Love Unscripted (39 page)

I combed my fingers into his hair; our kissing was intense and passionate.

The fingers of both his hands caressed in the space between my shoulders. I could hear the metal teeth separate as he slowly unzipped my dress.

He raked his fingers across my back, peeling the dress from my body. I felt the satin when it landed around my ankles.

His eyes took in the sight of me as I stepped out of my dress. I presumed he liked the look of the matching silken lace ensemble I was wearing underneath my dress - that paired with my high heels. His head swayed and his breath was rough before his open mouth locked onto mine.

I unbuttoned his shirt while he kicked his shoes off and opened his belt. My fingers slid over his bare chest, pulling his tucked shirt out of his pants. He shuddered ever so slightly under my touch.

In one quick movement he leaned down, catching my waist with his shoulder. His arm wrapped around my legs to hold me in place. I giggled as he quickly carried me down the dark hallway to my bedroom.

We spent most of the day lounging in bed. In between the marathon sex sessions and a nap, we managed to shower. We even had breakfast in bed.

“
So how do you deal with it?” I asked. I pulled the sheet up over my shoulder.

“
Deal with what?” He looked over at me.

“
Everything. The demanding schedule, the obsessed fans, the photographers, and still manage to make movies.”

He laughed quietly. “I honestly don’t know. Sometimes it feels like I’m having an out of body experience.”

“
Come on! Tell me!” I rested my hand on his bare chest.

He rolled his eyes a bit. “You have a schedule to follow, right? Every day you get up and you either go to work or you have other things you need to accomplish.”

“
Yeah, but I don’t have people screaming at me.”

“
That’s not true,” he insisted. “I’ve seen people bark orders at you many times.
I want sixty mixed drinks and forty pitchers of beer.
”

“
It’s not the same,” I disagreed with his comparison.

“
How is it so different? You run a business, and with that comes dedication and responsibility. You have to be in front of people, some of which you don’t like, or don’t know. But yet you smile and play your part. They expect something from you, and you have to deliver. If you truly think about it, we all are acting in one way or another,” he remarked.

I nodded; he had a point.

“
Take for instance my brother. He has to travel a lot for his job. He’s gone at least one week out of every month for a career that he doesn’t like very much. He has to get on a plane and leave his wife, Janelle, and their baby girl, Sarah, all the time. But yet he
acts
out his part; he puts a smile on his face and he goes to work every day. That’s what he does for a living.

“
Acting is something that I really like doing. It’s kind of easy for me to slip into another character and it’s fun to explore what it’s like to be someone else. And it’s far from boring, that’s for sure! If I had to sit behind a desk everyday, I think I would kill myself! But for some people, sitting behind a desk is a dream job. To each his own, you know?”

“
But what about the pressure?” I questioned.

“
What about it? Every job has its pressure. My pressure is just magnified because it’s publicized. All the directors out there want to make quality films that earn millions of dollars at the box offices. That’s what they get measured by. I get measured by my acting abilities and my public draw. The bigger those numbers are, the bigger my paycheck is! If you don’t have an atmosphere downstairs that pulls in customers, your sales are down and you don’t make money.”

“
I know all about metrics. Economics/Business degree, remember?” I replied. “I guess I’m just worried that the pressure might be too much for you one of these days.”

He thought about my comment for a moment. “Do you remember how you felt after you sang on stage in front of all those people?”

“
Yes.”

“
And how did you feel?”

“
Petrified that I made an ass out of myself.”

He smiled at me. “Okay, and when you played the same song in front of people last weekend, some of which you barely knew, how did you feel then?”

“
It was easier. I wasn’t worried at all.”

“
And why was that?”

“
Because I knew I could do it, for one.”

“
You had confidence. I guess it’s the same for me. The more I get to act, the more confidence I have in
my
abilities.”

“
Yeah, but you could have all the confidence in the world and still cave to the pressure,” I stressed.

“
Yeah, I know. And I feel it some days.
You
know that. But I also have a million reasons to deal with it – millions.” He smiled.

“
So it all comes down to money?” I muttered.

“
Well we all have to earn a living somehow! My mom is the one who told me to join the drama club and my dad is the one who told me to get a job. I’m blaming them!”

His comment made me laugh.

“
You know how many years most people have to work to earn what I make in six months? One movie… millions.”

“
Yeah, but there’s a difference between being comfortable and being greedy. Are you hoping to be one of those mega-rich mega-stars one day? You know - the ones who only have one name now? Brad? Tom?”

A tinge of fright struck me when I wondered if he would end up ditching me down the road so he could be the other half of a mega-couple. I had a comfortable amount in the bank, but I was far from mega.

“
I’m looking to ride this as long as I can. Who knows, maybe one day I won’t want to do this anymore. There are other ways for me to be artistic. Sometimes I look at my brother and envy him for what he has - a normal life and a family. That’s one of the many reasons why I’m here with you now. You’re my peace in all this insanity.”

“
Oh, I see. I’m just a piece for you,” I accused jokingly.

“
That’s not what I meant and you know it!” He tickled me.

“
So what is it about acting that you love so much?” I wondered.

He rested his head on his hand and looked at me seriously. “You want to know why I like being an actor? It’s actually a lot of fun. Okay, imagine this… next time you pour a beer, I want you to look like you’re furious. Hold that look on your face – make sure you look at
that
camera - then walk five feet to your mark and hand the customer his beer. Wait until he takes a drink and then say your lines. It’s that complicated.”

“
What are my lines?” I asked.

“
Oh, you really want to pretend? Okay.” He sat up on his elbow. “Your lines are ‘I thought about killing you for a long time, Joe. Today I finally get my wish.’ ”

“
What’s my motivation?” I questioned, trying to get in the mindset.

“
Joe killed your partner… I don’t know! Think about something that pisses you off.”

I sat up and wrapped the sheet around my body. It was hard to pretend and be naked at the same time.

“
Hey, what are you doing?” Ryan asked while trying to tug the sheet out of my hands. “I like that view!”

I playfully slapped his hand away. “I have to focus!”

“
The script says that this is a nude scene,” he insisted, pulling the sheet off of me. “Just ignore the cameras,” he teased.

I rolled my eyes. Fighting him was a lost cause.

I thought about confronting the idiot who smashed my window with a rock - how I’d like to smash a rock through their window. I looked at Ryan and proceeded to glare at him.

“
I thought about killing you for a long time now, Joe,” I said coolly. “I’m just glad today is the day I finally get my wish. That wasn’t beer you just drank. It was poison. If you tell me where he is, I just might give you the antidote.”

Ryan flashed a big grin at me. “That was pretty good! I liked the improv!”

I just continued glaring at him, hoping he would play along. His happy expression disappeared when I kept giving him the dirty look.

He pretended to pop something in his mouth.

“
You forget, Peaches, that my agency developed that poison. Sorry to disappoint you, but I won’t be dying today. You on the other hand…” He sprang up and pinned me to the bed. His body straddled mine; his hands held my wrists to the mattress. His aggressive acting actually turned me on.

“
I just might be inclined to let you live,” he said persuasively. “But it all depends on what you’re willing to do for your country.”

“
I’ll never give in to you, Joe!” I said with conviction and squirmed under his grip. “You may be strong enough to take my body, but my heart belongs to Ryan.”

He leaned down and kissed me passionately. I didn’t know if we were still playing or if he was serious, but his kiss was definitely serious. He released my wrists and I tangled my fingers into his hair as his tongue swirled with mine.

“
I thought your heart belongs to Ryan?” he snickered.

“
It does. As does the rest of my body.”

“
Hmm!” He smiled his glorious smile at me. “That’s good to know! Now flip over so I can carve my initials back here.”

I let out a shriek as he grabbed my rear.

“
We need to get out
of bed and get dressed,” Ryan said, noting the time.

“
Are you insane?” I asked. “I thought the plan was to stay in bed
all
day?” I was surprised that he wanted to go somewhere. Him of all people!

“
We can’t. We have dinner plans tonight.” He was smiling in a way that worried me.

“
We do?” I was confused.
He hadn't mentioned having dinner plans all day.
Thoughts of another yacht trip came to mind.

“
Yep. We’ve been invited to Cal and Kelly’s for dinner and I told them I would drag you along,” he said while pulling on my hand to drag me out of bed.

“
But, but…” I whined. I really wanted to stay in bed and avoid the photographers that were lurking about.

“
I promise, we’ll stay in bed all day tomorrow if it makes you happy.” I noted the sarcasm in his voice.

“
Oh yeah, like that wouldn’t make you happy too!” I gave him a light shove. He grabbed me around the waist and moved me out of the way so he could dart out the doorway first, laughing on his way to the bathroom.

I had just slipped a white tank top over my head when Ryan came back into the bedroom.

“
Nice!” he said. “Pants optional this evening?”

“
Not wearing pants tonight.” I put on a charcoal gray sweater dress over my tank. The dress came down mid thigh and had a deep V-shaped neckline and an attached hood. It was another new addition to my wardrobe.

I zipped up my black suede high-heeled boots to finish off the look.

Ryan looked at me strangely.

“
Is this okay?” I asked anxiously, worried that he didn’t approve. I knew the paparazzi were waiting outside to take our picture.

“
Very much so!” He nodded. “You look adorable. Very sexy.”

Ryan dressed in his signature style, layering a long-sleeved steel gray collared shirt over a white T-shirt and jeans. We sort of matched.

“
Wait, before we go I have something that would go great with your outfit.” He unzipped his bag. He deliberated for a moment, making sure he had the right package before handing me a gorgeous gift bag.

“
Here, this is for you. I got you a little something when I was in New York.” His face showed his anticipation.

“
Ryan!” I gazed at him lovingly, surprised that he bought me a present.

“
Go on! Open it!” he urged.

I peeked inside the bag; nestled in the pretty tissue paper was a black jewelry box. He stared at me expectantly as I lifted the lid of the box.

Inside was a silver necklace with two diamond-encrusted hearts twined together, one inside the other. I looked at him, bewildered.