Taylor
“Tell me the truth. You’re a werewolf. Aren’t you?” Rebecca asked Hamilton with trepidation.
“What makes you think I am a…werewolf?” he whispered.
Rebecca’s velvet red dress hugged her hips, waist, and breasts. It accentuated her voluptuous body and highlighted her long curves. She waved a black satin fan in front of her petite face to prevent the heat from taking over. She replied, “Well, I could be wrong, but, last night, I, I saw you...naked in the moonlight. There was hair…all over your body and…you had long fingernails.”
“Maybe I am a hairy man who likes to be naked when the moon rises,” he said with a cunning smile. He stepped closer to Rebecca. “Tell me, Mrs. Corday, did you like what you saw?”
Her face scrunched with shock. Hamilton laughed playfully at her innocent reaction. Their eyes met and triggered a silent passion. Rebecca’s lingering gaze refused to break away. He took advantage of the moment and slowly took off his tattered grey jacket. He held her eyes as he unbuttoned his shirt.
“Please, Hamilton. I don’t want to hurt my husband.”
“No one will know. I promise no one will discover our secret.” he said as he revealed his bare chest.
“No. I can’t.” she protested weakly.
“I love you, Rebecca. I can’t live the rest of my life without knowing your touch. Please, Rebecca. Come to me.”
Her eyes watered as she took a step towards him. The light from the fire kept their silhouettes hidden safely in the darkness. No one would see them. No one would know their secret.
“CUT!” the director shouted at the top of her lungs. “I think we got that scene nailed, people. Bob, roll that back so I can see the footage.”
“How’s my makeup?” Rebecca asked her assistant after the cut was called. She spun around and sauntered from the set, her breasts bounced in a tight corset. Her real name wasn’t Rebecca, it was Sally Anderson. Her character, Rebecca Corday, was the most popular character on daytime television. Hamilton Ledger, played by the smoldering Brad Whymer, was her tortured lover. When her assistant verified her makeup was still perfect, she asked, “Where’s Taylor?”
“I’m here.” Taylor Garcia said as he walked onto the stage.
“How did I look? Was I on point?”
“Don’t worry. You looked beautiful. Your cheekbones were so high! And you really brought Rebecca to life.”
She asked him with doubt. “No way.”
“I felt like I was actually watching the real Rebecca.”
She let out a sigh of relief. “Okay. Thanks, T. I’m going to watch the playback.”
Sally and Taylor worked as actors for the popular daytime soap opera, Life in the Moonlight. He played a small role that paid the bills and made him happy. She was on the cusp of becoming a major star with a lead role on the show. Their backstories were far from similar. Taylor moved from San Antonio, Texas to New York at the age of eighteen with dreams of becoming an actor and Sally was a New Yorker born into privilege. His family breed from a strong Hispanic heritage, so leaving his family in Texas was difficult. Every Sunday and Wednesday, he called his family to check up on them, and he traveled to Brooklyn every Sunday morning to take his only living grandmother to church and spent the day with her. Sally only spoke to her parents if she found herself in desperate need of money. Taylor was particularly close to his father, Manuel. His mother, Sonja, brought him up to be a strong and respectful young man. His sisters, Valencia and Lucia, were older and lived close to their parents. His strong Hispanic heritage was evident in Taylor’s looks. He had shiny black hair, dark brown skin, brown eyes, and spoke with a slight Hispanic accent. When it was required, he wore old fashioned black rimmed glasses. The first half of his life was spent speaking only Spanish, something his mother preferred. She didn’t want him to lose sight of where he came from, so she insisted he retain the knowledge. He never met Sally’s parents.
Two years after moving to New York, he was hired as a small bit player for a movie. It was great experience for him to add to the old resume and his parents were impressed with their son. A couple of years later, Taylor auditioned for a role in Life in the Moonlight and won a small part on the soap opera. The leading actress, Sally Armstrong, seemed to like him so they went out on a couple of dates. She made him laugh all the time. It was a wonderful friendship that made him happy despite the pain of being homesick. Two weeks after meeting, Sally declared her love for him. He did love her, but only as a friend. To avoid losing Sally and their friendship, he declared his love for her in kind.
After the director called an end to the day, Sally pulled him aside and they left the studio together. When Life in the Moonlight became the number one soap opera, the studio provided Sally with a personal limo she used at every opportunity, even to retrieve her mail. Anytime Sally received special treatment due to her star status, she simply beamed with pleasure. In the limo, she spoke of nothing but her career. Her long curly blonde hair nestled perfectly against her milky white skin and she pursed her lips at him seductively. In an instant, she was in his lap and kissing his lips.
She moaned and said, “I’m going to be so fucking famous, baby! This show is going to make my career. As soon as a movie deal comes in, and it will, I’m going to quit that stupid little soapy show and move into the big leagues!”
He smiled sincerely at her. “You deserve it.”
“And you’re going to be famous, too. Everyone’s going to know we’re together. They’ll want to talk to you about me. Can you image the interviews people will want?”
“I think I can handle it.”
Sally rubbed her face on his neck and whispered, “Oh, T. Tell me I get to ride that when we get back to the room.”
“Oh, you can ride it.” he laughed.
They made out until the limo reached the hotel entrance. The paparazzi wasn’t there, much to Sally’s dismay, but Taylor assured her flashing lights and reporters stalking her every move was in the immediate future. They got into the elevator and Sally took off her clothes before the doors closed. Taylor shouted with fake embarrassment as she unbuttoned his pants and got on her knees. When the doors opened, Sally pulled up his pants and practically dragged him to her door. She slid her card key into the slot, opened the door when the light turned green, grabbed him by his shirt, and pushed him inside the room.
She commanded him to get on the bed and went into the bathroom. Normally, Sally didn’t stay in a hotel, but she insisted the show pay for it since she was scheduled to appear on a talk show the next day. When she finally emerged, she wore lacey white lingerie with a garter belt. It took his breath away to see Sally’s slim body in such revealing lingerie. His eyes focused so much on her body that he almost missed the small digital camera in her hands. He recognized the camera as the one he gave her as a present.
“What’s up with the camera?”
“I want to record this, baby.” Sally whispered.
“No-”
“Oh, come on, T. Just this once. We’ll watch it together and I promise you can keep the memory stick.” She slid into the satin sheets on her stomach and perched her butt up for him to see.
“I’m not stupid, Sally. What if someone sees it?”
“No one will. I promise.”
He thought about it before he said, “I don’t know.”
“Look, no one will see it besides us. Like I said, after we watch it, I’ll give you the memory stick and you can destroy it if you want. It’ll be, like, literally impossible for anyone to see it. Come on, baby. Do it for me. Please?”
“No, Sally. And I mean it.”
She scoffed at him, “Sorry. I thought you said you love me.”
“I do love you! But why do I need to show my naked ass to a camera in order to prove it?”
“Never mind. I thought we could have a little fun after such a great day on set. I guess you’re not the kind of guy…”
“You’re right. I’m not that guy,” he scoffed at her. No one spoke while Sally pouted and Taylor let his thoughts torture him. He didn’t want to lose his best friend and he didn’t want to have sex with her on camera. Still, she loved him and he loved her, sort of. So maybe it’s okay to do something uncomfortable for the one you love. After he contemplated the odds of Sally breaking up with him over this, he decided it wasn’t worth losing her over something so small. He worked up the courage and said, “Okay. Fine. But I get the memory stick.”
“Deal.” She placed the camera on the dresser and made sure the bed was in view. Then, pushed the record button.