Make Believe (11 page)

I giggle to myself.

“Is something funny, Jess?” he asks enquiringly.

“No, no, it’s just a head rush that’s all,” I smile, quickly sitting myself on the sofa.

Elliott sits next to me, close but not too close, just enough so that our legs are touching. It sends a shiver of excitement down my spine. He puts his arm across the back of the sofa behind me. He looks so relaxed and happy, carefree.  I can’t help but admire him, I’m so lucky to be here, in this house with him.  But I have no idea what he sees in me. He has it all - looks, charm, personality; any beautiful girl would find it hard to match that. Let alone plain old me.

Elliott leans forward to top up our glasses.

“I have an idea, Jessica, which may help us to get to know each other better.” he smirks.

I can’t believe this effect he has on me or is it the alcohol? My mind starts to imagine all plausible things that we could do to get to know each other better. I burst out laughing at the pleasurable thought of it.

“Miss Ing! All in good time, young lady!” Elliott replies, knowing exactly what I’m laughing at. How does he do that? How does he know?

“Now, you naughty girl, getting back to the clean version of what I’m talking about, Jessica. I thought it would be fun to play the game Truth or Dare. I loved that game when I was a freshman!”

“Whoa Elliott, that was a very long time ago, I’m surprised you can remember,” I tease.

Elliott launches himself at me, pushing me flat on the sofa and raising my arms above my head, tickling the hell out of me. I can’t move.

“Stop, stop please,” I plead laughing.

He shakes his head and does it one more time before releasing me.

“I don’t think I’m too slow for an old man,” he smiles.

I nod in agreement.

“Ok, that’s quite enough distractions, Jessica. I’ll go first. Truth or dare?” he asks, twisting his fingers together like an excited child.

“Truth, I think? I’ve never played this before, be gentle please,” I answer nervously.

“Well in that case, as it is your first time I will take it easy on this one. How many men have you slept with?”

I burst out laughing.

“That’s being easy on me? And very straight to the point.” I look at him feeling embarrassed.  It’s only been Henry, should I lie to make myself sound more desirable?  Oh, this bloody game.

“You have to answer, Jess, or I will release these again,” he smiles, waving his hands.

“OK, don’t judge me, please. I’m not a Hollywood heartthrob!” I pretend to count on my fingers.

“Urm… it’s one,” I laugh, closing my eyes as if to hide.

When I open them Elliott is staring at me. He’s not smiling or anything, just staring.

“Honestly, Jess, just one?”

I nod.

“Wow, that’s amazing. You’ve been with the same guy this whole time. That’s so loyal.”

“Really, you think so?” I can’t tell if he’s being serious or teasing me.

“Yes, Jess, I do think it’s amazing. You’re one special lady.”

His honesty devours me.

“OK then, Mr Tate, it’s my turn. Truth or Dare?”

“Truth, please. I’m sure you know most of what’s happened in my life anyway because of the papers, I have nothing to hide.”

I start searching my brain trying to think of a great question. How often does a girl get this opportunity?

“Have you ever been with a prostitute?” suddenly floods out of my mouth.  Why did I ask that?

He bursts out laughing, “What? Thanks Jess, so you really think I need to pay someone to sleep with me?”

“I’m so sorry.” I flutter my eyes. “I was trying to think of a really difficult question and that just flew out of my mouth. I don’t think that at all, you’re lovely, anyone would be mad to turn you down.”  I flush red.

He looks at me raising one eyebrow.

“Why thank you, Miss Ing, I’m glad you’ve noticed. And the answer is NO; I have never been with a prostitute! Bad luck, it’s my turn to ask. Truth or Dare?”

Oh shit, if I say truth it’s going to be a really embarrassing one but I’m rubbish at dares.

“Dare,”  I reply hiding my face in my hands.

“Hum, so you’re feeling brave, are you? Right, come over here and sit on me, facing me.”

I climb across the sofa and scrabble on to his lap without even a thought of what I might have to do.

“Close your eyes,” he whispers in my ear.

I feel him brush the back of my neck with his hands and grasp my hair. He tilts my head to the side and places his lips at the bottom of my neck and starts gently kissing upwards. Kiss after kiss after kiss. He catches my ear and starts caressing that with his tongue. He then moves on, still kissing across my nose and down the other side of my face, meeting my mouth. He doesn’t stop and gently kisses my lips, helping me fall into his submission. I respond instantly, kissing him back. The passion in the kiss is subtle but severe. He holds on to my hair and pulls it back slightly. I moan enjoying myself, whilst feeling him growing between my legs. My breathing becomes so rapid with every sexual movement. Elliott traces my arms until he’s holding my face, which he gently cradles. I kiss him again but he moves back slightly and looks into my eyes.

“It’s your turn,” he says, exhausted.

He’s so frustrating, making me want him so much one minute and then switching it off the next. I feel sexually teased!

“OK, if that’s how you want to play it, Mr Tate. Truth or Dare?” He laughs.

“I think it’s safer to pick truth otherwise who knows where the next dare will take us,” he winks.

“How many women have you slept with?”

“Jess, come on, you don’t really want me to answer that do you?” I smile at him and nod.

“Before I tell you, you have to understand something, Jess.  I have girls offering their bodies to me all the time and when I was younger I took full advantage of that.”

“Enough excuses, spill Tate!”

“I can’t honestly give you a figure but it’s in the hundreds!” he looks at the floor embarrassed.

“Holy shit!”  instantly slips out of my mouth before I can stop it.

He shoves me off, and I fall back on to the sofa, he gets up and walks into the kitchen. He turns round to face me.

“Look, don’t you judge me. How could you understand what it was like? I was eighteen when it started to blow up. I would get different women coming up to me hourly offering me sex.  The whole celebrity thing made me feel invincible. When my friends found it hard to hook up, there was I, with different women every night.  But I’ve already told you about this shit and how it all ended.  Enough, I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” he snaps brashly.

“More wine, Jessica? I’m having some,” he asks.

I nod, not really knowing what to say.

“My turn - you don’t have a choice now, Jess, it’s truth. I’m not having you render me useless like last time,” he smiles.

I answer nervously. “OK, but do you still want to play?”

“Yes, of course, it’s your turn and I need a good one for you…let me think... Where is the most unusual place you’ve had sex?”

I roll my eyes.

“Are your questions all going to be sex oriented? I’m really boring. I don’t have a wild sex life like some,” I reply poignantly. “Henry and I have been together so long that it was just the normal thing to do it once a week at home.”

God, how humiliating this is.

“Really?  Nowhere more exciting than in his bedroom, not even at the start?” I shake my head.

“Jeez, how old is this Henry guy? I think he’s crazy - I would have you wherever or whenever I could.  I mean look at you. You are absolutely gorgeous, you ooze sex! I think, Jess, I hate to say it but… he may be gay,” he smiles.

His words float around in my head - I can’t believe he thinks I ooze sex!  Me…ooze sex. I have never had anyone make me feel as sexy as he does.

I put my glass down on the table and throw myself at him, kissing him so hard that he groans.

I run my hands through his hair, tugging slightly as I do. He moans louder.

Oh my God! I’m doing actually doing this with him. I am making him want me! He lays back and pulls me on top of him. I can feel him writhing underneath me. His hands rest on my lower back but as I kiss him harder, his hands go under my top and he lets them wander. Oh my God, I want this man so badly and I want him now. I follow his lead and place my hands on his stomach. I find the waistband of trousers and fumble around with his button and zip. I pull it down and I can feel him through the material. He is so hard. I rub my fingers gently up and down…his body moves in time with my movements. Oh my God, is this really happening? He then copies me and pulls at the top of my joggers, slipping his hand down onto my pants and then inside them. I squeal with excitement as he touches me. Oh my God, I want him lose himself in me – but as I start moving to the rhythm of his fingers inside of me, I’m greeted with a sharp deep pain.

“Ouch, oh shit.” Tears pool in my eyes.

“Oh my God, I’m sorry, Jess. Are you OK? I didn’t…” I place my finger on his lips.

“Shh, it’s not your fault, I’m just sore from the attack. But believe me if I wasn’t we would be having sex right now.” I smile trying to reassure him and ignore the searing pain from the other night.

“Would we now? I might not be that type of guy,” he smiles, kissing me gently on the cheek.

“I think this would be a good time for us to go to bed, don’t you?” Elliott whispers. I smile at him.

“No. You and your dirty mind, Jessica, not like that!” he teases.

“Well if we’re not going to do that, can we at least talk some more?  Please don’t let that asshole ruin yet another night,” I plead.

I don’t want to go to bed, not now - I don’t know the next time that I will have him all to myself again.

“OK, a couple more questions, then bed Deal?”

I nod.

He doesn’t hold back - he tells me all about his mum, who’s a lawyer and his dad who’s a CEO of some giant construction company. He has a younger sister who’s the same age as me; she’s at university studying medicine.  They don’t see that much of each other, but from what he says he’s very fond of her. I smile to myself wondering if she would be a good catch for Henry?

Elliott’s always lived in LA, but Malibu originally. He hated high school because he got in with the wrong crowd and started doing drugs. His parents put him into summer school where he discovered acting and the power it entailed - which in turn enabled him to get laid. His first paying job was modelling underwear for Calvin Klein He was on giant billboards in New York and from there he was discovered and his career grew. 

“OK Jess, enough about me. With all this talking I’ll give myself an ego!  I think we should turn this conversation about you, Miss.”

I smile and start talking. I fill him in on my father leaving when I was five and my mum having to get two jobs because of it. How we all lived in a big house with my grandparents and how I met Henry and Mia.

“Jess, do you have any brothers or sisters? You haven’t mentioned them?”

Oh God, here goes.

“Yes I do, I have a big sister and a big brother. I’m the baby!” I smile.

“And…?” he looks intriguingly at me.

“And what?”

“I can tell you’re hiding something,” he smiles.

“That, my honey, is yet another story in itself and I’m tired. It’s way past my bedtime.” I pull myself up off the sofa and place a kiss on his cheek.

“Goodnight.”

Chapter 8

I hear my phone buzzing madly on the bedside table next to the bed.

I pick it up, firstly looking at who it is and then the time.

Oh my God, it’s 6:00 a.m.

“Hello Mother,” I answer, resting my head back on the pillow.

“When were you going to tell us, Jessica? Instead we have to find out on the front of a newspaper?”

“What? What newspaper? Mum you’re not making any sense.”

“Jessica, you are on the front page of every newspaper over here.”

“What am I doing in the papers?”

“Having dinner and swimming in the sea from the look of it.”

Oh shit! I realise that they are the photos that were taken the other night at the Italian we had been to, but as for swimming? That didn’t make sense.

“Mum? Pictures of me swimming? Where?”

“It says, I quote, ‘Elliott Tate finally enjoying a beach break with his latest beau, Jessica Ing, at the Hamptons’.”

Oh my God, this isn’t good! There are photos of us yesterday.

“Mum, I’m going to have to call you back. I’ve got to go.”

“Jessica Sarah Ing, don’t you dare hang up on me. I want to know what the hell is going on.”

I roll my eyes to heaven. God, she’s so annoying.

“It’s nothing Mum, I work for him that’s all. We’ve done some location shoots and had dinner together,” I lie. I can’t face her lecture on having a boyfriend and how I’m messing my life up.