CHAPTER 27
“Hi,” Dana said.
“Oh, hi,” she replied, instantly blushing.
Why was Samara blushing? Dana had had her hands and mouth all over her body no less than two hours ago, and now they were here, on set, about to film their first love scene together.
“So, we’re ready,” Dana said.
Reed looked up from her chair and said, “Great. Let’s get moving, then. I’m hoping we can get the bulk of this shot tonight, and we’ll finish up tomorrow. I’ve cleared the set of all non-essentials, and obviously, we won’t do anything you’re uncomfortable with.”
“Okay,” Dana said for both of them.
“We’re going to start with the opening. Then, we’ll get on the bed and just take it from there. Intimacy coordinator is here to help, too. Whatever you need, ladies, okay?”
Samara nodded over at their on-set intimacy coordinator, whom they’d only briefly worked with because she had just gotten into town for the day, but that was still better than some films Samara had worked on where they hadn’t had an intimacy coordinator at all.
“You’re very quiet,” Dana began with Bray’s line when they walked through the door of the hotel room.
“I am?”
“Stella, if you don’t want to do this tonight, we don’t have to. We can just hold each other.”
“It’s not a question of want. Trust me,” she said as Stella.
“Okay. Well, what is it, if it’s not that?”
Bray closed the door behind them.
“I… didn’t have time to prepare. We’ve basically been together since you got here, so I haven’t showered since this morning, and I ate garlic and onions at dinner like a moron who wasn’t planning on making love with you for the first time, so I–”
Bray laughed, pulled Stella into her, turned her around to the wall, and backed her against it.
“I don’t care. I haven’t had time to prepare, either.
Stella, I just want you. I don’t want some ideal version of you where you have perfect breath and smooth legs.
I don’t need you to wear makeup when you don’t normally do that.
You clearly don’t need it. And I don’t need fancy lingerie, either. I just need you.”
Bray ran her hand through Stella’s hair.
“How are you so good at this?” Stella asked, smiling.
“At what?”
“Calming me down when I’m obviously nervous; making me feel like you don’t need anything special for tonight.”
“You are special.”
“See? That’s what you do. You make me feel that way.”
“I want you to feel special tonight.” Bray’s hand slid up under Stella’s shirt. “And every night.”
Bray leaned in and kissed Stella while her hand moved farther north to cup Stella’s breast. Then, Samara laughed.
“Cut,” Reed said. “Uh… Samara?”
“Yeah, sorry. I know.”
She tried to gather herself.
“Are you okay?” Dana asked.
“Yeah, we can go again. It just tickled.”
“Okay. From Bray’s last line, please,” Reed told them. “Action!”
“I want you to feel special tonight.” Bray’s hand slid up under Stella’s shirt. “And every night.”
Bray’s hand moved to cover Stella’s breast again and massaged it.
“God,” Stella said and opened her eyes that she’d had closed for effect.
“I’ve waited so long for this,” Bray said and moved her thigh between Stella’s legs.
Samara stared at her, deep into Dana’s eyes, forgetting that this was supposed to be Bray and Stella. Dana stared at her with big eyes, though, and Samara wasn’t sure what that look was for.
“Cut! Samara, your line?”
“Shit. Sorry,” she said and laughed again.
“Hey, are you okay for real?” Dana whispered.
“I’m good. Yes,” she replied. “We can go again.”
“Actually, let’s take a minute,” Reed said.
“No, I’m okay. Really, I–”
“Not for you. One of the boom mics is not working right. One second.”
“Oh, okay,” Samara said.
“Hey, can I talk to you for a second?” Dana asked.
“Reed, how much time do we have?”
“At least fifteen. Let’s break for that,” Reed said.
“My trailer?” Dana asked Samara.
Samara nodded.
Heading to the trailer, neither of them said anything because there were too many people around for them to have privacy, but once inside Dana’s trailer, Samara leaned against the counter and waited for her to say something.
“We haven’t even gotten to the sex part yet,” Dana said.
“I know. Sorry. I’ll do better.”
Dana closed the door and turned to her.
“Are we okay? Is it about what happened this morning?”
“No, we’re fine. I think I just… I keep feeling you, not Bray. I told you, I’ve never slept with a co-star before. This is all new to me.”
“You’re feeling me?”
“Yes. And I’m getting turned on. Could you not feel my nipple back there?”
“Rock-hard,” Dana said, and instead of walking to Samara, she headed toward the small trailer bathroom. “Give me a minute. I’ll be right back.”
“Dana, we’re down to, like, ten minutes here, and I need to figure out a way not to get turned on when you touch me so that I can get through this damn scene.”
“I know,” Dana said. “Just stay there. Don’t move.”
Samara sighed, but she stood there and waited until Dana walked out of the bathroom and headed toward her.
“Okay. What’s–”
Dana cut her off by moving Samara until she was pressed to the closed bathroom door and kissed her neck.
“Oh,” she said, realizing what Dana had planned. “We shouldn’t.”
“We should. I want it, too,” Dana replied.
“Wait. What–” Samara felt something and looked down when Dana pulled back.
“I went home before I came here, and I got something.” Dana unzipped her jeans and pulled it out. “Is this what you wanted?”
“Oh, wow,” she said. “Yes. But is it–”
“It’s clean,” Dana told her. “And I’ve only ever used it on myself, in case you were asking about that. I brought a condom if you’d be more comfortable with that, but–”
Samara interrupted Dana this time by pulling her in for a kiss, and Dana shoved at her pants a little more. She reached for the hem of the dress Samara wore for the scene and lifted it, tugging down on the panties she found there until Samara could shimmy out of them and let them fall to the floor.
“Are you ready for me, or should I warm you up first?”
“I’m ready.”
Samara spread her legs.
“Are you sure?”
“You can feel for yourself.”
Dana reached between them and stroked Samara’s clit, feeling how wet she was for her.
“Fuck.”
“Yeah, exactly. Now, you know why I couldn’t concentrate. I can’t stop thinking about you touching me for real. I need it now.”
“Let me help at least take the edge off a bit.” Dana moved the tip of the dildo to Samara’s entrance and slowly pushed it inside. “Okay?”
“Yes. More,” she replied. “And don’t ask. Just take. It’s what I want.”
“Your wish,” Dana said, pushing all the way inside. “My command.”
Samara lifted her leg, and Dana held on to it and thrust inside her as she continued to kiss her neck.
“God, you really know how to use that.”
“Better than some of the men you’ve been with?”
“Dana!”
Dana looked at her and said, “Sorry. Too much?”
“Don’t bring up other people we’ve… been with while you’re fucking me.”
“Oh,” Dana said and rolled into her.
“Yes!” Samara let out. “It won’t take long.”
“It better not. We have…” Dana grunted. “To be back in five minutes.”
“Not enough time to…” Samara cupped her ass. “Make you feel good.”
“This… makes me feel great. Plus, there’s this.”
Dana’s hand disappeared into the shorts she wore, and suddenly, Samara felt vibrations.
“Oh, shit,” she said in a high-pitched voice and pulled Dana into her more, massaging Dana’s ass.
Dana’s forehead rested on her shoulder, and within seconds, Dana was breathing hard, too. Samara couldn’t hold on any longer. She started coming and lowered her own forehead to Dana’s shoulder.
“God! Yes! Yes!”
Then, there was a knock on the door, and Dana stopped instantly.
“What? No, I was still–”
Dana covered Samara’s mouth with her hand and yelled, “Yeah?”
“We’re ready for you, Miss Sterling.”
“Miss Sterling?” Samara teased through Dana’s hand.
Dana rolled her eyes at her and replied, “I just need a minute to… pee. I’ll be right there.”
“Okay,” the PA said through the door. “Is Miss Barber with you by chance? She didn’t answer when I knocked on her door.”
“Yeah, she’s here. We’re… running lines.”
“Smooth,” Samara whispered and lowered Dana’s hand. “But if you don’t turn that thing off, I’m going to come again.”
“We’ll be right there,” Dana said.
“Okay.”
“Did she leave?” Samara asked.
“I don’t know, but I’m about to come.”
Dana picked her rocking back up.
“Just be quiet.”
“I will now, but not later. Later, I’m going to be loud when I fuck you.”
◆◆◆
Dana was on top of her. No, Bray was on top of her.
It wasn’t Dana. They were in character, and Bray was kissing Stella’s neck, moving her lips slowly over Stella’s collarbone while her hand moved between their bodies and pretended to touch Stella.
Samara opened her eyes despite the fact that they were supposed to be closed right now.
It was too much. Dana had spoken all of Bray’s lines about how beautiful Stella was and how much she wanted to make love to her.
She had slowly removed Stella’s clothes, and there had been a lot of longing glances at bodies that were still covered in certain places.
Samara couldn’t focus again. She was getting too hot.
Her mind was racing. Dana was doing exactly what she was supposed to be doing, but Samara couldn’t close her damn eyes.
“And cut,” Reed said. “Samara, we’re on you right now, so we need your eyes closed.”
“Sorry. I thought she’d have them open instead.”
“No, they’re closed. She’s really in the moment, loving what Bray is doing to her.”
“Right. Sorry.”
Dana looked down at her and gave her a soft smile before cupping Samara’s cheek, and Samara knew she was doing that to her and not to Stella.
“Do you want me to do something different? Would that help?”
“No,” she replied. “You’re perfect.”
Dana’s smile widened.
“I just need a second. Can I have a second, please?” she asked Reed.
“Sure. Five minutes?”
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
Dana climbed off her then, and Samara got out of bed.
Someone met her with a robe, and she hurried away with no destination in mind.
She didn’t have enough time to run to her trailer and hide out there for a few minutes because it would take her five just to get there, so she stood still, away from everyone.
“Hey.”
Samara turned, expecting Dana to be standing there, but it was actually Bryce.
“Hi,” she replied.
“Is everything okay? Issues with the scene?”
“No, everything’s fine.”
“You seem to be a little tense. Is it the woman thing? I know you’ve never had a love scene with a woman.”
“No, it’s not that. I’m just not great with love scenes in general. I take a little time to… warm up.”
“So, it has nothing to do with the fact that you and Dana clearly like each other as more than friends making a movie together?” Bryce asked. “It’s not obvious to everyone, but I’ve seen you hang out together.”
“We’re not– I mean, we’re not–”
“You’re not?” Bryce asked.
“No, I’m not…” She took a deep breath to stop rambling. “You can tell?”
Bryce laughed a little and replied, “It’s pretty obvious, if you know what to look for. And I’ve been there.”
“Been where, exactly?”
“Falling in love unexpectedly.”
“What? No, it’s not that. We’re not in love. We just met.”
“I met Sophie one night and knew. It happens.”
“Not to me. I mean, it’s never happened to me before. We’re just…” She looked around to make sure Dana wasn’t standing there. “We’re just sleeping together. That’s all. Just sex because I’m here and wanted to have some fun.”
Bryce nodded, but it was clear that she wasn’t buying it.
“So, you hang out all the time, I’ve seen you laugh with her in a way I’ve never seen you laugh with anyone else, and you’re having sex, but you’re only sleeping together? Nothing more to it than that?”
“Bryce, can you let this go, please?”
“Samara, if it’s impacting the movie, I’m not sure I can.”
“Bryce, I’ve never been with a woman before, okay? She is my first, and it just started. Yes, I like her. I think she likes me, too. But we haven’t talked about it being any more than what it is right now, which was great sex.”
“So, you’re saying that you two had sex, and it was great. You like her. She obviously likes you back. The chemistry is definitely there between you. What’s going on tonight, then? She touches you, and you look stiff as a board, like you don’t want it.”
“I do want it. That’s the problem.”
“Then, go have it, and let’s get back to work.”
“Are you trying to tell me to go have sex with her for real?”
“Yeah. I mean, maybe that’s what you need.”
“We did that already. To put it wildly inappropriately, we took care of that. I saw stars. Now, I look at her, and she has those really pretty eyes, and she’s staring at me like she’s you, falling in love with Stella, and it’s all just… too much.”
Bryce nodded again and said, “Ah… I get it now.”
“You do? Because I don’t.”
“Samara, you like her. And you two had sex, but my assumption here is that you haven’t made love.”
“Well, no.”
“And Bray and Stella are doing that for the first time in this scene.”
“Yes.”
“But you’re in this scene with the woman you obviously care about as more than just friends with benefits, whether you two have talked about it or not. It’s bound to be a little weird. You’re feeling the same feelings Stella has for Bray.”
“Stella is already in love with Bray. I’m not in love with Dana.”
“Not yet, maybe,” Bryce replied with a shoulder shrug. “Whether you are or not, it doesn’t change that it’s probably strange to have her nearly naked on top of you, pretending to touch you slowly and softly while a bunch of people are watching and critiquing your every move to get the right shot.”
“It’s confusing, yes,” she admitted.
“It sounds like you need to talk to her. Even if it’s just to discuss what’s going on with you two, it’ll help.”
“Will it? Bryce, I don’t know what I can even offer her.
I live in LA. She’s here and keeps insisting that she wants to go back to catering.
I’m not out yet. I want to be, and I plan to come out after this, but I wasn’t exactly expecting to find someone in New Orleans to come out with.
I’m a mess. I’m high-maintenance. She’d be better off without me. ”
“Isn’t that up to her, though?” Bryce replied. “We need to get back. Are you going to be okay in there?”
“Yeah, I have to be.”