sure, no problem.”
Realization dawned that there was a very real reason why she had to say no. “Wait, sorry, I can’t tonight. I’m doing an AMA at eight. They usually run pretty long.”
He nodded, and the polite smile he hid behind slid onto his face. “Oh. That’s okay.”
She hated that smile. It was a mask, and she liked the real Blake a whole lot better than Hollywood Blake. “How about tomorrow?”
The mask slipped, revealing a hopeful glint in his eyes. “That works. ”
Anticipation of a fun night rode in to quicken her pulse. Then reality dashed cold water on her again when she remembered all the commitments she had lined up for the next few days. “Wait, I can’t then either. I have rehearsals. Dammit…let me look at my calendar.”
She tugged out her phone.
“It’s not a big deal. We can play it by ear.”
“Yes, it is a big deal. How’s Thursday night?”
His shoulders relaxed. “Sounds good.”
“Great.” She blocked the time on her calendar. “It’s a date. I mean, I blocked the calendar.”
Jeanette appeared in the doorway. “Ready to get started?”
Blake cleared his throat. “Let’s do this.”
“Ready.” Piper tucked her phone away.
When she signed in for the AMA that night, there were already over five hundred thousand viewers, and the number kept climbing as more logged on to see Piper Bellamy answer their questions live.
She started out the way she always did, with a big happy smile and a wave. Fans were the lifeblood of The Bellamy Sisters, and she’d always been the face who greeted them the most. She’d kept up these chats over the years even though The Bellamy Sisters had split up because she loved interacting with them.
Sure, there were the few odd balls and trolls, but for the most part, people in the AMA were happy to get a chance to talk with her, even if it was only a typed question on a screen.
“Okay, you know the drill,” she told the camera. “Go ahead and shoot me your questions in that little box on the side of your screen, and I’ll try to get to as many as I can. While y’all are working on that, let me tell you about today’s studio session.
“I had so much fun today. Blake is amazing to work with, and so funny! We have quite a few bloopers because he’d say something that would crack me up and then we’d have to do the take over, but, y’all, seriously you have to see this movie. Jewel is kicking butt and I think Jesse is falling in love with her.” She winked at them. “You’ll have to watch to find out for sure, though.”
She took a sip of water. “I’m going to see my family for the holidays and I can’t wait. I love living in Los Angeles, but every now and then you miss the seasons changing, you know? I’ll be staying at the best bed-and-breakfast ever. There’s snow already, and the inn is decorated like something out of a magazine, and there’ll be s’mores. Don’t you just love s’mores? Mmmm I can smell it already.”
Her phone dinged with the first question.
“Question time,” she sang, then read it out loud.
“Scott wants to know what I like drawing the most.” She looked up from her phone and giggled. “Stars, and smiley faces. Seriously, I can’t draw. My people are all stick figures and you should see me try to draw a dog or a cat. It winds up looking like an airplane without windows. It’s bad.”
She laughed at herself, then read the next question.
“Which of The Bellamy Sisters songs is closest to your heart?”
She’d been asked that question many times over the last few years, and her answer was usually I can’t pick a favorite. But this time, her answer had changed. The song Della had sent her had the potential to be the best song they’d ever done, and it was already her favorite, even if it wasn’t finished.
She wasn’t sure she was ready to tell the legions that though. Not until she spoke with her sisters.
“That’s…tough. We wrote all of them together. There’s bits and pieces of all of us through every album, so they’re all special and all very near and dear to me. What’s your favorite? Okay, I realize we can’t all shout that answer out at once. Feel free to leave it in the comments, okay? Next question…”
A long series of random, routine, been-asked-a-thousand- times questions followed. She tried to pepper her answers with anecdotes to keep people interested.
Then one popped up that caught her attention and made her almost choke. She raised an eyebrow at it, then read it out loud for the audience.
“From Bryan …wow, this is long-winded. He says, ‘Hey Piper! Huge, HUGE fan. We have a lot in common. I love coffee, and changing seasons, and girls who make me do vocal exercises over and over and over. Question: Who’s your favorite movie star?’”
It was Blake.
She knew it was.
Nobody else would have mentioned vocal exercises or loving coffee—or used the name Bryan. B for Blake, Ryan for, well, Ryan.
“That’s…subtle.” She smirked. “Well, Bryan . Thank you so much for being such a huge fan and for loving vocal exercises so much. To answer your question, I’d have to say…I’m a huge, huge fan of Marshall Weston.”
She leaned closer to the camera. “Have you seen his latest movie? So cute. I got to meet him a few weeks ago and yes, he is that adorable and totally hot in person. And before you start, no, there’s nothing happening between us. He’s way too busy at the moment, and you know how wrapped up in Scorched I am.”
She winked and moved on to the next question.
A few seconds later, a text popped up on her phone from Blake.
I’m hurt!
She giggled then cleared her throat and went on with the session. Knowing he was watching and listening gave the night an edge of excitement. There were over eight hundred thousand people viewing the post, but one of them was an amazing kisser who brought her coffee.
Thursday, the animators asked them to do another take on the forest chase sequence, which made the session run too late for just about anything except sleep. Actual sleep, not the kind where they stayed up all night.
“Friday?” Blake asked. He didn’t look like he expected her to say yes, but if that were true, why would he ask?
Regret and longing battled with her for domination, cheered along by hormones that urged her to ignore everything else on her plate. Every hour she spent next to him in the studio reminded her of that night they’d spent destroying his office and then his bed.
She wanted a repeat.
“Can’t, sorry. Rehearsal. Then the VIP show is Saturday, which makes Sunday my fall-over-in-an-exhausted-puddle day. I leave for Christmas on Monday.”
“You’re very busy and important, I get it.” He raised his hands in surrender. “I’ll stop asking.”
“You should come.” It was impulsive, but she really did want to see him somewhere other than the studio before she left for Christmas, and she felt bad that she had to keep turning him down.
“Sunday?” He looked confused.
“To the concert on Saturday. It’s at The Rox and starts at eight. I usually go for a couple of hours. I’ll have Neil put you on the backstage pass so you don’t have to wait out front.”
He looked like a man who couldn’t figure out how to say no. “That would be cool.”
She was about to let him off the hook when Jeanette buzzed in over the intercom. “Hey, Piper, could I go too?”
“Um, sure.” She hadn’t exactly planned on a group date, but she couldn’t tell Jeanette no. The woman had been in that booth twenty-four seven for as long as Piper had known her. She needed to get out. “Neil will send you a confirmation code, okay? Be sure to bring a friend. Music’s always better when you share it.”
“Great! I will, thanks!” Jeanette squealed and dove out of sight.
She chuckled at Jeanette’s enthusiasm. “Think she’ll invite all of the animators?”
“Maybe not all of them,” Blake said. “But definitely the core team, the leads, and all of the engineers.”
“Yikes. Okay. ” She started composing a message to her manager. “Neil will just have heart palpitations and hire extra security. No big deal.”
“Piper,” Tamar said from the doorway. “Will you be performing any songs from the movie?”
“I thought I might do the opening song, if that’s okay?”
“Of course.” Tamar looked from her to Blake. “But you might also think about adding the duet. It would be fantastic publicity.”
“That’s a great idea.” Piper beamed at Blake, whose face had turned to stone. “The fans will love that.”
The look on Blake’s face was that of a man caught between an oncoming train and a nuclear missile.
“Um, I don’t think…,” Blake said.
Piper squeezed his arm. “Sing with me. Just one song. We’ve rehearsed the hell out of it and you’re good. Really good. Plus, the fans will just die. Come on, please? We can go grab a drink or something after and talk about the design issue you’re having.”
His eyes flared with interest. “Okay.”
She didn’t know why he was so reluctant to sing in front of people, but she planned on showing him how fun it could be, and maybe after that…well, maybe they could have fun somewhere with no people and a lot less clothing.