“Morning Coleman,” Danny smiled as he shoved his Dictaphone into his pocket.
          “Morning Daniel,” Gina replied as she sunk into her chair. “Early interview?”
          “Yeah, I’ve got to chase the Environment Minister as he gets jostled by a bunch of tree huggers.”
          “They’re called environmentalists.”
          “Hippies! Dirty, stinking, dread locked hippies.”
          “Now you’re overreacting.”
          “Speaking of which,” Danny mused as he swung a bag over his shoulder. “Have you talked to him yet?”
          Gina’s cheeks reddened. “No.”
          “It’s been a week!”
          “So?” Gina shrugged and feigned a smile. “I’m fine, I’m happy and life goes on y’know.”
          “I fail to believe you,” Danny sighed, shaking his head. “But if you’re fine with charading as a content, well adjusted individual then I’ll go with it.” He gave her a cheeky wink and strode out of the office.
          Gina closed her eyes and dropped her head into her hands. She was far from fine. If fine was Tasmania she’d be in Greenland. The truth wasn’t that she didn’t want to throw her arms around Paul and apologise for being psychotic. It was that she had become so ashamed of her behaviour that it was just too embarrassing to face him.
          Besides, he hadn’t tried to talk to her again and with his personality, good looks and insane sex drive he was probably cosying up to some glamorous exotic beauty in a fancy Bondi apartment. Just the thought made tears well up in Gina’s eyes and she cursed herself for getting emotional at work.

          “Does Paul Capsis worry you at all?” Mikey whispered into Paul’s ear as they took a break from rehearsing.
          “Only that I’m starting to fancy him,” Paul chided with a cheeky grin.
          “What’s really disturbing is despite the fact you’re singing with a homosexual and a female impersonator you’re still the most effeminate.”
          “Get fucked.”
          The two men laughed before Mikey decided to pose a tricky question. “So have you talked to her yet?”
          The humorous twinkle left Paul’s eyes immediately, and instead his dark eyes looked larger and sadder. “No mate.”
          “You could always…”
          “No, for once it’s her turn to come crawling.”
          “And if she doesn’t?”
          Paul shrugged. “Then I’ve always got Capsis over there,” he said with a hint of amusement.

          “What is it Mandy?” Gina sighed as she wandered into Amanda’s office and sat down.
          “Don’t sound so excited,” Amanda sighed as she looked Gina up and down. “You look like shit.”
          “Thanks.”
          “You’re unhappy.”
          “No I’m not.”
          “You spent your lunch hour bawling in the ladies.”
          “Look, if you’re just going to throw accusations about I’m going,” Gina spat, getting to her feet.
          “Get a grip Gina,” Amanda said calmly. “You can deny how you feel all you want but I can see you’re a mess.”
          Gina sat back down slowly. “I’ll be ok.”
          “I hope so,” Amanda said softly. “I have a job for you.”
          “Oh?” Gina said surprised. “If you want me to review a sappy movie I may hurt you.”
          “No,” Amanda said with a hint of a smile on her lips. “Do you know what tonight is?”
          “Friday.”
          “The first episode of Good News Week for commercial television is being filmed.”
          “So?”
          “So, I want you to go and review it,” Amanda declared. “Oh and an interview with the host would be nice.”
          Gina shot to her feet. “NO!”
          “Yes, as Entertainment Editor I’m telling you that you will be going.”
          “This isn’t fair!” Gina wailed.
          “I’ve suddenly realised what having a 16 year old daughter would be like.”
          Gina shot Amanda daggers. “I really don’t want to do this.”
          “Tough shit,” Amanda smirked, sliding an invitation across the desk to Gina who looked surprised by the harsh punishment.
          “Fuck you,” Gina hissed as she snatched up the invitation and stormed out.
          “My, she’s grumpy when she’s in denial,” Amanda giggled as a confused looking cadet shuffled into the room.

          Gina left work early to get there on time. She was still furious at being forced to go to the GNW taping and absolutely terrified to see Paul. She drove to the Ten studios, grabbed her bag from the passenger seat and made her way inside. She was hoping to avoid recognition and failed when she ran into one of the writers.
          “Hey Gina!”
          “Simon,” she breathed and quickly hurried away from him and decided to hide in the toilets until the audience was allowed to find their seats. Gina made sure she was sitting in the middle so she was fairly hidden.
          She found it very hard to keep her composure as Paul appeared to do the audience warm-up and at one stage she could have sworn he noticed her. At the very least he looked in her direction for a good few seconds before they finished up and he and Mikey scooted off stage again.
          “Are you all right mate?” Mikey asked as Paul drank heavily from a bottle of water.
          “She’s here!” Paul said breathless.
          “Who’s here?”
          “Genie.”
          “You serious?”
          “No, I’m bringing it up because the hurt is good for me.”
          “Sorry.”
          “PAUL!” Ted yelled as he was flanked by a couple of make-up ladies.
          “Fuck!” Paul hissed and raced back out feigning happiness to the roaring crowd.

          All in all the taping went extremely well, with Paul’s angst subsiding the more he involved himself and the cover of ‘Save the Love’ going down a screaming success with the audience.
          After the show, the cast and crew crowded around backstage, having celebratory drinks. Gina knew how things worked as she had been part of it not so long ago. This aided her in slipping backstage to hunt out the host for an interview.
          She walked through the cold, brick corridor in the direction of the dressing room with the most noise, which was shared by Mikey and Paul. As she approached the door she realised there were too many people crowded around for her to actually seek him out.
          “Gina.”
          She turned to see Steve Abbott looking surprised. Why was Steve always there, she wondered and couldn’t help but feel a little relieved. “Hi Steve.”
          “Looking for Paul I imagine.”
          “Uh yeah.”
          “Wait right there,” he grinned and pushed his way into the dressing room
          Paul was onto his second, or was it third beer and babbling with Glenn Butcher when he noticed Steve approach him. “Finally you turn up.”
          “I couldn’t find the toilet,” Steve chided. “Mate, Gina’s out there wanting to see you.”
          Paul nearly choked on his beer. “What! Now?”
          “Yeah,” Steve laughed as Paul thrust his half-drunk beer into his hands and squeezed his way out into the corridor.
          “Genie!” Paul gasped the second he emerged from the crowd. “Did you enjoy the show?”
          Gina stayed looking solemn until he got closer and then produced her Dictaphone. “Hi, do you mind if I ask you a few questions about tonight?”
          “Are you serious?”
          “How do you think the change from the abc to commercial television will affect the show?”
          “Can’t we just talk like normal people?” Paul said, completely floored. Gina continued standing there, Dictaphone poised as she waited for his response. “Fuck, you’re actually serious.”
          “Can you hurry up, the tape doesn’t last forever,” Gina declared and Paul felt something inside of him ache.
          “Don’t do this.”
          Gina let out a growl, stopped her tape and rewound it. “We’ll try again shall we…”
          Paul answered all her questions; Gina then thanked him coolly and left. Paul was stunned, confused and speechless. That was not what he was expecting; to be treated like just another interviewee just made him feel dirty.
          He made his way back into the dressing room where Mikey looked at him in a fashion that any concerned friend would. “What happened?”
          “She interviewed me.”
          “What?”
          “She interviewed me,” Paul pouted. “She’s never interviewed me before.”
          “Jesus.”
          “Maybe I should…”
          “No, you’re not the one at fault.”
          “I know but I feel like I am.”
          “Have another beer,” Steve suggested and slipped a stubbie into Paul’s hand.
          “Thanks mate,” Paul sighed and eagerly drowned his sorrows.

          It took Gina a long time before she could type the words to her article. The adrenaline was still pumping through her veins, the pain of having him so close and not being able to make herself reach out was crippling her. She could see in his face he was hurting and now she just felt worse. Luckily she managed to force out the words in time for the article to be printed in the morning paper.

          Early the next morning Gina woke to her phone ringing. She snatched it from the bedside table and didn’t bother opening her eyes. “What?”
          “Your article is great,” was Danny’s cheery reply.
          “I interviewed him Dan, that was it,” she scorned before he could ask.
          “Now Gina, I wasn’t even going to ask about that!”
          “So you thought you’d ring me before nine on a Saturday morning out of pure professional kinship?”
          “Of course,” Danny’s tone was clearly mocking. “I just thought you should be praised for a well written piece of work, doesn’t happen often enough.”
          “Oh go drown yourself in a latte,” Gina huffed and hung up the phone. She shoved it under a pillow in case he tried to call back.

          Paul gave up trying to sleep and rolled out of bed feeling tense and unrested. He shuffled into the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror; this only confirmed how shitty he was feeling. He peeled off his boxer shorts and slid under the shower. He stood there letting the water run over him, appreciating the way it turned his feet pink. He reached for the shower gel and stopped, and decided to give it a miss.
          Out of the shower he wrapped a towel around his waist and grabbed his shaving foam, his hand bushed against something else and he realised it was a stray can of Gina’s favourite deodorant. He brought it to his nose and shuddered at the familiar scent. It reminded him of the Gina he fell in love with and not the one who appeared after he proposed. The one he fell in love with was shy, sweet and let’s face it, a bit of a vixen in the bedroom and he missed her more than he ever thought he would.

          Gina sat slumped on the couch watching ‘Dirty Dancing’ for the millionth time when there was a knock at the door. “Always before Patrick gets his shirt off!” she scowled and reluctantly went to the front door. She opened it find Amanda standing there holding a box of chocolates.
          “Peace offering,” she mused, holding out the chocolates.
          “You’re forgiven,” Gina smiled, taking the chocolates and inviting her friend inside.
          “Your article was fantastic,” Amanda enthused. “Great interview.”
          “Thanks,” Gina said curtly. “Interview was all I did.”
          “Really? How disappointing,” Amanda sighed as they sat together on the couch. “You didn’t feel like jumping him or something?”
          Gina raised an eyebrow at Amanda. “I can’t.”
          “Why?”
          “Because I feel like an idiot!”
          “Aw sweetie,” Amanda breathed and put her arm around Gina. “The idea of weddings does strange things to a woman. My other half fled to his brother’s twice during our preparations.”
          “Really?”
          “Yeah, as women it’s our job to have a breakdown because a wedding is our special day. You want it to be perfect.”
          “Was yours perfect?”
          “God no,” Amanda laughed. “My dress tore, the pageboy fell into a mud puddle and our mothers refused to talk but you know what, none of that mattered because he was there and he professed his love and that’s all that mattered.”
          “This is where I learn a lesson right?”
          “Yeah, pretty much,” Amanda said warmly. “Do you remember what you said to me, many moons ago when we got very emotional and watched Danielle Steel movies for an entire weekend?”
          “Not really…”
          “You said you would never get married as you hated all the pomp and ceremony. If you love someone then what does it matter if you have a fucking piece of paper or not?”
          “I know,” Gina sniffled, feeling the tears coming on again. “But Paul’s a bit special.”
          “So you’re sitting here very miserable because?”
          “I don’t know what to say?” Gina sighed. “I mean I acted like a freak and now I miss him like crazy and I’ve no idea how to makeup for that.”
          “That sounds like a good start to me,” Amanda smiled, giving her friend a squeeze.

          Paul cocked his head to the side and looked at his latest masterpiece. A large monster with a tiny penis was eating the Prime Minister. He wasn’t sure why he painted it, perhaps boredom, but he’d decided to give it to Mikey as a birthday present anyway.
          He was about to start on another when a knock at the door distracted him. He wiped his hands on his jeans as he hurried to the door and opened it. He stopped dead when he saw Gina. “Genie.”
          She opened her mouth, stopped and then tried again. “Paul I…the thing is…” she swallowed. “I fucked up, I know I did. I didn’t mean to act like a crazy person. I don’t even know why I did,” the tears had started rolling down her cheeks and she fought for her last few words. “Please don’t hate me.”
          “Oh Genie,” Paul said softly and needed no further encouragement to cup her face in his hands. “I could never hate you.”
          This sent Gina over the edge, and she choked on her tears. Paul uncupped her face and guided her into his arms. She wrapped hers tightly around his neck and buried her face into his shoulder as she sobbed. When she managed to regain her composure a little, she pulled back to see that he looked a tad teary-eyed too. “I’m sorry,” she whispered and Paul rested his forehead against hers.
          “Me too.”
          “You’ve nothing to be sorry for.”
          “Yeah I do, I’m sure I do.”
          Gina gave a teary smile. “If you don’t want to get married, that’s fine with me. We can live in sin forever.”
          “I can’t imagine not marrying you,” Paul said gently as another tear crept down Gina’s cheek.
          “I don’t deserve you.”
          “A lot of people would argue that,” Paul breathed. “Especially my parents.”
          Gina ran her fingers through the hair on the back of his neck. “So this is love huh?”
          “Yeah,” Paul agreed as he caressed her back. “It scares the hell outta me.”
          “Y’know I thought I could handle anything,” Gina breathed. “I’ve always believed I was able to function on my own, that I was strong but the second you said you didn’t love me…”
          “Yeah, you’re not good with the relying on someone else thing are you?”
          “I’ve never had to before.”
          “You still don’t.”
          “I want to.”
          Paul grinned. “I’ve been waiting months for you to say that, to open up and let me take care of you.”
          “Oh, I never realised…”
          “It’s not a bad thing,” Paul assured her. “I mean I’m pretty lazy and don’t mind you being in charge but…”
          “Is this where we insert the domination fetish?”
          Paul laughed and kissed the side of her head. “I love you.”
          “Do you?” Gina smiled and tiled her head up.
          “Absolutely,” Paul smiled, before gently kissing her on the lips. They shared several light kisses before giving in and falling into a much-awaited embrace.

          Later, after they’d made love several times they lay wrapped in each other’s arms, Gina’s head rested on Paul’s chest, a smile on her lips as she listened to his heartbeat. Paul stroked the cool naked flesh of her back and kept announcing the parts of her he loved the most at random intervals.
          “Why can I hear music?”
          “It’s my phone,” Gina sighed and she felt him shift beneath her. She opened her eyes as he reached out and grabbed her phone from the floor.
          “Hello,” Paul said wearily into the receiver and was greeted by a very audible cheer. “Your friends are weird,” he declared kissing the top of Gina’s head before averting his attention back to the phone. “Get fucked you pack of voyeurs,” he chided and hung up.
          “I apologise for them,” Gina giggled as more music filled the room this time it was Paul’s phone. Gina reached out and grabbed it from the bedside table. “Hello.”
          “Gina is that you?” Mikey asked, his voice more knowing than surprised.
          “Yeah is that…”
          “It’s Gina everyone!”
          There was a cheer and Gina was glad it was dark so no one could see her cheeks flushing. “Did someone send out a memo?” she asked, looking at Paul.
          Paul snatched the phone and put it on speakerphone. “Mikey you still there mate?”
          “Me and all your nearest and dearest mate,” was Mikey’s reply.
          “Good because this is one is for all of you,” Paul declared before grabbing Gina and kissing her.
          “Paul,” Gina whispered as he slid on top of her.
          “Go with it,” Paul breathed as his hands roamed over her naked flesh.

          “…Paul…Gina…what’re you doing? Hello…”