Chapter Twenty-Six
Alessandra
Today’s shoot was a fun one. I got to watch Joel pretend to drown in four feet of water, then face-plant into the sand before crawling to the shade of a palm tree. I got to add some fun prosthetics to his face to make it look like he had a busted eyebrow and a cut on his cheek.
Kandi waggled her eyes at me once then popped her bubble and focused on the acting before us.
When lunchtime came around, Joel was so hungry he didn’t even try to clean up before heading for the table of fresh fruits and sandwiches that had been set out under a pop-up tent.
“So good,” he moaned and devoured one sandwich, with his eyes set on another.
We were back in our normal flow of things, so why change habits now that we were sleeping together?
I grabbed a carrot and saw the sandwich in his hand stalled on its way to his mouth. I acted like I was going to put on another bite show for him, but instead just ate the carrot normally.
“Can’t fool me now; I know the truth.” He winked and walked over to his chair so I could touch up his fake blood.
We worked like nothing was different, and when the day was over, we waited till everyone cleared out before heading back to the house.
I needed to call Jenson to check on him, so as soon as we walked through the door I sat on the couch and pressed dial on his name.
He was having fun, which made me happy, and helped me feel better about being away from him. I missed him so much.
He launched into stories about what he and my parents had done since I left, and I told him about the house we were in, and today’s shoot. He yawned, and I told him to go ahead and get some rest. It was time for bed in Brazil.
Once we were off the phone, I sat there feeling a little homesick for Jenson.
“Wanting anything particular for dinner?” Joel asked from the kitchen.
“Comfort food.” I was in the mood to just hang out and stuff my face with something to make me feel better about my boy being so far away. It was still another three and a half weeks before I’d see him again in person. I’d be okay. I knew that. But I still missed him.
“All right.” He shut the fridge door and pulled out his phone to order us some pizza. I thought that was a good choice.
“Wanna talk about it?” He came and sat next to me, pulling me in to rest on his chest. It was a nice place to snuggle so I went easily.
“I just miss him. We’ve done this once before and he has a blast. It’s good for him to get to spend time with my family; I just hate being away from him for so long.”
“Anything I can do?” He gave me a little hug and then started rubbing my back.
“Nope, I’ll get over it in a little bit. Wanna watch a movie?”
He smiled and grabbed the remote. Joel was obviously not just an actor but a movie fan as well. Movies truly were his passion, every part of them. Not that I would ever ask it of him anyway, but he would never be absolutely happy without the movie life.
Last night we just both accepted that we were in love, and everything was just going to have to work out. Whether we stay secret, or let it all out of the bag, we wanted each other. Jenson was all for it, too, so I was thankful I didn’t have to deal with a child who hated the person I wanted. I would always choose my son.
The pizza man showed up thirty minutes later, and we just chilled together, ate, and watched two movies. When it was time to settle in for the night, we climbed into bed and made out. No sex, just kissing. It was sweet, and I liked that. Sometimes love was this all-consuming power that drove people to forget who they are. We were us, Joel and Alessandra.
He fell asleep first, and I just looked at him, memorizing every hair on his jaw, the straightness of his nose, the lips that were a darker pink from kissing me so much. His eyelashes were so long that I was slightly jealous. And that cute little gray patch. Something about it just drove me wild. He was right around thirty years old and just embraced it. I wish I could say the same. I was probably going to start coloring my hair as soon as the first gray hair showed up. Thankfully, it hadn’t happened yet, but with Jenson still heading into his teenage years, I knew I would end up with a bunch by the time he graduated.
Sleep finally took me over peacefully. I dreamed of paradise, swimming with fish, Jenson telling me there was a shark feeding frenzy going on, and Joel in the kitchen wearing nothing but an apron.
“You’re dreaming of me. How cute.”
“Nope, dreaming of Thor, and his mighty hammer.” I snuggled into his bare chest, knowing I wasn’t going to be staying there much longer. He would retaliate in some way for my comment.
He rolled himself on top of me, his very own hard hammer lying on my belly.
“Wench, thou shall not think of any man’s hammer but mine.” He pretended to talk like Thor, and it was cute.
I opened my eyes and peered at the clock beside the bed.
“We don’t have any time. Gotta get dressed and over to set.” I was disappointed that I wouldn’t get a morning orgasm to start the day.
“We got this.” He smiled, then proceeded to prove me wrong on the time subject. We were sated, clothed, fed, and in the Jeep in twenty minutes. He was good. There was no denying that once he put his mind to something, Joel was unstoppable.
