39A Good Idea at the Time
Summary: He had spent almost every day of the last two years with his assistant and not once had he ever seen her dressed the way she was at that very moment. She looked beautiful and sexy, and God did he just want to grab her and...
Oh, God.
She's wearing a mini-skirt.
What is she, trying to kill me?
Dallas Moretti gave his assistant of two years a very thorough once-over. A black mini-skirt hugged her hips so tightly it looked like it was painted on, a silver halter with a much-too-low neckline hung loosely from her neck, and the black, open-toed heels strapped to her feet made her legs look deliciously long. He had spent almost every day of the last two years with his assistant and not once had he ever seen her dressed the way she was at that very moment. She looked beautiful and sexy, and God did he just want to grab her and...
Deep breaths, Dallas. Deep breaths.
When that didn't work, he did the next best thing: yelled. "Nora, what the hell are you wearing?!"
Nora didn't even spare him a glance, replying smoothly with, "Clothes."
Dallas rolled his eyes. "Cute."
"Yes, I think so, too." She smiled at him through the mirror and then went back to primping.
"I didn't mean the clothes were cute, Nora."
"No, really?" she asked, feigning surprise.
Dallas walked over to stand beside her. "You're not really going to wear that, are you?"
Looking down at her outfit, she frowned. "Why, what's wrong with what I'm wearing?"
"It's... it's... it's indecent!"
She rolled her eyes. "Please," she said, putting various tubes and sticks of make-up into her purse. "When have you ever cared about being decent? Need I remind you of the time the paparazzi found you getting out of a hot tub without a stitch of clothing on?" she asked, turning to look at him. "While three female fans in the exact same state of undress lounged in said hot tub as if they did that sort of thing all the time?" She spread some lipstick on her lips and then smacked them together. "Which they probably did, knowing them," she added bitchily.
Dallas's mouth formed a slight smile as he remembered that night. It had been a good one. He'd started out the night sober and at a friend's party, and had ended it completely wasted, in a hot tub with three very sexy ladies. That was before the paparazzi somehow found out his whereabouts and came charging into the backyard where said hot tub was, to take photos of him. Bastards.
Shaking his head, he rid himself of the memory and came back to the present. "That's so not even the point," he argued.
"Then what so is the point?"
He hesitated. The point is that you're my girl and you're not going out in public dressed like that! "The point is... that it's cold outside and you're going to freeze."
Oh, nice going genius.
Nora looked at him like he'd completely lost it - which he kind of had. "Thanks for the concern, boss, but I think I'll be fine."
He tried again. "But... won't your date think you've only got one thing on your mind?"
Nora smiled and raised an eyebrow. "Maybe I do only have one thing on my mind."
Oh my God. Oh my God.
"I have needs too, you know."
That's it. Kill me. Kill me now.
Clearing his throat, Dallas looked away and changed the subject. "So, uh, who's your date anyway?"
"Barry Walker."
"You're kidding me? Barry? Barry the caterer, Barry? Barry the guy doing the catering for the crew of my current film, Barry?"
"No, Barry the bellboy."
Dallas laughed. "What in the world could you possibly find attractive about Barry Walker?"
Nora snapped her head around to stare at her boss, her eyes narrowed. "Dallas Moretti, not everyone focuses on a person's physical appearance, alone, you know. There are some of us in the world who actually find the ability to hold an intelligent conversation for more than five minutes, attractive. Who find the simple gesture of holding a door open for someone or complimenting someone for something, attractive."
Dallas held his hands up in front of him. "Geez, I was just kidding. Relax."
"Not that you'd know anything about that, of course," she added, giving him a pointed once-over.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean? I hold the door open for you all the time. And I compliment you."
"Holding the door open for me so that your precious luggage doesn't get damaged while I carry said luggage inside, does not count for holding the door open for me."
Dallas opened and closed his mouth a few times. "Yeah... well... I still compliment you all the time!"
"Really? When was the last time you gave me a compliment?"
Dallas racked his brain. Think, man, think! "Um..."
"Exactly."
"You didn't give me a chance to think!"
"If, as you say, you compliment me all the time, it shouldn't take you long to think of the last time you did so." She made her way over to the bathroom - Dallas appreciating the sway of her hips as she walked - stepped inside and shut the door. He sat down on the end of her bed and waited, trying to think of a good excuse to prevent her from going on her date.
I'm not feeling well? No, she won't believe me.
There's a press junket I need to go to? No, she'd know about any press junkets.
My mother's in town and I need her to play mediator? No, she's the one that talks to my mother for me, so she'd know I was lying.
Come on, think!
"What are you thinking so hard about?"
He practically fell off the bed. He hadn't heard her come out of the bathroom. "Nothing," he mumbled, standing up and following her into the shared living room of the hotel suite they were booked into. "Listen, Nora, do you really have to go out tonight?"
"Why?"
"Well, I was thinking we could hang out."
Lame, lame, lame.
"We can hang out tomorrow night, Dallas. Besides, I thought you had some party or something to go to tonight."
"Yeah, I'm not really in the party mood."
Nora frowned at him.
"What? My life doesn't revolve around acting and parties, Nora."
She smiled. "No, just most of it."
Dallas ignored the gibe. "So where's Barry taking you tonight, anyway?"
"Not sure. He wanted it to be a surprise. Speaking of which, I'd better head out."
Before he could stop himself, Dallas was across the room, blocking her exit. Nora came to a stop in front of him and stared up at him, waiting. When he didn't move or say anything, Nora sighed and tried to side-step him. Dallas followed.
"Okay seriously, Dallas, what the hell is your problem? This whole side-stepping in my way routine is what twelve-year-olds do."
"Don't go out tonight," he said, desperation saturating his every word.
"Why not?"
"Because Barry's kind of creepy, don't you think?"
Nora stared at him, bemused by his erratic behaviour. He didn't blame her. "No, I don't. Now please move."
"He's too old for you."
"He's thirty-one, Dallas."
He nodded his head eagerly. "Exactly! That's old."
"And yet your thirty-three is young?" she asked. "Seriously, Dallas, I don't know what your problem is, but I'm going to be late, so please move." She put a hand against his shoulder and shoved, but it only resulted in him taking one step back. Keeping her hand on his shoulder, she continued to push him out of her way, but just when she was starting to make progress, Dallas gripped the hand on his shoulder in his, framed her face with his other hand, took a step toward her, and kissed her.
He felt her respond, so he deepened the kiss, pulling her body flush against his, wrapping his arms around her, and lifting her off of the ground slightly. He'd wanted to kiss her for so long now, and to finally have her in his arms made him feel dizzy. Before he could stop her, though, Nora placed her hands on his chest and pushed, disentangling herself. Her lips and cheeks were red, and her breathing was rapid. He could practically see her heart beating faster than normal. He watched her touch her lips briefly before looking up at him, confusion in her eyes.
"Nora..." Dallas began softly.
"I have to go," she cut him off and pushed him out of her way, hurrying over to the elevator.
Dallas stood at the door and watched her leave. She didn't look back once.
The pounding woke him up. Rolling over onto his stomach, he pulled the pillow over his head to block the noise out, but it didn't help; the pounding continued and by the sounds of it, was getting louder. Groaning, he rolled back, nearly broke his neck untangling himself from his sheets, stumbled out of bed, and then staggered over to his door.
Pulling it open, he came face to face with two things: an incredibly bright light and an annoyed Nora.
"'s time?" he mumbled sleepily.
"Two o'clock in the morning," Nora answered, barging into his room.
"What?" His eyes squinted against the light flooding his room. "Have to be on set or some-" he began before yawning loudly.
"What was that, before?"
Dallas rubbed his eyes. "Before what?"
"That, before."
"Before that what?"
"When you kissed me earlier," Nora said loudly. "What was that?"
Dallas screwed his nose up. "I kissed you? When?"
Resisting the urge to smack him, Nora grabbed his shoulders, steered him towards the bed and sat him down. "Earlier tonight, when I was leaving for my date, you kissed me. Do you remember?"
Dallas thought for several seconds, trying to recall the memory. It came back to him eventually: Nora in a mini-skirt, his feelings of jealousy and possessiveness, the feel of her lips against his and her body in his arms.
"Oh." He looked up at her through tired eyes. "Right."
"Why did you kiss me Dallas?"
He scratched his head, hoping to buy some time.
"Dallas?"
"...Seemed like a good idea at the time?" he replied.
"Damn it, Dallas, can you be serious? For once in your life?" Nora yelled.
He winced. "Okay, okay, no need to yell."
Nora gripped his chin and tilted his head back. "Open your eyes."
"No."
"Dallas," she said in a warning tone. Dallas merely shook his head. Mumbling under her breath, Nora placed her hand against his head and pulled his eyelids back to look into his eyes. They were bloodshot.
"Are you drunk?"
"No." He reached up and pushed her hands off his face. "I'm hungover."
"What did you do, spend the whole night drinking?"
He nodded. "Pretty much."
Nora sighed and sat down next to him. "Why did you kiss me, Dallas? Seriously."
"Because I've wanted to kiss you for two years."
"You've wanted to kiss me for two years?"
"Of course. Why do you think I hired you?"
Nora smacked him upside the head.
Dallas laughed. "Yes, I've wanted to kiss you for two years."
"You hid your feelings well."
"Not really. You're just that dense."
"Do you want me to hit you again?" Nora threatened.
Dallas smiled and turned to stare at her. Nora eyed him warily.
"You're thinking again," she whispered.
"You kissed me back."
Nora blushed and looked down at her lap. "You noticed that, huh?"
"Kinda hard not to." When Nora didn't say anything, Dallas asked, "So what does this mean?"
Nora sighed and looked up at him. "It means..." she trailed off. Then, standing up, she said, "It means that it's time for me to go to bed."
Dallas lowered his head in defeat. He'd been hoping she wouldn't say something like that, but respecting her wishes, he nodded. Then, standing, he followed her to the door. "Okay then. Goodnight, Nora."
"Goodnight, Dallas."
The pounding woke him again an hour later.
"Nora, I swear to God, if that's you, you're fired!" he yelled without bothering to get out of his bed. He heard the door open and the sound of feet shuffling across the carpeted floor.
"If we do this," Nora's voice floated towards him, "I want it kept as private as possible. And I don't want you to treat me like you treated all your ex-girlfriends."
One eye popped open. "How did I treat my ex-girlfriends?"
"Like they were objects. Things you picked up to display on your arm whenever you were out in public."
"I did not!" he said defensively.
"And I want you to tell your mother. In person. And I want you to stop using me to talk to your mother. And I want a raise. And I want you to stop partying so much. And after this movie is wrapped, I want us to go away together. You need a break. And I want-" Dallas cut her off by slapping his hand over her mouth.
"I get it. You'll be wearing the pants in this relationship. Can I go back to sleep now?"
Removing his hand, Nora smiled. "Okay." She moved to get up off the bed when she felt his arm snake around her waist. "What are you-"
"You've woken me up twice already," Dallas interrupted. "I deserve a reward for letting you do so, and you spending tonight, and every night from here on, in my arms, in my bed, is my reward." He pulled her into his bed, and back against his chest. "Besides, if you feel the need to bug me about something else, you can just roll over and do so. Now go to sleep."
Nora settled down into Dallas's bed and closed her eyes, a smile spreading across her face.
"So what changed your mind?" Dallas asked a few seconds later. "My irresistible charm? My good looks? My hot bod?"
"Keep it up and I just might change my mind back."
"Seriously," Dallas said, squeezing her gently.
Nora rolled over on her back and turned her head to look at him. "I've wanted to kiss you for two years, too, you know."
"Really?"
She nodded. "Why do you think I accepted your offer to be your assistant when I could have been Leonardo's assistant?"
"Bullshit."
"No, really. The day before you rang me to offer me this position, I got a call back from Leo's ex-assistant offering me her position."
"Why didn't you take it?"
Nora reached up and squeezed his chin affectionately. "I was waiting for your call. Duh."
Dallas grinned at her. "So confident I was going to call, huh? What if I hadn't?"
"I would have accepted Leo's offer and I wouldn't be here right now."
They stared at each other for a long time. Dallas didn't want to think about that scenario. He had his girl in his arms where she belonged and he was never going to let her go.
"So let me ask you something."
"Anything."
"If you liked me for two years, why did you date all those other girls? Why not just ask me out?"
Dallas scoffed. "Are you kidding me? I hire you and then a week later ask you out? You would have quit on the spot."
Chuckling, Nora agreed. "Still," she said, "what took you so long?"
"I don't know. I guess I wanted you to get to know me before I made my move. I didn't want to scare you off."
"You very nearly did tonight," Nora admitted softly. "When you kissed me, I... freaked out. I spent the rest of the night going over it in my head, wondering why you did it. In the end, I knew the only way I was going to find out was by asking you."
"I'm glad you did."
"Me, too."
"And those other girls?" Dallas added. "They weren't ever serious, and contrary to what might have been said about me and them, I never slept with any of them."
Nora smiled and rolled back over onto her side, pulling his arms tighter around her waist. "It wouldn't have mattered if you had."
Dallas buried his face in her hair and breathed her in. "Goodnight," he whispered, planting a feather-light kiss on her neck.
"Goodnight."
A few minutes later, Dallas opened his eyes and said, "Wait, did you say something about a raise?"
Nora elbowed him in the ribs. "Go to sleep, Dallas."
Author's note: I wanted to write something light and sweet, and this is what I came up with. Not a lot of insight into the characters, no, but my brain just refused to be in in-depth mode when I wrote this. So, think of this as simply an interaction piece between two characters; characters you can give a back story to, if you want.
As always, let me know what you think, and thanks for reading :D