Chapter 20
I questioned,“What the hell are you talking about?”
This was the moment Aires decided to make his voice heard. He pushed off the frame and walked over to us.
Once he was standing in between us, he only looked at me while he said, “Come on, gorgeous… we don’t need to lie about our relationship anymore. It’s out in the open now.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
Aires grinned, grabbing my hand to kiss it.
“Is he lying? Have you not been in love with each other since The Kids Club?”
I sucked in a breath. “How do you know that?”
“Your boyfriend just told the world that. Now get real, Bailey. When are you going to open your eyes and see him for what he really is? He’s bad for you. You’re too good for him, and I’m fully convinced he’s using you too.”
Aires growled, stepping toward him, and it was my turn to come between them. I barely had the time to process everything that just happened in a blink of an eye, and now I was fighting over two men that obviously hated one another.
I had two choices in this situation.
I could call Aires out and tell Robert he was lying.
Or I could do what Aires had always done for me…
“For what?” I snapped back. “What could he possibly be using me for that he doesn’t already have?”
“Your fame. And don’t forget for one second that the most important reason is for what’s in between your legs.”
“You motherfu?—”
I set my hand on Aires’s chest, holding him back.
“I need to talk to Robert by myself.”
“Bay—”
“Aires, if you know what’s good for you, then you’ll let me talk to Robert on my own.”
Aires’s eyes went back and forth between us until he finally backed away and left. But not before shooting Robert a murderous glare that caused shivers to stir down my spine. I could feel his temper about to explode all over the room, and I, for one, didn’t want to witness it.
“Robert,” I stressed. “What you’re accusing Aires of is not true.”
“Oh really?” Robert taunted. “What do you guys do when you’re alone other than probably screw each other’s brains out? Please, Bailey, enlighten me. I’d really love to know.”
“It’s not like that.”
“So then answer my question.”
I went to open my mouth but quickly shut it.
I could have given him a hundred responses for what Aires did for me.
He talks to me.
He confides in me.
He listens to me.
He cares.
He loves me?
“I work all the time. I’m constantly doing something. I can’t even remember the last time I had an entire day off. We barely see each other as it is, but when we do, we make it work. Don’t act like you know anything about us, Robert. Because you don’t. You don’t know one damn thing.”
“Alright, I’m game.” He opened his suit jacket and sat down on the couch, getting relaxed and comfortable. “Then tell me, what’s your future here? He’s already influencing you to do drugs.”
“That’s not true.”
“You keep saying that, but the proof is literally on video.”
“That’s not what it showed.”
“I know what I saw, Bailey. He’s influencing you to live his wild lifestyle when you’ve come too far to drown with him now. There’s no need for you to start rebelling on me. We’re past the teenage bullshit stage,” Robert emphasized, now standing in front of me. “He doesn’t give a shit about ruining your reputation, your career, what you’ve worked so hard for… Jesus, Bailey, what are you thinking? This is a mistake—you are letting him into your life to begin with. But here’s your chance to make it right. All you have to do is end this now.”
“No.”
“I guarantee you it won’t take long for him to end up hurting you.”
“Can you please give him the benefit of the doubt and trust in my judgment of who I choose to let into my life.”
“Stop it.”
“You’re going to throw away your life for someone dragging you down a dark path? You’re smarter than that. Don’t let your infatuation with him blind your reasoning. You know better than that. He’s no good for you.”
“Robert, please… I need you to trust me.”
“And what exactly am I supposed to tell the press?”
“You don’t need to tell them anything. I didn’t do anything wrong, and as far as I’m concerned, bad press is good press. The less we tell them, the more they’ll want to know.”
“Bailey—”
“You know I’m right. This is perfect press for the movie. If you insist on releasing a statement on my behalf, then so be it, but I can release my own.”
His cell phone rang, and he stepped away to take the call. I knew it was about me. My phone hadn’t stopped dinging with texts, and I was terrified of the ones coming through from my family. I was in a daze, moving on autopilot, my body moving on its own accord.
Talking when I was supposed to.
Smiling for the cameras.
Nodding when it was expected of me.
I was the epitome of Bailey Pierce-McGraw. From an outsider’s perspective, I had the world at my fingertips and everything I ever wanted. My life was perfect in every single way. Everyone expected something from me, and somewhere along the years, the line of who I truly was got blurred. My persona took over.
I missed my mom.
My dad.
The life I thought I wanted turned out to be abandoning me instead.
I held a constant fake-as-fuck smile, trying to concentrate on the scene we still had to film while sitting in my makeup chair. Instead of wondering whether I’d see Aires before our first lovemaking scene on camera and me going topless.
Not seeing Aires before the scene only added to my plaguing insecurities, and I worried that we’d remain professional and do what we were getting paid to. Part of me wanted to wring his neck, and the other wanted to thank him for taking the fall for me again. By saying we were together, he was making the world think I wasn’t a floozy.
But weren’t we?
Anxiety set in as the double doors closed behind me in the trailer and I made my way to the beach. For a second, I blankly stared at my reflection in the mirror, trying to find that girl.
My character.
Why did I feel like I was her?
With new thoughts of Aires beating the hell out of my mind, I walked out onto the beach. With one foot in front of the other, I found Aires and B. Night talking by the shoreline where we were about to shoot.
“There you are,” B. Night announced once he saw me.
Aires smiled, winking at me.
“So, let’s address the elephant in the room, so to speak, shall we?”
“I’m so sorry. I had no idea the press was going to?—”
B. Night lifted his hand, interrupting me. “There is no need to apologize. I don’t give a shit about what you decide to do with your personal life. I care about how it affects your work, and it hasn’t been an issue. If anything, like I said before, I think it’s worked to our benefit, and I continue to think it will.”
I nodded. “It won’t.”
“Great.” He clapped his hands. “Now for this scene, I want you to take all the anger and frustration you felt this morning with the press, and I want you to use it. I want you to capture it in this moment where all you want is to feel the skin of one another. I want passion. I want resentment. I want to see your souls pouring into each other like destiny has brought you back together because you belong that way.”
Aires and I locked eyes.
“I want Bailey’s body to shine in this scene, Aires. I need you to make sure you place your hands erotically down her body like you’re touching her for the first time, and this is what you’ve been dreaming of. Do you understand me?’
“Yes,” Aires agreed.
“Perfection.” B. Night smiled. “Just pretend the cameras aren’t here. It’s only us and the intimacy coordinator, so it’s a closed set. You’ll have as much privacy as we can.”
“Thank you.” I smiled.
B. Night grabbed our shoulders. “Let’s make magic.”
We both nodded, watching him turn to walk back to the camera.
Aires was first to break the silence. “Bay, I tried to tell you?—”
“I know.”
“Are you mad?”
“I’m not sure. We’ll talk about it later, okay? I need to focus on this scene. I’m not going to lie, it’s been a whirlwind this morning, and all I want to do is take a second to scream. Until I can do that, I’m Quinn, and she’s about to make love to Samual after all these years.”
He leaned in close to my ear, whispering, “Don’t worry, gorgeous. I know what I’m doing.”
“Trust me, I’m fully aware that you do, but I’m the one who’s about to show all these men my breasts, so…”
He grinned against my cheek. “Right.”
With that, he spun and walked over to his mark. I followed his lead.
B. Night yelled, “On three!”
Just breathe.
“Two!”
You got this.
“One!”
Relax.
“And action!”
Except reality set in.