Love's Dance Page 3

  Jaina smiled. "So I get to meet the infamous Erica, huh?"

  The other woman laughed. "You sure do. Have a look through these. Feel free to tweak something if it doesn't quite work. We'd just like very similar to this."

  "Okay. Can do." Jaina smiled. "Tell me if there's anything else I need to do."

  "I will."

  Jaina sat in one of the chairs and leaned back, looking around the trailer. It was one of the small ones, just big enough for two chairs, a makeup counter, and a supply cabinet. She didn't mind the size. It was hers.

  Flipping through the designs, she paused on one, the evening design for Nora Stevens. Then she flipped forward to the next one and stopped, and a grin spread across her face. It was for Peter White’s character. Complete with three parallel scars on his bald head.

  She stood, leaned over and turned the music down when someone knocked on the door. "Come in!"

  The door opened and a woman stepped in. She had long, blonde hair, wide-set, almond-shaped blue eyes, and a bright smile.

  "Hi!" she said. "I'm Angela."

  "I know," Jaina said. "I actually watch the show, believe it or not. I'm Jaina."

  Angela shook her hand. "Oh, another North American! Where are you from?"

  "Los Angeles."

  "Toronto," the other woman said. "I didn't know the show aired in the US."

  "It doesn't. I have a friend in Canada who supplies the tapes."

  "Oh. How long have you been in New Zealand?"

  "Two weeks. But I was in Sydney for three months before that. Movie," she elaborated. "Which actually took five months, we just spent two months in LA first."

  "Ooh, what movie?"

  Jaina smiled wryly. "I'm actually not allowed to talk about it, even to name it, until the studio says I can."

  Then she grinned. "Though I'd kill for anything 'Sea Of Swords'."

  "Hmm. Technically... we've got Hedridan."

  "I know," Jaina said, her voice going flat. "I've met Colin."

  One blonde brown arched. "You don't sound happy to have met him."

  "It's... complicated," Jaina sighed. "Anyway... I'm assuming you're here for makeup?"

  "Yeah, kinda." Angela was eyeing Jaina's hair. "If you don't mind my asking, how long is your hair?"

  Jaina pulled the beaded hair sticks out of her bun and the heavy mass of her hair unrolled, the ends stopping a little over an inch past her waist. "That long."

  "Wow. It's so pretty!"

  "Thanks. A hassle, though. Sometimes." Jaina thought about putting it back up, but decided she did that too often, and left it. "I call it my elf hair."

  "Cool."

  “So you’re a makeup artist. How’d you get into that?”

  “It’s what I studied in college. I used to be a dancer, but had to give it up. Looks like I won the genetic lottery and get early arthritis.”

  Angela winced. “Ouch.”

  “But I still keep up, somewhat.” Jaina motioned to one of the chairs. "Have a seat."

  Angela settled into the chair. "I can't tell you how nice it is to have someone who talks normally on set."

  Jaina laughed. "Likewise."

  Chapter Four

  After work, Jaina trudging into the parking lot with her stuff, walking beside Angela. The Canadian actress had offered her a ride, in case her hunk'o'junk wasn't running... still.

  Jaina stopped at the car, noticing a folded paper under the driver's side windshield wiper. She pulled it out and unfolded it.

  Jaina-

  I had one of the mechanics look at your engine. Turns out it was a loose spark plug. Should be running okay now, but if you ever need a ride, my # is 095554502.

  Colin

  P.S. Welcome to New Zealand.

  She stared unblinking at the paper for several long moments. Not only did she have a note from him, which many, many women--and men--would kill for... She had Colin Pierce's phone number.

  Folding the note, she stuffed it in her pocket and put her things in the trunk of the car. Then she got a notebook out of her trunk, and scribbled a note.

  Jaina trotted over to Colin's car, stuck it under the windshield wiper, and went home, feeling satisfied.

  ♥♥♥

  That night, as Jaina was getting ready for bed, she was pacing around her room and brandishing her brush like a sword, muttering to herself.

  "Just when you're trying to not like someone, they have to go and be perfectly nice to you! Why can't he be a good boy and let me hate him?"

  She sat down hard on the edge of the mattress and flopped backwards. "I can hate him, I know I can! I can, I can, I can!"

  The problem lay, naturally, in the fact that she did not hate him. In fact, she was already infatuated with him. He was the whole reason she'd started watching Doctor Life in the first place. Well, no, first there had been Hedridan, who had dragged her attention away from the film’s star, and then she'd had to look up the actor online, and the first sight of Colin...

  "Dammit!" she exclaimed, and sat up, throwing her brush on the floor. "I am not putting myself through this!"

  Jaina ran her hands through her hair. "So what if he's nice? He's gay. There are too many rumors out there for him to not be. Gotta fix on something... He's got a big nose. That's it. Big nose. Big nose. Aw, crud."

  There was a knock at the door. Jaina jumped, then called, "Yeah?"

  "Jaina, are you all right?" Teniel's voice called back.

  "Yeah, I'm fine, just, uh, going over some stuff."

  "Okay. Just don't wake the twins. Good night."

  "Night."

  Teniel moved off, and a moment later, Jaina heard the door to the master bedroom close.

  Jaina slumped to the floor and sighed, resting her head against her knees. "I'm screwed."

  ♥♥♥

  From then on, Jaina was distant and standoff-ish towards Colin as she could afford to be and not get herself fired. She took to calling him "Pierce" and pretty much treating him like one of the extras.

  One afternoon, nearly a month into filming the new season, Jaina and Angela were watching a scene being set up in Alex Noble's office. The two women stood across the hall, watching through the window.

  "It's such a shame," Angela sighed. "All of that, wasted."

  Jaina glanced over. "Hmm?"

  "Oh, come on, surely you've heard the rumors. He won't confirm, of course, but it's pretty much common knowledge that he's, y'know, gay."

  "Oh." Jaina's green eyes darted away, fixing on a wheel of a nearby gurney.

  Angela raised an eyebrow, shifting to look at her new friend, whose face was a deep pink. "You didn't know?"

  "No," Jaina murmured. "I'd heard. I just... don't like thinking about it."

  Angela's mouth dropped open. "Oh, you're kidding me!"

  Looking up, Jaina frowned. "What?"

  The taller woman grabbed her arm and dragged her into the area of the set for Lydia's office. "You've got the hots for him!"

  "I do not!" Jaina said automatically.

  "You so do! I was wondering why you were acting so funny around him!" Angela was looking at her with a mixture of amusement and pity.

  Jaina crossed her arms. "No, I don't. I don't like him. In fact, I don't like him!"

  Angela was silent for a moment, then said, "Okay, if you say so."

  She turned and went out. Jaina hesitated in following her, trying desperately to regain her composure, afraid that Angela was right.

  What if she was?

  ♥♥♥

  In the stark kitchen of his townhouse, Colin leaned against the counter. He was bored. Very bored. There wasn't any filming today, because several of the cast and crew had all gone into labor this last week, forcing some rescheduling. It left him with very little to do.

  He glanced at the clock. It was a little after eleven in the morning, almost time for lunch. Maybe he could call someone, invite them out. Nodding, he reached for the phone, then stopped.

  Who would he call? Everyone he
knew was busy today. He could call his parents, or his brother, but... No. No family. Not today.

  Colin lightly patted his pockets. In one of the back pockets of his jeans, he felt something folded, papery. Pulling it out, he saw it was a note. It had been through the wash and was worn, covered in lint.

  Unfolding it, he saw a loopy, somehow elegant and rather pretty scrawl in blue pen on the lined paper.

  Colin,

  Thanks. I really appreciate it. Sorry

  for being grouchy earlier. And I'm also

  sorry for the Mascara Incident. Since

  you gave me your #, mine is 0-9-555-7385.

  J.

  On a sudden whim, he picked up the cordless telephone, also white, and dialed the number. this would be the perfect chance to get her alone and find out why she disliked him so bloody much.

  One ring.

  Two.

  Three.

  Four-

  Click.

  He opened his mouth. "Jaina, this-"

  The recording on the other end said brightly, "Hi, this is Jaina's fridge! Her answering machine can't come to the phone right now, but if you want to leave a message, I'll write a note and stick it to myself with a magnet!" Then it beeped.

  He snickered, then said, "Hi, Jaina, this is Colin. I was wondering..."

  Colin paused. "Can't tell when you'll get this, or if you're busy today, but I was wondering if you were free for lunch today, or something. Or maybe we could schedule for another time. In any case, call me back at this number, or on my cell, which is zero-nine-five-five-five-zero-nine-four-one. Thanks. Bye."

  Slowly, his thumb depressed the "End" button, and he set the phone back in its cradle.

  ♥♥♥

  At the park with Teniel, Jason, and the twins, Jaina was pushing Clarissa on one of the swings when her cell phone rang.

  "You gonna answer that?" Jason asked from where he was pushing Christian on one of the swings.

  "I'll get it later," Jaina said. Then she hesitated, and pulled it off her belt to look at the number. It said 0-9-555-4502.

  She frowned, then shook her head and put it back

  "Anyone you know?" Teniel asked.

  "Probably. It's not Angela, but I don't know all the phone numbers of the crew." Jaina shrugged it off and pushed Rissa's swing again.

  A few minutes later, Clarissa expressed a need to use the little girl's room. Jaina offered to take her, and led the child over to the restrooms. Then the girl had to get a drink. While she used the fountain, Jaina got her phone out again, and pulled up the message.

  "Hi, Jaina, this is Colin. I was wondering... Can't tell when you'll get this, or if you're busy today, but I was wondering if you were free for lunch today, or something..."

  Jaina turned the phone off, her heart suddenly pounding, and took several deep breaths. She knew her face was flaming, and was grateful Clarissa hadn't noticed.

  She escorted the child back to her parents, who were discussing plans for lunch. When Jason turned to Jaina and asked what her thoughts were, she hesitated.

  "Um. Actually... I think I'd better return that phone call. You guys can go ahead, I'll get home somehow. I'll probably be meeting someone for lunch or something."

  Reluctantly, they left her there. Once they were gone, she turned the phone back on, and hesitated over the "send" button. Her heart was in her throat, her hands were clammy, and she felt short of breath.

  Closing her eyes, she hit the button and clapped the phone to her ear.

  It rang once, twice, three times. Four, five...

  "You've reached 555-4502. Leave your name and number and I'll-"

  "Hello?"

  Her heart just about stopped. For one horribly long moment, she stood there in the middle of the park, mouth open, voice not working.

  "Hello?"

  She swallowed, cleared her throat. "Hi, Colin? This is Jaina. You still free for lunch?"

  Chapter Five

  Jaina was already waiting when Colin walked into the small restaurant near the park. She'd already folded, refolded, and then shredded her paper napkin, and then retrieved a new one.

  She spotted Colin as soon as he walked in. Ugh, she thought. Does he have to wear those things?

  He pushed his sunglasses up like a headband when he walked in, and blinked a bit to adjust to the interior. Then he saw her, and smiled.

  Jaina carefully studied the condensation on her glass as he walked over. She occupied herself with making designs on her paper placemat with droplets of water, ending up with a grotesque smiley face.

  "Hi," he said.

  She looked up, managed a smile she hoped was normal. "Hi. Sit. Please. People who hover bother me."

  Colin sat in the chair opposite, and glanced out the window. "Any particular reason you chose this restaurant?"

  She shrugged. "I was at the park with my niece and nephew."

  Raising a dark brow, he asked, "And where are said niece and nephew?"

  "With their parents," she said, as if he were dense.

  "I still haven't met your brother."

  "Same here. So we're square." She looked at him as if silently daring him to comment.

  True to form, he did. "I hope not square in the boring sense."

  "I doubt you could ever be that," she said, then bit her tongue. Crap! Did I just say that out loud?!

  He looked at her for several moments in silence, then state, "I am quite boring."

  "Blue shirts only, huh?"

  Going with it, he said, "Monotony is so underrated."

  Pausing, he said, "And I don't only own blue shirts... I also have some white ones."

  "You dazzle me with the spectral array of your wardrobe." The sarcasm was so thick it would have taken a lightsaber to cut.

  He smirked. "You're so witty, why we don't get on?"

  Firmly squashing thoughts of "getting on", Jaina asked, "You think that's witty? You're the comic."

  "So I take it, you want me to entertain you?"

  Shaking her head, Jaina said, "That isn't what I said."

  "And suddenly the lack of getting on makes sense once again."

  She gritted her teeth, then took a deep breath and let it out again, slowly. "Why is it that every conversation we have ends up in an argument?"

  "Because you have a hot Scottish temper?"

  "Oh, you're saying it's my fault."

  Colin froze, sensing he'd strayed into highly dangerous territory here. He hesitated, then said, "I'm a Scorpio, and you're a Cancer, am I right? It's natural. If you believe in astrology. It's either fierce arguments or fierce sex."

  Jaina coughed, spitting water across the table. Then she glared at him.

  Mistaking the source of her ire, he said defensively, "Hey, I'm trying to be friendly! You turn every word I say."

  She sat sullenly for several moments, pondering all the tortuous possible--or rather, impossible--implications of his words. She feigned interest in the menu.

  "So," Colin said tentatively. "Let's try this over again. I'm Colin, you're Jaina. I'm an actor, you're a makeup artist. I'm local, you're American. Tell me about your... family."

  Accepting his olive branch... for now... Jaina said, "Brother. Sister in law. Niece. Nephew. Sister in LA. Mom and Dad."

  Gee, she thought. That was so very communicative.

  "How old are your niece and nephew?"

  Jaina took a sip of water. "Four. In June they'll be five."

  "Ah."

  There was a long, awkward silence as they both looked around the restaurant, and not each other.

  "Soooo... Seen any good movies lately?"

  She had to actually think about the question. What was the last thing she'd seen, outside of anything in her video collection? "Uh. I don't know if I've seen anything since December."

  Colin occupied himself with using one of the paper napkins from the dispenser to mop up little droplets of water. "What did you see then?"

  "The third Sea Of Swords." Jaina kept her eyes
on the ice in her glass. "My ex and I had a chance to go see the Sydney premiere, so we did. I didn't meet anyone famous, though."

  He flashed her a grin. "Well, now you have."

  Wryly, she asked, "So you're famous now, huh?"

  He heaved a sigh. "Positively sublime, really."

  Jaina smirked. "Is there room enough for me at this table? Your ego is quickly squishing the life out of me."

  "It can't be helped. My ego is just that, well, brilliant. But you've enabled it to grow that much bigger."

  "Great, now I'm an enabler," she muttered, eliciting a giggle, an honest-to-goodness giggle, from Colin. "Do I want to ask how?"

  He pretended shock. "You make me look good, which is good for my self-esteem."

  She snorted before she could stop herself. "Like you need any more."

  "Esteem or looks? Because we all know, I look gorgeous." And he tossed his head, as if flipping hair over his shoulder.

  Jaina couldn't help laughing. Or a barb. "Not put together, you don't."

  "Ouch. You wound me." His eyes were sparkling with humor.

  She widened her eyes, looking interested. "Is it bleeding?"

  "Well... no," he admitted.

  Jaina slumped, losing all pretend interest. "Well then, not life threatening."

  He was laughing silently as the waitress came over to take their orders. Paper napkins and waitresses. What was the world coming to?

  Colin hadn't even looked at the menu. Jaina had only given it a cursory glance. He looked quickly, then said, "I'll be paying. Order whatever you feel like having."

  Jaina looked up sharply. "No, I'll pay for my half."

  "I invited you to lunch, I'll pay."

  She was sure her hands were shaking. "American rules of paying, you pay it's a date, and Pierce, that isn't appealing."

  Liar! the voice in her head cackled gleefully, sounding like Valerie, the wife of Miracle Max in The Princess Bride. Liar, liar, liar!

  Colin swallowed visibly, his cheeks turning red. "Well... we're not in America, are we?"