Flipside

It’s not over

My eyes slowly open to see Taz’s chest, his arms wrapped snug around me. I smile and gently kiss his shoulder. He shifts a little and groans quietly, looking down and grinning at me. “Good morning, beautiful.”

“Good morning, handsome.” I smile back at him and press my body against him, my legs wrapping between his. “How’d you sleep?”

“Better than I have in a very long time. What about you?” He carefully tucks my hair behind my ear.

“Exactly the same here.”

“Mmm. It was hard to stop myself last night. You’re irresistible, you know that?”

I giggle softly and look in his eyes, “Yeah I know…it was for me too. I like kissing you.”

He smiles and kisses me deeply before breaking away, “I like kissing you too. Now come on, let’s get ready to go.”

We get out of bed and I slowly pick up my shirt and pants, smirking at Taz before running to my room and getting ready. By the time I’m done and head downstairs, Taz has made us breakfast. Since we’re running late, we pack it up and eat in the car on the way to the studio. After hair and makeup when we go to split off, he gives me a firm, sneaky kiss, grinning as he walks away. I smile as I change, meeting Jeffery on set. After many long hours of filming, we wrap for the day.

The whole crew loads up and heads to our house for dinner. We all get in the pool and pass the time talking and laughing. Later on, while Taz, Iñaki, Jacob, and Emily are inside cooking. Mackenyu and I walk out to the beach, admiring the setting sun.

“Crazy to think we’ve been here for a month now!” I say as I wiggle my toes in the sand.

“Yeah. Crazier still that we’re almost done filming!” He replies, standing a few feet away in the water.

I nod slowly and come up next to him, the warm ocean water flowing gently around my ankles. “Yep, just a couple more weeks, huh?”

He nods and smiles, looking over at me, “what will you do when we wrap?”

I laugh and shrug, “I have no clue. Go home and wait for season three?”

He laughs with me, “and what about Taz?” I pause and look at him, trying to find the words. He pats my upper back and looks back out at the sunset, “hey, if you’re wanting to keep it a secret, it’s safe with me. But I see the way he looks at you. And you at him. You’re cute together.” He smiles warmly.

I grin and look down, “thanks. And yeah, it’s just…really new. And for the record we’re not together.”

“Yet.” He raises an eyebrow and smirks, “I know you both just got out of relationships, so take your time. But for what it’s worth, I think you two are pretty perfect for each other.”

I smile and nod, “thanks, Mackenyu.” He nods as Iñaki calls out to us. We make our way inside and sit down to eat dinner. Afterwards, we play a few more games until the others leave for the night. Iñaki heads to bed and Taz joins me in my room. We sit on my balcony and smoke, enjoying the full moon on the water. After some time in silence, I clear my throat, “Hey, Taz. What’s your plan for after we wrap the season?”

He looks over at me and kind of c***s his head, “I actually don’t know. What are you thinking?”

“I have no idea. Mackenyu and I were talking about that earlier. He said he knows about us.”

He laughs hard and squeezes my knee, “yeah, he’s pretty observant. What did he say?”

“Just that he thought we’d be good together.” I smile and look at him.

“Well, he’s right about that.” He pulls me into his lap and kisses me deeply. We sit outside a bit longer, kissing passionately, then he stands up and walks me inside, sitting on my bed and patting the space next to him. After a couple minutes snuggling he says, “were you asking about what my plans are after filming in reference to us?” I meet his eyes and nod softly. He chuckles softly and holds me tight against him, “well. Let me just say that I just got you. I’m not ready to let go of you. So if you’d be okay with it, I’d like to see where this all goes.”

I grin and nod, “I’d like that. But…” I pause and look down, “how’s that gonna work, logistically? You live in LA and I live in Arizona.”

He nods, “well. I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing Arizona.”

“You’d come home with me?”

“Yeah, of course! I mean, maybe we could spend some time in both places and maybe just see what feels right?”

I smile and nod, “that’s smart. And sounds excellent to me.” He grins as he nods. He pulls me against him tight and kisses me deeply. This time it feels different, but good. He helps me undress, then I strip him down. We get under my covers and snuggle up. His hands move to my bra and I stop him.

“What’s wrong?” He furrows his brows and looks at me.

“Nothing at all. Just that I don’t want to rush this.”

He smiles and pulls my nearly naked body against him. “I know. Me too. Just, like I said this morning…your irresistible.” He smiles and kisses my cheek softly, then moving to my lips. I melt to his touch and gently trail my fingers across his shoulders. After quite some time just holding each other, feeling each other’s bodies, and kissing, he leans over and checks his alarm for the morning. He rolls back towards me and flips me over, spooning me firmly. We lay together in silence until we fall asleep.

The next day goes smoothly, filming is a big success and we wrap up the day pretty quickly. After we all change, the crew all sits down to discuss a few things. We’re filming a night scene so we have to be back on set at around 10pm, so most of the others are planning on trying to go to get some sleep. Taz, Iñaki, and I start to head to the car when Jeffery stops me.

“Hey, Harmony. I was wondering if you might want to grab a late lunch with me. I had a few things I wanted to talk to you about.” He smiles warmly.

I look back at the guys and smile, turning back to Jeffery, “yeah, sure! I’ll see you guys later.” The guys wave and walk off, I notice Taz turn around to wink at me.

Jeffery leads me to his car and takes me to this nice restaurant, he engage in small talk while we order food and wait. Over our meal, he looks at me and smiles, “so. What I wanted to take to you about.”

I nod and swallow my bite of food, “right! What’s up?”

“How are things with you and Taz going?” He looks across the table at he and smiles cheekily.

My heart skips a beat and I laugh nervously, “oh, yeah. He’s a really good friend!”

He laughs and leans back in his chair, “for sure! Do you kiss all your good friends?”

A smile spreads across my face and I take a quick sip of my drink, “ahh. So you’ve seen us then?”

He nods and leans forward, “yes. I watched him take care of you after your ex broke up with you, and I thought he was great. Then, a few weeks later, I caught you two sneaking kisses behind clothing racks.” He laughs and meets my eyes.

“Yeah, we just started that a few days ago.” I pause, “nothing official but…we’re talking I guess.”

“Well, he’d be crazy not to fall for you. You seem like a really great girl.” I look in his eyes for a moment, there’s something behind his words but I can’t place it. After a couple seconds of silence he adds, “what are your plans after we wrap filming?”

“Hmm. Well, honestly I have no idea. I’m so incredibly new to the industry. I don’t know if you just go back to your normal life, or if I’ll need to be available to Netflix for promos and so on.”

He nods, “right. Okay, so I’m asking because I have another project I’m working on and you’d be pretty perfect. It’ll probably take three or four months to film. And it’s primarily filmed in a few different locations in California, so it would be a bit less restrictive than filming here. My understanding is that Taz lives in LA so you wouldn’t be too far from him.”

“So that’s why you asked about Taz and I?” I laugh softly and he nods. “Well, it sounds like an incredible opportunity. I’d like to hear more.”

He grins, “great! I’ll have my folks email you some details about it.”

“Awesome!” I grin back. I think to myself, another acting job? I absolutely never would have seen this coming. I would have been fine with just doing One Piece, but this is unbelievable! We finish our meal and he tells me a little about the movie, it sounds really fun. Finally he pays for our meals, despite my insistence on splitting the bill, and then drives me back to the house. I get out of his car and say goodbye, waving as he drives away. When I get inside, Taz and Iñaki are playing games. Taz’s face lights up and Iñaki comes up and hands me a pool stick.

“He’s destroying me. I’m calling a celebrity shot.” He grins and pats my shoulder. I smile and sink a few balls for him, Taz narrows his eyes playfully and shakes his head.

“So…how was your date?” He smirks as he takes a shot.

“It wasn’t a date! It was just a meal.” I cross my arms and glare back playfully. “Jeffery has a movie he’s working on. When we’re done filming, he offered me a part in it.”

“That’s amazing!” He misses a shot and runs over to pick me up and spin me around. His eyes meet mine and he almost kisses me but bites his lip softly and backs away.

I grin and glance at Iñaki, “yeah! And the best part is it’s primarily filmed in California.”

“Hell yeah! Are you gonna move to LA with us?” Iñaki looks at me eagerly, and I notice Taz shaking his head and chuckling.

“Well. Maybe not with you two. But it’s a possibility I move to the area.”

The boys high five, which sends me into a pit of giggles. Despite my helping Iñaki at the end, Taz wins the game. We head to the kitchen and Taz makes a quick meal. We eat and then head to our bedrooms, since we have to get back to the studio in about 5 hours. As I sit on my balcony smoking, Taz comes into my room and joins me with a sweet kiss on the cheek. We finish smoking and as soon as we get into my room, he pulls me tight against his body for a deep and passionate kiss. We settle on the couch for a bit, me sitting in his lap, when I finally break free and sigh happily against his forehead.

“I need to go shower.” My voice barely above a whisper.

“Mmm…is that an invitation?” He smirks and kisses my neck softly. I think about it for a moment, then Taz turns my face to look at him, smiling sweetly. “I was just kidding, love.”

I nod and kiss him once softly. I stand and help him up, wrapping my arms around him and leaning to whisper in his ear, “a shower with you wouldn’t be long enough.” I grin at him as I pull away and let my fingers run down his arms, disconnecting as I go towards the bathroom. He rushes up behind me and grabs me, pressing his mouth to the side of my head and smiling as he whispers back, “you’re killing me, you know that?”

I turn in his arms and kiss him hard, pulling away sharply and feeling breathless. “It’s okay, it’s killing me too.” I back into my bathroom and he lets me go at the door, closing it with a sigh and a groan. I laugh and take my shower. When I come out, he’s standing on my balcony smoking, he’s showered himself, wet hair and shirtless. I bite my lip and move quietly over to my clothes, holding my towel tightly. He notices me and smiles, I see his eyes scan over my body. I stop and smile back, set my clothes down and walk over to him, snatch his cigarette and take a long drag off it. He watches me intently, smiling as I hand the smoke back to him and walk into the room.

To my surprise, he comes up behind me and turns me to face him. I look into his eyes, watching as he tries to find words. I place a gentle hand on his cheek and nod softly, standing on my toes to kiss him. I feel him smile in the kiss, letting me guide him gently over to my bed. I sit down and he slowly climbs on top of me. “We’re gonna be filming all night…” he says against my lips.

“I’m not tired.” I mutter softly, feeling his hands move over the towel. He growls softly and slowly pushes it open, staring down at my naked body. I look into his eyes just before he lifts me up and throws the covers back, climbing on top of me and kissing me passionately.

“You are the most perfect woman I’ve ever met.” He nuzzles my neck as I move my hands to his hips, grabbing his shorts and tugging at them, helping him wiggle out of them.

“And you really are the most amazing man.” I nip his ear playfully and he feels all over me, until his hand moves between my thighs and I gasp softly. He rubs between my legs softly, taking his time, to my agony. As soon as my back begins to arch to his touch, he kisses me and grabs my hip.

“Are you sure about this?” He opens his eyes to meet mine. I smile at him and nod, my breath heavy. He grins and nods, “okay, hold on.” He jumps out of my bed and slips on his shorts, and I notice the huge bulge in them and giggle. He runs out of my room and I sit up on my elbows, staring curiously at my door. He returns a moment later, running back to my bed, taking off his shorts before diving in next to me. I raise my eyebrow at him and he laughs softly, holding a condom between his fingers. I nod as he holds me with the other hand, pulling me in for another sweet barrage of kisses.

After a few moments of feeling each other more and kissing, he tears open the condom and smiles as he puts it on. “Okay, are you-”

I interrupt him with a kiss and touch his face softly, whispering against his lips, “you are so incredibly sweet. But you can stop asking. I want this.” I look down at his gorgeous body, holding himself just over mine and add, “badly.”

He smiles and nods, kissing me as he positions himself just at my entrance. He runs his fingers through my hair and kisses me gently again, “I just, I can’t believe this is happening. You’re so amazing.”

I smile and kiss him, “you need a minute?”

He laughs, a hint of mischief behind his smile. He pushes into me slowly, making me gasp and clutch his arms tightly. “No way.” He groans softly, kissing me again as he pushes all the way inside.

It doesn’t take long for us to get comfortable, rocking together and kissing passionately. It doesn’t take long for him to send me over the edge, my body convulsing beneath him- which sends him into a frenzy, and he finishes quite quickly himself. We lay there together for a few minutes before getting up to clean up. By then the sun has almost completely set. He goes to his room to grab a new pack of cigarettes and I follow him. We sit on his balcony and smoke, then head back inside. I wrap my arms around him and jump up in his arms, kissing him and smiling. He walks me over and gently lays me on his bed, settling down next to me. “So…wanna christen your room as well?” I speak softly, grinning playfully.

“Don’t have to ask me twice.” He growls back, practically ripping my clothes off before undressing himself. Our kisses grow more frantic as we work to excite the other’s body. He reaches over and stretches to get inside his nightstand and retrieve a condom, ripping the package open with his teeth and putting it on with one hand. He looks into my eyes as he rubs himself against me, my eyes roll back and close as he pushes in. I moan as he starts with a slow pace, both of us getting louder and breathing harder the faster he goes. After some time, I grip my legs around him tightly and push him over, straddling him and securing my position on top. He moans and lets his hands explore my body, feeling me as I ride him. I close my eyes and lean my head back, taking everything in. The way he feels, the way he touches, the way he smells…everything about him is intoxicating. Finally, we finish together and I lay next to him, my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

__________________________________

“Rise and shine, Skylar! Time to…oh!” Iñaki pauses. My eyes jolt open and I shoot up, Taz slowly sitting up himself, rubbing his eyes. Iñaki crosses his arms and grins. “Well well. When were you two gonna tell me about this?” He points between the two of us.

Taz laughs and pulls me close to him, making sure the blankets are tucked neatly behind me. “We’ll talk in the car, okay? Why don’t you, uh, give us a minute?”

“We gotta leave here in 15! I’m mad at you!” Iñaki turns and walks out, glaring at us but still smiling. Taz shakes his head, leaning over and kissing my cheek softly.

I look at him and slowly slip out of his bed, putting on my shorts and tank top. “You think he’s really mad?”

“Iñaki? Nah. Maybe not particularly happy we didn’t immediately tell him, but he’s probably excited. He’s wanted me to ask you out basically since we met.” He smiles as he pulls on a pair of jeans and looks for a shirt.

“Oh yeah? Are you uh, gonna tell him we’re going out?” I smirk with an eyebrow raised.

He throws a shirt on his bed and walks up to me, grabbing my hips and pulling me against him, kissing my lips softly, “well, that depends. Are we going out?”

I look up into his bright blue eyes and laugh, feeling my face flush, “we could be.”

“Harmony.” He grins and steps back a bit, standing up straight, “will you go out with me? Will you be my girlfriend?”

I smile and nod, wrapping him in a tight hug, “yes!” He holds me back for a moment before pulling away and giving me a light smack on the rear.

“Go get changed. Iñaki will be mad if we’re late.”

I giggle and run across the hall, quickly cleaning up and changing into a pair of jeans and a tank top. I meet Iñaki and Taz in the hallway. As we walk outside to the waiting car, Iñaki wiggles between us.

“So, my bestest friends! Wanna tell me what I saw in there?” He pauses as we get in the car, resuming when we’re settled in. “Because it looked like my two besties were naked in bed together.” He smirks and crosses his legs, looking between us.

“We’re dating now.” Taz grins proudly, looking sweetly at me. Iñaki grins and high fives us.

“Hell yeah! So, when did you guys decide to start dating and not tell me?” He says, still grinning. It’s pretty clear he’s not mad, just prying for more info.

“Just last night.” Taz says as I go to answer. I look at him and smile.

“We weren’t tired so we starting talking and that led to kissing,” I pause and laugh softly.

“And that led to other things.” Taz adds, rubbing my thigh discreetly.

“And then I found you two in bed.” Iñaki says, all of us laughing. “So, is this a secret romance or are we telling people?”

Taz and I exchange a look and I smile, turning to Iñaki, “I think people will find out soon enough so,” I look back to Taz who’s smiling and nodding, “we’re not gonna tell the world, but we’re not gonna keep it a secret.”

“Absolutely agreed.” Taz says, grinning down at me.

“Okay! Awesome!” Iñaki smiles at us. “I’m really happy for both of you.”

“Thanks.” We look at each other as we speak at the same time.

We engage in normal small talk as we pull up to the studio. We walk quickly to hair and makeup and get changed then to our respective locations for filming. We work through the night and I finally get to film a scene with Iñaki, and get to see Jeffery play a big bad scene out, which feels odd since I’d never seen him play a villain role. As we finish that scene, Jeffery and I head off to another set, and I tell him on the ride over that Taz and I made things official. He’s ecstatic for me and hugs me tight.

As the sun rises, we wrap filming and the whole crew heads for breakfast. Taz and I announce our news to our friends and they all seem so happy for us. Just as breakfast is coming to a close, Taz gets a text and sets his phone down harder than expected.

“Hey, everything okay?” Emily says with a look of concern. Iñaki looks over and tilts his head.

I gently touch his arm, “hey, what’s wrong?” I feel his breathing slow to my touch and he shakes his head.

“You’re not gonna like this.” He slides his phone over the table to me.

I pick it up hesitantly. On the screen is a text from Anna, and a couple pictures. The first photo is her with my ex. The second is her barely covered by a sheet, next to a bare back that also belongs to my ex. I feel my blood begin to boil. Her texts reads “Tell your little ‘just friend’ that her boyfriend is awesome. He informed me they had broken up a couple weeks before I came to see you. Oh, and he was really, really great in bed. So I guess I owe her for that too.” I set his phone down and lock the screen, looking up and everyone staring at me expectantly.

“Ex drama.” I sigh and turn to Taz, who looks somewhere between pissed and embarrassed. I put my hand on his forearm and slide it to lace my fingers with his. “Hey. It’s okay. I’m beyond pissed too, but at the end of the day, it’s not our problem. It’s pretty clear the intention here was to get a rise out of you and hurt both of us. So let’s not let them win.”

He nods and smiles half-heartedly, “I just can’t believe I was with someone like that for over a year. She’s a terrible person.”

“Amen to that.” Iñaki mutters as he takes a sip of his drink. “Look man, Harmony’s right. Don’t let her get to you, and don’t give her any energy. Instead, invest your energy in your new relationship- which is a much better one.” He smiles warmly at me.

Taz laughs softly and wraps his arm around my shoulder, looking deep in my eyes, “and you’re sure you’re okay?”

I nod and wiggle closer to him, “yeah. I’m okay. If anything, it makes me more sure that breaking up with him was the right decision.”

He smiles and nods, “God, me too!” He laughs and shakes his head. “Anyways! Moving swiftly along!”

We pick back up talking and laughing with everyone. We have the rest of the day to ourselves since we’d filmed all night so we all make a plan to go back home and get some sleep, then we’ll meet in the afternoon for some beach time and dinner. We touch briefly on the fact that we’ve only got two or three scenes left to film, so we could wrap the season in as little as a week. This revelation only further inspires us to have a big get together before it’s all done.

We finish up our meals and head home, Iñaki goes directly to bed, and Taz and I head back to his room, grabbing a quick smoke before falling asleep snuggled up tight.