So Addie increased the speed and held the vibe against her clit until she was shaking. Seeing herself in the camera—hips moving, body trembling—was surprisingly sexy. Seeing Toni’s reaction to it, though, wasmore.
“I want to see your face, love,” Toni said. “Can you move so I can watch your expression?”
Addie thought she might bite through her lip at the feeling of joy that request brought. She dropped back to the bed, angling the camera so it was aimed at her face. And Toni caught her gaze instantly.
“I want to look at you as you come for me,” Toni said.
And that was all it took for Addie to do just that. Tremors rolled through her body, and Addie let out a muffled sound. In the next moment, Toni’s expression was sheer bliss. Eyes flickering up, and neck tilted as if a live wire ran through her.
The silence that followed was heavy. Addie stared at her through the camera, and Toni looked back at her like she was a revelation. After a long pause, Toni said, “I could get used to that when you’re not in town.”
“I wish you were here, though. I want to be in your arms now,” Addie said, feeling exposed but closer to Toni despite the physical distance between them.
“Same.” Toni’s voice was so quiet that Addie almost thought she’d imagined the admission. Then Toni grinned and added, “Even if your hair is trying to murder me in my sleep.”
Addie smiled. “It’s self-defense. I had to tuck the covers under me the last night I was there, just so I didn’t freeze.”
Toni looked away. “I ordered a larger top sheet and comforter for when you visit.”
Inside, Addie was squealing at the thought of visiting often enough that she’d need that, but outside all she said was, “That does sound better than sleeping in clothes. Although Ididget this new sweatshirt.…”
“You’re going to end up with a collection of my clothes at this rate. Blazer and my sweatshirt, too?”
“Come and get them,” Addie challenged.
Toni chuckled. “I wish I could. I have a late class on Friday, though, and I’msoclose to wrapping up the new book. I’ll see if Ican pull off Halloween. No promises, love, but I’ll see. The book is already later than my original deadline.”
Addie mock-pouted and sighed. “Fine. Be responsible.”
They chatted about life until Addie had to crash lest she be raccoon-eyed on set. Makeup seemed magical, but it still had its limits.
Chapter 38Addie
Everything felt more natural the next day when actual filming started again. Interviews and fittings and reading script changes hadn’t taken up nearly enough time to push away her disappointment that Toni wouldn’t be there that weekend. She loved her job, but right now she’d rather be in DC with Toni. She’d rather beanywherethat Toni was.
For the first time, though, Addie was glad that Toni wasn’t a social media user. The pictures of the two of them had become the base of several memes, and while most of the buzz was positive, a few montages about wanting Toni to “be their teacher” were the sort of things Addie was fairly sure Toni would hate. Addie had turned her own account over to her manager because she mostly wanted to either defend Toni—or agree with random users thatyes,she was incredibly sexy, andyes,Addie was a “lucky” person. The low-grade envy was uncomfortable, though. She didn’t think Toni was incredible just because she was gorgeous or wealthy or talented. Toni, the real woman, was so much more than that.
Addie resolved to stay off socials, and when strangers recognized her in the lobby or the street, she just smiled and waved. What else could she do?
Filming went well the first few days of the week, and by Thursday, she was busy enough to not think about Toni.Much.Maybewhat she needed was a hobby, a distraction, maybe she could volunteer or take a class or—
“Well, that’s one way to steal the spotlight,” Philip said as he came over beside her. They were waiting for some cords to be better hidden. The streets near Jackson Square were cordoned off, and elements of modern traits had been removed. The excess of ghouls and skeletons was also not present in this small section of the city. Outside of their filming area, it was like the holiday had exploded over the city.
Addie looked at him. “Excuse me?”
“Sleeping with the writer. I knew you were desperate when we dated, but oof.” Philip kept his voice low. “I don’t think I’ve ever sunk quite that low for attention… or to get a role.”
“Fuck off.” Addie smiled at him as she said it, feeling awkward that anyone on set might overhear. She didn’t want a reputation as hard to work with or anything else.Be nice. Be polite. Be soft-spoken, she reminded herself. It wasn’t her default setting, but she wasn’t going to ruin her working environment just because her costar was a prick.
“Quick moves, too. I wondered why you insisted it was just you at the event in Rhode Island.” His gaze raked over her. “I thought you just wanted all the attention.”
“I didn’t insist on going alone. Thepublishermade the call.” Addie glanced around to be sure no one was nearby to overhear. “You’ve done your share of promotional things, too. You’re in a lot of the promo photos, considering that it’s a show about a lesbian detective.”
“That’s right. And conveniently, you’re now a lesbian. I knew the whole lesbian thing was a way to get attention, Addie, but this? Did you blackmail her to get the role?”
That exact accusation showed up a lot on socials, Addie realized. Obviously Philip was following the news closely since that was his first volley.
Addie turned and gave him a scathing look as her temper edged forward. She stepped closer to him for privacy. “Maybe you ought to ask yourself why the character and I have the same name?”
