I wondered if that something was me. Knowing it would reek of arrogance, I opted not to ask the question aloud.
“So, what’s this one about? The one you’re considering?”
I grinned. “It’s a romance. A little edgier than your everyday average romance, though.”
“Really?” Her eyes were pinned on my face and I could see her intrigue.
“Yes. Older woman, younger man entanglement. With a hint of BDSM thrown into the mix.”
“Oh, my God.” Her eyes widened. “I didn’t realize that was becoming popular for the big screen.”
“The guy who pitched it to me noticed the genre’s doing well for others, so he’s considering taking on this project alongside me. It’s a good script.”
“You’ll be directing it?”
“I haven’t decided yet,” I admitted. “I’d like to try my hand at it. But acting is still my strong suit.”
“And your expertise will likely add to the accuracy,” she noted.
“I think that is what he’s aiming for,” I told her.
“But romance is outside your norm, for sure,” she said with a shy grin. “Will there be sex scenes?”
Watching her closely, I answered with, “Yes. Quite a few.”
“Those must be interesting to film.”
I chuckled. “Well, I can assure you, there’s nothing sexy about them.”
Her attention turned to Troy. “Do you like watching the movies being filmed?”
His eyes darted up to her and he swallowed the mouthful. “I do. Yes. They’re … interesting.”
Clarissa’s eyes took on a dreamy sheen. “I would love to watch a movie being filmed. I don’t know why, but it sounds fun.”
Troy’s eyes lit up. “Well, maybe Trent can invite you to the set sometime. It’s quite impressive to watch him work.”
A slight blush tinged his cheeks as his eyes dropped back to his plate. Poor guy. He’d already eaten everything on it, so he had nowhere to hide.
“Impressive?” I asked directly.
Troy nodded. “Yes. And I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to speak out of turn.”
Realizing he was referring to the invitation he’d extended Clarissa, I decided to ease his mind. “No, I think that’s a great idea.” I looked over at her.
“Oh … I … um…”
I was waiting for her excuse. Rather than save her, I kept my eyes locked with hers and waited for whatever lie she was conjuring up. I knew without a doubt Clarissa was going to try to get out of this one.
“Don’t worry,” Troy blurted. “It’s a while off and—”
I held up my hand to stop him, my eyes never leaving Clarissa’s face. It was her turn to speak and until she did, I didn’t intend to say another word. For a submissive like Clarissa, the intensity of my gaze would be all the pressure she needed.
“I’ve…” She looked at her plate for a really long time. “We’ll have to see how things are going whenever you start filming.”
I had to give her credit. She hadn’t lied. That pleased me immensely.
“So, what are you working on now?” I asked, wanting to ease some of her discomfort.
“Well, I’m moving.” There was a hint of defiance in her tone. “So, that’s taking up a lot of my time.”
“Where are you moving to?” I asked, placing my fork down and picking up my wineglass.
“I’ll be staying in Mercedes’s condo temporarily.”
“Why?”
Clarissa shrugged.
“Not an answer, sunshine,” I informed her.
She sighed. “It’s not something I care to discuss if that’s all right.”
It wasn’t all right. I didn’t like that the woman was being so secretive. I wanted her to open up to me, to let me into her life. However, since I’d promised a casual evening, I would give her a reprieve. For now.
“Is anyone helping you move?” Troy inquired.
She shook her head. “I just started, so I haven’t done a whole lot yet. And I’m planning to move most of my stuff to storage. I don’t intend to take a lot with me. I’m hoping I’ll only impose on Mercedes temporarily. Luckily, I don’t have many clients who are consuming all my time, so I’ve got nothing better to do than pack.”
Troy frowned. “Luckily?”
“I was being facetious,” she replied with a grin.
“Oh. So what about Chicago? Will that take too much of your time?”
Her eyes cut to me. “I’m merely going to meet with the clients. I’m not sure it’s something that will fit into my life right now.”
So much for hoping she was going into it with an open mind.
Troy
I HAD NEVER FELT SO out of place as I did sitting there at the dinner table with Trent and Clarissa.
Not that I wasn’t enjoying myself, because I was.
That didn’t make it any less awkward.
My brain was still rehashing Trent’s comment. The one where he mentioned Clarissa and I would both be his submissives. Only, he’d dropped the bomb that he wouldn’t be discussing that tonight, so all the questions that plagued my mind had to go unanswered for now.
Clearly, Clarissa had far more experience in this realm than I did, because she didn’t seem to be having the same sort of panicked reaction that I was. Which was likely the reason I couldn’t stop thinking about it. While this appeared to be just an ordinary dinner, I was wondering what kinky stuff Trent was going to pull on me in the future. Was he going to force me to strip? Make me wear some kind of weird harness on my balls? Maybe he would shove a dildo in my ass and put me on display?
