Beautiful Strangers (8 page)

   
Ray picked me up at
six am
the next morning; we were shooting the first
scenes out in the country somewhere. We arrived at an old farmhouse with a
beautiful wrap around porch. There were people milling about everywhere with
clipboards and equipment. Ray led me to a small trailer where there was a whole
team of people ready to make me gorgeous.

   
I was dressed in a white cotton
sundress, paired with a light denim jacket, a killer pair of brown riding boots
and a sexy pair of knit boot socks trimmed in lace that peaked out the top of
my boots. They left my hair down in romantic waves and lightly swept my cheeks
and tinted my lips with a light peach color.

    
I couldn’t help but grin as
they had me position myself on a porch swing leaning myself against Jaxson’s
chest. The director said they wanted a shot of me telling Jaxson I loved him.
Wow no pressure Gracie, I scolded myself. It’s for the video, not like he
thinks you mean it.

    
Maybe one day I could mean it
and that scared the hell out of me. They took a few more shots of us driving
around the farm in his truck and rolling around in the field. It was almost
like a perfect date until princess Sadie showed up with her loyal photogs. My
happy thoughts flew out the window when they called for lunch and she flung
herself into Jax’s arms.

   
“Baby I have missed you,” she
squealed. “I am so proud of you.” Hugging his neck and blushing.

   
Oh God, I already felt my claws
coming out. No way could I share this beautiful man with her for the next six
months, their contract just may be a deal breaker for me. I tried to push my
jealousy aside; I was here for a job after all. Reining in my daggered glare I
sat down on the porch swing picking at a donut when I felt the swing shift.

  
“Hello Grace, as I’m sure you
already know I’m Sadie.” Her sun kissed face was plastered with a fake smile.

  
“Nice to meet you,” I lied,
trying my best to throw her fake smile right back in her face.

  
When she was satisfied with the
pictures that made appear like two girlfriends shooting the shit her demeanor
changed.

   
“You must be the new flavor of
the month,” she sneered tucking her blonde curls behind her ear.

  
“And you must be the soured milk
on the shelf,” I snapped back.

  
“Feisty aren’t we? Well honey,
do not look so smug Jaxson and I go way back. He may play with you for now, but
when we leave together for our tour in a few months he will be mine again.” She
laughs mockingly.

  
“You’re not the first or last
girl he’s taken an interest in and just like every other time once he is bored
with you we will pick back up where we left off.”

  
She looked over at me with a
toothy fake smile and cocked an eyebrow. “Don’t look so shocked, I’m in no
hurry to settle down yet, but Jaxson knows when I am ready it will be just the
two of us like before. It’s what we do!”

   
Before I could gather my
thoughts and reply to her nasty remarks lunch was over and Sadie was gone. The
bitch has balls I will give her that. A few more takes of us holding hands and
whispering into one another’s ears and we were done for the day.

   
Jaxson and I didn’t get a
chance to speak other than him telling me I was doing great. The director said
our chemistry looked natural giving Jax a sideway glance. When Ray opened the
door to the Mercedes I was surprised to find him waiting for me.

  
“Let me take you out for dinner
lover,” his tongue caressing the word lover. I may melt in my seat right now.

   
“I’d really like to but I’ve
got to get home. I have to work tonight, and my new stove is being delivered. I
have to be there to accept it, and besides that some guy Ray hired is coming to
fix my door. What about tomorrow?” I was hopeful.

   
“Tomorrows no good, I have a
radio interview as soon as we finish the shoot,” he sounded disappointed.

   
Jaxson dropped me off at my
place and left me with a kiss that made me wish I hadn’t turned him down for
dinner. He let me know the next few weeks were going to be very hectic for him
with the new video coming out and the rehearsals for his tour with Sadie. They
have a lot of interviews and appearances together booked until Halloween. They
also leave for Los Angeles right
after New Years Day.

  
Feeling sorry for myself, I sunk
into my couch to indulge in some peanut butter cups. I decided for the first
time ever I would call in to work. I lied and told Reggie that shooting lasted
longer than I expected and I was too tired to come in. She assured me it was
fine and said that Ritchie suggested giving me until Thursday off.

   
I was okay with that, the extra
money I was making from the billboards and the music video would more than
cover a few days of missed work. Reggie and I made plans to meet up for lunch
one day and get started on the costumes for our Halloween Bash. We have a
little less than five weeks to size and dress twenty five girls. Looks like I
will be very busy as well. I was feeling bitchy and antsy so I gave in and took
another half hit of speed. I had a text message.

   
Evan: hope you are enjoying
your new life but one day soon you will need me and I’ll be waiting long as it
takes. You will be my girl always.

   
That’s where you’re wrong Evan;
at least that’s what I told myself. He could wait an eternity but I will never
allow myself to need him or any man again.

     
My first mistake today was
turning down Jaxson and my second was turning the TV on. There were our faces
plastered on The Nashville Gawker again, photos of Sadie and me smiling
together on the porch swing and then photos of her in Jaxson’s arms. The
reporter says:

  
“Well Steve, guess we can put
the rumors of a straying Jaxson Hayes to rest. Everyone appears to be getting
along great on the set of Jaxson’s new video set to be released next week for
his debut solo single titled Lie to
Me
.”
 

   
I turned my TV off and flung my
remote at the wall. I was pissed and I don’t know why. Not really, Jaxson has
explained his side of things to me when it comes to Sadie. But after her bitchy
comments and the pictures of them, I don’t know if I am cut out for this. I
have never been a jealous person and here I am ready to claw girls’ eyes out
over a man that I have no claim on. What a great start to what I thought was
going to be an amazing week.

   
I got a text later that night
from Jaxson and it only stated that they needed me to be at Masquerade around
nine am
the next morning. No sexy remarks, nothing,
just down to business.
So I simply texted back k.
See
how he likes that. I was being immature but I couldn’t help myself.

  
He took the bait and called me,
my inner kitten was oh so happy to hear that rough voice of his.

  
“Working hard or hardly working
lover?”

  
“Not working at all, Ritchie
gave me until Thursday off.”
 

  
“Maybe we can get together
tomorrow after my interview then, its going to be hard enough having you all
over me and trying not to sport a hard one on camera,” he sighed.

  
The call perked my mood so I
started looking online for costumes for the girls for the big Halloween party.
Somewhere between fairy wings and devil horns, I found myself reading self help
blogs for recovering addicts.

  
Reading what I was going to face
the next few weeks scared the hell out of me. I read stories of people being
hospitalized or even dying from withdraw symptoms, but I am in too deep and
there is no turning back. I plan to have myself clean in two weeks.

   
The next morning I awoke to
horrible cramps in my stomach. I was dope sick and if I wanted to get through
the day I needed my speed. This will pass I told myself in another week or two
this will all be over. I will be free of Evan and the hold the drugs have had
on me.

  
I popped my pill and headed
downtown.
 
I pulled into my usual parking
space and headed in the side staff door. At least today we are filming in my
territory. Seeing Jax dressed in a suit and baby blue tie took me back to the
first night we met, and when he slipped on the black mask I was hit with
dejavu.

 
The way his eyes stood out sent
shivers all through me, this day would be intense. The director took notice of
my arrival and began to brief me on what they expected from me today.

  
They wanted to play off the
usual atmosphere of the club and to perform my normal burlesque dance on stage.
Then we were going to do different takes of me doing lap dances for Jax and a
few extras they hired for the video. The stylist dressed me in a lacey red
bustier with matching lace boy shorts, black fishnets, red stilettos, black
feather boa and of course a red feathered masquerade mask. She left my hair
down and kept my makeup simple with red lipstick.

  
By the way Jaxson was trying not
to stare at me. He more than liked what he was seeing and I wondered if he too
was thinking back to the night we first met. While they finished setting up all
the cameras and adjusting the lighting they had me listen to his song, since it
was what I would be dancing to. When I heard the lyrics I wondered who had hurt
him so badly.

 
Lie To Me

 
You spread your love like a fire babe

 
You do it so easily

 
Three little words couldn’t mean less

 
Cut me a little deeper babe

 
Burn me a little hotter now

 
Just say the words and

 
Lie to me

 
Oh yeah babe

 
Lie to me

 
Lie to me

 
You give it all away

 
So willingly

 
You spread your love like a fire babe

 
You do it so easily

 
Three little words couldn’t mean less

 
Cut me a little deeper babe

 
Burn me a little hotter now

 
Just say the words and Lie to me

This didn’t sound like country music; there was more a bluesy rock sound
to it. I took my place on stage like I would any night I worked. I have to
admit it was a little awkward at first having all those cameras pointed at me,
so I focused all of my thoughts and energy to Jaxson and performed as if he and
I were the only two people in the room.

  
The music stopped and the
director yelled cut. I swear you could have heard a pin drop and I think I saw
a few of the crew members adjust themselves.

  
“Okay that was really hot let's
take five while we reposition the cameras,” the director called out.

    
I stepped off stage and took a
seat near Jaxson.

  
“Darlin I think you just gave
the entire crew hard ones, including myself. This is torture, I may have to
cancel my interview and take you straight to a hotel like five minutes ago,” he
whispered gently in my ear.

  
“Sorry sweet cheeks I am on the
clock and I don’t think my boss would be very happy if I skipped out
early.”
 

  
“All right I think everyone’s
cooled off let’s get back to work,” the director called looking amused.

   
Ritchie didn’t want the crew
filming the private dance rooms so they made a makeshift half booth in the
center of the stage and had me give lap dances to the three extras leaving
Jaxson for last. The lap dance I gave him was very steamy, I wanted to take him
right there in front of everyone and the bulge in his pants told me he was on
the verge of losing it.

   
“Damn it, Gracie I can’t handle
this much longer, I may take you in bathroom as soon as he calls cut.”

  
The director instructs Jaxson to
rip my mask off. He instructs me to follow doing the same with his and to grab
his face and kiss him. Oh boy I thought my panties were going to drop as soon
as his lips met mine.

  
“Cut that’s a wrap.” the
director yelled.

  
“Gracie, if you move off my lap
right now everyone is going to see the major hard one you have caused, and I
don’t need to warn you that if that happens I will have to discipline you,” Jax
murmured to me.

  
“Well in that case, please
excuse me, I need to change,” I teased pretending like I was going to get up.
But instead I stay seated on his lap and bend completely forward. I removed my
heels causing my ass to push down on the prominence in his pants.

  
“Fuck! Gracie, you just made me
come, as soon as were through here you’ve had it,” he warns.

   
My inner kitten is doing cart
wheels all over the stage. The crew began clearing their equipment and I
escaped to the back of the club to change. It wasn’t long before Jaxson was hot
on my heels.

  
“I have a private suite at the
Hilton lover, Raymond is waiting in the side alley for us get a move on and
bring the masks.”