STS Ch-66

Daryl looked up at me with innocent eyes, her naked form sprawled under me. All her shyness had left her since it was just the two of us. Her hands roamed all over my skin, feeling the contours gained through years of hard work.

“How are you so…” She trailed off, not knowing how to finish the sentence.

“So?” I prodded gently.

“Well built. I’ve seen men before, but you’re on another level entirely. It’s like…you’re not even human.”

I laughed at that, then hugged her body close to mine and turned our positions so that I was on my back and she was resting on top.

“It’s just how I am,” I replied when my laughter subsided. “Maybe it’s because I’ve swum almost daily ever since I was a kid. Or maybe it’s just genetics.”

“I like it,” she said after a moment, feeling the veins on my bicep. “I like it a lot.”

“I know,” I said with a grin. “You’re literally dripping on me.”

Her face colored in slight embarrassment as my erection poked in her wetness curiously. She tried to look away from my face, but I grabbed her chin and guided her back gently.

“Don’t be shy. I like that you’re reacting like this.”

Without wasting a second, I traced my hands down her body until my fingers reached her wet folds and rubbed. Her breath hitched as soon as I started massaging her clit.

“Noah,” she gasped. “That feels…so good.”

I leaned forward and whispered in her ear. “When I’m done with you, you’ll feel divine.”

With the warning out of the way, I pushed inside her with two fingers, making her breath hitch. I enveloped her lips with mine and sat up a little straighter, all the while making sure our lips stayed connected.

My tongue gently caressed her lips, begging for entrance, something she granted almost automatically. My tongue met hers as I explored her mouth with a passion I hadn’t felt for anyone in a while. My fingers never stopped massaging her clit.

When the need for air became too much, I finally separated from her, heaving a bit. She looked equally breathless, her blond hair a little messy, thanks to me, but I didn’t mind that.

“Do you want to continue and take it forward?” I asked, holding her face between my hands. “We can take a break if you want.”

“I want to continue,” she insisted. “I really do want you inside me right now.”

I chuckled. “You’ll get that, but before that, you know I don’t want a relationship, right?”

“Yes,” she nodded. “Sex is just sex. It doesn’t have to mean anything beyond just physical stuff. I’m in college. I know that stuff.”

“Alright then,” I said, raising my hands in surrender. “My bad.”

“Don’t stop,” she said, grabbing my hand and putting it on her clit again. “I really need to come.”

“You will,” I promised. “Just not with my hands.”

I pushed her back on the bed and lowered myself down her body. Seeing her hairless pussy lips waiting for me to plow her was the biggest turn-on, so I descended on her, my tongue coming up to lap all of her juices.

An unexpected sweetness erupted on my tongue as I tried to reach as deep inside her as possible, holding tightly to her hips.

Her head fell back in pure ecstasy while she held on to my hair for support. Seeing her come undone under me sent another jolt of anticipation down my length.

As much as I wanted to make her come with just the cunnilingus, I didn’t. My need for a release was getting hard to ignore, so I separated from her. She whined at the absence of my mouth, but I didn’t let her wait too long.

As soon as I could, I tore open a condom and rolled it over my length. Once I was all packed, I lined myself against her.

“Ready?”

She nodded. That’s all the encouragement I needed before entering her.

“Noah!” she gasped at the sudden intrusion. “You’re big.”

“I know, sweetheart,” I laughed, lowering myself to her level and planting another wet kiss on her lips. “You’ll get used to it in no time.”

She whimpered against my mouth as I pushed myself completely into her.

“It’s okay,” I whispered softly. “I won’t move until you tell me to.”

I waited patiently for a few seconds, not moving even an inch, although I wanted to very badly.

“You can move now,” she said shyly. “I can take it.”

I didn’t reply verbally, just pulled back a little and thrust inside her again. Her intake of breath was much softer this time and showed much more pleasure than pain. I waited two seconds before repeating it again.

After my fourth thrust, all her pain subsided, and all that was left was euphoria.

“Can you please move a little faster?” she asked.

I resisted the urge to laugh at her politeness and did as asked.

Her insides wrapped around my length perfectly, and each push brought me one step closer to completion. I grabbed her beautiful tits in both my hands before leaning forward and capturing her lips in a heated kiss.

I could feel the pressure building in my balls, and from the way she was squirming in my arms, I suspected she was close as well.

“Yes!” she screamed suddenly before arching her back, her head pulled as far away from me as possible. Seeing her orgasm brought me to my own, spilling my seed inside the condom.

We both panted lightly with huge grins on our faces as I rested beside her.

“That was something,” she said after a moment.

“Sure was,” I agreed. “Especially for the first round.”

“First round?” she asked in confusion.

I laughed before leaning over and kissing her again.

“We’re just getting started, babe. The night is still young. And I promised to make you feel divine by the time I’m done with you. We’re not there yet.”

(Break)

“You want me to direct the climax of the movie?” I asked incredulously.  

“Well, yeah,” Samuel agreed. “As per your request, Paul’s been removed from the movie. He’ll still help with the final edit, but you won’t have to come face to face at all. And since you wanted to direct it from the beginning, you’re getting your wish.”  

I nodded slightly, thinking it over before saying, “Okay, but I have an additional condition.”  

He motioned for me to go on.  

“I want assurances that I won’t come face to face with that cretin during promotions or at any other point. In fact, give it to me in writing that he won’t be invited to any premiere, screening, or press event I’ll be attending.”  

“That’s a little extreme,” Samuel said hesitantly. “We can learn to coexist peacefully.”  

“I won’t. That man made me feel inhuman. I know I’m not the best actor in the world, but that doesn’t give him the right to humiliate me like that. I swear, if Jerry hadn’t stepped in, I would’ve broken his nose, jaw, and anything else I could punch. I can’t promise to act civilly the next time I see him. If you think he’s that important, I’ll skip the premiere.”  

“No,” Samuel cut in firmly. “You have to attend the premiere. You’re the only person in the cast with any real star power. We’ll manage without him.”  

I gave him a satisfied nod. “Alright then. Let’s do this.”  

It was strange that I was basically being forced to direct myself right when I was thinking about giving up directing for a few years. Life works in strange ways sometimes.  

(Break)  

“Daryl, you need to do it a little differently,” I said softly. “I like what you’re doing, but your approach isn’t right for the character. Mia has just realized deep down that she loves Josh, but nothing she does will ever allow them to be together. And the worst part is, you know I’ll move on as soon as I reach college and forget all about you. I want the audience to feel Mia’s pain without any tears or words.”  

The girl in front of me nodded professionally, not even blinking as I gave her directions.  

The rest of the crew wasn’t as easy. From the set decorator to the cameramen to the caterer, everyone seemed to be waiting to see how badly I’d mess up. The worst part was that it was my biggest worry too.  

Paul’s disdain for me wasn’t hidden from anyone. While his exit made it clear that the studio valued me more, that alone wouldn’t make everyone respect me. Luckily for me, I don’t give a fuck what others think as long as they do their job properly.  

“Jerry,” I said, turning to the first AD, “I want the lights dimmed a little from where they are now. We want a more premium, chic look for this restaurant. Can you explain it to the lighting team?”

“You got it, boss.”

Then I turned to the director of photography, Bruce. “I want you to slowly zoom in on both Daryl’s face and mine as we’re speaking, as long as she’s optimistic. When she loses that optimism, I want to cut to a wide shot, something jarring for the audience, giving them a kind of whiplash at the realization.”

I continued giving him instructions for the next few minutes, and he kept nodding, but his eyes widened with each word as I explained my plans for the scene.

“You’re actually good,” he muttered when I was done. “Paul never gave me such detailed notes about what he wanted during a scene.”

A small smile came unbidden to my lips. “As much as I’d love to hear more praise before I’ve done anything meaningful, let’s wait until we’re done for the day, yeah?”

Bruce nodded before walking over to the cameramen to explain my requirements for the scene.

Then I went over to the head of the sound department to check if everything was in order. One by one, I spoke to everyone I needed for this scene, ignoring the stares and whispers around me. Despite the borderline hostile environment, I loved the feeling of being in charge. I might have mapped out the whole film before Paul could even think about it, but each scene had a lot of thought behind it. I had delved deep into every aspect of how it would be shot before handing it over to Paul.

Sure, I was only getting to shoot one scene, but I’d make sure it was the best work I could do.

“Everything’s set, then?” Michelle asked after I had briefed everyone.

“Yup,” I said. “We can start shooting as soon as I give the go-ahead.”

She nodded once, then silently took in my appearance. I was in my character’s attire, wearing a white collared shirt with small blue checks. It was paired with a navy blue sweater and maroon pants. My hair was parted to the side to complete the look for this film.

“It suits you,” Michelle said finally.

“The clothes?” I looked down at my sweater.

“No, your directing. I haven’t seen your first film, so I don’t know how good it is, but seeing you in action right now, I can tell you’re really passionate about this.”

“Thanks,” I said, dipping my head in gratitude. “I thought about what you said that day, and I’ve decided to give myself three years to improve my acting. So for the next three years, I’ll focus entirely on that, which means no directing and no training for the Olympics.”

“Why three?” she asked curiously.

“Because that’s when the next Olympics will be,” I replied bluntly. “In 1984, they’ll be held in Los Angeles. Even if I only participate that year, I have to do it. And three years is how long it would’ve taken me to finish college, so I’ll use that time to hone my skills further. Is that fair?”

“Yes,” Michelle agreed. “Three years is more than enough time for you to figure out if you really want to stay in acting or move permanently into filmmaking.”

Then she grew more serious. “You may have checked on everyone else, but are you ready for the scene yourself?”

“I think I am. But I need to be sure, and that’s where you come in. I’m giving you the authority to cut the scene if you think Daryl or I are lacking in any way.”

“Alright,” she said, then gestured for me to take my seat.

As the director, that authority lay with me. Most actor-directors gave that responsibility to either the DP or the first AD, but I trusted Michelle to identify the best performance much more than I trusted Bruce or Jerry.

“Alright, everyone!” I called out after sitting opposite Daryl at the restaurant table. “Quiet on set. Lights. Camera.”

I didn’t call action because I wanted to be as present in the moment as possible. I had instructed everyone about that beforehand, so they knew.

“I was just thinking…” I began the scene. “…where we might be ten years from now.” I let out a small laugh, glancing away from her.

“You know what I think?” Daryl leaned forward eagerly. “I think we’re both going to make it big! I’m very optimistic. I mean it!”

Her eyes were bright, with a hint of mischief beneath the surface. In that moment, I wanted to stay with her forever, but I knew that wasn’t possible.

I nodded once, then looked at her with a somber expression. “Can I ask you something?” At her nod, I continued, “Our night together, was it just a setup? Vicki and Guido?”

Daryl’s smile vanished, and she looked away. She thought about it for a moment before saying, “No.”

When I didn’t reply immediately, she asked, “You don’t believe me, do you?”

“I just don’t want you to get hurt,” I whispered, loud enough for the microphones to pick up.

Her face went through several emotions in a matter of seconds, too many to clearly define. There was guilt, and sadness at the realization that I might never trust her with anything important if I couldn’t trust her word now.

In the end, it settled into reluctant acceptance.

“Why does it have to be so tough?” she asked.

I watched her for a moment before opening my arms and motioning her toward me. “Come here.”

“Why?” she asked.

I didn’t answer, just repeated the gesture with my right hand, my eyes never leaving hers.

She got up and moved to the seat beside mine.

“Closer,” I said, taking her hand. Then I guided her onto my lap. She settled there and hugged me. I wrapped my arms around her back, resting my head on her shoulder. We ignored the stares of the background artists, who had all been instructed to give us judgmental looks in that moment.

“Cut!”

As soon as I heard Michelle’s voice, I let go of Daryl, but she didn’t get up immediately or let go of me. I thought about asking her to move back to her seat, but I realized I didn’t care about anyone’s opinion here that much. My friends wouldn’t judge me, and Michelle knew that acting could get intense sometimes, so she’d understand.

“That was perfect,” Michelle said, interrupting my thoughts a moment later. “I seriously don’t think you two will need a retake. But just in case, you should review the shot.”

“Really?” I asked incredulously, then motioned for Daryl to get off me.

I walked over to the monitor and replayed the scene. I studied both our expressions carefully, and as it ended, I knew Michelle was right. The scene was perfect in every way. Not once did I see a hint of weak acting.

The reason for my disbelief was that Paul had made me reshoot every scene at least six or seven times. His reasoning was that this film required a higher level of acting, something that only came out after multiple takes. The worst part was that he had flat-out refused to show me replays of my performance.

I didn’t know if he was just an asshole trying to irritate me or an incompetent director who couldn’t tell the difference between a good take and a bad one.

“I told you you’ve improved a lot as an actor, didn’t I?” Michelle asked rhetorically. “You’re undoubtedly much better than you were last year, thanks to your acting lessons at Harvard, along with all the prep we did for this movie.”

“She’s right.”

I turned to the DP, who had spoken.

“I think Paul was wrong to say all those things about you. I’ve shot practically the whole film, and even I wondered why we needed a retake so many times. You’ve done a great job on this film, both with the script and the acting.”

As I looked around the set, I didn’t see any hostile faces this time, only encouraging ones. Had it all been in my head until now?

“Give it up for Noah for writing this amazing movie and delivering a banger of a performance every day!” Jerry called out, starting to clap. Soon, everyone joined in.

I hadn’t realized until that moment how much I needed that validation from the crew after that humiliating day the last time I was here.

I barely stopped myself from bursting into tears. It helped that, at that exact moment, Peter, Ash, and Lenny came forward, hoisted me onto their shoulders, and started chanting my name, which the rest of the crew echoed.

“Noah! Noah! Noah!”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the situation.