Take Three Read online

  Monk pulled out a flask.

  “Dude, it’s morning!” I growled.

  “Just take one pull off this,” he said. “You’re not gonna get drunk.”

  I reluctantly took a swig. Monk knew his whiskey. It was smooth as liquid air going down my throat and for one brief moment, I was warm and full of happiness. I inhaled through my nostrils and then slowly let go.

  “Okay, that is better,” I said. “Thanks, Monk. I needed that. But still, Zack, what the fuck, man?”

  “I gotta tell you, she’s really good,” he said. “She was flirting with me and it was intense. For several minutes, I didn’t know if we were doing a scene or we were going to have sex right in her trailer.”

  “Really?” I said. “Well, don’t have sex with her, man. That would be inappropriate.”

  “What? C’mon,” he dismissed. “The studio’s not gonna fucking care.”

  “Well, for one thing, I would. I’m playing a romantic lead with her,” I explained. “If you bang her, it could throw her whole thing out of whack. The vibe would be all wrong. If anyone should be banging her, it should be me.”

  “Now who’s being inappropriate?” countered Zack.

  He snickered.

  “C’mon, dude, you know why,” said Monk. “If Christian bangs her after this scene, then every romantic scene they have will resonate as genuine as fuck. Harrison Ford and Carrier Fisher, dude.”

  “They banged?” I asked.

  “Empire Strikes Back, they were totally banging!” said Monk. “It was all in the tabloids after she died.”

  “Damn, that guy has had quite the life of adventure,” said Zack.

  “I know, right?” I added. “Imagine being him? He’s like an acting god.”

  “More like a movie star god,” corrected Monk. “Robert DeNiro. He’s an acting god.”

  “Yeah, except for recently,” I frowned. “What is up with some of his choices?”

  “He’s getting older,” said Zack.

  “Yeah, but so did Lawrence Olivere,” I pointed out. “That guy was a genius and he stayed a genius.”

  “Here’s the thing about working with women in romantic scenes,” began Monk, bringing us back to the topic at hand.

  Oh, here it comes.

  Now Monk was going to lecture us all from “up high.” I knew I shouldn’t have given him an opening to pontificate about acting or women. But it was too late. I had taken his whiskey and now I was going to have to listen for a few minutes until I could finally tell him to shut it. It was as if he’d done me a favor and now, I owed him.

  “When a woman has to fake falling in love with you, she can’t really do it,” said Monk. “She has to pretend she is in love with you. Which, in some respects is easy, because women lie all the time.”

  “Dude!” I said.

  “They do, let’s be honest,” said Monk. “They lie to themselves, they lie to us, they lie to everyone.”

  “You’re getting kind of dark,” said Zack. “Can we stop this conversation?”

  “Yeah, are you gay or something?” I asked him.

  “I’m just saying,” Monk said, without answering my question, “she’s going to need you to do all the things you would do if you were actually dating. You gotta make physical contact in the scene. That’s important. That physical contact in the first few minutes is crucial.”

  “I’m not on a Tinder date,” I objected. “I’m acting, Monk! God, don’t let anyone from the studio hear you. You know what things are like around here.”

  “Yeah, but you can’t ignore reality,” he continued. “You’re a handsome guy, she’s a hot chick – there’s going to be an attraction. She wants it to work for her scene, you do too – it’s only natural. Plus, you absolutely should bang her.”

  “Okay, new rule,” I announced. “I can’t talk to either of you before a scene. You two or me, I guess – someone has to go into trailer and close the door, because I am so far in my head right now – I really don’t want to fuck up this scene.”

  Zack rolled his eyes.

  “Anyhow, getting back to what I was saying about this girl, Blythe? She’s hot, Chris. She’s got a curvy, hourglass figure. Plus, she has an intensity,” assured Zack. “I think you’re going to really feel her. I mean, it was like – as good as sex, reading lines with her.”

  “Damn, dude,” I said. “When’s the last time you got laid?”

  “Can I not say things?” said Zack, clearly annoyed.

  “I think we pretty much established that you and Monk shouldn’t,” I said.

  All of a sudden Hex was there to get me.

  “Christian, they’re ready for you,” he said.

  I exhaled and tried to center myself.

  “Shit, okay,” I said. “Let’s do this.”

  I dropped the script on my chair and walked to the set. We were shooting on the Universal lot at the bar. I was going to walk in and see her. The camera was then going to crane in, while the front of the bar’s façade was pulled away.

  “Places, people! Places!” called Hex.

  Looking around, I couldn’t see Blythe. The extras were all in the way and so was a part of the wall that was being moved. Guess Jim would get his wish.

  “Extras, go,” said Jim.

  “Extras, start moving!” shouted Hex.

  “Speed!” said the camera man.

  “Bar scene, take one,” said the clap board guy.

  “Slate it and out,” said Jim.

  The clap board guy moved out.

  “Action!” said Jim.

  I walked into the bar and there she was. This chick, Blythe, I had seen her previously but didn’t really look at her.

  Now, here she was, all dolled up in makeup and looking – Wow. She was just gorgeous. I kind of couldn’t believe how gorgeous she was. But like my character Tyler, I had seen her before, but this was the first time I was really noticing her.

  “Jenny, right? It’s me, Tyler. I’m the one who nearly ran you down in the, uh, stairwell,” I said, stammering a bit.

  “Oh, yeah,” she said, feigning disinterest. “You’re about as coordinated as you are interesting. Be gone.”

  I paused.

  Fuck!

  What was the line?

  She had me so damn flustered for real, that I couldn’t even remember it.

  Chapter Five

  Christian

  “Cut!” shouted Jim.

  “Fuck!” I said aloud. “I’m sorry, so sorry.”

  “It’s fine, it’s fine,” said Blythe. “The first line was good.”

  “Everyone back to one!” shouted Hex.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Jim shouted down to me. “We got your first reaction. It was great. We’ll cut it to pieces anyway, but let’s start over. Keep rolling. Extras.”

  “Extras, go!” shouted Hex.

  “And… action!” said Jim.

  I walked into the bar again, determined not to mess this up.

  “Jenny, right? It’s me, Tyler. I’m the one who nearly ran you down in the, uh, stairwell,” I said, stammering a bit.

  “Oh, yeah,” she said, feigning disinterest. “You’re about as coordinated as you are interesting. Be gone.”

  “Whoa, that was a little harsh,” I said. “You kiss your mother with that mouth?”

  “I kiss lots of things with this mouth,” she said, turning on the charm. “What’s it to you?”

  “Are you flirting with me?” I asked. “Because if you are, it’s working and if you’re not – it’s still working.”

  “God, are you that conceited?” she said, still feigning disinterest. “You can’t just sit down with me. I have to ask you to come into my space.”

  “Can I come into your space?” I asked. “I think I’d like to come… into you.”

  “You can,” she said seductively.

  “How does that feel?” I said.

  I moved in closer. I looked deep into her eyes. There was something in there that was threatenin
g to get me lost. I struggled to keep my focus.

  “Feels pretty good, Tyler,” she said. “How’s it feel for you? Scared?”

  “Of what?”

  “That you might fall in love?”

  “Jenny,” I dismissed. “What you’re doing is projection. You’re the one who’s falling in love with me.”

  “I am? How can you tell?” she said suspiciously.

  “Your face is flushed, and your eyes are intensely focused on me,” I replied coyly. “I think medical science would back me up with a few tests.”

  “Medical science?” she said disparagingly. “Is that your plan?”

  “Well, I thought I might ask you to play doctor,” I smiled. “You up for an examination?”

  “My God, Tyler. Is this flirting or the verbal equivalent of fucking me up against a wall?” she asked.

  I laughed. That was a good line. We were improvising lines, totally off script. The director was cool enough to go with it – he liked impromptu things like this.

  “Sounds like someone has something more than a drink on her mind,” I suggested. “My place isn’t far.”

  “But you are far from getting me there,” she countered.

  “Am I?” I asked, taking her by the wrist. “Your pulse tells another story. See? Medical science.”

  “And cut! Brilliant!” shouted Jim.

  Jim got off the camera and walked into the bar.

  “Guys, guys, that was so great! You were steaming up the camera’s lens. Where did you pull those lines from?!” said Jim, sounding overly excited. “We gotta get some coverage of this.”

  “Did you like it?” I asked.

  “Every damn word! You guys have chemistry. Real chemistry! I knew you would!” said Jim, cheerfully. “I told you this would work out for the best. Now let’s get some close ups, people!”

  We did the scene a few more times. In the old days, they would’ve been changing reels constantly and taking breaks. A scene like this might take all day.

  But these days, with modern cameras and multi-camera shoots, we were done with the entire scene in just under two hours, with plenty of coverage. Quite frankly, these days, with the editing equipment they have, you could shoot things once and just fix them later. It’s really quite amazing.

  “Okay, everyone, that’s lunch,” announced Jim. “We’re going to redress this for the next scene. You guys go eat, relax, but don’t lose that heat!”

  “Well, Jim seems happy,” I noted.

  “That was really good,” said Blythe. She smiled at me. “You’re an amazing actor.”

  “Oh, come on,” I dismissed.

  “No, seriously,” she said.

  She gently reached out and touched my arm.

  “It wasn’t really acting,” I said, looking down into her eyes.

  We locked eyes for a minute.

  What was I saying, exactly?

  I guess I was really into her, but – wait, no. I needed to focus.

  Shit.

  Her eyes suddenly widened, and she muttered something and scurried off.

  Had I accidentally offended her?

  “Hey Blythe! Wait!” I called after her.

  “Excuse me, Christian?” I heard someone call me.

  When I turned, it was Hansley, the producer, coming out to talk to me. Shit. This was someone I could not blow off to chase Blythe. She would have to wait.

  “Hey, Hansley,” I greeted her. “You didn’t have to come all the way down here just to see me.”

  “Oh, I’ve got plenty of reasons to pop in,” she said. “Come on, I’ll buy you a sandwich.”

  We started to walk to craft services. I made eye contact with Zack, who gave me a thumbs up, as I passed him. I just frowned at him.

  “I had a feeling you and Blythe would hit it off,” she said. “I gotta sixth sense about that kind of thing.”

  “How so?” I asked.

  “Well, in my family, I’m known as a bit of a matchmaker. I introduced three different cousins to their future spouses and, well, you know me, I like to have parties and host Seders. I just have this sense when people might be good for each other. Served me well as a casting agent before I became a producer,” she explained. “How are you feeling?”

  “I was a little nervous, walking onto the set with the new lead, but she’s good,” I said. “So now I’ve calmed down.”

  I grabbed myself a steak salad with blue cheese and greens. I was trying to avoid carbs, especially while on the money. Hansley had no such compunctions. She got herself a chicken sandwich on faccia bread. It looked really good.

  We grabbed some waters and sat down at a picnic table outside away from the rest of the extras and crew.

  “Your brother told me to check up on you,” she said.

  “Tell him I don’t need someone checking up on me,” I said, mildly annoyed.

  “He’s just watching out for you, relax,” she said. “I know in this town, every favor seems like a dagger in the back, but he’s your brother. You do half as well as him, you got it made.”

  “I’m going to do him one better – no, five better! Ten!” I assured her.

  “That’s why I always liked you, Christian,” she smiled. “You got moxie, kid! Isn’t that what producers are supposed to say? Moxie?”

  “I guess,” I laughed. “If you’re producing movies in the 1920’s.”

  “Well, here’s the thing. The studio’s always looking for a hot couple to promote,” she explained. “So that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I think you and Blythe could be that hot couple.”

  “What do you mean? We’ve only done one scene together,” I said.

  “And it was a scorcher,” she smiled. “I’m going to have Jim edit that scene this week. We’re going to use part of it as a teaser and the rest I’m going to show to some studio execs. You could be the next Ryan Gosling.”

  “Well, I like the sound of that paycheck,” I admitted. “But I think I have better chops than him. No offense.”

  “You just keep working out and staying away from those carbs,” she said, tapping my salad bowl. “And now we just need this movie to do okay. Not even a hit, although a hit would be great, of course. But if it just does okay, I think we can package you two for a bunch of different romantic comedies, dramas – the whole shebang.”

  “I’m down for it,” I said enthusiastically. “Just tell me what I need to do.”

  “Well, you did not hear this from me, but, well. You’re single. She’s single,” she said, taking a bite of her sandwich.

  Was she trying to push us together?

  I guess she was making that quite clear but I just wanted to be sure.

  “Are you saying I should date her?” I asked.

  “I didn’t say that,” she said, definitively. “I’m just saying, if it happens. It happens.”

  We sat in silence for about a minute.

  “Is it happening?” she asked.

  I laughed, despite myself.

  “Uh, she’s very attractive and I think there’s some chemistry,” I said. “I feel kind of weird about it now, though, since you’re trying to push us together.”

  “Forget I said anything, then,” she said, shrugging. “Just let nature take its course. We all know how these onset romances happen in this town. Just to let you know, she has five older brothers, a black belt in karate and she’s originally from Montana. Loves horses and is kind of rough and tumble.”

  “Do you do this for all your matchmaking candidates?” I asked wryly.

  “Just the ones I know will work,” she assured me.

  Much to my surprise, Hansley had already woofed down her sandwich.

  “I gotta jet,” she said. “Keep up the good work.”

  Chapter Six

  Blythe

  I was so turned on by the scene I had done with Christian, I had to get away from everyone. I felt the extreme need to get myself off. Fortunately, I had a large bedroom in my trailer and a door that would lock behind me once
I got inside.

  Seeking privacy, I locked the door and made sure all the blinds were pulled down tight. For good measure, I closed the curtains over top of them. This was Hollywood, the last thing I needed was to get caught by a paparazzi or someone on set doing what I was about to act out doing on camera.

  Walking into the bedroom, I closed that door too. Now I had two doors between me and the outside. Total privacy. I stripped off all my clothes. There was no dildo handy, so I would have to do it the old-fashioned way, with my hands.

  I got under the covers too because – well, I was just super paranoid, I guess. Hopefully if there was anyone somehow watching, they would just think I was really tired from my first performance on screen and needed a nap.

  I imagined Christian coming back to my trailer as I rubbed my clit and began to penetrate myself with my fingers. At first, we would have some more banter, then we would lean in close to each other.

  I would smell his cologne, like I smelled his cologne on the set. It was a mixture of musk and sandalwood.

  Then I imagined him taking me in his arms and kissing me. It would be a long, passionate kiss. His big hands would move up and down my body, fondling my breasts and touching my inner thighs.

  As I imagined this, I started to get wet. My hand made wet slapping noises as my fingers went in and out of my pussy.

  In my fantasy, Christian peeled off my clothes and took off his. He had an A-list actor’s body. It was taught and muscular from the many hours he worked out with his personal trainer.

  But as things got heated between Christian and I, Zack entered the room, in my fantasy. At first, we were embarrassed, but then I invited Zack to join us. He got undressed.

  Now the actors were on either side of me, naked, and they were touching me everywhere. Christian licked my pussy, while Zack sucked on my tits.

  Suddenly, Monk was in the room, too. Hey, why not? He was really hot, too. And it was my fantasy, after all.

  I had never had even had a threesome before and here I was thinking about a foursome. Maybe Mallory was influencing me more than I thought. But I just went with it, thinking that whatever could get me off the quickest was the best thing to focus on.