My cheeks heat, and while I should be able to muster a decent comeback, I just grumble, “You’re so annoying.”
I return to the pile of my clothes, grabbing my wallet and vape. I go to slide them into my pockets—and realize there aren’t any.
“Girl clothes never have any fucking pockets,” I seethe.
Christine laughs, walking over. “Normally, you’d be right. But I don’t settle.” Her hand slides up the outside of my thigh, and my body goes rigid. Heat radiates from her touch like vibrations through a taut spring.
I hold my breath, lest it shake and betray me.
Her fingers catch the soft fabric of the outer shorts, skimming over the inner compression layer. When she reaches the top of my hip, she slides back down, slipping her hand into a hidden side pocket. She holds it open.
“There you go.”
I still don’t dare breathe as I drop my wallet in the pocket, keeping a tight grip on my vape with the other hand so it doesn’t shake.
The soft warmth of her breath on my ear sends a tingling surge down my spine, and then she’s gone.
I finally exhale and take a deep pull from my vape to steady myself.
“Heads up,” she says.
I turn just in time to catch my backpack as she tosses it to me.
Her easy smile is as bright as ever. “Let’s get you back to work.”
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SEVEN
MYLO
“Ey, nice stubbies!”The stunt crew pauses their intense game of crazy eights as I pass by.
“I heard they’re all the rage here,” I say smoothly. That leads to some good-natured joshing with the locals on the crew.
If anyone guesses the clothes are Christine’s, or has any other questions about my whereabouts, they don’t voice them. Other than a couple folks saying they’re glad I’m feeling better, there’s no further mention of my ‘illness,’ and things are more or less back to normal.
Weirdly normal, actually. While Christine’s scent now strikes my nose as… pleasant, it no longer has that addictive quality. The general knowledge of her proximity is enough to settle my omega instincts, and I can finally focus on my job.
It’s a good thing, too. We have a lot to get done today.
I hit hair, makeup, and wardrobe alone, chatting briefly with the Keysha, Sharon, and Kristen, but mostly listeningto music on my earbuds since I’d rather not field potentially incriminating questions about my recovery.
Then it’s off to set with Bella, who’s directing the second unit today. Any scenes with Haley or Christine in them are directed by Lana, but today’s schedule is all the shots where they’re not needed, so Bella will be directing our group while Lana and the stars take care of shots that don’t need stunts.
The schedule takes us to nearly every location we’ve shot at previously, as well as some new ones. Crews have gone ahead to get everything ready in each spot so we can hit them while the lighting’s perfect.
I can feel Bella’s tension as I go through my first falls of the day, but once she sees me take them in-stride like usual, she relaxes. A couple more shots in, and we’re having fun. I’m getting paid to leap, tumble, and roll my way around breathtaking, otherworldly New Zealand wilds. There’s nothing better.
We move down the list like a well-oiled machine, and Bella occasionally consults the assistant script supervisor to give me notes on motivation and tone.
At midday, we approach the most challenging stunt of the day. I’ll make my way up a narrow ravine, leaping from side to side until I’ve crested the twenty-foot height. Already a hard maneuver. Making it look effortless? The kind of challenge I can’t resist.
“What do you think?” Bella asks as I size up the climb.
“Looks manageable. Wires would just make it more dangerous. Mats at the bottom aren’t nothing, but it’d fuck up the shot.”
“We can see about sliding some in as the camera pans up. I’ll work with the crew to block out the angles. You go get some water.”
