“It’s okay. This is unusual.” I move a hand back and forth between us. “But it doesn’t have to be awkward.”
“Can we start over?” Hands splayed on the tops of her thighs, she smooths them down her skirt.
Even disturbed, she’s bold, not shying away from direct eye contact. And damn if I don’t like it. So far, there isn’t anything I don’t like about her. Even when she’s spouting whatever pops into her head. It’s cute in a quirky kind of way.
“What did you have in mind?”
“I’m going to go out and come back in. You’re an actor, so let’s pretend that was my first dismal take. As you can tell, I can’t act to save my life, but I promise the second take will be better.”
She jumps up, grinning sheepishly, and walks to the door, hips seductively swaying. I force my gaze not to stray anywhere south of her face.
Eli, be a freaking gentleman.
Pru leaves, then knocks on the door and I’m quick to open it.
“Hi, I’m Eli Lansing.” I extend a hand once more, eager for any excuse to touch her.
Lust barrels through me when my hand envelops hers. Her skin is impossibly soft, and I’m firmly immersed in the racy reverie of the night at The Salon once more.
No matter how hard I try to move past the hottest sex of my life, it’s impossible. My palms tingle and fingertips itch at the mere thought of how I greedily roamed her sensuous body that night.
“Hi, Eli. I’m Pru, your foreign dialect coach.” She brushes past me.
“Can I get you anything to drink?”
“No. I’m good.” She places her bag on her lap and pulls out the script. “Hmmm.” She absently glances up from flipping through the pages. “I know we’re supposed to be talking about the movie, but for one second can we take a detour?”
Now sitting, I rest my forearms on my thighs, leaning forward. “Um, okay. What do you mean?”
“It’s about Trojan.”
I nod, not really surprised. Trojan was a huge deal and a killer ride. And some days, I miss it.
I miss making music, playing, and that indescribable rush you get from the crowd. It’s more potent than any drug, although the way I feel right now is coming pretty close.
“You might not believe me, but while I am a fan of the band, I didn’t recognize you at The Salon.” She clasps her hands together. “I mean, there was something familiar about you. Obviously, I thought you were hot—”
“Hmmm.” I smirk at another quirk of her brow. “Before we move on…I believe you. I never had the sense you knew who I was.”
“Good. You looked different, even now, than when you’re up on stage playing your guitar and singing.”
“That makes sense. Our brains recall information by recreation, using associations to remember a face or recall a name. So me without a guitar or the rest of the band could make it tricky for you to place me.”
“Yes, something like that. And now you’re an actor?”
“Yes. For a little over a year now. I moved from LA to New York and have a starring role in Breaking Point, and this is my first movie.”
“Breaking Point?” She blinks quizzically.
“It’s one of the leading TV drama series. We’re currently filming season two and have been signed on for a third.”
“Oh.”
“You have no idea what I’m talking about, do you?”
“Sorry, no.” She shakes her head, short blonde hair swaying with the movement. “I’ve heard of it, but I don’t watch TV.”
“Really? What do you do to unwind and chill if you don’t watch mindless TV?”
“Now that’s a little too close to a first date kind of conversation, don’t you think? And nothing to do with why we’re here.” She’s firm, continuing her review of the script. “Which scene will be filmed first?”
“After the other coach quit, Bryce rearranged the film schedule.” I stretch across the sofa to nab my phone from a side table. “He back-ended the Spanish and Russian scenes. We’re almost done with all the English.”
“The other coach? Is that Alina?”
“Yeah. You know her?”
“No. Tristan mentioned her. How far did she get with you?”
“When we first started, she gave us practice materials like pronunciation guides and phonetic spelling. She also did a few rehearsals, but since we’ve started filming, not so much.”
The movie is easily ninety percent English, but there are pages and pages of dialogue in both Spanish and Russian that I have to nail. The end is near, but I could still fuck this up.
“And now, we’ve got about two weeks before we start filming the foreign scenes.” I scroll through the details on my phone and hand it to her.
“Thanks.” She takes a screen shot with her own phone.
“You know, your PA can get you a copy or you can text it to yourself.” It sounds like I’m angling for her number. I totally am.
She stills but doesn’t lift her head to look at me. “This works.” At the same time, I say, “Or I can get my PA to print one for you.”
“It’s okay.” Finally, her gorgeous blue eyes peer up at me. “This will help make me sound like I know what the hell I’m doing when I meet Bryce.”
I chuckle, reaching for the phone. “Don’t sweat it. I’m sure you’ll be great. He wouldn’t have hired you otherwise.”
“I should warn you. I’ve never done this before.”
“What exactly are we talking about?” There’s a naughty edge to my tone, not sure if she’s referring to working with a guy she hooked up with or what.
Then I silently chastise myself when she pierces me with a hard glare, not in the least bit entertained by my flirting. Why can’t I keep this professional?
Because I know how fucking free and beautiful she looks when she comes. Fuck me. Am I coming off like I don’t respect her or can’t work with her?
“Pru, I’m an ass. Sorry.”
“I’ve never been a foreign language dialect coach, but I speak fluent Spanish and Russian. So bear with me.” Her fingers curl tightly around her phone. “Okay, if I’m reading this correctly, what’s outlined here is the scene order for filming, right?”
I nod, not trusting myself to keep it PG if I dare open my mouth.
“Okay. Let’s get to it.” She tucks her phone into her purse. “Tell me about your character.”
We spend the rest of our time together focused on the movie, the characters, and the emotions it should evoke from the viewer. Then she takes me through the first scene, translating it within the context of our discussion.
Brian, my PA, interrupts just as she finishes her readthrough of the scene. “Eli, time’s up.” He holds the door open. “And Pru, Lydia’s here.”
“Okay. Thanks.” She stands and looks at me. “See you tomorrow.”
Tongue-tied, I nod and smile. Brian dives into something about my schedule while I stare dumbfounded after her. Eventually, he leaves and I’m alone with my troublesome thoughts.
This fierce draw to a woman is new to me. Sure, I like women and have been attracted to several before. But Pru…her magnetism is larger than life and unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.