Tiff pondered the question. “Maybe Picard? Whoever Patrick Stewart plays.”
“That’s the one.”
“Although I would let Chris Pine do pretty much whatever he wants to me. Except choking. No offense if that’s your thing.” Tiff’s tone was perfectly calm, like she was commenting on the weather.
I bit my lip to stop myself laughing, but it was a lost cause as soon as Jackson coughed on his drink. He recovered quickly, wiping off his shirt and looking between Tiff and me questioningly. “You’re screwing with me, aren’t you?”
I chuckled and shook my head. “‘Fraid not.” Of all the things Tiff liked or didn’t like in bed, that was on the tame side of things. His head would probably explode if he knew the full list of kinks she had. Some of which I shared. Some of which Jackson himself had introduced me to.
I had always been fascinated by Tiff’s stories of the things she’d tried. It had helped me get to know what I wanted to try and what I definitely, under no circumstances ever, would go anywhere near.
I turned to Tiff, who was no doubt itching to actually mess with him, but I pointed a finger at her and hoped like hell I could at least save him from the many dirty images she’d already put in my head. “Don’t even think about it; you’ll scare him.”
She faked offense. “Oh, come on, he’s a big boy. He can handle it!” I knew from the twist of her mouth and the playful look in her eye that she was up to something, but my reaction time wasn’t fast enough to stop her from turning to Jackson and saying, “I mean, you did say he was a …bigboy … didn’t you?” She used her hands to indicate an appropriately “big” size, and my face flushed faster than the time it had taken her even to finish her statement.
Ground? Please swallow me whole now.
My attention was then caught by Jackson’s belly laugh, and I took a deep breath. Ok, maybe this was ok. I mean, she wasn’t wrong about his size, but Jesus, did she need to let it slip that I’d told her that?
“Damn, ok. I didn’t actually know women talked about shit like that,” He looked at Tiff. “Jealous?”
It was now Tiff’s turn to bark with laughter, a short sharp sound that only ever came out when she was truly surprised by something funny. “Fuck, no, stud. But I’m proud of my little Audrey here. I just hope you know what you’re doing with that thing.”
I stood up from the couch. “Okay, that’s enough about my sex life, thank you very much. If you both don’t mind, I’m just going to get another drink.” I could still hear their laughter as I retreated to the kitchen. Hearing them get along so well spread a warmth deep through my gut, settled and calm.
Fuck, I was so screwed.
19
Jackson
It had been weeks since my conversation with Addison Michaels, and there was some buzz going around that he was ready to offer the role to someone, so when Terry called me, I hoped he had good news.
He didn’t.
“Bad news, buddy. Apparently, Addison’s got someone in mind for the part you wanted. Word’s getting around that he’s not taking auditions until he’s spoken to his first choice.”
Damnit. “That’s ok, Terry. Thanks for letting me know. There’ll be other roles.”
“That’s the spirit! Exactly. Want me to say yes to the teen series?”
I grimaced. I’d really hoped that getting the role inSubversionwould take that choice out of my hands. “How soon do I need to give them an answer?”
“We probably don’t want to wait much longer, but they’re definitely keen to get you on board. Why? Are you trying to get them to up the offer?”
“Not exactly. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the gig, but do you think you could canvas for some other options? Ones more aligned with the Michael’s role?”
“Of course! I’ve been hoping you’d say that. What changed, man?”
“Just got some good advice.”
“I shouldn’t be worried about my job, should I?” Terry asked jokingly.
“Definitely not.”
“Leave it with me, J.”
Disappointed, I returned to set. It wasn’t like something else wouldn’t come along, but damn, getting Parker would have been good. I knew I could bring something special to it, and while Addison hadn’t exactly been responsive when I’d met him, he had seemed interested in my ideas. Unless that was just his way of letting me down easy. I wondered if he’d already known then who he wanted in it.
