him and her

Prologue

Jonathan Bailey
Simone Ashley
Zendaya

She reminisced the moment of the internal warmth, which she had thoroughly enjoyed, while watching their first kiss, her inner thighs growing warm. She had dismissed the thought of feeling anything for Jonathan, only based on the fact that it would become an incredibly criticized cliche; two co-stars falling for each other after acting out steamy scenes with one another. Although she fully remembered why she should not have fallen for him, her preconceived ideas melted away once Johathan was within close proximity to her. Love and his smile made her lackadaisical to the cliche - she simply should've remembered her values. Anthony had been known to 'hit up' 1 AM guests, particularly females. Too often for her comfort. She didn't pry, it wasn't her business, but it was impossible to avoid on social media, every second post revealing a new girl stepping out of Anthony's house in the early morning hours.

The first reason she knew she should not be in love with him, which should've been her first red flag, was the endless spinning doors of girls. She knew it wouldn't work out and it would hurt too much if he were to commit adultery, even worse than the current torment of his presence and energy - and she knew it was love, it was undeniable. That led to the second obstacle, it very might well be unrequited love at this point, it wasn't obvious, but the moments they had on set consumed her every being.

And so unlike her character, Kate Sharma, she considered that maybe she shouldn't hide her feelings this once, she hated to think that real life was not like Bridgerton. Even though Kate got to admit her feelings to Anthony - this version of Kate... Simone, might not get that same happy ending with him. She fucking hated the real pressures of life sometimes.

She decided to keep her expectations low, but for once, she's deciding to choose herself, because yeah, maybe the script was just fiction, but Anthony's line felt personal when he had pleaded that she choose herself this time. She had never chosen herself; she had recently started feeling lost as the life of an actress felt as if every move she made had to please everyone, and she knew she shouldn't care, but everyone expected her to maintain this image. And the reason she wants... no needs to somehow tell Jonathan about her feelings, is because when she is with him, none of it matters, and he gets how she feels. He simply sees through her and still sticks around, and she's never had that with anyone before.

Therefore, she chose to openly parade suggestive behaviors and phrases when with Jonathan throughout their press tours and interviews, more so behind the camera than she would like to admit. And then, the tension had finally been cut sharp. They had been drinking blood-red wine; the kind, that becomes purposefully dangerous after one glass. They had each had three, underestimating the brand's alcohol intensity. The pair were the last of their co-stars left watching FRIENDS, after a long-droning day of repetitive questions from UK interviewers. They sat, using the TV as background noise, watching the snow, throwing silent, yet meaningful glances at one another, confirming it was not just her feeling this growing tension between them. She didn't want to just have a fling with Jonathan, it wasn't like her, but she had never craved someone the way she had craved this angelic-looking man. So... she naughtily suggested that they smoke her last joint she had left for their last evening in London; out the window - risking the chance of being kicked out in exchange for an intense, intoxicated night with Anthony. He gave a sly smile, "light it up darling," he softly said, his roaming eyes following her body, soft, honey-brown skin exposing itself as Kate lay down her glass, Jonathan's stomach tightening at the sight. He followed her movements, meeting her eyes once the joint and lighter were in hand. He had only smoked a few times before, however, each time varied, and he hoped he wouldn't make a fool of himself as he did with his lads. Kate, on the other hand, was an undercover stoner. Not many people knew as she would be disregarded by her family as a result of their unconditional faith and 'restrictive' beliefs.

Jonathan sneakily, yet unsuccessfully tried to adjust his groin, as he had grown harder than he ever had before, it was almost painful. He'd never been with a woman that could make his dick harder than words could describe, from the other side of a couch, with only a look. He believed he had gone mad, it was Simone, his costar and best friend, the one that truly does smell like lilies when she passed by him. Shit, how had he not realized he couldn't just suppress these feelings he had felt when he first met her. At that point, she hadn't seemed to be interested in him, as whenever he snuck onto the set, he'd sabotage their friendship, by leaving himself enticed by her acting. Whenever he'd sneakily walk up to her to praise her performance, she would timidly smile, say thanks and then disappear. It was unusual for him. He knew he could be an egotist more than he would like to admit, but he genuinely couldn't understand why Simone wasn't throwing herself at him, or even just engaging in a conversation. After too many attempts - the guy chases the girl, but the girl doesn't even have an interest in the guy, he decided he would push his feelings down, hopefully letting them pass by and disappear, like a stranger.

Simone saw this, the amount of arousal filling her with so much lust, that she had to close her eyes, just to regain her composure and hold back the sharp gasp she had almost let out. When she opened her eyes, she smirked at him playfully, letting him know what she had just seen. She decided against making a snarky comment, as she knew this was not the time. He lightly snickered, figuring he had been caught, and he put his hands up like a guilty criminal that had just been caught. Before she knew it, he was standing by the window with her centimeters apart, enjoying the city lights of London. The two made small, yet flirtatious chit-chat while passing the joint to one another. For both of them this time, this wasn't just a regular high - not only because they were already half drunk, but because they somehow felt connected, like they were on the same wavelength. Maybe it was stoner talk, maybe it wasn't. Near the end of the joint, Jonathan took a few more long drags, savoring the taste of Simone's lipstick on the filter. He was done with their back-and-forth. After his last pull, he kept the smoke in his mouth for a few mere seconds, and swiftly moved his index finger under her chin, painstakingly taking his time pulling her face forward, before the tip of the noses were touching. Both of their heartbeats could probably be heard in the next room, heavy breaths coming from Simone, expecting their first off-screen kiss. He parted his lips, and blew the smoke into Simone's mouth, her lungs taking in all the smoke she possibly could, the more smoke he blew, the closer he got to her lips. Delectable lips he might add. He forced himself to drag his attention away from her lips, then switched his gaze to her warm, even darker eyes. They both closed their eyes, the world seemingly stopping for a moment as soon as Jonathan let out the last of the smoke, and sealing their lips with one another.