Page 28 of Exrated
I nod and open my mouth to speak to her, but a guy—a really familiar looking guy just walked in the door, and I’ve lost the ability to form words. He’s talking to Hud, and, I mean, he’s so far away, anyone could look like Tyler from here, right? Because Tyler would not be here. I mean, he said he did services for a…I swallow…a multi-million-dollar company. My heart suddenly takes off in a sprint. This cannot be happening. No. There is no way in hell. I narrow my gaze and my heart pounds harder. He justlookslike Tyler. Dark hair, honey colored eyes. Strong jaw and profile. Not him. So not him because that boy that I used to be in love with would never do something like this. He has depth, he has morals, he loved me…I just fucked him…He wants to take me to dinner tonight…
“You okay?” Brandi asks. “You look a little—sick, or shocked, or…something not good.”
“Uh, yeah,” I say, not taking my eyes off the guy who is defiantlynotmy ex. “I’m fine, just…” I feel my chest heaving and realize I’m breathing hard. Swallowing, I glance at her. “Who’s that?” I ask as I point at him.
“Oh, you don’t know him? He’s pretty new, but really blowing up. Johnny Depth. Hot huh?” She winks at me. “Not gonna lie, kinda excited about this one. I’ve been waiting to get cast with him.”
I feel like I’m going to hurl. And then—he laughs. If there were any doubt before whether that is actually Tyler, there is none now because he has the most distinctive, deep laugh in the world that all these years later still makes my stomach flip. Fuck my life right now, just fuck my life.
“Hey, you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah,” I nod. “Fine. Just fine.”
Brandi looks over my shoulder and smiles. “He’s really hung. Wait until you see his cock.”
“Oh, yeah…” I swallow. “Pretty sure a guy that looks like that is hung, and most likely an asshole.”
“Huh.” She laughs. “Probably.”
I hear Hudson’s voice grow louder as they cross the room. “…so, basically, rough but tender, hard, yet soft. Give me a little romance, but make it dirty. Like, smack her ass a few good times.”
“Yeah, sure thing, Hud,” Tyler says. The sound of his voice makes my skin prickle and not in a good way.
“Hey,” Hudson says, and I drag in a breath because here we go….
“Yeah?”
“This is Johnny. Johnny this is Jemma.”
And now I turn around, forcing myself to look at him. The smile on his face quickly fades. The olive complexion of his skin turns pale. And our eyes lock. Shocked. Embarrassed. Floored.
“Nice to meet you,Johnny,” I say.
“Holy fuck…I uh… I…” He keeps shaking my hand, and I snatch it back. “So uh…” his eyes are still plastered to my face. “That thing—the things, I…uh—”
“Dude,” Hud smacks him on the back. “Pull your shit together. She’s not the one you’re fucking.” His eyes stray over to me. “I mean, by all means, feel free, but after hours, okay?”
“No, it’s just…” Tyler trails off, unsure of what to say.
“Okay, places. I have an orgy to film in an hour. Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go. And where’s Vee? I need her in here now. Two girls, one guy. How hard is that to understand?”
I shoot a nervous, stop-looking-at-me-like-that smile at Tyler and then pull the reflector up, blocking my face. Brandi walks over. I hear her make small talk with him. I’m in a fog. Did this really just happen? A week ago I ran into him at a bar and fucked him, freaked out and bailed, and now—nowI am standing in a room, holding a reflector when he’s about to strip butt-ass naked and pound into this girl in front of me? When I read his email last night, I did question if running into him like that may have been fate, well fate just said fuck you.
“Hey,” Tyler says in a deep breath. “Hey, Hud?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m not feeling so good. Uh, you know, I think maybe I should let somebody else do the shoot…”
“What?”
I peer over the top of the reflector, watching as Hud walks up to Tyler. “Johnny,” he says. “You look fine to me. What do you need a Viagra or something?”
“No. Fuck.” When Tyler’s eyes dart back over to me, his face goes a little white again. “I just, I’m just not feeling it.”
“Not—” a snarky laugh tumbles from Hud’s lips. “Not feeling it? It’s porn. It’s acting. It’s not about feeling it. I paid to rent this space. You’re here, they’re here, the whole crew’s here. Oh, fuck. Don’t tell me you’re gonna be a damn diva?” He slaps his palm over his forehead, shakes his head, and walks off.
“Hey,” Brandi hops up, rubbing her hand over Tyler’s arm. Even all these years later jealousy bubbles to the surface. “I’ll make it fun. Promise,” she says.
