Just Friends?

by K E Osborn

  I get up and pull the pillow from Will’s head and smack him with it. He moans and then chuckles. I hear a knock on the door, so I answer it, and find Patty already dressed and raring to go.

  “C’mon guys, you need to be at Channel Seven studios in thirty minutes to be ready for hair and make up for the Morning Show with Larry and Kylie,” Patty explains as I slap Will on the ass.

  “Get up, grumpy head,” I chide, as he reaches out and grabs my arm and pulls me down on the bed. Patty rolls her eyes.

  I laugh and crawl to the edge of the bed and stand up walking to the en-suite, Will follows and we are both dressed and ready to go in under fifteen minutes, which is a record for me. There’s another knock on our door and Patty answers it as I tackle my hair into submission.

  “Hey guys,” Olsen says, as he and Mark walk through the door, looking about as good as I feel.

  “Hey,” I moan as Will takes me into an embrace. If I didn’t know better I’d say he was staking his claim on me in front of Mark and Olsen but he knows he has my heart and soul.

  “Does anyone else feel like they’ve been hit by a bus?” Olsen asks.

  “I think we all do,” Will states with a chuckle.

  “Not me, I’m as fit as a fiddle. Now let’s go,” Patty exclaims.

  All I can think of is urgh… how does she do it? She’s always so bubbly and ready to go.

  We arrive at the Seven Studios to be interviewed by Larry Emdur and Kylie Gillies, the hosts of Australia’s more popular morning show. I warn Will that they can be quite comical and as we sit down in hair and make-up Larry comes into the dressing room.

  “Hi guys, nice to meet you. Thanks for coming in today,” Larry says as we both look up at him while the artists apply the Spakfilla to our faces.

  “Hi Larry. It’s great to meet you too. I used to watch you and Kylie when I was living in Adelaide, I love the show. You guys crack me up,” I say with a smile.

  “Oh, thanks. Well Kylie tries her hardest to keep people entertained, but as for me, it comes naturally,” Larry jokes. “Okay, guys. I’ll see you on set.”

  We finish getting ready and they set us up with a clip-on microphone and slot the battery packs around the back while Patty runs through things to say and not to say. Will listens intently while I fade in and out of the conversation. I’m very excited to do our first Australian interview.

  “Okay, guys, we’re on a commercial break. Time to go,” a production assistant interrupts us and then ushers us out onto the stage. We sit down on the sofa as they continue to fuss over us.

  “Right, ready? Coming back in sixty seconds,” someone calls out and they start to count down backwards while everyone rushes off the set after making final adjustments.

  I straighten my skirt and Will looks over and gives me a wink.

  “Okay, we’re back in three, two… ”

  “Good morning Sydney. It’s a gorgeous Wednesday as we look at the pictures across the Harbour. Sydney can expect a high today of thirty-two, the temperature is currently eighteen degrees,” Kylie announces as they scan to view Sydney Harbour.

  “Our next guests burst onto the scene, recently, staring in their blockbuster movie Nightwalker which opens in cinemas nationally tomorrow night,” Larry explains.

  “After its massive release in the States, Nightwalker grossed over one hundred and nineteen million dollars in its first weekend; it has since skyrocketed as one of the fastest grossing movies since the Twilight series. Here’s a preview.”

  They show the preview and I can’t help but feel a little self-conscious in front of my home crowd.

  “The two leading actors include the recently unknown Australian actress Katerina Barrett, and the Los Angeles native, Will Sanders. Welcome to the show guys,” Kylie announces as the cameras scan over to us.

  I can tell Will is nervous because of his agitating leg.

  “Good Morning Larry and Kylie. It’s great to be here,” I say.

  There are a lot people outside looking in through the tall windows. They’re waving at us and some are even holding up signs.

  “It’s great to see some home-grown talent being showcased in this movie. Kat, how did it feel being accepted as the leading lady and tell us a bit about your role?” Kylie asks.

  “It was a huge shock landing the lead role in this movie, but it was also a fantastic opportunity for me. Basically, I play Zaylie Winters, who’s a young girl that has found herself in this strange new world of all things that go bump in the night. Her brother is sucked into the darkness of this world and she has to find a way to help him. That’s when she meets Cohen, who’s played by Will. He’s a hunter and they team up to fight against the Nightwalkers of the world. That’s basically it in a nutshell. Being cast as the leading lady meant that I was paired with my best friend and fellow classmate as the leading male actor.”

  “That’s right, we heard that you were both chosen for the leading parts from your acting class at the AMDA College in Los Angeles. Will, how did you find it going from being an unknown actor to suddenly being thrust into the limelight where fans and paparazzi follow your every move?” Larry asks.

  “Well, it’s been somewhat of a quick transition from being a no-name to people calling out your name and saying they love you as you walk down the street. It can be daunting at times, but it’s nice to know that the fans are proud of what Kat and I have done with the movie. We tried to stay as close as possible to the characters in the books, and bringing them to life on the big screen for the fans of the B J Williams series has been a challenging task.”

  “So, Will, what’s it like working with an Aussie?”

  “It’s hard to understand her sometimes, but that’s part of her charm. I wouldn’t want anyone else to work with on this movie other than Kat.”

  “We know everyone wants to know the answer to this question. Obviously there are strong rumors of your involvement with one another. Can you confirm or deny these rumors for all the fans here in Australia?”

  My heart starts to thud through my chest. Even though we’ve already announced through Patty that we are, in fact, seeing each other, now is the first time we’re actually saying it on live television.

  Will takes my hand and kisses it gently. “Yes, we are together and we’re very happy,” Will admits as he winks at me.

  “Hearts are breaking all over Australia and the world today,” Kylie says making us laugh.

  “So, have you been introduced to Australia’s necessities yet Will?” Larry asks.

  Will furrows his eyebrows and looks over at me in confusion.

  “I’ve seen the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, but we only arrived last night, so I haven’t had much of a chance to see anything yet, although I have been told to bring home a koala for my mom.”

  Everyone laughs.

  “Okay, well, we want you to try an Aussie favorite if you’re game?” Larry asks as he stands and walks over to a woman who’s holding something in her hands.

  “Yeah, no worries. It’s not one of those… grub things though is it?” Will stammers making us all laugh.

  “No, it’s a vegemite sandwich. To be an honorary Aussie, you have to be able to eat Vegemite,” Kylie says as Larry walks back over to Will and hands him a sandwich on a small paper plate. I can’t help but laugh, I know he will hate it, especially as they have spread the Vegemite so thickly on the bread.

  “Do I just eat it like a normal sandwich?”

  “No, you have to stand on one foot while eating a Vegemite sandwich. It’s an Australian tradition,” Larry jokes, as Kylie punches him in the arm.

  Will looks across at me and I giggle as worry lines cross his face.

  “He’s joking Will,” Kylie says.

  Will nods his head. “Okay, here goes,” he states and takes a big bite of the thickly layered bread. I wait for his reaction as he slowly chews the sandwich. His brows furrow and he frowns as he chews. Then his mouth turns down.

  ~ WILL ~

 
; Oh my fucking God! How can I be expected to swallow this?

  It’s like a layer of extremely odd-tasting, thick salt has invaded my mouth. I hope my facials don’t show how disgusting this is. I quicken the chewing while everyone watches me with a smirk on their faces.

  “So Will, what do you think?” Kat asks, and I can tell she’s holding back a laugh.

  “Hmm, well it’s an acquired taste, I think.” I swallow the lump of bread and black salty paste down my throat without trying to spit it back up.

  Fuck, that’s the most disgusting crap I’ve ever tasted.

  I need to scrub my mouth with soap and then hose it out with mouth wash and even then I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to taste properly again.

  What the fucking hell is that shit? It should be illegal.

  Everyone laughs and thinks it’s a hell of a joke. I put the sandwich back on the plate and push it away from me.

  “It’s strange the first time you try it” Kylie says, as they all laugh while Larry hands me a glass of water.

  “Thanks Larry.” I take a long drink of water and then I fold one piece of bread away from the other to look at the black paste spread thickly over the bread. I screw my face up unconsciously, and once again they are all laughing at my expense.

  Yeah, that’s right, laugh away, I’m sure I can think of something to get you back later, Miss Barrett. Perhaps withholding an orgasm or two, hmmm.

  “Sorry, Will. When you have Vegemite you should only have a scrapping not a thick spread like we gave you,” Larry points out laughing.

  “Oh, thank God. I didn’t want to admit that I hated it in case you revoked me as an honorary Australian.” I take another large gulp of water trying to eliminate that God-awful taste in my mouth – of course, I’m unsuccessful.

  Larry then goes on to tell me about these vicious Drop Bears they have here in Australia. It’s kind of like a Koala but bigger and angry by the sounds of it, not sure I want to run into one of those.

  Chapter Eighteen

  We finished the, well... quite frankly one of the funniest interviews I’ve ever done, not that I’ve done that many. Larry, the presenter was hilarious, but sometimes, I have to admit I had no idea what the hell they were talking about. I’ll have to do some research into those Drop Bears. They sound nasty.

  We make our way to do a pre-filmed interview for a show which will be aired on Sunday night and are interviewed by PJ Madame. PJ was also quite funny and asked some rather random and odd questions.

  Raise eyebrows yet again. What the hell drugs are these Aussies on?

  The Australian humor seems very different. They’re very laid back in their approach. It’s so polar opposite to the humor back in the States. Once the busy day of interviews is over we head back to the hotel to have dinner with Kat’s parents.

  This whole day has been one fucking surprise after another. What with Vegemite and those Drop Bears. I really will need to be careful.

  We eat at the restaurant in the hotel as we don’t want to be swamped by fans tonight. We want a nice quiet dinner with Kat’s parents, where I can get to know Johno and Auds while Kat enjoys what precious little time we have with her parents. I love watching her interact with them. You can tell their love for her is enormous and they’d do anything for her, as would I.

  ~*~

  The next day we do an early radio interview and then spend the rest of the day getting ready for the Australian premiere of Nightwalkers at the State Theatre on Market Street. Olsen and Mark are ready and so are Patty and I. We’re just waiting for Kat, who I’m sure will look stunning. She chose some Australian designer for her red carpet gown.

  “Okay, I’m ready,” Kat calls out from inside the hotel bedroom. Her stylist walks out and she follows.

  Oh fuck, crap, shit… yep, I’m instantly hard.

  She’s breathtakingly gorgeous in her bright red floor length dress. The top part has some sort of see through red stuff going on over her shoulders and tiny little beady, shiny, red blingy things, scattered around it, mainly over the top, but flowing into the skirt at the front and then it dissipates down the fitted red skirt. The back is just as fucking gorgeous with some red see-through stuff to the waist with more beady, shiny, red blingy things going on. At the small of her back, there’s this gathered up material that fans out to form a train at the bottom.

  Wow, that’s just fucking, wow. No other fucker better be having the same thoughts I’m having or I’ll fucking punch their lights out.

  She looks amazing, and with her flaming red hair all pulled back, she’s truly beautiful. I can feel my jaw drop as she stands like a fiery goddess before me. My heart beats forcefully in my chest as I unconsciously lick my lips at her sight. We stare into each other’s eyes and I’m totally fucking gob smacked.

  “You look amazing,” Olsen says before I get a chance, diverting Kat’s attention to him. I give him a hard look as he stares at her with lust filled eyes. I stand up and take her hand and she looks at me.

  “You’re breathtaking, baby.”

  I pull her into my arms and whisper in her ear, “But you have to change.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Because no other fucker is allowed to look at you dressed like that. The way you look should be reserved for my eyes only,” I whisper in her ear.

  She smiles and gives me a quick kiss on the lips and then pulls away.

  “I love you Will, but it took me three hours to look like this. I’m not taking the dress off until we get back here and are alone tonight,” she says and I exhale hard.

  I really don’t want guys ogling her, but when she looks this good, I guess nothing can stop that.

  “Thank you, both of you. You both look very suave and sophisticated.” She loops her arm in mine and we head down to the limo. There are a few less fans waiting outside the hotel, although there are a lot of flashes and some questions thrown at us as we walk.

  I hold the door open for Kat to slide in and I move in behind her followed by the others. We drive to the venue and the limo pulls up alongside the red carpet. Patty and the guys get out first and then I give Kat a quick kiss on her cheek.

  She’d kill me if I smudge that gorgeous flaming red lipstick on those kissable lips of hers.

  “You ready?” I ask and she flashes a smile that reaches her glistening bright green eyes.

  “As I’ll ever be.”

  I step out of the car and the flashing lights go off continuously. I place my hand out for Kat to hold. She steps out of the limo in all her glory. She truly is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I wrap my arm around her waist as we walk to the photo area. She nuzzles into me softly. This is so much better than the American premiere where we had to pretend to be ‘just friends’. It’s much better to be able to put claim to her by wrapping my arm around her waist and whispering in her ear that I love her over and over.

  “Mr. Sanders, Miss Barrett, over here.”

  “Over here.”

  “Miss Barrett, who are you wearing tonight?”

  “Alex Perry,” she replies with a gorgeous smile.

  “Miss Barrett, can we have one of you kissing Mr. Sanders, please?”

  She looks at me and then kisses my cheek, leaving a smudge of red lipstick. She laughs and playfully wipes it off with her thumb.

  “That was perfect, thank you.”

  “Now, can we have one of you kissing her, please, Mr. Sanders?”

  I decide I may as well fucking do it. They want their exclusive picture, well here it comes. I pull her close to me and dip her down in a Hollywood style kiss and press my lips to hers. She laughs as I kiss her and then I pull her back up to a standing position. She cuddles into my side as she wipes the lipstick from my mouth with her thumb.

  “Uhum,” I hear Patty clear her throat behind me. I look at her and give her one of my panty dropping smiles and she shakes her head. Oh well, too late, I’ve already done it and it’s not like the world doesn’t know we’re an item anyway.
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br />   “You’re in a good mood tonight,” Kat says as we continue to pose for more photos.

  “It’s you in that dress. I really want to get this over with so I can take you back to the hotel and fuck you senseless,” I whisper in her ear making her laugh.

  “You’re such a sweet talker,” she says sarcastically as we walk the red carpet.

  We reach the entrance of the State Theatre and walk inside. We are offered a glass of champagne and I pick up two glasses. I hand one to Kat who takes a small sip. Wildon comes over and is smiling.

  “Hi, guys,” he says and he clinks his glass with mine.

  “Hey, Wildon. Great turn out,” Kat says.

  “You two did great on that morning show yesterday,” Wildon states.

  “Thanks! Yeah, we both had a great time,” I reply.

  We’re ushered inside the theatre for the viewing and at the end of the movie we get another standing ovation from the Australian crowd. We head over to the after party where there are lots of cameras. These paparazzi are pushier than we’ve previously come across. They’re willing to step in front of you so you can’t walk anywhere. With the help of Mark and Olsen we manage to push past them, but it was a struggle. Once inside the venue we make our way to the bar for drinks. Kat has a cocktail and I order a beer for myself.

  We’re talking with the who’s who of invited Australian guests when Kat excuses herself to go to the ladies room and Olsen follows. I’m glad he’s doing his job properly and making sure she’s totally taken care of when I can’t be around her.

  ~ KAT ~

  While Will is busy chatting with the invited guests, I decide to go to the ladies to freshen up. I walk in and re-apply my faded red lipstick which has mostly ended up on Will’s lips and then I pull out power to freshen my face. I’m amazed at how well tonight is going. Once I finish in the ladies room, I walk out and notice Olsen standing there waiting for me.