“Hey,” I said back. “Think the shooting went well?”
“I dunno. I hope we practiced enough. You know, in case they want to try it again.”
“Yeah, we might not’ve gotten it right the first time.” My grin widened. “I’ve never been with a girl before, so who knows if I knew what I was doing?”
“I think you’ve done enough sex-scenes to know what you were doing.”
“Believe me, nothing I’ve ever done felt like that. You...” I swallowed, trying to keep from saying the words that were pushing their way out of my mouth, but I couldn’t hold back any of what I was feeling for Amelia. “You make me feel a lot of things I’ve never felt before.”
Amelia’s eyes went wide and she stared at me for a moment. She took a step towards me, hesitant at first, but then her gaze dropped from my face, down my body and she licked her lips. She’d kept her distance while she’d thought I was dating Oliver, but now? She looked like she was about to devour me. And I didn’t think I was strong enough to stop her. When she looped her arms around my neck, I knew I should’ve been telling her to stop, that this was a bad idea, but instead I just kissed her. Hard. With no restraint.
We practically fell backwards into my dressing room in a flurry of lips and hands and moans. Everything I’d held back for weeks came pouring out of me as I hurried to shut the door. I ran my hands up Amelia’s sides as she kissed me. I had the sudden urge to strip off her tidy exterior. I wanted to see Amelia messy and panting.
I wanted to go so much further, but Amelia pulled away just as I was reaching up her shirt. She went silent for a minute and I could tell she was thinking about something before she said, “Are you sure you don’t feel this chemistry with all your co-stars?”
Did she really doubt the way I felt for her? All I could do was tell her the truth.
“Amelia, I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way about anyone before.”
15.
Amelia
Ever since I’d found out Jessica wasn’t really dating Oliver, I’d started carrying allergy medication in my wallet on the crazy hope that she’d eventually invite me over. I guess kind of like how guys carry condoms in their wallets on the hope of getting lucky.
Well, I sure as hell felt lucky as I stepped through Jessica’s front door. Her house still had the familiar warmth that I’d experienced before. There was just a good energy in the place.
Her puppy came running up to us as soon as we opened the door and I was glad I’d popped those allergy meds, because honestly, there was no way anyone could resist cuddling that little marshmallow.
Jessica handed her to me and moved into the kitchen. “I figure I owe you dinner before I take things any further.” Her dimples pressed into her cheeks as she smiled. “Hope you don’t mind takeout.”
My face turned hot, and I stuttered out a squeaky, “Sounds good to me.”
The thought of where she might want to ‘take things’ made every cell in my body tingle. I still didn’t know what to make of the fact that she’d lied about being with Oliver, but I knew that being with her made me happier than I’d ever thought possible. And she’d come clean and told the truth. That had to count for something, right?
A small voice inside of me whispered that I was setting myself up to get hurt again. This is Chad all over again. I told the voice to shut up. I couldn’t let myself be paranoid just because I had one bad relationship. Jessica was different. She was the sweetest, kindest person I’d ever known.
And I really, really didn’t want to let her go.
Once we were sitting on the couch in front of slices of piping hot pizza, she suggested watching the movie adaption of To Swim With Swans. “I’ve never seen it, have you?”
“No, to be honest, I was afraid I might hate it since I liked the book so much.”
“Same.” She laughed. “But at least if it’s not good, we’ll have a shoulder to cry on.”
“Look, umm, I don’t want to ask anything you don’t want to answer.” I scratched the back of my neck. “You said you’d read the book when you were going through a dark time. I mean, don’t answer if you don’t want to…”
“It’s fine.” She set down the pizza she’d been about to bite into. “I went through some stuff with my parents.” She looked down at her hands with an expression that was so vulnerable, I couldn’t resist scooting close and putting my arm around her. “I had to separate myself from them financially at eighteen because they were spending us into a hole. It didn’t matter how much I made, my mom couldn’t stop shopping and my dad couldn’t stop gambling. My mother had the impression that because she helped so much with my career, everything I earned was her money.”
“Jesus.”
“They didn’t see why I insisted on keeping my earnings in accounts they couldn’t access. I still want to support them, but I want a future too. They were burning through the money like a forest fire.”
“I’m so sorry.” I stroked up and down her back. How had someone with such horrible parents turned out so sweet and considerate?
“It just sucks because I love them so much, and I can’t stand when they yell and tell me what an awful daughter I am for stealing their money.”
That made my skin turn cold. How could anyone say something like that to Jessica, let alone her own parents?