Biting my lip, I nodded. Standing up, I followed them down the hall toward a set of brown double doors. I saw that there were at least twenty people in the room when they opened the door for me. But the first person I saw was Noah, in dark blue boxer shorts, a woman finishing the fake Roman numeral tattoo she added to his side. Another woman glossed up his abs.

“Amelia, I want you on your back.” The photographer pointed toward the bed, then faced the men working the lights.

Taking off the robe, I crawled into the center of the bed, under the covers. Noah stood at the very end of the bed, in front of me, his abs perfectly sculpted and lean. The tattoos they added— Blair’s name on his chest, the crown next to his waist, Roman numerals down his side—were so foreign to me. The last time we were this close, he was not so…defined.

“Okay, test shots. Noah, hover above her,” the photographer directed.

He nodded, and like a lion coming in for the kill, he crawled up the bed until he was right on top of me. The only thing between us was the sheets. I could smell him again. He always smelled like fresh vanilla, so calm and sweet.

“Amelia, I’m going to need you to take off your bra. It’s showing through the sheets. Where is my 39mm lens?”

My eyes widened, and I didn’t move for a second.

“You look petrified,” Noah whispered in front of me. “What happened to skin being skin?”

 I felt like shit, but sat up some and reached behind me anyway. I slid off my bra and tossed it aside before laying back down.

“If you are like this during the shoot, how will you be during the movie?”

“Can you not…?” I barely managed to say, my voice wavering. “Can you just give me a break for a few minutes, please?”

I took a deep breath, trying to remind myself why I was here. But I kept seeing all the faces in the room.

“Amelia…Amelia, look at me.”

When I looked at him, he put his forehead on mine, just like he used to.

“What are you doing?”

“Do you remember our first time?” he asked, not moving away.

“Noah, this isn’t—”

“You forgot?”

“No.” I frowned. “I remember being completely embarrassed and exci—why?”

“Just go back to that moment with me, okay? Just go back to when were teenagers, excited and nervous and terrified of getting caught at Graham’s after party. Go back to how we felt afterward.”

I smiled. “You said you wanted to do it every day.”

He grinned. “You said you’d let me. Just focus on that. There is no one else here. Just our younger, dumber selves.”

Swallowing, I nodded.

“Alright, test done. Both of you, wrap up in each other’s arms. Raw and sexy.”

Doing my best to ignore the photographer, I focused on Noah, who reached under me and lifted me off the bed. My arms wrapped around his neck, our lips hovering over each other.

I asked myself, what would sixteen-year-old me do?

I sat up on my knees. He made sure to pull me closer to hide my breasts. However, I felt…his friend…press up against me. Hard.

“Noah,” I said, unable to contain my smile.

He smirked. “What can I say? I feel eighteen again.”

“Beautiful, guys. Amelia, turn around and hold on to the bed frame.”

I held on to the sheets and did what he asked. The moment I let go of the sheets, Noah’s arms wrapped around my breasts, holding me tighter.

“Amelia, give me orgasmic.”

I could still feel Noah against my ass, this time with his chest pressed up against my back. Leaning in, he whispered again. “You remember that? How I’d bury myself deep inside you, how loud you were for me, how you used to ride me, your lips parted, sweat dripping down all over you? Everyone thinks you are this good girl, Amelia, but I know a side of you that no one else could ever know. Not even with this movie.”

“Brilliant! Let’s do some solos and then break.” The photographer snapped us back to reality.

The moment he spoke, Noah let go of me and rose from the bed, leaving me breathless, horny, and shaky in the middle of the bed, gripping the sheets to my chest.

“Nice, Amelia,” the photographer spoke, but I couldn’t take my eyes off Noah as he left the room, not even looking back.

God help me. I wanted…I wanted to be back in his arms.

I wanted the Amelia he whispered about.

What the hell was wrong with me? Noah and I were a train wreck.

I wasn’t going to mistake lust for anything else.

Noah

“What did you say to her?” Austin asked me as he handed me a bottle of water when I got back into my suite.

“Nothing.”

“That didn’t look like nothing—”

As I glared at him, he thankfully shut up. Grabbing a pack of cigarettes, I walked out to the balcony, expected it to be just as sunny as it was this morning. However, the skyline was covered in thick, dark clouds, and the rain poured down with no end in sight. But I didn’t mind. I love—

“It’s raining!”

There, to my left, standing on her very own balcony with a large grin on her face, was none other than Amelia. The makeup was wiped from her face, and she was dressed in a red robe. However, the most stunning thing about her was the smile that graced her face. She pushed a button on the railing, and the umbrella over the balcony retracted. Outstretching her arms, she accepted the water as it poured over her. Laughing to herself, she spun around once more. However, the moment she finally came around to me, she stopped dead in her tracks. The smile on her face faded almost immediately.

She’s still so beautiful.  

Her blue eyes dropped to the cigarette between my fingertips.

“No one wants to kiss someone who smells like an astray.”

I smirked. “They would if they got paid to…like you.”

“Amelia, have you lost your damn mind?” Her manager, Oliver, rushed out on balcony and slammed his hand on the button for the umbrella to expand overhead again. “What have I told you? You can’t afford to get sick right now.”

When he looked to me, he froze in place. Nodding to him, I proceeded to look back out at the city, blowing smoke from my nose. I heard him mutter something to her and the door click closed behind them. The dark clouds above roared as they moved through the sky, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“‘But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east and Amelia is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief…’” I whispered to no one but myself.

Chapter Four

Noah

“Ugh,” I groaned, rolling over and grabbing a pillow to block the light.

“We have a problem,” Austin stated, seriously.

Patting down the bed, I reached for my phone. When I saw the fucking time on it, I fought the urge to throw it at his head.

“It’s 3:00 am. My problems can wait.” My call time for set tomorrow…wait, today was at 5:45. He’d stolen two hours of sleep from me.

“Your father’s in the lobby. This can’t wait.”

I felt a chill go up my spine, and I stayed still for a second before rolling back over to place my phone on the bedside table.

“Wake me up in two hours.”

“Noah, you know him. He will make a scene, and he will not leave until you go down there.”

Grabbing the remote from the table, I turned off the bedroom lights.

“Fine, I’ll figure it out,” Austin sighed.

“There isn’t anything to figure out. He’s out of money, so pay him and tell him to go,” I muttered as the door shut behind him.

 Had it been four months already? Frank was like a clock. He needed to be reset every 121 days. It didn’t matter how much I gave. He’d always manage to blow it. It was a talent, really. He was gifted when it came to spending money. But ask the man to take care of his own kids—hell, to tie his own goddamn shoes—and he was as useless as a fly. I had gotten emancipated at fifteen, yet still, he had a death grip on me.