The Big Picture; Chapter 2
Luke and Reid act in a movie together. Sex, love and angst ensue!
Chapter One
http://community.livejournal.com/lure_atwt/1524432.html?#cutid1
So, who's ready for the boys to meet?
Chapter Two
Luke’s car idled across from Reid’s house as he scraped the chalky taste of Pepto-Bismol from his tongue. In the last twenty-four hours, Luke had vomited twice. He had masturbated five times, but the twinge of his sensitive cock against denim bothered him far less than the thought of upchucking in Reid Oliver’s hydrangeas.
He had yet to speak to Reid. Luke’s phone call had been answered by Reid’s assistant, Gretchen. He had received a terse text that he assumed was from Reid requesting confirmation that he was indeed a ‘fucking vegan.’
Since arriving in town, Luke had made a drastic change in his diet. The studio would agree to letting him play Landon, the small town guy with a heart of gold, if he could drop fifteen pounds. Landon was supposed to have a body that inspired not one, but two men to battle for his affections. A tighter ass and harder pecs would be a good start. He had hired a nutritionist and a personal trainer and was a mere five pounds from his goal.
As he chewed off the last of his fingernails, Luke placed the car in drive. He announced himself to the security box and the wrought iron gates before him parted. Taking in the landscape, Luke curved around a large fountain and parked at the bottom of stone steps leading to gigantic double doors. He ran his sweaty palms over his thighs and took several cleansing breaths before pressing the doorbell.
Luke jumped even though he had expected the door to open. He was greeted by a rail thin mouse of a woman with a cell phone and legal pad clutched in her paws. “Mr. Snyder? Hi, I’m Gretchen. We spoke on the phone. Please, come in.”
The heels of Luke’s loafers clicked against the marble floor. He almost bumped into Gretchen as his head was turned toward the ceiling, admiring the crystal chandelier above him. She had stopped to check a text. Closing the phone with a snap, she relayed her latest information.
“Mr. Oliver is finishing up a call. He should be out shortly. Can I get you something to drink?”
Luke felt like responding with ‘Vodka. Leave the bottle.’ He had never been so nervous in all his life. Luke asked for a water and followed her down two steps into a sitting area. A wall of windows looked out onto waves crashing along the white sands of Reid’s private beach.
He was about to meet a man who had the starring role in all his fantasies. The ache in Luke’s wrist could attest to that. He grasped the glass in his hand with just enough pressure to confirm that it was real. Yes, this was all very real.
“Mr. Snyder?”
So lost in thought, Luke jumped. The contents of his drink and the front of his button down shirt paid the price. As the liquid slid down his body and pooled at his feet, Luke knew there was no way to play this cool.
Luke felt the fire in his face. He fought the urge to run for the door and never look back. He heard Reid’s pace quicken. Luke almost lost consciousness when Reid’s palm made contact with his lower back and he removed the glass from Luke’s hand.
“Gretchen! We had a spill.” Reid tried to make eye contact with Luke. He was more than resistant. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I should have known better when I saw you looking out the window. I’ve lost hours standing in that spot.”
Luke felt Gretchen at his feet. He wanted to move, but with the way things were going, he would have tripped over her. She was quick with the clean up and handed Luke an extra towel. He rubbed at the stain furiously.
“Mr. Snyder, I’ll have my assistant grab you a shirt.”
“NO!” All three of them were shocked at the volume of Luke’s refusal. “It’s only water. I’ll dry.”
“Why don’t we have lunch by the pool? Out that door is a path. I’ll join you shortly. I need to grab the script.” Reid and Gretchen watched Luke slink out of the room and start towards the pool. He nudged the woman with his elbow. “Check on us every now and then. Just in case he‘s some weirdo stalker.”
In his office, Reid found a weepy Katie curled on the couch, script in hand. “I had that locked in my desk.”
“And my parents locked their liquor cabinet. That didn’t stop me either.”
“Where are you?”
“Ragan just professed his love for Landon and then he got that phone call about Nathan.”
“Yeah, that’s a good scene. Too bad you won’t find out what happens next.” Reid snatched the pages from Katie’s hands and bolted for the door.
“No, no, no! I’m almost finished.” She called after him. “Don’t leave me hanging! At least tell me how it ends.”
“I don’t know.”
“For a thespian, you are a terrible liar. Who wants to sign up for a film when they don’t know the ending?” Katie smoothed her hair, wiping her eyes and nose on the sleeve of her cardigan. She kicked into overdrive to catch up with Reid in the hall.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Reid eyed her suspiciously.
“I can’t meet this guy looking like hell.”
“No, you can’t. You can’t meet him if you’re dressed for a red carpet event, either.”
“Reid!” She dragged out his name in a whiney tone. Like nails down a chalk board.
“Forget it. You want to play Kayla, call your agent. Get a meeting.” Reid turned on his heels.
“But it’s perfect-”
“No.”
“But-”
“Don’t you have your own house? Where’s your offspring?”
Katie smiled. “He’s hot, isn’t he?”
“Five alarm fire.” Reid had the wind knocked out of him as Katie jumped into his arms. “Calm down. I see hot gay guys all the time.”
“Yet, you don’t date any of those guys.”
“This is not a date. It’s a meeting. One in which the other party has had ample time to wonder what the hell I’m doing in here. Out!” Reid placed his knee against her derrière and pushed her gently.
As he made his way down the path, Reid could hear Luke muttering to himself. “Stupid. Could you look any more spastic? God, what’s next? I guess you could nut in your pants during the salad. That would really be the cherry on top. He’s in there now trying to find a way out.”
Reid swallowed a chuckle and cleared his throat. “Sorry about the delay.” He threw the script on the table between them. “Two things you should know before we start. You will be getting a call from Katie Peretti’s agent and those tear stains aren’t mine.”
More to himself than Reid, Luke shook his head. “I still can’t believe this.”
“What?”
Luke thought carefully about his response. “People want to read my story. Amazing actors schedule meetings with me. I have my pick of directors. There is no way things like this happen to normal people.”
“Normal? Hardly.” Reid leaned his elbows on the table. “Luke, I’ve read my fair share of screenplays. What you’ve written…”
Luke mimicked Reid’s pose. Often embarrassed by false praise, he really wanted Reid to finish that sentence. Something in his voice created a connection and he knew however the thought completed itself, it would be far from smoke up his ass. “Yes?”
“These men, they don’t hide. They love, they fight, they have sex. None of your characters have doubts about who they are, just the decisions they make. That’s rare. As left of normal as it gets.”
For the first time that day, Luke met Reid’s eyes. Luke’s mind raced as the man who had inspired Ragan gave him a crooked smile. “Thank you.”
“You know, you’ve been here for at least a half hour and we haven’t had a proper introduction.” Sticking out his hand, Reid lifted his ass from his chair a few inches. “I’m Reid Oliver.”
A blush graced Luke’s cheek as their palms came in contact. “Luke Snyder. So nice to meet you.”