“Castings are minor things?” I asked, quickly looking up at him.
“In the grand scheme of everything, yes. I want to focus on the filming and producing. And the end product. Castings take time, and I don’t have enough of it to sit down and go through thousands of applications.”
I wrote that down too. “Got it.”
“The girls will be here soon,” Rocco said, checking his phone. “Trey just texted. They’re five minutes out.”
My stomach tightened as reality caught up to me. In a few minutes, I’d be watching Callan have sex, and the thought made my pulse jump. I wasn’t sure how I’d handle it, even though I was playing it cool. I hadn’t come here to watch people fuck. I’d come to take notes, to study how a production like this was run, and to see how different it was from a normal movie set. That was what I needed to focus on. The rest, I’d have to block out if I wanted to get through the night.
12
Callan
I still needed to get used to Lana sitting there, with her notebook on her lap, and her eyes full of wonder. She was brave for coming here and wanting to write about my world, and while I knew she’d only focus on the actual filmmaking, she’d see more than she probably ever had.
Lana was innocent. I didn’t have to know much about her to understand that she never had sex, or a boyfriend, for that matter. She was too focused on college and her future plans, which I admired.
She was the only person in the room who didn’t belong here, and somehow, she still managed to look like she did. She wasn’t trying to hide or blend in. She was simply trying to observe. That made me uneasy. I was used to being in control of every detail in this room, but now there was someone writing things down. Someone who wasn’t here to get off or get paid.
Trey and the girls had finally arrived, and while Trey grabbed the camera, the girls stood next to the bed, chatting quietly. I chose Madison and Kira for this shoot because I had worked with them before, and I knew they’d make this movie an easy project, given their familiarity with my set rhythm. Still, I walked over to give them directions.
“We’ll start with the warm-up shots,” I said. “Keep it natural. Just get comfortable with each other first. I’ll cue the real take once I like what I see.”
“Sounds good, Buster,” Madison said, smiling up at me with those fuck-me eyes.
Kira didn’t look as interested in me as she usually did. She tilted her head toward Lana, lowering her voice but not enough that Lana could possibly hear her. “Who’s that?”
“She’s here to observe. College project.”
Madison raised an eyebrow. “You’re letting someone write about us?”
“She’s writing about production,” I explained, my tone leaving no room for argument. “Not the sex.”
Kira laughed under her breath. “Right. Because people will totally read that for the technical aspects.”
I shot her a look that shut her up fast. “She’s not here to judge you. She’s here to learn about how we make films. You focus on your work.”
“Wait, oh my god…that’s the girl who lives here. She’s your stepdaughter,” Madison said, her eyes now wide.
I tensed, hating how my dick reacted to her calling Lana my stepdaughter. It was wrong to be turned on by it, but it was also what kept me hard during sex.
“Like I said: she’s here to learn, not to watch us fuck.”
They exchanged a look, then nodded, clearly unconvinced but smart enough not to push it.
I turned away and walked toward Lana. “You ready?” I asked.
She blinked. “Yeah. I think so.”
“If you need to step out, let Rocco know. Can’t have you make noise in the background.” That came out harsher than intended, but I needed her to understand that this was serious. Though, I knew she was aware of that already.
Her lips parted, ready to snap back. But she held back whatever reply she had ready to fire.
“I’ll let Rocco know,” she said instead, her smile tight.
“Good.” I turned back to the bed. “All right. Let’s start with the first scene setup. I want you both naked in front of the bed.”
They didn’t need any more instructions, and in just a few seconds, they were already undressed and touching each other. This wouldn’t really be a scene in the movie. It was just a warm-up.
