Chapter Two

Chapter Two

You know I was going to start this chapter on the day that Jessie arrived, but I think I’ve changed my mind.

Why is that love? Need to write more about me?

Keep the ego in check elf boy…it’s to establish how we became friends so quickly.

Fine, fine you’re right and I’m wrong, where do we start?

Where do you think?

The first meeting?

Give the man a prize he’s a wiener!

I think you mean…

…I know what I mean now be silent…on with the story.

I wish I could say to you that after that meeting I was cured of my stupid insatiable need to be around him. I unfortunately was not; the other unfortunate thing was that I didn’t have a clue where he was so even if I wanted to go looking for him I couldn’t. I had spend the night after I had met him and the following morning convincing myself that our meeting was that of chance and chance doesn’t strike twice.

Without help of course, you really didn’t have a lot of faith in me.

Baby I didn’t know you from a hole in the ground. Where was I to put my faith? Even though we’d met you were still an actor with the potential to be a shallow, conceited, prick.

Lucky for you I’m persistent.

Yeah lucky for me, at least now I know you aren’t shallow or conceited.

You wound me love.

Only because I care darling…shh.

“Yes mom I’m having fun…of course I don’t want to come home…honestly mother I’m trying to work I’ll call you later. Okay bye.” My mother has a tendency to over protect; the only reason she allowed me out of the country was because I was under the care of her brother. Thankfully as annoying as Uncle Keith is he gives me breathing room. I had just hung up after being on the phone with my mother when there was a knock on the trailer. This was odd because my uncle never knocked and I’d told Chris if he ever showed up unofficially to see me I’d rip his balls off.

Ouch.

Exactly.

It wasn’t Chris. “H-hi.” Yes I stuttered around him, have you taken a long hard look at the man?

I do what I can.

Harness that ego my love.

I’m just saying…

Your gorgeous it’s a fact…can we move on.

Now we can.

“Well hello.” He just stood there with this shit-eating grin on his face.

“Can I help you?”

“Actually you can, one of the make-up girls has been asking me out for weeks and just cause she doesn’t seem to take my gentle no for an answer I’ve taken to avoiding her. You wouldn’t by any chance want company for lunch would you?”

I looked at my watch, sure enough it was noon, I wasn’t about to loose on this advantage. Besides he had sought me our right? “Sure come on in.”

“Thanks love you won’t regret it.” He said with a grin.

“I’m almost afraid to ask.”

“I brought lunch.” And sure enough he had, I was absolutely flabbergasted, here I was thinking I’m this mediocre girl who no one would look at twice let alone someone who seemed to have the world at his feet and he was bringing me lunch.

“W-wow thanks.”

“No trouble, my only rule is that no one knows I come here.”

“Why?” That floored me even more and didn’t make any sense.

“I need a refuge.”

Okay I must break in here…they’re going to start thinking I randomly hung out in pretty girl’s trailers for no reason.

I didn’t say that.

You didn’t but it was implied. Anyway…

I had spent the better part of the morning shooting the same scene over and over. No matter what happened my co-star just couldn’t get her lines right. It was starting to give me a right headache. To top it all off at lunch while I was trying to catch a few minutes alone one of the make-up artists came over and tried to chat me up. Now most of the time I can handle this, but I wasn’t in the mood to be overly friendly with the poor lass. Then all I could think of was the feeling of freedom I’d had briefly the day before when I had gone into town with Braedon. I figured what harm was there in finding her?

When she answered the door her reaction was so bloody appealing I couldn’t take it. She wasn’t like any women that were around me lately, Kate included…

You had to bring HER up didn’t you?

Simmer down my love she plays into this story.

I still maintain if you had only…

No living in the past love…shh.

I reluctantly looked at my watch an hour later, “I’m sorry but I must get back. I do hope that I didn’t interrupt anything important.”

“Not at all I needed to stop for lunch anyway.” She was so endearing to me, the way she bustled with papers and looked down whenever I tried to catch her eye.

“Brilliant, you won’t mind if I stop by tomorrow then?”

“Tomorrow?” She was incredulous this amused me greatly.

“I don’t mean it as an imposition…”

“Oh no! It’s not I just didn’t…never mind.” She shook her head as if to clear it. “Of course, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Little did I realise how much I would come to enjoy the attention she gave me whenever I came over. The funny thing was it wasn’t the type of attention I was used to. She paid attention to what I said, asked my opinion on things and she rarely if ever touched me. Now this was abnormal, most women at some point try to touch me. I don’t mean to sound conceited…

Like hell!

I don’t! I can’t help it that’s just what I was used to and you never acted like I expected you to.

I couldn’t help it; you rendered me speechless every time I was around you. Just being near you was hard enough I was pretty much afraid to touch you.

Really? Aww love that’s sweet.

Don’t get pretentious on me…it’s my turn for a while.

To be pretentious?

To tell the story…

It’s true he did render me speechless. I didn’t expect him to show up the next day, but he did and the following days after that. It was the day before Jessie was supposed to come visit that sticks out in my mind.

“Lunch is served!” He’d taken to just coming into the trailer because I insisted it was all right. I mean what I was going to do, be found doing my uncle’s books in nothing but a thong?

I could only dream.

You’re sick baby.

“Good I’m famished.” I closed the laptop and helped him set up the food it was then that I noticed an envelop under his arm. “What’s that?”

He groaned, “Something Fiona is making me do. I have to pick out my three favourite shots from a photo shoot I did a few weeks ago. Apparently some magazine has promised to print photos I’ve personally chosen.” He rolled his eyes, “Like having them taken wasn’t bad enough.”

“Why is it a big deal to them if you’ve chosen the shots?”

“I have no idea, but let’s not talk about that now.” He threw the envelope on the counter. “I’m starving.”

After lunch I had to bring it up again because it had gone ten minutes over the hour and he hadn’t left yet. He was usually very punctual in an effort to get back to work, “Not that I don’t enjoy the company but aren’t you late?” I finally asked.

“Yeah but not for a scene. Those photos I brought…” He indicated the envelope with obvious disdain, “I have to chose them this afternoon so they’ve given me three hours to do it.”

“Well if you want to do them here the best place is in the back. Uncle Keith has a queen size bed back there, you could spread out the photos on there if you’d like.” I don’t have any idea to this day why I’d suggested that, actually it’s because I didn’t at expect him to take me up on the offer.

He did, “Really? You wouldn’t mind?” He stood and grabbed the envelope; on his way to the back he leaned down and kissed my cheek, “Thanks love you’re a gem.”

“N-not at all.” Was he serious? I couldn’t get why he remotely wanted to spend that much time with me. Let alone have physical contact with me I didn’t get it.

I sometimes miss that.

What?

Your obvious undying affection for me, it’s waned in past months.

Are you kidding me? Baby I worship the ground you walk on! Wane this buddy…

…and it’s official she’s in love with me.

Duh! As I was saying…

It took him about an hour to say something, “Braedon come here a minute love.”

When I got back there I found him leaning against the wall with four piles in front of him. He was sitting with his knees up his elbows resting on them and he looked perplexed, “What’s the matter Orli, you seem to have organized them into a few piles.”

He sighed rather dramatically, “Yeah there’s the wanky pile, the ridiculous pile, the why the hell did I pose like that pile and the not bloody likely pile.”

I had to laugh, “That’s very dramatic, would you like some help?”

He looked up at me with these deep pleading brown eyes, “Would you please? I need a woman’s opinion.” He looked so cute and needy how was I going to say no, besides I deserved a break from those damn files.

I tried to sit on the end of the bed but the pictures all moved so I stood again. I was sort of perplexed as to where to sit so I stayed standing and picked up one of the piles. “Which pile is this again?” I asked admiring the first couple of pictures. In my opinion they were the ‘I’m so cute I’m sexy’ pile.

He moved one of his legs and patted the spot directly in front of him. With a raise of his eyebrow he suggested, “Have a seat love, it’ll get tiring just standing.”

At that moment my legs went to jelly so sitting was a good idea. It felt like forever to me before I decided, finally I thought what the hell it’s been surreal up until this moment. Why shouldn’t I enjoy it? I gingerly sat between his knees. “I-I forgot which pile this was.” I managed to get out.

He pulled me back a bit so I was leaning on him then pointed over my shoulder at the pictures I was holding, “Honestly this is the I didn’t know what I was supposed to do pile. Don’t you think I look fucking perplexed in this one…and this one my eyes are all crooked...here I’m actually embarrassed you should have heard what the woman was saying to me…” He continued on like that through the dozen or so photos I was holding. After a few minutes I have to admit I got rather comfortable in the position I was in.

Believe me so was I. I also couldn’t believe you actually sat down. Now I think they need to hear what I was thinking.

They aren’t reading this because of how you think baby.

So basically I’m just a piece of meat for them to gawk at?

For some…yes.

I can live with that…anyway…

I really was blown right the fuck away that she actually took me up on the offer. From how she had been acting around me up to that point I thought she was scared of me. Needless to say I was rather pleased she’d done so and was very comfortable sorting those photos into new piles with her.

About an hour into it we’d finally organized them down to six photos. I sighed with a yawn, “I think it’s time we take a break.”

“Shit it’s been an hour already?” She went to get up but I really didn’t want to her leave at that point. So I put my arms around her so she stayed put. Don’t get me wrong I was surprising myself with my actions. I had apparently found the perfect woman in Kate, in the eyes of Hollywood I should have been satisfied, but I wasn’t. Kate never made me feel as comfortable as I felt at that moment.

“I was thinking about taking a break from looking at my ugly mug and you telling me more about this friend of yours who’s visiting.” I really just wanted her to talk. I was so sick and tired of people desperate to hear how I was doing.

She surprised me by turning to look at me with a smile, “How about we pick the final three then you can ask me anything you want.”

“Deal.” I agreed and picked three in record time telling her to keep the others. What was I going to do with a bunch of photos of meself?

Like I knew what to do with them.

You would have gotten more out of them than I.

Yeah like a million off ebay…I really should have done that.

Anyway as I was saying I picked the photos in record time because I was really looking for her to keep talking. I asked her all about her friend, which actually made me miss the mates I’d made on LOTR. In fact from that conversation I decided to call Lij and invite him out.

I reluctantly looked at my watch over Braedon’s shoulder, “As much as I’d love to stay here I have to go back and make sure to send this to Fi so she doesn’t rip me a new asshole.”

She slowly rose and then smiled at me, “Interesting prospect.”

I rose to stand with her, “You say that now, wait till she starts screaming at YOU and you’ll be singing another tune.”

“Whatever you say, you probably should go though. I’ve just spent three hours not working and I have to make up time.”

“Thanks again love, I really appreciate the help.” I held up the three photos, “I’m sure Fiona will thank you too.”

“As well as millions of hormonal teenage girls.” She said with a smirk, “It wasn’t a problem really.”

It wasn’t a problem at all, for two hours I stared at photos of him while sitting with him, honestly I was living a million fantasies.

You know love you keep talking like that and we’re going to have to take a break from this story so I can…

Shh, we’re trying to keep this rated low…let me just finish this chapter.

Promise?

Promise.

Brilliant.

He blew me a kiss and then was out of the trailer. I had said I was going to work but all I could do was lean back with my eyes closed and remember sitting so close to him. He seriously was making it damn difficult to focus on my job and I couldn’t have been happier. I was wondering if Uncle Keith would give me some breathing room with Jessie here. Although if he did let me have breathing room I had no idea how much of that time I would spend with Orlando, I still wasn’t sure how much I trusted him outside of the comfort of that trailer.

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