In what turns out to be an odd yet interesting evening, Parys makes an appearance at the apartment of her driver from this morning, thanks to boredom and curiosity. Once there, she quickly realizes she may have bitten off more than she can chew while meeting Rashaad for the first time.
PARYS
“Uh, yeah I think so.”
Sandy looked at me with a gaze so warm and relaxed that I couldn’t help but smile uneasily. Seeing her full on without the obstructed view of the back of her driver’s seat left me feeling completely naked. This woman is so naturally attractive it’s ridiculous.
The lustful essence that jumped off of her skin, mixed with remnants of a post-shower heat, and whatever body butter she had applied was intoxicating. And the fact that she was sitting here nonchalantly with a crop top on, no bra, and some heather gray leggings-- one leg tucked under her a mere inches away from my own, smiling coolly, I couldn’t do anything but sit here flabbergasted.
Who is this euro-transplant of a flower child?
When she patted me against the inside of my thigh and sat back against the couch, all of the moisture in my mouth dried up and I did the first thing that came to mind.
I asked for something to rectify that.
“Could I trouble you for something to drink?”
“But of course babes, where are my manners,” Sandy answered.
She eased off of the couch and headed towards the kitchen where her roommate Rashaad had come from when I first arrived.
Come to think of it, where did he go?
“I put little fella on the doggy bed in the alcove.”
“Thanks, babes. Can you go keep our guest company for me? Gonna grab some drinks, you want something?” Sandy asked.
I looked up just in time to see Rashaad who had re-emerged from down the hall, looking down at Sandy’s hand as it lightly scratched across the front of his ribbed tank. He looked confused from what I could tell but didn’t seem to mind the attention. Once she walked away, air filled his jaws as he looked on, then he turned in my direction.
Pulling out a small bottle of hand sanitizer he cleaned his hands and came to sit on the chaise lounge beside the couch where I was seated. When I stood to my feet, he looked at me confused.
“Oh, wait, you live here,” I laughed, nervously holding my hand out.
“So this is how you are for real huh?” He laughed.
“Guilty as charged,” I replied.
That time I could feel my mouth drop open in a silent laugh that I never knew I did until I saw the bevy of pictures of myself, frozen in just that state.
Rashaad had a very calming tone to his voice. One that sounded like, “so I guess I need to feed you now after I had you for breakfast huh?”
Sandy’s spirit was super laid back, but she exuded an easy, hard to quantify sex appeal.
Rashaad came across somewhat similarly as the calm in the eye of the storm type. Not too cool for school, but just, cool. Little did I know that I needed that energy right now because his roommate had me all out of sorts. When he shook my hand however, I immediately looked up at him, a small smile pulling at the left corner of his mouth.
“Pleasure to formally meet you, miss Young. I’m a big fan. Bet you hear that dumb shit all the time don’t you? Please…”
He held his hand out to the couch for me to sit back down so I did. Unable to take my eyes off of the long, beautiful eyelashes covering his soft, warm dark brown eyes. He let my hand go and leaned over towards me, reaching for something behind where I was sitting and my eyes closed subconsciously.
He smelled like a man’s man.
The downside to living and breathing the Hollywood air in every walk of life is yes, you saw beautiful men. Fine, drop-dead gorgeous men, but they were always made up unless you caught someone coming from the gym. Even the guys going for coffee runs were casually styled and smelled just as put together in Clive Christian’s Imperial Majesty, Creed Aventus, or Tom Ford. There was nothing like the natural scent of a man who took care of himself though.
That natural I just finished working a long, hard day at the office, but “honey I’m home” scent.
“Well alright. Glad to see you two started without me.”
Sandy walked over as Rashaad stood back up. He squeezed a small dime-sized amount of cocoa butter in his hands and rubbed them together deliberately.
She put a tray down on the coffee table that held a couple bottles of water, a mug of something hot, that smelled absolutely heavenly, and a Gatorade.
“Thanks, Sandy,” Rashaad said. Straddling the chaise and easing back.
“Yeah, thanks Sandy,” I co-signed.
“So ‘Shaad, did Darby tell you about this threesome role she’s up for?”
I have zero clue why, but when he coughed on whatever he was drinking from the mug, I instantly felt uncomfortable. Apparently Sandy sensed it because she stood up and walked over to Rashaad, coaxed the mug out of his hands, and handed it to me. Clearly feeling that I needed whatever it was far more than he did.
“It’s spiced rum and hot apple cider. A fave of this guy over here. It’s pretty good.”
When she took the cup and handed it to me, she sat down on the edge of the chaise between Rashaad’s legs and looked on, drinking from the Gatorade bottle. Up close under my nose, the drink conjured a scene of a roaring fireplace with a thick blanket of snow on the ground outside. I could feel myself calming already. As bad as I wanted to take a sip to ease my nerves, I had survived the perils and trappings of the industry for far too long to travel to the east coast and drink something prepared by a stranger. Even a stranger as sexy as Sandy.
Alarm bells were not going off, but a wave of sensibility came rushing to the surface suddenly. I just met this woman this morning and now I was in her apartment some forty-plus minutes away from where I’m staying. Twenty-six hundred miles away from the confines of home. What the fuck are you doing Parys? You need to get out of here.
“You know what guys, thank you for the hospitality, but I’m going to call it a night. I have another early start in the morning and I don’t want to get too comfortable over here and forget the reason I traveled east in the first place.”
If I didn’t know any better, I thought I saw a faint glimpse of disappointment in Rashaad’s eyes that made him look irresistibly adorable. Not that it mattered though, Sandy clearly was about to serve herself up a nightcap of the cinnamon-hued man that looked so got damn sexy leaned back with his legs wide open.
“Aww, okay. I definitely understand,” Sandy said standing to her feet. “Well you know where we are, maybe we can catch up Friday night or sometime Saturday.”
“Yeah, maybe. I’ll let you know,” I said with a shy smile.
Sandy arranged a pick-up for me with the luxury sedan option of the rideshare company she worked for. After chatting with us for fifteen or so minutes until the car got close to the apartment, she hugged me goodbye and apologized for making me feel uncomfortable. I let her know that it wasn’t anything that she had said or done, I just realized I had allowed myself to get far too comfortable too soon and was playing fast and reckless with my time.
My momma raised me far better than this.
When she whispered to me that my ass looked amazing in my pants, that uncomfortable heat returned instantly and for a split second, I considered canceling my ride. Why I have no clue. Having never really had any real physical interaction of note with a woman, something told me Sandy was not someone to toy with.
Rashaad grabbed a jacket and swapped his slides for crocs, insisting on walking me out and waiting with me at the end of the long walkway I came up earlier. As we walked, then stood at the edge of the parking lot, I gave him the quick and dirty elevator pitch about my possible role, my issue, and why I came by tonight. He laughed at the latter before telling me that I made a good decision to get out of there when I did.
“I’ve only lived with those guys for about six weeks, but I’ve never seen Sandy like that.”
“What do you mean,” I asked curiously.
“The free spirit thing, that’s very much real. But before tonight, she had never once touched me, not like that. I mean she’s one of those naturally touchy-feely types, but she’s never even outright flirted with me before tonight.”
“Really?”
Well, that’s good to know.
The odd part of what Rashaad told me is I wasn’t surprised by anything he said. Her energy was definitely what drew me to her in the first place and was the only thing that could describe how she made me feel things no woman ever had...not for a lack of trying. All I could think now was that if I could somehow bottle her essence, I would be a dangerous woman when I got back on any set. A comfort level with more dramatic, romantic scenes, would broaden my appeal. Being able to realistically portray a confident sexual woman, would put me over the top.
“What do you think got her so hot and bothered, I mean, if you had to guess?”
I was in full on subject research mode now. The way I saw it, I might as well get something tangible out of tonight’s excursion.
I also didn’t want him to stop talking. Even though I knew him even less than I knew Sandy, Rashaad’s personality was magnetic. His sneaky good looks didn’t hurt either.
“Honestly, I think it was two things. First off when I came home this evening she and Maxwell were going at it pretty heavy. Factor in your having stopped by not too soon after, pheromones mixed with positively charged hormones, and yeah.”
The thought of that walking ball of sexual energy being in any number of positions with the gorgeous man she called a boyfriend, boy toy, whatever, was a delicious visual.
Mmph...I wonder if the showerhead in the bathroom back at the condo detaches. Wait...
“My having stopped by? What did I have to do with her mood and how she was around you?”
I was honestly curious by his theory.
He sighed heavily, just as a black Lincoln sedan pulled up. The driver rolled the window down and lobbed her given name through the cool night air.
“Darby?” a middle-aged white man called out flatly.
“Yup that’s me,” I replied.
“Saved by the bell,” Rashaad said with a smile, playfully wiping his forehead.
I have no clue why, but I moved to hug him and he did not rebuff my advance. His long arms wrapped around me with ease, enveloping my upper back. The embrace was the kind that you craved. The type that applied the perfect amount of pressure to make negative thoughts disappear. The type that pushed a measure of security and safety into every inch of your mind and body, making you relax, and reset before wanting something long and hard to finish clearing your mind.
I subconsciously turned my face and laid my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. Its rhythm was strong and fast like it was trying to jump out of him.
“You smell so good,” I said softly through the thin ribbed fabric of the tank.
“What was that?”
The rumble in his chest from his speaking snapped me back to reality. Did I really just say that out loud?
“Nothing. What did my stopping by have to do with anything?” I pushed out as I slid reluctantly out of his embrace.
“She and I are both really big fans of yours. And you ain’t that bad of an actress either.”
That left corner of the mouth tugging grin returned but it was short-lived. What piggybacked it was a lips slightly parted flexing of the jaw, punctuated by a raising of his left eyebrow. Lust washed over Rashaad’s features and enough of it spilled over to wet my curiosity.
In the backseat of the sedan, I slid over and patted the soft leather.
“You should come keep me company while I look over my notes for tomorrow’s workshops.”
He looked at me silently asking if I was sure, without moving his lips.
“I have to let the producers know my decision by Monday. Research will help me out, with making a decision. A lot actually.”
Rashaad climbed in and closed the door, signaling for the woman to pull off.