Aced (2 page)

I almost pinched myself.
What the hell am I doing here?
 

I clutched the map I’d been given and shrugged my backpack up my shoulder, about to keep moving, when the squealing of tires hit my ears, followed by a horn blasting. I startled and turned around to see a wicked-hot Lamborghini that had screeched to a halt. It was black as night, with bumblebee yellow on the underside of the body, and the windows were tinted so dark I couldn’t see what idiot had been driving like a bat outta hell up such a busy strip of the lot. With music blaring out of the vehicle, it slowly began to roll forward, inching closer toward me. I squinted, trying to see inside, but it was no use. That wasn’t a problem for much longer, though, because just as the car came to a stop, Ace fucking Locke stuck his head out of the driver’s-side window and spoke to me…
actually
spoke to me.

“Hey, jackass, wanna move out of the way?”

Okay, so maybe he more yelled at me…but he was actively looking at me—I think. I mean, it was hard to tell behind those black sunglasses.

“Hey? Do you have a death wish or something? Move to the side, would ya. Some of us have places to be.”

Before I could say anything, Ace had settled back into the driver’s seat and was revving the engine. The beast of a car growled, and you would think that would’ve had my ass moving, but it wasn’t until Ace laid his palm on the horn again that I stumbled and moved back toward the side of the street. The car crept forward until it was by my side, and I looked down into a face I’d only ever seen on a screen.

“You know,” Ace said over the rock music blaring, “it might be safer if you took one of those tram tours.”

I was about to open my mouth to tell him I wasn’t there to sightsee—at least, I think I was about to tell him that—but before my brain could come up with one damn word to say, Ace had put his foot on the accelerator, and I was left staring at the back of his car as he drove away from me.

Well shit, talk about first impressions.
This first read-through was going to be a hell of an awkward one now, for reasons other than the fact that I had a serious fucking hard-on for the star of the movie. Because
the
Ace Locke was also a total dick.

* * *

AFTER PULLING INTO the parking spot labeled with the name of yours truly, I killed the engine and grabbed my script. Today was the read-through for
Insurrection 2
, and I was looking forward to getting back to work. My last shoot had me in a desert in hundred-and-twenty-degree heat for four months, so shooting in a water tank a few miles from home was gonna be a welcome change, to say the least.

“Nice speed racer, Ace,” Ron King, the director, said as he got out of his ruby-red sports car. He walked over to the front of the Lamborghini and gave an appreciative whistle. “So you’re one of the lucky twenty who got their hands on this bad boy. Care to let me take her out for a spin?”

“Over my dead body.”

“Fair enough. I’ll just kill you off in the first ten minutes of the movie.” Ron gave me a toothy smile and shook my hand. He was shorter than me by a good eight inches, with out-of-control red hair that he kept tucked under a ballcap, and he never failed to blast how he really felt on a t-shirt. Today’s said,
I’m allergic to stupidity. I break out in sarcasm.
“Good to have you back onboard,” he said. “Not sure we’d have gotten this off the ground without you, but don’t let that go to your head. We even put the green M&M’s in your trailer.”

I gave him a crooked smile and couldn’t help myself. “Haven’t you heard, Ron? I prefer Skittles these days. You know, taste the rainbow and all that.”

Ron groaned and held open the door to Stage Sixteen. “Jesus. Get inside, you fruity bastard. And watch out for the seamen.”

“Oh, I plan to,” I said with a wink, and headed inside to where about thirty chairs were placed in a circle, almost all of them already occupied. Considering most of the cast was killed off in the last movie, we were working with a fresh set of actors, so today would give us a good feel for what to expect from each other. I greeted a few I knew by name and then Ron called out for everyone to take their seats.
 

When I parked my ass in the closest one, I took a swig of water and then my eyes landed on the tall figure walking toward the circle. In black jeans and a fitted grey Henley that showcased his lean muscles, I’d say the guy would
almost
have my attention—if not for the fact that he was the same asshole I’d almost hit a few minutes earlier. Something about the way he held himself seemed vaguely familiar, but with his hat pulled low over his face, I couldn’t get a good read on who he was. The guy took the last empty chair directly across from me and looked around the circle as he rolled the script in his hands.
 

Ah. Nervous.
And from the way he kept to himself and didn’t seem to greet anyone, he had to be a newbie. As he continued to scan the circle, his eyes met mine and held them until I lifted an eyebrow ever so slightly. Then he quickly looked away, and Ron called us all to attention.

Hang on a second. I know this guy…
 

After Ron gave his little welcome and let’s-kick-some-ass speech, he had us go around and introduce ourselves. Newbie over there took his hat off and ran a hand through his brown hair, mussing it up in a kind of disheveled style, and when he looked up, his eyes pierced mine and my breath caught.

Because sitting there, like I’d pulled him off the billboard myself, was Marky fucking Mark.

* * *

HE WAS WATCHING me. I didn’t even have to look across the circle to know that Ace Locke was watching me. I could feel it.
 

That probably sounds stupid, but from the second I’d sat down, to every minute that had passed since, Ace’s eyes had been fixated on me like a fucking laser beam. I know this because with each person who stood up to introduce themselves, it got closer and closer to where Ace was sitting and I could see him out of my peripheral vision, staring at me.

What the hell?
As if I wasn’t nervous enough. Was he really going to make a scene because of what happened outside? I sure as shit hoped not, because as it was, my first impression of one of my idols was quickly diminishing.
 

When the man beside Ace got to his feet and introduced himself, I wondered if I was making this all up in my head. Maybe I was suffering from anxiety on my first day and was imagining that Ace was staring me down. I mean, really, why would one of Hollywood’s elite be looking at me anyway? Unless he planned to tell the director to fire me…
Oh shit
. Was that what he was going to do?
Fuck.

I let my eyes move to Ace as the guy beside him—
yeah, I totally didn’t catch his name
—sat down, and before Ace stood he took another swig from his water bottle and I was momentarily mesmerized by the bunching bicep in his arm.

Holy shit.
I’d been around built guys before—hell, Derek, my friend and trainer back home in Florida, was stacked, but this guy even had him beat. I didn’t actually think I could circle that bicep with my hands.
Just wow.

When Ace lowered the bottle and leaned to the side to place it on the ground, he raised his head and I definitely wasn’t mistaken when he caught my eye this time, because the side of his mouth kicked up in a smug-as-fuck smirk as though he’d just caught me…well, gawking at him.

Damn it.

Ace got to his feet and slipped his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he looked around the group. Then he let loose a smile so wide and cocky you couldn’t help but be in awe of his confidence. The guy had it in spades.

“Hey guys, I’m Ace,” he said, and I wasn’t the only one who obviously thought that statement redundant, if the laughs and
no shit
comments were any indication. But Ace merely laughed good-naturedly and scanned the circle. “I’m really excited about this project we’re all about to undertake, and Ron told me to apologize in advance for killing off at least half of you in the first ten minutes—”

“Yeah, yeah, Ace, whatever,” Ron said.

“Well, okay, maybe a third of you. The first movie was an awesome experience, and we’re really happy to have you onboard with us. I can’t wait to get to know you all and get back to work.”

As he sat down, everyone applauded and a couple of people whistled as excitement swept around the group, and I mechanically clapped along with the rest of the crowd, all the while keeping my eyes on the man who was now reseated with his legs sprawled out in front of him. When Ace had finished preening under the attention, he crossed his arms over his chest, settled back, and yeah, looked right at me.

Ah hell.
I hadn’t been paranoid, he was definitely fixated on me. And in several more people, it would be my turn to get to my feet and act as if the eyes of the man I used to fuck myself to weren’t glued on me because he thought I was a total moron. Well, in all fairness, I now thought he was an elitist grade-A douchebag, so what did I care what he thought?
 

The thing was, there was something in the
way
he was looking at me. I couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was, and there was no way the niggling part of my brain saying it was interest was right, because, well, just no. But Ace was watching me as if…as if he knew me intimately.
 

He’d pulled his lower lip behind his top teeth and was scoping me out with hooded eyes. And let’s be honest here, even though he’d acted like the biggest dick in the world outside, the fact that Ace Locke was looking at me like he wanted to cross the circle and rip my clothes off had me—

“Dude.” The guy to my right bumped my elbow, and I tore my eyes off Ace to look at him. “It’s your turn.”

Oh shit.
My eyes flew around the room, and I could feel my skin heat as embarrassment washed over me. Everyone was now staring right at me—including Ace. I took a deep breath, wondering how else this day could fuck up, and then decided to just—what’s that term?
Fake it till you make it?
I got to my feet and twisted the script between my hands, and then, with as much false bravado as I could possibly muster under the circumstance, I introduced myself.

“Hi, I’m Dylan and I’m kind of new to the whole film thing.” I glanced around at the cast and Ron, making sure to avoid eye contact with the man who kept tripping me up. “I’m really excited to be part of this project and my only request is that you go a little easy on me.”

Everyone chuckled, and this time I couldn’t stop my eyes from seeking out Ace, who had scooted forward on his chair with his elbows resting on his knees, watching me intently as he nodded and said, “Go easy, huh? You should’ve kept that to yourself. Now you’ve caught my attention.”
 

Ace sat back and looked toward Ron, and I swear to fuck my heart was pounding so damn hard it was a miracle it couldn’t be heard in the silence that followed. Did he even realize what he’d just said to me? Caught his attention,
no shit.
 

“But…maybe if you pass the initiation, we’ll go easy on you.”

I narrowed my eyes on his superior face.
Jesus, what the hell did that mean…?
“Uhhh…what initiation?”

Ace gave an arrogant tilt of his chin as he looked toward the rest of the cast. “He’ll find out soon enough, right, guys?”

They all grinned back at him like he was their damn hero or some shit, and all I could think about was telling him to go fuck himself—

“Thank you, Dylan,” Ron said before shooting a look in Ace’s direction. “Behave yourself, Locke.”

Ace shrugged before crossing his arms and aiming an unrepentant grin at me. “But where’s the fun in that?”

I swallowed past the huge lump in my throat, somehow knowing there was a whole lot more to that statement than the two minutes of hell he’d just put me through.
 

Behave
didn’t seem to be a word that went hand in hand with the tough guy who’d arrived in a car worth more than a modest-sized house. Nor did it belong to the man who was now back to watching me like a king sizing up his next conquest.
 

2

HORNY GOAT

I NEVER THOUGHT I’d be grateful to say that I was glad I only had a few lines sprinkled throughout the script, but after the way the morning had started off, I didn’t want any more attention focused my way. So when it came time to say my lines, I uttered them with as much conviction as possible and tried to keep up, but my mind was preoccupied with the movie star sitting across from me.
 

How the hell was I going to
work
with this guy? And to think that coming into this I’d actually been excited. I hadn’t expected to feel like an awkward freshman in high school getting picked on by the senior quarterback. The
hot
senior quarterback.
 

Ace was even better looking in person than on the big screen, and trust me, after he’d put me in my place several times already that morning, that was not an admission I wanted to make. Over the past couple of hours, he’d commanded the room—not only with his deep, booming voice, but he just had that
it
factor. What do they call it? A presence. Whatever it was, when Ace was talking, you paid attention. And when he said his final line and the last of the stage directions were read, everyone whooped and whistled, and the energy in the room hit its peak.

“Great job, everyone,” Ron said as he stood up. “Ready to get to work?” When a chorus of
yeah
s rang out, he nodded. “Good. We’ve got a pretty ambitious shooting schedule, since we’ll be working primarily on the lot and in the tank, so weather and travel won’t be a factor. You’re all going to be wet all day, every day for the foreseeable future, so make sure to take your damn vitamins and drink some green juice shit, please.”

There were groans after that statement, and a devilish gleam lit Ron’s eyes.
 

“And by the way, ladies,” he said, “make sure you see J.T. before you leave today. Any questions?”