Chapter Eight
Will
Dina froze for a second as soon as we were inside, and I turned to see her looking around with her mouth open as though she’d seen something unbelievable.
“You okay?” I asked. I had to admit, these guys knew how to throw a party – the place looked amazing, decked out like it had been plucked straight from the set of some old Hollywood musical. I made a beeline for the bar, tugging Dina along behind me so she wouldn’t get swept up with the crowd. I scanned the room as I waited for the bartender to come over, and located a couple of people I knew well enough to hit up and schmooze for some cash. Dina hurried to keep up, and turned to me with her eyes wide.
“Holy fuck, this place is amazing!” She hissed, as though she didn’t want anyone else hearing her shock at the sight of this place.
“It’s pretty cool,” I nodded, ordering a couple of glasses of champagne. They arrived seconds later. “But we need to keep our cool. We’ve got money to make.”
“How do we go about it?” She asked, taking a sip of her drink and closing her eyes appreciatively. “Mmm, that’s good.”
“They usually go out for the expensive stuff,” I agreed, tapping my glass against hers. “So, you ready to do this?”
“I’ll follow your lead,” she gestured for me to lead on. “Oh, and if you could just sprinkle into conversation what a great make-up artist I am, that would be ideal. But, you know, keep it casual.”
“I’ll do my best,” I muttered, and I gestured for her to go first. Mainly so I could get a look at her. I could tell that she was holding back, that she was all too aware that there was an atmosphere between us that had been just potent as it had been the week before when she’d ended up in my trailer. I sure as hell wasn’t going to push things when she clearly wasn’t comfortable taking things any further than this. But if she changed her mind, then I was right here.
The way she looked in that dress…it was classy, but showed enough of her legs that my mind could fill in the rest. I still remembered the way I slid my hand up her thigh, how her breath came quick into my ear at my touch, how much she wanted me…
I shook the image from my head and joined her, steering us in the direction of one of the producers at one of the studios I was contracted for years ago. He beamed as soon as he laid eyes on me – I used to earn a grimace from him for my antics, but I guess times had changed.
“Will Derry!” He exclaimed as I wracked my brain for his name. “What are you doing in Devina?”
“Funny you should ask,” I shot a look at Dina, and she smiled ever so slightly, enough to let me know that she was aware of what we had to do. And just like that, we were off.
The night sped by – I kept my drinking to a minimum and watched as everyone around us got hammered, inflicting as much charm on them as I could manage without coming across as obvious. It took almost all night but eventually, I managed to catch the number of the rich socialite friend of a director I’d worked with who seemed keen to put some money into filmmaking. After talking up the production and Derrick for a while – much as it galled me to do the latter – she agreed to figure out a way to get some money across to us to sustain the production. It wasn’t everything that we needed, but it sure as hell was a start and that’s all we needed right then.
“So, you’ll call me?” The woman, Natalia, flashed me a dazzling, expensive smile as she handed me her card. I took it and nodded.
“Thank you so much,” I bowed my head. “We really appreciate this. And yes, I’ll call you.”
She shot a look over at Dina, who beamed at her, and turned on her heel and marched off. I could tell that she was hoping that I might offer something a little more, but Dina was my protection against that. Not that I had any interest in anyone or anything but her now that we had the investor thing covered. Dina turned to me, raised her glass and clinked it against mine.
“I have never seen as much hardcore talking up as I did there,” she nodded after Natalia. “That was…genuinely pretty amazing.”
“Why, thank you,” I cocked my head in faux-modesty. “I think I’ve had enough practice trying to sell myself to know how to do it well.”
“I’m very impressed,” she giggled, glancing around. She’d had a couple of glasses of champagne, and I wasn’t sure if it was just the enormity of the event that had her giddy or the booze. Maybe both. Either way, it was awesome to see her off-set and bouncing with excitement, relaxed and laid-back where I usually saw her ducking in front of the cameras to re-apply mascara or bronzer. Something about being here, almost like an actual couple, lent the night a promise that hadn’t been there before.
“You want to get another drink, to celebrate?” She nodded towards the bar. “I know we’ve got to be on set tomorrow, but…”
“Hell, yes,” I agreed, and placed my hand lightly on the small of her back as we made our way through the crowd. The whole night through I had noticed people eyeing us, and it was clear that they were trying to figure out who she was. I didn’t usually go out with women, choosing instead to hit it stag or take a friend, and I had no doubt that as soon as I got home there would be a number of sly cell-phone pictures of the two of us together, with speculation on who she was and what we were doing together. Well, let them – I was proud to be seen with Dina. Something about her made my stomach sparkle with excitement.
We went to the bar and picked up another glass of champagne apiece, and then made our way to the enormous balcony which had once been reserved for only the richest upper-classes who could afford something as glamorous as that.
Now, it looked out over the empty stage, most of which was draped with enormous, blown-up posters of shows that had once been put on there. Dina stood there in silence, surveying the place for a moment, and shook her head.
“And this is just how you live your life, all the time?” She turned to me. I shrugged.
“I guess so,” I admitted. “You kind of get used to it.”
“I hope I never do,” she sighed. “Not that I think I’m going to be doing this many times again.”
“Hey, you never know,” I shrugged. “What kind of parties do make-up artists throw?”
“Uh, mostly ones involving bring-your-own-bottles of wine in someone’s living room,” she shot back, looking at me with incredulity. “Nothing like this, that’s for sure.”
“Maybe I’ll just have to keep taking you until you get bored of it,” I shot back, knowing that I was getting into dangerously flirtatious territory. She looked back at me, observing me with an expression that I had no idea how to read. It could have been an encouragement to go further, or could have been a warning to stop. Only one way to find out.
“I’ve had a really good time tonight,” I remarked softly, shifting closer to her as we both rested our arms on the railing in front of us. She moved her weight from one leg to the other, closing the distance between us even further than before.
“Me too,” she replied, her voice as low as mine. She looked up into my eyes, and there was a gentleness to the way she spoke that told me she was ready for this. I slipped an arm around her waist as casually as I could, drawing her nearer, letting my gaze fall to her mouth once more. My heart was hammering with anticipation, so ready for what was going to come next.
I had spent all of the last week thinking about her, remembering the way her lips felt against mine and how supple and soft her body was under my hands. I could already feel something stirring between my legs, before our lips had so much as touched. And then, slowly, agonizingly slowly, she leaned towards me and pressed her mouth to mine.
I had never felt a kiss like it in my life. Even the encounter we’d shared back at my trailer the week before had been nothing like this – that had been heavy with undisclosed desire, the passion between us fresh and new and curious. But this, this was just an acknowledgement, an acceptance of everything that had gone down between us, and an understanding that it was real.
I lifted my hand to her face, brushing my thumb over her velvety cheek and kissing her harder. She let out the smallest moan, the sound sending vibrations through my entire body and making me shiver. I pulled her closer, forgetting for a moment where we were, not caring for a second if someone walked in, not giving a shit what would happen if someone caught us and what they would make of our relationship.
For the first time since I came up in this industry, I wasn’t thinking about gossip bloggers or fans or what people would think of me. I was only thinking about her. Dina. Her name felt like a charm in my head, and I smiled into the kiss, my thumb caressing her waist as we lost ourselves to each other.
And then, of course, the door opened behind me.