Ricochet (14 page)

going to come and bring you pizza afterwards!"

"Well, you know what they say - no good

deed goes unpunished." Rick said that straight into

his ear, and Matt could almost feel his infuriating

smile as he spoke.

Matt closed his eyes and tried to maintain his

bad mood, but he had to admit there was something

exhilarating about flying down the road on Rick's

Harley. Rick might be reckless and ridiculous, but

there was something reassuringly safe about being

pressed up against his broad chest. Not that Matt

ever intended to let Rick know that; he'd be

insufferable.

Matt was almost disappointed when they

swept through the studio gates. All the same, he

shoved Rick's hand away when he tried to help

him off the bike and threw his helmet back at his

co-star in a huff.

"I hate you," he said, before storming off

towards his trailer with Rick's annoying guffaw

following him all the way to the door.

Their arrival caused such a stir that people

had come out to watch, and Matt flushed and thrust

out his jaw defiantly as he marched to his trailer. It

really was unbearable. He liked his routines. He

liked waking up in his own bed, not on someone's

sofa; he liked being in his own home, with his own

choice of breakfast cereals; and he liked peace and

quiet, not being hauled over some big dom's

shoulders, thrown onto his bike, imprisoned

between his strong arms, and whisked away

against his will. It was… the most fun he'd had in

ages.

He stopped short in surprise, his hand on his

trailer door.

"Are you okay, Matt?" a concerned voice

asked, and he looked around to see Karl standing

nearby, a bemused expression on his face. "That

was quite a dramatic entrance you made back

there."

"Well, it's Rick, so what do you expect?"

Matt snapped. "You know what he's like."

He stomped into his trailer, slammed the door

shut behind him, and stood there, his chest heaving.

He felt strangely exhilarated and alive, and he

couldn't remember ever feeling like this before.

Damn it - this was another reason to hate Rick! He

didn't want to feel this way.

He grabbed his script and sat down on his

couch, trying to calm down so he could

concentrate. It took a while for his heart to stop

beating at twice its normal speed and the flush to

fade from his cheeks enough for him to brave his

nosy co-workers. There was no place like a set for

gossip, and Matt was sure that the news of him

staying over at Rick's last night and arriving on his

bike this morning would have gone all around the

place like wildfire. All he could do was to refuse

to dignify any of it with a response.

"Never complain, never explain," he told

himself, nodding at his reflection in the mirror. It

was a little saying his mother had taught him when

he was a kid.

Everything was calm and peaceful when he

arrived on set. Daniel was already there, reading

his script intently, and Matt was relieved when he

didn't ask him any questions or make any jokes

about the events of the morning.

"Where's Rick?" Matt asked, realizing they

were all ready to shoot the scene but, as usual,

waiting on their errant co-star.

"Petra wanted a word with him," Daniel

replied, with a meaningful twitch of his eyebrows.

"Oh shit." Matt had forgotten, in all the

drama, that Rick was probably in trouble for his

all too public appearance at the Justice Hall the

previous night. He had been in Petra's bad books

even before that had happened - supposing she

decided this was the final straw and fired him?

Matt couldn't bear to even think about that. The

Collar Crime
set was a great place to work

precisely because Rick made it such fun; it would

lose its heart without him.

He studied his script morosely, going over his

lines for the upcoming scene, and his heart thudded

a few minutes later when he heard Rick's familiar

long strides as he walked onto the set.

"Hey, did you start without me?" Rick joked,

but Matt could hear that he wasn't his usual

ebullient self; he glanced up to see his friend

looking pale and chastened.

"Just adjusting the lighting and then we'll be

ready," the director said.

Matt grabbed Rick's arm and dragged him

into a private corner of the set. "Are you okay?

What did she say?" he asked quickly, all his

earlier annoyance forgotten.

"Aw - you care." Rick broke into one of his

annoying grins.

"No, I don't." Matt bristled immediately. "Oh,

for fuck's sake - of course I do. What happened,

Rick? Was it bad?"

Rick dropped the act and ran a hand through

his hair. "Pretty bad, Matty, yeah. I can't screw up

again this season - not once, not in any way, shape

or form, or I'm fired. Petra was pretty clear about

that. She really means it too - I screw up, or bring

any kind of bad publicity down on the show, then

I'm out on my ass."

"She can't fire you! You're the main reason

this show is a hit."

"That's nice of you, Matt, but there are plenty

of actors in Hollywood who can do what I do.

Nobody's irreplaceable." Rick shrugged.

"You are." Matt stuck out his chin obstinately.

"Look at those stupid photographers this morning

and the news item on TV last night! They could

have caught me and Karl having sex on the lawn in

front of the Justice Hall and that wouldn't have

gotten half the publicity you did."

"Nah. They just like me because I live it

large." Rick shrugged. "And is that your fantasy?

You and Karl making out in public?" He leered at

Matt suggestively.

"Don't be an idiot." Matt bashed his arm.

"And don't change the subject, either."

Rick sighed. "Look, I don't kid myself, Matt;

I'm not a great actor. Daniel is - and you have the

chops for it too - but I'm just very good at the one

thing I do."

"That's not true. You should see yourself the

way everyone else does."

"A total screw up?"

"No - an idiot, sure, but an idiot with a big

heart who manages to touch people in every scene

he's in. You make it feel real, Rick; I do my best

work whenever I'm in a scene with you because

you make me relax, and you throw out this good

vibe and sort of coax the best out of me. I'd be so

anxious I'd freeze if you weren't here, cracking

your truly appalling jokes."

Rick looked genuinely surprised by the

compliment. "Thank you, Matty," he said quietly.

"So you absolutely mustn't get into any trouble

between now and the hiatus!" Matt told him

sternly. "Promise me, Rick - because I really don't

want to do this show without you." That sounded

kind of sappy, so he added; "You're my only

chance of ever winning an award one day!"

Rick grinned at that, responding to the teasing

as he always did. "Okay, Matt, I'll do my best."

"No - I want you to promise."

"I promise then. I already promised Petra: No

clubs, no subs, no trouble - nothing at all to give

the show bad press." Rick gazed blankly into

space. "Shit, Matty - how the hell am I going to do

that?"

"I'll help you. We all will." Matt gestured

around the room. "You can do it; I know you can."

"You have more faith in me than I do." Rick

gave a wan smile, and Matt realized that was the

truth. Rick didn't have a lot of faith in himself; he

seemed to almost expect to screw up, and Matt

wondered how much of the goofing off was simply

to pre-empt the inevitable moment when it all went

wrong for him.

Impulsively, he reached up, put his hands on

either side of Rick's face, pulled his head down,

and kissed him firmly on the forehead. "I mean it.

You can do this," he whispered fiercely.

He released Rick and walked back to his

position on set, aware that everyone was looking

at them again. Damn it, they were really giving the

gossips plenty of fodder today. He wasn't used to

being the center of attention, and he felt himself

flushing at the scrutiny. Rick came to stand

opposite him ready to start the scene a second later

and gave him a little wink, and Matt flashed him an

encouraging smile in return.

Rick could do this - he had to.

It was like going cold turkey, Rick thought a

few days later, gazing at himself glumly in the

mirror in his trailer. He felt utterly miserable - it

wasn't so much Petra's embargo on clubbing,

although that didn't help, but it was that he couldn't

be himself. He had to monitor his behavior all the

time, watch what he said, and keep one eye on the

clock so he wasn't late, and it was making him

depressed.

He couldn't even ride his bike in the hills in

case he zoned out and was pulled over by the

police again. Even apart from Petra firing him,

there was a good chance he'd lose his license if

that happened.

So he was stuck in a nightmare of

timekeeping, politeness, no sex, and, worst of all,

no spanking!

He had been surprised to find that what he

missed most of all was not so much the sex, as that

time he spent with a sub over his knee, gently

warming a cute ass. That was something to be

relished and savored, something he could lose

himself in, and something he knew he was damn

good at.

He missed making a sub squirm, squeal,

giggle, sigh and melt into a ball of relaxed

submission over his knees. That was when he was

most in touch with his own dominance - when he

was spanking a willing sub who loved it as much

as he did. That was when he was the master of the

universe, flying as high as his sub on the sensation.

He didn't have any energy these days and felt

tired all the time. He didn't like sleeping without a

beautiful, naked sub curled up beside him, ready to

service him sexually at any point during the night.

He needed the distraction of having a sub to

explore. Without it, his demons came out and

tormented him, keeping him awake at night. Subs

were his drug of choice and without that drug he

was slowly drowning.

He couldn't go out clubbing to find a willing

sexual partner - it was too risky. Besides, the

paparazzi were all over him right now after

catching Matt staying over.

At that moment there was a sudden flurry at

the door, and the human whirlwind that was Matt

in a bad mood stormed into his trailer without

knocking.

"Have you seen this?" He threw a magazine

across the trailer, and Rick caught it in one hand

and glanced at the front cover.

Is Rick swimming in Matt's lake?
the

headline screamed, over a picture of him and Matt

emerging from his house a few days ago, Rick's

hand clamped firmly around Matt's wrist.

"They made a pun out of your last name being

'Lake'?" Rick shook his head sadly. "That's crappy

writing."

"Really? They're insinuating that we're having

an affair and your problem is that the writing's

crap?" Matt glared at him.

"Well, it is!"

"Yes it is," Matt conceded. "And this one is

even worse!" He flung another magazine at Rick.

“
Rick
ochet
! TV star Matthew Lake takes a

walk on the wild side with his handsome co-star!

This one had a picture of Rick throwing Matt

over his shoulder and striding with him towards

his bike.

"
Rick
ochet! Hah!" Rick laughed. "Now that

one is actually pretty good."

"Yes, yes," Matt said impatiently. "The first

headline is a feeble play on my name, and the

second is an even worse pun on yours. Hah, hah,

very funny."

"Rick O'Shea… ricochet." Rick was still

laughing at the joke. "I love it!"

"Well, I don't! And I do damn well feel like

I'm ricocheting all over the place because of this!