Not long later I arrive at Ria’s home and the guards let me in without phoning through. Seems they know me well enough now and trust that I’m authorized to enter. The cab driver pulls up, I pay him and he takes off again. As I start walking toward the mansion I wish I’d thought this through a little more.

I don’t know what I’m going to say, or do.

Hell, I don’t even know if she’ll want to see me.

I stand by the edge of the stairs fiddling with my jacket, wondering how the hell to go about this. In my head, I start to run through the options trying to figure out my course of action, when the front door flies open. My eyes shift up to see Ria standing there in a robe, her face makeup-less, her eyes slightly puffy like she’s been crying and her hair a little messy—definitely not the usual perfection I’m used to seeing. Though she still looks perfect to me, the sight breaks my heart as she wraps her arms around herself in a protective stance like she’s unsure of how to proceed as she looks at me through glassy eyes.

“Ria,” I say, and her body slumps like she was desperate to hear me speak her name. Seeing her like this breaks something inside of me. My feet move before I can think and I’m racing toward her. I pull her into my arms and she wraps hers around my neck tightly pulling her body flush against mine.

“I’m so sorry,” she murmurs against my neck.

Briefly, I start to panic.

Why is she sorry?

What has she done?

“I’m sorry you had to see that, Nate. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you what to expect, and that watching it like that was so difficult you had to leave.”

I relax slightly at her words.

Trust her, Nate!

“I should never have left without telling you, or letting you know I was okay. I wasn’t thinking.”

She pulls back letting go of me and chewing on her bottom lip, eyeing me like she has something on her mind.

“Ria, talk to me.”

She sighs. “It’s just… this is my job. And I know that seeing me yesterday with Danger was horrible and that it was confronting… him being your friend and all… but this is what I do. This is how I make my living, and if you can’t handle this… then we have a problem, Nate.”

“I know, I think the fact that it’s Danger made this extra hard. If you were doing it with anyone else it would be fine—”

“Will it though? I mean this won’t be the last time I get it on with another guy, Nate. And in movies, it’s worse, much, much worse… there’s kissing, there’s full nudity…” She blinks tears away. “I just don’t know if we as a couple can handle this.”

I reach out grabbing her hands. “Give me a chance here, Ria. Danger’s different. Watching you with actors will be different. I trust you. I promise.”

She licks her lips and nods. “What about the fan girls? You’re a rockstar. There’s girls hanging off you all the time, too.”

I furrow my brows. “So you don’t trust me?” I ask, tilting my head.

“No, of course I do, I just… I guess we either make the choice to either give this a shot or bow out now before our issues become too big.”

“Our issues aren’t that big, Ria. I made a mistake by leaving last night with Lunar and not calling you. I’m sorry.”

She pulls back and looks into my eyes. “You were drinking?”

I nod and she exhales with a frown.

“I drove you to drink! God… I’m so sorry.”

“How did you know I was drinking?”

She winces wrinkling her nose. “You kinda reek of it.”

“Right, yeah, I came straight from Lunar’s. I had to crash the night, I was a little—”

“Wasted?”

I nod and she exhales. “Nate, I never want you to get that anxious over me that it drives you to the bottle. If every time I do a movie you get like this… it’ll worry me sick.”

“This won’t happen again, I just wasn’t prepared. Next time I’ll know and ready myself. It won’t be with someone I’ve known for years getting it on with my girl, either. Each time will be easier. I promise I can handle this.”

“Are you sure?”

“You gotta give me a chance here, Ria.”

“You’re right, you’re new to this. Watching me with someone else… the first time is hard, and it was even harder for you I realize as it was your friend. You’ll do better next time.”

“I just have to remember that you’re acting and thinking about me.” I smile.

She grabs my hands and looks me dead in the eyes. “I am, Nate… the whole time, I was only thinking of you.”

Sighing, I weakly smile. “You looked sexy as hell, though.”

“Thank you. Now, come with me. I can’t stand this stench anymore.”

“Where are we going?”

“Shower!”

“Oh… sexy.” I chuckle.

She laughs. “Only if I can get you clean.”

We walk upstairs to her bedroom and through to her ensuite.

“Ria.”

“Yeah?”

“Have you been crying?”

She turns to face me and slides my jacket over my shoulders as I watch her cautiously.

“Maybe a little.”

I close my eyes and tense up while moving my hand to her face caressing her cheek. After opening my eyes again, I run my thumb under her puffy eyes. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left, and I definitely should have called. I’m a dick… a small shriveled dick.”

She grins and tries to hold in her laugh. “When I think of you, Nate, small and shriveled… definitely does not spring to mind.”

She pulls my shirt up over my head and throws it to the floor then looks down taking in my sculptured body.

“Well, thank you, Miss Shafir.” As I move my hands to her robe I start pulling apart the tie trying hard not to think about the last time I held this in my hands and how I tied her up with it.

She smiles as she works on my pants and her robe opens showing me what’s beneath—which is just her, in a pair of black panties, and no nipple tape.

My cock stiffens slightly taking her in. “Fuck, you’re gorgeous.”

She smiles and pulls my pants down. Wasting no time I shrug out of them along with my shoes leaving me naked as I slide off the robe from her shoulders, caressing her skin with my fingers as I go. She’s so silky smooth, I feel like my calloused fingers would feel horrible against her flesh, but she feels too good to stop touching her.

The robe falls off completely leaving her in her black panties. I want to rip them off with my teeth, but I do have some decorum… so I use my hands instead. Smirking, my hands move to the side of her hip grasping the material and tugging hard. It falls apart easily and she laughs shaking her head.

“Are you kidding me right now, you animal. Are you still drunk?”

I chuckle and move in pressing my body flush against hers. “Drunk on you, babe.”

“You’re definitely still a little tipsy. C’mon, get in the shower. You might be as sexy as hell right now but you still stink.” She giggles.

Stepping inside the shower alcove, I turn on the water. Ria has temperature control so it’s already at the exact right temperature and so she steps in after me.

“Oh wait,” Ria says jumping back out. She opens the vanity mirror and pulls out a toothbrush and some toothpaste and rushes back to the shower.

I chuckle as she hands it to me.

“Here,” she says with a smirk.

“You’re letting me use your purple toothbrush?” I ask and she rolls her eyes.

“Yes, because I want to kiss you, and your breath smells… um… terrible. I’d prefer it to smell like mint, so brush away, drummer boy.”

Chuckling, I unclick the lid of the paste and squirt some of the white and green gel onto the brush, rinse it under the shower water and then begin brushing my teeth. I must admit it does feel good to get rid of the fuzz from all the alcohol. She smiles at me and takes the toothpaste container and throws it to the floor of the shower behind us. Ria moves us back under the flow of the water further and cuddles into me as I brush like a pro. Her body’s now flush against mine and my cock starts to stiffen. She giggles looking down between us while I continue to brush and Ria grins mischievously. Her hand runs down my side, making my skin prickle as she smooths her silky soft hand along my skin trailing down my abs toward my now fully hardened cock.

“Ria,” I murmur through a mouthful of toothpaste.

“Yes Nate?” she whispers seductively as her mouth comes in to gently kiss my chest.

I groan closing my eyes briefly as her hand continues right to the top of my groin. With a quick shake of my head I realize if she grabs my cock I’ll probably choke on toothpaste, so I quickly rinse just as she reaches the base of my cock and starts to tug. The tooth brush drops to the floor on a groan and run my hands up her back.

“Ria, babe, you’re gonna start something if you’re not careful,” I say looking down at her. She looks up at me with hooded eyes and drags her bottom lip in with her teeth. It’s the sexiest fucking thing and it pushes me over the edge. Turning her around, I push her back against the tiles. She giggles but doesn’t take her hand from my cock, only begins to stroke it a little more steadily.

“Don’t you think I’m trying to start something?” she asks.

My breathing begins to become heavy and I run my hand down the center of her body. She looks up into my eyes as the water runs over my back, cascading in rivulets over my shoulders. I lean in finally taking her mouth with mine as I kiss her hard and fast. Ria moans into my mouth as my hand moves down to her pussy and I flick my finger casually across her clit. Her legs part for me instinctively as her motion on my cock becomes faster. We work each other up while we kiss passionately. Her hard but fluent action is sending a shockwave straight through my very being as she takes me to a new height. My hips move in time with her movements as I continue to rotate my finger on her clit.

Ria’s hips begin to move and we strive together for that perfect high. The thumping of the heavy water droplets pummeling down on me and the shower floor, but does nothing to mask the sound of our frantic kissing and harsh breathing from our noses. We’re in a flurry, working hard to get each other off.

She pulls harder rotating her wrist as she does which only makes the friction even more pleasurable. Ria knows how to work me, knowing how I like it and I realize she’s getting close to the edge too. The tingle starts in my lower back as the pins and needles begin in my legs. The heat races through me like a train pulsing through my veins as she tugs harder moving faster and faster, right to the edge.

Then as my balls tense, I groan and tighten up. My back stiffens as I thrust my hips in time with her as the tingle shoots right through me. My eyes clench tighter while my back spasms. My balls constrict tightly, my ass clenches, and I groan into Ria’s mouth as a quiver shoots right up my spine.

While tensing up, hot come shoots straight out of me onto her side as I jolt staggering on the spot slightly, still trying to move my fingers on her even though I’m riding out my own orgasm. She slows her movements on me as I try to inhale deeply through my nose, all the while still kissing her and attempting to get her to where she needs to be. Her body arches off the shower wall as her nails dig into my back. I bring my free hand up and caress her face as I kiss her passionately and continue to bring her up and over the edge. She moans into my mouth as she fractures and falls apart shaking and climaxing against my fingers.

I pull her to me and move us under the hot water, our lips still locked together in a deep sensual kiss. Kissing Ria is like everything and nothing I’ve experienced before. It’s bliss and this right here was amazing and I would give anything to have this with her for the rest of my days. Ria is incredible, and I hope she knows how truly special she is.

She pulls back from me and smiles. “Showers with happy endings now.”

“This is how all our showers are going to be from now on.” I chuckle.

“I can deal with that. But now we’re fully sated, let’s get clean so we can work.”

I raise my eyebrow at her. “Work?”

She nods. “Yep. I’m getting into teacher mode.”

“Oh… I’m a student sleeping with his teacher. How naughty of me.”

She giggles. “Wanna show me one more time how naughty you can be?”

Leaning in so I’m a mere hair’s breadth away from her mouth, I gaze into her eyes. “Yes, Miss Shafir.”

 

***

 

Ria’s been running through coursework all day and considering the state I was in when I arrived, I’ve done fairly well and picked up everything she’s thrown at me. I’m stringing more words together in complex sentences and I’ve even been able to read from a section of a magazine. Not real well, but I was doing okay.

“Maybe you’ll be able to manage a simple text message now and then?” Ria asks.

Smiling wide with pride in myself, I nod. “I think I can, but only to you. I don’t wanna look like a dick in front of the others.”

“No, of course, and I’ll try to be simple in my texts back to you, too. This is great, Nate. You’re making real progress.”

“Thanks to you. If you weren’t an actress you’d be a great teacher.”

“That’s what I always wanted to be. As far back as I can remember, all I wanted was to teach elementary school. But then Patrick said I’d be wasting my potential and Mom forced me into acting classes. I caught the bug and teaching was a thing of the past... but helping you is so much fun. I love it!”

“Well, I know I’d be lost without you.”

“You’re putting in all the hard work here, Nate. I’m just helping, that’s all.”

“And I appreciate you, that’s for sure.”

My cell starts ringing and I can read the name. It says Oliver, but I can also tell from the symbol of the bat next to his name. “It’s Oliver, I should get this.”

Ria nods with a smile sitting back on the sun lounge as I swipe to answer.

“Hey, Oliver.”

“Nate, hear you had a wild afternoon yesterday with Lunar?”

Mmm… guess news travels fast.

“Yeah, just wanted to relax a little. It’s been a crazy few days.”

“Are you feeling more relaxed now?” he asks with a slight tension in his voice that has me immediately on edge.

“I am… why?”

“Are you with Zaria?”

“Again, I am… why?”

“Can you put me on speaker?”

Raising my eyebrow, I look to Ria who’s watching me closely. “Sure, hang on.” I put my cell down and press the speaker button. “Okay, you’re on.”

“Hi Zaria,” Oliver says cheerily.

“Hi Olly.”

Olly? I grin and she smirks.

“Okay, so I have some news. The production team is backlogged and it’s going to take some time to put the video together. But the good news is they’ve given us some snippets to work with.”

“Work with?” I ask.

“Zaria you know that clause in your contract that said we may do some press before the release to get a buzz going about you working with us?”

She looks at me and takes a breath. “Mm-hmm.”

“Well, we’re going to act on that while the production is happening. Get some buzz going, and then bam once it’s out everyone will want to see what all the hype’s about.”

I smile wider knowing this means Ria will be around us for a bit longer.

“How long is this promotional phase going for, Olly?”

Olly… ha!

“We’re thinking two to three months.”

We both nearly choke on thin air.

“That’s how long the production company is going to take?” Ria asks.

“Yeah, unfortunately, we picked a very busy time.”

“I’m a little shocked here, Olly. I’m not entirely sure I can commit to that long. I know I don’t have anything lined up for a few weeks, but beyond that I’m just not sure. I don’t know if I can make this happen. I will need to talk to my management team and all that stuff.”

I tense up and Ria looks at me while chewing her bottom lip.

“Ria, I’ve talked to Marcus and your management already. They’re on board, seeing as this was part of the contract. They’ve shuffled things around for you. It’s taken care of, no need to worry.”

“Really?” she asks like she doesn’t believe him.

“Zaria, I wouldn’t lie to you. Trust me?”

“Okay Olly… so what does this promotion entail exactly?”

“Well, Recoil and you are heading off on a press junket around the country, then possibly to other countries depending upon timeframes. Recoil will be doing small shows as well as daytime TV to coincide with the promotional interviews of you and Danger. You’re basically going on tour with the band… as a member of the band, Zaria.”

She smiles. “I am pretty damn mean on a triangle.”

I leer at her and smile. “I’m so turned on that you chose a percussion instrument right now, babe, you have no idea.”

She laughs as Oliver groans. “Oh… Lord, give me strength. One thing, though, I’ve discussed this with Tillie, too. We think for now, and for the tour, that maybe you guys should keep your relationship under wraps. We want the chemistry they see in the film clip to seem as real as possible.”

“But the world knows about Danger and Lunar being together?”

“Yes true, but just trust me on this one, Nate. We don’t want your relationship overclouding the song and promotion. Joining forces with the band, Zaria is a powerhouse, and we want that to be in the limelight, not your relationship…” He pauses. “You see where I’m coming from?”

I look to Ria and she nods. It does make sense and it would seem a waste to have gone through all this for the highlight to be focused on us, not the song and video like it’s meant to be.

Oliver is right.

Damn it.

“Okay Oliver, you’re right. We’ll play it cool. No one will know,” I say.

Ria nods with a weak smile.

“After the song comes out, smashed the charts and done what it needs to, then you guys can come out if you decide you want to. Just bide your time and be sensible about it for now. Okay?”

“Of course.”

“Right, well, we’ll be starting as soon as tomorrow. Grabbing a tour bus and traveling, so pack your bags, guys, we leave tomorrow morning.”

“On the road again…”

“Exactly! Right, I’m off, have a good night.” He then hangs up abruptly.

Ria looks over to me and lets out a half-laugh. “Did that just happen?”

“Yeah, we get impromptu trips all the time with him. Guess we get some more time together now.”

She smiles and nods. “We still would have had time together, Nate. Even when my time’s up with Recoil, I’m not going anywhere.”

I grin, reaching out for her hand. “Glad to hear that.”