“No, you hold on to it.” Anubis knew the script from front to back, so he didn't need it. “Ready?”
Star took a deep breath, turning to the side, pretending to hold a drink in his hand. “Yes.”
“Okay.” Anubis nodded his head to Bianca, who stepped in front of the camera with a movie slate.
“My One-Night Stand, audition. Action.” She snapped the clapperboard and stepped aside.
“Can I buy you a drink? You seem like you could use another one.” Anubis lowered his voice, adding a sexy drawl, taking on the character.
“Are you talking to me?” Star asked, turning to face Anubis.
“I'm not interested in speaking to anyone else, so yes, I'm talking to you.” He gave a charming smile and extended a hand. “My name is Ja...”
Anubis didn't have time to finish and was taken aback when Star, who was still in character, placed a finger on Anubis's lips. He felt a spark pass through him, making him gasp from the gentle touch. Anubis's eyes glossed over, but he righted himself before sinking too deep into the other man's soft gaze. Anubis watched Star's eyes glaze over as he licked his lips, dipping deeper into the Christen Travers character. But one thing was for sure: Anubis was certain that the script didn’t call for them to touch yet, but he would see where things were heading.
A diamond wanting to sparklekept playing in his mind.
“Let's not do that,” Star said in character, pulling Anubis from his thoughts. “We don't need to exchange names, talk about our jobs, favorite hobbies, or come up with any dumber pick-up lines, and for god's sake, not another drink. I'm tipsy, but I know what I'm doing. So let's cut the shit and get to the end of what we both want.”
He removed his finger from Anubis's mouth and leaned forward, resting his hands on Anubis's legs, almost coming out of his own seat. They were so close Anubis could smell every sweet ingredient in the man's shower gel, with a vanilla fragrance tickling his nose.
“And what's that?” Anubis asked, adding a little of his own ad-lib.
Star licked his lips as his eyes drifted down to Anubis's crotch. A sly and sexy smirk graced his lips as he slowly raised his gaze back up to Anubis's face. “Don't play dumb,” he purred sexily. “I'm staying at the Emerald Dawn Inn, two blocks from here. I’m in room two thirteen. Knock twice so I know it's you.” He stood and walked around Anubis, pausing behind him. Anubis quirked an eyebrow at how spicy the scene had turned. He almost forgot they were acting.
Star leaned down to whisper in his ear but spoke his words loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. “Oh, and bring the condoms; we don't want any mistakes to happen.”
“And cut!” Bianca said.
Anubis stood, whirled around, and looked at Star, whose eyes had returned to normal. The sexy, confident man that had teased and toyed with Anubis had disappeared, and before him was the submissive he'd recognized earlier in Star. But beyond that, Anubis only hoped he wasn't making a big fucking mistake.
“Well done, Star,” Anubis said.
“Yes, that was very good,” Bianca added.
“Thank you,” Star smiled, and unlike some actors he'd worked with, Star never asked if he got the part when he was complimented.
“We'll be in touch,” Bianca added, and Star nodded, then walked out of the room.
“Send the next person in,” Anubis said before Bianca could ask what he thought about Star.
* * *
The second Starwalked out of the room, Vivienne approached him, bombarding him with questions. “How did it go? You were in there for a while.”
“I think it went well. I was told they would contact me. I read a scene with Anubis Ahket.”
“Really?” Star heard the surprise in her voice.
“Yeah.”
“Tell me everything,” she said, grabbing his arm and pulling him into a corner where no one could hear their conversation. “Okay, spill.”
“So, after I read the Ryota scene and was getting ready to leave, the guy popped up out of nowhere and asked me to read a new scene with him.” Star explained everything that transpired, and when he was done, Vivienne had a bright smile on her face. “What's with that look?”
“Come on, let's head to my office. We have work to do,” she said instead of answering his question, but Star refused to let up.
“Are you going to tell me why you're smiling like that?”
