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"Fuck me, Leo." His deep growl tells me he is feeling the same loss of control I'm feeling. I turn around to show him I am ready for him and lean up against the shower wall.
"God, you're gorgeous." Leo moans as he grabs my hips and slides into me. I gasp again as my body adjusts to his width as he fills me, slowly, so slowly until he's fully in. He just holds me there and I can feel him throbbing inside me. "Isa…", his voice trails off as he starts thrusting slowly. My cluster of nerves is working overtime and I am about to lose it. I feel him start speeding up and I respond by pushing back in equal pressure. We move together until we both cry out with an incredible pleasure that I have never felt before.
The shower washes us clean and, although we are spent, we dry up and head to Leo's bed. This time it's a king sized bed and yet, I don't need the space. Getting into bed, I feeling the luxurious linens on my skin. That should be enough to create a satisfying end to the night, but when Leo crawls in, he wraps me in an embrace that I wish could last for longer than a night. Leo places one final kiss on my lips before we both drift into a deep sleep and a sweet dream.
Tomorrow’s problems are for tomorrow. Tonight, it’s just him and me.
Chapter 14
Leo
It’saweirdfeeling,being awake and facing such a beautiful sunrise, yet feeling like I didn’t sleep a wink all night.
I’m not sure if it’s because of my throbbing head or how the memories from the final moments of the night come flooding back. Most of the night is hazy from alcohol, but when I remember Isa’s lips on mine, everything is crystal clear. It’s like my entire brain is haywired yet also programmed to not forget any moment from that kiss onward.
Leaning against the rail outside on the balcony of my room, I am greeted with a faint but sweet scent of morning dew. It’s rare to experience that in a city, regardless if it's Hollywood or Manila, but it’s calming all the same. Observing the people on the roads, I realize that I have been here for a good two to three hours now. I awoke naked when I felt Isa next to me, and I immediately got up, put on the hotel robe, and left her alone to sleep.
I can’t even fully remember how long I slept or what time Isa and I returned to the hotel. I’m just flooded with how it feels having Isa’s body against mine, how her soft moans filled my ears as we both lost ourselves in each other. It’s stuck in my head in a loop, and it’s not really helping me know if it’s something I should have even done or not.
I mean, I’m highly aware of the fact that I’ve only asked her to marry me for our respective personal gains. We’ve never discussed nor even attempted to move past our professional relationship, but I’ve always noticed how sometimes Isa’s eyes linger, or how I sometimes yearn for the smell of her perfume. Or how she sometimes goes out of her way to buy me coffee when I hadn’t asked for it, and how I feel significantly more appreciative about these tiny gestures. Perhaps there was always something there, but there was also always something that took priority, and that’s my dedication to the film studio. I can probably say the same thing about her in her own way. Perhaps it just laid there dormant, and it needed a little push.
Or perhaps I’m too into the heat of the moment, and I’m just overwhelmed with the stress of the very real possibility of me losing my father’s film studio.
“What a mess,” I mutter to myself as the sun shines brightly on Manila. Deep inside, I wish I feel as lively as the rays of light dancing on my face. The sky is clear and blue, but my mind is a clouded haze.
I tighten the robe around my body, still completely naked underneath. I couldn’t really give myself enough time to think about putting on some real clothes, but I thankfully managed to get my phone off the nightstand during my sleepy haze. I take a deep breath, put in the passcode, and unfortunately see way too many emails and messages to check.
To distract myself from my unclear mind, I open some of them. Yeah, I may have left the studio in the trusted hands of my leadership, but that never meant that I’m going to ignore it completely while I’m here in Manila.
“Mr. Camden, Peyton is pushing for another budget increase,”an email message from one of my executive producers reads. I can’t help but let out an annoyed sigh. Peyton has a habit of wanting to add a whole new thing to the movie he’s working on, but it usually requires another check for me to write so production can keep going. Honestly, if we weren’t family, I might have cut him off from the studio by now, but he’s never really done anything besides be obnoxiously overzealous.
I would understand it more if it was being excited about the creation and the art, but it's always more about the money he can earn from it. It’s why a lot of his films are shallow, full of action scenes and gorgeous humans. They’re meant for cash grabs, and get the worst reviews, but I just can’t let him go. There isn’t any reason in any business owner’s eyes. His films make money, and the film industry is still a business, so I’m kind of stuck. I diplomatically call it film-making diversity if anyone asks.
The emails weren't thrilling me, so I opened my texts. Ugh, Teresa.
You didn’t tell me you were going to the Philippines with Isa? I hope you know what you’re doing.
I don’t even know what to say to this one, and it doesn’t help my clouded mind, so I just go past it.
Next? Jordan.
Yo, Leo! Where you at? You have a LOT of explaining to do, bro! CALL ME!
This is one of Jordan’s many messages. I start to feel bad as I scroll down even more, realizing that I haven’t replied to any of them since I left for Manila. It doesn’t help that I’ve refrained from telling him what happened with suddenly being engaged to my assistant. Well, it’s the middle of the day in California right now, and he might be in the middle of directing but…
I let out a deep breath as I make the call on my phone, placing it against my ear. It doesn’t even take five seconds before Jordan picks up on the other side. “H-Hey…” I say a bit sheepishly, which is admittedly out of character for me. Yes, even though I’m technically his boss in the film studio, we’re still kind of like childhood friends, and I guess the latter is more prominent in our dynamic right now.
“‘Hey?” Jordan mutters, a tone of irritation in his voice. “‘Hey!?’Are you kidding me!?” As if on cue, his sudden outburst comes. I guess it’s not sudden if it’s on cue. “Explain to me how I’m probably the last person to hear thatmybest friend is suddenly getting married? And to Isa, your assistant?” His voice is both exasperated and hushed at the same time. I can hear the faint sound of work being done around him. The team is probably taking down a set and moving equipment around. I know those sounds like the back of my hand, and I would love to be back, but…
“I guess… things just happen, you know?” I say, admittedly vaguely, though it’s kind of how I’m really feeling right now. Thingsdidhappen, after all.
“Hold up, hold up, hold up, hold up,” Jordan cuts me off before I can say another word. “You can’t really expect me to believe that something has been happening this entire time when you’re the most workaholic person I know, and I mean that in a really great way.”
I clear my throat, trying to get a word in. “What I’m trying to say is –”
“I mean, sure, I’ve known this entire time that you definitely have a thing for her, but I wasn’t crazy enough to think that you’d immediately ask her to marry you,” he continues, and honestly, I’m caught extremely off-guard by his words. “What happened to ‘hello’ and ‘would you like to go out for dinner?’ Why are we already at wedding bells!?”
I freeze for a second as Jordan doesn’t seem to run out of words, continuing to express his emotions freely at me without worry. I’m just a bit jittery from the fact that I’ve apparently been showing signs of interest this entire time. Jordan wouldn’t say that out loud to me if he wasn’t entirely convinced. After all, one of the reasons I’ve valued him as a friend is his honesty. It’s hard to find real friends when most people are just after my connections in the film industry.
