Her Perfect Gift

“Hello!” Immediately I am struck by how bright Darcy sounds. Happier than usual. “You okay, Seth?”

“Er, yeah…” I don’t want to put her down because I am in a bad mood now. I can push my feelings to one side to celebrate with her today. Particularly if something good has happened. “Busy, but okay.”

“I’m sorry for messaging you a lot, I just thought that we could use a date night, so I have a nice dinner ready to cook. I was wondering what time you might be back so I can get it ready on time.”

“Oh… wow… that’s nice.” I’m a bit shocked. But I love the sound of it. We could definitely use that after the shitty couple of weeks we have had. “Erm, I just don’t know what time we will finish to be honest. It’s getting a bit crazy around here. The director is pissed off. We can’t seem to get this right.”

“Oh, right.” Immediately, the happiness is zapped away from her tone, I have done exactly what I didn’t want to. “I see, well you could just let me know when you do… if that’s possible. Any estimated time will help.”

“Of course…” There is a hesitation to my tone. I want to make promises, but nothing fake. “As soon as I know. I will be in touch. Erm… but I better get back to it. Call soon.”

I hang up the phone immediately and sigh loudly to myself. That wasn’t nice, I feel like shit after that conversation. I don’t like the idea that I am letting Darcy down, as well as everyone else. She needs me to be home right now for this date, but everyone here needs me to be at my best. God, I thought that this was going to be so easy, I went into this so confident that everything was going to be okay, and now I’m not so sure. I never struggled this much when acting within my comfort zone. I can now see why Sierra was so nervous about me moving on to something new. She understood things that I didn’t then… but I am starting to now.

“You okay?” I practically jump as Winter grabs my focus. “You look seriously stressed.” Her eyes dart towards my cell phone. “Ah, I see. You are trying to talk to someone who doesn’t fully understand the business.”

“Yes!” I didn’t realize it until she just hit the nail on the head now, but that is the problem. Or part of it. It’s hard to get Darcy to fully understand this lifestyle. She tries, but she can’t fully get it. “It’s hard, isn’t it?”

“I know, tell me about it.” She rolls her eyes. “I can’t get other people to understand either. People who used to be in my life aren’t anymore because they don’t get it. My friends are now within the industry and I know that I would only date within the industry as well. I can’t imagine trying to explain it to anyone else.”

I take in a deep shaky breath, understanding exactly what she means. It isn’t the easiest. “I know. I am having a few issues with that. The scheduling is just crazy, isn’t it? It can be a bit too much.”

“Exactly.” She folds her arms tightly across her chest. “Well, we have a moment right now with the director not here so, shall we go outside and get some air? Chill out and have a moment away from all of this.”

“Yeah, that sounds good actually.” I nod slowly. “I could use a minute.”

I glance around and see that everyone is busy, lost in their own thoughts about the day, so I take Winter’s hand and we sneak the hell away from the mess that we have created without a glance backwards. We just about get to the outside area, when a deep shiver runs through Winter’s body. Without even thinking about it, I whip my hoodie over my head, or my character’s hoodie anyway, and I pass it to her to cover herself up.

“Oh, thank you.” She tosses it over her head. “That’s awesome. I always forget how cold it is outside. They keep it so warm in there. I need to remember to bring more clothing with me.”

As I chuckle, I take a little lo

ok upwards to see the stars. Yep, it’s getting crazy late now. I don’t think that any date with Darcy will be happening, which is a shame. We could use some alone time to keep our bond going. Although I don’t know how good company I would be today anyway. I’m just so tired.

“What do you think that we are doing so wrong?” I ask Winter with a groan. “Why can’t we seem to get it right? I don’t understand. If the director would just tell us, then we could work on it.”

“I think that it’s the kiss,” Winer replies bluntly. “Or not the actual kiss. I think that we are doing that right. It’s the build up. The minute where we finally start coming together after everything that has come before, needs to be right. The audience has watched us overcome everything to get to this moment. We need to satisfy them. Because we’re so stressed out, it isn’t coming across well.”

“You think?” I never saw it like that, but I suppose there isn’t any frame of reference that I have to work with.

“Oh yeah for sure. It would be good if he told us, I agree with you, but I think that’s the problem.”

“Right, okay.” I let this soak in. “So, how do you suggest that we change it then?”

All of a sudden, she transforms like a professional. She is no longer Winter, she is Cherry. Her character. It’s almost shocking. As she starts to come to life, I feel myself transform into my character as well, automatically.

“Hey,” she whispers almost breathlessly. “It’s good to see you again.”

She circles around me a little like a snake and I can’t keep my eyes off of her. She is intoxicating, addictive, I find myself totally drawn in by her. I can’t stop myself. My character is falling for her. This is it, this is the moment, isn’t it? Winter is right, this chemistry and anticipation wasn’t here when we were inside the room. We need to capture this all over again. As she gets in closer, I can feel something building within me. A genuine excitement that she has captured, that I love, and makes me flutter. There is a real vibe here.

“So, handsome.” Yep, there is even electricity as she puts her arm around me and pulls me to her for a hug. “What do you say? Are you ready for everything that Cherry has to offer you?”

She moves her lips, I can feel them coming towards me, everything that wasn’t there before but it is now. I lean downwards, pausing for just a second to look at her, to see if I am ready for Cherry. If Richard can handle this. I know that he wants it, but it is going to create upheaval in every aspect of his life…

“See what I mean?” Winter pulls back and grins, becoming herself all over again. All the chemistry that was there just a moment ago is long gone. “That was much better, wasn’t it? We nailed it there.”

“I feel like we can go back in there now, can’t we? And sort it out.”

“The director will be pleased. Come on, let’s go out there and do this.”