Previously on Just Friends...

    “Too soon?” Hugh nudged at her head with his nose until she turned back to look at him again, their lips only the barest half an inch apart. “No. It’s been too long by far.”
    Lisa’s eyes floated almost all the way closed as she waited for him to lean forward and kiss her again; but Hugh was not about to let her off that easily. Just slightly his lips whispered against hers, the contact so fleeting she thought surely she’d imagined it; there was his breath drifting lightly against her cheek; there was his hand combing through her hair before resting at the back of her head; there were his lips again, dancing against the skin of her jaw as he worked his way back down to her mouth… she gasped as he finally gave in and kissed her again, his tongue darting out just to glance off her bottom lip before pulling back—not enough for their lips to separate, but enough for him to speak into her mouth as she pulled him inexorably into her embrace.
    “God, Lisa…” he whispered, and she gasped slightly at the feeling of his mouth on hers when he spoke. “Tell me to stay…”

~*~*~
    “This is so surreal…” Lisa’s voice floated out of the darkness and she could feel Hugh’s answering smile even though she couldn’t see his face. A faint gleam was drifting through the loosely drawn curtains and just barely illuminating the exposed skin of Lisa’s legs. Hugh traced the outline of the side of her thigh muscle down to her knee as she brought it up, bending it over his lap and shifting her position so that her legs were tented over his lap for easy access. Leaning forward slightly from his sitting position, Hugh kissed her kneecaps and gently let his fingers slide down her calf before encircling her ankle.
    “You’re not scared, are you?” He asked, turning his head and looking down at her.
    Lisa smiled and shook her head, extending one of her legs further in an unspoken request for his hand to return up more towards her hamstrings. Slowly, delicately, he complied, focusing so completely that Lisa’s sudden exclamation nearly made him jump—
    “Don’t go into the woods!!!”
    “It’s a really really bad horror movie,” Hugh scolded her, squeezing her leg gently. “If an idiot doesn’t go wandering into the woods after a scary monster we don’t get to hear screams and crunchy chewing sounds when he gets eaten.”
    “Good point.” Lisa settled her head back into the pillow resting against the armrest of the couch and turned her attention from the television to look at her co-star, his profile flickering in the light from the movie. “Hey. You stopped.”
    “Sorry.” He grinned at her unapologetically and extended his hand up her thigh until it tickled against the very bottom of the pajama shorts she had changed into. Fed up with his incessant teasing, she brought her other foot up from where it was laying on his other side and planted it firmly in his lap, wiggling her toes around until—
    “Lisa!” He hissed, flinching. “Be careful, would you?”
    “I’m not even a little sorry,” she said as he slid one exploratory finger just under the hem of her shorts and raised an eyebrow at her. “At the moment, all I can think is that I’m glad I thought to shave my legs last night.”
    “Oh, please, like that would stop me.” Hugh tilted his head at her, his eyes contemplative. Then, slowly, he reached for the remote and turned the movie off. “So. You got room down there for me?”
    Not saying a word, just meeting his intense stare, Lisa reached for the back of his neck and pulled him over and down until he was lying on top of her, their legs tangled. Hugh put his weight on his elbows on either side of Lisa’s torso, looked deep into her eyes…
    And yawned.
    “I am offended,” Lisa said drily, her hands drifting up his back and pressing down gently. “Come on, you’re not too heavy. Lie down.”
    “I would suffocate you,” Hugh said, even as he began to lower himself further until his head rested above her chest, his breath tickling her throat. “Are you sure this is ok?”
    Lisa moved one of her hands from his back up to stroke his hair as his eyes drifted closed. “I’m comfortable,” she said huskily. “Just rest. We’ve got all night. I’m not going anywhere.”
    “Yeah. Just Spain.”
    “So I change my flight again. I’ll tell Julie to send you the bill.”
    “I knew you were only after my money.”
    “Yeah, that and your sparkling sense of humor.” Lisa sighed deeply and closed her eyes. Hugh’s body was gradually relaxing into hers, and she concentrated on not moving until he was able to drift off into sleep. “Shall I tell you a story?”
    “As long as it doesn’t involve medicine.” Hugh muttered, turning his head into her neck.
    “Granted.” Lisa involuntarily shifted her hips to get comfortable, and Hugh’s unconscious response caused her to suck in her breath and hold it, waiting for the urge to shift back into him to go away, at least for now… She opened one eye, then the other, and glared at the ceiling. The time would come… “Ok. Once upon a time…”
    “Oh God…” Hugh groaned, never opening his eyes.
    “Was that in response to my fairy tale or in response to this?” Lisa absolutely couldn’t help it. She slid herself down just the slightest bit until Hugh’s hips were directly above hers, and then pressed her hand ever so slightly down on his lower back, knowing that he would invariably respond to any of her cues, and when he did…
    “Um.” Hugh let out a short, hard breath as she felt him tense from his stomach down. “Either. Both. God, you’re evil.”
    “Not in this story,” Lisa whispered in his ear, hooking one of her legs over the back of one of his and anchoring him right there before he got any brilliant ideas about moving away. “Now hold still and relax. Go to sleep if you have to. We’ve got time.”
    “I hate you,” he mumbled, but she felt him unclench and relax back into her hips, exactly where she wanted him. Lisa kissed the side of his head tenderly and closed her eyes again.
    “Once upon a time, there was a brilliant man named Hugh.”
    Brilliant Hugh snorted. “So this really is a work of fiction.”
    “My story. And Hugh was being lusted after by a funny-looking girl named Lisa.”
    “There are at least three things wrong with that sentence,” Hugh muttered. “First of all, you were not lusting after anyone—you don’t need to. And you are not now, nor have you ever been, funny-looking. And third…”
    “Ok ok ok fine you are not a fairy tale type person. I get it.” Lisa rested her cheek against his head. “Do you remember when we had to shoot that bus scene? The striptease?”
    “If this is your way of making me relax, I have to tell you… it’s not very effective.”
    Lisa chuckled softly. “You would not believe how nervous I was trying to get ready for that… I was sure I was going to make an absolute fool out of myself. Or, barring that, I was going to go way too far and embarrass myself that way. And the fact I had to do it in front of you…”
    “I didn’t mind.”
    “Ha, ha, ha.”
    “Ok, my turn then. Remember when we filmed the ‘Joy’ kiss?”
    “Oh, God…”
    “When you grabbed my head…” Hugh leaned himself up onto his elbow again and cradled Lisa’s head with his other hand. “And you did this…”
    Lisa smiled into Hugh’s lips as he lowered his head against hers, her fingers curling against the back of his head and pulling him in even harder. “Well,” she whispered into his mouth before he took advantage and slowly ran his tongue along the inside of her lower lip, his hips rocking against hers only once before he drew his head back and studied her reaction. Her eyes were dark, her face was flushed, and her lips—
    Well, there they are again, he thought to himself as she glared at him for stopping, taking his face in both of her hands and dragging him back down to her, teasing his mouth mercilessly as the leg that was curled around his tightened even further, if that were possible. Tilting her pelvis up against him, she slowly moved from his mouth to his jaw, up to his ear where she whispered roughly before tasting his earlobe once more… “Don’t. You. Dare. Move.”
    “If you insist,” Hugh gasped, burying his face in her neck. “Jesus…”
    “Remember…” Lisa spoke into his ear again before leaning back against the pillow. “Remember when you said you didn’t think you were a good kisser?” Her tongue was doing something absolutely outrageous to the pulse point in his neck. “I very much beg to differ.”
    “Ah ha,” was Hugh’s brilliant response.
    Lisa’s nails scraped gently against the skin of his waist as she began to feel her way underneath his shirt, searching until she found—
    “Hey, Lis?” Hugh’s voice halted her progress. “Your phone’s lighting up.”
    “Hmmm?” She turned her head to see what it was, then narrowed her eyes. “My alarm… what… oh are you fucking kidding me?”
    “It’s morning.” Hugh glared at the clock on the end table. “I didn’t—wait, we finished filming at—”
    “I’m all turned around…” Lisa furrowed her brow and looked up at him. “I mean… it was late when you got here, and—but the sun’s not out…”
    Hugh untangled himself and stood next the couch, ignoring Lisa’s growl of complaint to look out the window.
    “It’s pouring out there,” he said quietly, then dropped the curtain and extended a hand to her. “Lisa… come here.”
    “I’m not going to like this, am I?” She muttered, taking his hand and bringing herself to her feet.
    “No, no, relax, just—I cannot have this conversation lying—like that—with you.” Hugh let out a breath and gazed at her for a moment. “Nope. Definitely not. Ok, here’s the thing. We’ve got to go to this party tonight…”
    “Ugh. I forgot. That’s what I had set my alarm for… like a week ago. I made an appointment to get my outfit from—oh, geez, I never cancelled it…”
    “Lisa? Focus.”
    One perfectly formed eyebrow arched skyward.
    “Sorry. I just—we need to decide how we’re going to handle… this. Tonight. I have to go in for a post-production meeting on the lot in an hour or so, and then the party starts after that and goes through the afternoon… So we’re not going to have any time to talk. I don’t know if—”
    “Your divorce… is not public knowledge, is it?” The light was beginning to dawn on her. “Um… and… I assume that no one knows?”
    “Robert. And you. That’s it.” Hugh ran a hand through his hair and looked genuinely miserable. “Lisa…”
    “This can’t happen, can it?” She asked, gritting her teeth at the unfairness of it all. Hugh started, realizing what she was thinking.
    “God, Lisa,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “No, I’m not saying—I just think it needs to be a secret for the foreseeable future, is all. Once things are finalized, the divorce will be announced. And even for a few months after that I think we should… I just don’t want anyone pointing at you and blaming you for—any of this.”
    Lisa nodded slowly. “Ok,” she said finally. “No, you’re right. I get it. You’re right.”
    “Plus David and Katie might not be too thrilled,” Hugh dead-panned, and Lisa threw her head back, laughing.
    “Oh, the looks on their faces…”
    “So…” Hugh stared her down back into seriousness. “I have to go to this meeting. And you have to go… do… whatever it is you do to look gorgeous, I guess.”
    “Labor of love,” Lisa quipped.
    “And I’ll see you when you get to the party. Yes?” Hugh kissed her hand and squeezed it before turning away and heading for the door, shoving his feet into his shoes and dropping his car keys into his pocket. Lisa’s jaw dropped as she watched this.
    “Hugh!” She finally said when he was reaching for the doorknob. As he turned to see what she wanted, she started to stride towards him, hands on her hips. “You really think I’m going to let you lea—”
    Before she could finish her sentence Hugh had taken two long steps toward her and they met at full speed, hands grabbing, lips bruising, lungs gasping… Hugh’s hands were everywhere, pulling at her waist until her body was lined against his, moving up her back into her hair, tilting her head for greater access. As his tongue stealthily made its move past her lips, Lisa reciprocated ardently; her fingers were convulsively clutching at his shirt until one hand finally slid up to the back of his neck, leaning into him even harder. Before she knew what was happening, Lisa found herself having been moved backwards to the table near the edge of the carpet, on which she normally kept her luggage and travel accessories when she was preparing for a trip…
    One dramatic sweep of Hugh’s arm fixed that.
    “You’re cleaning that up,” she whispered against his lips as he lifted her off her feet and deposited her on the edge of the table, standing between her legs and lowering his hands to her waist to pull her close against him. Lisa locked her ankles behind his back and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself so close she literally couldn’t tell where he ended and she began. Gasping against the side of his neck, Lisa suddenly remembered. “Oh my God…”
    “What?” Hugh was paying an inordinate amount of attention to a particularly pleasant spot under her jaw.
    “I had a dream exactly like this…” she breathed. “Only it was my trailer, and I—woke up before—”
    The doorbell rang.