Chapter 1
Rush Bennett
The film Lust & Other Problems has been in the works for damn near four years now. Based on Mallory Greer’s book, it’s slated to be the greatest love story ever told, if we could just get the damn thing going. Day one on set, and they’ve already changed the lead actress. The original actress, Lana Blair, got married two years ago to Lance Landon and has been pregnant pretty much the whole time since then. However, she didn’t say she wasn’t coming back until yesterday. She’s pretty unprofessional if you ask me. This is the first film that I’ve done that isn’t a high school comedy or a buddy comedy, so I am trying to be as professional as possible. Basically, this is my first role that is already a serious award contender, and we haven’t even begun filming yet. I want this film to do well. I want to be seen as a leading man, George Clooney-esque if you will. I am tired of frat boy movies, and all that entails. I am ready for more.
The new actress is late for her first day. To be fair, she was hired less than twenty hours ago, but I have no idea who she is. I don’t know if we have the chemistry to do justice to this movie, and I’d hate to see this fail because we couldn’t get it together. The production company booked me into the nearby Alyeska Resort. I am about to head back to my room until they are ready for me since the unique thing about this script is that my character, Porter, and the female lead, Jessica, are in every scene together. There’s not a single scene that can be filmed without her. The story’s premise is the couple meets on the ski lift and falls in love pretty quickly. I stand and turn to get my coat; it’s bloody cold here. Growing up in London, it was rainy, and it snowed, but I’ve never seen anything like this in my twenty-four years.
The sound stage door whips open, and I look over in that direction. The snow swirls in with whoever is wrapped in the giant parka. We are on location in Girdwood, Alaska. The studio built this stage specifically for this movie.
“Ms. South?” Stella, the director asks, coming out of nowhere.
“Hi. Courtney is fine. So sorry I’m late. I got lost,” the shapeless hooded figures answers.
“No worries. You’re here now. Do you need a few minutes? I trust you are ready to do a table read today?”
“Oh, I’m ready for anything. No need to further adjust the schedule for me,” she says as she unzips her jacket. As soon as her coat is off, my mouth drops. My co-star is Courtney South? Everyone knows who Courtney South is. She was a child star turned singer, now she’s back to acting. She’s beyond gorgeous with her curly chestnut hair and pale skin. I’d say she fits the character’s description better than Lana ever did, but she’s best friends with the author, and they work together frequently. Stella and Courtney walk over to me. I am nervous for the first time in my professional career, but these nerves don't feel entirely professional.
“Here, meet your co-star; this is Rush Bennett,” Stella says before walking away. “Donna, get the updated scripts,” she calls to her assistant as she goes. The tiny girl in front of me extends her hand to me, which I shake. As soon as I touch her, a light near us burns out with a loud pop.
“Whoa, um,” she says, clearing her throat. “It’s nice to meet you.” Fuck, is she blushing?
“The pleasure is all mine. Are you nervous?” I ask when she shivers. Our hands are still connected, yet neither of us makes any move to take our hands away. Her soft fingers are cold, and all I want to do is warm her up.
“Not about the movie,” she answers honestly, and I can’t fault her for that.