Chapter 12

Angelina

“Let’s leave our phones in my trailer for the day,” I said to Dean as he sat next to me while I had my hair and makeup done for filming.

“Sure, I’m not nearly as connected as you are. I bet it will be easier on me than you.”

“Girl, you are going to go into phone withdrawals,” Niall said as he did my makeup.

“I’m not that addicted,” I protested. “Really, look, I can put it down right now.” I set my phone on the counter and did my best not to look at it.

Both Dean and Niall eyed me skeptically as the notifications from my phone made it buzz on the counter. Dean’s smile made it nearly impossible not to smile back at him. I knew exactly what he was thinking; he didn’t think I could do without my phone. I could, though. I had done it before, and I wasn’t afraid to do it again.

“I’ve closed the set to all media thanks to you two,” Gene said as he stood in the doorway.

He was smiling, though, not at all the expression I expected after the chaos that I had caused the day before. Plus, it was still up in the air if Niall was going to be able to cover up my lip and the bruise that was starting to form around where my face had hit the ground.

“Gene, it’s nice to see you again,” Dean said as he stood up and shook hands with the man. “I hear you are signed on for the next Marvel movie.”

“Yep, it’s going to be epic. We still have a lot of casting to do and all the pre-production funding, but it’s in the beginning stages, so that’s a start, I guess. I’ve heard they are trying to extend your time on Broadway for another year. That’s pretty epic too.”

The two men seemed to be trying to compliment each other to death as they continued talking back and forth for at least twenty minutes. I tuned them out and focused on what Niall was doing with my face. He had an ultra cover-up that he used first and then a matte concealer over the top. I couldn’t even tell my lip had been cut; in fact, it looked more like I had lip injections. I sort of liked the plumper lip look I had going on.

“Normally for a closed set I wouldn’t allow visitors, but I think we can make an exception for you Dean,” Gene said as the men shook hands one last time. “I’ll see you out there Angie.”

I hated when he called me Angie. It was a nickname someone gave to a person they knew nothing about. It wasn’t what I liked to be called, and all my friends knew it, but I was happy to see that Gene was in a good mood, so I could look past my nickname for the time being.

“That was quite the bromance you two had going on there,” I joked.

“He’s big in the movie industry, and I’m dying to get a film role again. You know how it is; you’ve got to play the game.”

“I know that’s how it is in the reality world; I was hoping it was a little easier in the movie industry. Unfortunately, I think it’s much harder in this industry.”

“You nabbed this role, that’s a start,” Dean said enthusiastically.

“I know, but I’m bringing a few million loyal followers, and it’s a teen film. I’d like to get a real role. Something that other actresses want; something that wasn’t just placed in my lap. You know I’m pretty sure my mother is funding half of this movie. I really hope it doesn’t flop.”

My mother didn’t realize that I knew she had a production company formed so she could help fund this movie. I did know, though, and it was killing me. I didn’t want her to lose a bunch of money, and although I had a lot of fans on social media, I wasn’t one hundred percent sure that was going to translate to ticket sales. Of course, everyone else thought it would, but you just didn’t know until a movie was released.

“How about you go kick ass at the scenes today, and we can talk about all this nonsense later,” Dean said. “I’m going to stay for the day if you don’t mind?”

“Yeah, that would be awesome.”

“Just let me talk to her for a minute,” I heard Jeremy screaming from outside the trailer.

“Oh, God,” I rolled my eyes. He was definitely going to cause a scene if he didn’t get to talk to me. “I’ll go talk to him really quick.”

“I meant to tell you, my agent said there were some stories going around that I was the one that hit you. It’s ridiculous.”

“Oh, my God, people need to get a life. Seriously, you weren’t even here, and the whole thing was caught on tape with my sister.”

I stormed out of the room and right over to Jeremy. He didn’t look happy that I left him on the other side of the gate and didn’t ask the guards to let him in. But I was over everything. I just wanted to finish filming in peace and then take some time off. I had told him before that I didn’t want to post everything on social media, and this was no different.

“Like I said before, I’m taking a break,” I said firmly.

“No, you absolutely need to post to your social media. Your fans are freaking out. They think you’re in some sort of abusive relationship with Dean. You have to tell them the truth.”

“I don’t have to do anything. This is how people get wrapped up in everything I’m doing, and I don’t think it’s necessary any longer. Of course, Dean didn’t hit me; he wasn’t even here. There isn’t going to be anyone that says it happened; it’s just a bunch of speculation. Now let me finish filming.”

“Angelina, this isn’t like the dating rumors. This is big. People are talking all over the place; you need to address them. How do you expect to use Dean to build your movie career if you aren’t even going to post about him online.”

“Use me?” Dean said from behind me.

“No, those are his words and not mine!” I yelled as I pointed to Jeremy. “I’m sick of all these manipulations, Jeremy. I like Dean. He’s a nice man, and I want to get to know him. I’m not posting about it; I’m not taking photos, and I’m not putting out statements. I’m going to spend a couple of weeks living my life. If you can’t handle it, then I suggest you let me go and you can find a new client to pay your bills. Now I’m going to work; I’ll call you when I need you,” I yelled and stormed off toward the set.

“Wow,” Dean sighed as he walked with me.

“I’m sorry about that. He only thinks about my career and not what is actually coming out of his mouth. He didn’t mean to use you.”

“It’s alright; I’ve got an equally vicious agent. I get it. If you think about it, dating me could help you build a different following. I understand what he’s saying.”

“You’re way too nice of a man; you know I think I might just want to keep you around,” I said as I wrapped my arms around him, and he pulled me into an embrace.

“I’d love to be a kept man,” he said before his lips pressed gently against mine.

He was soft and took special care to kiss around my injury. His hands held onto my hips, and I felt his body harden against me as our tongues wrapped together.

“Angie, can we get some work done please?” Gene yelled from the set where he and Matthew were standing.

“On my way.” I smiled shyly. “You know that man isn’t this nice normally, right?”

“Yep, I guess I still have a little pull in this industry after all. I was pretty sure my value was totally gone by now.”

“What? You’re valuable!” I grabbed him and looked Dean right in the eyes. “People look up to you, Dean. Young boys want to be like you; hell, even old men want to be like you.”

A smile flashed across his face, and I felt the eyes of Gene and Matthew on us while we talked, but I didn’t care.. How was it even possible that Dean Morrison didn’t know how much people loved him?

“Get to work,” he teased and pushed me toward the set. “You can give me more compliments when you have a break.”

I spun around and gave him one last quick kiss and then hurried off to the set. It was surprisingly easy to act with Dean around, and I even went over to talk to him a couple of times and hear his tips.

“When you do that again, make sure you are looking at the bridge of his nose. If you keep looking at one eye and then the other, it looks odd on film.”

“Why hasn’t the director ever told me that?”

“He probably won’t notice it until post-production. Then he’ll be cutting out all your close ups, and we can’t have him doing that.”

I did as he said, and sure enough, it was much easier to keep my eyes steady. I had so much to learn in acting; it was a blessing to have Dean there. For a moment, I let myself think about what life could be like with him around all the time. Of course, he wasn’t going to follow me to the set of my movies all the time just to give me tips, but I liked the idea of having a man around who knew the business so well. It was nice to think of all the long business discussions we could have and tips he could give me, and maybe I could even give him a tip or two.

When lunch break came around, it was a blast to sit and talk with Dean alone in my trailer. We talked about all the other actors and actresses in the movie, the director, we even talked about what it would be like if Dean was my co-star.

“They wouldn’t cast me as your co-star; I’m too ugly to be next to you on screen,” he joked.

“I think you’d make a great love interest for me,” I teased as we snuggled together on the couch.

“Oh, the press would say I was too old; I’m sure the fans would too. By the way, we should talk about the press. Are you okay with not making a statement? It’s perfectly fine with me if you want to post on your pages or whatever it is you do with all those selfies you take.”

He pulled my hand to his lips and kissed it gently. I loved that he was trying to make an effort in my world, but I really did feel like I wanted to take a break from it all. I needed to see what my life was like if I wasn’t posting photos and updates constantly.

“We do need to do a post or two for Instamatch, but other than those, I’m taking a break.”

“For real? An actually social media break? Is your mother going to be alright with this?” Dean laughed.

“I’m an adult! Seriously, I don’t know why I care so much what she says. She’s not even my agent anymore. But I still want her to be happy and proud of me.”

“We all love our moms.”

“Do you think we should say something? I’m sure the stories are horrible right now. Let’s look and see,” I said as I started to type into my phone.

Dean grabbed my hand and stopped me. His firm touch reminded me that it was never a good idea to look at the tabloid stories.

“I think you only have a few more minutes of your break left, and I certainly don’t want to spend them looking at tabloid stories on the internet. I’ve got a lot of other ideas for our time,” he said as he pulled my hand toward him and took my phone away.

He placed my phone on the table behind us and then quickly jumped up and locked the door. His boyish smile reminded me of what had happened while we were at his theater, and I certainly didn’t want that to happen at my work.

“I’ve only got fifteen minutes,” I said skeptically.

“That’s all the time I need,” he whispered.

Dean fell to his knees in front of me and looked me straight in the eyes, and his hands pressed my skirt up. I arched my back in agreement to his plan and lifted my hips so he could remove my lace panties.

As he pulled me toward him and pressed my legs apart, I glanced at his eyes and the desire he had for me. It was inspiring to see how much he wanted me because it was similar to how badly I wanted him. I couldn’t remember feeling that equal in affection with a partner before. Typically, I either loved them much more or much less than they loved me, but the equality of emotion between Dean and I was just one of the things that made me feel comfortable with him.

“Should I take a selfie now?” Dean joked as he pretended to take a photo with his head between my thighs.

“I bet Instamatch would love it.” I laughed.

“It might not help them with their new marketing approach.”

“Nope, I don’t think it would. Might make them a little more popular with the men, though,” I teased as I pressed my thighs around his head.

He quickly turned toward me and started to kiss my thighs.

He grabbed my hips and held them firmly as his tongue played with me. I closed my eyes and let each lick move deep into my body. After an hour in the makeup chair, I was trying to finish the last couple scenes for my film but they had sent me to my dressing room while the camera’s were repositioned to hide my injury.

The warmth of his breath drew the desire out of me and soon I felt myself moaning out in pleasure. I could have stayed right there with him for the rest of the day, if I didn’t have work to do. He continued playing with me, and soon I was thrusting my hips against him wanting more and more. I wanted to feel the explosion that he was trying to deliver to me. I needed to feel it; there wasn’t anything that was going to get in my way or keep me from feeling that delicious ending.

“Yes, oh God, yes,” I moaned so loud that I scared myself a little bit.

“Shhh,” he teased as he looked up at me. “You don’t want everyone to hear you.”

“I don’t care,” I announced defiantly. Although I did care, and I was going to do my best not to scream out anymore.

.

Dean continued, and I felt myself getting closer and closer to the bliss. Harder and harder I thrust against his tongue until the final thrust delivered a shock of delight that shook through my thighs and middle. My whole body vibrated with pleasure as I grabbed his hair and held on while I rode out the ecstasy.

“Shit, I’m going to have to bring you with me to the set more often,” I said softly as my body continued to quiver.

“I could be your personal massager,” he teased.

“Angelina, you’re needed on the set,” a voice hollered from just outside my door.

“Wow, that was good timing.” I laughed. “Do you need to get to the theater or can you hang out for a little longer?”

“I’ll stick around until four or so if you can stand me that long.”

“Oh, I’d love to have you here. I feel stronger when you’re here. Probably because everyone loves you so much. You know, I think people actually like me more when you’re around.”

“That’s funny because I think people like me more when you’re around,” Dean said and pulled me up from the couch.

Together, we found my undergarments, and I got dressed to head back to the set. It was one of the best days I had had filming since the start of the process, and I did think it was because Dean was there. People loved him. People admired him and having him around was good for me. Although I liked having him around for lots of reasons, not just because he softened the blow between me and the rest of the cast.

For the next three hours, I was in filming hell. We had to redo a scene over and over. First, the lighting was off, then the sound; when we finally had the technical issues worked out, the director didn’t like my emotion in the scene. When I finally had the emotion right, the director didn’t like my co-star’s emotion in the scene. It was exhausting.

“Hey, did you see the story Entertainment Tonight is running on you two?” one of the productions assistants said as she sat down with Dean and I for a break.

“I bet it’s horrible,” Dean laughed.

“Yeah, it’s like they just make stuff up,” the girl said. “They said Dean hit you while you were on set and that your mother has filed a restraining order against him.”

“Wow, this is getting crazy,” I said in total disbelieve.

“It will die down. They will come up with some other crazy story to run with tomorrow,” Dean added.

“Maybe we should just post a small statement?”

“Hell, no. I’m not going to reward them with statements just because they are making up shit about our life. You can’t feed into their nonsense.”

“I know, but people are used to hearing from me. Maybe if I just said you weren’t there with me that day. Or posted something about my sister?”

“It’s your life. I’m not going to be bullied into posting a message. My agent wants to give a statement, and I still haven’t called her back. You can’t let those people control who you are or what your message is to the world.”

I totally understood where Dean was coming from. I wanted to be like him. I wanted to be able not to care. It was just really hard for me.

“Good news, we are calling it a day, and we won’t be able to finish the shoot this week. We will start back Monday with some new sound and lighting equipment,” Gene said as he walked over to our table.

“Seriously? Done for the week?” I asked to clarify.

“Yep, enjoy the city. Be back here Monday.”

“Wow, I don’t think I’ve have four days off in years,” I muttered.

“Yeah, this year of doing the Broadway show has been difficult for me to adjust. I was used to just doing a movie and then taking a break for a few months. So do you have plans for the next few days?”

Dean looked at me with such desire that I was positive the production assistant was even blushing. I couldn’t tell exactly what it was he wanted to do for the next few days, but from the look in his eye, it seemed like it would involve more moaning and screaming.