Marshall Gets A Laugh

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I was exhausted after a long day of shooting, but happy with the end product. The lead and I connected, which was surprising because he was one the the rising stars in Hollywood and I'm, well, me. Despite our very different personalities, I was pretty sure that working with him was going to go smoothly. It was a relief - the last thing I wanted was unnecessary dick swinging.


As I moved over to the makeup tent, I found myself once more sitting hostage to the striking woman who insisted I call her Freak. Over the course of the last two weeks, I'd heard dozens of people call her that. She hadn't been lying - literally everyone on set referred to her that way.

"You look beat, Marshall." She said, beginning to remove the 'battle wounds' I was sporting today. I nodded slightly, not even attempting to hide it.

"Long day." I replied as her soft fingers worked over my face.

"But, did you have fun?" She asked, her lips quirking.

"Fuck yeah, I did." I said and her small smile turned to a grin.

"That's what we like to hear." She responded as she began wiping the bullseye from my forehead. I was about to speak further, to figure a way to make the conversation keep going, when a couple of the guys behind the scenes walked up.

"Hey, Freak?" One called and I stiffened. I didn't fucking like her being called that, even if it's what she told people to do.

"Yeah?" She answered, not looking at him.

"We're near where you grew up, right?" He asked and she nodded.

"Yep." She said and I was pretty sure I noted tension around her eyes, though her posture stayed loose. She wasn't just a makeup artist, she had a hand at acting, too, it would seem.

"So, what's say you take us to the nearest club?" He asked and she laughed.

I watched in awe as her entire body lit with humor, her face shining with her amusement. It was a genuine, hearty laugh that made her glow and frankly, captured me. Over the last fourteen days, I'd decided that she wasn't normal.  She had to be from another planet or from some other dimension; she was too other worldly, too unique, to be a mere human woman.

"There aren't any clubs within a hundred miles, guys." She said when her laughter died down. She looked over her shoulder and her chin length brown hair swung to frame her face, hiding her expression from me.

"But, just about every Montana town has roughly equal numbers of bars and churches, so you'll be able to sin in peace and then repent in the morning." She explained.

The guy on the left shifted on his feet a little. I knew what was coming. His puppy dog expression gave him away before the words left his mouth and I tensed in anticipation of what she was going to say in response.

"But, you'll come with us?" He asked and she shook her head before turning back to me.

"Nah," she answered. "You all go on." She said, her tone closing the discussion better than anything I'd ever seen.

The one on the left looked like he wanted to argue, but the one on the right cuffed him on the shoulder and jogged his head toward where the cars were parked. The two walked away, talking to themselves as they moved on. When they were out of ready earshot, I turned to her.

"Why not go?" I asked. I was being nosy but I was sure there was something to it. She shrugged as she finished up cleaning my face.

"Because Scott will get drunk and grope me." She said wryly and I looked back to their retreating figures, anger and protectiveness spiking through me.

"The one that was on the left?" I asked and she nodded, stepping back as I got off the seat.

"Yeah. He acts like apple pie all the time, but he's handsy when he gets liquored up. The next day, he always pretends to be mortified." She explained as she watched them walk off. She shook her head and looked back to me.

"It's no fun going out if you have to be on your guard against that kind of thing all night." She concluded and I nodded, stepping closer to her.

"I could go with you." I offered, looking down into her eyes. "You could have a good time and know that no one would fuck with you." She looked at me for a moment, her eyes evaluating me before she shook her head.

"Thank you, but I don't have any need to hang with people who I need protection against." She said, her smile soft. "I appreciate the offer, though." She said as she started to pack up her things.

I stood there, watching her move, and then looked back over the set. We had one more week of filming out here, but tomorrow was a day off. A lot of the staff and actors had cleared out, likely intending to do the exact thing that Scott and his buddy had just mentioned.

"You want to hang with me instead?" I asked, letting my mouth run before my brain could stop it. Freak looked at me once she'd closed up her box and nodded.

"Sure. I can bring snacks and cards over to your trailer, if you'd like." She suggested and I nodded.

"Perfect." I responded.

---

Three hours later, we were telling stories and laughing our asses off. Freak had brought over chips, pretzels, cookies, and a two liter of pop to have while we played poker. The pretzels became our gambling chips and her pile was easily twice the size of mine. She was kicking my ass and I was having a fucking blast.

"Yeah, that was a rough day." She said with a smile, finishing up a story about the first time she was picked up by the police. Her dimples made their appearance for the five hundredth time of the night as she looked at me, sending my thoughts into overdrive.

I hadn't been able to decide which of her features I liked the best yet. Her dimples were in the running, but her eyes were the kind of thing that sucked you in. Then again, with the jean shorts and tank top she was wearing, her fucking curves were making it hard for me to focus. No wonder she was beating me at this game. I couldn't fucking concentrate.

"That's such shit. I can't imagine cops having the kind of time to pull someone in for something so stupid." I responded. She shrugged, but I saw the smirk flirting around her mouth. I pointed to it.

"There's more to the story, isn't there?" I asked.

"I'd dated Officer Rolland's son. I broke it off a week before I got hauled in." She said and I nodded.

"It's all coming together, now. You broke the poor bastard's heart and daddy used his badge to get back at you." I guessed and she nodded.

"That was always my suspicion." She admitted with a sigh as she leaned back. She yawned slightly and looked at her watch.

"Oh, shit. I've kept you up late, and you were already beat from shooting. I'm sorry." She said, moving to get up quickly. I stood with her, putting a hand out.

"Don't be. I had fun." I said. She stopped in her movement toward the door and nodded.

"I did, too." She replied. 

"Maybe we do it again?" I asked, hazarding a guess that what I thought might have been under the surface tonight was more than just my imagination. She moved to the door, nodding.

"Deal," she said as she started to walk out. I stood at the door, ready to close it and she looked up at me from the ground.

"Marshall?" She asked.

"Yeah?" I answered.

"You can call me Melissa."


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