Hibiscus Films

Before Juno could ask what the family meal was, he motioned to her to come into the house. After Carter set up Nico at the kitchen table, he entered the living room where Juno had opened up her laptop on the coffee table.

"I've gotta tell you, this is not what I expected a movie star's house to look like," she said, surveying the cozy, rustic décor and wishing that Carter wasn't so close she could smell his cologne. "It's more like a fancy log cabin than LA chic."

"It's not much different from what it was when I moved in," Carter answered. "But several steps up from where I grew up." He sat down beside her on the couch, trying to keep his eyes averted from her thighs in her tight jeans. "You're pretty good with kids," he fished. "Do you have any of your own?"

"Well if I did, it'd mean my surgeon messed up big time," Juno murmured while opening up the folder with her short stories. She turned toward Carter, knowing full well he'd be puzzled. "I got my tubes tied a while ago," she elaborated, expecting his eyes to widen exactly as they did.

"That's what split us up," she went on, turning back to her laptop screen. "My ex and I had agreed not to have kids but he changed his mind somewhere along the way. When he kept pressuring me I booked an appointment to get sterilized, and then he filed for divorce."

Felipe/Carter

"That's pretty extreme, don't you think?" Felipe blurted out, immediately wishing he'd kept his mouth shut.

"I'm going to assume you mean what I did as opposed to his reaction," Juno casually replied. "People fall in so many places around this issue. There are folks who want to be childfree forever, never raising a kid in their lives, not even a teenager.

"I just didn't want to have kids, ie, bring more lives into this already-shitty world," she explained while searching for other files, oblivious to Felipe's gazing at her face.

"We'd agreed to foster to adopt older children out of the system, but I guess the need to pass on his genes was just too strong. I have no idea why since he was already complaining about losing his hair." Felipe snorted without meaning to, then got up again to check on Nico.

Still the smart-ass do-gooder, he admired, looking back from the kitchen door. She hasn't changed at all.

After Felipe put Nico to bed, they worked uninterrupted and talked about how to adjust Juno's original story to incorporate dialogue and physical action in the screenplay. When they had finished jotting down a skeleton outline, Jakub popped his head into the room.

"Family meal, boss," he said, barely breaking his stride toward the back door. "Juno, bring your hoodie, it's already a bit breezy."

"One of the guys used to help cook large meals at his temple growing up," Felipe said as he led Juno toward the back field. "He wraps up working outside around two in the afternoon each day, then does this every evening." Felipe opened the back door to a solid oak picnic table large enough for 20 people, set up with a variety of dishes beneath a canopy.

"Oh my gosh," Juno breathed as she took in the incredible spread.

"We'll have to take it indoors tomorrow, boss," a South Asian man in his 20s said to Felipe. "It's gonna cool off in a hurry." Felipe nodded.

"Yup, summer's over, Ritesh," he agreed. "We'll set up the dining room tomorrow."

Juno

As Juno looked around the table at the smiling men who were relishing their meal, she wished she'd had this information to include in the magazine feature she'd submitted to Lucy. She was amused at seeing her host heap more food on his plate for the third time. Ritesh had noticed too.

"Haven't you been in the maintenance phase for like, eight years now?" the young man asked, referring to his boss's workout and nutrition regiment. "If I'd known you were going to pack it away like you were bulking up, I'd have cooked more."

"You always make too much anyway," Carter countered. "I hate myself, man, but I can't help it right now. I've had headaches all day and I'm starving all the time. Just be glad I haven't picked a fight with any of you."

A collective laugh rose from the table and that's when Juno spotted it--the nicotine patch on Carter's arm. Oh, fuck me, she inwardly swore as she realized why he smelled like cologne today instead of cigarette smoke.

She knew it was silly to lament the fact he was quitting smoking, but she really did not want to fangirl all over this guy and he was making it increasingly difficult. The team cleaned up together and Carter's staff started to leave the farm one by one. Just as Jakub was getting the truck ready to drop Juno off on his way home, she was startled to feel Carter grab her forearm from behind.

"I have one more favour to ask you," he said to her on his front porch, his voice low. "If you don't want to, it's fine."

Yes, I will sleep with you for a million dollars, she thought. Or free. Free's good.

"You were assigned to interview me to promote my movie, End Code. Well, the Toronto premier is in two weeks and I'd like you to come with me. These events are kind of boring and you always manage to liven things up."

Close enough, Juno considered.

Jakub obviously didn't pick her up two Fridays later to work on the screenplay, but she was looking out her apartment's front window every 30 seconds expecting Carter's limo.

"Control-top panties don't fail me now," Juno mumbled as she tugged on the nylon sheath that supported her belly, frowning at the tiny bump that protruded from her otherwise flat stomach. "Can I suck it in all night long?" she wondered aloud.

Her royal blue cocktail dress with spaghetti straps, a balconette bust, and a form-fitting waistline was the perfect mix of sophisticated with a touch of slutty. As Juno smoothed over the flared skirt whose hemline stopped just above her knee, she tried to push back thoughts that she'd never look as good as the millions of women who must have thrown themselves at Carter Amos.

He's really trading down from Chelsea Tenaglia and her perfect ass, she frowned at her reflection, hoping the A-line of her skirt was enough to detract from her round hips. You're a slim pear but still a pear, darling, she told herself, satisfied with her dress, makeup, and hair as she grabbed her clutch upon getting Carter's text that he was two minutes away.

Felipe/Carter

In the limo, Felipe had been fantasising about his long-lost cigarettes the entire day, and was wearing two nicotine patches under his suit. They were in the second half of September and the weather was cooler, but he was melting nonetheless.

Pulling up to Juno's apartment building and getting out of the car for some air, he was relieved there didn't seem to be anyone around the quiet Etobicoke residential neighbourhood. He leaned against the door of the vehicle, frustratedly thinking this would have been the perfect opportunity for a smoke.

That's when he saw Juno come outside in a little, dark blue dress, and his heart almost stopped.

Sweet Jesus, that is not fair, he thought as he willed himself to stop staring at her legs and bust. Walking up to him with a smile, Juno's expression changed when she noticed his.

"Don't tell me I'm wearing the wrong thing," she said. "I have a backup dress if this isn't the right look, just gimme a minute." She spun around, only to have Felipe grab her forearm.

"Uh, no," he stumbled. "You--I'm sorry, I was just really stunned by how incredible you look." She gave his hand a little squeeze as he held open the car door for her.

"That's alright. It's not like your job is all about putting on the right facial expressions at the right time or anything." Felipe couldn't help but smile ruefully at himself, somewhat distracted by the flowery scent of Juno's perfume.

They talked in the limo about what to expect once they got to the venue, with Felipe cautioning her that he might have to leave her alone for a bit to do red carpet interviews.

"The main event is the movie, but I'll be honest with you--I hate watching myself on screen. I usually stay for the first 10 minutes, then sneak out and smoke for an hour, then sneak back in."

"Hmmm," Juno thought out loud. "I'm not wild about blow-'em-up movies either. Wanna replace the cigarettes with a pizza?"

"Thank god you said that," Felipe grinned. "There's also going to be an after-party, and I only make an appearance at those for a few minutes of networking. I will try my hardest to stay with you then, and hopefully we can leave early.

"You're really a hermit, aren't you?" Juno said, as if she didn't know how to read him.

"It's just that none of this is real, Juno. Chelsea loved these things so we stayed for the whole night, but it's a real chore. Don't get me wrong, it was super exciting when I began my career but it got old fast. Besides, Jakub's watching Nico tonight and I don't want to come home later than I have to."

Juno

How is this guy for real? Juno wondered. Eyeing his arms straining against the fabric of his suit jacket, she pushed aside the fantasy of using the extra space in the limo to straddle him. God, every time I see him in something new, he just looks better than the last time.

Carter took a deep breath as the car pulled up to the red carpet, looking surprised to feel Juno slip her hand in his.

"Just think about the pizza and you'll be fine," she advised. Carter grinned as he opened the car door, and that was the grin captured by countless photographers as the couple stepped outside. The flood of lights and people was almost too much, with Juno at a loss as to where to look.

All she could hear was people calling Carter's name as a roar rang out through the crowd on either side of the velvet ropes leading toward the theatre. She'd held Carter's hand in the car to support him, but now she tightened her grip to calm her own nerves.

He didn't let go of her fingers as he talked to a few of the Toronto news stations and entertainment outlets for a couple of minutes each, then turned toward the public's side of the barriers to sign autographs.

"Hold on, Carter, who's your date?" the last reporter called out. He turned back around.

"This is my friend, Juno Delfina," he said, lightly placing his hand on Juno's back. "She's writing a screenplay for me and--"

"The same Juno Delfina who wrote the GTA Life feature on you a few weeks ago?" the reporter interrupted.

"That's the one," Carter simply replied before excusing himself and gently pulling Juno toward the public's area.

"I like to spend twice as much time saying hi to everyone here rather than speaking to the press," he leaned down and said in her ear. "These guys are a lot more fun and they're always so excited, especially the kids."

Juno hung back and appreciated how he worked his way through the crowd, greeting people and taking selfies with them. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder and spun around.

"It's normal to feel abandoned when you show up with that guy," a deep voice said to her. "Hi, I'm Evan Dokbua, script editor."

"I'm Juno," she stammered upon seeing the handsome young man before her, whose last name she recognized as being Thai. "Uh... date."

"Evan is the guy who makes sure everything on the set is moved back to where it was when the scene started, so there's continuity when we do another take," Carter said as he joined them, lacing his fingers through Juno's again and gently tugging her away from Evan. He shook Evan's hand and chatted with him a bit, then deftly ended the conversation and guided Juno toward the theatre entrance.

"He's not a good guy?" Juno consciously lowered her voice as the roar of the crowd grew slightly fainter. Carter seemed to hesitate and wrinkled his nose as he chose his words.

"There are not many people in this industry who are genuinely bad," he finally said as they strolled through the foyer, "but there are a lot of people who are fake, and I still don't know who all of them are."

That's cryptic, Juno thought as she let Carter lead her toward the screening hall. He spoke to a few more people inside, even after they found their seats, then went up to the front to say a few words with the director and the rest of the cast before the film began.

Just as Juno was wondering when the 10-minute mark was, Carter took her hand again and gave her a crafty smile in the darkened hall. Without a word, they slipped out the side entrance that was right by their seats, which Juno surmised Carter requested for its strategic location.

"Can we really just do this?" she asked as they giggled all the way out the back exit of the theatre. "You're sure we won't get in trouble?"

"In trouble?" Carter laughed as he squeezed her around her shoulders in the alleyway. "What are we, 15?" Then she felt him stop walking and turned around, just to be pulled up against his chest. "I'm really glad you're here," he said softly as he hugged her.

"I am too," she replied, loving the feel of his warm, strong chest. "Someone's gotta hold you back from eating an entire large pizza by yourself." Carter snorted as he laughed and led her toward a side alleyway.

"We can't go in and order, ourselves, or else everyone will know I played hooky from my own film. So I paid the driver to pick up a veggie delight for us." They spotted the car after a couple of twists and turns, with Juno laughing at the total absurdity of the moment.

"Didn't Bruce Wayne's parents also run through a seedy alley while dressed to the nines?" she joked while slipping into the limo with Carter right behind her. He opened the pizza box, passed her a paper plate with a slice on it, and then opened a compartment in front of them full of juice and pop.

"God, this is heaven," he said, sinking his teeth into his own slice. "I'm not allowed to eat like this most of the year."

"Do you ever think of hanging up your barbells?" Juno asked with her mouth half-full. "It's ironic you have the means to enjoy life however you want but you don't have the simple pleasure of a pizza when you're training for a movie or filming one."

"I want to transition into roles that don't necessarily need me to be ripped," Carter replied. "It's not lost on me that I'm 35 now and it's going to be a lot harder to maintain this physique after 40." He opened up a bottle of water for Juno and placed it in the cupholder beside her.

"You know, it's funny you just mentioned Bruce Wayne because I turned down the part of Batman a couple of months ago."

"You what?" Some of the toppings on Juno's slice fell to her plate when she shifted forward in shock.

"Think about it. Who wants to be the 800^th guy to play Batman in the 900^th movie with an uninspiring, unoriginal storyline? What more can be said about that character?"

"Oh," Juno nodded, starting to get it. "So say you were offered a script about Emiliano Zapata in the Mexican Revolution, or Bartolomé de Las Casas--"

"In a heartbeat," Carter jumped to answer. "The friar who went against Christopher Columbus to fight for Indigenous people's freedom in the Caribbean? I wouldn't even need to see a script; I'd say yes on the premise alone.

"And there have been a couple of films on Zapata but the last one came out of Mexico in 1970. With the way CGI and stunts are today, it would be an amazing remake." He put another slice on Juno's plate before helping himself to seconds.

"I'm gonna bust out of my shapewear," she protested. Carter looked at her skeptically.

"One slice is not going to tide you over," he told her.

"The size of my butt says otherwise."

"Really? Looks pretty great from here." Now Juno's eyes darted from her paper plate to meet his.

"Even before you married Chelsea..."

"I know, I know, I dated other gorgeous actresses with killer bodies," Carter waved away her criticism. "They were co-stars and I met them on set. But you can't relax and get close to someone when it's a permanent part of their life to count every calorie.

"I mean, I know there's unfair pressure on women to look perfect in this industry," he said between bites, "but the women I dated wouldn't even allow themselves a cookie now and then.

"You're not going to believe this," he motioned to Juno to take a bite of her second slice before he continued his story, "but one of my girlfriends--I won't say who--would go into a diner now and then, order a giant piece of chocolate cake, and just stare at it for a half-hour. Then she'd walk out and leave it untouched on the table with a massive tip." Juno stared at him in disbelief.

"I tried to tell her she was being a masochist, but she said she ate it with her eyes," Carter said after ripping off a bite of his crust. "Even for men, it's unrealistic to have a six-pack year-round, never mind be so jacked their veins are showing." He shook his head and met Juno's eyes again.

"But that's beside the point. You look like a real woman; not some airbrushed version of one. You're captivating and every curve just adds to that."

Juno suddenly felt an apprehension she wasn't used to feeling. They both ate in silence with her throwing glances at him now and then, not sure what her body was telling her to do. When Carter finally set down his plate on the ledge and sat back with his eyes closed in bliss, apparently in something of a pizza coma, Juno dusted off her hands.

He wasn't aware of her gingerly scooching over until he felt her hand on his chest, and her soft lips on his cheek. Carter's hand covered hers as his eyes flew open in surprise and he sat up with a start.

Juno's heartbeat raced as she tipped her head upward. Carter tilted his down, then cupped the side of her face and gently kissed her mouth.

Without thinking about it, Juno grasped his shirt collar between the fingers of one hand while her other hand found its way over Carter's shoulder and into his hair. She kissed him deeper as she felt his hands grip her waist, then deeper still when one hand traveled gently up her back.

Felipe/Carter

"I'm sorry, I should have asked first," Felipe said as they broke apart.

"Why? I didn't," Juno countered, pulling him back into a chain of deep, probing kisses. Then she remembered the driver. "Can he hear anything from the front?" she asked, pointing her finger.

The partition between them and the driver was still up, as it had been on their ride in, and all the other windows around them were tinted dark.

"No. But he'll probably feel it if the car starts rocking," Felipe smiled. Juno giggled, then kissed his face again before swinging her platform wedge-clad feet over his lap. Felipe swallowed hard as he felt himself rise to full mast, but tried to keep his wits about him.

The sentence he was composing in his brain, however, was shot to hell when he felt her unbutton his shirt, then shift herself to straddle him. Her skirt rode up to her upper thighs, and Felipe could feel the heat of her crotch right through his suit trousers.

"Wait, wait, Juno," he held her wrists. "First, I need to make sure you're sure about this." She seemed taken aback.

"I wouldn't be on your lap if I wasn't," she traced her finger along his jaw. "But do you not want me to..."

No, honey, I never dreamed this big in 12 years, he thought, desperate to slip his fingers into her panties to find out if she was as wet as she was hot. Felipe found himself calculating whether it was a spacious enough cabin for him to flip her onto her back and eat her out for dessert.

"No, it's just... what changed?" he asked instead. "I mean, all this time I thought you could barely tolerate me." Juno sighed.

"I... I really tried not to like you," she admitted, shrinking back a bit despite still straddling him. "I wanted to believe you were just a shallow, hulking, gorilla-like movie star with no brain and no heart, who would ultimately say something that would disappoint me." Felipe tried to bite back a smile.