Intermission (Off Screen Book 6)

  INTERMISSION

  OFF SCREEN episode six

  J.A. Armstrong

  Text © Copyright 2015 J.A. Armstrong Books

  All Rights Reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced without permission.

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter One

  “You want what?” Addison practically bellowed.

  “Calm down, Blake,” Don Bellson held up a hand.

  Addison took a deep breath and looked across the room at her co-producer and friend. “Are you on board with this, Jeff?” she asked.

  Jeff shook his head and shifted his gaze to the older man behind the desk. “Risky business,” he chimed.

  “That worked out all right for Tom Cruise as I recall,” Bellson quipped.

  Addison rolled her eyes. “That would be clever if I weren't so pissed right now,” she admitted.

  “Come on,” Bellson said. “Think about it.”

  Addison rubbed her face in frustration. “Splitting a season? You want to expand the number of episodes?”

  “Why not?” Bellson asked.

  “Because,” Jeff began. “Too much of a good thing is possible, Don. You want to go from sixteen to twenty-two? That’s eight more.”

  “I can do math,” Bellson replied.

  “Again, not clever,” Addison said. She sighed. “Don,” she tried to calm herself.

  “I know,” Bellson held up his hand. “Eight is Enough, right?” Bellson quipped. “Good show. Five seasons—not a bad run. In those days, they managed twenty-six, even twenty-eight episodes.”

  “You play a lot of Trivial Pursuit, don’t you?” Addison asked.

  “Blake,” Bellson said. “You have got to ride the wave when it is cresting. Just look at it. See if it is feasible. That’s all I ask.”

  Addison narrowed her gaze doubtfully. Don Bellson never acquiesced so quickly. “What gives?” she asked.

  Bellson slapped his hands gently on his desk in mock defeat. “It’s your show, Blake.”

  “Mm-hm,” Addison replied.

  “We’ll look at it,” Jeff said.

  “That’s all I ask.”

  ***

  Emma massaged her forehead and yawned. She opened the door to her trailer and smiled. “Thanks, Marion,” she said.

  An older woman with slightly graying hair and soft brown eyes looked over at Emma. “She was pretty quiet,” Marion told Emma.

  Emma nodded. “Which means she will be not so quiet shortly,” Emma surmised.

  “Sorry about that,” Marion chuckled.

  Emma laughed. She made her way to the small playpen and looked down at her sleeping daughter. The truth was, Emma was completely exhausted. Part of her hoped Vicki would sleep for just a little longer, at least until Addy was done for the day. A quick cat nap would reenergize her. As if on cue, Vicki woke up with a small cry. Emma chuckled, wondering if, like Addison her daughter was protesting the idea of waking up or if she had a surprise for Emma. Emma reached down and picked up the baby. She whispered in her daughter’s ear and rubbed her small back in soothing circles.

  “I will see you after the holidays,” Marion said. “You get some rest on this trip,” she ordered Emma.

  Emma nodded. She had reluctantly hired the woman as a nanny when Off Screen began filming again. There had been no choice. Emma knew that, but she had protested the idea hotly for weeks. Addison finally was able to convince her that Marion would provide a safe, loving caregiver when Addy and Emma were otherwise engaged with work. Emma loathed the idea, but she had come to adore Marion. Marion was a bit like her mother and Emma missed her mother sorely. She was looking forward to a week in Kansas for Christmas with her entire family.

  “Yes, you will,” Emma agreed.

  “Promise me,” Marion said. “You need some rest, Emma. Don’t make me tell Addy…”

  Emma shook her head. “No, no. I promise,” she replied. She watched Marion go. As soon as the door to the trailer closed, Vicki started to fuss. “Aww, Sprout, what’s the matter?” Emma asked her crying daughter. She laid the baby on the changing table and set about the task of removing a heavy diaper. “We need to talk about all this drinking,” Emma joked. She threw the diaper in the pail with a chuckle. Vicki looked up at her mother and smiled as Emma patted her bottom with some powder. “Uh-huh. You are just like your Mom,” Emma said with the shake of her head. “So? What kind of trouble did you and Marion cause today?” Emma asked.

  The door to the trailer opened and Addison peered in. “She awake?”

  Emma nodded. “The moment I walked in.”

  Addison noted the fatigue in Emma’s eyes. “You feeling okay?” she asked Emma.

  “Mm.”

  “You want to get out of here?” Addison asked.

  Emma was genuinely surprised. “You’re done?”

  “Yep.”

  “Already?” Emma asked again.

  “Past already,” Addison replied.

  “Oh no, why do I think that I don’t want to know,” Emma grimaced.

  Addison smiled. “Come on,” she said. “I don’t know about you but I am ready for life away from this place for a couple of weeks,” Addison said.

  Emma smiled gratefully. She was beyond ready for some time away. “Oh, I am ready.”

  “I’ll get the car. You get the munchkin ready.”

  Emma looked at her daughter. Vicki’s face scrunched up into a serious expression that made Emma giggle. “You are never going to learn your name at this rate, are you, Sprout?” she laughed. “Don’t worry,” she said assuredly. “Santa knows where Grandma and Grandpa live. He’ll find you no matter what we call you. I promise.” Vicki yawned. “I feel you, Sprout. Maybe Momma will let me nap in the car,” Emma yawned. “I’ll take what I can get.”

  ***

  “Em?” Addison called into the kitchen. There was no reply. “Where are you?” Addison wondered. “Emma!” she called again through the house.

  “In here!” Emma answered.

  Addison followed the sound of Emma’s voice to their bedroom. Emma was lying on the bed with her hand over her eyes. “You okay?”

  “Just a headache. Thought I would rest for a bit when the sprout did.”

  Addison’s brow furrowed slightly. She had run out to do some last-minute Christmas shopping. Emma had seemed fine and in good spirits. “Em?” Addison asked again. She moved to sit on the bed beside Emma.

  Emma removed her hand and squinted to bring Addison into focus. She immediately grasped Addison’s hand when she noted the worry that painted her wife’s eyes. “It’s just a headache,” she assured Addison.

  “Are you up to this trip?” Addison asked.

  “I am beyond ‘up for this trip,’ as you put it,” Emma replied. Addison nodded. “Addy?” Emma wasn’t certain what she saw flickering in Addison’s eyes. She did know Addison, and she suspected that Addison was keeping something from her. “Okay, let’s have it.”

  “What?”

  “Don’t you ‘what’ me,” Emma said. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  “It’s just work stuff.”

  “Work stuff?” Emma questioned. “That you can’t tell me?”

  “Of course, I can tell you. I just don’t know that there is anything to tell yet.”

  Emma’s nose wrinkled in doubt and she lowered her voice an octave. “Mm-hm. Nice try, Blake.”

  Addison chuckled. “Jesus, you sounded like Bellson there for a second.”

  Emma gloated. She often mimicked the network executive to her co-stars. Just as Addison had her little secret meetings with Jeff and Don Bellson—Emma, Dan, and Sandra had their inside jokes. The difference was, the inside jokes on set had a dramatic flair. Emma was often the butt of teasing herself in the mock conversations that she and her co-stars held. Dan would imitate Jeff, Sandra pretended to be Addison, and Emma delighted in her impression of Don Bellson.

  “Why do I think there is something you are not telling me?” Addison asked suspiciously.

  Emma winked at Addison. “All this time up in that office is making you paranoid,” she commented.

  Addison laughed and collapsed onto the bed next to Emma. Emma moved immediately and placed her head on Addison’s chest. “On second thought, let’s just stay home,” Emma said. “And, never leave.”

  Addison caressed Emma’s back and kissed her on the head. “You know, I can make that happen.”

  Emma smiled against Addison and tightened her hold. “No,” she said. “I’m looking forward to seeing Mom and Dad. I just…”

  “I know. It’s been crazy for the last few weeks,” Addison said. “You’re exhausted. I can tell.”

  “Stop writing such great material and maybe I will get a little break,” Emma joked.

  “You think it’s great?”

  Emma propped herself up to look at Addison. “Addy, you know that I think it’s great. We all do.”

  “I sense a but coming.”

  “No. It’s just been a long eight weeks.”

  Addison nodded. “I know. I’m ready for a break too.”

  “Yeah?”

  “I miss you,” Addison murmured.

  Emma understood. “You see me every day, honey,” she reminded Addison lightly.

  “Not all of you,” Addison said with a playful smirk.

  “Oh,” Emma grinn
ed. She traced her fingers across Addison’s chest. “Looking for a private showing?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Maybe?” Emma questioned. She pulled herself up and straddled Addison’s waist. “Not very decisive, Ms. Blake,” Emma said as she began to unbutton her white blouse.

  “I thought you had a headache?” Addison asked. She hoped Emma’s headache was at the very least fleeing, and fast. Addison’s eyes were riveted to the opening in Emma’s blouse that now revealed just the hint of her breasts. “Jesus, you are beautiful,” Addison said in awe.

  Emma smiled down at her wife. Addison’s eyes had already darkened a shade. Emma leaned over Addison, her blouse falling open slightly. Addison sucked in a ragged breath. “Yes?” Emma teased.

  Addison pulled Emma to her and kissed her gently. The tenderness in the kiss surprised Emma and she pulled back to search Addison’s eyes. “Addy?”

  “I missed you,” Addison confessed.

  Emma understood. Life had been chaotic and an infant added to both Emma and Addison’s fatigue, Emma’s most of all. Intimacy had taken a backseat to family time, sleep, work, and seemingly everything in life. “Regrets?” she asked Addison.

  “Not at all,” Addison assured her.

  The sincerity in Addison’s eyes touched Emma deeply. Addison doted on their daughter, just as Emma had always known she would. It was Addison’s gentleness that Emma had immediately fallen in love with. “I love you, Addy.”

  “I love you too, Em.” With those words, Emma closed the short distance between them again. She captured Addison’s lips in a passionate kiss that stole the breath from Addison’s lungs.

  Addison reached up and held Emma’s face in her hands. She felt Emma pull back and reluctantly let her hands fall. Emma looked down at her and methodically finished unbuttoning her blouse until it fell open. Addison’s hands immediately stretched to explore Emma’s skin. Part of Addison felt inclined to close her eyes and savor the sensation of touching Emma. But, just seeing Emma in the distance, walking down the hallway, or cooking dinner still made Addison’s stomach flutter. Watching Emma when Emma was engaged in seduction was intoxicating. Addison found herself looking at her wife, thinking as she often did that she had one the ultimate lottery.

  Addison had tried in every way she could to convey to Emma what she felt. As a writer, it was Addison’s job to put human emotion into words and images. She’d won praise for that ability, even won awards for it. Emma was always her inspiration. In a roundabout way, Emma inspired everything in Addison’s life. That made it seem odd at times, the reality that Addison never felt she could adequately explain what Emma meant to her. She was well aware that many people viewed her attraction to Emma as physical. It was. It was far more than that and it always had been.

  Emma traced her finger lightly over Addison’s forehead. “What’s going on up there?” she asked.

  “I was just thinking about that coffee shop,” Addison replied.

  Emma smiled lovingly. “What about it?” she asked as she slowly removed her blouse completely.

  Addison stuttered slightly. “Uh…Well…..”

  “Yes?” Emma asked. “Craving coffee?”

  “No,” Addison chuckled. Emma was unhooking her bra and Addison groaned.

  “So? What were you thinking about?” Emma asked again. She watched as Addison’s eyes tracked over her cleavage. Emma reached down and directed Addison’s chin upward. “Eyes up, Addy.” Once Addison’s eyes had met Emma’s, Emma repeated the question. “Now, what were you thinking about?”

  “Rain,” Addison answered.

  “Rain?” Emma asked in amusement.

  Addison nodded and looked directly into Emma’s eyes. “Remember that day when we left the café and it was raining?” she asked. Emma smiled knowingly. “You,” Addison’s thought trailed off and she closed her eyes as she recalled the first time she had come to this house. Emma’s car had broken down in the rain. By the time they had arrived here, Addison was dripping wet, soaked through to her skin and trembling. What Emma didn’t know at the time, was that the shivers traveling up Addison’s skin had little to do with the cold, wet condition she found herself in. They had everything to do with the woman that now hovered above her. Addison pictured Emma as Emma toweled off her hair. The action had brought Emma within inches of Addison’s lips. Addison had felt the heat of desire mingle with the chill of her clothing. She opened her eyes and looked back at Emma. Emma’s bright smile warmed Addison from within, and a tear escaped her eyes.

  “Addy,” Emma called to her softly, wiping the tear away.

  Addison fought to breathe against the onslaught of raw emotion that overcame her. At times, it still amazed her that Emma loved her. The life that they had built together astounded Addison. She’d heard people say that love changed over time, implying that somehow it faded. That was beyond imagining to Addison. She seemed to fall more deeply in love with Emma every. Addison reached up and traced her fingertips across Emma’s face. “You are so beautiful, Em.”

  “You’re in love,” Emma teased. The intensity in Addison’s expression gave Emma pause for a moment. “Addy?”

  “I don’t know what I would do without you,” Addison confessed.

  “You never have to find that out,” Emma promised as she closed the distance between them. She felt Addison’s lips meet hers in a familiar dance. “Addy,” Emma sighed into their kiss.

  Addison’s hands mapped out each curve of Emma’s body. No matter how many times they came together, Addison remained in awe of Emma. She lost herself in the softness of Emma’s skin, in the way Emma’s body moved so fluidly with her own. Addison felt Emma’s breasts brush against hers and moaned.

  Emma began a sensual dance against Addison. Slowly, her body began to glide against her lover. Addison’s hands moved over Emma’s back, drawing her closer. Emma whispered in Addison’s ear. “I need to feel you, Addy.”

  Addison understood the request. She moved swiftly to shift their positions and addressed the button on Emma’s jeans. Within moments, Addison had freed them both of any clothing that separated them. She pressed herself against Emma and leaned into her ear. “I am going to make love to you,” she breathed in Emma’s ear. “Slowly,” Addison promised. She placed a kiss behind Emma’s ear and let her kisses trail languidly down Emma’s neck and over her throat. “You take my breath away,” Addison told Emma before pressing their lips together in a kiss that Emma felt course through every fiber of her being.

  Emma willingly lost herself in Addison’s tender touches and sensual kisses. “So gentle,” Emma whispered hoarsely.

  Addison looked up at Emma’s face. Emma’s eyes were closed, her head was back, and her lips were parted in anticipation and surrender. The sight spurred Addison on. She circled Emma’s nipple with her tongue, barely making contact. Emma’s hands searched for Addison and directed her closer. Addison smiled at the unspoken yet direct request. She lowered her lips over the straining pink bud and sucked softly, brushing her tongue over the tip.

  “Addy,” Emma moaned.

  Addison teased Emma, watching as Emma tugged at her lower lip in response. Addison replaced her lips with practiced fingertips and pulled herself up to whisper in Emma’s ear again. “Do you remember the first time we made love?” she asked her wife.

  Emma’s eyes opened and she looked at Addison curiously. “Of course, I remember.”

  “Mm. I thought that I would never be able to love you more. The way you felt against me, the way you moved, the way you tasted,” Addison said just before nipping lightly at Emma’s neck.

  “Addy…”

  “I thought I could never want you more at that moment,” Addison confessed. She traced Emma’s eyebrows with her fingers and let them fall over Emma’s nose to her lips. “But,” Addison whispered. She kissed Emma’s lips softly. “I want you more every time I see you. Every time I hear you laugh, every time I feel you touch me,” Addison continued. “Every day, Emma…Every day I want you more.”

  Emma cupped Addison’s face in her hands and brought their lips together again. She kissed Addison tenderly. “You have me,” Emma told Addison.

  “I know,” Addison replied. “I could never get enough of you, Em,” Addison said.

  Addison’s words were immediately followed by an intense kiss. Emma felt Addison’s desire burning through her, lying right at the surface, ready to consume them both. Emma was positive that if what Addison wanted was slow, it would be incumbent upon Emma to slow things down. Emma pulled back slightly and looked up at Addison.