A Certain Intimacy Read online

  a

  certain

  intimacy

  Chamberlain & Stone

  Chapter 1

  Iris

  The big sunglasses were a must. The California sun was far too bright this morning and, after a long night, Iris wasn’t ready to face her manager but he’d insisted that they needed to talk before she flew to Mexico for her vacation.

  They’d played a gig the night before, their last for a while since she was due to be in an upcoming movie that would start filming after her vacation, her first real acting job.

  She and her bandmate had been together for seven years now and they were just now breaking through into mainstream channels. They were all hoping that Iris’s role in this movie would push that train forward even more. A full-steam engine. That’s what they were hoping for.

  An edge of fear came along with that. She was deeply private. Something she had considered before going forward with her career in music. The positives out-weighed the negatives then. Okay, they still did.

  Music was who she was. Without it, part of her would be missing. She wasn’t done sharing that with the world. Privacy could be staved off for the time.

  It hadn’t been bad yet. She wasn’t an A-list or anything, far from it. She could handle what life was like: endless tours, press, and late nights on the road. When she was home, in L.A., there was a sense of restlessness. After a few days she would itch to start something new. The movie would be that for her now but she was using the vacation to prepare herself for this shift in direction.

  She walked up to the little cafe on the corner where Stan should be waiting and opened the door. Sure enough, he was in a seat on the other side of the cafe, waving at her. They usually met someplace with coffee since he was always drinking it and she didn’t object to watching him feed his addiction. She was pretty sure his body was mostly made of caffeine at this point.

  “Hey babe!” He greeted.

  He kissed her on the cheek and sat back down in the little two person booth he had chosen. She sat opposite and saw that he had gotten her a tea. He always had something for her and he knew her well. They’d been working together for as long as she’d been in L.A.

  When she was eighteen she made the move from Nashville. On a recommendation through her parents, she looked Stan up. He took her on, as soon as their first discussion, and ever since then they’d been a team. With his endless enthusiasm and love for crazy suits, he made quite an impression on everyone.

  At forty-five, he’d been in the business long enough to know exactly how to cut the right deals. His connections were far-reaching. It helped that he was handsome in a geeky but rugged way.

  He’d been the one who introduced her to Jared, the other half of their band Anthems. With Jarod’s talent for mixing and production, Iris’s voice, and their combined skill for playing instruments, they were creating something a little fresh and left of center. Appealing enough to gain traction.

  Iris loved Jared; they were perfect partners and nearly always on the same page. Even when they weren’t? It was easily resolved. All three had formed a little family together. There were other musicians that went with them on tour to round out the live sound but this was the core, their three person army.

  Iris picked up her tea and took a sip. It was cold and refreshing hibiscus with a hint of rose hips. She grinned and moved her sunglasses into her hair. Bright gold eyes pierced Stan’s brown ones and she narrowed her gaze.

  “What was so important that you needed me to meet you at this ungodly hour?” She asked.

  “It’s ten a.m., Iris,” Stan laughed.

  She groaned and let out a sigh, leaning back in her seat. Relaxed, she waited for him to continue.

  “Well, I wanted to tell you that they need you up in Vancouver a little earlier than planned, so, your vacation is going to have to be rescheduled,” Stan frowned.

  “What?!” She sat up with enough force to knock her sunglasses down again. Shoving them back up into her hair, Iris closed her eyes and shook her head.

  “I know, I know. But, they had to shake up their schedule since Michael has another commitment. They wanna start with you, shoot your scenes first,” he said.

  “Of course, that asshole would screw it all up,” Iris muttered.

  Michael Holder was a cliche actor. Probably got whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. He probably thought he was doing them all a favor by doing this film with two lesser known actresses.

  “You could have told me this over the phone,” Iris said.

  “Yeah, but then you wouldn’t get to say goodbye to me in person,” Stan countered. He always brought joy into their meetings, a sense of family.

  “What do you mean? You’re gonna be up there with me, right?”

  “You see, here’s the thing. I’m going to come up in a few weeks, so you'll be on your own till then.”

  “That sucks,” Iris replied.

  She didn’t mean to sound like a kid who needed to be accompanied everywhere she went. She was just used to having him around to help her fend off unwanted attention and people with the wrong intentions. He was protective that way and she knew he thought of her as more than just a client.

  People had this idea about her, that she was an edgy rock star with an air of enigma, when really she was a total introvert with bad social skills and a case of anxiety.

  “It’ll only be a few weeks and I’m gonna send Jenny with you,” Stan said.

  “But you need her. She’s your assistant,” Iris argued.

  “I have a whole office of people here to help me and you’re going to need someone up there. They’re going to provide an assistant but I’d rather you go with someone I know,” Stan insisted.

  Now she really did feel like a little kid.

  “It’s fine. I can go by myself. I’m a twenty-five year old woman, Stan. I’m sure they’ll have someone perfectly suited.”

  “No way. Jenny is already at home packing. You leave tomorrow morning. And she has the new schedule so you don’t have to worry about that.”

  “Fine,” Iris grumbled. “But I could have done it myself.”

  “Sure, I know you could,” he coddled.

  He knew as well as she did that it would have been a disaster no matter how she tried. Her skills lie in more artistic areas, not in details. She was secretly relieved that someone she knew would be there. She’d never tell him that though.

  “Well, can you at least tell me what time the flight is?” Iris asked.

  “I’ll have Jenny send you all the info. Now, get up and hug me so I can get back to the office and finish wrangling with Atlantic over the new album,” Stan said.

  Iris stood and Stan gave her a big bear hug. He was the closest thing she had to her dad when she was away.

  “Okay, I’ll see you in two weeks.”

  “Sure thing, kid. Now, go chill out till you have to leave. You’ve got a whole twelve hours till you have to be off on yet another new adventure,” he beamed.

  “Oh god, you’re so corny,” she scolded.

  “And you love it!” He shot back.

  She shook her head again and grabbed her tea. He grinned down at her, his six-foot-five frame towering over all five-foot-five of hers. She smiled back and pulled the big dark sunglasses down over her eyes. She would miss him.

  By now, Jared was off on his own vacation. He would be climbing some mountain in Africa, when she was up in Vancouver working.

  She walked back out onto the street and strolled down. Passing the shops and the restaurants.

  This city had everything and sometimes it still felt like nothing at all. Iris liked it here but sometimes she missed the relative simplicity of Nashville. Waking up to smel
l her momma working miracles in the kitchen and her father reading his tablet while listening to his vinyls in the den.

  She missed her home family but at least she had one here. It had been important to her for this foray into acting to go well. She’d done it growing up but music had always been her major focus. She had worked with some acting coaches in preparation for the audition for this movie.

  They told her she had promise but she never knew what to believe from people who had a vested interest in her money. Stan was usually good at weeding out the worst but it couldn’t always be helped.

  Instead of calling a car, Iris decided to walk back to her loft. She hated driving in the city so she never did it. She made Stan sell her car a few years back. Now, she relied on a service.

  Since she had landed the role in Winter Tell, she’d been working with a trainer to get her body in the best shape it could be. There were some physically demanding stunts in the film and she was determined to do as many of them as possible by herself. The film was a thriller with some action in it. Naturally, it was set in the future.

  She was playing Rhea, an agent who, along with her partner played by Michael, discovers a deep and winding conspiracy by an A.I. to render every human in the city docile and under its control. The other main role was Winter Tell, the one woman who can end the AI’s reign. Iris had yet to meet her costars.

  It was honestly crazy that the studio agreed to give her a shot at such a role. At least, crazy to her. In her opinion, the only audition she had done for them went terribly. Still, Iris got the part and she was happy about that. This would complete her dream. This one film, if she didn’t catch the bug, would be enough for her to say that she has achieved what she wanted.

  She had a music career which came first to her. It was safer as well. Hollywood movies were unknown territory. This one venture into the unknown would probably be her limit. Stan was convinced otherwise. He was the one saying that after this she would be in demand and she would be hooked.

  Jared was happy for her and happy to have a break away from everything to get back to nature. If he could be out in the woods with a guitar and a campfire, he was at his most serene. The band was important to him as much as it was her but he needed more time to recharge than she did.

  Iris reached her building and used her fob to unlock the outer door. She took the stairs up this time, used to being a little more active now that she had endured training non-stop. She would have to call Cindy and see if she could come earlier for their session today. It was going to be impossible to get everything packed if she didn’t start as soon as possible.

  Five hours later, she had worked out, taken a shower, and conquered her packing goal with plenty of time to spare. Far too energetic to sleep, Iris settled for picking up a guitar. There was a song that had been trying to come out of her for the better part of a month but she had only gotten down some random melodies and a few thoughts on lyrics.

  This happened sometimes. That place inside of her that the music flowed from could close off from the rest of her mind and she would struggle to open it back up. It was usually when she was really stressed. Lately that was true. Iris strummed a few chords, stopped, pushed out a heavy sigh and gave up.

  Obscuring her view, Iris’s black hair hung around her face in waves. She pushed the strands back and went to her balcony that overlooked a part of the city. Using the wall to support her back, she brought the guitar and sat down outside.

  The stars were impossible to see here, a fact that she hated. Back home Iris could get outside of the city and gaze on the million dots up in the sky. They made her realize how little they really were and how much she took for granted.

  Every day above ground is a gift as her mother would say. Stan was right, tomorrow would be a new adventure. She just hoped that she was ready. This had the potential to change her life in ways she both expected and had no way of fathoming.

  Her phone buzzed and vibrated in her pocket. Iris set her guitar aside, leaning it against the wall beside her. She dug her phone out from her pocket. It was Jenny. A car would be coming to pick her up at seven in the morning. Iris sent a short answer back and put the phone down, before looking back up at the sky.

  “Here goes nothing,” she said, a faint smile lingering on her lips.

  Chapter 2

  Natalie

  Natalia Reyes paced the smooth wooden deck of her temporary rooftop penthouse oasis. At this point in time, luck had been surprisingly good to her. For instance, this particular property had been completely comped by her studio as part of her contract signing. It was nowhere near the studio or the set locations but Natalie prefered something nicer, something in the city.

  “Apparently, they pay a lot in this town for tits and ass,” her agent had joked. Permission for full nudity really got her a lot of things that other actresses wouldn’t receive, including the lead role in this new space-age project. What the casting director had pitched to her agent was: a hot Kardashian who fights crime. A wide array of overly suggestive “sample” photos and a willingness to allow any white person in the industry to label her as “ethnic” was the golden key. Charm, sex, and intimacy labeled Nat as an it-girl around tinseltown. And this project would only advance that perception. There were going to be stunts; dangers and choreography.

  Despite all that, Nat had to wonder, which Kardashian did they actually want? Or was it not even about that at all and the director just threw that random example out to perk up those dreary eyelids across the table? She wasn’t even remotely Armenian but the powers that be didn’t exactly care about that. Any type of different was more than different enough for all of them.

  The whole thing was a circus. Nat discussed it at length with Olivia, her brilliant and equally complicated ride-or-die best friend. “Babe, but what if they want it like Kourt?”

  “They wouldn't,” Olivia laughed.

  “Why not? It's great that way.”

  “Yeah, to us,” Olivia laughed adorably, her smile lines were becoming more prominent as she aged into maturity.

  “God, you look hot,” Nat realized. Olivia hadn't even done anything special. She’d flown out to Canada and taken a rental car to see her best friend. If anything, Olivia wanted to touch up her makeup, change her clothes, maybe take another shower. To Nat she was endlessly beautiful, never a bad hair day and always the perfect face.

  “I don't,” Olivia laughed, insecure yet flattered. The two of them together were like two fictitious leads in a very gay vampire CW show, they looked to swoon. Dark hair, beautiful eyes, well-cared for skin, expensive eyebrows, the kinds of bodies that both attract without being anything at all alike. They were a true money pair. Nat with the muscle and Olivia with her delicate ways. Only money could find money that way. “It's been nothing but reading by the pool while Avery practices,” Olivia explained.

  “Yeah, and it suits you,” Nat said, tugging on her friend's arms and getting Olivia to fall in to rest comfortably against her form. Nat missed Olivia’s smell and her touch, she missed her adorable laugh, and her smile. She missed everything about Olivia. Most-of-all, she missed her face.

  “Okay, emotional,” Olivia whispered. She could feel it when Nat got heavy inside. Heavy with time. Heavy with thought. Heavy with the distance that they always had to carry and share. “You okay?” Olivia worried.

  “Yeah. Just, miss you. It's been too long.”

  Olivia breathed Nat in too and leaned back to really look at her friend. “I miss you too,” she said. “Always.”

  Nat had hoped that Avery could come. She knew if Olivia's wife didn't make the trip, things would be a lot harder for the both of them. Avery was a great distraction from all their shared problems and a wonderful friend, better than most that Nat had known.

  Their eyes locked until the sounds of the rushing cars below on the street reminded them both that one of them was most-decidedly taken by another.

  “Anyway,” Nat beamed. She touched Olivia's face, tenderly. “Isn't
this insane?”

  Nat stepped back from Olivia and opened her arms to remind them both of their new environment. Wood paneled decking, white lounge chairs with vibrant green cushions, a pool that seemed oh so inviting, plants that added to the impromptu tropical atmosphere. The whole place was something you’d expect in a trendy Los Angeles penthouse but you’d never expect it to be here. A small, safe, slice of L.A.

  Smirking, Olivia hugged her body and looked around. They were in the sky, ontop of the world. In a city that many loved: French, Canadian, or from Belize. The sea, the pines, and the independence to explore only where they wished. What else could you need?

  The highrise was brand new. Though, that never crossed Olivia's mind until now. She'd been too busy trying to arrive, busy trying to get to her friend.

  Hollywood got lonely for Nat. People were everywhere but no one was close to her. Not like Olivia.

  “It's lovely,” Olivia realized. Looking around, she breathed out a relieved laugh. Stress always hovered out near the sides of her mind. Visiting Natalie was becoming more and more complicated as their relationship ebbed and flowed. The distance tore at their skin like the thick claws of a rabid mountain lion on a quite unnecessary vengeance spree.

  Sometimes it itched. It itched at the both of them.

  They had an unfortunate path: devolving from lovers into friends. A surprise transition Natalie would probably never recover from. Mainly because it never made any sense.

  “I like these,” Olivia smiled down at Nat's designer sweatpants. Two careful fingertips tugged into the fabric of Nat's right pocket, it was Olivia's hand.

  “Oh, yeah?” Nat flirted.

  “Mhmm,” Olivia nodded, keeping her eyes down since it was one of the smartest things she could do. When she looked into Nat's eyes she felt all sorts of wonderful things and she knew that she shouldn't feel a thing, to some extent. Married and in love. In love twice, now, it seemed.

  “I'll ask my assistant to get you some,” Nat flexed.