Second Act (His Chance 1)

“Oh, I’m definitely enjoying it. As far as the part about giving pleasure, you can probably guess why that is. When I was a prostitute, it was never about me. I’m working on unlearning a lot of things.” I lowered my gaze to the dry grass and said, “I’m also working on being able to tell you what I need. For one thing, I’m really only comfortable as a bottom. Sometimes I was asked to top when I was with clients, and I hated it.” I glanced at him and asked, “Is that going to be a problem?”

He put his hands on my shoulders and said, “It’s absolutely no problem at all, and I’m glad you told me.”

I exhaled slowly and admitted, “I was afraid to say anything, because I’m really worried about messing this up.”

He raised my chin with a light touch and kissed me. Then he said, “We both want this, Will, so nothing’s going to mess it up.” I smiled at him, and he kissed me again before saying, “It looks like the crew is starting to head inside, so you should probably do the same thing.”

We started walking toward the house, and after a moment Lorenzo asked, “How do you feel about the upcoming scene? Are you nervous?”

I flashed him a wide, goofy grin. “After what we just did in the makeup trailer, I’m about as relaxed as can be.”

He joked, “Then my work here is done.” We reached the stairs leading up to the porch, and he kissed me once more and said, “I’ll see you soon. Knock ‘em dead.” He started to head toward the trailer, and I stood there watching him. He turned back after a few moments and asked, “Aren’t you going inside?”

“In a minute. There’s something important I have to do first.”

“What’s that?”

“I need to admire your sexy ass as you walk away.” He laughed and kept going, and once he was out of sight I went into the house.

The upcoming scene was going to be shot in the kitchen. A rolling camera was set up on a short section of track in front of the kitchen island, so it could pan smoothly from one end of the room to the other. Blackout curtains created the illusion of nighttime, and the lighting was soft and low, to seem like it was coming from the kitchen’s light fixtures.

I found Riley at the makeup station that had been set up in a corner and said, “Sorry, I’m pretty sure I messed up all your hard work.”

He smiled at me and opened his makeup case. “Don’t worry about it. Harper hasn’t even arrived yet, so we have plenty of time for a touch up.”

“Thanks for being so nice about it.”

He dabbed the area under my left eye with a sponge as he said, “With a boyfriend as hot as yours, I would have questioned your sanity if you hadn’t snuck in a quick make-out session.” When I broke eye contact, he asked, “Or was it a morning quickie?”

“No comment.”

“That’s a yes. It was smart, too. Now you won’t have to worry about getting an erection when your costar is rubbing all over you, which probably would have been embarrassing. My only complaint is that you’re practically glowing with happiness, and Alex is supposed to look pale and fragile.”

I grinned at him and said, “I can’t help it.”

Riley rolled his eyes, but he was grinning too. “It’s a good thing I like you. Otherwise, this lovesick puppy thing would be really obnoxious.”

The assistant director appeared a few moments later. He was clearly angry, and he announced, “One of our stars is late, so take a break everyone. Please stay close though, because I want to be able to roll the moment he gets his ass to the set.” He jabbed at his phone as he stormed out again.

As the crew left the room, Riley sighed and put down his makeup sponge. Then he took the seat beside mine. I asked, “You don’t think Harper’s going to get fired, do you?”

“Nah, he’s too big a star for that. He is starting to get a reputation though, because apparently he pulls shit like this all the time. That might eventually bite him in the ass if directors refuse to work with him, but Lang needs him on this film.”

“I really like him, even if my assistant hates his guts, and I hope he gets it together.”

I’d absently started picking at a rough spot on one of my nails, and Riley plucked a file from his makeup case and said, “Let me fix that for you.” Then he moved his chair around so we were sitting knee-to-knee.

“Thanks.” I studied him as he went to work on my nails. He was wearing a beat up gray hoodie and jeans, really needed a shave, and it looked like he hadn’t even bothered to comb his hair that morning. I found myself asking, “What made you decide to become a makeup artist?”