373Author's note! Oh my GOD! I didn't realize how long I haven't updated this! I really need to get better at that, so SORRY! I did get all those reviews and you guys have all been awesome. Don't worry, my new years resolution is to update asap! So please sent me a review, let me know you're still reading okay! Thanks guy!
So here is the stars of my story….Faith and Trey!
Chapter Sixteen
Trey leaned back against the leather of his seat as he pulled up to the white line and came to a halt at the red light, grinning from ear to ear.
He let out a breath and Faith found herself relaxing, just to know he was as nervous as she was, if not more so. She slumped down in her seat a little and found herself glancing at him. He was so handsome, especially now. His hair had been lightly gelled and spiked. His strong jaw complemented the soft smile he was currently sporting. But the most attractive part of him was his eyes, his cappucino-colored eyes, swirled with honey and a hint of forest green, strictly concentrated on one thing, the road with the utmost seriousness. She found herself wondering if she had the same intense profile when he looked at her.
Suddenly Trey looked over at her and gave her a smile. "Hey, everything okay?"
Faith nodded her head. She could feel the heat rush to her face and gulped. God, she was actually embarrassed and they'd only been together for ten minutes. Could she be more pathetic?
The light turned green and Trey pushed down on the gas. And the interior of the car was quiet again, disturbed only by the sound of a harmonizing group singing, "I could love you like that."
And just as Faith wondered. Trey's eyes were looking physically at the road but his mind was on the shy beautiful girl seated next to him. It had started out a lot more wonderfully than he'd expected. He'd gotten to Faith's in time and actually had five minutes to compose him, thinking of what to say to Faith, what explanation he could give her for buying the bouquet he held in his hands, and more importantly, what he would say to her brother and mother if they showed up. Fortunately, Christian had waved to her at the door and he hadn't had to go through any awkward glances of discussion of dating expectations. And then when Faith had shyly came out of the gate to meet him, his mind had turned into mush. He'd known Faith was beautiful from the inside out, but she'd managed to amaze him. She was sporting a light blue one piece that stopped right above the knee, with delicate straps and a scattering of crystals, that matched the ones in her hair. Her light-blue sandals gave her legs a nice long and tan look, her hair had been put into gracious curls, pinned back on each side with a crystal pin. Her face looked soft with a "got ready in 10 minutes," flush, glossed lips, eyes enhanced by a soft gray shadow and curled eyelashes.
She was perfect. And it made him feel that much taller to know she'd gone through all that trouble for him.
He actually felt underdressed in his nice gray suit and unbuttoned black shirt with matching shoes. Really, she made him feel like he was the fan going out with the perfectly styled, positively dispositioned movie star who had a smile ready for anyone she came into contact with.
"Faith, did I tell you how beautiful you are?" he teased as he careened around a corner that brought them onto a road that laid next to a beach line and glistening black water that felt like it went on for miles.
"Well, I think you did say that to me…a few times," she giggled, blushing again as she hugged her fresh bouquet to her chest. "Certainly more than I deserve."
Trey shook his head as he reached to the volume knob to turn it down. "Nah sweetie, you deserve every bit of it, because you really are amazing and modest. You're absolutely perfect," he crooned, glancing over at her to jog her reaction.
"You have no idea how much that means to me," she told him, giving him a most pleased smile. "Since for years I've thought the exact same thing about you."
Trey pulled one hand off the steering wheel and searched for her hand. He sighed contentedly when Faith squeezed his hand back. She found her breathing slow down and for the majority of the ride, she realized that she and Trey had been pretty comfortable, give or take the first five minutes.
"You know Mr. Duvall, I never thought I could be so calm being around you. I mean, you're the guy that I watch on my t.v screen yet when I'm sitting here with you, all I see if you, Trey Duvall, the humble human being, and…god! This is going to sound so corny. I am so comfortable around you," she pronounced as she inhaled the fragrance of the roses, lavender and white poppy flowers erecting from her lap.
"Well that's nothing new. You have been since the first minute we met, remember?" he teased back, intertwining their fingers in a slow dance. "But then again, I did choose rose and lavender. Rose for romance and Lavender to calm the nerves."
Faith noticed his voice blunder on the word romance and giggled. This movie star really wasn't smooth at all.
"I…I'm really glad you decided to come out tonight," he said then in a most serious and gentle tone, gazing out at her out the corner of his eye.
"Yeah…me too," she replied confidently and honestly. Something about the way Trey had said that made her feel good and that she held some importantly to him. That conversation she'd had with her brother was almost easy to forget. She certainly let go of her doubts and now she didn't have one.
She found herself sliding her fingers a little higher above his elbow and then leaned into his shoulder and closed her eyes.
Hadn't Trey been driving it would have been too easy for him to caress her. The sexual tension in the car was almost more than he could bear. He was only thankful that he would be in a public place very soon where he would have to act like a gentleman and not give into his temptation.
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They pulled up to a cute little restaurant that had a quaint beach side feel to it, with its' boat accessories scattered about the place, but they'd done it in a way so that it didn't look tacky. From the outside there was no way to tell that it was a French restaurant, despite its' lack in elegance, it exuded a different form of opulency.
Trey put the car in park then pulled his key out and shoved it into his pocket. He glanced over at Faith who was staring at the building before her and saw awe in her expression.
"This is Maison De Fromage," Trey pronounced as he followed Faith's gaze. "I really hope you like French food."
"II do. And I love this place," she beamed then stared at him out of wonder. "How did you know?"
"Lucky guess?" he grinned. "Or maybe this is just God trying to prove to us…how compatible we are."
Faith's smile fell and she looked a little bit uncomfortable as she always did when a guy got too close. Trey's face spread with the same expression. "SSorry, I didn't mean…I mean…it was just a joke. My attempt at being humorous."
"OOh." She let out such a huge gasp that Trey began laughing and Faith joined in nervously. "Gosh Trey, it's nothing again you, it's just that…"
"No, don't need to say anymore," he put in a bit curtly, but it was so subtle that Faith barely noticed it, especially since he gave her a bright smile a second after. "Man, I'm starving and is it just me of is it getting hot in here?" He was pulling at the collar of his shirt. "Maybe we should get inside."
Faith liked how he'd broken the tension. The way he'd pulled at his shirt had made any other implied meanings disappear. She reached for her belt buckle, only the flowers had gotten in the way, the stems had lodged itself between her seat and the door.
"Trey, a little help here," she whined and Trey began laughing when he saw her in the predicament.
"Okay, okay, don't move. I don't want you to rip that pretty dress of yours," he flirted as he pulled himself out of his seat and slammed the door. Then a moment later he appeared next to her and gently opened the door.
"Here, let met get that out of the way for you." Faith tried to remain still as he gently dislodged the bouquet from the seat and unbuckled her seat belt. She shivered when his arm brushed against her leg. She found herself staring down at Trey, who didn't look any less than handsome from the top.
He then stepped back and stood by the car, his hand on the door. She cautiously stepped out as she grabbed her bag, then made to look like she was stumbling. Immediately he came forward and caught her with one arm around the waist.
"Careful."
"Tthanks," Faith stammered, smiling shyly, semi-mortified. She looked up at Trey who'd let her go then thrust the flowers out to her. "Oh hey, can you just leave them on my seat? I don't think I'll be able to eat without them getting in the way and I'm bound to attract attention if I walk in with a huge bouquet, not to mention you're already going to be on my arm."
Trey considered this for a moment then nodded. "Good thinking." He took the flowers, set them on the back seats and then clicked a buttons to lock the door. He then rejoined Faith who was already walking. "Hey, wait a second. There's something I need you to do before we go in there."
Faith didn't stop walking but slowed her pace and watched as Trey reached into his inner breast pocket with curiousity. He pulled out a small velvet pouch.
Her heart skipped a beat. Didn't those things usually carry jewelry?
She was sure she was going to have a heart attack when Trey pulled two rings out of it and slipped one on his wedding finger. What was going on?
"Here, let me see your hand," Trey beckoned her and reached for it before she gave him approval. She felt her insides shaking as he gently slid a beautiful diamond ring onto her left ring finger. Trey heard her unasked question and began speaking. "I hope I didn't alarm you. This is just standard protocol. I always have to use a different name when I go into a public restaurant and I just decided to go with the name I usually book at the Maison De Fromage on the West coast."
"And that is…"
"Mr Owen Omset. And of course I had to come up with Sandrine for you," Trey replied with a grin. "A couple of young marrieds. So when we go in there I need you to cooperate with me and act like you're my loving young wife. So don't…you know, freak out if I whisper something in your ear of put my arm around your waist, okay. I mean…I guess the best way to do this is to think that we're acting out a married couple."
"Um, that might be easy for you, Trey, since you've had ten more years of experience in the real world then I do, not to mention you were half of a married couple on your last soap, but I am a teenager and I have no clue what to do," Faith lamented folding her arms, looking very stubborn and reluctant to go in.
"To be completely honest with you, I'm not sure what I'm doing. I'm as nervous as you are," Trey told her, looking a bit sheepish. "But I think I can make this happen and make it look like we know what we're doing if you'll just try and wing it with me. Can you do that for me Faith? I'm starving and I really think you'll enjoy this as soon as we can start enjoying each other's company."
Faith looked at Trey hard and she wondered how in the world he expected her to say no when he was looking at her with huge deer-like eyes and a quivering bottom lip.
She did the first risky thing today by taking hold of his hand and giving it a tight squeeze. "Okay, I'll do it for you." Which of course rewarded her with a big smile. She then turned to the restaurant and looked nervously at Trey who was grinning. "And I'm who again?"
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"Here you are," Jean-Michele, their waiter for the evening announced confidently when he reached the sweet set up on their cool open balcony, two comfortable looking red chairs and a matching white table covered with an expensive-looking, almost rose-colored table cloth. Deep red candles stood in what looked like a vase and served as the centerpiece for their romantic setting.
Faith just stood there in awe, her heart fluttering over how cute and perfect everything was, from the candles sitting on the table to the cool salty ocean breeze, everything was wonderful. She gazed at Trey who had given her arm a squeeze and almost wet herself when he leaned in and whispered, "Is this okay?"
She nodded her head, flashing him a smile that would have sent even Trey's million dollar smile a run for it's money. "It's better than okay…it's perfect."
Trey seemed pleased as he gently pulled his arm away from Faith and then went over to pull her seat out. She felt like a princess as she "trotted," over to it. Trey even pushed the chair in at the perfect time. It was apparent he'd had training.
She watched Trey walk over and take his seat and as soon as they looked settled, the waiter came back and placed a menu before each of them and promptly filled their empty glasses from a pitcher of cool water.
"Actually, can you get me two champagne glasses?" Trey said suddenly which earned him a shocked expression from his date and an uncomfortable expression from the waiter.
"What do you think you're doing?" Faith hissed at her cocky, currently overly-confident movie-star date. "Do you want us to get thrown out?"
Trey put a finger to her lips then turned to the waiter. "Don't worry sweetie, I'm not going to ask you to do anything illegal, I just uh…" he swiftly pulled a bottle from under the table and set it on the table.
Faith examined the bottle and giggled. "Ferochelli's Sparkling Apple Cider." She'd gotten excited over imitation champagne!
"Ah…I do apologize. It seems that I have jumped to the wrong conclusion?" the waiter laughed, his French accent thickened from embarrassment.
"Anybody would have," Trey assured him. "So do you think that you can get me those glasses? It's a bit warm tonight and I'm parched."
The waiter nodded his head after coming to attention, then he left the area to go take care of business.
Faith and Trey shared an awkward smile as he pulled of his gray blazer and she pulled the cloth napkin from the table and placed it in her lap. Then she leaned forward on her elbows and gazed over at the waves that were lapping against the shore.
"Hey."
Faith turned back to him and smiled shyly. He'd pulled off his jacket and now he was only wearing his barely buttoned black shirt that gave a sexy tanned looked to his chest. A smile was beaming on his expression and his hazel eyes were filled with intensity.
"Hey," she murmured back, crossing one of her arms under her breast and drummed the fingers to her other hand on the table. She hoped she didn't look insecure. For one night she wanted to be one of the confident chicas. Most of Trey's fans, she assumed, were probably nervous and always bumbling their words. After so many years of watching him with millions of fans, she'd finally gotten her chance she couldn't get cold feet now.
"It's nice tonight, isn't it?" he sighed, looking very content as his gaze fell on Faith's blushing face. "At least I think it is, if you're cold I can give you my jacket. I don't think it'll clash with your dress too bad though it'll probably be too big since you're a small little thing."
"Oh no, it's fine. It's actually the best weather to be out here," she commented. "Did you pull strings with the manager to get a table out here? I noticed they gave us this full balcony to ourselves."
"Well….you are a very special girl and though I try not to use my star status, I would have done it in a heartbeat," he crooned, leaning forward. "But I actually didn't have to do anything. As soon as I booked us a married couple, he got the idea and told me he's going to do anything and everything to make this…our best night ever."
Faith stared at Trey and realized a second later that he was starting to lean towards her.
Her heart began pumping blood so heavily that she swore she could feel it as her life force squeezed through her arteries and spread warmth through her body. She pulled up her fingers that had begun tingling.
He was going to kiss her. She knew it. And it wasn't just going to be a peck either. His eyes gently closed and she could feel his cool breath against her lips.
Part of her wanted him to, and part of her was scared that she wouldn't be able to, that she'd been fantasizing it for so long she knew exactly how she wanted it to play out and he would disappoint her.
"Um…Mr Duvall and Ms. Landen?"
Trey paused and bit his lip before they spread into a let-down smile. Faith gave him a, "hey, the thought was nice," expression and he seemed content. Shoot, if only he knew she was content because that almost kiss had been everything she'd thought her first kiss would be, all slow and anxious, the sexual tension bearing down on them to the point neither of them could back out of it without totally disappointing their partner.
He sat back down and tried to look like hadn't just interrupted a very sensitive situation.
"I…I sorry, I was going to ask if you were ready to order, but maybe I should come back in a few minutes until you….uh wrap this up."
"Oh no, you're here. There was just…I mean, it can wait," he protested and raised his eyebrow at his date, leaving her wondering what he meant by that. Trey grinned, it had been such a long time since he'd met an actual virgin to dating and he took pride, knowing that he would be her first everything, which put a bit of added pressure on his shoulder.
"Fine sir, and if that is okay with the missus, what would you like to start with today?" he inquired, pulling out his pad and poised his pen over it.
Trey dropped his menu and looked over at Faith who was rapidly studying her menu. He reached over and lowered her menu to the table. "Let me take this, I've been here. Well the one of the west coast quite a few times and their fondue is unbeatable. You okay with that? Can you handle cheese?"
"Oh…of course. Besides, you're praying for half of this aren't you?" she pointed out which went the waiter and Trey into a laughing fit.
"Miss, you have a lot to learn about the dating concept, especially with a guy so eager to impress," Trey said in his best southern drawl. He turned to the waiter. "We want a bottomless pot of cheese and why don't we start out with your world-renowed French bread," he ordered then whipped out a credit card out of his pocket and handed it to the waiter. "And go ahead and put it on that."
The waiter took the card with relish and went off to get their order to the cook. Trey then glanced back over at Faith and began smirking.
"What?"
"Y…you really have never been on a date, have you?"
"No, but you know that," she reminded him, expressing subtly that she really didn't want to go back to that conversation.
"I know but I didn't believe you until now. I mean, yeah, maybe you don't go all glam and stuff but you know what, your natural beauty is more intoxicating anyway," Trey complimented her, lifting her chin up and lost himself in her gaze.
"Well it seems that you're the only one who's thought that," she chittered. "Oh and Jordan," she thought as a painful afterthought.
"And that means that everyone else has been blind and they've missed out. Which is perfectly fine with me. I wouldn't let anybody have the chance," he flirted, looking very sexy, the moonlight made his hair look blond and the flame of the candle made his eyes sparkle and gave his skin a very nice-toned look.
She pulled her eyes off of him long enough to say, "well, this night has turned out to be a fantastic date."
"Oh sweetheart, this night is just beginning," he informed her with a mischievous glint in his irises.
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About an hour passed for the two beautiful people sitting at the table that was now a bit more rumpled. Faith poked a fork into a piece of bread then gently submerged the morsel into the tantalizing stewed cheese. At the same time, Trey had pulled his out, it clinked against her metal fork and he looked suddenly so embarrassed and dropped his fork into the soupy mixture of cheddar, camenbert and riscotta cheese.
"Oh man," she heard him and chuckled, blushing profusely as he sat there, contemplating what he should do. He actually looked like he was going to roll up his sleeves and plunge his hand into the steaming liquid that was so hot that the surface was bubbling.
Faith paused and watched him with a bit of concern in her eyes. Then he looked shyly at his date and bit his lip. "You think it's hot enough?"
"Maybe," she replied with a shrug of her bare shoulders, wondering what the big deal was. She looked into the pot, stirring her fork around, half-expecting to see swirls of gray from the fork Trey though had melted. But all she saw when she pulled up the square cube of french bread was a very tasty looking creation dripping with fromage. Mmm..the smell was addicting. She waited till the orange broth stopped slipping off by twirling it in a certain way then drew it close to her mouth and blew on it to cool it down.
"You're not actually going to eat that, are you?" she demanded as he eyed innocent little Faith pull the fork towards her mouth.
"Yeah."
"No!" he scolded her and grabbed her fork which shocked her. "If he'd been anymore violent he could have scratched her. She pulled back and stared at him as if to say, what's your deal? "That's possibly contaminated by metal, you do know how dangerous lead is, Harvardette?"
Faith rolled her eyes. Did they really have to be having this conversation? This romantic thing was going down hill with every word he spoke.
"All right, I'm going to grab it," he stated suddenly, rolling up the cuffs of his black shirt.
"No!" Faith argued. "Let's just get another pot or maybe…we can just get something else."
"No, you just sit there for a moment. I've watched you enjoy yourself and I'm not about to watch you start pretending you're enjoying the night when you really aren't!" Trey huffed. His body was overcome with chills when he saw Faith stumble backwards, obviously a bit shaken from his abrupt tone. Yeah, way to go Trey. Now she's really going to want to hear what you want to say.
He studied with a remorseful glance, she was just sitting, expressionless, staring at the uninteresting napkin on his lap. Oh yeah, this was the perfect date experience he wanted to give Faith. Not!
Trey swallowed, and not only his guilt but his pride as well. He had to say something that he was going to say. "Faith…my mistake. I don't know what's come over me. I'm usually pretty comfortable in this kind of situation…or I've been able to pull it off very well. But…tonight." He blew out a breath. "I don't know, I've been a jangle of nerves. I'm so sorry, I hope I haven't turned you off."
Faith stayed angry for about second but then all the loathing disappeared from her face and melted into a very heart warming smile. Seeing it made him feel very toasty all over. "'Of course not. You're such a great guy and I honestly believe you wont' be able to turn me off if you tried."
She then stuck her fork into the pot and somehow managed to drag the silver utensil to the surface. Then she picked it out and wrapped it in her napkin and handed it to their water who had returned with another plate of breads, meats and vegetables for their fondue.
"Enjoying your meal, I hope."
Faith and Trey grinned at each other and Trey finally acknowledged the waiter. "Absolutely, there's no fondue like "Maison de Fromage."
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"Oh God, I don't think I can eat another bite," Faith complained to herself as she bit into yet, another piece of savory ham. But even if under her hand she was sure her gut was about to explode, the meat was juicy, tender….in a word, IRRESTITBLE! And she couldn't stop her fork from feeding her more word.
Finally the romantic awareness had returned to the evening. She literally felt like she were in a movie, where the boyfriend had reserved the whole restaurant just so they could be in their own little world for a while, a few hours away from the mundane society of worse news than of those before. And Trey was no shitty co-star. He was in fact the best she could ask for, and not only because she had the hugest crust on the guy. If things went right, they were going to have dessert filled with chocolate, cherries, whipped cream an dreamy stares. He would probably get some chocolate all over himself or she could accidentally dab herself with cream so she could gently brush it away with the soft part of his thumb. And then at the exactly right moment, soft R and B music would waft into the room and he would arrive at her side almost instantly and take her hand to invite her into a slow dance and pull her to him so she couldn't object. And then…
"Ah crap!"
Faith broke out of her trance and blushed, she had been in the middle of drawing food to her mouth and had just stopped. But when she looked at her date blushing more profusely than she was her feeling of humiliation disappeared.
Trey had his fork suspended in the air, only the food wasn't. he was looking into his lap so it was obvious that he'd dropped something. The trails of cheese starting at his collar was a dead give away.
"T…Trey, did you made a mess on yourself?" she taunted him as though she were talking to a six year old kid instead of a grown twenty-seven year old man.
"Faith…just…don't," he pleaded, the nerve in his temple twitched, showcasing his slight irritation with her taunting.
"Aww, don't be shy, Mr. Duvall. Would widdle Trey want Faith to wipe of his widdle shirt?" she teased him in a sing-song voice.
"Hey, am I older than you or am I older than you?" he argued as he wiped himself off with the corner of the napkin he'd dabbed in his undrunk glass of ice water. Faith had gone back to eating, stiffling her giggles as she did. But something became a bit heavy in the atmosphere. She felt damp and she was sure her skirt was sticking to her seat and the straps dug into her skin. Scientifically this couldn't be possible, if air always condensed this fast, the ecological system would definitely be thrown off balance. She felt even worse when she saw Trey talking to himself, obviously trying to gather his thoughts to say something. The way he sighed indicated that it was serious. He raised his head and could barely keep a straight face. She looked as though as she was waiting for him to tell her, "yeah, this week was fun but now it's over and you can't act like this happened. If it splashed the papparazzi, my secret girlfriend would find out and then I'll be sleeping in a lonely bed and my career will go down the drain." In other words miserable. He felt like he and she were in a scene where the kind-hearted boyfriend couldn't bear to break up with her over the phone or by meeting in the park so he'd decided to go all out for their final date as boyfriend and girlfriend. The tension was definitely there, in fact she was supplying enough for the both of them. And he didn't think it helped that he was giving her an intimidating glare, but he was full of anxiety.
"Monsier Osmet, do you think you are about ready for dessert? Or would you and misses like another helping of cheese?" the waiter inquired very pleasantly, with a pad of paper ready to jot down notes. "Or perhaps you would like to select one of our special wines, a perfect companion to a cake of camenbert."
"Actually Jean-Michele, I would like it if you can act like we don't need anything for an…hour," Trey requested, not taking his eyes off his date. "But I'd like it if you can provide us with two champagne glasses. And…I think we'll get our dessert, to go." There was a lot of innuendo in his voice and was it her or did the sexual awareness in the room go up a level?
"I am right on it, sir."
Several minutes later Faith and Trey were back to being alone at the table, plus the champagne glasses, something was about to happen, she knew it.
"F…Faith, I've got something I really need to say," he began and
just the tone of his husky voice made her legs feel like jelly. She knew she would blush if she met his gaze so instead she trained her eyes on the ordinary looking champagne glass. He snatched the glass out of her hand and pushed it away.
"T…Trey?"
"There is a reason why I called you out here tonight, partially to thank you for putting up with all week long," Trey initiated as he straightened up in his seat and pulled his coat off his chair and dug into the inside pocket. "And the other part of this is because…I actually wanted to discuss business."
Faith gulped as she evaluated the meaning of his words. Business? This wasn't for pleasure? This wasn't a date? She gave her trembling knees a glance. She was definitely not dressed for an interview. And now she felt very stupid. She'd picked out the best dress she could find and it had been to impress Trey, to spend the night figuring out if what she was feeling and what he was feeling the same thing.
Oh yeah, very impressed he must be. He probably looked at her and thought she was a slut along with all the other girls he worked with who didn't mind baring almost all. She'd though he was dressed up nicely but…no…
"I…I think I've made a mistake in coming here," she lamented throwing her napkin onto the table, rubbing her tears back with the heel of her hand.
"Huh?" Trey was not sure what had hit him. "Faith, what's wrong?"
"I thought you wanted to take me out on a date. I…I thought that's what this was, a date, you said you wanted to take me out," she groaned, feeling completely mortified when Trey smiled. She read it as a soft let down. Had she really believed Trey Duvall, the biggest thing on t.v would actually want more than a fan out of her. "Just forget it, I should have known this was too good to be true."
"Wait, you completely lost me."
"The suit, you were dressed too nicely, I should have picked up on it. You didn't dress up for me, you just wanted to make sure there would no reason for implied meaning, no reason to have any osculating thoughts that could ruin your image."
"Whoa…no, hold on a second," Trey attempted to interrupt her as he dropped the folder containing the contract onto a clear space on the table top.
"And look, you don't even have to speak to me for another second, you've got all the rules regarding what I can and can't dispose to the press on paper. T…this is just wonderful for you isn't it?" Faith shrieked, now more angry then saddened. "Well, just so you know I don't need this stupid packet. I won't breathe a word to anyone, oh except maybe I'll write an anonymous note that you're not everything you're all made out to be!" she them snatched the folder from the table and pulled the papers from inside of it and cocked her hand back, ready to scatter it all over the glistening, newly-waxed wooden deck.
"Hey! Before you do what I think you're going to do, why don't you look at it and make sure it is what you think it is," he suggested as though he were trying to convince a person trying to jump off a building maybe, he or she could check his cell phone for messages before making the big jump to their death.
Faith's face screamed, "why would I do that?"
"I…you know how nervous I was this afternoon. Maybe that isn't the thing I was supposed to give you. I have an identical folder for my upcoming project paperwork and those are sensitive documents. It's not like I could give them a call and ask them to reprint it, not those documents which actually mean a lot of money that they can gain or lose."
Faith huffed. Somewhere in her she knew she was angry, absolutely disgusted. But she wasn't' heartless and she certainly didn't want to be responsible for ruining his career. "Oh fine, but just so you know, I'm doing this so I won't feel guilty later."
"Fair enough, thank you."
She was pleasantly shocked by how much patience he had with her. And maybe part of her was feeling guilty for spouting like she'd done. She even put the papers back into the folder before she examined it. She then held it up carelessly, ready to throw it in his face and go crying to Christian about how wrong he was.
Only what she saw didn't make her want to bolt and make sure the inquirer knew about what a jerk he was. It did quite the opposite, or actually it made her gasp, cringe and bite her lip at the same time.
Across the top of the paper was a line of fine print that stated the following was a contract and only to be signed and agreed to by the name printed below in the space, to the attention of.
Her heart began pounding quite heavily when she saw her name. She then read it again, then reread it again. It was her, Faith Miranda Landen, born Oct 29,1984, Brown hair, hazel eyes, 5"6, it was all there.
Oh man, she didn't think she could push her foot in her mouth any more even if she wanted to. It was already up in to her knee.
But wait a minute, why did her favorite movie star has possession of a paper with her name on it?
"So, did you get an eyeful? Do you believe me now that we are actually here because I wanted to spend my last night in Victorice till I return in three weeks later to be with you?" Trey chuckled, leaning back in his seat, wearing a semi-cocky grin.
"Uh…well…yeah.I sh…I should have never doubted you on that. I know you would never do something like that to me," Faith reminded herself absent-mindedly as she pushed the papers back toward her date.
"Thank you, now if you'll give me a moment to explain, I bet you I can clarify all this for you," Trey assured as he pulled the mysterious document back out of it's folder and slid it towards Faith who was staring at it as though she were waiting for something to explode. He then clasped his hands together and began speaking in a serious but still less stern tone. Trey obviously realized his first plan had back fired pretty badly. "Faith, tonight is a date. I am here completely for my pleasure and I do hope you are enjoying herself. The business part of this is well…I think kind of obvious. Carrie Spectra wants to sign you onto the cast of Higher School and since she's out on her own date with my manager, she's basically asked me to relay her message to you."
Faith closed and opened her mouth a few times, not believing it. This kind of thing never happened to her. So that couldn't be a contract sitting there.
"Faith, you with me so far? I mean, other than the denial part you're still struggling with." She raised her head to meet Trey's glance and gave a half-haphazard nod. She was terrified, completely terrified. A contract for "Higher School?" Didn't that mean she was going to be on t.v? Faith didn't know the logistics of show biz but she knew that there had to be a manager, an audition had to be done and then negotiations gone though to even pull up a contract.
She was sure hadn't gone through any of this. She hadn't even met this Carrie Spectra who just happened to be the biggest thing in Primetime for ABT.
"Trey…or Mr. Duvall, I'm confused. You've got to have the wrong person. Ms. Spectra couldn't possibly want me. I'm a plain-Jane, I cannot act….I…I've got school, I've got," she began listing randomly from memory, on the verge of hyperventilation.
"Now what did I say? I said that if you'll just sit and listen for a minute this will all make sense, did I not?" he cut it, looking jus slightly irritated.
Faith nodded.
"Okay, then let me talk. The reason Carrie asked me to present this to you was to keep you from freaking out like you're doing now. I mean, let's admit it, we're very comfortable around each other and so if we try, I'm sure we can do this in a calm and well-mannered way."
Faith finally stopped shaking and refrained her hands from scratching the innumerable itches that had appeared all over her body. "Yeah, sure."
Trey's handsome expression looking relieved, but at the same time, eager. "Great, so let me assure you I will discuss this with you thoroughly before I even think of putting a pen into your hand." He paused then added with a nervous chuckle. "But the truth is I've never done this before, been in a position to help someone sign up, I mean. That's what I've got my manager for, so I'm open to suggestions so I'll know where to start. How can I do this so that it will be easier and comfortable for you to begin having this conversation?"
Faith stared at the tablecloth for about two minutes then she met his brown eyes and stated. "Tell me everything from the reason you're even here to how I became t.v's most proficient producers first choice at signing onto a cast of veterans who alone will bring on the ratings."
"O…Okay, I'll definitely try," Trey told her as he pulled a pen out of his pocket and laid it on the table.
"Oh…and there's one more thing," Faith stated abruptly and Trey found himself frowning nervously as he acknowledged her, what she said was definitely a first for shy, collected genius Faith Landen. She pulled one hand to her and clasped it between hers, all under the scrutiny of twenty-seven year old, Trey Duvall. "I also need to know the truth about… "us," How you really do feel about me tonight because I don't want you pity and I think I deserve the truth. This has been a week- long dream, and really, I need you to tell me where I stand with you. What went through you head that made you want to take me out tonight…like I said, everything. If you can't deliver that, you should just put that contract away right now and forget this ever happened."
Faith wondered if she'd been to blunt but to her pleasant surprise Trey grinned as he said, "that…I know I can do." He even clasped her hand on top of hers and enveloped her cool fingers in his warm and comforting grasp.
He then began telling her everything he knew regarding the current situation, the lunch he'd had with his execs the first day at Victorice and now she had hinted that her goal was to have Trey decide if Victorice would suit him and to possibly cast a love interest for his character.
(She wanted to really play up the essence of Victorice High's character, that's why at least my main class was to complied of students like you and your friends. And she wanted to go for a non-hollywood female lead if I could find something with potential and had enough chemistry with and Faith, you certainly fill that bill. ); the day he'd found out that Carrie and Taylor had been spying on him and Faith and how his manager had been leaking information regarding Faith to his over-excited producer, about how great Faith and Trey were together and that she'd been scoping the campus the whole time, looking for the "it" girl. (Remember the time when we were at the library and told you my producer wanted a word with me and you freaked out and though it was my girlfriend?" "I did not freak out!" Faith protested, "just curious!") then finally he told her what had gone down just that afternoon, how she'd already hashed out a contract with the help of his manager and that was what he'd received that afternoon to relay to her.
"So in other words, Carrie Spectra like you from the get-go, only she didn't want to tell me she was already planning to cast you before the contract finalized in case it fell through. She knows me well enough to know that I respect you and have grown so close to you. I probably couldn't, actually wouldn't be willing to keep that information under wraps, especially since it's a decision that could change your life. I would definitely have liked to give you more time to get used to this idea but Carrie's the one who controls all this. I just work for her," Trey concluded then finally blew out a breath and tossed her a shy grin. "So basically, I'm relaying you an opportunity to become an actress in primetime. Pretty amazing huh?"
Amazing huh? Please review and I'll update. We are getting to the end of Part I and I guarantee two is going to be more awesome! So let me know you're reading and we can get onto the rest of this romantic evening.!
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Till next time,
Kristina Toffland