A Touch of Passion (boxed set romance bundle)

by Uvi Poznansky

  Charity managed to break in only briefly. “Mr. Bennett?”

  He gave a quick, “tut tut”, and then patted her shoulder. “That’s one thing we need to change right now. You’re going to have to stop calling me, Mr. Bennett. Charles is my given name. Start using it. I’m ancient enough without the added burden of being called Mr. Bennett all of the time. Now what is it, dear?”

  Charity swallowed and thought over the uselessness of complaining about the cheerleading costume. He had been so kind to her, so she was going to just suck it up and do as she had been told to do. “Thanks for everything. Have a nice trip, and I’ll see you Friday.”

  She was calling herself all kinds of chicken when she saw her mom give her a knowing look, and only the slightest of smiles. While Charity hadn’t fooled her, Charles didn’t appear to notice.

  He nodded and smiled. “You’re welcome, and I will be careful. That’s very thoughtful of you to worry about an old man like me.”

  He turned and focused all of his attention onto Kim. “You need to get as much accomplished today as possible, and I will see everyone again tomorrow afternoon. I want everyone working together as a well-oiled unit by the time I get back.”

  The dainty cheerleading coach grinned before snapping to attention. “Yes, sir.”

  Judy chuckled as soon as the dressing room door closed and the three women were alone. “A safe trip? I don’t think that was what you were going to say.” By now she was looking a little less frazzled. Her short blonde hair appeared to have been combed and a fresh application of red lipstick was a sure sign she had made a special effort to freshen up before meeting David.

  Charity blushed again and tugged at the low neckline of her blouse. That only made the bottom of her blouse inch up to expose the bottom of her breasts so she tugged it down to cover that area up again. It was a lose-lose situation. “Can you believe this outfit? I’m almost certain the moment I try jumping, the seat of my shorts will split its seam. How can I possibly practice in this? Every time I bend over, everything I have is either going to hang out or fall out. I’m just too mortified to leave this room. Dad would just die if he saw me in this and what would Johnny say if he saw me?”

  Judy shared an understanding smile and pulled Charity’s hand away from the top. “Stop. The only thing you’re accomplishing with all of that tugging and tugging is getting it all wrinkled and out of shape.” She walked around to get a better view of the back. After a couple of seconds, she faced Charity again. “It’s a little short but you look really cute. You might as well get used to wearing it in front of everyone. The other ladies will be wearing the same thing, so it’s not like you’ll be the only person dressed like this.”

  Realizing her words weren’t as comforting as they should have been, Judy grasped Charity’s shoulders and looked directly into her eyes. “You know Johnny loves your legs and your dad will be okay with it, as soon he wakes up from his stroke.” She laughed at Charity’s pained expression, but both were forced to drop the subject when Kim motioned for them to follow her.

  Kim stopped, resting her hand on the dressing room door. “Come on ladies! You’re going to just laugh about all of this one day. Think about where you’re at. This is where the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders practice and perform. There are usually way more legs and boobs around here than this. The sooner you see no one is going to notice, then the sooner we can get busy with our jobs.”

  With that, the tiny overly cheerful instructor headed out of the room. As far as she was concerned, the matter was settled. As expected, Judy and Charity had no choice but to follow along behind her.

  Kim talked over her shoulder while leading them through the long, underground hallway. “Mr. Bennett told me to introduce you to David and the other guys.”

  She gave a short, but a very wistful sigh, before continuing, “I’ve been working since Monday with some of the other ladies. I love some but hate the others. I’ll let you decide which ones are which for yourself.” She stopped so abruptly, Judy and Charity almost plowed into her. “In this business, there are some catty, evil people who would do anything to get to the top, so don’t be surprised if a few of these people aren’t interested in being your friend.”

  She shrugged. “Not a lot of big names have been hired to be cheerleaders, but a few of them have been in lesser known movies. Most are like you and this is their first shot at acting. Either way, pros or green horns, the excitement is beginning to build. Of course, David just arrived this morning. I wasn’t bashful at all about walking right over and introducing myself. He was so gracious, even though I was interrupting everyone’s practice schedule.”

  After emerging from the air conditioning, the outside temps were stifling. Kim chatted until they reached a large group of men. Some were practicing throwing, some were tackling each other, and a larger group was discussing the techniques needed to make them look like professional football players. Suddenly, all of them stopped and turned to watch the three women approach.

  Their reactions were just as Charity had feared. A few made catcalls and everyone stared. It was hard to say which was worst, the men making the noises, or the guys with their mouths hanging open. While she was beyond mortified, she refused to tug at any part of the outfit. Heaven only knew the uselessness of it anyway.

  David was in the middle of a smaller group, tossing a football back and forth to each other. When all the commotion started, he stopped in mid throw to turn and see what was going on. The moment their eyes met, Charity’s heart jumped into her throat and color flooded her face. She couldn’t believe how nervous she was about meeting him. She had been ribbing her mother all morning about how star stuck she was about him, but the truth was, she couldn’t believe how lucky she was to be costarring in a movie with the one and only David Warren. There wasn’t another movie star in the world with his good looks, charisma, or acting ability.

  While all of the other men were drenched in sweat, David Warren looked as if he had just stepped off the cover of a sports magazine. The sun reflected bluish hues in his black hair, swept back from where he had run his hands through it to keep it out of his eyes. The moment he smiled, perfect teeth and deep dimples were revealed. Even though his tee shirt was dirty and grass stained, it didn’t do anything to distract from his broad chest and taunt muscles. His high cheekbones and chiseled chin gave him his all American good looks, and was probably one of the reasons he was such a highly sought after leading man.

  Charity was completely awestruck by his presence and boyish charm. She stopped dead in her tracks and tried to breathe. When she didn’t move, David walked the rest of the way to meet them.

  He held his hand out to her. “Charity.” His large hands swallowed hers. “Charles has told me so much about you. I think I would have known you anywhere.”

  Charity was enamored by his easy attitude and charming smile. She couldn’t stop looking at him, even when he turned to face her mom. His eyes were the most shocking shade of blue. They would have been intimidating, if not for the laugh lines around them. His boyish charm put her at ease.

  When she finally came to her senses she stuttered, “D-David,” then rushed through the only thing she could think to say, “This is my mom, Judy. She’s your biggest fan.”

  Her mom elbowed her, but giggled. “She makes me sound like a stalker, but I have to confess, I have seen every one of your movies at least three times. That’s not crazy, right?” She patted her hair nervously, making certain it was all in place.

  David released Charity’s hand and went right in for a hug with Judy. Charity couldn’t believe the girlie giggle that came out of her mom’s mouth. She held in the laugh that wanted to escape as she watched the instant transformation from the motherly type, directly into a silly school girl.

  Charity could only stand and listen in horror while her mother quizzed him about everything under the sun. She had never heard Judy chatter on as if there was no tomorrow. It was rather eye-opening to see her flirt with David. Cha
rity had never thought of her mother as anything other than a mother. Were mothers allowed to flirt in front of their own children?

  She stood rooted into place, filled with a mixture of embarrassment and school girl awkwardness. Because she was so uncertain about how to break into the conversation without appearing rude, Charity waited patiently for the right moment to try and catch David’s attention again. That time came a few seconds later, when Judy finally took the time to draw in a much needed breath.

  Charity touched David’s arm. “As mom has so elegantly put it, we are both huge fans and I’m really looking forward to working with you.”

  David responded as red blushed up from the corners of a growing smile, “Charles has told me how impressed he was with your acting ability. I’m looking forward to working with you too. I find it so refreshing to work with people new to the business. They haven’t had time to be jaded yet. I love my job, but it can be very wearing on the soul at times. You’re always in the spotlight and everyone feels like they have the right to judge your private life, right along with your professional life.” He pointed in the direction of the stands. “I would love to introduce you to my wife before you begin your workout with the other women.” He touched Judy’s elbow and gently turned her toward the bleacher section his wife was seating in. “She would love some company. I think the two of you will get along perfectly. She’s my biggest fan too.” That last part was said with the barest hint of a teasing tone.

  Everyone laughed as he reached over and took Charity’s elbow too. They walked across the field and up into the stands. Right before they reached her, he added, “She isn’t feeling well today. I just finished shooting on location in Mexico, and I think that she may have gotten a touch of food poisoning while we were there.”

  Charity couldn’t help feeling a growing inadequacy as they drew closer to David’s wife and her natural beauty became clearer. The woman was as tall as her husband, about six feet, and had the body of a fashion model. She was dressed in a simple outfit of pale blue shorts and tank top. The color was almost the exact shade of her unnervingly blue eyes, and the short cut of the shorts only accentuated just how impossibly long her legs were. Her black hair was pulled up into a ponytail, but still reached the middle of her back. She gave a welcoming smile and a friendly wave.

  David released Judy and Charity’s arms and hugged his wife. “Hey, hon. Are you feeling any better?” He nodded toward Charity and Judy. “This is Charity and her mom, Judy. Ladies, this is my wife, Maria.”

  Maria smiled but it was easy to see she wasn’t feeling well. Her voice turned out to be a hypnotizing combination of musical tones and boardroom smokiness. “It’s very nice meeting the two of you.” She turned to Judy and offered her hand. “I’m so happy you’re here. We can keep each other company. The days we get sick of watching David and Charity film, we can go shopping. I hate going by myself, but I love to shop.”

  They chatted for a while before Kim shouted up from the sidelines “Hey you two, sorry to interrupt, but we need to get started. Mr. Bennett is going to be expecting to see results when he returns.”

  After leaving Judy and Maria to keep each other company in the stands, David and Charity headed out toward the field. By the time they reached the bottom of the stands, Judy and Maria already had their heads together chatting as if they had known each other forever.

  Before David headed off to the opposite side of the field, he turned to Charity, “We should have dinner together tonight.”

  Charity couldn’t seem to recover from feeling a little star struck. It felt so odd to be standing next to one of the most popular movie stars of all times, and to have him casually ask her out for a meal, made it all seem ever more surreal. She forced herself to not act as star struck as she was feeling and somehow managed to calmly nod, as if getting asked out to dinner by a movie star was an everyday occurrence.

  “That sounds nice.” Charity accomplished a believably casual smile as she spoke.

  David smiled and then jogged off across the field. Charity and Kim walked over to the group of ladies only a few feet away and Kim introduced her. It wasn’t too difficult to figure out which of the ladies Kim was trying to warn her about earlier. As the day wore on, Charity let a few of the less unwelcoming comments go by as if she didn’t hear them, but concentrated on the vigorous routines Kim put them through, instead. There was far too much to learn, in too short of a time, to let jealous attitudes get into her head.

  Kim turned out to be like a tiny army drill instructor. She was single minded and relentless. She didn’t mind pointing out anyone’s flaws and would work on each move until everyone had it down perfectly.

  At first a few of the seasoned actresses appeared to have a bad attitude about someone who had never acted professionally before getting the lead role in the film, but after a few hours in the Dallas heat, everyone was on equal footing and exhausted. Before late afternoon, most realized she was good and wasn’t expecting a free ride. The four years Charity had been a cheerleader in high school turned out to be her lifesaver. Most of the moves Kim taught them, she already knew and the rest weren’t that hard to catch on to.

  The one person who took an immediate dislike to Charity, found little ways to be insulting throughout each routine. The actress’ name was Betty Florence, and by late afternoon, she decided to let Charity know her true feelings less subtly. Betty was a seasoned actress who had worked in several productions and was the most experienced in the group of women. She wasn’t a big name, but Charity had recognized her right away from a few bad B movies she’d seen in high school. Betty was a tall, leggy woman with over processed blonde hair. She would have been a nice looking lady if she didn’t always have such a sour expression on her face.

  It was during a water break that Betty tried to win some points with the other ladies by challenging Charity, but the moment she started with her catty comments about Charity’s inexperience, the others casually made their way off somewhere else.

  Even though Charity had heard everything Betty had been saying, she pretended not to hear, in the best interest of keeping things civil. She found an empty spot on the field and sat to drink her water. That worked for about two minutes.

  The aged blonde took a seat on the grass next to her then shifted her weight so she could lean toward Charity. She rested her cup of water on her knee. If she had ever been attractive, it was wiped away by the sneer on her face. “Well there’s no accounting for taste is there?”

  Charity took another sip and pretended to be interested in what was happening on the men’s side of the field.

  Betty cleared her throat and spoke louder. “I said, I guess that there’s no accounting for taste.”

  Charity realized then that feigning ignorance wasn’t going to work and finally locked eyes with the bitter woman. “I’m sorry. Are you talking to me?”

  Now that Betty had Charity’s attention, she smiled brightly. “You bet, sweetie. I’ve worked with Charles on a few things and I have a hard time believing he would sleep with someone like you.”

  Charity mentally did an eye roll and only kept her cool by swallowing hard a couple of times before speaking again. “Well, now I know that you’re not talking to me, because I haven’t slept with Charles. My name is Charity. You must have me mistaken for someone else.”

  Betty crossed her ankles before meeting Charity’s eyes again. It was easy to see just how much gratification she was getting from spreading lies. “Oh no, sweetie, you’re exactly the person I’m talking to. Don’t try that little innocent game with me, girlie. I’ve been around far too long for that. I know your type. You couldn’t get a job with your talent so you used the only commodity you had to get the job. Charles must be losing it if he fell for the likes of you, but I have noticed how older men will sometimes fall for any sweet young thing who throws themselves in front of them.”

  Charity took a moment to wipe sweat from various areas of her body before replying. “The first movie I ever saw
you in was The Teenage Killer Among Us. You are a very talented screamer. Is that something you’re born with, or does it come from a lot of practice and hard work?” Charity was seizing this opportunity to practice her own needed restraint. More and more exposure to the world of film making made her realize how desperately she needed it. It took every ounce of control she had not to scratch out the fake blonde’s eyes. “Do you mind if I call you by your first name? It’s Betty isn’t it?”

  Betty appeared somewhat deflated suddenly, and finally shrugged as she replied, “Sure, everyone calls me Betty.”

  Charity took a long drink of water and took several deep breathes before continuing, “Thanks, Betty. You know, we’re going to be spending a lot of time together. It would be great if we could get along. Charles is a very nice man. I don’t think it ever crossed his mind to sleep with me. I would appreciate it if you didn’t spread nasty rumors like that around. I’m almost certain if Charles ever heard about this, your job might be in jeopardy.”

  From the blank expression on Betty’s face, it was obvious the wheels were slowly turning in that little brain of hers. Her tone betrayed an effort to hold onto the nasty attack she’d begun, but also her fear that she may have made a mistake, “Well I don’t know if you and Charles have been intimate or not, but I guess you’re right about us getting along. It’s not going to get me anywhere if Charles finds out that we have had this conversation.”

  Charity almost chuckled, but managed to keep a straight face.

  Betty leaned an elbow on the ground and looked up at the sky. In a probably well practiced, matter of fact tone, she continued, “And to answer your question, it takes a lot of practice. I screamed day and night trying to ready for that movie. I had neighbors calling the police reporting that I was in danger. It was a lot of fun. Not every movie is fun to do. Some are just plain old work.” She smirked at Charity’s red face and sweat soaked hair. “But I guess you’re finding that out the hard way aren’t you?”